User supervision and notification

• US 20080075242A1
• Filed: 10/12/2006
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Daniell, William Todd, Kent, Larry
• Granted Patent: US 8,437,460 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.12
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/66 with means for preventing unauthorised or fraudulent calling verifying user identity or authority in secret or secure digital communications H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0033 Notification or handling of incoming calls by a computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, systems, and devices for user supervision and notification. In this regard, one embodiment of such a method, among others, can be broadly summarized by the following: monitoring activities performed by a telephone device; and notifying a user of the activities performed by the telephone and identification of users performing the activities, notification of activities being made by the telephone device.

Claims

1. A method of supervision and notification comprising:

monitoring activities performed by a telephone device; and

notifying a user of the activities performed by the telephone device and identification of the users performing the activities, notification of the activities being made by the telephone device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the notifying a user comprises sending an electronic message to the user via the telephone device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the notifying a user comprises making a phone call to the user via the telephone device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the phone call is a PSTN phone call.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the phone call is an Internet phone call.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

authenticating a person before allowing the person to make use of the telephone device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a set of rules on which users of the telephone device are allowed to perform certain activities on the telephone device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

sending a message to the user to allow a prohibited activity when a current user of the telephone device is requesting to perform an activity that is not allowed by the set of rules maintained on the telephone device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the message comprises an instant message having options for either authorizing the prohibited activity or not authorizing the prohibited activity.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the activities comprise an outgoing call and the notification of the activities is sent before the outgoing call is connected with a called party.

11. A computer readable medium having a computer supervision and notification program comprising:

monitoring activities performed by a telephone device; and

notifying a user of the activities performed by the telephone device and identification of the users performing the activities, notification of the activities being made by the telephone device.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the notifying a user comprises sending an electronic message to the user via the telephone device.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the notifying a user comprises making a phone call to the user via the telephone device.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the phone call is a PSTN phone call.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the phone call is an Internet phone call.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising:

authenticating a person before allowing the person to make use of the telephone device.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprising:

maintaining a set of rules on which users of the telephone device are allowed to perform certain activities on the telephone device.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, further comprising:

sending a message to the user to allow a prohibited activity when a current user of the telephone device is requesting to perform an activity that is not allowed by the set of rules maintained on the telephone device.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the message comprises an instant message having options for either authorizing the prohibited activity or not authorizing the prohibited activity.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the activities comprise an outgoing call and the notification of the activities is sent before the outgoing call is connected with a called party.

21. A system of supervision and notification comprising:

first logic of a telephone device configured to monitoring activities performed by the telephone device; and

second logic of the telephone device configured to notify a user of the activities performed by the telephone device and identification of the users performing the activities, notification of the activities being made by the telephone device.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the user is notified by sending an electronic message to the user via the telephone device.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the user is notified by making a phone call to the user via the telephone device.

24. The system of claim 21, further comprising:

third logic of the telephone device configured to authenticate a person before allowing the person to make use of the telephone device.