U.S. patent application number 11/852318 was filed with the patent office on 2008-05-01 for call management via television.
This patent application is currently assigned to INTEGRA5 COMMUNICATIONS INC.. Invention is credited to Eyal Bartfeld, Giora Keinan.
Application Number | 20080101559 11/852318 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26884959 |
Filed Date | 2008-05-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080101559 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bartfeld; Eyal ; et
al. |
May 1, 2008 |
Call Management Via Television
Abstract
A telephone call management system and method are disclosed,
allowing for call review where a voice mail message being recorded
for a specific telephone may be played on a television associated
therewith during the time it is being recorded. Optionally, the
call may further be retrieved and rerouted to the user telephone
responsive to a command entered via the television distribution
gateway, and any call may be recorded responsive to commands
entered via the gateway.
Inventors: |
Bartfeld; Eyal; (Lexington,
MA) ; Keinan; Giora; (Rishon LeZion, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LAWSON & WEITZEN, LLP
88 BLACK FALCON AVE
SUITE 345
BOSTON
MA
02210
US
|
Assignee: |
INTEGRA5 COMMUNICATIONS
INC.
25 Mall Road Suite 300
Burlington
MA
01803
|
Family ID: |
26884959 |
Appl. No.: |
11/852318 |
Filed: |
September 9, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10189269 |
Jul 2, 2002 |
7277445 |
|
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11852318 |
Sep 9, 2007 |
|
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60338730 |
Nov 5, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/88.17 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 2203/4563 20130101;
H04M 3/54 20130101; H04M 7/0069 20130101; H04M 3/53358 20130101;
H04M 1/575 20130101; H04M 3/53308 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/088.17 |
International
Class: |
H04M 1/64 20060101
H04M001/64 |
Claims
1-27. (canceled)
28. A method for call management using a television, comprising the
steps of: directing an incoming telephone call to a telephone
associated with a user; displaying on said television associated
with said user, information related to said incoming call; routing
said incoming call to a messaging server if said users declines to
pick up said incoming call; having said user select an outgoing
message from a plurality of pre-recorded messages, said outgoing
message to be played by the messaging server, for an originating
caller of said incoming telephone call.
29. A method as claimed in claim 28, further comprising the step of
disconnecting said caller without recording an incoming
message.
30. A method as claimed in claim 28, further comprising the steps
of, after said outgoing message is played to said caller: Recording
an incoming message to at least one of a plurality of voice
mailboxes, said mailbox being selected by said user.
31. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein said selection of
mailbox is selected by the selection of said outgoing message.
32. A method as claimed in claim 28, wherein said step of having
the user select, is performed by instructing said messaging server
via a Television-Telephony Gateway.
33. A method for call management using a television, comprising the
steps of: directing an incoming telephone call to a telephone
associated with a user, while said user is engaged in an
already-established telephone conversation; displaying on said
television associated with said user, information related to said
incoming call; having the user decline to receive said incoming
call; responsive to said decline, routing said incoming call to a
messaging server; Playing a pre-recorded message to the originating
caller of said incoming call by the messaging server, said message
being selected by said user.
34. A method as claimed in claim 33, further comprising the step of
disconnecting said caller without recording a message.
35. A method for call management using a television, comprising the
steps of: directing an incoming telephone call to a telephone
associated with a user; displaying on said television associated
with said user, information related to said incoming call;
receiving a command from said user; responsive to said command,
having a Television-Telephony Gateway cause the incoming telephone
call to be recorded to an audio capable device.
36. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said step of receiving
occurs after said incoming telephone call have been answered.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. provisional
application No. 60/338,730 filed Nov. 5, 2001, which incorporated
herein by reference.
FILED OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This application relates generally to telephone call
management, and more particularly to supplying call management
capabilities utilizing a television.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Oftentimes, when a telephone call is unanswered for a
certain number of rings (i.e. a predetermined time), the call is
redirected to a messaging system adapted to receive at least voice
messaging. In many cases a TAD (telephone Answering Device) is
located at the subscriber premises. Such TADs often allow the
subscriber to hear the message as it is being recorded, thus
allowing the subscriber to pick up the call if desired. The
capacity to listen to the incoming message without answering the
call is called `call preview` in these specifications. Many
telephony service providers and PBX (Private Branch Exchange)
systems offer voice mail--TAD like services--integrated into the
telephony network. Some PBX's provide call preview services by
using either dedicated keys on specialized telephones, or by
complex dialing sequences. Some PBX systems connect to the user's
computer and deliver call management via the computer. However
public telephony services provide little if any call management
features like the call preview. None provide the capacity for call
retrieval, i.e. the capacity to answer the call after it was
directed to the voice mail. Even advanced wireless telephony
communication services such as GPRS (General Purpose radio Service)
fail to provide such services. One of the reasons for the lack of
service is due to the fact that the recording occurs in a messaging
server remote to the subscriber home. Most simple telephones do not
offer out of band signaling for controlling the operation as well
as perform call screening. Thus not only is the user prevented from
listening to the recorded message as it is being recorded, the
telco (traditional telephony networks) or wireless based voice mail
does not allow the user to `change his/her mind` and pick up the
call after it got directed to the voice mail service, as offered by
a home based TAD. One exception to this limitation is described by
Dee et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,524. However the Dee et al. does
not allow call screening without the use of the telephone itself,
which presents a disadvantage if the phone is used otherwise, such
as during a "call waiting" incoming call.
[0004] There exist today the methods for providing caller
identification (Caller ID, or CID henceforth) on a subscriber
television. An example of such methods is shown in U.S. Pat. No.
5,754,546 to Voit et al.
[0005] Broadband system such as television distribution systems
have been used as alternative to common carrier telephony systems.
Typically, such system will have a class 5 telephony switch or a
softswitch--a telephony switch driven primarily by software,
installed in a television distribution center such as a headend,
and interfaces with the telco network. From here on this example
will refer to the softswitch, with the understanding that other
telephony switching or interfacing that provide similar
functionality may be substituted. The softswitch also interfaces
with the headend, and utilizes the television distribution to
distribute calls to the subscriber home. Oftentimes, the softswitch
includes capabilities such as voice mail, call redirection, and the
like. Generally, the softswitch is coupled to the headend to carry
out the conversation, to learn if a telephone was picked up, etc.
Oftentimes, the softswitch is communicating with the telco domain
using SS7--a popular interface standard between telephony switching
equipment. However even television distribution systems based
telephony, fails so far to provide the call preview or the call
retrieval features.
[0006] Thus, there is an unfulfilled need for easy-to-use call and
massage management with a telephony provider automated answering
services.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention aims to supply call management
features such as call preview and call retrieval using a
combination of television and telephone. Preferably, the invention
also provides caller ID services utilizing a television. It is
further an object of the present invention to provide telephone
call control capabilities such as control of messaging
applications, and call directing, utilizing a television.
Preferably, most call control services are performed in real
time.
[0008] In the preferred embodiment, telephone calls arrive at
telephony switch 25 (preferably a softswitch) from the PSTN (Public
Switched Telephony Network) network. Preferably, CID (Caller
Identification) information is also displayed on the television.
However this step is optional. Information regarding the origin
telephone number and information regarding the destination
telephone number are retrieved and sent from telephony switch 25 to
the telephony-television gateway 10 (TTG hereinafter). The TTG
transmits the information, as video or as data, using transmission
equipment 15, to STB 40 which displays the information on
television 35. Simultaneously, or with a short delay, the telephony
switch transfers the call to the subscriber's premises. In some
cases, the caller ID data is transmitted between the first and
second ring, and thus the ring occurs before the information is
received and then transmitted to the television.
[0009] If the user does not pick up the phone (i.e. does not
respond to the call), the call is redirected after a certain amount
of time to a messaging server 90 adapted to receive at least voice
mail messages. In these specifications, during the recording of the
message, the telephone session becomes a `messaged telephony
session`, or the `messaged call`. The system provides the user with
capability to listen to the message while it is being recorded. In
the more preferred embodiment, the user may instruct the TTG to
redirect the messaged call, to his premises.
[0010] Stated differently, the invention provides a messaging
interface adapted to interface Television Telephony Gateway (TTG)
to a voice capable messaging system adapted to receive messages of
said incoming call if the call is not answered within a preset
time. A preferred manner of achieving this aspect includes an
instruction receiver adapted to receive instructions from a user,
and the TTG being adapted to, responsive to said instruction, to
receive a voice message from said messaging system and deliver the
message to a selected video terminal associated with the user. A
further preferred aspect of the invention provides for call
retrieval, responsive to an instruction from a user. I.e., in
response to a user command, the TTG instruct a telephone system
from which the incoming call information arrives, to attempt to
reconnect said unanswered call to the user, or an alternative phone
number. Alternatively, the call may be otherwise redirected, such
as by means of an alternative phone, or a television based phone
system.
[0011] Thus an aspect of the invention comprises an apparatus and a
system for providing call management services via television. The
apparatus comprises a TTG that is adapted to couple directly or
indirectly to a television distribution system, such as a cable
network, and via that distribution system to a subscriber
television. The TTG is also adapted to couple directly or
indirectly to a telephony switch and receive information
therefrom.
[0012] Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, the invention provides
for a telephony television gateway apparatus adapted to operate in
conjunction with a television distribution system, a telephony
switch, and a messaging server adapted to record messages from a
telephony network. The apparatus comprises a call information
receiver adapted to monitor signals from the telephony switch or
messaging server, the signals reflect information regarding a
telephony session; a correlator adapted to associated the telephony
session information with associated set-top boxes coupled to said
distribution network; and transmission coupling equipment adapted
to couple a message from said messaging server to the associated
set top box, wherein said coupling occurs during the time said
message is being recorded. Preferably, the coupling occurs
responsive to user commands that are communicated to the system via
a user command receiver. A parser parses the user commands and is
adapted to communicate with the telephony switch, the messaging
server or with both. The term session information may relate to an
ongoing session or an attempted session. Thus the invention may be
used both on a regular telephone call and on a `call waiting` type
call, which is a service commonly offered to allow more than one
incoming call to be active at the same time (even if one is on
`hold` status).
[0013] In a more preferred embodiment, the TTG is adapted to
instruct said telephony switch to attempt re connecting a messaged
telephony session to the user associated with the session, or to
another telephone, responsive to user commands. In this respect the
user associated with the session is the one to whom the call was
initially directed.
[0014] In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
method for call management using a television, the method
comprising the steps of responsive to user commands, coupling a
voice mail message to a television set associated with a user to
which the message is directed, while said message is being
recorded. This aspect on its own provides for call preview
capability via a television. Preferably, prior to recording the
message the method includes the steps of directing an incoming
telephone call to a telephone associated with the user; routing the
incoming call to a messaging server if the incoming call is
unanswered during a predetermined period. Thus the telephony
session becomes a messaged call; and then recording said message by
said messaging server. preferably, the method further comprises the
step of displaying information related to said incoming call, on
the television set. Such information may comprise of the caller ID
(origin number, caller identification, or a combination thereof) of
the incoming call, the fact that a message is being recorded, and
the like. However the term `displaying` in this context may also
include a voice annunciation, and other similar alerting
methods.
[0015] In the most preferred embodiment of this aspect of the
invention, the method further comprises the step of rerouting said
messaged call to said telephone, responsive to user command.
Alternatively, the method may comprise the step of rerouting said
messaged call to a telephone specified by a user command.
[0016] Optionally, the call information receiver module is further
adapted to receive termination indication from the telephony side,
responsive to establishment or termination of said telephony
session or the termination of the attempt to establish said
session. The transmission coupling equipment is constructed to stop
the transmission responsive to the termination indication.
Alternatively, the transmission equipment is constructed to stop
the transmission after a time delay, independently, or more likely
under computer control.
[0017] Additional benefits of the system are considered, such as
providing a pre-recorded announcement to nuisance callers such as
telemarketers that their call is unwanted, prior to disconnecting
them without recording a message. Optionally, the user may select
the message played for the caller from a group of pre-recorded
messages, by instructing the voice mail server, via the TTG, which
message to play. Alternatively, the voice message selection entered
by the user may be directed to the telephony switch that will
direct the message to one of a plurality of voice mailboxes.
[0018] Clearly, the receiver module can be adapted to couple to a
telephony switch directly or indirectly, as needed, and such manner
of connection is a matter of technical choice. . Also preferably,
the transmission coupling equipment is constructed to transmit the
information to the television terminal in the form of a video
signal, a voice signal or data signal.
SHORT DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 depicts an overview of a system in accordance with an
aspect of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 2 depicts an example an overall system view of the
preferred embodiment, utilizing broadband telephone access, and SS
7 signalling.
[0021] FIG. 3 depicts an example an overall system view of the
preferred embodiment, utilizing telephone network access.
[0022] FIG. 4 depicts a more detailed view of a TTG in accordance
with the more preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0023] FIG. 5 depicts event flow in accordance with an embodiment
of the invention, where the TTG is connected directly to the
switch, without direct connection with the voicemail system.
[0024] FIG. 6 depicts event flow in accordance with the preferred
embodiment of the invention, where the TTG is connected to the
voice mail system.
[0025] FIG. 7 depicts event flow for recording a telephone
conversation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] In these specifications, the term television distribution
system signifies any system, wired or wireless, adapted for
distributing television signals. Examples of a television
distributing system include, but are not limited to, cable
television, terrestrial, satellite, DSL, radio frequency, cellular
and the like television signal distribution systems.
[0027] The terms `set top box` interchangeably referred to as
`television terminal` or by the acronym STB, includes any external,
internal, or other television controller or tuner for downstream or
upstream feed. The set-top box need not be a separate box, but may
be an integral part of some television models. The set-top box acts
as an interface between the television and the television
distribution system. The terms `user` and `subscriber` are used
interchangeably, to denote the person or persons to whom the
incoming call is directed.
[0028] Digital television transmission allows addressing specific
information directly to specific subscriber by sending information
to one or more set top boxes associated with the subscriber. The
set-top box needs only minimal programming if any, to display the
information for the specific user, and thus offers a `private`
programming channel like feature to operate on most STB's available
today. One method of causing such display is described in a U.S.
provisional application No. 60/308,737 filed Jul. 30, 2001 by
Yaakov Dekel, entitled "Addressing specific transport stream
program into subscriber's set-top box". This application is hereby
incorporated by reference in its entirety. Other methods exist to
address more specific types of STB, such as providing an STB that
is programmed to be aware of its address and adapted to change the
programming on the television. Additionally, some STB types are
adapted to operate as programmable computers, utilizing the
television screen as a video display.
[0029] FIG. 1 depicts a simplified environment suitable for
operating the TTG, and the methods described herein. The PSTN
(Public Switched Telephony Network) 5 is coupled to a telephony
provider 55, which may, for example, be a telco company, a cable
company, an IP network, wireless telephony, and the like or any
other provider of telephony services to the user premises.
Telephony provider 55 utilizes a messaging system, preferably a
unified messaging system, but any voice capable server will do.
Telephony switch 25 couples, amongst others, between the PSTN 5,
the voice messaging system 90, and the headend. Alternative
constructs within the invention connects one or more of the
components above directly to various elements of the telephony
system. The switch is preferably a softswitch, however the system
may operate with various switch types, such as a class 5 switch, a
VOIP switch (Voice over IP (internet protocol) ), and the like.
Typically, the system is installed in the headend and includes the
TTG 10, which utilizes a database 230 to correlate phone numbers to
set top boxes. The database may be part of the TTG, external to it,
or even located and/or operated remotely to it. Transmission
coupling equipment 15 is used to couple the information to the user
television set, via the distribution network, and STB 40. The
transmission equipment may involve just equipment to couple to the
headend equipment, a data signalling equipment such as a network
coupled to the distribution network (e.g. a DSL modem to a DSL
based television distribution network), direct coupling of video or
data signals to a multiplexer, or even direct modulation equipment
for feeding to a mixer. Thus the transmission equipment needs to
couple between the TTG and the subscriber television via the
distribution system, and the exact type and nature thereof is
dictated by the broadband network architecture and structure and is
a matter of engineering choice that will be clear to those skilled
in the art.
[0030] FIG. 2 shows a general system view of a typical system that
comprises the preferred embodiment of the present invention, to aid
in general understanding of the operation of various aspects of the
invention. The caller uses the calling phone 90 in order to call
user phone 150 in the subscriber premises. In this example, the
telephone call is routed via the broadband network using voice link
273 which couples between the telephony switch and the broadband
network, and MTA (Multimedia Terminal Adaptor) 140. Preferably, at
about the same time, caller ID information is being supplied (e.g.
from SCP 210 in case of SS7 signalling) to the TTG 120, and
delivered to STB 160 for display on TV screen 170. The subscriber
at this point decides whether or not to answer the call. If the
call is answered, the system completed its operation with regard to
this call. However, optionally connect time information and the
like may be continually displayed on screen. Further optionally,
the audio stream to the television may be muted for the duration,
by having the system instruct the set top box to mute,
discontinuing the audio stream to the set top box, or any other
convenient method. If the muting option is exercised, it is highly
desirable that an override function be provided, to allow other
viewers to continue and enjoy the television programming.
[0031] If the call is not received by the subscriber (the line is
busy, the user does not answer, or declines to answer due to caller
ID, etc.) the call is transferred by the telephony switch 25 to the
voice mail 90. At this point the call becomes a messaged call. It
should be noted that the location and ownership of the voice
messaging server or the telephony switch may vary, i.e. they may
reside in the television domain, or in the telco domain, or any
other arrangement that allows routing and cooperation therebetween.
Preferably at the time that a recording actually begins, a
notification is sent from the telephony network to the TTG 120 via
a data link. (Note that the data link and the audio link may be
physically connected using the same line. however in the depicted
embodiment, gateway 125 interfaces between the SS7 and the TTG. It
is fed with control signals, which can be any type of control in
the server side and SS7 control in the SS7 side. The gateway 125
also receives AUDIO signals, that are SS7 connection in the SS7
side, and any audio connection in the server side. From the SS7
side the gateway acts as a STP and SSP. The TTG 120 generates a
voice mail recording notification and sends it to the subscriber
STB 160 which displays it on the TV screen 170 (or otherwise alerts
the subscriber, e.g. by an audio message). The subscriber uses the
remote control 180 in order to send commands to the server via the
STB and the broadband network. The subscriber has three basic
possible commands: Cancel, Pickup, and listen.
[0032] If the subscriber selects the cancel option the notification
is removed from the screen. The message is being recorded for later
retrieval as known.
[0033] If the subscriber selects the Listen option, the TTG 120
sends a command to the telephony switch. The switch duplicates the
audio that is sent to the Voicemail 110 and sends a copy to the
TTG. The TTG decodes the audio and transmits it to the subscriber
STB via the broadband network. The STB send the audio to the TV
speaker. If this option is selected, it is preferable to continue
and display a command menu, to offer the option to stop listening,
Pickup, or other options as desired.
[0034] If the subscriber selects the Pickup option, the server
commands the telephone switch to rout the call again to the
subscriber phone and stop the routing it to the voice mail and to
the server. The phone rings and the subscriber receive the call.
Alternatively, the user may dictate an alternative phone number to
which the call be directed, and the call is thus directed to that
number.
[0035] Preferably the user also receives the option to disconnect
the caller during the call recording. This will offer an
appropriate solution to unwanted calls such as telemarketing, etc.
Optionally, a message. pre-recorded or made on the fly by the user,
may be delivered to the caller, explaining that the call is
unwanted prior to disconnecting the caller.
[0036] It will be noted that the action of duplicating the audio
stream may be performed by the voicemail function 90, which may
reside in the telco or in the broadband domain. Also, in this
embodiment, the TTG is connected to SS7 network. Thus the TTG is
preferably connected to the telephone network 200 in two
connections: one is the datalink 215, to the SCP (210) and the
other to a gateway (220) receives control and audio trunk(s) (230)
to the SS7 network
[0037] FIG. 3 is very similar to FIG. 2, however the subscriber
telephone is connected to the regular telephony network. Another
difference is that this drawing shows the option of feeding the
audio signal directly from the voice mail 90 server, via audio link
92. This is but one possible method of physical connection and
routing of the audio and call information and commands. Details may
vary as dictated by the type of network used, and the like, and the
specific configuration is matter of engineering choice. The system
is required to provide the capacity to communicate information with
the telephone services, be they by telco, broadband, wireless, or
any other arrangement. As long as information and the required
control functions can be exchanged, the invention may be
realized.
[0038] FIG. 4 depicts a simplified block diagram of a
Telephony-Television Gateway (TTG) in accordance with the preferred
embodiment of the invention. The information about the voice mail
recording is received by the call info and status receiver (310)
which parses the message and transmits it to the correlator (330).
The corellator correlates between the subscriber phone number (or
physical line number) and the subscriber STB(s) address (or
addresses) using the data base (370). The database may be
incorporated with the TTG, or may be located elsewhere. The Display
generator (350) generates a message in displayable format, and
sends it to the transmission coupling equipment 500, which couple
the formatted message to the actual transmission equipment that is
coupled to the broadband network.
[0039] The "displayable format" can be a logic command which the
STB client can display, a list of graphic primitives, an XML or a
HTML file, etc. All of those formats may be sent using out of band
data or in-band data, and the signalling method used is a matter of
technical choice. If the selected signalling method is direct
video, it can be sent using an in-band video stream. The preferred
method is to use OOB (out of Band) data so the notification can be
displayed when the subscriber is tuned to any channel.
[0040] When the user selects a command (cancel, listen , pickup,
etc.) the user command receiver 360 parses the data. If needed, it
queries the user command correlator 340, which gets the subscriber
phone number form the data base 370 or from the controller 410. If
the nature of the command dictate (e.g. listen), the user command
receiver sends a command to the call control commands generator 320
which generates a command (Listen or Pickup) and send it to the
phone network using a protocol appropriate to the system involved.
When audio is received in the audio interface 380, the controller
410 uses the phone number for detecting the STB address, and sends
it to the audio streamer 400. The phone number can be received
using the audio link or the data link. Alternative methods of
correlation, such as session identification may also be utilized.
The audio is encoded by the audio encoder 390 and is streamed by
the audio streamer 400 to the transmission coupling equipment 500.
The audio transmission can be done as MPEG audio streaming
(preferred), as in-band data, out of band data stream, or any other
method applicable for transferring audio to an STB.
[0041] When the user selects the Pickup option, the controller
commands the Audio streamer to stop transmitting the audio. The
controller 410 is responsible for synchronization between the two
directions of the data link and the audio link, and for managing
the subscriber session as required. The headend transmission
coupling equipment is largely dependent on the broadband network
type, equipment, and configuration. Generally, the transmission
coupling equipment provides the data in a manner that can be
decoded at the other side, and the rest of the packaging,
modulation, multiplexing and the like is provided by the broadband
network operator. Clearly, the coupling equipment may also comprise
sufficient equipment to couple directly to the broadband
network.
[0042] FIG. 5 depicts ordered event flow in a typical session in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The sequence
originates when a caller initiates a telephone call 200. A ring
signal is sent from the phone switch to the called telephone 510.
if the call is not answered within a given time, it is transferred
to voice mail 520. The voice mail prompts the user to begin
recording 530, and shortly thereafter the caller begins to leave
his message 560. Preferably prior to the step 560, the phone switch
sends a message to the TTG that the call was transferred to voice
mail, and the TTG transfers a notification to the STB that
recording is taking place 550. The user at this point, have the
option of sending a command to cancel 570 to the TTG, in which case
the process terminates. Alternatively, the user sends the TTG a
command to listen. In this embodiment, the TTG issues a request to
the phone switch to change the call into a conference call 590,
with the TTG being joined to the call 600. The audio received by
the TTG is streamed to the user STB/television 610. The user has
the option to send a command to the TTG to pick up the phone 620,
in which case the TTG instructs the telephone switch to stop
conferencing and divert the call to the called party 630. The phone
switch stops the audio stream to the voice mail 640 and to the TTG
650 and reconnects the call to the called party.
[0043] FIG. 6 depicts a similar event flow, however the rather than
interacting mostly with the phone switch, a large portion of the
interaction such as the recording notification and the transmission
of user commands such as 710 and 720, occurs between the TTG and
the voice mail server, which then acts as the interface between the
TTG and the telephony domain.
[0044] Sometimes it is advantageous to record a telephone
conversation, for example to avoid the need of taking notes during
one. Thus an optional call management aspect of the invention
further contemplates a method for recording the conversation, as
shown in FIG. 7. In it, a call is placed 800 and the telephone at
the subscriber home rings 810. The call is answered 820, and a
telephone session ensues. At any time during the telephone session,
the user may, using the remote control 180 for example, command the
TTG to begin recording the conversation. The user may even select
the recording option prior to picking up the call. The TTG then
instructs the switch through which the telephone conversation is
routed to create a conference call 840 and add the TTG to the
ongoing call 860. By doing so a copy of the audio information that
comprise the session is created. The TTG than directs the audio
copy to a voice recorder device, in this example the voice mail
server 870. Preferably, the connection of the voice mail is done
directly from the switch if the switch is adapted to perform this
task. In this arrangement, step 860 will just add the voice mail
into the call, and step 870 does not take place.
[0045] It will be clear that the order provides for the recording
is again highly dependent on the communication setup and is a
matter of engineering choice. Thus for example, the TTG may have a
more direct access to the audio, if the telephone session is
carried over the broadband network, and the audio copy is available
without the need for the conference call. It is similarly possible
that the telephony switch may be directly instructed to record the
session, especially if it is closely cooperating with the TTG. It
will also be clear that other recording devices are feasible, such
as an audio server, or any other device adapted top record voice or
digital representation of voice, and store it for later selective
retrieval. Thus again, this aspect of the invention should be
considered primarily in terms of its function within the context
and convenience of operating closely with a television and it is
understood by those skilled in the art that different constructs
and architecture dictate or offer selection of the components, and
different distribution of the functionality within the constructs
.
[0046] While the description relates several actions to the
telephony switch, a person skilled in the art will understand that
due to the extreme flexibility provided by the invention the
actions may happen in other places within the telephony or `telco`
domain, and some may happen at the television distribution domain,
or in combinations thereof. The actions themselves may happen by
various pieces of equipment located physically in different places,
or alternatively in one integrated system. One should also note
that lately many television providers began to provide telephony
services themselves. Clearly, it is much easier to implement the
aspects of the invention if all the functionality of the telephony
switch 25 and the messaging system 90 are under the control of a
single organization. Thus the invention aims to cover different
levels of integration between the `telco` and television provider,
including a third party intervening to facilitate such
services.
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