SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING PARTICULARIZED AUDIBLE ALERTS

• US 20110123017A1
• Filed: 01/07/2011
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Somatek, Co.
• Original Assignee: Somatek
• Inventors: Fitchmun, Mark I.
• Granted Patent: US 8,767,953 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/373.02
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/021 Mobile ringtone, i.e. generation, transmission, conversion or downloading of ringing tones or other sounds for mobile telephony; Special musical data formats or protocols herefor mobile telephone transmission specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments G10H2240/251
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/04 the ringing-current being generated at the substations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42051 where the notification is included in the ringing tone
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/005 Transmission of information for alerting of incoming communication

Abstract

A system and method of generating at least two distinctive auditory alerts upon receiving a transmission or telephone call at a device is described. Data indicative of a first plurality of sounds corresponding to a user of a device configured to receive the transmission or telephone call is accessed, such as from a memory. The first plurality of sounds is played at the device so as to identify a received transmission or telephone call being directed to the user. A telephone number, subscriber name or identifier associated with a transmitting or calling party of the transmission or telephone call is accessed. Data indicative of a second plurality of sounds designating the transmitting or calling party based on the subscriber name, telephone number or identifier is retrieved, such as from a data structure, and the second plurality of sounds is played at the device so as to identify the transmitting or calling party.

Claims

1. A method of generating at least two distinctive auditory alerts upon receiving a telephone call at a device, the method comprising:

accessing data indicative of a first plurality of sounds corresponding to a user of a device, the device configured to receive a telephone call;

playing the first plurality of sounds at the device so as to identify a received telephone call being directed to the user, wherein the plurality of sounds are based on phonemes associated with the user, and wherein the sounds do not constitute words of a spoken language;

accessing an identifier associated with a calling party of the telephone call;

retrieving data indicative of a second plurality of sounds designating the calling party based on the identifier; and

playing the second plurality of sounds at the device so as to identify the calling party for the user.

2. The method of claim 1, prior to the accessing, additionally comprising assigning data indicative of the first plurality of sounds corresponding to the user of the device, wherein the data corresponds to a sequence of phonemes associated with the user.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein each sound lacks spectral and temporal complexity and variability of natural phonemes.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein playing the second plurality of sounds comprises playing a portion of the second plurality of sounds concurrently.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein playing the first plurality of sounds is followed by a predetermined period of silence and playing the second plurality of sounds, and wherein the first plurality of sounds, the predetermined period of silence and the second plurality of sounds is repeated, after a time interval, for a predetermined number of times.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a mobile telephone, a wireless telephone, a pager, a two-way radio, or a computing device with a telephone call capability.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of sounds corresponds to multiple instruments and the second plurality of sounds corresponds to one instrument, or the first plurality of sounds corresponds to one instrument and the second plurality of sounds corresponds to multiple instruments, or both the first and second plurality of sounds correspond to multiple instruments.

8. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising selecting the first plurality of sounds corresponding to a user prior to accessing the data indicative of the first plurality of sounds.

9. The method of claim 8, additionally comprising storing the selected first plurality of sounds in a memory.

10. A method of generating at least two distinctive auditory alerts upon receiving a telephone call at a device, the method comprising:

accessing data indicative of a first plurality of sounds corresponding to a user of a device, the device configured to receive a telephone call;

playing the first plurality of sounds at the device so as to identify a received telephone call being directed to the user, wherein the plurality of sounds are based on phonemes associated with the user;

accessing an identifier associated with a calling party of the telephone call;

retrieving data indicative of a second plurality of sounds designating the calling party based on the identifier; and

playing the second plurality of sounds at the device so as to identify the calling party.

11. The method of claim 10, prior to the accessing, additionally comprising assigning data indicative of the first plurality of sounds corresponding to the user of the device, wherein the data corresponds to a sequence of phonemes associated with the user.

