Selectively filtering incoming communications events in a communications device

• US 8,811,587 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2012
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Decesaris, Michael, Megarity, William M., Remis, Luke D., Sellman, Gregory D.
• Primary Examiner(s): DEANE JR, WILLIAM J
• Application Number:
  US13/444,389
• Publication Number:
  US 20130272515A1
• Time in Patent Office: 860 Days
• Field of Search: 379/210.02, 379/208.01, 379/196, 709/224
• US Class Current: 379/210.02
• 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: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold

Abstract

Selectively filtering incoming communications events in a communications device, including: receiving, by a communications event filtering module, an incoming communications event; determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the communications device is currently servicing a call; responsive to determining that the communications device is currently servicing a call, determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the call is interruptible; and responsive to determining that the call is not interruptible, blocking, by the communications event filtering module, the incoming communications event from presentation by the communications device until the call has ended.

Claims

1. A method of selectively filtering incoming communications events in a communications device, the method comprising:

receiving, by a communications event filtering module, an incoming communications event;

determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the communications device is currently servicing a call;

responsive to determining that the communications device is currently servicing a call, determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the call is interruptible, including;

identifying, by the communications event filtering module, an identity of another participant of the call; and

determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the identity of another participant of the call is included in a repository of uninterruptable call participants; and

responsive to determining that the call is not interruptible, blocking, by the communications event filtering module, the incoming communications event from presentation by the communications device until the call has ended.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting the incoming communications event by the communications device after the call has ended.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the incoming communications event is an incoming call.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the incoming communications event is a short message service (‘

SMS’

) message.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the incoming communications event is an electronic mail message.

6. A communications device, the communications device comprising a computer processor, a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, cause the communications device to carry out the steps of:

receiving, by a communications event filtering module, an incoming communications event;

determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the communications device is currently servicing a call;

responsive to determining that the communications device is currently servicing a call, determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the call is interruptible, including;

identifying, by the communications event filtering module, an identity of another participant of the call; and

determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the identity of another participant of the call is included in a repository of uninterruptable call participants; and

responsive to determining that the call is not interruptible, blocking, by the communications event filtering module, the incoming communications event from presentation by the communications device until the call has ended.

7. The communications device of claim 6 further comprising computer program instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, cause the communications device to carry out the step of presenting the incoming communications event after the call has ended.

8. The communications device of claim 6 wherein the incoming communications event is an incoming call.

9. The communications device of claim 6 wherein the incoming communications event is a short message service (‘

SMS’

) message.

10. The communications device of claim 6 wherein the incoming communications event is an electronic mail message.

11. A computer program product for selectively filtering incoming communications events in a communications device, the computer program product disposed upon a computer readable medium, wherein the computer readable medium is not a signal nor a carrier wave, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions that, when executed, cause a communications device to carry out the steps of:

receiving, by a communications event filtering module, an incoming communications event;

determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the communications device is currently servicing a call;

responsive to determining that the communications device is currently servicing a call, determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the call is interruptible, including;

identifying, by the communications event filtering module, an identity of another participant of the call; and

determining, by the communications event filtering module, whether the identity of another participant of the call is included in a repository of uninterruptable call participants; and

responsive to determining that the call is not interruptible, blocking, by the communications event filtering module, the incoming communications event from presentation by the communications device until the call has ended.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising computer program instructions that, when executed, cause a communications device to carry out the step of presenting the incoming communications event by the communications device after the call has ended.

13. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the incoming communications event is an incoming call.

14. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the incoming communications event is a short message service (‘

SMS’

) message.