ENHANCED TELEPHONY COMPUTER USER INTERFACE ALLOWING USER INTERACTION AND CONTROL OF A TELEPHONE USING A PERSONAL COMPUTER

• US 20090207991A1
• Filed: 02/12/2009
• Published: 08/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Jancke, Gavin, Gupta, Anoop, Boyle, Michael, Narin, Attila, Cadiz, Jonathan Jay
• Granted Patent: US 8,635,554 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/212.10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2473 Telephone terminals interfacing a personal computer, e.g. using an API (Application Programming Interface) details of API H04M7/0021
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2478 Telephone terminals specially adapted for non-voice services, e.g. email, internet access centralized arrangements where telephones services are combined H04M7/0024; for recording text messages H04M3/5322; for accessing Internet H04M3/4938
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27475 using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/575 Means for retrieving and displaying personal data about calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/576 associated with a pictorial or graphical representation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/00 Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/042 with variable loudness of the ringing tone, e.g. variable envelope or amplitude of ring signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/558 Databases
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile

Abstract

An enhanced telephony (ET) computer user interface that seamlessly integrates features of a personal computer (PC) and a telephone into a coherent user interface. The user is provided with a rich variety of functionality that leverages the fact that the PC has considerably more processing power and greater access to variety of data than the ordinary telephone. This processing power and data access is used to the user'"'"'s advantage as the telephone'"'"'s capabilities and functionality are greatly expanded. In general, the ET user interface includes a plurality of environments for the user to choose. These environments include a My Contacts environment, a communication preferences environment, and a Call History environment. Each of these environments contains certain available processes and features for controlling and managing telephones.

Claims

1-85. -85. (canceled)

86. A method in a computing device for transferring an incoming call, the method comprising:

receiving by the computing device an indication that a first telephone having a first telephone number is receiving an incoming call;

displaying by the computing device to a user an indication that the first telephone is receiving an incoming call and a transfer option to transfer the incoming call to a second telephone having a second telephone number;

receiving by the computing device from the user a selection of the transfer option; and

in response to receiving the selection of the transfer option, directing by the computing device that the incoming call be transferred to the second telephone

wherein the user can transfer the incoming call that is directed to the first telephone to the second telephone that is nearer to the user than the first telephone.

87. The method of claim 86 wherein the transfer option is a quick transfer button identifying the second telephone.

88. The method of claim 86 wherein the displaying further includes displaying an indication of telephones to which the incoming call may be transferred.

89. The method of claim 88 wherein the telephone to which the incoming call may be transferred includes a telephone identified based on information derived from a calendar of the user.

90. The method of claim 89 wherein a telephone is identified based on current location of the user as indicated by the calendar of the user.

91. The method of claim 86 wherein the user defines the telephones to which the incoming call may be transferred.

92. The method of claim 86 including displaying an option to transfer the incoming call to voice mail.

93. The method of claim 86 including displaying an option to silence ringing of the telephone that is receiving the incoming call.

94. A computer-readable storage medium for controlling a computing device with a processor and memory to transfer an incoming call, by a method comprising:

receiving by the computing device an indication that a first telephone is receiving an incoming call;

displaying by the computing device to a user an indication that the first telephone is receiving an incoming call and a transfer option to transfer the incoming call to one of a plurality of alternative telephones to which the incoming call may be transferred, at least one of the alternative telephones being nearer to the user than the first telephone;

receiving by the computing device from the user a selection of the transfer option including a selection of one of the alternative telephones; and

in response to receiving the selection of the transfer option, directing by the computing device the incoming call to be transferred to the selected alternative telephone.

95. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 94 wherein the transfer option is a quick transfer button and a drop-down list identifying the alternative telephones.

96. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 95 including populating a list of alternative telephones based on information derived from a calendar of the user.

97. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 94 wherein an alternative telephone is identified based on current location of the user as indicated by the calendar of the user.

98. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 94 including displaying an option to transfer the incoming call to voice mail.

99. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 94 including displaying an option to silence ringing of the telephone that is receiving the incoming call.

100. A computing device with a processor and memory for transferring an incoming call, comprising:

a component that receives an indication that a first telephone with a first telephone number is receiving an incoming call;

a component that displays to a user an indication that the first telephone is receiving an incoming call, a quick transfer button, and a drop-down list of alternative telephones with alternative telephone numbers to which the incoming call may be transferred, the drop-down list being populated with an alternative telephone identified based on current location of the user as identified from a calendar of the user;

a component that receives a selection of the quick transfer button and a selection of one of the alternative telephones; and

a component that, in response to receiving the selections, directs that the incoming call be transferred from the first telephone to the selected alternative telephone

wherein the components are implemented as instructions stored in the memory for execution by the processor.

101. The computing device of claim 100 wherein the component that displays further displays an option to transfer the incoming call to voice mail and including a component that, in response to receiving an indication that the user has selected the option to transfer the incoming call to voice mail, transfers the incoming call to voice mail.

102. The computing device of claim 100 wherein the component that displays further displays an option to silence a telephone that is receiving the incoming call and including a component that, in response to receiving an indication that the user has selected the option to silence the ringing, directs the silencing of the ringing of the incoming call.