Method and apparatus for selectively establishing communication with one of plural devices associated with a single telephone number

• US 7,274,782 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2006
• Issued: 09/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Ascendent Telecommunications Incorporated (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Forte, Stephen P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong; Harry S.
• Application Number:
  US11/604,740
• Publication Number:
  US 20070127680A1
• Time in Patent Office: 301 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201.01, 379/201.02, 379/201.12, 379/207.02, 379/211.02, 379/211.03, 379/211.04, 379/219, 379/220.01, 379/221.01, 379/231, 379/232, 455/414.1, 455/445, 455/461, 455/462, 455/463, 455/554.1, 455/555, 455/560
• US Class Current: 379/201.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42263 where the same subscriber uses different terminals, i.e. nomadism
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/465 Arrangements for simultaneously calling a number of substations until an answer is obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/009 in systems involving PBX or KTS networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/16 WPBX [Wireless Private Branch Exchange]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A system for (and a method of) selectively establishing communication with one of plural devices associated with a single telephone number is provided. In a preferred embodiment, the system includes a wireless connect unit connected between an enterprise private branch exchange (PBX) network and a public switched telephone network. The wireless connect unit preferably serves as a gateway between the PBX and one or more remote communication devices. The remote devices can be used as standard PBX office telephones for both inbound and outbound telephone calls. Thus, features of the PBX network (e.g., voice mail, direct extension dialing, corporate calling plan, etc.) are available to the remote device even though they are not physically connected to the PBX. When the system receives an incoming call, it can route the call to an office telephone and one or more of the remote devices simultaneously or as desired by the user.

Claims

1. An apparatus for establishing communication between a first telephone call placed to a landline telephone and a wireless device, the landline telephone being associated with a primary telephone number and a first network, the wireless device being associated with a second network, the system comprising:

a computer readable storage medium, said storage medium storing a secondary telephone number associated with the primary telephone number and corresponding to the wireless device; and

a telephony engine coupled to said computer readable storage medium and a first port adapted to be connected to a telephone extension associated with the primary telephone number, said engine adapted to retrieve the secondary telephone number from the storage medium upon detection of the first telephone call via the first port, said engine adapted to place a second telephone call to the secondary telephone number and to bridge the first telephone call to the wireless device when the wireless device answers the second telephone call before the landline telephone answers the first telephone call.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second telephone calls occur substantially simultaneously with each other.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said engine is adapted to detect the first telephone call by detecting a ringing of the landline telephone at the extension.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is a personal digital assistant.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a cellular telephone and said apparatus provides a message to the cellular telephone inquiring whether the first telephone call is to be accepted.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first telephone network is a private branch exchange, the second telephone network is coupled to the system via a public switched telephone network, and said engine is adapted to bridge the first telephone call by connecting the first port to a second port connected to the public switched telephone network.

7. A system for establishing communication between a first telephone call placed to a telephone extension and a wireless device, the apparatus comprising:

a database, said database storing connection information associating a primary telephone number and the telephone extension to the wireless device and a second telephone number associated with the wireless device; and

a processor in communication with the database and being coupled to a first port adapted to be connected to the telephone extension associated with the primary telephone number, said processor adapted to detect the first telephone call via the first port, retrieve the secondary telephone number from the database, place a second telephone call to the secondary telephone number, and to bridge the first telephone call to the wireless device when the wireless device answers the second telephone call.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a property management system, wherein said processor further comprises a property management system interface for exchanging information between the property management system and said database.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said connection information is retrieved from said property management system prior to being stored in said database.

10. The system of claim 8 further comprising an accounting system, wherein said processor further comprises a billing interface for exchanging information between the accounting system and said database.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said processor obtains immediate billing information from the accounting system.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the database comprises information regarding activity on the first port.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the information regarding activity on the first port comprises one of call status, call initiation and call termination information.

14. An apparatus for providing communication between a first communication device having a first communication number and a first extension associated with a first communication network and a second communication device associated with a second communication network, the apparatus comprising:

a connect database, said database storing connection information associating the first communication number and extension to the second communication device and a second communication number associated with the second communication device, the second communication device being a wireless device;

a plurality of communication ports, a first port being connected to the extension and a second port being connected to the second communication network via a public switched telephone network; and

a processor, said processor adapted to connect a first communication placed to the first communication device and detected via the first port to the second communication device via the second port based on the associated connection information from the database.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first communication network is an enterprise private branch exchange and the second communication network is a wireless carrier network located remotely from the first communication network.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said processor is further adapted to provide the wireless device access to features of the first communication network so that the wireless device operates substantially identically as the first communication device.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said processor is adapted to provide a dial tone on the wireless device via the second port.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second communication device is a personal digital assistant.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first communication is detected by detecting a ringing of the first communication device via the first port.