Method and system for managing telecommunications such as telephone calls
First Claim
1. Method for managing a telecommunications call in a telecommunications network from a caller to an end user, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving the call from the caller, the call including call identification information;
screening the call based on the caller identification through automated access to a data base;
thentransmitting a first radio signal based on the caller identification information to a computer having a display screen which computer is locationally independent of the telecommunications network;
receiving the first radio signal;
presenting a first message identifying the caller and displaying objects on the display screen, each object representing a function which may be performed by the user in response to the call;
receiving user selection data representing a selection of one of the objects by the end user to identify the function to be performed in response to the call;
transmitting a second radio signal representing a second message identifying the function to be performed;
processing the second message in response to said second radio signal; and
performing the identified function in the telecommunications network.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for managing telephone calls includes a personal telephone manager (PTM) (12) and uses out-of-band, wireless, two-way signaling, messaging and alerting to screen, control, route and respond to incoming telephone calls and to communicate called party text messages in auditory form to the caller. Through use of an out-of-band signaling/messaging path (16), the PTM (12) frees the called party from the need to maintain telephone network connectivity, from having to inform others of his/her current location, and from having to subscribe to and use cellular telephone service. Instead, the called party can rely on the availability of existing low bandwidth, wide area, two-way wireless data services, which make efficient and cost effective use of available radio spectrum. Two-way wireless data messaging to a portable computer (18) equipped with radio transceivers is also provided. This feature enables the system to provide a set of real-time options including: call screening by the called party based on information identifying the caller'"'"'s telephone number; call redirection to a wire-line or wireless telephone number as specified by the called party; call redirection to a third party or to a voice mail system; or the return of a text message specified by the called party and delivered to the caller in an auditory form.
893 Citations
40 Claims
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1. Method for managing a telecommunications call in a telecommunications network from a caller to an end user, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving the call from the caller, the call including call identification information; screening the call based on the caller identification through automated access to a data base;
thentransmitting a first radio signal based on the caller identification information to a computer having a display screen which computer is locationally independent of the telecommunications network; receiving the first radio signal; presenting a first message identifying the caller and displaying objects on the display screen, each object representing a function which may be performed by the user in response to the call; receiving user selection data representing a selection of one of the objects by the end user to identify the function to be performed in response to the call; transmitting a second radio signal representing a second message identifying the function to be performed; processing the second message in response to said second radio signal; and
performing the identified function in the telecommunications network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for managing a telecommunications call in a telecommunications network from a caller to an end user, the system comprising:
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means for receiving the call from the caller, the call including caller identification information; means for identifying the caller from the caller identification information and means for screening the call based on the caller identification information to obtain a first message; a first transceiver for transmitting to said end user a first radio signal based on the caller identification information; a second transceiver at said end user for receiving the first radio signal; a computer, locationally independent of the telecommunications network, with a display device connected to the second transceiver and having a display screen and an input device for inputting data to the computer; means for presenting the first message identifying the caller and means for displaying objects on the display screen, each object representing a function which may be performed in response to the call; means for receiving user selection data from the input device, the user selection data representing a selection of one of the objects by the end user to identify the function to be performed with respect to the call, the second transceiver transmitting to the first transceiver a second radio signal representing a second message identifying the function to be performed; and means for processing the second message in order to perform, in the telecommunications network, the function identified by the second message. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method for managing a telecommunications call from a caller to an end user, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving the call from the caller, the call including caller identification information; transmitting a first radio signal based on the caller identification information to a computer having a display screen; receiving the first radio signal; presenting a first message identifying the caller and displaying objects on the display screen, each object representing a function which may be performed by the user in response to the call; selecting one of the objects by the end user to identify the function to be performed in response to the call; transmitting a second radio signal representing a second message identifying the selected function to be performed, wherein the second message includes a telephone number for routing the call to a telephone identified by the telephone number and the telephone number is the current wireline number of the end user; and processing the second message in response to said second radio signal to perform the selected function. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. A system for managing a telecommunications call from a caller to an end user, the method comprising:
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means for receiving the call from the caller, the call including caller identification information; means for identifying the caller from the caller identification information and means for screening the call, based on the caller identification information to obtain a first message; a first transceiver for transmitting to said end user a first radio signal based on the first message; a second transceiver at said end user for receiving the first radio signal; a computer with a display device connected to the second transceiver and an input device for inputting data to the computer; means for presenting the first message identifying the caller and for displaying functions which may be performed in response to the call; means for receiving end user selection data from the input device, the end user selection data representing a selection of the functions to be performed with respect to the call, the second transceiver transmitting to the first transceiver a second radio signal representing a second message identifying the function to be performed; and means for processing the second message to perform the selected function identified. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37)
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38. A system for managing a telecommunications call from a caller to an end user, the system comprising:
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means for receiving the call from the caller, the call including caller identification information; means for creating a first message to identify the caller in response to the caller identification information; a first transceiver for transmitting to said end user a first radio signal based on the first message; a second transceiver at said end user for receiving the first radio signal; a computer with a display device connected to the second transceiver and an input device for inputting data to the computer; means for presenting the first message and for displaying objects on the display screen, each object representing a function which may be performed in response to the call; means for receiving user selection data from the input device, the user selection data representing a selection of the function to be performed with respect to the call, the second transceiver transmitting to the first transceiver a second radio signal representing a second message identifying the function to be performed, wherein the second message includes a telephone number and routing instructions for routing the call to a telephone identified by the telephone number. means for processing the second message to perform the selected function. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40)
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Specification