Call waiting arrangement providing options to both a subsequent calling party and to the called party
First Claim
1. A method of processing a call from a calling communication station to a called communication station comprisingin response to said call, determining whether call waiting is assigned to said called station and said called station is busy,in response to a determination that call waiting is assigned to said called station and said called station is busy, signaling to prompt a caller for a request to interrupt an ongoing call at said called station and to prompt a caller for an auto-callback request,in response to receipt of an interrupt request from said calling station, transmitting an interrupt signal to said called station,after said transmitting, establishing a connection between said calling and called stations only in response to receipt of a signal from said called station, andin response to receipt of an auto-callback request from said calling station and to a return to an idle status of said called station, initiating a new call between said called and calling stations.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved call waiting arrangement where a caller is free to exercise discretion in interrupting ongoing telephone calls because the caller is prompted, for example via an audible announcement, that the called party is busy on another call but that the caller may request interruption of the call by remaining off-hook. If the caller believes that his call is sufficiently important, he requests call interruption by remaining off-hook. If the caller chooses not to interrupt, he may make subsequent call attempts promptly because he knows that the called party is busy on another call rather than being away from home. Alternatively, the caller may activate auto-callback such that a call is completed between the two parties as soon as the status of the called station returns to on-hook.
72 Citations
11 Claims
-
1. A method of processing a call from a calling communication station to a called communication station comprising
in response to said call, determining whether call waiting is assigned to said called station and said called station is busy, in response to a determination that call waiting is assigned to said called station and said called station is busy, signaling to prompt a caller for a request to interrupt an ongoing call at said called station and to prompt a caller for an auto-callback request, in response to receipt of an interrupt request from said calling station, transmitting an interrupt signal to said called station, after said transmitting, establishing a connection between said calling and called stations only in response to receipt of a signal from said called station, and in response to receipt of an auto-callback request from said calling station and to a return to an idle status of said called station, initiating a new call between said called and calling stations.
-
11. A switching arrangement for processing calls among a plurality of communication stations, said arrangement comprising
means, responsive to a call from a calling one of said stations to a called one of said stations, for determining whether call waiting is assigned to said called station and said called station is busy, means, responsive to a determination by said determining means that call waiting is assigned to said called station and said called station is busy, for signaling to prompt a caller for a request to interrupt an ongoing call at said called station and to prompt a caller for an auto-callback request, means, responsive to receipt of an interrupt request from said calling station, for transmitting an interrupt signal to said called station, means for establishing a connection between said calling and called stations only in response to receipt of a signal from said called station after transmission of said interrupt signal by said transmitting means, and means responsive to receipt of an auto-callback request from said calling station and to a return to an idle status of said called station, for initiating a new call between said called and calling stations.
Specification