Method and system for managing in-vehicle telephony
First Claim
1. A method of processing telephone calls using a first telephone and a second telephone each located within a vehicle and each interoperating with a vehicle audio system that is also located within the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a first call handled by the first telephone to a user via the vehicle audio system;
notifying the user of a second call handled by the second telephone while the first call is active;
processing an instruction from the user to suspend the first call and to provide the second call on the vehicle audio system, wherein the first call is placed in a hold queue within the vehicle audio system without terminating the first call;
maintaining a connection between the hold queue in the vehicle audio system and the first telephone while the second call remains active to thereby continue the first call even though the first and second calls are handled by different telephones that are each located within the vehicle; and
in response to a subsequent instruction from the user, restoring the first call from the hold queue and again providing the first call to the user via the vehicle audio system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A technique for processing telephone calls from a plurality of telephone sources in a vehicle audio system suitably includes providing a first call using a first one of the telephone sources to a user via the vehicle audio system, notifying the user of a second call received via a second one of the telephone sources while the first call is active, and processing an instruction from the user to either suspend the first call and accept the second call or to continue providing the first call. The technique may be implemented in a vehicle audio system that includes an onboard telephone, and may be adapted to work with wireless or other portable telephones carried by drivers and passengers in the vehicle.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of processing telephone calls using a first telephone and a second telephone each located within a vehicle and each interoperating with a vehicle audio system that is also located within the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a first call handled by the first telephone to a user via the vehicle audio system; notifying the user of a second call handled by the second telephone while the first call is active; processing an instruction from the user to suspend the first call and to provide the second call on the vehicle audio system, wherein the first call is placed in a hold queue within the vehicle audio system without terminating the first call; maintaining a connection between the hold queue in the vehicle audio system and the first telephone while the second call remains active to thereby continue the first call even though the first and second calls are handled by different telephones that are each located within the vehicle; and in response to a subsequent instruction from the user, restoring the first call from the hold queue and again providing the first call to the user via the vehicle audio system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A vehicle audio system located within a vehicle for processing telephone calls using a first telephone and a second telephone each located within the vehicle, the system comprising:
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means for providing a first call handled by the first telephone to a user via the vehicle audio system; means for notifying the user of a second call handled by the second telephone while the first call remains active; means for processing an instruction from the user to suspend the first call and to provide the second call on the vehicle audio system, wherein the first call is placed in a hold queue within the vehicle audio system without terminating the first call; means for maintaining a connection between the hold queue in the vehicle audio system and the first telephone while the second call remains active to thereby continue the first call even though the first and second calls are handled by different telephones that are each located within the vehicle; and means for restoring the first call from the hold queue and for again providing the first call to the user via the vehicle audio system in response to a subsequent instruction from the user.
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- 12. An audio system for processing telephone calls using a first telephone and a second telephone that are each located within a vehicle, the system comprising at least one audio speaker, a user interface and a controller communicating with each of the first and second telephones, wherein the controller is configured to provide a first call from a first telephone to a user via the at least one audio speaker, to notify the user of a second call handled by the second telephone while the first call is active, and to process an instruction received from the user at the user interface to suspend the first call and accept the second call over the at least one audio speaker, wherein the first call is suspended by placing the first call in a hold queue without terminating the first call, and wherein the first call is restored from the hold queue in response to a subsequent instruction from the user and is again provided to the user via the at least one audio speaker, wherein the hold queue is configured to maintain a connection with the first telephone while the second call remains active to thereby continue the first call even though the first and second calls are handled by different telephones each located within the vehicle.
Specification