12. A method of generating at least two distinctive auditory alerts upon receiving a telephone call at a device, the method comprising:

accessing data indicative of a first plurality of sounds corresponding to a user of a device, wherein the data corresponds to a sequence of phonemes associated with the user, the device configured to receive a telephone call;

playing the first plurality of sounds at the device so as to identify a received telephone call being directed to the user;

accessing an identifier associated with a calling party of the telephone call;

retrieving data indicative of a second plurality of sounds designating the calling party based on the identifier; and

playing the second plurality of sounds at the device so as to identify the calling party.

13. A system for of generating at least two distinctive auditory alerts upon receiving a telephone call at a device, the system comprising:

means for accessing data indicative of a first plurality of sounds corresponding to a user of a device, the device configured to receive a telephone call;

means for playing the first plurality of sounds at the device so as to identify a received telephone call being directed to the user, wherein the plurality of sounds are based on phonemes associated with the user, and wherein the sounds do not constitute words of a spoken language;

means for accessing an identifier associated with a calling party of the telephone call;

means for retrieving data indicative of a second plurality of sounds designating the calling party based on, the identifier; and

means for playing the second plurality of sounds at the device so as to identify the calling party.

14. A method of generating a distinctive auditory alert upon receiving a telephone call at a device, the method comprising:

accessing an identifier associated with a calling party of a telephone call;

retrieving data indicative of a plurality of sounds designating the calling party based on the identifier; and

playing the plurality of sounds at the device so as to identify the calling party, wherein the plurality of sounds are based on phonemes associated with the calling party, and wherein the sounds do not constitute words of a spoken language.

15. A method of generating a distinctive auditory alert upon receiving a telephone call at a device, the method comprising:

accessing an identifier associated with a calling party of a telephone call;

retrieving data indicative of a plurality of sounds designating the calling party based on the identifier; and

playing the plurality of sounds at the device so as to identify the calling party for a user, wherein the plurality of sounds are based on processing a sequence of phonemes associated with the calling party.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein retrieving comprises indexing a data structure based on the identifier, wherein the identifier comprises a caller number identification, an automatic number identification, a calling party'"'"'s telephone number or subscriber name.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein retrieving comprises applying a transformation based on the identifier.

18. The method of claim 16, additionally comprising automatically assigning a particular plurality of sounds corresponding to the calling party.

19. The method of claim 18, additionally comprising storing the assigned particular plurality of sounds and the corresponding identifier of the calling party in the data structure.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein a sequence of the plurality of sounds is unique for each calling party.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of sounds corresponds to one instrument.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of sounds corresponds to multiple instruments, and wherein the sounds of the multiple instruments overlap at times.

23. The method of claim 19, in a subsequent telephone call to the device from a calling party that has previously called the device, additionally comprising:

indexing the data structure based on the identifier of the calling party to retrieve the assigned particular plurality of sounds designating the calling party; and

playing the plurality of sounds in a sequence at the device so as to identify the calling party.

24. A method of generating a distinctive auditory alert upon receiving a transmission at a communication device, the method comprising:

accessing data indicative of a plurality of sounds in a sequence corresponding to a user of a communication device, the communication device configured to receive a transmission, wherein the plurality of sounds comprises combinations of notes, and wherein the combinations of notes at least partially overlap in time; and

playing the plurality of sounds in the sequence at the device so as to identify a received transmission being directed to the user, wherein the plurality of sounds are based on phonemes associated with the user, and wherein the sounds do not constitute words of a spoken language.

25. A method of generating a distinctive auditory alert upon receiving a transmission at a communication device, the method comprising:

accessing data indicative of a plurality of sounds in a sequence corresponding to a user of a communication device, the communication device configured to receive a transmission, wherein the plurality of sounds comprises combinations of notes, and wherein the combinations of notes at least partially overlap in time; and

playing the plurality of sounds in the sequence at the device so as to identify a received transmission being directed to the user, wherein the plurality of sounds are based on a sequence of phonemes associated with the user.