Enhanced system for transferring, storing and using signaling information in a switched telephone network

• US 5,764,731 A
• Filed: 01/26/1995
• Issued: 06/09/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Palus A21 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Jay R. Yablon
• Inventors: Yablon, Jay R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zele, Krista
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hunter, Daniel S.
• Application Number:
  US08/378,529
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 379/216, 379/354, 379/355, 379/213, 379/97, 379/217, 379/201, 379/207, 379/142, 379/210, 379/211, 379/212, 379/67, 379/88, 379/89, 379/58, 379/59, 379/202, 379/205, 379/206 , 379/203, 379/204, 379/93.18, 379/93.23, 379/93.26, 379/69, 379/57
• US Class Current: 379/88.15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/575 Means for retrieving and displaying personal data about calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/576 associated with a pictorial or graphical representation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/652 Means for playing back the recorded messages by remote control over a telephone line H04M1/658 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/725 Cordless telephones user interfaces specially adapted therefor H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/44 Additional connecting arrangements for providing access to frequently-wanted subscribers, e.g. abbreviated dialling at the subscriber's set H04M1/27; automatic redialling H04M3/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

A system includes a telephone and a distant device. The distant device contains one or more telephone numbers which are later to be dialed at the telephone. The telephone numbers are transmitted in coded form, preferably dual tone multifrequency form, from the device to the telephone. The distant device may be a directory assistance service position, a caller ID receiver, and answering machine, a voice or electronic mail system, a terminal operated by a secretary or receptionist, or a simple DTMF keyboard. After the telephone numbers are received, they are stored in any of several memories in the telephone. Later, the user selects one of the entries for dialing and the entry is used for address signaling. Optionally, storage, selection and dialing of a memory entry can be further simplified by using voice processing techniques. The system is particularly pertinent to the driver of an automobile who is operating a cellular telephone, to a travelling individual who regularly receives and needs to return a large number of calls, to a pedestrian carrying a portable telephone, or to a person with a physical disability, because it saves the user having to jot down telephone numbers and dialing them manually. A particularly significant embodiment enables the user of this system to establish a customized paging service through an ordinary telephone network, using end-user, customer premises equipment only.

Claims

1. An end-user customizable, end-user telephone equipment-based paging and messaging system, the system comprising a server and a telephone each having a connection to a switched telephone network:

the server comprising;

an input device;

first reception means responsive to the input device for receiving a received telephone number into the server as a resident telephone number;

means responsive to a call initiation condition generated by a custom call initiation profile, to initiate a telephone call from the server to the telephone and initiate a connection therebetween over said switched telephone network;

an auxiliary memory storing an auxiliary telephone number which is the telephone number of the telephone, which the server shall use to signal said telephone; and

emission means responsive to an emission command for emitting in coded form said resident telephone number, from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween, as an emitted telephone number;

the telephone comprising;

a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys;

a telephone number memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing telephone numbers;

means responsive to an automatic call pickup condition to automatically pickup an incoming call and establish the connection between the server and the telephone;

second reception means responsive to receipt of said emitted telephone number over said connection between the server and the telephone for storing the emitted number into a storage location in the telephone number memory as a stored telephone number;

call termination means to terminate said connection following said storing of the emitted telephone number into the telephone number memory; and

an output device outputting said stored telephone number.

2. The system of claim 1, said telephone further comprising retrieval and signalling means responsive to a retrieval and signalling command for retrieving the emitted number from its storage location in the telephone number memory and then calling said emitted number.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein whether to generate said call initiation condition generated by a custom call initiation profile, is determined by virtue of the server comparing said received telephone number to a plurality of telephone numbers pre-defined in said custom call initiation profile and matching said received telephone number with one among said plurality of telephone numbers.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said call initiation condition generated by a custom call initiation profile, is generated whenever a call has been received by the server.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said call initiation condition generated by a custom call initiation profile, is generated by virtue of the server comparing the quantity of calls received by said server with a call quantity pre-defined in said custom call initiation profile.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said call initiation condition generated by a custom call initiation profile, is generated by virtue of the actual time reaching a pre-defined time in said custom call initiation profile.

7. A system for obtaining, storing and signalling telephone numbers, the system comprising a server and a telephone each having a connection to a switched telephone network:

the server comprising;

an input device;

first reception means responsive to the input device for receiving a received telephone number into the server as a resident telephone number;

emission means responsive to an emission command for emitting in coded form said resident telephone number, from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween, as an emitted telephone number;

the telephone comprising;

a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys, further comprising a voice keyboard responsive to a plurality of vocal utterances, each of said utterances corresponding and having an effect identical to the manual depression of one of the plurality of keys on said keyboard;

a telephone number memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing telephone numbers;

second reception means responsive to receipt of said emitted telephone number over said connection between the server and the telephone for storing the emitted number into a storage location in the telephone number memory as a stored telephone number; and

retrieval and signalling means responsive to a retrieval and signalling command for retrieving the emitted number from its storage location in the telephone number memory and then calling said emitted number;

wherein

said retrieval and signalling command is issued by vocal utterance into said voice keyboard.

8. A system for obtaining, storing and signalling telephone numbers, the system comprising a server and a telephone each having a connection to a switched telephone network:

the server comprising;

an input device;

first reception means responsive to the input device for receiving a received telephone number into the server as a resident telephone number;

emission means responsive to an emission command for emitting in coded form said resident telephone number, from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween, as an emitted telephone number;

the telephone comprising;

a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys;

a voice pattern memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing a plurality of voice patterns as stored voice patterns;

a voice input and pattern generating device generating a machine-readable representation of a vocal utterance into the device;

voice storage means responsive to the voice input and pattern generating device for storing said machine-readable representation of said vocal utterance into the voice pattern memory as one of said stored voice patterns;

means for detecting a match between a second vocal utterance into the voice input and pattern generating device and one of said stored voice patterns;

a telephone number memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing telephone numbers;

second reception means responsive to receipt of said emitted telephone number over said connection between the server and the telephone for storing the emitted number into a storage location in the telephone number memory as a stored telephone number in association with one of said stored voice patterns; and

retrieval and signalling means responsive to a retrieval and signalling command for retrieving the emitted number from its storage location in the telephone number memory and then calling said emitted number;

wherein

the emitted number is selected and retrieved from one of said plurality of storage locations in said telephone number memory, and then called, based upon detecting a match between said second vocal utterance and the stored voice pattern associated with said emitted number.

9. A system for obtaining, storing and signalling telephone numbers, the system comprising a server and a telephone each having a connection to a switched telephone network and having established a connection to one another over said switched telephone network:

the server comprising;

an input device;

first reception means responsive to the input device for receiving a received telephone number into the server as a resident telephone number; and

first emission means responsive to an emission command for emitting in coded form said resident telephone number, from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween, as an emitted telephone number; and

the telephone comprising;

a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys;

a telephone number memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing telephone numbers;

second reception means responsive to receipt of said emitted telephone number in coded form from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween for storing the emitted number into a storage location in the telephone number memory;

retrieval and signalling means responsive to a retrieval and signalling command for retrieving the emitted number from its storage location in the telephone number memory and then signalling said emitted number; and

conference call means responsive to the retrieval and signalling command, to signal and establish a conference call among several telephone addresses on the switched telephone network by retrieving and signalling telephone numbers stored in the telephone number memory;

wherein the retrieval and signalling command comprises an entry at the server input device emitted from the server to the telephone over the connection;

wherein the telephone, upon receipt of said retrieval and signalling command, initiates a first telephone call to a first telephone address by signalling an emitted telephone number stored in the telephone number memory while maintaining the connection between the telephone and server thereby establishing an initial conference call among the server, the telephone, and the said first telephone address, and similarly initiates additional telephone calls to additional telephone addresses by signalling emitted additional telephone numbers stored in the telephone number memory if the signalling command so indicates, while maintaining the initial conference call, thereby adding said additional telephone addresses to said initial conference call.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the telephone maintains the connection between the telephone and the server after termination of the call between the telephone and the devices signalled by said telephone numbers stored in the telephone number memory, enabling second and subsequent conference calls to be similarly placed if the signalling command so directs.

