Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGPOUND TO THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to telecommunications systems which provide incoming
telephone call notification, identification and call handling features. More specifically, this
invention relates to a computer telephone interface and methods which provides notification,
identification and control of incoming telephone calls to a computer peripheral operated by a
subscriber which is connected to the Internet or commercial online data service via a dial up
connection using an analog telephone line over the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
The Internet is a network of computers around the world which has become increasingly popular
over the last few years. Commercial online data services such as Compuserve and America
Online are private data communications networks which have also become very popular over the
last few years. There are numerous methods which consumers and businesses utilize to connect
to these data communications services. The two most popular methods are via a temporary dial
up modem connection over the PSTN, or via a dedicated connection either through the PSTN or
through a private telephone connection. In either case, the user must connect to a data
communications service (DCS) in order to access the Internet. Once connected to the DCS, the
user's computer has access to the resources of the DCS and the user's computer literally
becomes part of the DCS provider's network.
Should the user be connected via a temporary dial up modem connection over the PSTN, the
telephone line which is used to make this connection, between the user's computer and the
telephone company, is held in an off hook state, typically for an extended period of time. Unlike
a conventional voice telephone call between two phones, a modem connection between two
modems over the PSTN cannot be interrupted or put in a held state while one of the party's
accepts a second incoming call through a feature known as "call waitingn. Doing so would abort
the connection between the two computers as the protocol of commun ion between modems in
a dialup connection does not support any extended absence of end to end communications.
Such a system suffers the significant drawback that the dialup data communications user puts
their telephone line in a busy or off hook state, typically for an extended period of time, making
it difficult or impossible to notify them of an incoming telephone call. The vast majority of
persons connecting to a DCS do so through a temporary dialup connection from their residence.
Also, the vast majority of residences are equipped with a single telephone line and when this
line is used to dial up to the DCS, the residence becomes unreachable via a second incoming
telephone call. Persons allt:",pli"g to reach such a residence during a dialup session to the DCS
will receive a busy signal, typically for an extended period of time. Furthermore, a plurality of
people, while accessing the DCS from within an apartment complex, are unable to receive
n.~ti~ication of persons awaiting entry through the main entrance as many apartment complexes
utilize the PSTN as a notification system between the main entrance and each individual
apartment unit.
A significant negative result of the above drawback is that people become unreachable in
emergencies and important situations unless there is intervention by the telephone company.
Additionally, the telephone network is put under load by persons making many call attempts to
reach the party who's telephone line is busy in an off hook state while connected to the DCS.
To date there has been no response to specifically addless these drawbacks. There are, however,
2167215
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a number of systems which have been developed to notify a called party during an existing voice
telephone call of a second i"co",i"g call attempted on that same telephone iine. One such system
is commonly known as "call waiting~ and this system notifies the called party via a series of
tones delivered to the telephone handset. The called party, if they wish to accept the second
incoming call, and put the first on hold, must communicate a switch hook signal to the telephone
c~l"pany switch. This system can only be used during a voice telephone call. A second system is
a variation of call waiting which in addition to providing a series of tones, delivers the calling
party's telephone number to the telephone display. This service is commonly known as
enhanced call waiting and requires the called party to have special telephone equipment capable
of receiving the calling party telephone number.
The above systems all suffer the drawback that they cannot be used while the telephone line is
busy on a dialup connection to a DCS, as they are designed for use on a voice telephone connection
only.
2167215
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an improved telephone call notification, caller identification and
control system which allows persons connected to a DCS through a dialup connection over the
PSTN to receive visual and or audio notification, in real-time, of the call and to respond to the
caller by making selections using computer input peripherals. This method provides advantages
to subscribers over the current situation where no caller identification or call control is
available by eliminating busy signals to the calling party and providing instantaneous
notification to the called party even while the called party's telephone line is in an off-hook
state connect~d to a DCS.
In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a subscriber receives
from a Message Transfer Point (MTP) incoming call notification to their computer screen while
the dialup connection to the DCS is maintained. The subscriber will receive information about
the calling party to their computer screen such as the calling party's telephone number, the
calling party's name, and messages selected or input by the calling party through an interactive
voice response system (IVRS) at the MTP. The method provides the called party the ability to
provide notification to the calling party, through the MTP, that the called party's telephone line
is busy on a dialup connection to the DCS. The subscriber can, if so chosen, acknowledge and
control the incoming call through computer interaction with the MTP, via input and or output
peripherals signifying to the calling party that the call has been acknowledged. Audio mess~ges
can be delivered to the calling party by way of subscriber interaction with the MTP which is
connected to the IVRS. The subscriber can accept the incoming call after terminating the dialup
connection, redirect the incoming call to a voice mail system, or redirect the incoming call to
another telephone number on the PSTN.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention may be realized by
reference to the remaining portions of the specification and drawings.
