Forked-call ringback replacement system
First Claim
1. A system for customizing a communications network, said system comprising:
- a first communications station associated with a calling party;
a second communications station associated with a called party;
a storage device containing at least one announcement; and
a communications device for initiating a forked or forwarded call to locate said called party at said second communications station;
wherein said forked or forwarded call is initiated by said calling party,wherein at least a portion of a call signal is replaced with at least a portion of said at least one announcement,wherein said at least one announcement is played to said calling party after said initiation of said forked or forwarded call,wherein said at least one announcement is chosen by said called party and is associated with a telephone number of said calling party,wherein said portion of said call signal is replaced after said initiation of said forked or forwarded call but prior to active communication with said called party, andwherein said call signal is selected from a group consisting of ringback signals, busy signals, network redirect signals, call progress signals, network announcement signals, and dial tone signals.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for customizing a communications network, the system including a first communications station associated with a calling party, a second communication station associated with a called party, a storage device containing at least one announcement, and a communications device for initiating a forked or forwarded call to locate the called party at the second communications station. The forked or forwarded call is initiated by the calling party whereby at least a portion of a call signal is replaced with at least a portion of the announcement. The announcement is associated with the calling party and is chosen by the called party and played to the calling party after initiation of the call but prior to active communication with the called party. Also, the call signal is selected from one of ringback signals, busy signals, network redirect signals, call progress signals, network announcement signals, or dial tone signals.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A system for customizing a communications network, said system comprising:
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a first communications station associated with a calling party; a second communications station associated with a called party; a storage device containing at least one announcement; and a communications device for initiating a forked or forwarded call to locate said called party at said second communications station; wherein said forked or forwarded call is initiated by said calling party, wherein at least a portion of a call signal is replaced with at least a portion of said at least one announcement, wherein said at least one announcement is played to said calling party after said initiation of said forked or forwarded call, wherein said at least one announcement is chosen by said called party and is associated with a telephone number of said calling party, wherein said portion of said call signal is replaced after said initiation of said forked or forwarded call but prior to active communication with said called party, and wherein said call signal is selected from a group consisting of ringback signals, busy signals, network redirect signals, call progress signals, network announcement signals, and dial tone signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A system for customizing a communications network, said system comprising:
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a first communications station associated with a calling party; a second communications station associated with a called party; a storage device containing at least one announcement; and a communications device for initiating a forked or forwarded call to locate said called party at said second communications station; wherein said forked or forwarded call is initiated by said calling party, and further wherein at least a portion of a call signal is replaced with at least a portion of said at least one announcement, and further wherein said at least one announcement is played to said calling party after said initiation of said forked or forwarded call, wherein said at least one announcement is chosen by said called party and is associated with a telephone number of said calling party, and further wherein said portion of said call signal is replaced after said initiation of said forked or forwarded call but prior to active communication with said called party, and wherein said second communications station is selected from the group consisting of a telephone, a wireless telephone, a cellular telephone, a video telephone, a mobile computer, a personal digital assistant, and a multimedia handset.
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25. A system for customizing a communications network, said system comprising:
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a first communications station associated with a calling party; a second communications station associated with a called party; a storage device containing at least one announcement; and a communications device for initiating a forked or forwarded call to locate said called party at said second communications station; wherein said forked or forwarded call is initiated by said calling party, and further wherein at least a portion of a call signal is replaced with at least a portion of said at least one announcement, and further wherein said at least a portion of said at least one announcement is played to said calling party after said initiation of said forked or forwarded call, wherein said at least one announcement is chosen by said called party and is associated with a telephone number of said calling party, wherein said at least a portion of said call signal is replaced after said initiation of said forked or forwarded call but prior to active communication with said called party, and wherein said communications network is selected from the group consisting of a circuit-switched network, a packet-based network, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, a virtual private network, a metropolitan area network, a broadcast network, a wireless network, and a cellular network.
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26. A method for replacing at least a portion of a call signal with at least a portion of an announcement, comprising:
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placing a call by a calling party from a first communications device; locating a second communications device via a forked or forwarded call; accessing a storage device containing at least one announcement; playing at least a portion of said at least one announcement to said first communications device as a call signal; and terminating the playing of said at least a portion of said at least one announcement to said first communications device; wherein said at least one announcement is chosen by said called party and is associated with a telephone number of said calling party, wherein said at least a portion of said at least one announcement is played after the placing of the call but prior to active communication with the second communications device, and wherein said call signal is selected from the group consisting of ringback signals, busy signals, network redirect signals, call progress signals, network announcement signals, and dial tone signals. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A method for customizing a communications network, said method comprising the steps of:
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establishing communication with a system capable of replacing at least a portion of a call signal with at least one announcement, wherein said at least one announcement is selected from the group consisting of audio, video, data, and a combination of audio, video, or data; accessing a storage device containing said at least one announcement; associating at least one network address with said at least one announcement; and delivering at least a portion of said at least one announcement as a call signal while a communications device is located via a forked or forwarded call; wherein said at least one announcement is chosen by said called party and is associated with a telephone number of said calling party; and wherein said at least a portion of said at least one announcement is delivered after establishing the communication with said system but prior to active communication with the communications device. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification