Call management system

• US 7,213,073 B1
• Filed: 11/20/2000
• Issued: 05/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Broadsoft Incorporated (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadsoft Incorporated (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Slavin, Bryan A.
• Primary Examiner(s): WINDER, PATRICE L
• Application Number:
  US09/715,068
• Time in Patent Office: 2,353 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.01, 379/88.17, 379/93.01, 379/93.17, 379/201.04, 379/204.01, 709/227, 709/228, 709223-224, 709/230
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/42 Graphical user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0012 Details of application programming interfaces [API] for telephone networks; Arrangements which combine a telephonic communication equipment and a computer, i.e. computer telephony integration [CPI] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 9/00 Arrangements for interconnection not involving centralised switching

Abstract

A computer system provides, via a network, at least one telephone feature to a telephone of a user. The computer system receives instructions regarding the telephone feature via the network from a graphical user interface operating on a computer of the user. The network may include a bi-directional protocol layer and a uni-directional protocol layer. The computer system may send a refresh request to the graphical user interface to prompt the computer to request an update.

Claims

1. A computer system to provide at least one telephone feature to a telephone of a user, the computer system receiving instructions regarding said at least one telephone feature via a network from a graphical user interface operating on a computer of the user, wherein the network comprises a bi-directional protocol layer to communicate between the computer system and the computer, to support bi-directional communication and to support pulling of information by the computer from the computer system, and a uni-directional protocol layer to communicate from the computer system to the computer, to support pushing of information from the computer system to the computer, the computer system comprising:

an application server to interact with the telephone of the user and to provide said at least one telephone feature for the telephone; and

a network server layer to interact with the application server, to interact via the network with the computer of the user, and to provide via the network the graphical user interface to the computer, the graphical user interface to operate said at least one telephone feature for the telephone of the user via the network, the network server layer, and the application server.

2. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the network server layer prompts the computer to request from the network server layer an update of a call state of the telephone.

3. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the network server layer provides to the graphical user interface an update of a call state of the telephone.

4. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the network server layer updates the graphical user interface on the computer to represent an idle call state when no calls are present on the telephone and a non-idle state when at least one call is present on the telephone.

5. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the network server layer updates the graphical user interface on the computer for a call on the telephone transitioning from one state to another state.

6. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the network server layer provides to the graphical user interface an update of accessibility to said at least one telephone feature.

7. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the network server layer interacts via the network with the computer using a client push protocol, and the network server layer interacts with the application server using a call client protocol.

8. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the computer system communicates with the computer via the network using two transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) sockets.

9. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein a network server layer of said computer system synchronizes a call state of the telephone of the user with a representation of the call state for the graphical user interface.

10. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein said at least one telephone feature comprises a multiple-line telephone feature.

11. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein said at least one telephone feature comprises at least one feature selected from the group consisting of:

a dial number feature;

a transfer feature;

an answer/talk feature;

a hold feature;

a release feature; and

a conferencing feature.

12. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface operates in conjunction with a network browser of the computer.

13. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface comprises an area to display updateable configurable information relevant to the user.

14. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a web portal.

15. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface comprises an area to display a message from a personalized information provider.

16. A computer system

as in claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a first icon to access a network site of an organization and a second icon to dial the telephone number of the organization using at least one of the telephone features.

17. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the telephone of the user is unknown to the computer system prior to the computer receiving the graphical user interface from the computer system.

18. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the telephone of the user is a mobile telephone.

19. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the telephone of the user is a public pay telephone.

20. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the telephone of the user is a direct dial-in telephone.

21. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the telephone of the user is a single-line telephone.

22. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein the computer system further provides at least one telephone feature to another telephone of the user, the computer system further receiving instructions regarding said at least one telephone feature for said another telephone via the network from the computer of the user.

23. A computer system as in claim 22, wherein the computer system receives instructions from the graphical user interface regarding said telephone and said another telephone.

24. A computer system as in claim 22, wherein the instructions received from the graphical user interface correspond to said telephone, and wherein the computer system receives additional instructions regarding said at least one telephone feature via the network from another graphical user interface operating on the computer of the user, said additional instructions corresponding to said another telephone.

25. A computer system as in claim 1, wherein said graphical user interface presents to said user only features to which said user subscribes.

26. The computer system as in claim 1, wherein said network server layer comprises one or more software modules to be executed on said computer system to mediate communications between said application server and said computer.

27. A method comprising the steps of:

providing a graphical user interface via a network to a computer of a user;

controlling a telephone of the user according to input received from the graphical user interface on the computer of the user;

updating the graphical user interface on the computer of the user via the network;

receiving a call information regarding the telephone;

sending a refresh request to the graphical user interface to prompt the computer to request an update on a state of the telephone; and

receiving an update request from the graphical user interface for the update on the state of the telephone.

28. A method as in claim 27, wherein the call information pertains to one of an incoming call for the telephone and an outgoing call for the telephone.

29. A method as in claim 27, further comprising the step of synchronizing a call state of the telephone of the user with a representation of the call state for the graphical user interface.

30. A computer system for performing the method as in claim 27, said computer system comprising a computer to communicate with a computer of a user.

31. The method as in claim 27, further comprising:

providing to said user, via said graphical user interface, only features to which said user subscribes.