MXPA00001388A - Telephone status notification system - Google Patents

Abstract

A telephone line status notification system including at least one telephone line having a status, a communications network, at least one communications terminal which is connectable to the communications network and which is employable by a seeking user to communicate via the communications network a status request concerning the status of the at least one telephone line, apparatus for processing the status request, the apparatus for processing is connectable to the communications network for receiving the status request from the seeking user therethrough and communicating the request, and apparatus for acquiring the status of the at least one telephone line, the apparatus for acquiring is in communication with the apparatus for processing the receiving the status request therefrom, and the apparatus for acquiring is connectable to the communications network for communicating the status via the communications network.

Description

TELEPHONE STATUS NOTIFICATION SYSTEM FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to telephone state notification systems in general, and more particularly, to the use of computer networks to retransmit the status of one or more telephones.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known to provide users connected via a computer terminal to a computer network with details of the network connection status of other users similarly connected. The patent application of E.U.A. of Applicant No. 08 / 791,437, incorporated herein by reference, describes a system for providing a user with the address of the network, the connection status of the network, and the availability status of one or more users, to allow these , for example, start a connection from point to point to each other. Public telephone systems, as they are currently constituted, generally only provide the status of a telephone at the moment one tries to establish a connection with it. In this way, one acquires a busy signal, a signal from call waiting, or a call tone, etc. Some £ &8®S ^ > 2 '> * Sbaá & & amp; & amp; amp; Telephone carriers provide a service whereby a person who calls another party and receives a busy signal will be alerted when the telephone number he calls becomes available, but again the status information is provided conditionally by having dialed a number previously. The ability to obtain an online report of the status of one or more telephone numbers, automatically, or to receive the logical state established by a user with respect to his availability for a telephone call, as a separation of his real physical state, independent of the need to try to call the desired number does not currently exist between telephone carriers or telephone devices connected to the public telephone system, or the telephone line at home (as opposed to the carrier), or between telephone owners at the present time . However, in general, all the necessary information exists or can be acquired, and can be made available through telephone carriers, through a telephone device that is connected to the system, or the telephone line at home, which is connected to the public system. , or through the owner of the phone. PBAXs and other specialized telephone systems such as call centers, telephony help desks, or Automatic Call Distribution Systems, have the ability to obtain the status of their extensions, but while this information may be available to users connected to such systems through several known methods, is not available to search users of the general public who are subscribers or extensions of such systems.

COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION The present invention seeks to provide a system for requesting the status of a telephone line, recognizing the status, and passing the status to one or more computer network addresses of request or request. The system also provides an automatic inquiry and conference line once the status of the telephone line has been determined. Thus, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a telephone line status notification system including at least one telephone line having a state, a communication network, at least one communication terminal is provided. , which can be connected to the communications network and which can be used through a search user to communicate, through the communication network, a status request regarding the state of at least one telephone line , an apparatus for processing the status request, the apparatus for processing can be connected to the communication network to receive the status request of the search user and communicate the request, and an apparatus for acquiring the state of at least one telephone line, the apparatus for acquiring is in communication with the apparatus for processing and receiving the state request thereof, and the apparatus for acquiring can be connected to the communications network. to communicate with the device through the communications network. Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the status request includes a unique identification of any of the users. Still more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus is included to identify a network address associated with the unique identification. Furthermore, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least one server is included, which can be connected to the communication network. Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, any of the apparatus for acquiring and the apparatus for processing is resident in at least one server. Still more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the processing apparatus is resident in the communications terminal that can be employed by the search user. Still more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is included a communication terminal that can be employed by a wanted user and that can be connected to the communication network. Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a telephone that can be connected to the telephone line is included.

