Personal-call and feature control system and method for controlling telephones, providing extended features for such telephones and routing of media-rich calls

• US 9,787,829 B1
• Filed: 09/16/2016
• Issued: 10/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jacek Tomasz Minko
• Original Assignee: Jacek Tomasz Minko
• Inventors: Minko, Jacek Tomasz
• Primary Examiner(s): Laekemariam, Yosef K
• Application Number:
  US15/268,316
• Time in Patent Office: 389 Days
• Field of Search: 37920102, 37920103, 37920301, 37920401, 37920501, 37920701, 37921801, 37921101, 37921102
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42127 Systems providing several special services or facilities from groups H04M3/42008 - H04M3/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42323 PBX's with CTI arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server

Abstract

A Personal-CFC system and method is described for controlling a multiplicity of telephones, for providing extended feature sets globally to all such telephones and for routing of media-rich calls between such telephones and multimedia equipment. The Personal-CFC is a software program that is easily embedded in various devices and it requires no hardware. For example, a mobile Personal-CFC system can be incorporated into a PDA or PC. The end user can use the Personal-CFC system to control other telephones, such as conference telephones, that do not belong to the end user.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving information about a telephone call at a Personal Call and Feature Control system (Personal-CFC),

wherein the telephone call is one of an incoming call from a service provider and an outgoing call to the service provider;

allowing an End User to choose a first device among a plurality of different devices for handling the telephone call, the first device having a first feature set that is different from a feature set of one or more other of the plurality of different devices;

connecting, through the Personal-CFC, the telephone call between the service provider and the first device without any interaction with the service provider,

wherein the user is able to handle the telephone call between the service provider and the first device with the first device using the first feature set, and

wherein the connection between the service provider and the first device through the Personal-CFC is exclusively controlled by the Personal-CFC for a duration of the telephone call from beginning to end, wherein the first device does not interact with the service provider to control the connection during the duration of the telephone call.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising, within the duration of the telephone call and after connecting the telephone call between the service provider and the first device:

adding, using the Personal-CFC without disconnecting the telephone call from the service provider, one or more new media streams associated with the telephone call to one of the first device and a different second device.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the media streams comprise one or more of voice input, voice output, video input, video output, data input and data output.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein one or both of the first and second device is a telephone.

5. A method according to claim 2, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is one of a computer monitor, a computer camera and a computer microphone.

6. A method according to claim 2, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is one of a PDA screen, a PDA camera, a PDA microphone, and a PDA speaker.

7. A method according to claim 2, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is a video input/output device.

8. A method according to claim 2, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is a data input/output device.

9. A method comprising:

receiving information about a telephone call at a Personal Call and Feature Control system (Personal-CFC),

wherein the telephone call is one of an incoming call from a service provider and an outgoing call to the service provider;

allowing an End User to choose a first device among a plurality of different devices for handling the telephone call, the first device having a first feature set that is different from a feature set of one or more other of the plurality of different devices;

connecting, through the Personal-CFC, the telephone call between the service provider and the first device without any interaction with the service provider,

wherein the user is able to handle the telephone call between the service provider and the first device with the first device using the first feature set, and

wherein the connection between the service provider and the first device through the Personal-CFC is exclusively controlled by the Personal-CFC for a duration of the telephone call from beginning to end, wherein the first device does not interact with the service provider to control the connection during the duration of the telephone call;

the method further comprising, within the duration of the telephone call and after connecting the telephone call between the service provider and the first device;

removing, using the Personal-CFC without disconnecting the telephone call from the service provider, a media stream from two or more media streams associated with the telephone call from any device controlled by Personal-CFC, wherein the removed media stream is being handled by one of the first device and a different second device.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the media streams comprise two or more of voice input, voice output, video input, video output, data input and data output.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein one or both of the first and second device is a telephone.

12. A method according to claim 9, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is one of a computer monitor, a computer camera and a computer microphone.

13. A method according to claim 9, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is one of a PDA screen, a PDA camera, a PDA microphone, and a PDA speaker.

14. A method according to claim 9, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is a video input/output device.

15. A method according to claim 9, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is a data input/output device.

16. A method comprising:

receiving information about a telephone call at a Personal Call and Feature Control system (Personal-CFC),

wherein the telephone call is one of an incoming call from a service provider and an outgoing call to the service provider;

allowing an End User to choose a first device among a plurality of different devices for handling the telephone call, the first device having a first feature set that is different from a feature set of one or more other of the plurality of different devices;

connecting, through the Personal-CFC, the telephone call between the service provider and the first device without any interaction with the service provider,

wherein the user is able to handle the telephone call between the service provider and the first device with the first device using the first feature set, and

wherein the connection between the service provider and the first device through the Personal-CFC is exclusively controlled by the Personal-CFC for a duration of the telephone call from beginning to end, wherein the first device does not interact with the service provider to control the connection during the duration of the telephone call;

the method further comprising, within the duration of the telephone call and after connecting the telephone call between the service provider and the first device;

transferring using the Personal-CFC without disconnecting the telephone call from the service provider, one or more media streams associated with the telephone call to a second device.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the media streams comprise one or more of voice input, voice output, video input, video output, data input and data output.

18. A method according to claim 16, wherein one or both of the first and second device is a telephone.

19. A method according to claim 16, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is one of a computer monitor, a computer camera and a computer microphone.

20. A method according to claim 16, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is one of a PDA screen, a PDA camera, a PDA microphone, and a PDA speaker.

21. A method according to claim 16, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is a video input/output device.

22. A method according to claim 16, wherein one or both of the first and the second device is a data input/output device.