Mobile Telephony Combining Voice and Ancillary Information
First Claim
1. A telephone handset system, comprising:
- a programmable processor for executing program instructions;
an input peripheral device, coupled to the processor, for receiving user inputs;
a display, coupled to the processor; and
at least one memory resource, coupled to the central processing unit, and comprising program memory for storing program instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the telephone handset system to perform a plurality of operations for placing a telephone call, the plurality of operations comprising;
receiving, from the input peripheral device, a user input selecting a recipient of the telephone call;
receiving, from the input peripheral device, a user input indicating a first attribute of ancillary information regarding the caller; and
transmitting signals corresponding to a telephone call to the selected recipient, the transmitted signals comprising signals corresponding to voice information and the first attribute of ancillary information.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A telephone handset, such as a mobile telephone handset, capable of transmitting and receiving ancillary information such as an emotional state or the context of a telephone call, in advance of or in connection with the call. In one embodiment of the invention, the calling party selects various ancillary information such as current emotional state, an urgency level, and a purpose of the call, for transmission with the voice information in the call to the intended recipient. According to another embodiment of the invention, a calling phone or receiving phone accesses an online social networking service to retrieve current status information regarding the intended recipient or calling party, respectively. According to another embodiment of the invention, current state information from functions such as a GPS receiver, accelerometer, or calendar function on board with the telephone handset are used to generate and transmit a visual indicator of the user of the handset.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A telephone handset system, comprising:
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a programmable processor for executing program instructions; an input peripheral device, coupled to the processor, for receiving user inputs; a display, coupled to the processor; and at least one memory resource, coupled to the central processing unit, and comprising program memory for storing program instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the telephone handset system to perform a plurality of operations for placing a telephone call, the plurality of operations comprising; receiving, from the input peripheral device, a user input selecting a recipient of the telephone call; receiving, from the input peripheral device, a user input indicating a first attribute of ancillary information regarding the caller; and transmitting signals corresponding to a telephone call to the selected recipient, the transmitted signals comprising signals corresponding to voice information and the first attribute of ancillary information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A telephone handset system, comprising:
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a programmable processor for executing program instructions; an input peripheral device, coupled to the processor, for receiving user inputs; a display, coupled to the processor; and at least one memory resource, coupled to the central processing unit, and comprising program memory for storing program instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the telephone handset system to perform a plurality of operations for engaging in a telephone call, the plurality of operations comprising; responsive to initiation of the telephone call with a party, identifying one of a plurality of contacts stored in the at least one memory resource as corresponding to the party; transmitting a query to an online social networking service with an identifier corresponding to the identified contact; receiving signals from the online social networking service in response to the query regarding the identified contact; displaying a visual indicator, on the display, corresponding to the received signals from the online social networking service; and transmitting and receiving signals corresponding to voice information in the telephone call with the party. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of operating a telephone handset to place a telephone call, comprising the steps of:
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selecting a recipient of the telephone call; inputting, into the telephone handset, a first attribute of ancillary information regarding the caller; and transmitting signals corresponding to a telephone call to the selected recipient, the transmitted signals comprising signals corresponding to voice information and the first attribute of ancillary information. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of engaging in a telephone call with a party using a telephone handset, comprising:
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identifying one of a plurality of contacts stored in a memory resource as corresponding to the party of the telephone call; transmitting a query to an online social networking service with an identifier corresponding to the identified contact; receiving signals from the online social networking service in response to the query regarding the identified contact; displaying a visual indicator, on a display of the telephone handset, the visual indicator corresponding to the received signals from the online social networking service; and transmitting and receiving signals corresponding to voice information in the telephone call with the party. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification