Responding to a call with a prompt and routing the call to a phone selected in response to the prompt

• US 9,167,097 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2013
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitel Networks Incorporated (Mitel Networks Corporation)
• Original Assignee: ShoreTel Incorporated (Mitel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Kung, Fen-Chung, Sankalia, Anish, Wang, Spencer C., Russell, Jesse E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thompson, Jr., Otis L
• Application Number:
  US13/944,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20130308498A1
• Time in Patent Office: 825 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1026 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/543 Call deflection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0066 Details of access arrangements to the networks where the access arrangement is a PSTN/ISDN access H04M7/122

Abstract

A method and apparatus provide multiple telephone lines using a single directory number. A method and apparatus associate multiple directory numbers with multiple telephone lines. A broadband residential gateway (BRG) is a user interface to a broadband communication system providing packetized telephone service and other media services. The BRG can provide greeting and message features. A greeting may instruct a caller to select a name or extension which is associated with a party the caller is attempting to reach. Also, a message, played after the greeting, may further instruct the caller.

Claims

1. A single physical device comprising:

a plurality of integrated communications interfaces to multiple other devices at a customer premise, wherein the plurality of integrated communications interfaces comprise a telephone port connection and an Ethernet connection, and wherein the multiple other devices comprise a plain old telephone system (POTS) phone and an Internet Protocol (IP) phone;

a transceiver comprising a register to facilitate data transfer across an IP network;

a processing unit coupled to a memory, wherein the memory comprises instructions to respond to receipt of an incoming call comprising an IP packet via the transceiver, with a greeting that includes a prompt, and to route the incoming call from the IP network to the IP phone of a party or an extension selected from among the multiple other devices by a caller in response to the prompt.

2. The single physical device of claim 1 further comprising:

a CODEC configured to convert an analog voice signal into IP packets.

3. The single physical device of claim 1 further comprising:

an intercom module to provide an announcement of at least a name of the party or the extension selected by the caller.

4. The single physical device of claim 1 further comprising:

an intercom module to set-up an intercom connection to another device.

5. The single physical device of claim 1 wherein:

multiple IP phones are connected to a single port.

6. The single physical device of claim 5 being programmed to address each IP phone individually.

7. The single physical device of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured to detect unused telephone(s) and generate a special intercom tone on the unused telephone(s).

8. The single physical device of claim 1 wherein:

the greeting is based on at least a telephone directory number (DN) or an IP address from which the incoming call originates.

9. The single physical device of claim 1 further comprising a message feature to play a message associated with the party or the extension selected by the caller.

10. A method of operating at least a single physical device, the method comprising:

responding to an incoming call comprising an Internet Protocol (IP) packet with a greeting that includes a prompt;

wherein the IP packet is received via a transceiver in the single physical device, the transceiver comprising a register to facilitate data transfer across an IP network from which the incoming call is received, the single physical device further comprising a plurality of integrated communications interfaces to multiple other devices at a customer premise, the plurality of integrated communications interfaces comprising a telephone port connection and an Ethernet connection, the multiple other devices comprising a plain old telephone system (POTS) phone and an IP phone; and

routing the incoming call from the IP network to the IP phone of a party or an extension selected from among the multiple other devices by a caller in response to the prompt.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

converting an analog voice signal into IP packets.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

providing an announcement of at least a name of the party or the extension selected by the caller.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

providing an intercom connection to another device at a remote location.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein:

multiple IP phones are connected to a single port.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

addressing each IP phone individually.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

detecting unused telephone(s); and

generating a special intercom tone on the unused telephone(s).

17. The method of claim 10 wherein:

the greeting is based on at least a DN or IP address from which the incoming call originates.

18. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

providing a message after the greeting, the message being associated with a name of the party or the extension selected by the caller.

19. The method of claim 10 wherein:

said single physical device is hereinafter a first single physical device;

the incoming call originates in a second single physical device; and

the method further comprises establishing an end-to-end communication path between the second single physical device and the first single physical device.

20. The method of claim 10 wherein:

multiple IP phones are coupled to the single physical device; and

the method further comprises instructing each IP phone to ring distinctively.