Access to extended telephone services via the internet

• US 6,381,320 B1
• Filed: 04/14/1999
• Issued: 04/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Creamer, Thomas Edward, Lozinski, Zygmunt Anthony Boleslaw Gerard, Mansey, Pradeep Parsram, Mandalia, Baiju Dhirajlal
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Deane, Jr., William J.
• Application Number:
  US09/291,985
• Time in Patent Office: 1,112 Days
• Field of Search: 379/100.01, 379/90.01, 379/201, 379/200, 379/207, 379/211, 379/212, 379/229, 379/230, 379/215, 379/219
• US Class Current: 379/201.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking

Abstract

The present invention affords a predefined class of authorized users of the PSTN (public switched telephone network) access to extended telephone services through public communication networks external to the PSTN, the latter networks including the web and Internet. Authorized users in the predefined class can receive the extended services at residences, offices, and locations remote from both residences and offices. Authorized users can activate respective extended services through the external networks, and can do so without having to communicate with telephone company, representatives. Resource management intelligence of the PSTN is adapted to link to the external networks for communicating with and delivering extended telephone services to the authorized users. Extended telephone services include variations of presently standard telephone services such as call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding facsimile image transmittal, voice mail, etc. Presently contemplated adaptations of PSTN intelligence include adaptations allowing for the interception of analog telephone signals and the redirection of the intercepted signals in digital form through external data communication networks such as the web. A web user who is also in the class of authorized PSTN users can activate and receive delivery of extended telephone services at a computer linked to the PSTN intelligence through the web, regardless of how and where the connection to the web is made. Thus, the web user can receive the extended services through a telephone line associated with a base telephone account (e.g. a line in a respective residence or office), as well as through a line (telephone or other) separate from and/or remote from the associated telephone line.

Claims

1. In an intelligent peripheral network in a telephone system, said network being responsible for delivering telephone service to users of said telephone system and operating in conformance with requirements of AIN (Advanced Intelligent Network) architecture, a system for delivering extended telephone services to said users;

said extended services being applicable to individual telephone lines subscribed to said services, and enabling a user having an associated telephone line subscribed to said service to control interception and redirection of telephone calls directed to said associated line while the respective user is connected to said telephone system through a telephone line other than said associated line;

said extended services being subject to delivery to said respective user while said associated line is in both idle and active states of uses;

signal communications exchanged directly between said users and said telephone system being arranged in a first predetermined signal format, said system comprising switching apparatus through which telephone communication connections are established relative to said subscribed lines, said system further comprising;

a server interfacing to a data communication network external to said telephone system;

said users obtaining delivery of said extended services by establishing connections to said external network and establishing further connections to said server through said external network;

said extended services being deliverable both while said established connections to said external network include respective subscribed telephone lines to which the services apply and also while said established connections exclude respective subscribed telephone lines to which the services apply;

signal communications in said external network being conducted in a predetermined second signal format different from said first signal format; and

processing elements interfacing between said server and said switching apparatus;

said processing elements being adapted to administer and deliver said extended telephone services to said users only while said users are connected to said server through said external network;

delivery of said extended services requiring said processing elements to be able to intercept and selectively redirect telephone calls directed to said subscribed lines while said lines are idle and respective said users are connected to said processing elements via said external network and said server;

said processing elements also controlling transfers of signals bidirectionally through said switching apparatus in said first format, transfers of signals between said telephone system and said external network in said second format and conversions of said transferred signals between said first and second formats.

2. A system for delivering extended telephone services in accordance with claim 1 wherein said external network is one of a plurality of public data communication networks including the Internet and World Wide Web, said signals in said first format include analog signals representing information, and said signals in said second format include digital signals corresponding to said analog signals, said digital signals representing information corresponding to analog information represented by said, analog signals.

3. A system in accordance with claim 2 wherein said information represented by said analog signals and corresponding digital signals includes information representing speech.

4. A system in accordance with claim 2 wherein said information represented by said analog signals and corresponding digital signals includes information representing facsimile images.

5. A system in accordance with claim 4 wherein said signals in said second format are in an if HTML (hypertext markup language) format which is used in general for transmittal of page images through said Internet and World Wide Web.

6. A system in accordance with claim 3 wherein said information represented by said analog signals and corresponding digital signals includes information representing speech messages recorded by said system.