11. A system for obtaining, storing and signalling telephone numbers, the system comprising a server and a telephone each having a physical connection to a switched telephone network and having established a network connection to one another over said switched telephone network:

the server comprising;

a telephone number memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing telephone numbers;

an information memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing associated information linked to and associated with each of said telephone numbers stored in the telephone number memory;

first emission means responsive to an emission command for emitting in coded form a telephone number residing in the telephone number memory, from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween, as an emitted telephone number;

second emission means responsive to said emission command for emitting associated information in the information memory and associated with said telephone number, in coded form, from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween, as emitted associated information;

means responsive to a call received by the server from the telephone over the connection therebetween for collecting information indicative of a particular telephone number residing in said telephone number memory, desired by a caller placing said call;

means responsive to the information indicative of the particular telephone number desired by the caller for looking up said particular directory telephone number in said telephone number memory;

a password code memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing personal identification password codes associated with each directory telephone number in said directory telephone number memory; and

means responsive to a second call from a second caller received by the server from the a second telephone over a second connection therebetween for operating upon said stored associated information;

wherein the emission command comprises successful completion of said looking up in said directory telephone number memory of said particular telephone number desired by the caller, the emitted telephone number is said directory telephone number yielded by said looking up, and the emitted associated information is said associated information associated with the emitted telephone number; and

wherein the second caller, by supplying information indicative of the second caller'"'"'s own directory telephone number and correctly supplying the personal identification password code associated with the second caller'"'"'s own directory telephone number, is thereby enabled to operate upon the associated information linked to and associated with the second caller'"'"'s own directory telephone number;

the telephone comprising;

a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys;

a second telephone number memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing telephone numbers;

reception means responsive to receipt of said emitted telephone number in coded form from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween for storing the emitted number into a storage location in the second telephone number memory, as a second stored telephone number;

second reception means responsive to receipt of said emitted associated information associated with the emitted telephone number, emitted in coded form from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween, for receiving into the telephone said emitted associated information associated with said emitted telephone number; and

retrieval and signalling means responsive to a retrieval and signalling command for retrieving the emitted number from its storage location in the second telephone number memory and then signalling said emitted number.

12. A telephone number and associated information server comprising:

a telephone number memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing telephone numbers;

an information memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing associated information linked to and associated with each of said telephone numbers stored in the telephone number memory;

first emission means responsive to an emission command for emitting in coded form a telephone number residing in the telephone number memory, from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween, as an emitted telephone number;

second emission means responsive to said emission command for emitting associated information in the information memory and associated with said telephone number, in coded form, from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween, as emitted associated information;

means responsive to a call received by the server from the telephone over the connection therebetween for collecting information indicative of a particular telephone number residing in said telephone number memory, desired by a caller placing said call;

means responsive to the information indicative of the particular telephone number desired by the caller for looking up said particular directory telephone number in said telephone number memory;

a password code memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing personal identification password codes associated with each directory telephone number in said directory telephone number memory; and

means responsive to a second call from a second caller received by the server from the a second telephone over a second connection therebetween for operating upon said stored associated information;

wherein the emission command comprises successful completion of said looking up in said directory telephone number memory of said particular telephone number desired by the caller, the emitted telephone number is said directory telephone number yielded by said looking up, and the emitted associated information is said associated information associated with the emitted telephone number; and

wherein the second caller, by supplying information indicative of the second caller'"'"'s own directory telephone number and correctly supplying the personal identification password code associated with the second caller'"'"'s own directory telephone number, is thereby enabled to operate upon the associated information linked to and associated with the second caller'"'"'s own directory telephone number.

13. A system for obtaining, storing and signalling telephone numbers, the system comprising a server and a telephone each having a connection to a switched telephone network:

the server comprising;

an input device;

first reception means responsive to the input device for receiving a received telephone number into the server as a resident telephone number;

emission means responsive to an emission command for emitting in coded form said resident telephone number, from the server to the telephone over the connection therebetween, as an emitted telephone number;

the telephone comprising;

a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys, further comprising a voice keyboard responsive to a plurality of vocal utterances, each of said utterances corresponding and having an effect identical to the manual depression of one of the plurality of keys on said keyboard;

a telephone number memory comprising a plurality of storage locations storing telephone numbers;

second reception means responsive to receipt of said emitted telephone number over said connection between the server and the telephone for storing the emitted number into a storage location in the telephone number memory as a stored telephone number; and

retrieval and signalling means responsive to a retrieval and signalling command for retrieving the emitted number from its storage location in the telephone number memory and then calling said emitted number;

wherein said emission command is issued by vocal utterance into said voice keyboard.