METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR TOUCH-FREE CALL HANDLING

• US 20070121853A1
• Filed: 09/22/2006
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BCE Incorporated
• Original Assignee: BCE Incorporated
• Inventors: DAWSON, Jeffrey
• Granted Patent: US 9,014,346 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/142.10
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/578 associated with a synthesized vocal announcement
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2011 Service processing based on information specified by a party before or during a call, e.g. information, tone or routing selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42204 Arrangements at the exchange for service or number selection by voice at the terminal H04M1/27
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/907 Speech recognition via telephone system or component

Abstract

A method, apparatus and computer-readable medium for handling incoming calls destined for a called party. The method comprises detecting arrival of an incoming call destined for the called party and attempting to reach the called party by causing a communication device associated with the called party to emit a voice message soliciting a spoken call handling command from the called party. This allows the called party not only to recognize the calling party, but also to decide whether to accept, reject or forward the incoming call without having to physically manipulate the communication device. The network-based example of implementation is compatible with many existing communication devices and has the ability to query the calling party for identification information, whereas the communication device-based example of implementation is compatible with many existing network architectures, and does not require the called party to subscribe to any particular network service.

Claims

1. A method of handling incoming calls destined for a called party, said method comprising:

detecting arrival of an incoming call destined for the called party;

attempting to reach the called party by causing a communication device associated with the called party to emit a voice message soliciting a spoken call handling command from the called party.

2. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving information regarding an origin of the incoming call;

wherein the voice message conveys said information regarding an origin of the incoming call.

3. The method defined in claim 2, further comprising formulating the voice message by text-to-speech conversion of said information regarding an origin of the incoming call.

4. The method defined in claim 3, wherein said information regarding an origin of an incoming call is derived from CLID information.

5. The method defined in claim 4, wherein said information regarding an origin of an incoming call comprises a telephone number.

6. The method defined in claim 4, wherein said information regarding an origin of an incoming call comprises a name.

7. The method defined in claim 2, wherein the incoming call originates from a calling party, the method further comprising prompting the calling party to provide said information regarding an origin of the incoming call.

8. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving information regarding an origin of the incoming call;

consulting a database to obtain information associated with said information regarding the origin of the incoming call;

wherein the voice message conveys said associated information.

9. The method defined in claim 8, wherein said associated information comprises text, the method further comprising formulating the voice message by text-to-speech conversion of said associated information.

10. The method defined in claim 8, wherein said associated information comprises a speech segment, the method further comprising formulating the voice message by concatenating the speech segment with other speech segments.

11. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a signal produced by a microphone at the communication device;

processing the signal in an attempt to detect a spoken call handling command potentially contained therein.

12. The method defined in claim 11, wherein processing the signal comprises applying speech recognition to recognize one out of a plurality of possible spoken handling commands.

13. The method defined in claim 11, further comprising:

responsive to detection of a specific spoken call handling command in the signal, handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command.

14. The method defined in claim 13, wherein the incoming call originates from a calling party, wherein the specific spoken call handling command is a command to answer the call and wherein said handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command comprises establishing a voice communication path between the calling party and the called party.

15. The method defined in claim 14, further comprising sending a signal to cause the communication device to acquire an off-hook state to allow the voice communication path to be established.

16. The method defined in claim 13, wherein the incoming call originates from a calling party, wherein the specific spoken call handling command is a command to reject the call and wherein handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command comprises signaling to the calling party that communication with the called party cannot be established.

17. The method defined in claim 13, wherein the incoming call originates from a calling party, wherein the specific spoken call handling command is a command to forward the call to an entity other than the called party and wherein handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command comprises establishing voice communication path between the calling party and the entity other than the called party.

18. The method defined in claim 17, wherein the entity other than the called party is a voice mail system.

19. The method defined in claim 1, implemented in a network entity connected to the communication device via a communication link.

20. The method defined in claim 19, wherein causing the communication device to emit the voice message comprises sending an electronic signal to the communication device, the electronic signal conveying the voice message.

