Phone communication via a voice-controlled device

• US 9,641,954 B1
• Filed: 12/20/2012
• Issued: 05/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Typrin, Marcello, Hart, Gregory Michael, Freed, Ian W., Cooper, Andrew Ryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): YI, ALEXANDER J.
• Application Number:
  US13/722,805
• Time in Patent Office: 1,594 Days
• Field of Search: 455 79, 4554221, 455563, 455567, 37920101, 37920102, 37920103, 37922115, 709201, 709202, 709203
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold

Abstract

A device that includes a microphone and a speaker may capture audio uttered by a user. The device, or another device, may then perform a particular operation in response to the captured audio. A user'"'"'s cell phone number may be associated with the device. When an incoming call is directed to the user'"'"'s cell phone, the device may generate a notification. The user may utter a command that causes the device to establish an audio connection with a cellular carrier network, thereby facilitating the phone conversation while bypassing the cell phone. Similarly, a user may make an outgoing call associated with the user'"'"'s cell phone. The outgoing call is facilitated through an audio connection between the device and the cellular carrier network, bypassing the cell phone.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining that a physical proximity of a mobile cellular phone and a voice-controlled device configured to detect audio from a physical environment are within a physical threshold proximity of each other in the physical environment, wherein the threshold physical proximity is determined based at least in part on a combination of at least two of a confidence level associated with triangulation data related to the phone, a confidence level associated with detection of the phone on a network associated with the voice-controlled device, or a confidence level associated with heuristic data associated with a user of the phone;

associating a phone number of the mobile cellular phone with the voice-controlled device based at least in part on the combination of confidence levels;

receiving at the voice-controlled device, a notification from a network-accessible service of an incoming phone call directed to the phone number;

providing, at the voice-controlled device, an indication of the incoming call;

determining, from an audio signal generated from audio from the environment, that the voice-controlled device has received an answer command; and

at least partly in response to determining that the voice-controlled device has received the answer command;

ceasing to indicate the incoming call;

transmitting, to the network-accessible service, a notification of the received answer command;

receiving an Internet protocol (IP) address from a cell carrier via the network-accessible service; and

attempting to connect to a device associated with the IP address to establish a phone call connection within the environment between the voice-controlled device and another device via the cell carrier.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the phone number is indirectly associated with the voice-controlled device such that the voice-controlled device is associated with a user account and the phone number is associated with the user account.

3. A method implemented at least in part by a voice-controlled device, the method comprising:

determining a mobile cellular phone of a user is within a threshold physical proximity of the voice-controlled device within a physical environment, wherein the threshold physical proximity is determined based at least in part on a combination of at least two of a confidence level associated with triangulation data related to the phone, a confidence level associated with detection of the phone on a network associated with the voice-controlled device, or a confidence level associated with heuristic data associated with a user of the phone;

associating the voice-controlled device with a cell carrier associated with the mobile cellular phone based on determining that the mobile cellular phone of the user is within the threshold physical proximity of the voice-controlled device within the physical environment;

receiving, within the environment in which the voice-controlled device resides, a command to place a phone call to a destination telephone number;

notifying a network-accessible service of the command to place the phone call;

receiving an Internet protocol (IP) address; and

connecting to a device associated with the IP address to establish, via the cell carrier, a connection between the voice-controlled device and a device associated with the destination telephone number.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the voice-controlled device is indirectly associated with the mobile cellular phone based on a phone number of the mobile cellular phone being associated with a user account and the voice-controlled device being associated with the user account.

5. A method implemented at least in part by a network-accessible service, the method comprising:

receiving a request to establish a phone call connection from a voice-controlled device positioned within a threshold physical proximity of a mobile cellular phone within a physical environment, wherein the threshold physical proximity is determined based at least in part on a combination of at least two of a confidence level associated with triangulation data related to the phone, a confidence level associated with detection of the phone on a network associated with the voice-controlled device, or a confidence level associated with heuristic data associated with a user of the phone, the voice-controlled device configured to at least detect vocal input within the physical environment;

sending the request to a cell carrier associated with the mobile cellular phone;

receiving an Internet protocol (IP) address to use for establishing an audio stream for the phone call; and

sending an indication of the IP address to the voice-controlled device to enable the voice-controlled device to establish the phone call connection.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the request to establish a phone call connection comprises:

a request to use the voice-controlled device to answer an incoming phone call;

or

a request to use the voice-controlled device to place an outgoing call.

7. A method implemented at least in part by a cell carrier, the method comprising:

receiving a request to place a call to a destination phone number from a voice-controlled device within a threshold physical proximity of a mobile cellular phone and configured to at least detect audio within an environment, wherein the threshold physical proximity is determined based at least in part on a combination of at least two of a confidence level associated with triangulation data related to the phone, a confidence level associated with detection of the phone on a network associated with the voice-controlled device, or a confidence level associated with heuristic data associated with a user of the phone, the voice-controlled device associated with a phone number of the mobile cellular phone based at least in part on the voice-controlled device being within the threshold physical proximity of the mobile cellular phone;

determining an Internet protocol (IP) address to use for establishing an audio stream between the voice-controlled device and the cell carrier;

sending an indication of the IP address to the voice-controlled device to enable the voice-controlled device to establish the audio stream; and

notifying a device associated with the destination phone number of the call.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the cell carrier sends the IP address to the voice-controlled device via a network-accessible service.

9. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the notifying the device associated with the destination phone number of the call comprises providing an identification of the cell phone number associated with the voice-controlled device.

10. A method as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

establishing a cellular network connection between the cell carrier and the device associated with the destination phone number of the call; and

establishing a voice-over-IP network connection between the cell carrier and the voice-controlled device, such that the cellular network connection together with the voice-over-IP network connection results in a communication pathway between the voice-controlled device and the device associated with the destination phone number of the call.

11. A method comprising:

receiving a request from a calling device to place a call to a destination phone number;

receiving an indication that a mobile cellular phone associated with a cell carrier and a voice-controlled device are within a threshold physical proximity within a physical environment, wherein the threshold physical proximity is determined based at least in part on a combination of at least two of a confidence level associated with triangulation data related to the phone, a confidence level associated with detection of the phone on a network associated with the voice-controlled device, or a confidence level associated with heuristic data associated with a user of the phone, the voice-controlled device configured to at least receive voice input within the environment;

sending a signal indicating the call to both the phone and the voice-controlled device based at least in part on the indication that the phone and the voice-controlled device are within the threshold proximity within the physical environment;

determining an IP address of an audio stream over which data associated with the phone call will be transmitted between the cell carrier and the voice-controlled device; and

sending an indication of the IP address to the voice-controlled device to enable the voice-controlled device to connect to the phone call.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the signal indicating the call is sent to the voice-controlled device via a network-accessible service.

13. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein:

the signal indicating the call is sent to the phone via a cellular telephone network; and

the signal indicating the call is sent to the voice-controlled device via an IP-based network.

14. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

receiving an indication that the call has been answered via the phone; and

sending a notification to the voice-controlled device to cease indicating an incoming phone call.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the notification to cease indicating the incoming phone call is sent via a network-accessible service.

16. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

receiving an indication that the call has been answered via the voice-controlled device;

sending a signal to the phone directing the phone to cease signaling an incoming phone call.

17. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the indication of the IP address is sent to the voice-controlled device via a network-accessible service.

18. A method comprising:

receiving a request to associate a cell phone number of a mobile cellular phone with a voice-controlled device positioned within a physical environment, the voice-controlled device configured to at least receive voice input from a user within the physical environment;

determining whether the mobile cellular phone is within a threshold physical proximity of the voice-controlled device positioned within the physical environment, wherein the threshold physical proximity is determined based at least in part on a combination of at least two of a confidence level associated with triangulation data related to the phone, a confidence level associated with detection of the phone on a network associated with the voice-controlled device, or a confidence level associated with heuristic data associated with a user of the phone; and

associating the cell phone number with the voice-controlled device based at least in part on determining that the mobile cellular phone is within the threshold physical proximity of the voice-controlled device positioned within the physical environment such that phone calls directed to the cell phone number may be routed over a cellular network to the mobile cellular phone and over an Internet protocol (IP) network to the voice-controlled device positioned within the physical environment.

19. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein associating the cell phone number with the voice-controlled device comprises associating the cell phone number with a user account, wherein the user account is associated with the voice-controlled device.

20. A method as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

performing the associating based at least in part on determining that the mobile cellular phone is within the threshold physical proximity of the physical environment of the voice-controlled; and

preventing the associating from occurring based at least in part on determining that the mobile cellular phone is within the threshold physical proximity of the physical environment of the voice-controlled device.

21. A method as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

receiving an indication that a phone call is being placed to the cell phone number; and

providing an indication of the phone to both the mobile cellular phone and the voice-controlled device.

22. A method comprising:

establishing a phone call connection between a first user device associated with a first phone number and a second user device associated with a second phone number, wherein the second user device is a mobile cellular telephone and the third user device is a voice-controlled device, wherein the phone call connection includes;

a first network connection between a cell carrier and the first user device; and

a second network connection between the cell carrier and the second user device, wherein the second network connection comprises a cellular network connection;

receiving a request to transfer the phone call from the second user device to a third user device positioned within a physical environment, the third user device configured to at least receive audio within the physical environment and also associated with the second phone number based at least in part on a determination that the second user device and the third user device are within a threshold physical proximity to each other in the physical environment, wherein the threshold physical proximity is determined based at least in part on a combination of at least two of a confidence level associated with triangulation data related to the first user device, a confidence level associated with detection of the first user device on a network associated with the voice-controlled device, or a confidence level associated with heuristic data associated with a user of the first user device;

at least partly in response to receiving the request and while maintaining the first network connection between the cell carrier and the first user device;

establishing a third network connection between the cell carrier and the third user device to establish a phone call connection between the first user device and the third user device, wherein the third network connection is an IP-based network connection; and

closing the second network connection between the cell carrier and the second user device.

23. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the request to transfer the phone call from the second user device to the third user device is received via the second user device.

24. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the request to transfer the phone call from the second user device to the third user device is received via the third user device.