Implied principal busy status indicator for covered calls

• US 4,790,004 A
• Filed: 12/10/1986
• Issued: 12/06/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avaya Technology Corporation Miami Lakes FLA US
• Original Assignee: AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, AT&T INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• Inventors: Nalbone, Robert D.
• Primary Examiner(s): BROWN, THOMAS
• Application Number:
  US06/940,141
• Time in Patent Office: 727 Days
• Field of Search: 379/211, 379/210, 379/213, 379/214, 379/215, 379/164, 379/157, 379/165, 379/267, 379/218
• US Class Current: 379/214.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/51 Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention , e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5108 Secretarial services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/546 in private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 9/003 Transmission of control signals from or to the key telephone set; signalling equipment at key telephone set, e.g. keyboard or display equipment keyboard equipment in semi-automatic systems H04M3/62

Abstract

The subject implied principal busy status indicator provides all covering users with an indication of the busy/idle status of the principal'"'"'s line on a covered call. This is accomplished by equipping each covering user'"'"'s telephone station set with a principal busy status indicator for every line appearance on the covering user'"'"'s telephone station set. When a covered call is diverted from a principal'"'"'s line to the covering user'"'"'s telephone station set, the line appearance on which the covered call appears is lighted and the principal busy status indicator associated with the covering user'"'"'s line appearance indicates the busy/idle status of the principal'"'"'s line. The business communication system updates the state of the principal busy status indicator so the covering user knows when the called principal'"'"'s line is idle.

Claims

1. In a business communication system, a method for providing call coverage for a plurality of principal telephone station sets by a plurality of covering station sets of a predetermined call coverage path and each of said covering station sets having a plurality of pairs of indicators with a call appearance one of the indicators of each pair displaying a call appearance and a status one of the indicators of each pair capable of displaying the status of any of said plurality of principal telephone station sets, and method comprising the steps of:

determining in response to a covered call from a calling party directed to one of said principal telephone station sets the availablity of a first one of said covering station sets in said predetermined call coverage path to handle said covered call;

determining the availability of a second one of said covering station sets in said predetermined call coverage path to handle said covered call upon said first one of said covering station sets being unavailable;

routing said covered call to said second one of said covering station sets upon said second one of said covering station sets being available;

selecting one of said pairs of indicators of said second one of said covering station sets to service said covered call;

displaying the presence of said covered call at said second one of said covering station sets via the call appearance indicator of the selected pair of indicators;

initially displaying the status of said one of said principal telephone station sets via the status indicator of said selected pair of indicators thereby allowing a user of said second one of said covering station sets to assist said calling party;

continually displaying said current status of said one of said principal telephone station sets upon said calling party wanting to wait until said current status of said one of said principal telephone station sets changes to an idle status; and

continuously determining the current status of said one of said principal telephone station sets thereby informing said user of said second one of said covering station sets when said covered call can be connected to said one of said principal telephone station sets by actions of said user of said second one of said covering station sets.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein each of said covering station sets further comprises an alphanumeric display and said step of intitially displaying further comprises the step of displaying the name of the principal user of said one of said principal station sets on said second one of said station sets.

3. A business communication system for providing call coverage for a plurality of principal telephone station sets in a predetermined call coverage path, and said business communication system comprising:

a plurality of covering station sets for said predetermined call coverage path and each of said covering station sets having a plurality of pairs of indicators with a call appearance one of the indicators of each pair displaying a call appearance and a status one of the indicators of each pair capable of displaying the status of any of said plurality of principal telephone station sets;

means for determining in response to a covered call from a calling party directed to one of said principal telephone station sets the availability of a first one of said covering station sets in said predetermined call coverage path to handle said covered call;

means for determining the availablity of a second one of said covering station sets in said predetermined call coverage path to handle said covered call upon said first one of said covering station sets being unavailable;

means for routing said covered call to said second one of said covering station sets upon said second one of said covering station sets being available;

means for selecting one of said pairs of indicators of said second one of said covering station sets to service said covered call;

means for displaying the presence of said covered call at said second one of said covering station sets via the call appearance indicator of the selected pair of indicators;

means for initially displaying the status of said one of said principal telephone station sets via the status indicator of said selected pair of indicators thereby allowing a user of said second one of said covering station sets to assist said calling party;

means for continually displaying said current status of said one of said principal telephone station sets upon said calling party wanting to wait until said current status of said one of said principal telephone station sets changes to an idle status; and

means for continuously determining the current status of said one of said principal telephone station sets thereby informing said user of said second one of said covering station sets when said covered call can be connected to said one of said principal telephone station sets by actions of said user of said second one of said covering station sets.

4. The business communication system of claim 3 wherein each of said covering station sets further comprises an alphanumeric display and said means for initially displaying further comprises means for displaying the name of the principal user of said one of said principal station sets on said second one of said station sets.