Communication system with configurable shared line privacy feature
First Claim
1. A telephone system having a shared line for connection to a plurality of telephone devices, the telephone system comprising:
- a memory to store a listing that includes a caller designated as private to a first telephone device of the plurality of telephone devices; and
means for alerting only the first telephone device when an incoming call from the caller to the shared line is received by the telephone system.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A PBX system with a shared line connected to a plurality of telephone devices includes one or more processors that control a connection for an incoming call from a caller, the one or more processors being operable to access a listing that includes one or more callers or calling numbers designated as private to a first telephone device. The one or more processors being further operable to send an alert to only the first telephone device in the event that the one or more callers or the calling numbers in the listing includes a caller or calling number associated with the incoming call. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. 37 CFR 1.72(b).
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A telephone system having a shared line for connection to a plurality of telephone devices, the telephone system comprising:
-
a memory to store a listing that includes a caller designated as private to a first telephone device of the plurality of telephone devices; and
means for alerting only the first telephone device when an incoming call from the caller to the shared line is received by the telephone system.
-
-
2. A private branch exchange (PBX) system for an enterprise comprising:
-
a first interface to connect with a line of a network;
a second interface to connect with a shared line of the enterprise, the shared line being connected to a plurality of telephone devices;
one or more processors that control a connection between the line and one or more of the telephone devices on the shared line for an incoming call;
a module coupled to the one or more processors that contains a listing that includes one or more callers or calling numbers designated as private to a first telephone device of the plurality of telephone devices;
the one or more processors being operable to access the listing in the module in response to the incoming call, and to send an alert to only the first telephone device in the event that the one or more callers or the calling numbers in the listing includes a caller or calling number associated with the incoming call. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A private branch exchange (PBX) system for an enterprise comprising:
-
a first interface to connect with a line of a network;
a second interface to connect with a shared line of the enterprise, the shared line being connected to a plurality of telephone devices;
one or more processors that control a connection between the line of the network and one or more of the telephone devices on the shared line for an incoming call from a caller, the one or more processors being operable to send a message back to the caller in response to the incoming call, the message requesting an input from the caller designating the incoming call as private to a party associated with a first telephone device of the one or more telephone devices on the shared line, in response to the input the one or more processors sending an alert to only the first telephone device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A processor-implemented method of handling an incoming call from a caller to a shared line comprising:
-
receiving an incoming call from a caller;
accessing a listing that includes one or more callers or calling numbers designated as private to a first telephone device of a plurality of telephone devices connected to the shared line;
sending an alert only to the first telephone device in the event that the one or more callers or the calling numbers in the listing includes the caller. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
-
Specification