METHOD, APPARATUS AND PROGRAM FOR PROVIDING USER-SELECTED ALERTING SIGNALS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICES

• US 20080089511A1
• Filed: 12/03/2007
• Published: 04/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Elliott, Brig
• Granted Patent: US 9,112,997 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/399.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/041 Encoding the ringing signal, i.e. providing distinctive or selective ringing capability

Abstract

A method for operating a user communication device (18a, 18b, 19a, 19b), and a program and user communication device that operate in accordance with that method. An interface (2d, 2b, 23, 22) of the communication device (18a, 18b, 19a, 19b) is operated to enter identifiers identifying respective calling sources (18a, 18b, 19a, 19b) from which call signals may be received. The interface also is operated for entering into the device (18a, 18b, 19a, 19b) electrical signals representing corresponding audible signals that are to be individually generated in response to calls being received from the respective calling sources (18a, 18b, 19a, 19b). The identifiers are stored in a memory (2c, 24) in association with respective ones of the electrical signals. Accordingly, when a call signal is later received from one of the calling sources, an identifier included in the signal is correlated to a corresponding stored identifier and to a corresponding stored electrical signal, and the audible signal represented by that electrical signal is then generated to indicate the receipt of the call from the calling source.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A method for operating a user communication device, comprising the steps of:

providing a digital representation of an audible signal, in a memory of the user communication device;

entering information through an interface of the user communication device, specifying that a call be placed from the user communication device to a destination communication device; and

in response to the entering step, forwarding a call signal that includes the digital representation of the audible signal, towards the destination communication device, through an external interface.

12. A method as set forth in claim 11, wherein the user communication device comprises at least one of a telephone and a radiotelephone.

13. A method as set forth in claim 11, wherein the providing step comprises the steps of:

applying the audible signal to the interface of the user communication device, and producing a corresponding analog signal within the device;

converting the analog signal to the digital representation; and

storing the digital representation in the memory of the user communication device.

14-23. -23. (canceled)

24. A user communication device, comprising:

a memory storing a digital representation of an audible signal;

a communication interface coupled to an external interface;

an input-user interface; and

a controller coupled to said memory, said communication interface, and said input-user interface, said controller being responsive to receiving from said input-user interface information specifying that a call be placed to a destination communication device for retrieving the digital representation from said memory and forwarding a call signal that includes the retrieved digital representation through said communication interface towards the destination communication device.

25. A user communication device as set forth in claim 24, wherein the user communication device comprises at least one of a telephone and a radiotelephone.

26. A user communication device as set forth in claim 24, further comprising:

a further input-user interface having an input, and also having an output coupled to said controller, said further input-user interface being responsive to the audible signal being applied to that input for outputting a corresponding analog signal in said device;

a converter interposed between said further input-user interface and said controller, said converter for converting the analog signal to the digital representation, and wherein said controller is responsive to receiving the digital representation from said converter for storing the digital representation in said memory.

27-35. -35. (canceled)

36. A program product comprising program code for executing a method for operating a user communication device, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a digital representation of an audible signal, in a memory of the user communication device;

entering information through an interface of the user communication device, specifying that a call be placed from the user communication device to a destination communication device; and

in response to the entering step, forwarding a call signal that includes the digital representation towards the destination communication device, through an external interface.

37. A program product as set forth in claim 36, wherein the providing step comprises the steps of:

generating an analog signal in the user communication device in response to the audible signal being applied to the interface, the analog signal representing the audible signal;

converting the analog signal to the digital representation of the audible signal; and

storing the digital representation in the memory of the user communication device.

38. A method for operating a communication system that comprises a plurality of user communication devices, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a digital representation of an audible signal in each of a plurality of memory locations of a memory of a first one of the plurality of user communication devices;

forwarding a call signal from a second one of the user communication devices towards the first user communication device; and

in response to the call signal being received at the first user communication device, selecting one of the plurality of memory locations; and

generating the audible signal represented by the digital representation provided in the memory location selected in the selecting step.

39. A method as set forth in claim 38, wherein each of the user communication devices comprises one of a telephone, a radiotelephone, and an information appliance.

