ECHANGE AUTOMATISE D'INFORMATION ELECTRONIQUE

AUTOMATED EXCHANGE OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION

Abrégé anglais

The present invention provides a novel system, method and apparatus for
exchanging electronic
information during a voice telephone call. A subscriber during a voice
telephone call can provide
subscriber-input to their telephone or to request a transfer of electronic
information to one or more
other subscribers during a voice telephone call. The present invention thus
obviates the need for
manually transcribing electronic information such as email addresses,facsimile
number or web-page
addresses during a voice telephone call.

Revendications

We Claim:
1. A system for exchanging electronic information comprising:
a first voice terminal for conducting voice telephone calls and receiving
subscriber-input;
a data terminal associated with said first voice telephone and for receiving
and presenting
data;
a second voice terminal for conducting voice telephone calls and receiving
subscriber-input;
and,
a network interconnecting said terminals, said network including persistent
storage for
storing an electronic address of said data terminal and electronic information
respective to a subscriber of said second voice terminal, said network further
including a processing unit operable to transmit said electronic information
to said
data terminal during a telephone call.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein said electronic information
includes an email
address of said second subscriber.

3. The system according to claim 1 or 2 wherein said electronic information
includes a
postal address,facsimile number and telephone number of said second
subscriber.

4. The system according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said data terminal is a
facsimile
machine and said electronic address is a facsimile number respective to said
facsimile
machine.

5. The system according to claim 1 wherein said data terminal includes an
email client
connected to said network via an email server; said electronic address is an
email address
and said electronic information is transmitted as an email message to said
email client.

6. The system according to claim 1 further including a second data terminal
associated with
a subscriber of said second voice terminal;said persistent storage for further
storing an
electronic address of said second data terminal and for storing electronic
information

13




respective to a subscriber of said first voice terminal;said network further
including a
processing unit operable to transmit said first subscriber's electronic
information to said
second data terminal during a telephone call.

7. The system according to claim 1 wherein said network includes a first
network node
connected to said first voice terminal and a second network node connected to
said
second voice terminal;said persistent storage having a portion thereof being
resident at
said first network node to store said electronic address;said persistent
storage having a
remaining portion thereof being resident at said second network node to store
said
electronic information.

8. The system according to claim 7 wherein at least one of said network nodes
is a PSTN
switch that houses said processing unit.

9. The system according to claim 1 wherein said electronic information is
encoded and
transmitted as a series of DTMF tones and said data terminal is operable to
decode said
series of DTMF tones.

10. The system according to claim 1 wherein said first voice terminal is a
wireless telephone.

11. The system according to claim 1 wherein said wireless telephone is a
mobile wireless
telephone.

12. The system according to claim 1 wherein said first voice terminal is a
POTS telephone.

13. The system according to claim 1 wherein said first voice terminal and said
data terminal
a reinte grated in to a single device.

14. The system according to claim 1 wherein said information is not
transmitted unless a
predetermined input from one of said voice terminals is received by said
processing unit.

14




15. The system according to claim 1 wherein said telephone call is initiated
by said second
voice terminal without establishing a voice connection with said first voice
terminal and
said transfer is made in lieu of establishing said voice connection.

16. A method for exchanging electronic information in a network comprising the
steps of:
initiating a voice telephone connection between a first voice terminal and a
second
voice terminal;
retrieving an electronic address for a data terminal associated with said
first voice
terminal; and
transferring electronic information associated with said second voice terminal
to said
data terminal.

17. The method according to claim 16 further comprising the step, after said
initiating step,
of completing said voice telephone connection.

18. The method according to claim 16 further comprising the step, after said
initiating step,
of receiving a request to transfer electronic information associated with said
second
voice terminal to a first data terminal associated with said first voice
terminal.

19. The method according to claim 16 further comprising the step, after said
transferring
step, of receiving said electronic information at said data terminal and
processing said
electronic information according to user preferences.

20. The method according to claim 16 wherein said electronic information
includes an email
address of said second subscriber.

21. The method according to claim 16 or 20 wherein said electronic information
includes a
postal address,facsimile number and telephone number of said second
subscriber.

15~



22. The method according to claim 16, 20 or 21 wherein said data terminal is a
facsimile
machine.

23. The method according to claim 16 wherein said data terminal includes an
email client
connected to said network via an email server;said electronic address is an
email address
and said electronic information is transmitted as an email message to said
email client.

24. The method according to claim 16 further including the step of
transferring electronic
information associated with said first voice terminal to a second data
terminal associated
with said second voice terminal.

25. The method according to claim 16 wherein said electronic information is
encoded and
transmitted as a series of DTMF tones and said data terminal is operable to
decode said
series of DTMF tones.

26. The method according to claim 16 wherein said first voice terminal is a
wireless
telephone.

27. The method according to claim 16 wherein said wireless telephone is a
mobile wireless
telephone.

28. The method according to claim 16 wherein said first voice terminal is a
POTS telephone.

29. The method according to claim 16 wherein said first voice terminal and
said data
terminal a reinte grated in to a single device.

30. A network node for the exchange of electronic information comprising:
a first connection means for connecting to a first voice terminal;
a second connection means for connecting to a data terminal associated with a
subscriber of
said first voice terminal;

16



a third connection means for connecting to a second voice terminal and a
persistent storage
device storing electronic information associated with said second voice
terminal;and
a processing unit interconnecting said first, second and third connection
means, said
processing unit operable to retrieve said electronic information and to
transmit said
electronic information to said data terminal upon initiation of a connection
between
said first voice terminal and said second voice terminal.

31. The network node according to claim 30 wherein said node is a PSTN switch.

32. The network node according to claim 30 wherein said electronic information
is
encodable and transmittable as a series of DTMF tones and said data terminal
is operable
to decode said series of DTMF tones.

33. The network node according to claim 30 wherein said node is a wireless
base station and
said first connection means includes a wireless transceiver.

34. The network node according to claim 30 wherein said second connection
means is a data
connection to an email server associated with an email client executing on
said data
terminal and said electronic information is transmitted in the form of an
email.

35. The network node according to claim 30 wherein said third connection means
is a
connection to a PSTN, said PSTN connecting to a second network node connected
to
said second voice terminal, said persistent storage being resident at said
second network
node.

36. The network node according to claim 30 wherein said data terminal is a
personal digital
assistant.

37. The network node according to claim 30 wherein said data terminal is a
personal
computer.

17



38. The network node according to claim 30 wherein said data terminal and said
first voice
terminal are integral into a single intelligent device.

39. A Caller ID data stream comprising:
a message type -byte indicating a type of said Caller ID data stream;
a message length-byte indicating the length of said stream;
a first parameter -type byte indicating that said parameter is an address of a
data terminal;
a first parameter-length byte associated with said first parameter -type byte,
said first
parameter-type byte indicating a length of said address;
an address byte -stream corresponding in length to said first parameter-length
byte and
representative of said address;and,
a check sum for validating said data stream when decoded.

40. The Caller ID data stream of claim 39 further comprising:
a second parameter-type byte indicating that said second parameter is a phone
number;
a second parameter -length byte associated with said second parameter -type
byte, said
second parameter-type byte indicating a length of said phone number; and,
an phone number byte -stream representative of said phone number.

41. The Caller ID data stream of claim 39 further comprising:
a third parameter-type byte indicating that said third parameter is a date;
a third parameter -length byte associated with said second parameter -type
byte, said
second parameter-type byte indicating a length of said date; and,
an date byte -stream representative of said date.

42. The Caller ID data stream of claim 39 wherein said address is an email
address and said
data terminal is an email client.

18



43. The Caller ID data stream of claim 39 wherein said address is a facsimile
number and
said data terminal is a fax machine.

44. The Caller ID data stream of claim 39 wherein said message-type bytes
indicates said
Caller ID data stream is in Multiple Data Message Format.

45. The method according to claim 16 wherein said first voice terminal is
associated with
customer, said second voice terminal is associated with a business and said
electronic
information is are cord of a business transaction conducted between said
business and
said customer.

46. The method according to claim 45 wherein said customer is a traveler, said
business is a
travel agent, and said record is a travel itinerary.

47. The method according to claim 45 wherein said customer is a account-
holder, said
business is said account -holder's financial institution and said record is a
statement of a
financial transaction.

48. The method according to claim 16 comprising the additional step, after
said retrieving
step, of selecting said electronic information from a data base containing a
plurality of
different pieces of electronic information.

49. The method according to claim 16 comprising the additional step, prior to
said
transferring step, of encrypting said electronic information using an
encryption key
complementary to a decryption key available to said data terminal.

50. The method according to claim 16 comprising the additional step, prior to
said
transferring step, of embedding a digital signature in said electronic
information.

51. The method according to claim 16 comprising the additional step, after
said transferring

19



step, of receiving said electronic information and storing said electronic
information at
said data terminal.

52. The method according to claim 51 comprising the additional step, after
said receiving
step, of initiating a voice call from said first voice terminal to said second
voice terminal
by retrieving a telephone number of said second voice terminal from said
stored
electronic information.

53. The system according to claim 1 wherein the data terminal is resident in
said network
and is operable to extract a telephone number for said second voice terminal
from said
electronic information and present,as an audio message, said telephone number
at said
first voice terminal as part of a list of available telephone numbers that can
be
automatically dialed from said first voice terminal.

20

Description

CA 02312601 2000-06-28
AUTOMATEDEXCHANGEO FELECTRONICINFORMA TION
FIELDOFTHEINVENTION
The present invention relates to a system, apparatus and method ofproviding
enhanced
featuresinatelecommunicationssystem.
Morespecifically,thepresentinventionrelatestothe
automatedexchangeofelectronicinformationbetweensubscribersduringavoicetelephone
call.
BACKGROUNDOFTHEINVENTIO N
Theconvergenceoftheold~rivateswitchedtelephonenetwork("PSTN"~on;arryingvoice
withmoremodernpacketnetworksfo~arryingdataisradicallychangingthestructureofnetw
orks
andtheservicesthatrelyonthesenetworks.Thus,itisnow
possibleforindividualsubscribersto
communicateusingavarietyofservices,suchasvoice,web -browsers,faxoremail.
In fact, subscribers typically communicate over networks using more than one
service.
When meeting face -to-face, it is common for subscribers to exchange business
cards that bear
personalinformationabouteachother,includingtelephonenumbers,web-
sites,faxnumbersand
emailaddressesSubscribersmaychoosetoconvertthiswritteninformationintoelectronic
formby
enteringthis
informationintotheircomputersorpersonaldigitalassistantsforlateruse. Sucha
processcanbetedious,andhasleadtotheuseofbusinesscardscannerswhichattempttoperfo
rm
opticalcharacterrecognition(OCR)onthecard.
Wheresubscriber'se xchangeanemail,orvisiteachother'sweb-site,thentheprocessof
locallycreatingandstoringelectronicinformationabouteachotherislesstediousEmaila
ndweb-
baseddataservices,inparticular,allowsubscriberstoreadilycut- and-
pasteavarietyofpersonal
information from one application to another, and to retain local copies of
that information in
electronicform.
However, itis currentlyverytediousto exchangepersonal informationwhen
subscribers
initiatecontactwitheachotherviaav
oicetelephonecall.Currenttechnologyrequiresthateach
subscribermanuallytranscribe,eitherinwritingorbytypingonakeyboard,th~najorityof
personal
informationabouttheothersubscriber.Caller-
idservices,whencoupledwithapersonalcom puter,


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
canassistintheelectronictranscriptionofacaller'snameandphonenumber,butareotherw
ise
limited in utility. The transcription of email addresses, website addresses
and other personal
informationarestilldonemanuallyFurthermore,the
exchangeofinoredetailedinformation,such
asmaps,catalogues,orotherdocuments,betweensubscribersishampereduntilwebsiteaddr
esses,
emailaddressesorfacsimilenumbershavebeenexchanged.
SUMMARYOFTHEINVENTION
Itisanobjectofthepresen tinventiontoprovideanovelsystem,apparatusandmethodof
exchangingelectronicinformationviaacommunicationlinidhatobviatesormitigatesatle
astoneof
theabove -identifieddisadvantagesofthepriorart.
Inanembodimentoftheinvention,thereisprovidedasystemforexchangingelectronic
informationthatcomprisesafirstvoiceterminalforconductingvoicetelephonecallsandr
eceiving
subscriber-
inputandadataterminalassociatedwithasubscriberofthefirstvoicetelephoneandfor
receivingandpresentingdatatothesubscriber.Thesystemalsocomprisesasecondvoiceter
minal
foiconductingvoicetelephonecallsandreceivingsubscriber-
inputandanetworkthatinterconnects
alloftheterminals.Thenetworkincludespersistentstorageforstoringanelectronicaddr
essofthe
dataterminalandelectronicinformationrespectivetoasubscriberofthesecondvoiceterm
inal.The
networkalsoincludesaprocessingunitthatisoperabletotransmittheelectronicinformat
iontothe
dataterminalduringatelephonecall.
Thedataterminalcanbeapersonalcomputerexecutinganemailclientprogram,whichis
connected to the network via an email server. Each voice terminal can be POTS
(plain old
telephonesystem)telephone,oritcanbe
awirelessphonesuchasamobilephoneAsusedherein,
thetermsvoiceterminaland/ordataterminalarealsoreferredtoassubscriberstations.
In another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for
exchanging
electronicinformationi nanetworkcomprisingthestepsof:
initiatingavoicetelephoneconnectionbetweenafirstvoiceterminalandasecondvoice
terminal;and
transferringelectronicinformationassociatedwiththesecondvoiceterminaltoa
dataterminalassociatedwitht hefirstvoiceterminal.