21672i5
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The illuslld~ion in Fig 1 is a block diagram illustrating the components and telecommunications
network which are required to support the methods and processes of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 illustrates a telecommunications system including local exchange central offices 3 0
and 42 connected by communications channel 20. The central offices 30 and 42 support a
plurality of telephone subscribers associated with telephones 34A, 34B, 44A, 44B, and
modem 33. The central offices 30 and 42 also support dedicated communications channels such
as 16 and 54. Central offices 30 and 42 supports these channels and may consist of a
telecommunications switch such as a Northern Telecom DMS-100 or AT&T 5ESS switch.
Speech system (IVRS) 14 is coupled to central office switch 30 through communications
channel 10. The speech system includes audio playback and record capabilities permitting
recorded voice messages to be delivered to a caller 44A and to collect and store touch-tone
entries made by callers.
In the illustrative embodiment, the switch 30 is conected to the IVRS 14 by communications
channel 10 and signalling channel 1 OA. The switch 30 is also is also connected to the Data Host
16 by communications channel 1 8. The switch 30 is also connected to the Data
Communications Service tDCS) by communications channel 50. The switch 42 is alsoconnected to the DCS by communications channel 54.
The Message Transfer Point 12 is directly connected to the IVRS 14 and the DH 16 and
functions as an intermediary by translating and transfering messages between the DH 16 and
the IVRS 14. The MTP 12 contains subscriber records which indicate which subscribers are
authorized to use the service in addition to subscriber information relating to the status of
communications channels, such as 36. Each subscriber requires a record to be stored in the
MTP 12 so in the event a message or call is received the MTP 12 can process the message or
call according to the status of the subscriber communication channel 36 .
The DH 16 is computer host with a dedicated link to the DCS 50 through the switch 30 which is
coupled to the switch 42 which has a dedicated link 54 to the DCS. The dedicated link allows the
DH and the DCS to communicate by providing a continuous communications path.
The DCS, through a channel such as 52 allows subscribers such as 31 to establish temporary
dial up data connections to the DCS 50, over the PSTN.
The embodiment of the present invention is especially, but not exclusively, suited for
permitting subscribers to a service, such as the Internet or other commercial online service, to
be notified of, and have call handling control over, incoming telephone calls to the same
subscriber telephone being utilized to connect to the service. For example, a subscriber while
connected to a DCS will normally put their telephone line in an off-hook state making it
impossible or difficult for the subscriber to be notified of an incoming call on that same line.
Persons attempting to dial the telephone line will receive a busy signal for an extended period of
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time, potentially causing significant frustration and problems if it was important that the phone
call be ansJ~ered by a person at the intended destination.
The emobiment of the present invention would permit the subscriber of the DCS to be notified of
the incoming call on their computer while still maintaining an active connection to the DCS. The
present invention provides the method to deliver the call notification and control messaging over
the same communications path being utilized by the subscriber to connect to the DCS.
Furthermore, the caller attempting to reach the subscriber would not receive a busy signal and
the caller would be able to optionally deliver a message to the subscriber by way of the service.
It will be apparent that additional call notication and control features can be accessed through
the service. For example, incoming calls can receive different processing based on the
originating number.
Table 1 is a flow listing which provides an overview of the steps associated with providing
incoming call notification and control options in accordance with the present invention. The
steps of Table 1 should be considered in view of Figure 1 in order to maintain a visual
perspective of the elements and the steps.
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TABLE 1
(1) A subscriber 31 desires to a make data connection to a data communications service (DCS)
50, such as that provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or commercial online service
(COS).
(2) The subscriber 31, using a, computer 35, modem 33 and a telephone line 36 connected
to the PSTN, wishes to connect to the DCS 50 which is connected to the CO 30, by dialing a
predetermined directory number (DN), while still mainntaining the ability to receiv
nvti~icalion, and control of, incoming calls attempted to the same line 36 being utilized by the
subscriber.
(3) The subscriber 31 initiates a modem 33 call to the DCS 50 by instructing the computer
35 to dial a predetermined DN.
(4) The subscriber's local central office (CO) 30 routes the call to the DN of the DCS 50
service point over one a telephone line 52 which connects the DCS 50 to the CO 30.
(5) The DCS 50 responds by accepting the call and going in an off hook state.
(6) The modem 33 and computer 35 of the subscriber 31 and the DCS 50 negotiate aconnection, protocol, and speed over a circuit 53 which bridges the subscriber telephone line
36 and a telephone line of the DCS 52, through the CO 30
(7) Upon successful establishment of the circuit 53, the subscriber 31 is requested to enter
user identification and password information into the computer 35.
(8) Upon entry of such information, the DCS 50 authenticates the subscriber computer 35 and
if successful, the subscriber computer 35 is granted access to the DCS 50.
(9) Immediately upon authentication, the subscriber connection is assigned either an Internet
Protocol (IP) address or other type of alphanumeric address identifier as so chosen by the DCS
50. A numerical address identifier of either form is necessary to achieve successful routing of
information between the subscriber equipment and the DCS 50.
(10) The DCS 50 host by way of the DCS network 54, transmits a message to the Data Host
(DH) 16 located at the MTP 12, indicating that the subscriber computer 35 has successfully
initiated a connection. The message contains a subscriber identifier as so chosen by the DCS in
addition to the subscriber's network address.
(11) The DH 16 in turn transmits a message to the MTP 12 where it is authenticated against
an existing customer record file. If the subscriber identifier is found in the customer record
file at the MTP 12, a message is transmitted back to the DCS 50 indicating that subscriber
information was received and authenticated successfully.
(12) Then, in the event a telephone call is attempted to the DN of the telephone line 36 of the
subscriber, the CO 30 serving that DN prepares to forward the call to the IVRS 14 by way of
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the PSTN.
(13) The CO 30 delivers, during call setup, by way of the Integrated Services Digital Network
signaling channel 10A, information about the original destination of the call through a service
known as Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS). The CO 30 also delivers information
identifying the origin of the call through a service known as Automatic Number Identification
(ANI). Both DNIS and ANI are well known and will not be desclibed here.
(14) Upon reception of DNIS and ANI information, and prior to the IVRS 14 accepting the call,
the DNIS information is validated against the subscriber records located on the MTP 12 to
ensure that the subscriber DN is a valid subscriber DN authorized to use the service. The DN is
also used to validate the existence of an active modem connection between the subscriber
computer 35 and the DCA 50.
(15) If the DNIS infur",alion is validated, the IVRS 14 transmits a message over the signaling
channel 10A to the CO 30 ack"oJ~ledging and accepting the call.
(16) If the existence of an active modem connection on circuit 53 was established, concurrent
with acceptance of the call, the IVRS 14 delivers to the MTP 12 notification that a call has
been established with the caller 44A in addition to delivering the ANI of the caller 44A.
(17) The MTP 14, once again, val d~t s the existence of a modem connection on circuit 5 3
between the subscriber and the DCS 50.
(18) If circuit 53 is still established, the MTP 12 sends a message by way of the DH 16 to the
subscriber computer 35 over the dedicated network circuit bridging telephone lines 18 and
54 through one CO 30 or by way of a plurality of COs such as CO 30 and CO 42 which are
coupled together by trunk 20 by identifying the caller 44A with their ANI.
(19) Upon acceplance of the call, a voice channel 10 is opened between the caller 44A and the
IVRS 14.
(20) The IVRS 14, immediately upon acceptance of the call, delivers an audio message to the
caller 44A, which can optionally be prerecorded by the subscriber.
(21) In the event the ANI information was not delivered from the CO 30, or is not available, the
IVRS 14 can request the caller 44A to input their originating telephone number using a touch-
tone phone. The caller entry will replace the previously absent ANI information.
(22) Upon delivery of the notification message to the subscriber computer 35, the subscriber
software residing on the subscriber's computer 35, notifies the subscriber 31 by way of
visual and or audio notification. The audio notification could include a tone signal while the
visual not;ricat;on will include presentation of the ANI information as captured and delivered by
the IVRS 14.
(23) Upon presentation of the caller information, the subscriber 31 can utilize a computer
input device to select or input a response to be delivered to the caller 44A. The input device
used by the subscriber 31, in conjunction with the subscriber software, can select a number of
predefined options. Each option directly correlates to a specific identifier which is delivered to
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the DH 16.
(24) Upon successful receipt of the identifier by the DH 16, the DH 16 delivers the identifier
to the MTP 12. The MTP 12 validates the identifier and determines whether the identifier
correlates to an audio message or to a call handling instruction.
(25) In the event the identifier correlates to an audio message, a signal is transmitted to the
IVRS 14 from the MTP 12, which executes the delivery of a specific audio file over the voice
path to the caller which is a bridging of lines 10 and 41 through CO 42 and 30 connected by
trunk 20.
(26) If the identifier correlates to a call handling instruction, a signal is transmitted to the
IVRS 14 which redirects the voice path to a voice mail system at the IVRS 14 or to another
destination number on the PSTN.
(27) In the event the call handling instruction requires the voice path be redirected to the same
directory number DN of the subscriber line 36 currently being utilized by the subscriber
computer 35 and modem 33, the voice path between the caller 44A and the IVRS 14 is delayed
from being redirected until the DCS 50 transmits a message to the DH 16 indicating that the
subscriber modem 33 has disconnected from the DCS 50.