21. The method defined in claim 19, wherein causing the communication device to emit the voice message comprises sending a trigger to the communication device to cause the communication device to emit the voice message.

22. The method defined in claim 19, further comprising sending a signal to cause the communication device to acquire an off-hook state to allow the communication device associated with the called party to emit the voice message.

23. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising identifying the called party.

24. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising identifying the called party from a destination telephone number associated with the incoming call.

25. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising determining whether the called party subscribes to a service that enables calls to be handled by the called party in a touch-free manner.

26. The method defined in claim 25, wherein causing the communication device to emit the voice message is performed only if said determining step is positive.

27. The method defined in claim 1, implemented in the communication device.

28. The method defined in claim 27, further comprising sending a signal to a network entity, said signal causing the network entity to infer that the communication device is in an off-hook state.

29. A computer readable storage medium containing a program element for execution by a functional entity to enable handling incoming calls destined for a called party, the program element including:

program code means for detecting arrival of an incoming call destined for the called party; and

program code means for attempting to reach the called party by causing a communication device associated with the called party to emit a voice message soliciting a spoken call handling command from the called party.

30. Apparatus for communication with a communication device associated with a called party, comprising:

a controller adapted for detecting arrival of an incoming call destined for the called party;

a voice-activated call handling functional unit adapted for attempting to reach the called party by causing the communication device to emit a voice message soliciting a spoken call handling command from the called party.

31. The apparatus defined in claim 30, the controller being further adapted for obtaining information regarding a destination of the incoming call.

32. The apparatus defined in claim 31, further comprising a database for maintaining an association between destination telephone numbers and destination coordinates.

33. The apparatus defined in claim 32, wherein said information regarding a destination of the incoming call comprises a particular destination telephone number associated with the incoming call.

34. The apparatus defined in claim 33, the controller being further adapted for consulting said database in an attempt to obtain the destination coordinates corresponding to the particular destination telephone number.

35. The apparatus defined in claim 34, the communication device having an IP address, the destination coordinates corresponding to the particular destination telephone number being indicative of the IP address of the communication device.

36. The apparatus defined in claim 35, the communication device having an electronic serial number, the destination coordinates corresponding to the particular destination telephone number being indicative of the electronic serial number of the communication device.

37. The apparatus defined in claim 36, the communication device being reachable via a PSTN telephone line, the destination coordinates corresponding to the particular destination telephone number being indicative of the PSTN telephone line via which the communication device can be reached.

38. The apparatus defined in claim 30, the controller being further adapted for:

receiving information regarding an origin of the incoming call;

wherein the voice message conveys said information regarding an origin of the incoming call.

39. The apparatus defined in claim 38, the voice-activated call handling functional unit being further adapted for formulating the voice message by text-to-speech conversion of said information regarding an origin of the incoming call.

40. The apparatus defined in claim 39, wherein said information regarding an origin of an incoming call is derived from CLID information.

41. The apparatus defined in claim 40, wherein said information regarding an origin of an incoming call comprises a telephone number.

42. The apparatus defined in claim 40, wherein said information regarding an origin of an incoming call comprises a name.

43. The apparatus defined in claim 38, wherein the incoming call originates from a calling party, the controller being further adapted for prompting the calling party to provide said information regarding an origin of the incoming call.

44. The apparatus defined in claim 30, the controller being further adapted for:

receiving information regarding an origin of the incoming call;

consulting a database to obtain information associated with said information regarding the origin of the incoming call;

wherein the voice message conveys said associated information.

45. The apparatus defined in claim 44, wherein said associated information comprises text, the voice-activated call handling functional unit being further adapted for formulating the voice message by text-to-speech conversion of said associated information.

46. The apparatus defined in claim 44, wherein said associated information comprises a speech segment, the voice-activated call handling functional unit being further adapted for formulating the voice message by concatenating the speech segment with other speech segments.

47. The apparatus defined in claim 30, the voice-activated call handling functional unit being further adapted for:

receiving a signal produced by a microphone at the communication device;

processing the signal in an attempt to detect a spoken call handling command potentially contained therein.