40. A method as set forth in claim 38, wherein the providing step comprises the steps of:

applying audible signals to an input of a user input-interface of the first user communication device, and producing corresponding analog signals in that device;

in response to the inputting step, converting each individual analog signal to a corresponding one of the digital representations; and

storing each individual digital representation in a respective one of the memory locations of the memory of the first user communication device.

41. A method as set forth in claim 38, wherein the step of selecting one of the plurality of memory locations is performed based on predetermined information included in the received call signal.

42. A method as set forth in claim 38, further comprising the step of determining at least one of a date and a time at which the call signal is received at the first user communication device, and wherein the step of selecting one of the plurality of memory locations is performed based on a result of the determining step.

43. A method as set forth in claim 38, wherein the selecting step is performed by randomly selecting one of the plurality of memory locations.

44. A method as set forth in claim 38, further comprising a step of operating an input-user interface of the first user communication device to input information into that device specifying that one of the plurality of memory locations be selected, and wherein the selecting step is performed by selecting the memory location specified by the inputted information.

45. A method as set forth in claim 38, wherein the generating step is performed by generating the audible signal at predetermined time intervals.

46. A method as set forth in claim 38, wherein the providing step includes a step of downloading each digital representation from the Internet, and into the memory of the first user communication device.

47. A method as set forth in claim 38, wherein the communication system also comprises at least one communication network having a storage device storing each digital representation, the first and second user communication devices are communicatively coupled to the at least one communication network, and the providing step comprises the steps of:

providing each digital representation from the storage device of the at least one communication network to the first user communication device; and

storing each digital representations provided to the first user communication device in a respective one of the memory locations of the memory of the first user communication device.

48. A method as set forth in claim 47, wherein the plurality of user communication devices are communicatively coupled to the at least one communication network, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

providing each digital representation in a memory of one of the user communication devices besides the first user communication device;

communicating each digital representation from the memory of the one user communication device to the at least one network; and

storing each digital representation in the storage device of the at least one network, prior to providing each digital representation from the storage device to the first user communication device.

49. A method as set forth in claim 48, further comprising the step of communicating a request for each digital representation from one of the first and second user communication devices to the at least one communication network, and wherein the step of providing each digital representation from the storage device to the first user communication device is performed in response to the request being received in the at least one communication network.

50. A method as set forth in claim 49, wherein the step of communicating the request is performed a plurality of times at respective predetermined time intervals.

51. A method as set forth in claim 50, wherein the storage device includes a plurality of memory locations, each storing a respective digital representation of a corresponding audible signal, and wherein the providing step comprises the steps of:

selecting at least one of the plurality of memory locations of the storage device; and

storing the digital representation from the at least one memory location selected in that selecting step to the memory of the first user communication device.

52. A method as set forth in claim 51, further comprising the step of communicating information specifying that the at least one memory location of the storage device be selected, from the first user communication device to the at least one communication network, and wherein the step of selecting the at least one memory location of the storage device is performed in response to that information being received in the at least one communication network.

53. A method for operating a communication system comprising a plurality of user communication devices, the method comprising the steps of:

initiating a call at a first one of the user communication devices, for being placed to a second one of the user communication devices;

inserting a digital representation of an audible signal into a call signal used for placing the call;

forwarding the call signal towards the second user communication device; and

in response to receiving the call signal at the second user communication device, generating the audible signal based on the digital representation included in the call signal.

54. A method as set forth in claim 53, wherein each of the user communication devices comprises one of a telephone, a radiotelephone, and a user information appliance.

55. A method as set forth in claim 53, further comprising the steps of:

applying the audible signal to an input of a user interface of the first user communication device, and generating a corresponding analog signal in the first user communication device; and

converting the analog signal to the digital representation, wherein the inserting step is performed by inserting that digital representation in the call signal, within the user communication device.

56. A method as set forth in claim 55, further comprising the steps of:

determining at least one acoustic characteristic of the audible signal, based on the digital representation;

comparing the at least one acoustic characteristic determined in the determining step to at least one predetermined acoustic characteristic; and

scaling the digital representation based on a result of the comparing step, to normalize the at least one acoustic characteristic of the audible signal.

