Telephony based remote location monitoring

• US 7,945,025 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2007
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Carlson, Michael Pierre, Rodriguez, Herman
• Primary Examiner(s): TIEU, BINH KIEN
• Application Number:
  US11/760,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20070230672A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• Field of Search: 379/35, 379/44, 379/46, 379/74, 379/75, 379/93.02, 379/93.03, 379/93.37, 379/100.05, 379/102.01, 379/102.02, 379/32.01, 379/32.04, 455516-519, 455/90.2
• US Class Current: 379/35
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/725 Cordless telephones user interfaces specially adapted therefor H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords

Abstract

A method, system, and program for telephony based remote location monitoring are provided. A telephone network receives the caller request to listen only to a remote location telephony device. The telephone network allocates a listen only channel between the caller telephony device and the remote location telephony device. The telephone network activates a microphone at the remote location telephony device via the listen only channel. Then, audio detected at the microphone is streamed via the listen only channel to the caller telephony device, such that the telephone network enables a caller to monitor a remote location through the remote location telephony device with minimized allocation of telephone network resources.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, comprising:

responsive to receiving a caller request to listen only to a remote location telephony device by a channel allocation controller of a telephone network, allocating, by said channel allocation controller, a half duplex listen only channel between a caller telephony device and said remote location telephony device via said telephone network;

activating, by said channel allocation controller, a microphone at said remote location telephony device via said listen only channel by a signal transmitted from said channel allocation controller to said remote location telephony device;

streaming audio detected at said microphone via said listen only channel to said caller telephony device, such that said channel allocation controller of said telephone network enables a caller to monitor a remote location through said remote location telephony device with minimized allocation of telephone network resources.

2. The method according to claim 1 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

requesting authorization for said caller to listen only at said remote location telephony device;

responsive to at least one from among said remote location telephony device and a user at said remote location telephony device authorizing a listen only communication, activating said microphone at said remote location telephony device and streaming said audio detected at said microphone to said caller telephony device.

3. The method according to claim 1 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

responsive to receiving said caller request to listen only to a plurality of remote location telephony devices by rotating said listen only channel among said plurality of remote location telephony devices, monitoring a current time period that said listen only channel is allocated between said caller telephony device and said remote location telephony device;

responsive to said current time period exceeding a rotation time limit, deallocating said listen only channel between said caller telephony device and said remote location telephony device; and

reallocating said listen only channel between said caller telephony device and a next remote location telephony device from among said plurality of remote location telephony devices.

4. The method according to claim 1 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

responsive to receiving said caller request to listen only to a plurality of remote location telephony device simultaneously, allocating, by the channel allocation controller, a separate listen only channel between each of said plurality of remote location telephony devices and said caller telephony device.

5. The method according to claim 1 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

responsive to receiving a caller request to talk only to said remote location telephony device while said listen only channel is allocated, deallocating said listen only channel and allocating a talk only channel.

6. The method according to claim 1 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

responsive to receiving a caller request to end said call, deallocating said listen only channel.

7. The method according to claim 1 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

detecting said caller selection to listen only to said remote location telephony device from a depression of a button designated as a listen only trigger button.

8. A system for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, comprising:

a telephone network comprising a channel allocation controller for allocating communication channels between a caller telephony device and a remote location telephony device;

said channel allocation controller, responsive to receiving a caller request to listen only to said remote location telephony device, operative to allocate a half duplex listen only channel between said caller telephony device and said remote location telephony device via said telephone network;

said channel allocation controller operative to active a microphone at said remote location telephony device via said listen only channel by a signal transmitted from said channel allocation controller to said remote location telephony device; and

said telephone network operative to stream audio detected at said microphone via said listen only channel to said caller telephony device.

9. The system according to claim 8 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

said channel allocation controller operative to request authorization for said caller to listen only at said remote location telephony device; and

said channel allocation controller, responsive to at least one from among said remote location telephony device and a user at said remote location telephony device authorizing a listen only communication, operative to active said microphone at said remote location telephony device and streaming said audio detected at said microphone to said caller telephony device.

10. The system according to claim 8 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

said channel allocation controller, responsive to receiving said caller request to listen only to a plurality of remote location telephony devices by rotating said listen only channel among said plurality of remote location telephony devices, operative to monitor a current time period that said listen only channel is allocated between said caller telephony device and said remote location telephony device;

said channel allocation controller, responsive to said current time period exceeding a rotation time limit, operative to deallocate said listen only channel between said caller telephony device and said remote location telephony device; and

said channel allocation controller operative to reallocate said listen only channel between said caller telephony device and a next remote location telephony device from among said plurality of remote location telephony devices.

11. The system according to claim 8 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

said channel allocation controller, responsive to receiving said caller selection to listen only to a plurality of remote location telephony device simultaneously, operative to allocate a separate listen only channel between each of said plurality of remote location telephony devices and said caller telephony device.

12. The system according to claim 8 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

said channel allocation controller, responsive to receiving a caller selection to talk only to said remote location telephony device while said listen only channel is allocated, operative to deallocate said listen only channel and allocating a talk only channel.

13. The system according to claim 8 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring wherein said telephone network comprises at least one from among a wireless communication network, a public switched telephone network, and an Internet based communication network.

14. The system according to claim 8 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

the channel allocation controller operative to detect means for detecting said caller selection to listen only to said remote location telephony device from a depression of a button designated as a listen only trigger button.

15. A computer program product for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, the computer program product comprising:

one or more computer-readable, tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to allocate, by a channel allocation controller of a telephone network, a half duplex listen only channel between a caller telephony device and a remote location telephony device via said telephone network, responsive to receiving a caller request to listen only to said remote location telephony device;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices to active by the channel allocation controller a microphone at said remote location telephony device via said listen only channel by a signal transmitted from said channel allocation controller to said remote location telephony device; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to stream audio detected at said microphone via said listen only channel to said caller telephony device.

16. The computer program product according to claim 15 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to request authorization for said caller to listen only at said remote location telephony device; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to activate said microphone at said remote location telephony device and streaming said audio detected at said microphone to said caller telephony device, in response to at least one from among said remote location telephony device and a user at said remote location telephony device authorizing said listen only communication.

17. The computer program product according to claim 15 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to monitor a current time period that said listen only channel is allocated between said caller telephony device and said remote location telephony device, in response to receiving said caller request to listen only to a plurality of remote location telephony devices by rotating said listen only channel among said plurality of remote location telephony devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to deallocate said listen only channel between said caller telephony device and said remote location telephony device, in response to said current time period exceeding a rotation time limit; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to reallocate said listen only channel between said caller telephony device and a next remote location telephony device from among said plurality of remote location telephony devices.

18. The computer program product according to claim 15 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to allocate a separate listen only channel between each of a plurality of remote location telephony devices and said caller telephony device, responsive to receiving said caller request to listen only to said plurality of remote location telephony device simultaneously.

19. The computer program product according to claim 15 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to deallocate said listen only channel and allocating a talk only channel, in response to receiving a caller request to talk only to said remote location telephony device while said listen only channel is allocated.

20. The computer program product according to claim 15 for controlling a telephone network for telephony based remote location monitoring, further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to deallocate said listen only channel, responsive to receiving a caller request to end said call.