Call answering

• US 8,081,748 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Issued: 12/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Johns, Kevin C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Hemant
• Application Number:
  US11/558,155
• Publication Number:
  US 20080112555A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,867 Days
• Field of Search: 370259-271, 370351-356, 379 671- 8828, 379/201.01, 37920702-21501, 4554121-417, 4554221-4262, 455/445, 455/461, 4555501-560, 704270-278, 709201-207, 709217-232
• US Class Current: 379/211.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/642 storing speech in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4285 Notifying, informing or entertaining a held party while on hold, e.g. Music On Hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53308 Message originator indirectly connected to the message centre, e.g. after detection of busy or absent state of a called party

Abstract

A method, phone, and system for answering phone calls in such a manner as to limit or otherwise ameliorate interruptions to a called party and others in an environment of the called party. The answering optionally including silently answering the phone call with a message instead of requiring the called party to verbally communicate with a calling party.

Claims

1. An application for use with a phone to facilitate answering a phone call, the application including instructions for:

connecting the phone call to a phone in such a manner that the phone answers the phone call and simultaneously places the phone call on hold, the hold preventing a calling entity from verbally communication with a called entity;

playing an announcement message to the calling entity, the announcement message notifying the calling entity that the phone call is on hold and that the calling entity can select at least one of a first option to remain on hold and a second option to notify the called entity of an emergency;

generating a hold alert to notify the called entity of the phone call being on hold in response to the calling entity selecting the first option;

generating an emergency alert to notify the called entity of the emergency in response to the calling entity selecting the second option; and

removing the phone call from hold to allow the calling entity to verbally communicate with the called entity upon receipt a corresponding input from the called entity after being notified with one of the hold alert and the emergency alert wherein parameters of the hold alert are fixed and parameters of the emergency alert are specified by the calling entity.

2. The application of claim 1 wherein in the announcement message is played from a storage location on the phone.

3. The application of claim 1 wherein the emergency alert is different from the hold alert.

4. The application of claim 1 wherein the hold alert generates a first type of ringtone and the emergency alert generates a second type of ringtone.

5. The application of claim 1 wherein the hold and emergency alerts cause the phone to vibrate, the emergency alert causing the phone to vibrate with more severity than the hold alert.

6. The application of claim 1 wherein the hold and emergency alerts cause the phone to vibrate, the emergency alert causing the phone to vibrate with a different pattern than the hold alert.

7. The application of claim 1 wherein the first option allows the calling party to remain on hold without having to communicate a corresponding input to the phone.

8. A method to facilitate answering a phone call comprising:

connecting the phone call to a phone in such a manner that the phone answers the phone call and simultaneously places the phone call on hold, the hold preventing a calling entity from verbally communication with a called entity;

playing an announcement message to the calling entity, the announcement message notifying the calling entity that the phone call is on hold and that the calling entity can select at least one of a first option to remain on hold and a second option to notify the called entity of an emergency;

generating a hold alert to notify the called entity of the phone call being on hold in response to the calling entity selecting the first option;

generating an emergency alert to notify the called entity of the emergency in response to the calling entity selecting the second option;

removing the phone call from hold to allow the calling entity to verbally communicate with the called entity upon receipt a corresponding input from the called entity after being notified with one of the hold alert and the emergency alert; and

wherein parameters of the hold alert are fixed and parameters of the emergency alert are specified by the calling entity.

9. A phone configured for:

connecting a phone call in such a manner that the phone answers the phone call and simultaneously places the phone call on hold, the hold preventing a calling entity from verbally communication with a called entity;

playing an announcement message to the calling entity, the announcement message notifying the calling entity that the phone call is on hold and that the calling entity can select at least one of a first option to remain on hold and a second option to notify the called entity of an emergency;

generating a hold alert to notify the called entity of the phone call being on hold in response to the calling entity selecting the first option;

generating an emergency alert to notify the called entity of the emergency in response to the calling entity selecting the second option;

removing the phone call from hold to allow the calling entity to verbally communicate with the called entity upon receipt a corresponding input from the called entity after being notified with one of the hold alert and the emergency alert; and

wherein parameters of the hold alert are fixed and parameters of the emergency alert are specified by the calling entity.