Call parking and paging system and method of operation

• US 6,236,716 B1
• Filed: 02/11/1998
• Issued: 05/22/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tumbleweed Holdings LLC (Equitable IP Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Joseph, Joel J. Jr., King, Susan M., Hoekstra, Randy M., Marcus, Nicholas R. D., Weiss, Richard A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Foster, Roland G.
• Application Number:
  US09/021,796
• Time in Patent Office: 1,196 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/76, 379/88.15, 379/88.16, 379/88.23, 379/88.24, 379/88.25, 379/88.26, 379/217, 379/210, 379/211, 379/212, 455/31.1, 455/31.2, 455/31.3, 455/403, 455/414, 455/415, 455/417, 340/825.44
• US Class Current: 379/88.15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/022 Paging systems personal calling arrangements or devices G08B3/1008; selective calling networks H04W84/022
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/428 Arrangements for placing incoming calls on hold

Abstract

A call parking and paging system includes a call parking entity and a paging entity. The call parking entity receives a call and automatically parks the call, in some operations against a designated resource. The paging entity provides a page based upon an intended recipient of the call. Upon receiving a response to the page, the call parking and paging system may then assist in delivering the parked call. The call parking and paging system may be supported by a PBX, by a telephone system central exchange or by another communication system. Additional features may include a voice processing system, a validation entity, a directory system, a messaging system and an information database. Paging resources support voice pages, electronic pages and email that apprise the intended recipient of the parked call. The call parking and paging system may be accessed directly via a dialed number or from a call greeting system or may be invoked by an attendant or by a caller when attempted delivery to a particular extension fails. The validation entity may validate a request to issue a page and/or a request to receive a parked call. The call parking and paging system may direct pages intelligently by locating the intended recipient and then sending the page based upon a determined location. The call parking and paging system may deliver calls to designated parking extensions, ordinary extensions, a wireless phone or even a computer supporting voice communications. The call parking and paging system may also deliver the parked call to an alternative location or recipient, to the messaging system, to an attendant or to a call greeting system.

Claims

1. A premises based call parking and paging system that serves a plurality of possible intended recipients, the call parking and paging system comprising:

a switch that receives a call from a caller on a telephone number corresponding to a plurality of possible intended recipients, wherein a first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients are assigned telephone extensions that are coupled to the switch, and wherein a second set of the plurality of possible intended recipients are not assigned telephone extensions;

a directory system coupled to the switch that interacts with the caller to allow the caller to identify an intended recipient from the plurality of possible intended recipients;

a call parking entity coupled to the switch;

a paging entity coupled to the switch;

wherein, when the intended recipient is one of the first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients, the switch routes the call to a corresponding assigned telephone extension;

wherein, when the intended recipient is one of the second set of the plurality of possible intended recipients, the switch routes the call to the call parking entity, the call parking entity automatically parks the call, and the paging entity provides a voice announcement corresponding to the intended recipient of the call;

wherein, when the intended recipient is one of the first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients and the intended recipient does not receive the call at the corresponding assigned telephone extension, the switch optionally routes the call to the call parking entity, the call parking entity automatically parks the call, and the paging entity provides a voice announcement corresponding to the intended recipient of the call; and

the call parking entity, upon receipt of a response from the intended recipient, delivering the call to the intended recipient.

2. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, further comprising a messaging system, wherein the call parking entity delivers the call to the messaging system when the intended recipient does not respond to the voice announcement.

3. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, wherein the call parking entity parks the call against a designated resource automatically selected from a plurality of designated resources.

4. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, wherein, when the intended recipient does not answer the voice announcement, the call parking and paging system allows the caller to select another intended recipient.

5. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, wherein, after the paging entity provides the voice announcement, the call is delivered to one of a plurality of designated paging extensions.

6. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, further comprising a validation entity that validates a request to deliver the call in response to the voice announcement.

7. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, further comprising a validation entity that validates the caller'"'"'s selection of the intended recipient.

8. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, wherein the directory system includes a voice processing system that receives voice input from the caller and determines the intended recipient based upon the voice input.

9. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, wherein the directory system provides a listing of the plurality of possible intended recipients from which the caller may select the intended recipient.

10. The call parking and paging system of claim 9, further comprising a voice processing system used in conjunction with the directory system to select the intended recipient.

11. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, further comprising a server computer interface that allows the call parking and paging system to interface with a server computer.

12. The call parking and paging system of claim 11, wherein:

the paging entity interacts with the server computer to determine a paging area corresponding to a most likely physical location of the intended recipient; and

the paging entity delivers the voice announcement to the paging area corresponding to the most likely physical location of the intended recipient.

13. The call parking and paging system of claim 11, wherein the paging entity is communicatively coupled to a security system and the security system determines the most likely physical location of the intended recipient within a premises served by the security system.

14. The call parking and paging system of claim 11, wherein:

the server computer provides cross reference information between the intended recipient and a plurality of paging areas; and

the paging entity directs a page to at least one paging area of the plurality of paging areas based upon the cross reference information.

15. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, wherein the call parking entity delivers the call to an attendant when the voice announcement is not answered.

16. The call parking and paging system of claim 1, further comprising an interface to a premises based wireless network.

17. The call parking and paging system of claim 16, wherein:

the paging entity determines a physical location of the intended recipient based upon interaction with the premises based wireless network; and

the paging entity delivers the voice announcement based upon the physical location of the intended recipient.

18. The call parking and paging system of claim 16, wherein the call parking entity delivers the call to a mobile unit supported by the premises based wireless network when the intended recipient does not respond to the voice announcement.

19. A method of servicing a call incoming to a premises, the method comprising:

receiving a call from a caller on a telephone number corresponding to a plurality of possible intended recipients, wherein a first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients are assigned telephone extensions, and wherein a second set of the plurality of possible intended recipients are not assigned telephone extensions;

interacting with the caller to allow the caller to identify an intended recipient from the plurality of possible intended recipients;

when the intended recipient is one of the first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients, routing the call to a corresponding assigned telephone extension;

when the intended recipient is one of the second set of the plurality of possible intended recipients, parking the call and providing a voice announcement corresponding to the intended recipient of the call;

when the intended recipient is one of the first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients and the intended recipient does not receive the call at the corresponding assigned telephone extension, optionally parking the call and providing a voice announcement corresponding to the intended recipient of the call; and

upon receipt of a response from the intended recipient, delivering the call to the intended recipient.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising delivering the call to a messaging system when the intended recipient does not respond to the voice announcement.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the call is parked against a designated resource selected from a plurality of designated resources.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising, after a timeout period within which the intended recipient does not answer the voice announcement, allowing the caller to select another intended recipient.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising delivering the call to one of a plurality of designated paging extensions based upon a response from the intended recipient.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising validating the caller'"'"'s selection of the intended recipient.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein validating the caller'"'"'s selection of the intended recipient employs voice processing.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising validating a request to receive the call.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein validating a request to receive the call employs voice processing.

28. The method of claim 19, wherein the caller selects the intended recipient of the call from a directory.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein voice processing is employed to allow the caller to select the intended recipient.

30. The method of claim 19, further comprising determining a potential location of the intended recipient.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising delivering the voice announcement based upon the potential location of the intended recipient.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein determining the potential location of the intended recipient includes interacting with a server computer.

33. The method of claim 30, further comprising cross referencing an identity of the intended recipient to stored data to determine the potential location of the intended recipient within at least one a paging area of a plurality of paging areas and directing the voice announcement to the at least paging area based upon the potential location.

34. The method of claim 19, further comprising delivering the incoming call to an attendant when the voice announcement is not answered.

35. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining a potential location of the intended recipient based upon interaction with a premises based wireless network; and

delivering the voice announcement based upon the potential location.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising delivering the incoming call to a mobile unit supported by the premises based wireless network.