7. A system in accordance with claim 2 wherein said signals in said second format are in a compressed digital format commonly used in said Internet and World Wide Web.

8. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said extended services include an extended call waiting service for deleting call waiting indications to said users through said extra network, said call waiting indications denoting telephone call activities directed to and awaiting connection to subscribed telephone lines which are instantaneously idle and potentially available to receive telephone calls.

9. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said extended telephone services include extended caller ID service for delivering caller identification indications to said users via said server and external network, said indications denoting origins of said telephone calls directed to said associated line while the respective user is connected to said telephone system through a line other than said associated line.

10. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said extended telephone services include an extended call forwarding service for rerouting a call directed to a said subscribed idle line, through said server and external network, to a compute operated by a respective user and having an instantaneous connection to said server through said external network.

11. In association with an intelligent peripheral (IP) system constituting a service management component of a telephone network, a system for delivering extended telephone services relative individual telephone lines assigned to users of said network, said extended services involving selective redirection of telephone signal functions through a data communication network external to said telephone network at the direction of individual subscribers to said extended services having instantaneous connections to said external data communication network, said delivery system comprising:

means internal to said telephone network for connecting said IP system to said external data communication network, and to individual subscribers to said extended services having instantaneous connections to said external data communication network; and

data processing elements internal to said telephone network for enabling each said individual subscriber to detect telephone calls directed to a specific telephone line to which the respective subscriber'"'"'s extended services apply, both while the respective specific telephone line is instantly being used by that subscriber and while the respective line is not instantly being used by that subscriber, and further enabling the respective subscriber to selectively control redirection of said detected calls to destinations other than said specific respective telephone line.

12. An extended service delivery system in accordance with claim 11 wherein said internal data processing elements are adapted to enable each said individual subscriber to dynamically and variably specify parameters pertinent to redirection of said directed calls, by means of data transmitted through said external network to said processing elements;

said pertinent parameters including a number of unanswered ringing tones to be applied to the associated idle telephone line before a particular call is redirected, and a selected one of a plurality of redirection destinations for each said particular call, said plurality of destinations including equipment present at the subscriber'"'"'s instant location.

13. An extended service delivery system in accordance with claim 11 wherein a subscriber can be connected to said telephone network through a telephone line separate from said respective associated telephone line while receiving extended services to which the subscriber has subscribed including indications of telephone call activities instantly directed to said respective line.

14. An extended service delivery system in accordance with claim 11 wherein said processing elements are adapted for delivery of said extended services relative to a telephone line that is idle but instantaneously connected to equipment for receiving both voice and analog facsimile signals, wherein said processing elements are adapted to distinguish instantly between a voice call and a facsimile transfer call directed to said associated line, and wherein said processing elements are able to indicate the distinguished type of call to a respective subscriber without compromising timing requirements of equipment originating a respective facsimile call.

15. A service delivery system in accordance with claim 14 wherein said processing elements are adapted to be able to redirect a said facsimile call to a respective subscriber, and to convert the signals representing the facsimile information of said call to a format consistent with data transfer formats used in said external data communication network before transmitting respective signals through said external network.

16. A service delivery system in accordance with claim 11 wherein said processing elements are adapted to provide a said subscriber with information indicating that a new call is being directed to the associated idle telephone line as well as information indicating the origin of the respective new call.

17. A service delivery system in accordance with claim 16 wherein said information indicating origin of a respective new call to the associated line is useful to enable the respective subscriber to dynamically vary parameters of application of extended services to an idle associated line on a dynamic and selective basis while a call is waiting to be connected to a subscribed line that is instantly idle;

said parameters including a variable number of unanswered ringing tones to be applied to an associated idle line before another action is undertaken in respect to the waiting call, as well as pre-definition of other action to be taken after the predetermined number of unanswered rings;

said pre-defined action being a specified one of a plurality of actions including;

forwarding the waiting call to the subscriber per se, forwarding the waiting call to a voice mail facility internal to the telephone network and terminating the waiting call with an indication to the respective caller that the call cannot be completed at this time.

18. A service delivery system in accordance with claim 11 including means enabling said processing elements and IP system to deliver said extended services throughout said telephone network to a user of a said associated telephone line, regardless of the location of the respective associated telephone line in said network.