Location based personal telephone routing system

• US 6,320,534 B1
• Filed: 08/24/1999
• Issued: 11/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Goss, Stephen C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mull, Fred H
• Application Number:
  US09/382,419
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 379/258, 379/156, 379/157, 379/164, 379/165, 379/200, 379/210, 379/211, 379/212, 342/357.1, 455/445, 455/456, 455/457
• US Class Current: 342/357.29
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/14 with services dependent on location where the service is an information service H04M2242/15; services independent of location H04M3/42229
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4228 in networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/54 Arrangements for diverting calls for one subscriber to another predetermined subscriber based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; to voice mail H04M3/53308
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/20 based on geographic position or location

Abstract

A location-based personal telephone routing system is responsive to a subscriber'"'"'s location for routing incoming calls to a telephone near the subscriber. A program-controlled processor within the system interrogates a location determining device after receiving a call directed to the subscriber. The location determining device replies to the interrogation with a message including location information that the processor uses to dip into a database listing telephone numbers and corresponding locations of telephones specified by the subscriber. If no subscriber-listed telephones are near the location received, the system then dips into an area-wide database to compare the location received to the stored locations of a large number of telephones in a geographic area. Upon determining the telephone closest to the subscriber, the processor then routes the incoming call to the determined telephone and alerts the subscriber through distinctive ringing.

Claims

1. A method for routing a telephone call to a subscriber based on a location associated with said subscriber comprising:

receiving a call directed to said subscriber;

paging a location determining device associated with said subscriber,

receiving location information from said location determining device;

comparing the location information received with a corresponding location of each of a plurality of telephones selected by said subscriber;

based on the comparing, selecting a one of the subscriber selected telephones within a specified range of the received location information; and

routing said call to the telephone selected.

2. The method for routing telephone calls as set forth in claim 1, wherein the paging step comprises:

formatting an interrogation message; and

transmitting the interrogation message to said location determining device over a wireless network.

3. The method for routing telephone calls as set forth in claim 2, further comprising responsive to receipt of the interrogation message by the location determining device:

determining location information of said location determining device;

preparing a response including said location information; and

transmitting said response over said network.

4. The method for routing telephone calls as set forth in claim 3, wherein the determining location information step comprises:

receiving Global Positioning System (GPS) signals; and

calculating a position based on said signals received.

5. The method for routing telephone calls as set forth in claim 3, wherein the determining location information step comprises:

receiving Local Positioning System (LPS) signals; and

calculating a position based on said signals received.

6. The method for routing telephone calls as set forth in claim 3, wherein the determining location information step comprises:

sensing acceleration signals in a direction; and

calculating a position based on said acceleration signals sensed.

7. The method for routing telephone calls as set forth in claim 1, wherein the plurality of telephones includes telephone numbers and corresponding locations of a plurality of telephones selected by said subscriber, the selecting step comprising:

comparing the location information received with the corresponding location of each of said plurality of telephones selected by said subscriber;

based on the comparing, selecting a one of the telephones within a specified distance to the location information received.

8. The method for routing telephone calls as set forth in claim 1, further comprising, if no subscriber selected telephones are within the specified range:

comparing the location information received to locations of a plurality of non-subscriber selected telephones within an area; and

,

selecting one of the plurality of non-subscriber selected telephones within a specified range of the location information received.

9. The method for routing a telephone call as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

announcing a location based on the received location information to a party originating the call.

10. A method for routing a call based on location comprising:

receiving a call directed to a subscriber;

receiving location information from a location determining device associated with the subscriber interrogated in response to receipt of the call;

at selected intervals, interrogating a location determining device associated with a telephone for a location update;

in response to receipt of the location update, updating a location associated with the telephone;

comparing the received location information from the location determining device associated with the subscriber with the location associated with the telephone; and

based on the comparison, routing the call to the telephone.

11. A system for routing a telephone call to a preferred telephone selected for meeting conditions including proximity to a subscriber, the system comprising:

a processor;

a telephone switching system which receives and routes said telephone call, said telephone switching system being controlled by said processor;

a storage device containing subscriber selected telephone numbers and a location for each corresponding telephone, said storage device being in communication with said processor and containing a telephone number field for storing telephone numbers and a telephone location field for storing location information corresponding to each subscriber selected telephone, selected telephone location fields comprising a dynamically updatable telephone location field for storing periodically updated telephone location information; and

,

a location determining system in operable communication with said processor, which receives subscriber location information;

wherein said processor routes the telephone call to a telephone number based on said telephone location field and subscriber location information.

12. The system as set forth in claim 11 where the location determining system comprises:

a wireless communication network which communicates messages between a location determining device and said processor.

13. The system as set forth in claim 12 where said location determining device comprises:

a location calculating processor which receives signals from an item selected from the set of;

a global positioning system, a local positioning system and an accelerometer, said processor calculating location information from said signals received.

14. A system for routing a telephone call comprising:

a processor;

a switching system which routes said telephone call under control of the processor;

a first database accessible to the processor containing a subscriber selected telephone number and a corresponding location;

a second database containing data including telephone numbers and corresponding location information of a plurality of telephones within an area,

wherein, if the subscriber selected telephone is unavailable, said processor selects a telephone number from the second database within a specified distance of received subscriber location information.