Phone line supervisory controls

• US 20060146701A1
• Filed: 12/22/2004
• Published: 07/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL LLC (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Murphy, Stephen Vaughan, Barnes, Michaela
• Granted Patent: US 7,289,617 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/06 Recording class or number of calling , i.e. A-party or called party , i.e. B-party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/20 with means for interrupting existing connections; with means for breaking-in on conversations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42136 Administration or customisation of services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54

Abstract

Controlling use of a telephone line includes receiving a specification from a first entity that defines one or more supervisory controls on use of a controlled telephone line by a second entity. The supervisory controls specify people with whom the second entity may or may not communicate over the controlled telephone line, and times at which the second entity may or may not communicate over the controlled telephone line. An indication of desired communications between the second entity and a third entity at a particular time over the controlled telephone line is received. A determination is made as to whether the desired communications are consistent with the specified supervisory controls. The desired communications are controlled when the desired communications are not consistent with the specified supervisory controls. In addition, the supervisory controls enable the first entity to interrupt existing calls over the controlled telephone line.

Claims

1. A method for controlling use of a telephone line, the method comprising:

receiving a specification from a first entity that defines one or more entities with whom communications over a controlled telephone line are controlled for a second entity;

receiving an indication of desired communications between the second entity and a third entity over the controlled telephone line;

determining if the third entity is one of the specified entities with whom communications over the controlled telephone line are controlled; and

controlling the communications between the second entity and the third entity when the third entity is one of the entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the specification from the first entity of entities with which communications with the second entity are controlled comprises presenting for use by the first entity a graphical user interface capable of receiving the specification of entities with whom communications over the controlled telephone line are controlled for the second entity.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the specification from the first entity that defines one or more entities with whom communications over the controlled telephone line are controlled for the second entity comprises one or more entities with whom the second entity may communicate over the controlled telephone line.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the specification from the first entity that defines one or more entities with whom communications over a controlled telephone line are controlled for the second entity comprises one or more entities with whom the second entity may not communicate over the controlled telephone line.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving an indication of desired communications between the second entity and the third entity over the controlled telephone line comprises receiving a call initiation request from the second entity over the controlled telephone line to the third entity.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving an indication of desired communications between the second entity and the third entity over the controlled telephone line comprises receiving a call initiation request to the second entity from the third entity over the controlled telephone line.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving an indication of desired communications between the second entity and the third entity over the controlled telephone line comprises receiving an indication from a telephone network over which the second entity and the third entity may communicate that a request for initiation of a call between the second entity and the third entity over the controlled telephone line has been received.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first entity is a user of an online service provider system.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the specification that defines the entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity defines the entities from the online service provider system.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the specification that defines the entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity defines the entities from a list of contacts maintained by the first entity on the online service provider system.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the list of contacts is an address book.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the list of contacts is a buddy list.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the list of contacts is a white list.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein controlling the communications between the second entity and the third entity when the third entity is one of the entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity comprises generating a request for initiation of a call with the third entity in response to selection of the third entity from the list of contacts by the second entity.

15. The method of claim 8 wherein determining if the third entity is one of the specified entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity comprises querying the online service provider system as to whether the third entity is one of the specified entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein determining if the third entity is one of the specified entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity comprises querying for the presence of the third entity in a database of entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the second entity is a child and the first entity is a parent of the child.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the second entity is an employer and the first entity is an employee of the employer.

19. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising determining if time information specified by the first entity indicates that the desired communications are to be regulated, wherein:

controlling the communications between the second entity and the third entity comprises controlling the communications between the second entity and the third entity when the third entity is one of the entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity and when the time information indicates that the desired communications are to be regulated.

20. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising determining if time information specified by the first entity indicates that the desired communications are not to be regulated, wherein:

controlling the communications between the second entity and the third entity comprises controlling the communications between the second entity and the third entity when the third entity is one of the entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity and when the time information indicates that the desired communications are to be regulated.

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising notifying the first entity when the third entity is one of the entities with whom communications are controlled for the second entity.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein the first entity and the second entity are both users of the controlled telephone line.