37. The method of claim 19, wherein the call is received from the public switched telephone network.

38. The method of claim 19, wherein the call is received from a call greeting system.

39. The method of claim 19, wherein the call is received by direct dial access.

40. The method of claim 19, wherein the call is received upon a transfer from an non-answering serviced extension.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the intended recipient is determined based upon an identity of the non-answering serviced extension.

42. The method of claim 19, further comprising notifying the intended recipient of the call using a non-voice message.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the non-voice message is selected from the group consisting of email, a call waiting light, a call waiting display and a call waiting tone indication.

44. The method of claim 29, wherein the intended recipient is determined based upon a spoken name of the intended recipient.

45. A computer readable medium that is readable by a premises based telephone switch, the computer readable medium comprising:

a first set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to receive a call from a caller on a telephone number corresponding to a plurality of possible intended recipients, wherein a first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients are assigned telephone extensions serviced by the premises based telephone switch, and wherein a second set of the plurality of possible intended recipients are not assigned telephone extensions;

a second set instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to interact with the caller to allow the caller to identify an intended recipient from the plurality of possible intended recipients;

a third set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to, when the intended recipient is one of the first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients, route the call to a corresponding assigned telephone extension;

a fourth set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to, when the intended recipient is one of the second set of the plurality of possible intended recipients, park the call and provide a voice announcement corresponding to the intended recipient of the call;

a fifth set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to, when the intended recipient is one of the first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients and the intended recipient does not receive the call at the corresponding assigned telephone extension, optionally park the call and provide a voice announcement corresponding to the intended recipient of the call; and

a sixth set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to, upon receipt of a response from the intended recipient, deliver the call to the intended recipient.

46. The computer readable medium of claim 45, further comprising a seventh set instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to deliver the call to a messaging system when the intended recipient does not respond to voice announcement.

47. The computer readable medium of claim 45, wherein the call is parked against a designated resource that is automatically selected from a plurality of designated resources.

48. The computer readable medium of claim 45, further comprising a seventh set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to, when the intended recipient does not answer the voice announcement, allow the caller to select another intended recipient.

49. The computer readable medium of claim 45, further comprising a seventh set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to deliver the call to one of a plurality of designated paging extensions.

50. The computer readable medium of claim 45, further comprising a seventh set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to validate the caller'"'"'s selection of the intended recipient.

51. The computer readable medium of claim 50, wherein validating the caller'"'"'s selection of the intended recipient employs voice processing.

52. The computer readable medium of claim 45, further comprising a seventh set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to validate a voice announcement request.

53. The computer readable medium of claim 52, wherein the premises based telephone switch employs voice processing to validate the voice announcement request.

54. The computer readable medium of claim 45, further comprising a seventh set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to provide a directory from which the intended recipient may be selected.

55. The computer readable medium of claim 54, wherein selection of the intended recipient employs voice processing.

56. The computer readable medium of claim 45, further comprising a seventh set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to determine a potential location of the intended recipient.

57. The computer readable medium of claim 56, further comprising an eighth set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to deliver the voice announcement based upon the potential location of the intended recipient.

58. The computer readable medium of claim 56, further comprising an eighth set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to interact with a security system to determine the potential location of the intended recipient.

59. The computer readable medium of claim 56, further comprising an eighth set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to cross reference an identity of the intended recipient to stored data to determine the potential location of the intended recipient and to direct the voice announcement to at least paging area based upon the potential location.

60. The computer readable medium of claim 45, further comprising a seventh set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to deliver the call to an attendant when the voice announcement is not answered.

61. The computer readable medium of claim 45, further comprising a seventh set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to determine a potential location of the intended recipient based upon interaction with a premises based wireless network and to deliver the voice announcement based upon the potential location.

62. The computer readable medium of claim 61, further comprising an eighth set of instructions that, when executed by the premises based telephone switch, cause the premises based telephone switch to further deliver the call to a mobile unit supported by the premises based wireless network.

