Methods and apparatus to provide a telephone system configuration interface

• US 7,787,602 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2006
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SBC Knowledge Ventures LP
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pearson, Larry B., Reynolds, Douglas, Brandt, Jeffrey L.
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, CREIGHTON H
• Application Number:
  US11/530,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20080075245A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,450 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.17, 379/88.21, 379/88.23, 379/88.25
• US Class Current: 379/88.21
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/64 Automatic arrangements for answering calls; Automatic arrangements for recording messages for absent subscribers; Arrangements for recording conversations centralised dictation systems H04M11/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 via computer interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42238 in systems with telephone lines with multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53333 Message receiving aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for a telephone customer to configure telephone service for multiple users at a single location associated with the customer. The location has at least two telephones, at least two phone numbers and a voice mail box. The telephone customer is visually provided an option to assign one of the phone numbers to one of the telephones. The telephone customer is visually provided an option to assign each of the multiple users exclusive access to at least one of the telephone numbers via their account identifier. The telephone customer is visually provided the option to, for each of the multiple users, allow access or deny access via their account identifier to the voicemail box.

Claims

1. A method for providing a telephone related service allowing a telephone subscriber to configure telephone service for multiple users at a single location associated with the telephone subscriber, the single location having a plurality of telephones, a plurality of phone numbers and a shared voicemail box, the multiple users each having a unique account identifier, the method comprising:

visually providing the telephone subscriber an option to specify one of the phone numbers to one of the telephones; and

visually providing the telephone subscriber an option to assign each of the multiple users exclusive access to at least one of the telephone numbers via their account identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising visually providing the telephone subscriber an option to, for each of the multiple users, allow access or deny access via their account identifier to the shared voicemail box.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing an option to the telephone customer to designate a shared telephone number from the at least two phone numbers available to each of the multiple users and providing an option to assign a public voicemail box accessible to each of the multiple users accessible from the shared telephone number.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising providing an option to the telephone customer to assign a private voicemail box accessible to only one user, according to their account identifier, to at least one of the multiple users.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising providing an option to the telephone customer for setting a greeting for the public voicemail box.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying the option to the telephone customer of adding a user.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the options are visually provided by a web browser.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising visually providing an option to the telephone customer to route an incoming call to different voicemail boxes via a single phone number.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing an option to the telephone customer to assign multiple telephone numbers to one of the users.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing an option to the telephone customer to assign a shared designation for one of the phone numbers to allow access to the phone number to at least two of the multiple users.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing an option to the telephone customer to allow entry of a description tag for one of the phone numbers.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising configuring the telephone system to assign one of the phone numbers to one of the telephones, assign each one of the multiple users to exclusively access one of the telephones and allow or deny access to the voicemail box for each one of the multiple users in accordance with the options selected by the telephone customer.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing an option to the telephone customer to allow access to configure a telephone service and/or feature for one of the multiple users.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the option to allow access to configure a telephone service and/or feature includes an option to allow the one of the multiple users to individually configure the telephone service and/or feature.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein some of the plurality of phone numbers are telephone numbers associated with mobile telephones.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein some of the plurality of phone numbers are telephone numbers associated with land line telephones.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein some of the plurality of phone numbers are telephone numbers associated with voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) telephones.

18. A graphical user interface to allow a telephone subscriber to configure a telephone system with multiple users for a single location associated with the telephone subscriber, the single location having at least a plurality of telephones, a plurality of phone numbers and a shared voicemail box comprising:

a number assignment control graphic to assign one of the phone numbers to at least one of the multiple users;

a user assignment control graphic to assign one of the multiple users exclusive access to at least one of the telephones; and

a voicemail assignment control graphic to allow access or deny access to the voicemail box for each of the multiple users.

19. The graphical user interface of claim 18 further comprising a shared telephone control graphic to select a shared telephone number from the at least two phone numbers and assign the voicemail box to each of the multiple users and make the voicemail box accessible from the shared telephone number.

20. The graphical user interface of claim 19 wherein the voicemail assignment control graphic provides an option to assign a private voicemail box exclusively accessible by one of the multiple users.

21. The graphical user interface of claim 18 further comprising an audio input for setting a greeting for the voicemail box.

22. The graphical user interface of claim 18 wherein the interface is a web browser interface.

23. The graphical user interface of claim 18 further comprising a selection control graphic to designate an additional phone number and assign the additional phone number to a user.

24. The graphical user interface of claim 18 wherein the number assignment control graphic includes an option to designate the phone number as a shared line or a private line.

25. The graphical user interface of claim 18 further comprising a selection control graphic to provide an option to the telephone customer to allow access to configure a telephone service and/or feature for one of the multiple users.

26. The graphical user interface of claim 25 wherein the option to allow access to configure a telephone service and/or feature includes an option to allow the one of the multiple users to individually configure the telephone service and/or feature.

27. A method for a telephone customer to configure voicemail box service for multiple users, each having an account identifier, at a single location associated with the telephone customer, the location having at least one telephone and at least two voicemail boxes, the method comprising:

visually providing the telephone customer an option to select one of the at least two voicemail boxes; and

visually providing the telephone customer an option to allow access or deny access to the selected one of the at least two voicemail boxes for each of the selected one of the multiple users based on their account identifier.

28. A tangible article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to:

read a telephone customer account relating to a location having at least two telephones each having a phone number and a voicemail box;

visually provide a telephone customer associated with the telephone customer account an option to assign exclusive access for one of a multiple number of users, each of the multiple number of users having an individual account identifier, to a phone number from the at least two phone numbers; and

visually provide the telephone customer an option to allow access or deny access to the voicemail box for each of the multiple number of users via their individual account identifier.

29. The tangible article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions of claim 28 which when executed further cause the machine to visually provide the telephone customer the option to assign the voicemail box to all of the multiple number of users.

30. The tangible article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions of claim 28 which when executed further cause the machine to visually provide the telephone customer the option to share one of the phone numbers among the multiple number of users.

31. The tangible article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions of claim 28 which when executed further cause the machine to visually provide the telephone customer the option to assign a phone number to a second telephone.

32. The tangible article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions of claim 28 which when executed further cause the machine to assign exclusive access for one of a multiple number of users, and allow access or deny access to the voicemail box for each of the multiple number of users via their individual account identifier in accordance with the options selected by the telephone customer.

33. The tangible article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions of claim 28 which when executed further cause the machine to provide an option to the telephone customer to allow access to configure a telephone service and/or feature for one of the multiple users.