Method and apparatus for managing telephone calls

• US 20150003444A1
• Filed: 08/12/2014
• Published: 01/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Walker, Craig Elliott, Fletcher, Donnie Carlton, Paquet, Vincent
• Granted Patent: US 9,942,406 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1076 Screening of IP real time communications, e.g. spam over Internet telephony [SPIT]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/40 Support for services or applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42017 Customized ring-back tones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42127 Systems providing several special services or facilities from groups H04M3/42008 - H04M3/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5335 Message type or catagory, e.g. priority, indication

Abstract

A system and method for managing telephone calls is disclosed. The system includes a central controller that receives and processes telephone calls. The identity of a caller is first determined. Based on predetermined settings designated by an end user, a call is directed to one or more telephones of the end user. Preferably, the end user'"'"'s telephones ring simultaneously. The user may answer any of his/her telephones and choose from among several options of how to handle the call. If the user chooses to answer the call, the call may be transferred to that telephone and the conversation may commence.

Claims

1-29. -29. (canceled)

30. A system for processing calls to called users, comprising:

an inbound controller, coupled to an inbound gateway coupled to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and to a packet network for receiving session initiation protocol (SIP) calls;

an outbound controller, coupled to an outbound gateway coupled to the PSTN and capable of sending SIP calls;

a voicemail database, coupled to a central controller, capable of storing and retrieving communications and designating a priority for each caller and their related voicemail so that a voicemail from high priority callers will be played before voicemail from lesser priority callers, wherein the voicemail messages in the voicemail database are ranked according to desired criteria based at least in part on the frequency of calls by the caller associated with each voicemail message, the designated importance of the caller associated with each voicemail message, and the urgency of the message as designated by the caller associated with each voicemail message, and wherein multiple tiers of priority may be predetermined by the user.

31. A system for processing calls to called users, comprising:

an inbound controller, coupled to an inbound gateway coupled to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and to a packet network for receiving session initiation protocol (SIP) calls;

an outbound controller, coupled to an outbound gateway coupled to the PSTN and capable of sending SIP calls;

a voicemail database, coupled to a central controller, capable of storing and retrieving communications and designating a priority for each caller and their related voicemail so that a voicemail from high priority callers will be played before voicemail from lesser priority callers.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein voicemail messages in the voicemail database are ranked according to desired criteria.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the voicemail messages are ranked based at least in part on the frequency of calls by the caller associated with each voicemail message.

34. The system of claim 32 wherein the voicemail messages are ranked based at least in part on the importance of the caller associated with each voicemail message.

35. The system of claim 32 wherein the voicemail messages are ranked based at least in part on the urgency of the message as designated by the caller associated with each voicemail message.

36. The system of claim 32 wherein multiple tiers of priority may be predetermined by the user.

37. The system of claim 31 wherein the system is further capable of routing an inbound call received from a caller to a called user simultaneously to multiple destination points, including points on the PSTN, configured by the called user.

38. The system of claim 31 wherein the system is further capable of establishing communication with the called user at an answered one of multiple destination points, and, after communication is established at the answered one of multiple destination points, allowing the called user to select from options for the current inbound call including (a) accepting the current inbound call, (b) sending the current inbound call to the voicemail database, (c) connecting the current inbound call to the voicemail database and listening to the inbound call.

39. The system of claim 38 wherein the central controller is further configured to allow the called user to select an option to accept the current inbound call while the caller is connected to the voicemail database and further configured to allow the called user to select whether a voicemail recording ends when the current inbound call is accepted while the caller is connected to the voicemail database and whether the voicemail recording continues when the current inbound call is accepted while the caller is connected to the voicemail database.

40. The system according to claim 31, wherein the system is further configured to allow the called user to select an option to accept the current inbound call and record the current inbound call.

41. The system according to claim 31, wherein the system is further configured to prompt the caller for identity, and thereafter each time the caller calls the called user from the same telephone number, providing the caller'"'"'s identity to the called user without further information being provided by the caller.

42. The system according to claim 31, wherein the system is configured to store in the voicemail database at least the following voicemail data for each of the inbound calls sent to the voicemail database:

audio from each caller, each caller'"'"'s telephone number, each caller'"'"'s name, and a duration of stored audio for each of the inbound calls and further wherein the called user is capable of retrieving information for each of the inbound calls in the voicemail database.

43. The system according to claim 31, wherein the system is configured to allow the called user to select the audible information played to each caller based on an identity of each caller.

44. A computer program product for processing calls to called users, comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium, including computer program instructions recorded on the non-transitory computer readable medium, executable by a processor, for processing the calls, the computer program instructions including:

a call processing module capable of sending and receiving calls in a session initiation protocol (SIP) format and to a public switched telephone network (PSTN);

a voicemail module, executable by the processor, capable of storing and retrieving communications from the calls in a voicemail database and designating a priority for each caller and their related voicemail so that a voicemail from high priority callers will be played before voicemail from lesser priority callers.

45. The computer program product according to claim 44, wherein voicemail messages in the voicemail database are ranked according to desired criteria.

46. The computer program product according to claim 45, wherein the voicemail messages are ranked based at least in part on the frequency of calls by the caller associated with each voicemail message.

47. The computer program product according to claim 45, wherein the voicemail messages are ranked based at least in part on the importance of the caller associated with each voicemail message.

48. The computer program product according to claim 45, wherein the voicemail messages are ranked based at least in part on the urgency of the message as designated by the caller associated with each voicemail message.

49. The computer program product according to claim 45, wherein multiple tiers of priority may be predetermined by the user.