48. The apparatus defined in claim 47, wherein processing the signal comprises applying speech recognition to recognize one out of a plurality of possible spoken handling commands.

49. The apparatus defined in claim 47, the voice-activated call handling functional unit being further adapted for:

responsive to detection of a specific spoken call handling command in the signal, handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command.

50. The apparatus defined in claim 49, wherein the incoming call originates from a calling party, wherein the specific spoken call handling command is a command to answer the call and wherein said handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command comprises establishing a voice communication path between the calling party and the called party.

51. The apparatus defined in claim 49, wherein the incoming call originates from a calling party, wherein the specific spoken call handling command is a command to reject the call and wherein handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command comprises signaling to the calling party that communication with the called party cannot be established.

52. The apparatus defined in claim 49, wherein the incoming call originates from a calling party, wherein the specific spoken call handling command is a command to forward the call to an entity other than the called party and wherein handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command comprises establishing voice communication path between the calling party and the entity other than the called party.

53. The apparatus defined in claim 52, wherein the entity other than the called party is a voice mail system.

54. The apparatus defined in claim 30, the voice-activated call handling functional unit being further adapted for sending a signal to cause the communication device to acquire an off-hook state to allow the communication device associated with the called party to emit the voice message.

55. The apparatus defined in claim 30, the controller being further adapted for determining whether the called party subscribes to a service that enables calls to be handled by the called party in a touch-free manner.

56. The apparatus defined in claim 55, wherein causing the communication device to emit the voice message is performed only if said determining step is positive.

57. A communication device, comprising:

a network interface for communicating with a network entity over a portion of a network;

a functional entity connected to the network interface;

a speaker;

a microphone;

the functional entity adapted for;

a) detecting arrival of an incoming call via the network interface;

b) attempting to reach a potential user of the communication device by causing the speaker to emit a voice message soliciting a spoken call handling command from the potential user of the communication device;

c) receiving a signal produced by the microphone; and

d) processing the signal in an attempt to detect a spoken call handling command potentially contained therein.

58. The communication device defined in claim 57, the functional entity being further adapted for:

receiving information regarding an origin of the incoming call;

wherein the voice message conveys said information regarding an origin of the incoming call.

59. The communication device defined in claim 58, the functional entity being further adapted for formulating the voice message by text-to-speech conversion of said information regarding an origin of the incoming call.

60. The communication device defined in claim 59, wherein said information regarding an origin of an incoming call is derived from CLID information.

61. The communication device defined in claim 60, wherein said information regarding an origin of an incoming call comprises a telephone number.

62. The communication device defined in claim 60, wherein said information regarding an origin of an incoming call comprises a name.

63. The communication device defined in claim 57, the control entity being further adapted for:

receiving information regarding an origin of the incoming call;

consulting a database to obtain information associated with said information regarding the origin of the incoming call;

wherein the voice message conveys said associated information.

64. The communication device defined in claim 63, wherein said associated information comprises text, the control entity being further adapted for formulating the voice message by text-to-speech conversion of said associated information.

65. The communication device defined in claim 63, wherein said associated information comprises a speech segment, the control entity being further adapted for formulating the voice message by concatenating the speech segment with other speech segments.

66. The communication device defined in claim 57, wherein processing the signal comprises applying speech recognition to recognize one out of a plurality of possible spoken handling commands.

67. The communication device defined in claim 57, the control entity being further adapted for:

responsive to detection of a specific spoken call handling command in the signal, handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command.

68. The apparatus defined in claim 67, wherein the incoming call originates from a calling party, wherein the specific spoken call handling command is a command to answer the call and wherein said handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command comprises sending a signal to the network entity simulating an off-hook condition of the communication device.

69. The apparatus defined in claim 67, wherein the incoming call originates from a calling party, wherein the specific spoken call handling command is a command to forward the call to an entity other than the called party and wherein handling the incoming call in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command comprises sending a signal to the network entity identifying the entity other than the called party.

70. The apparatus defined in claim 69, wherein the entity other than the called party is a voice mail system.