U.S. patent application number 09/759107 was filed with the patent office on 2001-06-28 for method and apparatus for obtaining telephone status over a network.
Invention is credited to Light, Elliott D., Roberts, Jon L..
Application Number | 20010005412 09/759107 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46257422 |
Filed Date | 2001-06-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010005412 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Light, Elliott D. ; et
al. |
June 28, 2001 |
Method and apparatus for obtaining telephone status over a
network
Abstract
A system and method for determining telephone status over a
network. The system and method provides for off hook status to be
determined by a switch or other monitor that then provides that
information to a telephone status file. The telephone status file
is accessible over the Internet by computer so that a calling party
can first determine if the called party is on the telephone. Thus
wasted time in making calls that cannot be completed is avoided.
The system operates over normal PSTN's, over cable systems, and
over the Internet.
Inventors: |
Light, Elliott D.;
(Rockville, MD) ; Roberts, Jon L.; (Great Falls,
VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Roberts Abokhair & Mardula, L.L.C.
11800 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite1000
Reston
VA
20191
US
|
Family ID: |
46257422 |
Appl. No.: |
09/759107 |
Filed: |
January 12, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09759107 |
Jan 12, 2001 |
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08963373 |
Oct 20, 1997 |
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6175616 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/88.13 ;
379/377; 379/88.14; 379/900 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 7/0012 20130101;
H04M 7/1235 20130101; H04Q 2213/13093 20130101; H04Q 2213/1318
20130101; H04M 3/53333 20130101; H04M 3/537 20130101; H04Q
2213/13374 20130101; H04M 11/00 20130101; H04Q 2213/13375 20130101;
H04Q 2213/13173 20130101; H04Q 2213/13152 20130101; H04Q 2213/13389
20130101; H04M 3/2272 20130101; H04Q 2213/13274 20130101; H04Q
2213/1307 20130101; H04Q 2213/1322 20130101; H04Q 11/0421 20130101;
H04M 1/2473 20130101; H04Q 2213/13377 20130101; H04M 11/066
20130101; H04Q 2213/13282 20130101; H04M 7/1215 20130101; H04M
2203/4536 20130101; H04M 3/42093 20130101; H04M 3/42365 20130101;
H04M 7/0036 20130101; H04M 3/42382 20130101; H04M 3/5307
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/88.13 ;
379/88.14; 379/377; 379/900 |
International
Class: |
H04M 011/00; H04M
001/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A system for communicating status of a plurality of plain old
telephone system (POTS) telephones over a network to an inquiring
computer, the system comprising: a telephone status monitor
connected so as to monitor a telephone status of the plurality of
POTS telephones; and a telephone status file connected to the
telephone status monitor for receiving the telephone status of the
plurality of POTS telephones, the telephone status file being
accessible by the inquiring computer via the network.
2. The system for communicating status over a network of claim 1,
wherein the telephone status comprises on-hook and off-hook
condition of the telephone.
3. The system for communicating status over a network of claim 1,
wherein the telephone status comprises the status of consumer
options for telephone service.
4. The system for communicating status over a network of claim 1,
the system further comprising: a calling party telephone; and logic
enabling the calling party telephone to place a telephone call to
one of the plurality of POTS telephones when that one of the
plurality of POTS telephones is in an on-hook status.
5. The system for communicating status over a network of claim 1,
the system further comprising: a voice mail converter connected to
receive an alpha numeric message via the network and convert the
alpha numeric message into a voice mail message; the converter
further connected so as to allow a called party to access the voice
mail message; and whereby the inquiring computer can create an
alphanumeric message to be sent to the voice mail converter over
the network for subsequent conversion into voice mail by the voice
mail converter.
6. The system for providing telephone status of claim 5, wherein
system further comprises: a called party processor connected to the
network, wherein the voice mail converter is connected to receive
the alpha numeric message from the network via the called party
processor.
7. A process for a calling party to determine telephone status of a
called party telephone over a network, the process comprising:
inputting a telephone number corresponding to the called party's
plain old telephone system (POTS) telephone to a telephone status
monitor over the network via a calling party processor; and
accessing a called party telephone status file over the network,
wherein status of the called party's POTS telephone is made
available via the called party telephone status file by the
telephone status monitor.
8. The process for a calling party to determine telephone status of
claim 7, the process further comprising: the calling party
processor dialing the telephone number of the called party's POTS
telephone when an on-hook status is detected; and establishing a
telephone call between the calling party and the called party via a
telephone connected to the calling party processor.
9. The process for a calling party to determine telephone status of
claim 7, the process further comprising: creating an alpha numeric
message; and sending the alpha numeric message over the network to
a voice mail converter for conversion into a voice mail message,
wherein the voice mail message is accessible for retrieval by the
called party.
10. The process for a calling party to determine telephone status
of claim 9, wherein the alpha numeric message is received at the
voice mail converter via a called party processor connected between
the network and the voice mail converter.
11. A process for determining telephone status comprising:
accessing a telephone status file over a network; and monitoring
the status of a plurality of plain old telephone system (POTS)
telephones and providing that telephone status to the telephone
status file.
12. The process for determining telephone status of claim 11,
wherein the monitoring of telephone status is accomplished by a
telephone status monitor monitoring the on-hook and off-hook status
of a plurality of telephones.
13. The process for determining telephone status of claim 12,
wherein the telephone status monitor periodically updates the
status of telephones being monitored.
14. The process for determining telephone status of claim 11,
wherein the accessing a telephone status over a network comprises:
receiving a number to be called, input by a calling party; and
reviewing the telephone status of the number to be called in the
telephone status file.
15. The process for determining telephone status of claim 14, the
process further comprising: periodically updating the telephone
status file with the status of telephones being monitored.
16. The process for determining telephone status of claim 15, the
process further comprising: notifying a calling party by beeper
that a called party telephone is in an on-hook condition.
17. A system for communicating over a network, the system
comprising: a voice mail converter connected to receive an alpha
numeric message via the network and convert the alpha numeric
message into a voice mail message; the converter further connected
so as to allow a called party to access the voice mail message; and
whereby a message creation device creates an alphanumeric message
to be sent to the voice mail converter over the network for
subsequent conversion into voice mail by the voice mail
converter.
18. The system for communicating over a network of claim 17,
wherein the network is a wireless network and the message creation
device comprises a wireless communication device.
19. The system for communicating over a network of claim 18,
wherein the creation device comprises a telephone.
20. The system for communicating over a network of claim 18,
wherein the creation device comprises a computer.
21. The system for communicating over a network of claim 17,
wherein the network is a wireless network and the called party
accesses the voice mail message using a wireless communication
device.
22. The system for communicating over a network of claim 21,
wherein the wireless communication device comprises a
telephone.
23. The system for communicating over a network of claim 21,
wherein the wireless communication device comprises a computer.
24. The system for communicating over a network of claim 21,
wherein the wireless communication device comprises a personal
digital assistant having voice capability.
25. The system for communicating over a network of claim 17,
wherein the creation device comprises a telephone.
26. The system for communicating over a network of claim 17,
wherein the creation device comprises a computer.
27. The system for communicating over a network of claim 17,
wherein the called party accesses the voice mail message using a
telephone.
28. The system for communicating over a network of claim 17,
wherein the called party accesses the voice mail message using a
computer.
29. The system for communicating over a network of claim 17,
wherein the called party accesses the voice mail message using a
personal digital assistant having voice capability.
30. A system for providing status of a plurality of telephones over
a network to an inquiring computer, the system comprising: a
telephone status monitor connected so as to monitor a telephone
status of the plurality of telephones; and a telephone status file
connected to the telephone status monitor for receiving the
telephone status of the plurality of telephones, the telephone
status file being accessible by the inquiring computer via the
network; wherein the telephone status is a consumer option selected
from the group consisting of: number of rings to voicemail and call
waiting.
31. A system for providing telephone status over a network to a
calling party computer connected to that network, the system
comprising: a telephone status monitor connected so as to monitor a
telephone status of a telephone; a telephone status file connected
to the telephone status monitor for receiving the telephone status
of the telephone, the telephone status file being accessible by the
calling computer via the network; and a voice mail converter
connected to receive an alpha numeric message via the network and
convert the alpha numeric message into a voice mail message; and
the converter being further connected so as to allow a called party
to access the voice mail message; whereby the calling party
computer can create an alphanumeric message to be sent to the voice
mail converter via the network for subsequent conversion into voice
mail by the voice mail converter.
32. The system for providing telephone status of claim 31, wherein
system further comprises: a called party processor connected to the
network, wherein the voice mail converter is connected to receive
the alpha numeric message from the network via the called party
processor.
33. A process for a calling party to determine telephone status of
a called party telephone over a network, the process comprising:
inputting a called party's telephone number to a telephone status
monitor over the network via a calling party processor; accessing a
called party telephone status file over the network, wherein status
of the called party telephone is made available via the called
party status file by the telephone status monitor; creating an
alpha numeric message; and sending the alpha numeric message over
the network to a voice mail converter for conversion into a voice
mail message, wherein the voice mail message is accessible for
retrieval by the called party.
34. The process for a calling party to determine telephone status
of claim 33, wherein the alpha numeric message is received at the
voice mail converter via a called party processor connected between
the network and the voice mail converter.
35. A process for determining telephone status, the process
comprising: accessing a telephone status file over a network, the
telephone status file representing telephone status of one or more
telephones that are being monitored; reviewing periodic updates to
the telephone status file with respect to a called party telephone
selected from the one or more telephones monitored for the
telephone status file; and notifying a calling party by beeper that
the called party telephone is in an on-hook condition.
36. A system for communicating thermal status via one or more
telephones over a network to an inquiring computer, the system
comprising: a telephone status monitor connected so as to monitor a
telephone status of the one or more telephones; and a telephone
status file connected to the telephone status monitor for receiving
the telephone status of the one or more telephones, the telephone
status file being accessible by the inquiring computer via the
network; wherein the telephone status comprises a temperature
condition of a thermal system reporting to the telephone.
37. The system for communicating thermal status of claim 36,
wherein the thermal system reporting a temperature condition is
selected from the group consisting of: a household heating system,
a household cooling system, a household central air system, a
commercial heating-ventilation-air-conditioning system, a
refrigerator, and a freezer.
38. A process for a calling party to determine thermal status via a
called party telephone over a network, the process comprising:
inputting a telephone number corresponding to the called party's
telephone to a telephone status monitor over the network via a
calling party processor; and accessing a called party telephone
status file over the network, wherein telephone status of the
called party's telephone is made available via the called party
telephone status file by the telephone status monitor; wherein the
telephone status comprises a temperature condition of a thermal
system reporting to the telephone.
39. The process for a calling party to determine thermal status of
claim 38, wherein the thermal system reporting a temperature
condition is selected from the group consisting of: a household
heating system, a household cooling system, a household central air
system, a commercial heating-ventilation-air-conditioning system, a
refrigerator, and a freezer.
40. A process for determining temperature status via telephone, the
process comprising: accessing a telephone status file over a
network; and monitoring the temperature status corresponding to a
plurality of telephones and providing that temperature status to
the telephone status file.
41. The process for determining temperature status via telephone of
claim 40, wherein the temperature status corresponding to each of
the plurality of telephones comprises a temperature condition
reported by a thermal system, wherein the thermal system is
selected from the group consisting of: a household heating system,
a household cooling system, a household central air system, a
commercial heating-ventilation-air-conditioning system, a
refrigerator, and a freezer.
42. A system for communicating status of a plurality of telephones
over a network to a videophone, the system comprising: a telephone
status monitor connected so as to monitor a telephone status of the
plurality of telephones; and a telephone status file connected to
the telephone status monitor for receiving the telephone status of
the plurality of telephones, the telephone status file being
accessible by the videophone via the network.
43. A process for a calling party to determine telephone status of
a called party telephone over a network, the process comprising:
inputting a telephone number corresponding to the called party's
telephone to a telephone status monitor over the network via a
videophone; and accessing a called party telephone status file with
the videophone over the network, wherein status of the called
party's telephone is made available via the called party telephone
status file by the telephone status monitor.
44. A process for determining telephone status comprising:
accessing a telephone status file over a network using a
videophone; and monitoring the status of a plurality of telephones
and providing that telephone status to the telephone status file
for viewing via the videophone.
45. A system for communicating status of a plurality of wireless
telecommunication devices over a network to an inquiring computer,
the system comprising: a telephone status monitor connected so as
to monitor a telephone status of the plurality of wireless
telecommunication devices; and a telephone status file connected to
the telephone status monitor for receiving the telephone status of
the plurality of wireless telecommunication devices, the telephone
status file being accessible by the inquiring computer via the
network.
46. The system for communicating status over a network of claim 45,
the system further comprising: a voice mail converter connected to
receive an alpha numeric message via the network and convert the
alpha numeric message into a voice mail message; the converter
further connected so as to allow a called party to access the voice
mail message via one or more of the plurality of wireless
telecommunication devices; and whereby the inquiring computer can
create an alphanumeric message to be sent to the voice mail
converter via the network for subsequent conversion into voice mail
by the voice mail converter.
47. A process for a calling party to determine device status of a
called party wireless telecommunication device over a network, the
process comprising: inputting a telephone number corresponding to
the called party's wireless telecommunication device to a device
status monitor over the network via a calling party processor; and
accessing a called party device status file over a network, wherein
status of the called party's wireless telecommunication devices is
made available via the called party device status file by the
device status monitor.
48. The process for a calling party to determine device status of
claim 47, the process further comprising: creating an alpha numeric
message; and sending the alpha numeric message over the network to
a voice mail converter for conversion into a voice mail message,
wherein the voice mail message is accessible for retrieval by the
called party via the called party's wireless telecommunication
device.
49. The process for a calling party to determine device status of
claim 47, the process further comprising: notifying the calling
party by beeper that the called party's wireless telecommunication
device is in an on-hook condition.
50. A process for determining wireless telecommunication device
status comprising: accessing a device status file over a network;
and monitoring the status of a plurality of wireless
telecommunication devices and providing that device status to the
device status file.
51. The process for determining wireless telecommunication device
status of claim 50, the process further comprising: notifying a
calling party by beeper that a called party wireless
telecommunication device is in an on-hook condition.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation in part of application
Ser. No. 08/963,373 filed Nov. 3, 1997, now pending. The Ser. No.
08/963,373 application is incorporated herein by reference, in its
entirety, for all purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to electronically
determining the status of a telephone over a network. More
specifically, the present invention provides a method and apparatus
for obtaining the status of a telephone (whether on-hook or
off-hook) over a network in order to maximize the probability of
reaching a desired party. It also provides a method and apparatus
for sending an e-mail to the desired party for storage as a voice
mail message.
[0003] Literally millions of times per day, parties attempt to
contact one another, only to find that the party initiating the
telephone call receives a busy signal or is put into the phone mail
of the receiving telephone when that telephone is off-hook. Not
only is this experience frustrating for the caller, but also can
result in lost business or social opportunities on the part of the
receiving party who is on the line speaking with someone else. In
addition, receiving busy signals and the inability to complete
telephone calls results in the loss of millions of dollars in
revenue both from the time expended by the caller in trying to
reach the desired party, as well as lost opportunities for commerce
or other social contact.
[0004] Telephone line activity monitoring has been the subject of
invention in the past. A form of line activity monitoring has been
proposed for the purpose of obtaining information regarding
statistics of line usage. This proposed system detects the usage of
the line, but does not transmit status information to others in any
current fashion. For further details, refer to U.S. Pat. No.
4,559,416 to Theis et al.
[0005] Another monitoring system has been described whose purpose
is to notify an operator that a telephone line is open so that a
desired message can be delivered by the operator to a receiving
party. This system comprises an automatic dialer that attempts to
reach individuals on a repetitive basis until a connection is made.
Again, status of the telephone at any given point of time is not
provided. For further details, refer to U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,899 to
Norwich.
[0006] An integrated calling directory has been described that
utilizes a personal computer that stores information about the
numbers being called. It does not address the problem associated
with the called party telephone being in an off-hook condition.
This condition is not reported in any fashion to the initiator of
the telephone call. For further details, refer to U.S. Pat. No.
4,734,931 to Bourg et al.
[0007] A communication system has been proposed that uses a voice
message system for storing and retrieving voice messages and faxed
data and for converting text into voice messages. This proposed
system does not deal with the issue of how to contact the party
receiving the phone call but only leaves a message for that party
in the event that the phone is in an off-hook condition. For
further details, refer to U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,740 to Irribarren et
al.
[0008] Another information processing system has been described as
having a telephone and an informational processing device. This
system does not address the issue of whether a called party
telephone is in an on-hook or off-hook condition. For further
details, refer to U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,893 to Onosaka.
[0009] A system for synchronization of mail boxes over a network
has been proposed. This system is designed to ensure that
information in electronic mail is complete in a series of different
mailboxes. The issue of providing information to a caller regarding
the status of a called party's telephone is not dealt with. For
further details, refer to U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,002 to Brunson.
[0010] What is desired is a system whereby a calling party can
pre-determine the status of a called party's telephone (on-hook or
off-hook) so as to maximize the opportunity for completing a
telephone call to the desired party.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
maximize the probability that a calling party will actually contact
a called party when a telephone call is made.
[0012] It is a further objective of the present invention to
provide a status of the called party's telephone (on-hook or
off-hook) before the calling party makes the telephone call to the
called party.
[0013] It is a further objective of the present invention to
provide telephone status information over a network.
[0014] It is a further objection of the present invention to
continually monitor the status of a telephone in order to provide
the telephone in order to provide the telephone status information
desired.
[0015] It is a further objective of the present invention to store
telephone line status in a file that can be accessed by others.
[0016] It is a further objective of the present invention to
constantly update the telephone line status file so that callers
accessing the file can have an up-to-date record of the status of a
telephone to be called.
[0017] It is a further objective of the present invention to obtain
the status of a called party's telephone over cable systems
connected to public switched telephone networks.
[0018] It is yet another objection to obtain the status of a called
party's telephone when both the called party and the calling party
are connected to cable systems.
[0019] It is a further objective of the present invention to obtain
the status of a called party's telephone when the called party is
connected to a cable system but the calling party is not.
[0020] It is yet another objective of the present invention to
generally provide information concerning home and office equipment
and functions to a file that can be accessed by networks external
to the home, such as the Internet.
[0021] These and other objectives of the present invention will
become apparent from a review of the general and detailed
descriptions that follow. The present invention provides a method
for a calling party to receive constantly updated information
concerning the status of a telephone (on-hook or off-hook) to be
called. For purposes of this specification this status will
generally be called the "telephone status." The present invention
also provides a way for a calling party to leave e-mail and voice
mail to the called party as part of the determination of telephone
status.
[0022] The present invention comprises a monitoring system that can
constantly poll a series of telephones, and stores information
concerning the telephone status in a telephone status file.
Alternatively, the system switch simply records the off-hook status
of a telephone of the system and provides a notation to a file that
is accessible to others. Thus, a telephone is presumed to be
on-hook unless it is determined to be off-hook. That file is one
that, in a preferred embodiment, can be accessed over the Internet.
When a calling party desires to maximize its probability of
actually being connected with a called party, the calling party
accesses the telephone's status file over the Internet and receives
a determination of whether the called telephone is on-hook or
off-hook. When an off-hook condition is noted, the calling party
will not attempt to place the telephone call. In addition, the
calling party may elect to alert the called party that a call was
attempted, to send an e-mail and have the e-mail delivered as a
voice mail message, or to be signaled when the called party's phone
is on-hook. When the telephone status is noted as on-hook, the
calling party can then make the telephone call with some reasonable
assurance of reaching the telephone of the called party.
[0023] This system differs from existing private branch exchanges
(PBX) in that a current PBX can have a "camp on" feature that
allows a use to place a phone call to a telephone on the PBX, note
that the called telephone is off-hook and "camp on" to the called
party's telephone line so that when an on-hook condition is noted,
the PBX can automatically connect the calling party to the called
party. The difficulty with such camp on systems is that they cannot
be used by people outside the PBX. In addition, when using the camp
on feature, the call is "camped" only after is placed. The caller
still has invested both time and money in exchange for a busy
signal. In contrast to existing PBX camp on systems, the system and
method of the present invention allows a user to be advised of the
status of a telephone via network external to the location of the
telephone to maximize the probability of actually making the
desired connection.
[0024] An alternative embodiment of the present invention is to
connect the calling party's telephone to the computer at the
calling party's location. Thereafter, upon a determination by the
calling party's telephone is such that a call can be made, the
user's computer will then dial the user's telephone prompting the
user to pick that telephone up and thereafter dial the called
party's telephone thereby completing the telephone call in an
automated fashion.
[0025] A further embodiment of the present invention is to use a
telecommunications device (wireless or otherwise, e.g., a computer,
a telephone, or a personal digital assistant) to send the called
party an e-mail and then have the e-mail delivered to the called
party's voice mail box. The called party retrieves the
e-mail-converted-to-voice message from the voice mail box using any
of a number of devices (e.g., a computer, a telephone, or a
personal digital assistant).
[0026] It is also the case the telephone companies are seeking to
expand their markets for both long distance and local services.
This expansion has caused certain long distance to acquire cable
companies in order to provide local service to customers. This
cable-borne telephone is yet another way for long distance carriers
to reach local users by virtue of the cable system infrastructure
already in place. Where such cable infrastructure exists, it is
also possible to obtain the telephone status of users telephones
over the cable system.
[0027] Obtaining telephone status over the cable network occurs in
a similar fashion to that already noted above. In a first
embodiment, a called party's telephone is either plugged into a
set-top box or other interface through which telephone services are
offered. Alternatively, the called party's telephone is connected
to a computer system which is in turn connected to a set-top box
ore other telephone and/or data interface for those cable
operations that offer Internet-over-cable service. The off-hook
status of the telephone at the called party's location is
determined via a switch at the telephone company (telco). That
off-hook status is provided to a file that is accessible over the
Internet.
[0028] Thus, a calling party, desiring to obtain the status of the
telephone at a location having cable service would again access the
Internet and obtain information from the telephone status file
which is constantly updated by the telco switch. Conversely,
information concerning telephone status file over the cable
network. In this manner, any user can obtain the telephone status
via a computer system linked to the Internet via a cable operator.
In addition, telephone status can be provided to a telephone status
file over the Internet for those telephones that can use local
cable operator infrastructure to connect to the public switched
telephone network.
[0029] As noted above, a calling party at the cable location can
also obtain the telephone status of the called party telephone by
simply using the computer that is plugged into the set-top box or
other telephony/data interface provided to go over the Internet to
the telephone status file. This additional cable network thereby
allows updating of the telephone status file and allows telephone
status to be obtained in yet another fashion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] Additional objects and advantages of the present invention
will be apparent in the following detailed description read in
conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.
[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates the basic architecture of a telephone
status monitor according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates a telephone status monitor according to
an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 3 illustrates an operational process of a telephone
status monitor according to the present invention.
[0034] FIG. 4 illustrates an operational process of a telephone
status monitor according to an alternate embodiment.
[0035] FIG. 5 illustrates a telephone status monitor system
embodiment using wireless network components.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0036] The present invention is a system and method for obtaining
the telephone status (on-hook/off-hook) of a called party's
telephone over a network external to the location of the called
party's telephone, such as the Internet.
[0037] Referring to FIG. 1, the general architecture of the
telephone status monitor is described. Using a personal computer or
other similar type of processor 12 a user accesses a network, in
this case the Internet 10, although this is not meant as a
limitation. Any network that can be connected to a calling party
and a called party can also be used. The calling party accesses the
telephone status file 8 which is continually updated by a telephone
status monitor 6 which constantly monitors a series of telephones
2, 4. It should be noted that it is anticipated that many thousands
of telephones will be monitored in this fashion. Eventually it is
anticipated that millions of phones will be so monitored. The
monitoring function can be accomplished by special equipment for
that purpose or is simply the output of a switch that recognizes
when a particular telephone is off-hook on the network.
[0038] The status file 8 is continually updated by monitor 6 with
the on-hook or off-hook status of telephones that are monitored.
Thus, the calling party communicating with a PC 12 can receive
"real time" status (as determined by the sampling rate of the
monitor) of a telephone being called by simply monitoring the
telephone status file that is accessible over the Internet.
[0039] Since the status file is anticipated to contain many
thousands of numbers it is anticipated as past of the present
invention that when a calling party using its PC 12 requests the
status of a particular telephone that only the status of that
telephone will subsequently be displayed on the user PC.
Alternatively, the user PC 12 may create a list of numbers to
monitor and have the data "pushed" over the Internet 10 to the
calling party's PC 12.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 2, an alternate embodiment of the present
invention is shown. In this case, calling party's PC 20 accesses
the telephone status file 22 over the Internet 30. Again, the
telephone status file 22 is continually updated by a telephone
status monitor 24 which monitors telephones 26 and 28 (again these
are representative of a plurality of telephones fully monitored by
the system). In this case, however, the calling party has a
telephone 32 that is connected to the calling party's PC 20. When
the calling party's PC 20 monitors the status of a called party via
the status file 22 as soon as the called party status indicates an
on-hook condition, the PC 20 will then place a telephone call to
the called party. This makes the entire connection process an
automated one. This embodiment finds particular utility in a
private branch exchange (PBX) where a telco switch is ordinarily
not monitoring individual telephones.
[0041] Although the invention may be embodied so as to monitor
status any type of telephone, it has particular value for
monitoring the status of ordinary telephones on the plain old
telephone system (i.e., POTS telephones). That is because the POTS
does not have the sort of telephone status monitoring features that
may be included in newer generations of telephone networks.
[0042] Referring again to FIG. 2, the calling party may also send
an e-mail to the called party's PC 34. The e-mail is converted from
text to digital voice at converter 36 and routed to the voice mail
box 36 and routed to the voice mail box 36 of the called party.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 3, the flow of the method of the present
invention is shown. A calling party having a PC inputs a telephone
number to be called (the called party) 101. Thereafter, the calling
party's PC connects to the Internet 103 subsequently accesses the
telephone status file 105. The status of the called party s
telephone number is then determined 107 and that status is provided
back to the calling party's PC 109 noting that status of the called
party's telephone line.
[0044] Upon receipt of the called party's status, that information
is displayed for the calling party 111 and thereafter, if the
called party's telephone line status is in an on-hook condition,
the user can then dial the called party 113.
[0045] Referring to FIG. 4, an alternate embodiment of the present
invention is shown. All of the steps of the access to the status of
the called party's telephone line is the same is noted previously
in FIG. 3. However, instead of the user making the telephone call,
the PC continually monitors the telephone status file. Upon noting
that the called party's telephone status is in an on-hook
condition, the calling party's PC dials the called party's
telephone 115. The calling party's PC then waits to receive an
on-hook signal from the called party's telephone 117, thereby
signaling that the calling party is on the telephone ready to make
the telephone call. The calling party's PC then places the
telephone call to the called party's telephone 119, thereby
completing the telephone call. It should be noted that at the
present time it is possible to place a telephone call over the
Internet. Therefore, the calling party's PC can place the call over
the Internet to a called party's telephone or, in the alternative,
the calling party's PC can simply place a call over the public
switch telephone network to the called party's telephone.
[0046] Referring to FIG. 5, an alternative embodiment of the
present invention is illustrated. While it is important for
long-distance callers to be able to ascertain whether the party is
online or not, this is also particularly important when one is
dealing with wireless communications. For example, and as described
earlier, personal computer 20 can connect to, for example, the
Internet 102 to ascertain the status of wireless telephones 112,
114, and 118. The query concerning the telephone status then
proceeds through a wireless application protocol (WAP) interface
106 to wireless network 108. The request then flows to the wireless
network manager 110 which records which wireless phones are
currently available on the network and, of key importance, which of
those telephones is engaged in an active telephone call. Thus
network manager knows that wireless telephones 112 and 114 are
available for telephone calls or in the alternative that, for
example, wireless telephone 114 is engaged in an active phone call.
This information is then sent by network manager 110 over wireless
network 108 through WAP interface 106 through Internet 102 to PC
20. At that point the user can decide to make a telephone call
using conventional telephone 32 over the public switch telephone
network 104 through the WAP interface 106 over wireless network 108
to the wireless telephones 112, 114. Alternatively, telephone 32
can place its call through PC 20 via Internet telephony over the
Internet 102 to the wireless telephones 112, 114.
[0047] This knowledge of the status of telephones in a wireless
system is particularly important, since certain trends exist to
charge only the caller for calls that are to be made to or from a
wireless network. This is consistent with the current method of
charging for telephone calls over a public switch telephone
network. Thus, in a situation where a caller is charged for all
telephone calls made, it will be particularly important to the
caller that it not get charged for leaving a message over a
wireless network which tends to be particularly expensive.
[0048] The expense in dealing with a wireless network is all the
more apparent when one considers that a telephone may be in a
"roaming" mode where the telephone is in a network which is not the
home network for the wireless telephone. Thus, in the case where
wireless telephone 118 is roaming in a second wireless network 116,
a telephone call that is not completed or wherein a message is
simply left, becomes all the more expensive since roaming charges
will be charged to the caller as well.
[0049] It is also important to note that an entire generation of
video phones 100 are becoming available. The video phone in certain
instances will take the place of personal computer 20 for
interacting with the Internet and making telephone calls. Such a
telephone is the I phone.RTM. model 2050, for example, whose
functionality, technical aspects, and capabilities are incorporated
herein by reference in their entirety. Such a video phone 100 can
also interact with Internet 102 through WAP interface 106 to
ascertain the status of wireless telephones 112, 114 over wireless
network 108. When information is subsequently displayed on video
phone 100 regarding the availability of wireless telephones 112,
114, a call can be placed either over the Internet 102 or over
public switch telephone network 104 through the wireless network to
the wireless telephones desired.
[0050] A telephone line status monitoring system and method has
been described herein. It will be appreciated by those skilled in
the art that minor modifications to the present invention could be
made without departing from the scope of the invention as
disclosed. For example, it is also possible with the system of the
present invention to monitor temperature of the home. In this
instance, the system has a thermostat in place of the telephone
system. The thermostat places its readings into a file over the
Internet which can be read by a user when the user is at a remote
location. In this manner the user can monitor home temperature
during absences.
[0051] Monitoring of temperature is also useful for refrigerators,
freezers, and commercial HVAC systems. The present invention allows
for problems in such thermal systems to be monitored remotely,
spotted early, and corrected before any serious economic
consequences occur.
[0052] Similarly, just as messages can be transmitted to the user
of the telephone, so can instructions to raise or lower temperature
in the home be transmitted to the thermostat over the Internet.
[0053] Alarm monitoring can also be accomplished using the system
and method of the present invention. In this instance, when an
alarm goes off, the alarm company can be notified in the normal
fashion. However, the alarm could also be noted in a file to be
reviewed by a user when the user is away from the premises. In this
case the user will know an alarm has gone off and can contact the
alarm company to ascertain the meaning of the alarm.
[0054] An additional embodiment of the alarm concept of the present
invention is for a formatted email to be sent to the owner of the
premises so that the owner can have more specific notification of
the meaning of any alarm that goes off.
[0055] A telephone status monitoring system and method has now been
shown. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
other equipment in the home of office may be monitored as well
using the system of the present invention without departing from
the scope of the invention as disclosed.
[0056] The present invention has been described in terms of
preferred embodiments, however, it will be appreciated that various
modifications and improvements may be made to the described
embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. The
present invention is limited only by the appended claims.
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