57. A method as set forth in claim 53, wherein the call signal includes predetermined information, and further comprising the step of determining whether the predetermined information included in the call signal corresponds to information stored in a memory of the second user communication device, in response to the call signal being received at the second user communication device, and wherein the generating step is performed in response to determining that the predetermined information does correspond to the information stored in the memory of the second user communication device.

58. A method as set forth in claim 53, wherein the communication system also comprises at least one communication network having a storage device storing the digital representation of the audible signal, the first and second user communication devices are communicatively coupled to the at least one communication network, and the method further comprises the steps of:

prior to the inserting step, transmitting the call signal from the first user communication device, through at least a portion of the at least one communication network; and

in response to the call signal being received in the at least one communication network, retrieving the digital representation from the storage device, wherein the inserting step is performed by inserting the digital representation retrieved from the storage device in the call signal.

59. A method as set forth in claim 58, wherein the at least one communication network includes at least a portion of the Internet.

60-67. -67. (canceled)

68. A communication system, comprising:

a first user communication device comprising a first communication interface, a memory, an input user interface, and a controller coupled to the first communication interface, the memory, and the input user interface, the memory storing a digital version of an audible signal, the controller being responsive to receiving from the input user interface information specifying that a call be placed from the first user communication device for forwarding a call signal that includes the digital representation from the memory through an external interface coupled to the first communication interface; and

a second user communication device comprising a second communication interface coupled to the external interface, and an audible signal generator portion coupled to the second communication interface, wherein the audible signal generator portion is responsive to receiving the call signal from the second communication interface for generating the audible signal based on the digital representation included in the call signal.

69. A communication system as set forth in claim 68, wherein each of the first and second user communication devices comprises one of a telephone, a radiotelephone, and a user information appliance.

70. A communication system as set forth in claim 68, wherein the call signal includes predetermined information, the second user communication device also comprises a memory, and the audible signal generator portion is responsive to receiving the call signal for determining whether the predetermined information included in the call signal corresponds to information stored in the memory of the second user communication device, and generates the audible signal in response to determining that the predetermined information does correspond to the information stored in the memory of the second user communication device.

71. A communication system, comprising:

a first user communication device, comprising a first communication interface, an input user interface, and a controller coupled to the first communication interface and the input user interface, the controller being responsive to receiving from the input user interface information specifying that a call be placed from the first user communication device, for forwarding a call signal through the first communication interface;

at least one communication network, having a second communication interface coupled to the first communication interface of said first user communication device, and also having a third communication interface, said at least one communication network comprising a message station and a storage device coupled to the message station, wherein the storage device stores a digital representation of at least one audible signal, and the message station is responsive to receiving the call signal for (a) retrieving the digital representation from the storage device, (b) inserting the retrieved digital representation in the call signal, and (c) forwarding the call signal through the third communication interface; and

a second user communication device comprising a fourth communication interface coupled to the third communication interface of the at least one communication network, and also comprising an audible signal generator portion coupled to the fourth communication interface, wherein the audible signal generator portion is response to receiving the call signal for generating the audible signal based on the digital representation included in the call signal.

72. A communication system as set forth in claim 71, wherein the at least one communication network includes at least a portion of the Internet.

73-83. -83. (canceled)

84. A communication system, comprising:

a first user communication device comprising first communication interface means coupled to an external interface, and control means operable for forwarding a call signal through the first communication interface means; and

a second user communication device comprising storage means, second communication interface means coupled to the external interface, and alerting signal generator means coupled to the storage means and the second communication interface means, wherein the storage means includes a plurality of memory locations, each of which store a digital representation of a corresponding user-perceptible signal, and the alerting signal generator means is responsive to the call signal being received through the second communication interface means for selecting one of the memory locations and for generating the user-perceptible alerting signal represented by the digital representation stored in the selected one of the memory locations.

85. A user communication device, comprising:

storage means;

input means for inputting (a) identifiers identifying respective ones of a plurality of calling sources from which call signals may be received, and (b) signals representing respective ones of a plurality of user-perceptible alerting signals that are to be individually generated in response to calls being received from respective ones of the calling sources; and

control means coupled to said storage means and said input means, said controller being responsive to receiving from said input means at least one of the identifiers and at least one corresponding signal for storing the at least one signal in association with the at least one identifier in said storage means.

86-88. -88. (canceled)