23. A method for controlling use of a telephone line, the method comprising:

receiving a specification from a first entity that defines time information used to regulate use of a controlled telephone line by a second entity;

receiving an indication of desired communications between the second entity and a third entity over the controlled telephone line;

determining if the specified time information indicates that the desired communications are to be regulated;

enabling the second entity to use the controlled telephone line when the specified time information indicates that requested use of the controlled telephone line is not to be regulated; and

preventing the second entity from using the controlled telephone line when the specified time information indicates that requested use of the controlled telephone line is to be regulated.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein receiving the specification from the first entity that defines time information used to regulate use of the controlled telephone line by the second entity comprises presenting for use by the first entity a graphical user interface capable of receiving specification of the time information to be used by the first entity.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein:

receiving the specification that defines the time information comprises receiving specification of times at which the second entity may use the controlled telephone line; and

determining if the specified time information indicates that the desired communications are to be regulated comprises determining if a time at which the request for use of the controlled telephone line is received is not one of the times at which the second entity may use the controlled telephone line.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein:

receiving the specification of the time information comprises receiving specification of times at which the second entity may not use the controlled telephone line; and

determining if the specified time information indicates that the desired communications are to be regulated comprises determining if a time at which the request for use of the controlled telephone line is received is one of the times at which the second entity may not use the controlled telephone line.

27. The method of claim 23 wherein:

receiving the specification of the time information comprises receiving specification of an amount of time that the second entity may use the controlled telephone line; and

determining if the specified time information indicates that the desired communications are to be regulated comprises determining if an amount of time for which the second entity has used the controlled telephone line is greater than the specified amount of time that the second entity may use the controlled telephone line.

28. The method of claim 23 wherein receiving an indication of desired communications between the second entity and a third entity over the controlled telephone line comprises receiving a call initiation request to the second entity from the third entity over the controlled telephone line.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein preventing the second entity from using the controlled telephone line comprises allowing a phone used by the third entity to generate the call initiation request to ring for the third entity.

30. The method of claim 28 wherein preventing the second entity from using the controlled telephone line comprises enabling the third entity to leave a message for the second entity.

31. The method of claim 30 further comprising sending the message to the second entity in an e-mail message.

32. The method of claim 28 wherein preventing the second entity from using the controlled telephone line comprises allowing a phone used by the third entity to generate the call initiation request to ring busy for the third entity.

33. The method of claim 28 wherein preventing the second entity from using the controlled telephone line comprises playing a message for the third entity indicating that the second entity is not permitted to use the controlled telephone line.

34. The method of claim 23 wherein receiving the indication of desired communications between the second entity and a third entity over the controlled telephone line comprises receiving a call initiation request from the second entity to the third entity over the controlled telephone line.

35. The method of claim 23 wherein receiving the specification that defines the time information used to regulate use of the controlled telephone line comprises receiving specification of the time information from an online service provider system used by the first entity.

36. The method of claim 23 wherein receiving the indication of desired communications between the second entity and a third entity over the controlled telephone line comprises receiving the indication from a telephone network that services the controlled telephone line.

37. The method of claim 23 wherein receiving specification of the time information used to regulate use of the controlled telephone line comprises querying for the presence of the time information in a database of time information.

38. The method of claim 23 further comprising notifying the second entity of an amount of time remaining until use of the controlled telephone line by the second entity will be prevented.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein notifying the second entity of an amount of time remaining comprises playing a message over the controlled telephone line indicating the amount of time remaining.

40. The method of claim 23 further comprising notifying the second entity of an amount of time remaining until use of the controlled telephone line by the second entity is enabled.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein notifying the second entity of an amount of time remaining comprises sending a message indicating the amount of time remaining to the second entity.

42. The method of claim 23 wherein the second entity is a child and the first entity is a parent of the child.

43. The method of claim 23 wherein the second entity is an employer and the first entity is an employee of the employer.

44. The method of claim 23, the method further comprising determining if the third entity is an entity that has been specified by the first entity as an entity with whom communications over the controlled telephone line are controlled, wherein:

enabling the second entity to use the controlled telephone line comprises enabling the second entity to use the controlled telephone line when the specified time information indicates that the desired communications are not to be regulated and when the third entity is not an entity with whom communications over the controlled telephone are controlled; and

preventing the second entity from using the controlled telephone line comprises preventing the second entity from using the controlled telephone line when the specified time information indicates that the desired communications are to be regulated or when the third entity is an entity with whom communications over the controlled telephone are controlled.

