SETTING PHONE PROFILES USING CALENDAR AVAILABILITY STATUS

• US 20100304719A1
• Filed: 05/29/2009
• Published: 12/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Deep, Rohit
• Application Number:
  US12/474,330
• Publication Number:
  US 20100304719A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/413
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/247 Telephone sets including user guidance or feature selection means facilitating their use user interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72451 according to schedules, e.g. using calendar applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/041 Encoding the ringing signal, i.e. providing distinctive or selective ringing capability
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/042 with variable loudness of the ringing tone, e.g. variable envelope or amplitude of ring signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/045 Call privacy arrangements, e.g. timely inhibiting the ring signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/047 Vibrating means for incoming calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/053 remote terminal provisioning, e.g. of applets
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2072 Schedules, e.g. personal calendars
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/02 Calling substations, e.g. by ringing selective calling H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 via computer interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• 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
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53383 Message registering commands or announcements; Greetings

Abstract

In one embodiment, availability times of a particular user may be obtained from an online calendar of that particular user, and based on a current time as applied to the availability times, a current availability status may be correspondingly determined. As such, a phone profile of the particular user may be set based on the current availability status and one or more phone profile policies, the phone profile policies defining phone-based parameters to be set according to particular availability statuses.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

obtaining availability times from an online calendar of a particular user;

determining a current availability status based on a current time and the availability times; and

setting a phone profile of the particular user based on the current availability status and one or more phone profile policies, the phone profile policies defining phone-based parameters to be set according to particular availability statuses.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein setting comprises:

adjusting a ring tone of a phone.

3. The method as in claim 2, wherein adjusting comprises:

setting a ring tone parameter selected from a group consisting of;

volume, vibrate mode, ringing on/off mode, ring type, ring duration, do not disturb (DND) mode, and send to voicemail mode.

4. The method as in claim 2, wherein the phone profile policies are configured as at least one of:

i) setting the ring tone to ringing on mode in response to a free status;

ii) setting the ring tone to vibrate mode in response to a busy status; and

iii) setting the ring tone to a low volume in response to a tentative status.

5. The method as in claim 1, wherein setting comprises:

directing a voicemail system to utilize a particular voicemail message.

6. The method as in claim 5, wherein directing comprises:

selecting from a plurality of user-generated voicemail messages.

7. The method as in claim 5, wherein directing comprises:

selecting from a plurality of generic voicemail messages.

8. The method as in claim 7, wherein the generic voicemail messages indicate availability times.

9. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

applying the phone profile to a phone selected from either a mobile phone or a desktop phone.

10. The method as in claim 1, wherein the calendar is stored on a phone of the particular user.

11. The method as in claim 1, wherein the calendar is stored in a database other than on a phone of the particular user.

12. The method as in claim 11, wherein obtaining comprises:

logging into the database; and

downloading the availability times for the calendar.

13. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

performing the obtaining and determining at a device other than a phone device on which the phone profile is set;

applying the phone profile policies to the current availability status to determine the phone profile; and

sending the phone profile to the phone device.

14. The method as in claim 1, wherein the availability times indicate a busy event type for busy times, the phone profile having different parameters based on busy event types.

15. The method as in claim 14, wherein setting comprises:

directing a voicemail system to utilize a particular voicemail message, the particular voicemail message based on the busy event type.

16. The method as in claim 14, wherein the availability times indicate a busy event type for busy times corresponding to particular types of contactability.

17. The method as in claim 1, wherein the availability times in the calendar are based on events selected from:

meetings, appointments, work hours, and user defined time periods.

18. The method as in claim 1, wherein the availability times in the calendar are free/busy times.

19. A tangible computer-readable media having software encoded thereon, the software when executed operable to:

obtain availability times from an online calendar of a particular user;

determine a current availability status based on a current time and the availability times; and

set a phone profile of the particular user based on the current availability status and one or more phone profile policies, the phone profile policies defining phone-based parameters to be set according to particular availability statuses.

20. The tangible computer-readable media as in claim 19, wherein the software is operable to set the phone profile by adjusting a ring tone of a phone.

21. The tangible computer-readable media as in claim 19, wherein the software is operable to set the phone profile by directing a voicemail system to utilize a particular voicemail message.

22. An apparatus, comprising:

a network interface adapted to communicate with a communications network;

a processor coupled to the network interface and adapted to execute one or more processes; and

a memory configured to store a phone profile process executable by the processor, the phone profile process when executed operable to;

obtain availability times from an online calendar of a particular user;

determine a current availability status based on a current time and the availability times; and

set a phone profile of the particular user based on the current availability status and one or more phone profile policies, the phone profile policies defining phone-based parameters to be set according to particular availability statuses.

23. The apparatus as in claim 22, wherein the phone profile process is operable to set the phone profile by one of either adjusting a ring tone of a phone or directing a voicemail system to utilize a particular voicemail message.

24. The apparatus as in claim 22, wherein the apparatus is one of either a phone or a voicemail system.