63. A private branch exchange that services a premises, comprising:

a switch that receives a call from a caller on a telephone number corresponding to a plurality of possible intended recipients and that routes the call, wherein a first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients are assigned telephone extensions that are coupled to the switch, and wherein a second set of the plurality of possible intended recipients are not assigned telephone extensions;

a call parking entity coupled to the switch;

a directory system coupled to the switch that interacts with the caller to allow the caller to identify an intended recipient from the plurality of possible intended recipients;

a paging entity coupled to the switch;

wherein, when the intended recipient is one of the first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients, the switch routes the call to a corresponding assigned telephone extension;

wherein, when the intended recipient is one of the second set of the plurality of possible intended recipients, the switch routes the call to the call parking entity, the call parking entity automatically parks the call, and the paging entity provides a voice announcement corresponding to the intended recipient of the call;

wherein, when the intended recipient is one of the first set of the plurality of possible intended recipients and the intended recipient does not receive the call at the corresponding assigned telephone extension, the switch optionally routes the call to the call parking entity, the call parking entity automatically parks the call, and the paging entity provides a voice announcement corresponding to the intended recipient of the call; and

the call parking entity, upon receipt of a response from the intended recipient, delivering the call to the intended recipient.

64. The private branch exchange of claim 63, further comprising a messaging system, wherein the call parking entity delivers the call to the messaging system when the intended recipient does not respond to the voice announcement.

65. The private branch exchange of claim 63, wherein the call parking entity parks the call against a designated resource automatically selected from a plurality of designated resources.

66. The private branch exchange of claim 63, wherein, when the intended recipient does not answer the voice announcement, the directory system allows the caller to select another intended recipient.

67. The private branch exchange of claim 66, wherein the call is delivered to one of a plurality of designated paging extensions.

68. The private branch exchange of claim 63, further comprising a validation entity that validates the request for delivery.

69. The private branch exchange of claim 63, further comprising a validation entity that validates the caller'"'"'s selection of the intended recipient.

70. The private branch exchange of claim 63, further comprising a voice processing system used in conjunction with the directory system to determine the intended recipient based upon the voice input.

71. The private branch exchange of claim 63, wherein the directory system provides a listing of the plurality of possible intended recipients from which the caller may select the intended recipient.

72. The private branch exchange of claim 71, further comprising a voice processing system used in conjunction with the directory system to select the intended recipient.

73. The private branch exchange of claim 63, further comprising a server computer interface that allows the telephone switch to interface with a server computer.

74. The private branch exchange of claim 73, wherein:

the paging entity interacts with the server computer to determine a voice announcement zone corresponding to a most likely physical location of the intended recipient; and

the paging entity delivers the voice announcement to the voice announcement zone corresponding to the most likely physical location of the intended recipient.

75. The private branch exchange of claim 74, wherein the server computer supports a security system and the security system determines the most likely physical location of the intended recipient within a premises served by the security system.

76. The private branch exchange of claim 73, where:

the server computer provides cross reference information between intended recipients and a plurality of paging areas; and

the paging entity directs a page to at least one paging area of the plurality of paging areas based upon the cross reference information.

77. The private branch exchange of claim 63, wherein the call parking entity delivers the call to an attendant when the voice page is not answered.

78. The private branch exchange of claim 63, further comprising an interface to a premises based wireless network.

79. The private branch exchange of claim 78, wherein:

the paging entity determines a physical location of an intended recipient based upon interaction with the premises based wireless network; and

the paging entity delivers the voice announcement based upon the physical location of the intended recipient.

80. The private branch exchange of claim 78, wherein the call parking entity delivers the call to a mobile unit supported by the premises based wireless network when the intended recipient does not respond to the voice announcement.

81. The private branch exchange of claim 63, wherein the private branch exchange is installed within a central office of a telephone service provider.

82. The private branch exchange of claim 63, wherein the private branch exchange resides within the premises.