45. The method of claim 23, the method further comprising determining if the third entity is an entity that has been specified by the first entity as an entity with whom communications over the controlled telephone line are not controlled, wherein:

enabling the second entity to use the controlled telephone line comprises enabling the second entity to use the controlled telephone line when the specified time information indicates that the desired communications are not to be regulated and when the third entity is an entity with whom communications over the controlled telephone are not controlled; and

preventing the second entity from using the controlled telephone line comprises preventing the second entity from using the controlled telephone line when the specified time information indicates that the desired communications are to be regulated or when the third entity is not an entity with whom communications over the controlled telephone are not controlled.

46. The method of claim 23 further comprising notifying the first entity when the specified time information indicates that requested use of the controlled telephone line is to be regulated.

47. The method of claim 23 wherein the first entity and the second entity are both users of the controlled telephone line.

48. A method of interrupting telephone calls, the method comprising:

receiving specification from a first user that defines telephone line controllers whose calls are enabled to interrupt other calls on a controlled telephone line;

operating a telephone call on the controlled telephone line that does not involve one of the telephone line controllers;

receiving a telephone call to the controlled telephone line while the controlled telephone line is busy with the operated call;

determining whether the received call was placed by one of the telephone line controllers; and

enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call when the received call is from one of the telephone line controllers.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein receiving the specification from the first user that defines the telephone line controllers whose calls are enabled to interrupt other calls on a controlled telephone line comprises presenting for use by the first user a graphical user interface capable of receiving the specification of the telephone line controllers whose calls are enabled to interrupt other calls on a controlled telephone line.

50. The method of claim 48 wherein the specification from the first user defines phone numbers from which the telephone line controllers may place telephone calls to the controlled telephone line.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein determining whether the received call was placed by one of the telephone line controllers comprises determining whether the received call is from one of the phone numbers from which the telephone line controllers may place telephone calls to the controlled telephone line.

52. The method of claim 48 wherein receiving the specification that defines the telephone line controllers comprises receiving the specification from an online service provider system used by one of the telephone line controllers.

53. The method of claim 48 wherein determining whether the received call was placed by one of the telephone line controllers comprises querying for the presence of a caller that placed the received call in a database of telephone line controllers.

54. The method of claim 48 wherein enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call comprises:

notifying entities involved in the operated call that the operated call is going to be interrupted; and

interrupting the operated call with the received call.

55. The method of claim 54 wherein notifying the entities involved in the operated call comprises playing a message for the entities involved in the operated call announcing that the operated call is going to be interrupted.

56. The method of claim 48 wherein:

the method further comprises;

prompting a caller that placed the received call for a code; and

receiving the code from the caller;

determining whether the received call was placed by one of the telephone line controllers comprises determining whether the received code matches an authorization code that indicates that the caller is one of the telephone line controllers; and

enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call comprises enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call when the received code matches the authorization code.

57. The method of claim 56 wherein:

prompting the caller for the code comprises prompting the caller to dial the code on a telephone used by the caller to place the received call; and

receiving the code from the caller comprises receiving the code as a series of dialed numbers from the telephone used by the caller.

58. The method of claim 48 wherein:

the method further comprises determining if an entity involved in the telephone call that is operating on the controlled telephone line is an entity that has been specified by the first user as an entity whose calls over the controlled telephone line may be interrupted;

enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call comprises enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call when the received call is from one of the telephone line controllers and when the entity involved in the telephone call operating on the controlled telephone line is an entity whose calls may be interrupted.

59. The method of claim 48, the method further comprising determining if an entity involved in the telephone call that is operating on the controlled telephone line is an entity that has been specified by the first user as an entity whose calls over the controlled telephone line may not be interrupted, wherein:

enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call when the received call is from one of the telephone line controllers comprises enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call when the received call is from one of the telephone line controllers and when the entity involved in the telephone call operating on the controlled telephone line is not an entity whose calls may not be interrupted.

60. The method of claim 48, the method further comprising determining if time information specified by the first user indicates that the operated call may be interrupted, wherein:

enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call when the received call is from one of the telephone line controllers comprises enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call when the received call is from one of the telephone line controllers and when the time information indicates that the operated call may be interrupted.

61. The method of claim 48, the method further comprising determining if time information specified by the first user indicates that the operated call may not be interrupted, wherein:

enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call when the received call is from one of the telephone line controllers comprises enabling the received call to interrupt the operated call when the received call is from one of the telephone line controllers and when the time information does not indicate that the operated call may be interrupted.

62. The method of claim 48 wherein the telephone line controllers are users of the telephone line.