Systems and methods for providing enhanced telephone services

• US 7,742,468 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2009
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Frontier Communications Corporation (Frontier Communications Parent, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Frontier Communications Corporation (Frontier Communications Parent, Inc.)
• Inventors: Vagelos, Ted
• Primary Examiner(s): Jagannathan; Melanie
• Application Number:
  US12/552,170
• Publication Number:
  US 20090310771A1
• Time in Patent Office: 294 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2011 Service processing based on information specified by a party before or during a call, e.g. information, tone or routing selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6045 Identity confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42263 where the same subscriber uses different terminals, i.e. nomadism
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/465 Arrangements for simultaneously calling a number of substations until an answer is obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/54 Arrangements for diverting calls for one subscriber to another predetermined subscriber based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; to voice mail H04M3/53308
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/561 by multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/563 User guidance or feature selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/123 where the packet-switched network is an Internet Protocol Multimedia System-type network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/128 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1295 Details of dual tone multiple frequency signalling

Abstract

A method for providing enhanced telephone services via a computerized telephone services device for use in conjunction with multiple telephone lines and providers. According to embodiments of the invention, a subscriber to telephone services or a group of subscribers may be reached on multiple telephone lines from a single dial-in number; calls in progress may be transferred seamlessly from one line associated with a subscriber to another; and group calling features may be enhanced.

Claims

1. A method, executed by a computerized telephone services device, for providing enhanced telephone services comprising:

a) recognizing, by the computerized telephone services device, tones generated by an originating telephone line, the originating telephone line being associated with a calling number, wherein the tones represent a common number associated with a called party and assigned to two or more telephone lines;

b) identifying, by the computerized telephone services device, the two or more telephone lines associated with the common number;

c) causing, by the computerized telephone services device, a first telephone line and a second telephone line of the two or more telephone lines to ring substantially simultaneously;

d) awaiting, by the computerized telephone services device, the called party to answer via one of the two or more telephone lines;

e) sending, by the computerized telephone services device, a challenge to the answered telephone line and waiting for the called party to satisfy the challenge if one of the two or more telephone lines is answered, wherein the challenge comprises a menu of options for routing the call;

f) establishing, by the computerized telephone services device, a first telephone connection between the originating telephone line and one of the two or more telephone lines associated with the common number of the called party if the challenge is satisfied;

g) detecting, by the computerized telephone services device, entry of a code from the answered telephone line, the code indicative of a request to pass the established first telephone connection from the answered telephone line to a third telephone line associated with the common number of the called party;

h) calling, by the computerized telephone services device, the third telephone line in response to the detection of the service code;

i) detecting, by the computerized telephone services device, whether the third telephone line has been answered by the called party;

j) connecting, by the computerized telephone services device, the established first telephone connection between the originating telephone line and the third telephone line if the third telephone line is answered by the called party;

k) recognizing independently of steps a-j, by the computerized telephone services device, tones generated by an originating telephone line, wherein the tones represent a request for a telephone conference over a conference line and are associated with one or more telephone lines of the called party;

l) determining, by the computerized telephone services device, whether the calling telephone number associated with the originating telephone line is included in a set of defined telephone numbers permitted to connect to the conference line without requiring authentication of the calling party; and

m) establishing, by the computerized telephone services device, a telephone connection between the originating telephone line and the conference line if the set of defined telephone numbers includes the calling telephone number.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step d further comprises:

establishing, by the computerized telephone services device, a telephone connection between the originating telephone line and a voice mailbox if none of the telephone lines associated with the common number is answered.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step j further comprises:

disconnecting, by the computerized telephone services device, the second telephone line from the first telephone connection after passing of the first established telephone connection to the third telephone line.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step c further comprises:

sending, from the computerized telephone services device, a message to the originating telephone line.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the message includes a conventional ringing tone, an audio message, a text message, or any combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein step d further comprises:

sending, from the computerized telephone services device, an indication to the originating telephone line that one of the two telephone lines is engaged, that both of the two telephone lines are engaged, that the called party is unavailable, or any combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein step e further comprises:

repeating, by the computerized telephone services device, the sending and the waiting a predetermined number of times or until the called party satisfies the challenge, whichever occurs first.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein step e further comprises:

determining, by the computerized telephone services device, that the challenge is not satisfied and therefore not establishing the telephone connection between the originating telephone line and the answered telephone line.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the challenge includes prompting the called party for one or more of:

a personal identification number (PIN), a password, a name, a number, a character, and a code.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the code indicative of a request to pass the first telephone connection from the answered telephone line to a third telephone line associated with the common number of the called party includes a sequence of tones identifying another telephone line of the two or more telephone lines associated with the common number of the called party.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the sequence of tones includes a service code followed by an ID code.