METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING AVAILABILITY OF A REMOTE PARTY BASED ON INTERACTION WITH COUPLED DEVICES
First Claim
1. A method of determining an availability of a remote party, comprising the steps of:
- linking a communication device to a remote device associated with the remote party;
monitoring the remote device for a predetermined set of activities indicative of availability or unavailability of the remote party;
analyzing the predetermined set of activities; and
notifying the communication device of the unavailability of the remote party if the predetermined set of activities match a stored set of activities.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method (50) or system (10) of determining availability of a remote party can include a communication device (13, 28 or 30) enabled and authorized to monitor a remote appliance (12, 16, 18, or 19) belonging to the remote party and a processor 11 coupled to the communication device or the remote appliance. The system can monitor (53) the remote appliance for a predetermined set of activities indicative of availability or unavailability of the remote party when the communication device is attempting to communicate with the remote party, analyze (54) the predetermined set of activities, and notify (55) the communication device of the unavailability of the remote party if the predetermined set of activities match a stored set of activities. The system can prevent or enable (56) a call or an alert if the predetermined set of activities match or fail to match the stored set of activities.
6 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of determining an availability of a remote party, comprising the steps of:
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linking a communication device to a remote device associated with the remote party; monitoring the remote device for a predetermined set of activities indicative of availability or unavailability of the remote party; analyzing the predetermined set of activities; and notifying the communication device of the unavailability of the remote party if the predetermined set of activities match a stored set of activities. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system of determining availability of a remote party, comprising:
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a communication device enabled and authorized to monitor a remote appliance associated with the remote party; and a processor coupled to the communication device or the remote appliance, wherein the processor is programmed to; monitor the remote appliance for a predetermined set of activities indicative of availability or unavailability of the remote party when the communication device is attempting to communicate with the remote party; analyze the predetermined set of activities; and notify the communication device of the unavailability of the remote party if the predetermined set of activities match a stored set of activities. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An appliance, comprising:
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a transceiver for communicating with a communication device; and a processor coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processor is programmed to; monitor the appliance for a predetermined set of activities indicative of availability or unavailability of a remote party associated with the appliance, the monitoring being performed when the communication device is attempting to communicate with the remote party; analyze the predetermined set of activities; and notify the communication device of the unavailability of the remote party associated with the appliance if the predetermined set of activities match a stored set of activities. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification