WO2002035862A2

WO2002035862A2 - Communication device and method for changing communication mode based on identification data received from communication source

Info

Publication number: WO2002035862A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/031439
Authority: WO
Inventors: Barrie Cassidy
Original assignee: Intel Corporation
Priority date: 2000-10-26
Filing date: 2001-10-09
Publication date: 2002-05-02
Also published as: JP2004512786A; GB0310707D0; CN1528097A; GB2386034A; GB2386034B; AU2001296720A1; WO2002035862A3; DE10196829T5; TWI227643B

Abstract

Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a portable communication device may contain identification data associated with the origin or nature of an incoming communication. If the portable device recognizes the origin of the communication, a processor may adjust the receiving mode of the portable communication device.

Description

COMMUNICATION DEVICE AND METHOD THEREFOR

BACKGROUND

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is designed such that

it is assumed that a communication from an originator to a terminator station

(e.g. , receiver) is intended to be a voice communication. Consequently, extra

steps may be necessary to conduct other types of communications. For

example, to transmit a facsimile (e.g., fax) message or a digital file, the

operational mode of the receiver may be changed to a fax transmission or

data-only.

However, the standards that govern traditional telephone networks do

not typically provide for techniques to change the mode of a communication

device (e.g., a wired or wireless phone) . Consequently, there is no universal

technique. One solution is to assign a separate phone number to each device. However, the growth in the number of wired and wireless devices has nearly

exhausted the ten-digit number scheme. Another technique involves two-

stage dialing where the originator of a call dials one number to contact a

group of devices (e.g., a network), and then dials a second number to select

the device on the network. A similar technique involves tone-switching.

However, this is typically just available for fax communications

Yet another technique is referred to pre-arrangement calling. Here, a

first call is made to verbally notify the called-party that a non-voice-only call is

about to follow. Thereafter, a second call is made prior to which the originator has arranged their system to switch the service for the next

incoming call. However, such a technique is inconvenient for the originator

and if another caller sends a voice-only call to the receiver, this technique may

fail.

Thus, there is a continuing need for better ways to change the

receiving mode of a communication device depending on the nature or type of

calling being placed .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out

and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The

invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together

with objects, features, and advantages thereof, may best be understood by

reference to the following detailed description when read with the

accompanying drawings in which:

FIG . 1 is a block diagram representation of an embodiment of a system

in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG . 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with an

embodiment of the present invention .

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,

elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative

to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate,

reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate

corresponding or analogous elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set

forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However,

it will be Understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may

be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known

methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in

detail so as not to obscure the present invention.

Some portions of the detailed description which follow are presented in

terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits or

binary digital signals within a computer memory. These algorithmic

descriptions and representations may be the techniques used by those skilled

in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work to others

skilled in the art.

An algorithm is here, and generally, considered to be a self-consistent

sequence of acts or operations leading to a desired result. These include

physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily,

these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It

has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to

refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms,

numbers or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these and

similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and

are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following

discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussions

utilizing terms such as "processing, " "computing, " "calculating, "

"determining," or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer

or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate

and/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities

within the computing system's registers and/or memories into other data

similarly represented as physical quantities within the computing system's

memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display

devices.

Embodiments of the present invention may include apparatuses for

performing the operations herein . This apparatus may be specially

constructed for the desired purposes, or it may comprise a general purpose

computing device selectively activated or reconfigured by a program stored in

the device. Such a program may be stored on a storage medium, such as, but

is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-

ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), electrically programmable read-only memories (EPROMs),

electrically erasable and programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and capable of being coupled to a system bus for a computing device.

The processes and displays presented herein are not inherently related

to any particular computing device or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the

teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized

apparatus to perform the desired method. The desired structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, embodiments of the present invention are not described with reference to any

particular programming language It will be appreciated that a variety of

programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the

invention as described herein.

In the following description and claims, the terms "coupled" and "connected," along with their derivatives, may be used It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other Rather, in particular embodiments, "connected" may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other "Coupled" may also mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact However, "coupled" may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other Types of cellular radiotelephone communication systems intended to be within the scope of the present invention include, although not limited to, Direct Sequence - Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) cellular radiotelephone communication systems, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) cellular radiotelephone systems, North American Digital Cellular (NADC) celluar radiotelephone systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Extended-TDMA (E-TDMA) cellular radiotelephone systems, and the like

Turning to FIG 1 , an embodiment 100 in accordance with the present invention is described Embodiment 100 may comprise a communication device 10 such as a mobile communication device (e g , cell phone), a two-way radio communication system, a one-way pager, a two-way pager, a personal communication system (PCS), a portable computer, another type of data terminating equipment (DTE), or the like Although it should be understood that the scope and application of the present invention is in no way limited to these examples or to wireless applications in general In alternative embodiments, device 10 may be a wired communication device such as a telephone, fax machine, printer, data storage device, etc Additionally, embodiments of the present invention may be used with a terminating station In such embodiments, communication device 10 may comprise one or more peripherals (e g , fax machine, printer, etc ) that provide different types of originating and/or terminating services

Communication device 10 here may include a processor 15, memory 20, and a transceiver 25 Processor 15 may comprise, for example, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor a microcontroller, or the like, although the scope of the present invention is not limited in this respect As explained in more detail hereinafter, processor 15 may, among other things, adjust the communication receiving mode of communication device 10 based on the nature or identification data associated with an incoming communication For example, although the scope of the present invention is not limited in this respect, processor 15 may alter communication device 1 0 from a voice-only communication mode to a data-only communication mode. In particular

embodiments, communication mode or receiving mode may refer to how a communication device may be arranged depending on the service type of an incoming call. It should be understand that the scope of the present invention is not limited such that "receiving" means data flows only from the originator

(e.g., calling party) to the terminating station (e.g., receiver). It may also be

possible for data to flow from the receiver to the originator even though the receiver did not initiate the call. Memory 20 may comprise a variety of different memory types including, but not limited to, volatile memory (e g , such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), etc ) or non-volatile memory (e g , flash memory, EEPROM, EPROM, etc ) Memory 20 may be used, among other things, to store identification data that indicates the receiving mode or communication mode to be used by communication device 10 depending on the origin of an incoming communication Although the scope of the present invention is not limited in this respect, memory 20 may comprise a table storing at least part of the identification data associated with the origin or originator of an incoming communication Calling Party Number Receiving mode

800-555-1 1 1 1 Data-only

800-555-1 1 12 Route to fax machine 800-555-1 1 13 Route to printer

800-555-1 1 14 Route to voicemail

800-555-11 15 Duplex voice/data mode

800-555-1 1 16 Data-only

800-555-1 1 17 Data-only TABLE 1

Table 1 is provided to illustrate one example of the data that may be stored in memory 20. As shown, the receiving mode of communication device 10 may be changed depending on the type or origin of the incoming call. Although the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples, the receiving mode of communication device 10 may be data-only, video-only, voice-only, internet connection-only, or any combination thereof. Alternatively, communication device 10 may reroute the incoming call to another device. For example, communication device 10 may route the call to a fax machine, printer, storage medium, etc, although the scope of the present invention is not limited to these. In the embodiment shown in Table 1 , the identification data stored in the calling party's number (CPN), which may be available on most wired or wireless communication systems.

It should also be understood that, alternatively, the table or data stored in memory 20 may comprise only a portion of the identification data associated ith the origin or type of incoming call For example, memory 20 may store just the area code, prefix, or some other subset of the calling party's identification number Alternatively, memory 20 may store other identification data (e g , name, network identification numbers, IP address, etc ) that may suggest the origin, service type, or the nature of an incoming communication

In an wireless embodiment, although the scope of the present invention is not limited in this respect, transceiver 25 may be used to receive and transmit messages during a communication using radio frequency (RF) techniques such as CDMA, TDMA, GSM, etc Transceiver 25 may also be adapted to decode or determine the identification data associated with the origin or type of call For example, transceiver 25 may be adapted to determine the calling party's number (CPN) In this particular embodiment, communication device 10 may transmit and receive messages from a base station 40, which, in turn, receives and transmits messages from a mobile switching center (MSC) 60

MSC 60 may be used to control which base statιon(s) is used to communicate with communication device 10 MSC 60 may also permit communication device 10 to connect to the Public Switching Telephone Network (PTSN) This may allow communication device 10 to communication with origination devices 100-101 Devices 100-101 may represent a wired or wireless device that originates a communication with communication device 10 For example, originating devices 100-101 may be a wired or wireless telephone, a network a fax machine, a data storage device, an internet service provider, etc , although the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples MSC 60 may also be coupled to an interworking function (IWF) 80 and data communications equipment (DCE) 81 (e g , a modem), which may be employed by MSC 60 to conduct a communication depending on the type of communication Although the scope of the present invention is not limited in this respect, communication device 10 may also comprise memory 50 that may be used to store the instructions to be executed by processor 15 Memory 50 may be any type of memory including any type of volatile or non-volatile memory Additionally, it should be understood that memory 50 may also be either external or internal with respect to processor 15 and communication device 10 Referring now to FIG 2, a method of adjusting the communication mode of communication device 10 in accordance with a particular embodiment of the present invention is provided To begin, the user of communication device 10 may program the device by indicating what receiving mode is to be used should an incoming communication having a particular CPN is detected, block 200 For example, the user may enter the phone number or other identification data associated with an originator and then indicate what receiving mode is to be used In alternative embodiments, communication device 10 may be programmed at the manufacturer or may be programmed by loading data from the service provider However, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited by the particular technique used to program communication device 10

Thereafter, communication device 10 may receive an indication that there is an incoming call, block 201 For example, MSC 60 may use base station 40 to notify communication device 10 that there is an incoming call from the PSTN As part of the notification, communication device 10 may receive information that may be used to indicate the origin or nature of the incoming communication Communication device 10 may then determine if the identification data matches any of the data stored, block 203 If the identification data (e g , CPN) matches any of the data stored in memory 20, then processor 15 may adjust the receiving mode of communication device 10 or reroute the call to another device coupled to communication device 10 (e g , fax machine, printer, data storage device, etc ), block 204

However, if the identification data associated with the incoming call does not match, the communication device 1 0 may be programmed to receive

in a default mode such as voice-only, block 205. Alternatively, if the in¬

coming communication does not contain any calling party identification data, then communication device 1 0 may assume that there is no match and begin a voice-only communication. Once the communication receiving mode of communication device 1 0 has been set, communication with the originator may be conducted.

In alternative embodiments, communication device 1 0 may also be

adapted to be programmed to change the receiving mode regardless of the identification associated with an incoming call. For example, a user may desire to program communication device 1 0 so that it does not change its communication mode based on the calling party's number even if all or a portion of the CPN matches data stored in communication device 1 0 Communication device 1 0 may also be programmed to a "one-shot" mode

where the mode of the device is set to a particular mode for the next call, regardless of the nature of the call and regardless if the CPN matches data

stored in memory 20. Additionally, communication device 1 0 may set a

counter value that is decremented if a particular CPN matches. This may be

used to program communication device 1 0 to use a particular receiving mode

for a predetermined number of calls.

An advantage of particular embodiments of the present invention is that

the receiving mode of a communication device may be changed without requiring any changes to the communication network (e.g., PSTN) . Since

calling party identification data is available on many existing systems,

embodiments of the present invention may be implemented independently of

the existing infrastructure. Additionally, particular embodiments may alleviate

the burden upon the originator of a call to notify a communication device of

the nature of an incoming communication.

While certain features of the invention have been illustrated and

described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents

will now occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the transmission mode

of a communication device may be changed depending on the destination of

an outgoing call from the communication device. It is, therefore, to be

understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such

modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.

Claims

Claims:

1 . A portable communication device comprising:

a non-volatile memory to store identification data indicative of the origin

of at least one communication source; and

a processor coupled to the non-volatile memory, wherein the processor

is adapted to change the communication mode of the portable communication

device based on, at least in part, a portion of the identification data.

2. The portable communication device of claim 1 , wherein the

processor is adapted to change the portable communication device from a

voice-only communication mode to a data-only communication mode.

3. The portable communication device of claim 1 , wherein the non¬

volatile memory comprises flash memory.

4. The portable communication device of claim 1 , wherein the

identification data includes at least a portion of a calling party number.

5. The portable communication device of claim 4, wherein the portable

communication device is further adapted to determine the calling party

identification number.

6. The portable communication device of claim 5, wherein the

processor is adapted to determine if the calling party identification number

corresponds to data stored in the non-volatile memory.

7. The portable communication device of claim 1 , wherein the

identification data is indicative of a communication from the public switched

telephone network.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a memory to store at least a portion of at least two calling party

identification numbers; and

a processor adapted to determine if a portion of a calling party

identification number corresponds to at least one of the two calling party

identification numbers.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further adapted

to change the receiving mode of the apparatus based at least in part on a

calling party number of a communication.

1 0. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the memory is adapted to store

user data indicative of the receiving mode for the apparatus for the at least

two calling-party identification numbers.

1 1 . An apparatus comprising a processor, wherein the processor is

adapted to change a communication receiving mode of the apparatus based

on origination data associated with an incoming communication.

1 2. The apparatus of claim 1 1 , further comprising a memory to store

user data indicative of the communication receiving mode for at least one

origination data.

1 3. The apparatus of claim 1 2, wherein the origination data includes at

least a portion of a calling-party number.

1 4. A method comprising:

storing data in a communication device, wherein the data indicates a

receiving mode to be used for at least one in-coming communication.

1 5. The method of claim 1 4, further comprising:

receiving an incoming communication, the incoming communication

comprising data indicating the nature of the communication; and

adjusting the receiving mode of the communication device.

1 6. The method of claim 1 5 further comprising comparing the data

indicating the nature of the communication to data stored in the

communication device.

1 7. The method of claim 1 5, wherein receiving an incoming

communication includes receiving a communication with a wireless

communication device.

1 8. The method of claim 1 5, wherein receiving an incoming

communication includes receiving a communication with a wired

communication device.

1 9. The method of claim 1 5, wherein receiving an incoming

communication includes receiving a calling-party number associated with the

communication.

20. The method of claim 1 5, wherein adjusting the receiving mode of

the communication device includes changing the receiving mode to a data-

only mode.

21 . The method of claim 1 5, wherein adjusting the receiving mode of

the communication device includes routing the incoming communication to

another communication device.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein routing the incoming

communication includes routing the in-coming communication device to a fax

machine.

23. The method of claim 21 , wherein routing the in-coming

communication includes routing the incoming communication device to a printer.

24. The method of claim 21 , wherein routing the incoming

communication includes routing the incoming communication device to a voicemail system.

25. An article comprising: a storage medium having stored thereon

instructions, that, when executed by a computing platform, results in:

adjusting a receive mode of a communication device based on

origination data provided to the communication device.

26. The article of claim 25, wherein the instructions further result in a

communication device changing from a voice-only mode to a data-only mode.

27. The article of claim 25, wherein the instructions further result in:

changing the receiving mode of the communication device from a first

mode to a second mode; and

changing the receiving mode of the communication device from the

second mode to the first mode after termination of an in-coming

communication.