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
Themethodcanfurthercomprisethestep,aftertheinitiatingstep,ofcompletingthevoice
telephoneconnection.
Themethodcanfurthercomprisethestep,aftertheinitiatingstep,ofreceivingarequestto

transferelectronic
informationassociatedwiththesecondvoiceterminaltoafirstdataterminal
associatedwiththefirstvoiceterminal.
The method can further comprise the step, after the transferring step, of
receiving the
electronicinformationatthedataterminalandprocessingtheelectronicinformationacco
rdingto
userpreferences.
Theelectronicinformationcan,forexample,beembeddedinthebodyofanemailaddressor
encodedasseriesofDTMFtonesthatcanbedecodedbythedataterminal,suchaswheretheda
to
terminalisacomputerhavingamodemoperabletodecodeDTMFtones.
Thedataterminalandthevoiceterminalcanbeintegrallyformedintoasingledevice,such
asaweb-enabledmobilephone,orarich -featuredtelephonehavingamulti -linedisplay.
Theelectronicinformationcanincludeanyinformationthatisdesiredtosendtoanother
subscriber.
Forexample,electronicinformationcanincludeemailaddresses,postaladdresses,
websiteaddresses,facsimilenumbers,ortelephonenumbers.Havinge
xchangedbasiclevelsof
electronicinformation,suchasanemailaddress,itiscontemplatedthatavarietyofapplic
ationscan
beusedtoallowsubscriberstosimultaneouslyconducttheirvoicetelephonecallandexchan
ge
and/orviewelectronicinformati
onForexample,itisexpectedthatthepresentinventionwouldbe
particularly useful for customers conducting transactions with business via a
telephone, as a
confirmationofthetransactionscouldautomaticallybesenttothecustomer'sdatatermina
l.For
example,wherethecustomerisatraveler,andthebusinessisatravelagency,thenthetravel
er's
itinerarycouldbeautomaticallysenttothetraveler,orreviewedsimultaneouslybythetra
veler
during the selection of the traveler's various bookings. Alternatively, where
the customer is
conductingbusinesswithafinancialinstitutionbytelephone,thenconfirmationsofthecu
stomer's
financialtransactioncouldautomaticallybeelectronicallydeliveredtothecustomer.
The present invention provides a novel system, method and apparatus for
exchanging
electronicinformationduringavoicetelephonecall.Asubscriben-
iuringavoicetelephonecallcan
providesubscriber-
inputtotheirtelephoneottorequestatransferofelectronicinformation tooneor


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
moreothersubscribersduringavoicetelephonecall.Thepresentinventionthusobviatesth
eneed
formanuallytranscribingelectronicinformationsuchasemailaddresses,facsimilenumbe
rorweb-
pageaddressesduringavoicetelephonecall.
BRIEFDESCRIPTIONOFTHEDRAWINGS
Preferredembodimentsofthepresentinventionwillnowbedescribed,bywayofexample
only,withreferencetotheattachedFigures,wherein:
Figure 1 isaschematicrepre
sentationofasystemforexchangingelectronicinformationin
accordancewithanembodimentoftheinvention;
Figure 2 is a flowchart showing a method for exchanging electronic information
in
accordancewithanotherembodimentoftheinvention;
Figure3isaschematicrepresentationofasystemforexchangi
ngelectronicinformationin
accordancewithanotherembodimentoftheinvention;and
Figure4isaschematicrepresentationofasystemforexchangingelectronicinformationin
accordancewithanotherembodimentoftheinvention.
DETAILEDDESCRIPTIONOF THEINVENTION
ReferringnowtoFigure l,asystemforexchangingelectronicinformationinaccordance
withanembodimentoftheinventionisindicatedgenerallyat20.
System20includesapublic
communicationnetwork24,suchasthePSTN,whichinterconnectsserviceprovidemodes28aan
d
28b, suchastelephonecompanyswitches, centralofficesand/orwirelessbasestations.
Inturn,
serviceprovidemodes28areeachconnectedtoatleastonesubscribemode32viaacommunicati
on
link36.Whereserviceprovidernode28isatelephonecompanyswitch,thencommunicationlin
k
36willtypicallybewired,however,communicationlink36canalsobewireless,asforexampl
e,
whereserviceprovidemode28isabasestationinawirelesslocallooporcellula
xtelephonesystem.
AsshowninFigure 1,inapresentembodimenttherearetwosubscribemodes32aand3 2b,
connectedtoserviceprovidernodes28aand28b,respectively.(Itiscontemplatedthatsyst
em20
willtypicallyincludeapluralityofsubscribernodesinadditiontonodes32aand32b.)Asus
ed
herein, the term "caller" or "calling" means a call initiated at one ofthe
subscriber nodes 32.
Similarly,theterm"callee"meansacallreceivedbyoneofthesubscribernodes.
Forexample,


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
wheresubscribernode32aisthe"caller",thensubscribernode32bisthe"callee".
In apresent embodiment, each subscribernode 32 includes a
microprocessor40which
interconnectsatelephonehandset44,amonitor48orothen~ser -
outputdevice,andakeyboard52 or
otheruser -
inputdevice.Itistobeunderstoodthatthevariouscomponentsinsubscribernodes32
canbesubstitutedforsubstantiallyequivalentcomponents,and/orcombinedintoasinglei
ntelligent
device,suchasapersonaldigitalassistantand/o rrich-featuredphone.
Usingtelephonehandset44,microprocessor40isoperabletoprocessvoicecallscarried
over public communication network 24. Similarly, using keyboard 52 and monitor
48,
microprocessor40isoperabletoprocessatleastonedatas ervice,suchase -
mail,forcarriageover
communicationnetwork24.
Aswillbeexplainedingreaterdetailbelow,microprocessor40is
furtheroperabletoautomaticallyobtaininformationaboutthedataserviceofothersubscr
ibemodes
32duringavoice call.
System 20 further includes an electronic information object 56 associated with
each
subscriber node 32 that is typically resident at the service provider node 28
respective to its
subscribernode32.Electronicinformationobject56istypicallyad
atafilethatincludespersonal
information about the subscriber at each subscriber node 32. In a present
embodiment, such
personal information includes, at least, the email address ofits respective
subscribernode 32.
However,dataobject56canalso
includeotherpersonalinformation,suchasthattypicallyfoundon
abusinesscard,suchasthename,postaladdress,telephonenumber,facsimilenumberandweb
site
addressofthesubscribernode32respectivetothedataobject56.
Amethodofexchanging electronicinformationinaccordancewithanotherembodimentof
theinventionwillnowbediscussedwithreferencetoFigure2.
Forpurposesofassistinginthe
explanationofthepresentembodiment,referencewilIbemadetotheforegoingdiscussionof
system
20Atstep100,avoicecallisinitiatedinanyusuahnannerForexample,thereceiverofteleph
one
set44aatsubscribernode32aisliftedoffthehookandanumberisdialed.Itwillbeassumedfo
r
purposesofexplainingthepresentembodimentthatthetelephonenumberofsubscribemode32
bis
dialed. This dialed number is processed by service provider node 28a, which
utilizes public
communicationnetwork24tocontactserviceprovidernode28b,whichinturnsendsaringing
signaltosubscribernode32bandringstelephoneset44b.
Next,atstep105,thecallinitiatedatstep100isestablished,andavoiceconnectionis


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
completed.Continuingwiththeexample,telephoneset44bisanswered,thuscompletingavoi
ce
callbetweensubscriber
node32aandsubscribernode32b.Itwillbeunderstoodthatthestepsof
initiatingandcompletingavoicecallbetweensubscribernodes32aand32bcouldoccurinoth
er
ways,forexample,thecallcouldhavebeeninitiatedatsubscribernode32b.
The method then advances to step 110, where a request for an exchange of
electronic
informationisreceivedlnapresentlypreferredembodiment,itiscontemplatedthatthereq
uestfor
theexchangeofelectronicinformationcanbeinitiatedateithersubscribe
rstation32aorsubscriber
station32b~ucharequestcanbeto:l)sendelectronicinformationobject56atosubscribers
tation
32band/or2)sendelectronicinformationobject56btosubscriberstation32a.
Continuingwiththepresentexample,there questisaccomplishedusingtheflash-keyon
telephoneset44a,whichisan"attention"signalthatissenttoserviceprovidemode28ainor
derto
signal serviceprovidernode 28athatthe subscriberat subscribernode 32awishes to
invoke a
callingfeat ureavailableatserviceprovidernode28a.Theuseoftheflash -
keyisfollowedbya
predetermineddialingsequence.(Preferablythepredeterminedsequenceisnotcurrentlyi
nusefor
theinvocationofothercallingfeatures,suchas3 -
waycalling.)Forexample,theuseoftheflash
keycanbefollowedby*222inordertorequestthatelectronicinformationobject56abesentt
o
subscriberstation32b,or*333inordertorequestthatelectronicinformationobject56bbe
sentto
subscriberstation32a,
or*444inordertorequestthatelectronicinformationobject56abesentto
subscriberstation32bandthatelectronicinformationobject56bbesenttosubscriberstat
ion32a.
Accordingly,serviceprovidernode28ahasnowreceivedtherequestforan
exchangeofelectronic
information.
Themethodthenadvancestostepl
l5,wheretheactualelectronicinformationistransferred
accordingtotherequestreceivedatstep 11
O.Thus,asappropriatethedatacontainedinelectronic
informationobject56ais
transferredtosubscriberstation32band/oithedatacontainedinelectronic
informationobject56bistransferredtosubscriberstation32a.
Thetransfercanoccurinavarietyofways. Forexample,usingasuitablevariationof
existing caller -idtechnology, electronic informationobject56acanbe
encodedinto a series of
DTMFtonesbyserviceprovidernode28a,whicharethensentoverthevoiceconnectionandthen

decodedbysoflwareexecutingonmicroprocessor40b
Usingthismethod,itcanbedesiredtomute
theearpieceatbothtelephoneset44aandtelephoneset44bduringthetransferoftheDTMFton
es.


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
However,thetransferofelectronicinformationobjects56canbeaccomplishedinavariety
ofotherwaysForexample,inordertotransfer
electronicinformationobject56atosubscribemode
32b,soflwareexecutingonserviceprovidemode28acanqueryelectronicinformationobject
56bin
ordertoaccessthee -
mailaddressofsubscribernode32b.Havingobtainedtheemailaddressof
subscribernode32b,thecompletesetofelectronicinformationstoredinelectronicinform
ation
object56acansimplybesentviaemailtosubscribernode32b.Thus,wherecommunicationlink

36bisavoicetelephonelinewithDSLinternetservice,theemailcontainingtheinformation
in
object56awi11arriveatmicroprocessor40bforuseatsubscribemode32bviatheDSLlinkonth
e
voicetelephoneline.(Itwillthusbeapparentthat,ingeneral,link3
6isoperabletocarrybothvoice
anddata,andcouldbe
implementedinavarietyofwaysForexample,thevoiceportionoffink36
maybeawiredlink,whilethedataportionoffink36maybeviaacable -
modemAlternatively,link
36canbeawirelesslinkoperabletocarrybothvoiceanddatachannels.
Otherimplementationsof
link36willoccurtothoseofskillintheart.)
Othermeansoftransfernnginformationobj ects56toothersubscribemodes32willoccurto
thoseofskillintheartandarewithinthescopeoftheinvention.
Themethodthenad vancestostep 120wheretheelectronicinformationisreceivedand
processed,thuscompletingthetransferatstepl 1
S.Forexample,microprocessor40breceivesthe
informationcontainedinelectronicinformationobject56aandstoresitinpersistentst
oragelocalto
microprocessor40b.
Thestoredinformationcanthenbeusedbythesubscriberinteractingwith
applicationsexecutingonsubscribernode32b,inordertosendemailsorfaxestosubscriber
node
32a,ortoaccesstheweb -pagesbelongingtos ubscribernode32a.
Itwillbeunderstoodthat,oncesubscribernode32bhastheemailaddressofthesubscriber
node 32a (or vice -versa), virtually any type of electronic information can be
sent, (either
automaticallyorattherequestofeachsubscriber),betweenthestations32a,32b,dependin
gonthe
application(s~xecutingoneachsubscriber'tation32a,32bForexample,wheresubscribers
tation
32a is an individual consumer, and subscriber station 32b is a travel agent,
then a software
application
executingonsubscribe~tation32bcanprovidetheconsumerwithanemailincludingan
completetravelitinerary,confirmationbookings,electronicairline -
tickets,andthelike.
WhileintheembodimentshowninFigurel(andmarkedassystem20)showsa telephone
handset441oca1toanemailclientexecutingonmicroprocessor40,itwillbeunderstoodthat
in


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
otherembodimentsoftheinventionhandset44neednotbelocaltotheemailclient.Forexampl
e,
analternativeembodimentisshowninFigure3an
dmarkedassystem220.Componentsinsystem
220thataresubstantiallythesameascomponentsinsystem20haveareferencenumber200grea
ter
thanthereferencenumberofthecomponentinsystem20. AsshowninFigure3,system220
includesamobileh
andset244cthatisconnectedtonetworknode228cviaawirelesslink236c.
Thus,inapresentembodiment,networknode228cisawirelessbasestationMobilehandset244
c
is associatedwith electronic information object256aand subscribernode 232a.
Inthepresent
embodiment,subscribemode232aisessentiallyadataterminalexecutinganemailclientpro
gram.
(Suchanemailclientistypicallyconnectedtoanemailserverviaconnectedtonetwork224,a
sis
knowntothoseofskillintheart.)
Electronicinformationaboutmobilehandset244candnode232a
(suchastheemailaddressofsubscribernode232aandthetelephonenumberofhandset244c)ar
e
storedinelectronicinformationobject256a.Duringavoicetelephonacallbetweenmobileh
ands et
244candhandset244b,thedataoninformationobjects256aand256bcanbeexchangedbetween
nodes232aand232binsubstantiallythesamemannerasdiscussedinthemethodofFigure2,wit
h
appropriatemodifications.Forexample,usingapredefinedse riesoflcey -
strokesonhandset244c,
instructionscanbesenttonetworknode228c,thatcausesoftwareexecutingonnetworknode2
28c
toqueryinformationobject256bandobtaintheemailaddressofsubscribernode232b.
Next,
networknode228ccanuset
hisemailaddresstoemailinformationobject256atosubscribemode
232bNext,asdesired,asubscriberatsubscribemode232bcanusethecontentsinformationob
ject
256atoarrangeforelectronicinteractionsdirectlywithsubscribernode232a,suchassend
ing
information subscribernode 232aviaemail. Itwillnowbe
apparentthatotherconfigurations,
combinationsand/orarrangementsofvoicehandsetsandemailclientsassociatedwithapart
icular
subscribercanbeimplemented,asdesired.
Yetanotherembodimentoftheinventionisshownassystem320inFigure4.Components
insystem320thataresubstantiallythesameascomponentsinsystem20haveareferencenumbe
r
300greaterthanthereferencenumberofthecomponentinsystem20.System3
20includesafirst
networknode,whichinapresentembodimentisanEmailserver328aInturn,Emailserver328ai
s
connectedtoasubscriberstation,whichinthepresentembodimentisadatatermina1332aexe
cuting
anemailclientprogram.
System320alsoincludestwoadditionalnetworknodes,whichinapresentembodimentare


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
PSTNswitches328band328c. Emailserver328aandPSTNswitches328band328careall
interconnectedbyanetwork324,whichinapresentembodimentcombinesthefunctionality
ofthe
PSTNforcarryingvoicetrafficandtheInternetforcarryingdatatraffic.
PSTNswitch328cstoresaCallerIDobject390awhichcontainstheemailaddressofdata
termina1332a.
PSTNswitches328band328careeachconnectedvialinks336c,336b(respectively)to
voiceterminals,whichinapresentembodimentarePOTStelephones344cand344b(respective
ly).
PSTNswitch328bstoresapluralityofelectronicinformationobjects356a,356b,and356cwh
ich
areassociatedwithPOTStelephone344b. Eachinformationobject356a,356band356ccan
containanytypeofinformation,asdesired,andcanbeconfiguredand/ordefinedbythesubsc
riber
atPOTStelephone334b.Forinstance,informationobject356acancontainamapofdirections
to
theresid
enceofthesubscriberofPOTStelephone334b;informationobject356bcancontaina
complete business card, includingphone numbers, email addresses andpostal
addresses ofthe
subscriberatPOTStelephone334b;andinformationobject356ccancontainaf
amilyphotograph.
Itistobeemphasized,however,thattherecanbeanynumberinformationobj ects3 S
6andthateach
informationobject356cancontainanydesiredinformation.
Inoperation,acalleratPOTStelephone344cdialsthephonenumberofPOTS telephone
334bPSTNswitch328cco11ectsthedialeddigitsfromPOTStelephone344cand,vianetwork324
,
connectstoPSTNswitch328binordertocausePOTStelephone344btobeginringingDuringthe
connectiontoPSTNswitch328b,Ca1lerIDobject 390aisdeliveredtoPSTNSwitch328band
storedthereat forlateruse. Next, POTS telephone 344bis
answeredandavoicetelephone call
between POTS telephones 344c and 344b is established. During the voice
telephone call, the
subscriberatPOTStelephone344bdecidestosendelectronicinformationtothesubscribera
tPOTS
telephone344cTnapresentembodiment,thisisaccomplishedbypressingthe'flash'keyonPO
TS
telephone344b,whichgetstheattentionofPSTNswitch328b.Atthispoint,PSTNsw
itch328b
willtypicallymutetheearpieceofPOTStelephone344c,andsendadialtonetotheearpieceof

POTStelephone344btoobtaininstructionstherefrom.
ThesubscriberatPOTStelephone344b
thenprovidesuserinputthata)instructsPSTNswitch3
28btosendaninformationobject356to
datatermina1332aandb) selects which ofinformationobject 356a, 356b or356cto
send. For
exampleahekeysequence*331cou1dbeusedtosendinformationobject356a;thekeysequence


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
*332cou1dbeusedtosendinformationobject356b;andthekeysequence*333couldbeusedto
sendinformationobject356c.However,anykeysequencecanbeused.
ItwilIbeunderstoodthat,dependingonthefunctionalityoIfOTStelephone344bandPSTN
switch328b,thenanyty
peofuserinputthatinstructthedeliveryofaninformationobject356to
datatermina1332acanbeused.Forexample,wherePSTNswitch328bisoperabletoreceivevoic
e
instructions,thenthesubscriberatPOTStelephone344bcanissuevoiceinstructio
nstoinstructthe
deliveryofaninformationobject356.
Forpurposesofexplainingthepresentembodiment,itwillbeassumedthatthesubscriberat
POTStelephone344bentersthekeysequence*332,andthusinstructsthatinformationobject
356b
besenttodatatermina1332a.Next,PSTNswitch328busesthisinstructiontoprepareanemail

message,usingtheemailaddressofdatatermina1332apreviouslyextractedfromtheCallerI
D
streamfromPOTStelephone344c.Thepreparedemailmessagehasinformationobject356beith
er
embeddedthereinorattachedthereto.
Havingpreparedtheemailmessage,itissentvianetwork324toemailserver328a,whereit
thenbecomesavailableforretrievalbytheemailclientexecutingondataterminal332a.
At this point, PSTN switch 328b can automatically reactivate the earpiece of
POTS
telephone344candreestablishthecompletevoiceconnectionbetweenPOTStelephones344ca
nd
344bA1ternatively,PSTNswitch328bcanwaitformoreuser -
input(e.g.furtherdepressionofthe
'flash'key)fromthesubscriberatPOTStelephone344bpriortoreestablishingthecomplete
voice
connection.
Itwillbeunderstoodthatthevariouscomponentsinsystem320canbevaried,modified,or
substitutedasdesiredandstillachie vethesamefunction.
Furthermore,whilesystem320on1y
showsonedatatermina1332aassociatedwithPOTStelephone344c,itwillbeunderstoodthata

seconddatatermina1332canbeaddedtosystem320andassociatedwithPOTStelephone344b.
Similarly,apluralityofinformationobjectscanbeassociatedwithPOTStelephone344c,an
dan
emailaddresscanbeembeddedintotheoutgoingCallerIDstreamassociatedwithPOTStelepho
ne
344b.
Whiletheembodimentsdiscussedhereinaredirectedtospecific implementationsofthe
invention,itwillbeunderstoodthatcombinations,sub-
setsandvariationsoftheembodimentsare
withinthescopeoftheinvention.Forexample,itmaybedesiredtoaddvarioussecurityfeatu
resto


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
system20toensurethattheinformationobject56ofonesubscribemode32isnotinadvertentl
yor
unintentionallytransferredtoothersubscribernodes32.
Itmaydesiredtosimplyembedtheentirecaller'sinformationobject56intothecaller -id
streamsenttothecalleesubscribern
ode32duringtheinitiationofthevoicetelephonecall,thus
eliminating the need for the explicit request for electronic information
exchange at step 110.
However,itisexpectedthatprivacyfeatures,suchastheabilitytoblockthetransmissiono
ft he
information object 56 duringthe initiation ofthe call, may also be
incorporated into such as a
system.
Itmaybedesiredtoaddcertainotherprivacy/securityfeaturestothetransmissionofthe
electronicinformation.Forexample,theelectronici
nformationobjectmaybeencryptedduring
transmission,usinganyknownencryptiontechniqueslnaddition,theelectronicinformati
onmay
betransmittedalongwithadigitalsignature,whichcanb~sedtoverifythesourceoftheelec
tronic
information bytherecipient.
The present invention maybe usedto allow subscribers to create andupdate
theirown
personalphonedirectory.Suchaphonebookmaybestoredonadataterminallocatedateithert
he
network node or on a data terminal local to the subs criber's voice terminal.
An application
associated with the phone book could be used to allow the subscriber to
automatically place
telephonecalls,withouthavingtorememberanyphonenumbers Usinganyknowntext- to-
speech
converter, the phone bookcanbe "read" tothe subscriberusing avoice terminal,
allowingthe
subscribertoselectanumbertobedialedusinganinteractivevoiceresponse(IVR)menusyst
em.
Using such a text -to-speech converter system, it will be apparent that the
foregoing varia lion
envisionsanimplementationofthepresentinventionthatobviatestheneedforadatatermin
allocal
tothesubscriber'svoiceterminal.Alternatively,adataterminalassociatedwiththesubs
criber's
voiceterminalcouldpresentagraphicaluserinterfacethatallowedthesubscribertoselec
ranumber
tobedialed.
It may be desired to modify the present invention by allowing a caller to
leave his
informationobject56aspartoforinadditionto,avoicemailinessageleftforthecallee.So
ftware
executingonthedataterminalofthecalleesubscriberstationcanbeusedtorecordallincom
ing
calls,andtheassociatedincomingelectronicinformationassociatedtherewith.
ThepresentinventioncanbemodifiedforuseonTDDorTDYdevicesusedby hearing
11


CA 02312601 2000-06-28
impairedsubscribers.
It is contemplated that the present invention can be modified for use during a
n-way
conferencecalls,toallowmultiplesubscriberstoexchangeelectronicinformation.
Inotherembodimentsoftheinvention,thevariouscomponentsinsystem20canbemodified
orvariedtoaccomplishthesamefunctionalityForinstance,theelectronicinformationobj
ectneed
notresideattheserviceprovidernode28,butcanreside,forexample,atthesubscribernode
32.
The present inventio n provides a novel, system, method and apparatus for
exchanging
electronicinformation
Thepresentinventionsimplifiestheprocessofexchanginginformationsuch
asemailaddress,facsimilenumbersandweb-pageaddressesduringavoicetelephonecall,t
hus
allowingsubscriberstoaccuratelyandreadilyexchangesuchinformationwithouttheneedf
or
transcribing,inwritingorotherwise,eachother'selectronicinformation.
The above -described embodiments ofthe invention are intended to be examples
ofth
presentinventionandalterationsandmodificationsmaybeeffectedthereto,bythoseofski
llinthe
art, without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined solely
by the claims
appendedhereto.
12

Dessin représentatif