Further still in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus for acquiring is resident in the telephone. Subsequently in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus for acquiring is resident in the communications terminal that can be employed by the intended user. In addition according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the user sought communicates the status to the apparatus to acquire via the communications terminal that can be used by the user sought. Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the telephone line is part of a PABX system, and the status is communicated to a user not regularly connected to the PABX system. Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cellular telephone is included in communication with the communication terminal that can be employed by the search user. Even more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cellular telephone is included in communication with the communications terminal that can be employed by the searched user. Still more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communications terminal can be employed i r r rr t t iif iirrfi by the search user is a cell phone. Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communications terminal that can be employed by the intended user is a cellular telephone. Still more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communications terminal that can be employed by the searched user is adapted to receive a query line request from the search user and initiates a call to the search user via the telephone line. Still more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the user searching has a telephone line status, and the communications terminal that can be employed by the searched user is also adapted to initiate the call to the search user once that the state of the telephone line of the search user has been determined. Additionally according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the searched user has a telephone line status, and the communications terminal that can be employed by the searched user is also adapted to initiate the call to the search user once the The state of the searched user telephone line has been determined. In addition according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the searched user has a telephone line status, the search user has a telephone line status and the communications terminal that can be used by the searched user jg ^^^ 'á¡ g'g ^^^ i¿gdg is also adapted to initiate the call to the search user once any of the user's telephone line status is searched and the telephone line status of the user searching It has been determined. Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a conference apparatus is included that can be connected to the communication network and is adapted to receive a conference request from the search user and initiates a conference call between the user of the conference. Search and at least one user searched. Still more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the conference apparatus is further adapted to first initiate a call for the search user and telephone to receive from the user seeking both a telephone number of the searched user and an identifier associated with the user. a phone number of the searched user. Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least one user has a telephone line status, and the conference device is also adapted to initiate the conference call once the requested telephone line status is searched. It has been determined. Subsequently according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the search user has a telephone line status, and the conference device is also adapted to initiate the conference call once the telephone user status of the search user has been determined. In addition according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least one search user has a telephone line status, at least the searched user has a status of 5 telephone line and the conference device is also adapted to initiate the conference call once both the search user telephone line status and the searched user telephone line state have been determined. More so according to a preferred embodiment of the In accordance with the present invention, the apparatus for acquiring maintains at least one telephone number associated with at least one user sought. Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, either the apparatus for acquiring or the apparatus for processing includes an apparatus for verifying the status request of the search user for an authorization. Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communication network is the Internet. Subsequently in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cellular telephone is adapted to communicate using both the IP protocols and the non-IP protocols. Further provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a method for providing telephone line status, the method includes providing at least one telephone line having a state, provide a network of communications, communicate, through the communications network, a request for the status of a search user, the request for status referring to the state of at least one telephone line, acquiring the status of at least one telephone line and communicating the been via the communications network, thus providing the status of the telephone line. Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, communication through the communication network of a state request step includes communicating a unique identification of any of the users. Even more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method includes identifying a network address associated with the unique identification. Still more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the step of acquiring includes acquiring the state of at least one telephone line of a searched user. Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method includes the steps of receiving a query-line request from the search user on a searched user, and initiating a query line for the search user of the searched user via the search user. telephone line. Subsequently according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method includes the steps of receiving a conference request from the search user, and initiating a conference call between the search user and at least one searched user. Still more in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the step of initiating includes the initiation once either the telephone line state of the search user or the telephone line status of the searched user has been determined. Further still in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the step of acquiring includes verifying the request of the search user's state for an authorization. Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the state pass communication includes communicating the state to either the search user or to a receiver indicated in the status request. It is noted that through the specification and claims the phrase "status of a telephone", "status of a telephone number", or derivations and permutations thereof, refers to whether a telephone line at a given telephone number is physically in use or not, or if it is logically "in use" or not, that is, if the end user or owner of a telephone line wishes to be contacted specifically through a telephone. It is also noted that through the specification and claims the term "PABX" covers other specialized telephone systems such as call centers, telephony help desks or Automatic Call Distribution Systems.

It is further noted that through the specification and claims the term "user" encompasses any entity, preferably a human being, that operates a computer or other communications terminal, preferably for the purpose of connecting to and communicating through a communications network. It is also noted that the term "search user" includes any user who requests or requests the status of a telephone line. It is further noted that the term "searched user" encompasses any user whose telephone line status is desired by a search user. It is further noted that the term "Internet" encompasses other communication systems that use the Internet protocol such as, but not limited to, "Intranet" and "Extranet" networks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be understood and appreciated from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of a telephone state notification system constructed and operating from according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. ^ ..., ^? ^ irM,.? e, ^ DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, wherein reference is made, purely by way of example, to the following embodiments. Referring now to Figure 1, which is a simplified block diagram of a telephone state notification system constructed and operating in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A user 10 wishes to determine the state of a telephone line 14 associated with a user 12. the user 10 typically sends a request for the telephone line status information to a request server 16. The request typically comprises the telephone number, or other information identifying the telephone line 14 associated with the user 12. The user 10 typically sends the request via a computer terminal 18 that can be connected to a communication network such as the Internet, the request being sent using protocols of the Internet known. It is appreciated that the request can be sent by the user 10 using any known message sending means, or it can be sent through the client software running on the computer terminal 18. The user 10 can provide a list of said numbers. telephone that is sent to the request server once to comply or submit, each time the user 10 connects to the Internet In addition or alternatively, the user 10 can send the requests of the individual telephone number status for the purpose of compliance at once. Each request typically comprises information that identifies one or more telephones by their number, owner's name or by any other identification method. The request server 16 can typically be connected to the Internet and is capable of receiving the request of the user 10. The request also preferably comprises a unique identification code and / or a network address identifying the user 10, and a unique code identification and / or network address to which the notification of the status of the telephone line 14 is to be sent. The request may also comprise one or more telephone numbers associated with the user 10. The request may also comprise a unique telephone code. identification and / or a network address identifying the user 12. Any of the addresses described above can be the permanent IP address of the user 10 or of the user 12, if the user 10 or the user 12 has one. When the user 10 or the user 12 has a dynamic IP address, the network address can be identified by other identification information, such as a permanent subscriber code with which the dynamic IP address is related in a given session. When a unique identification code is used, the apparatus may be provided to determine a network address associated therewith. An example of this is described with reference to the patent application of E.U.A. of Applicant No. 08 / 791,437.

The request server 16 then typically advances the request to a telephone state acquirer 20, typically via the Internet. The telephone state acquirer 20 may be a server or other apparatus in a telephone company or other entity to which the telephone line states are made known. It is appreciated that the request server 16 and the telephone state acquirer 20 can be accommodated within a single server. It is further appreciated that the request server 16 can be modeled within the client software running on the computer terminal 18, being able to send a request directly to the acquirer of telephone status 16, as described above. It is appreciated that the telephone state acquirer 20 can be modeled within the client software running on a computer terminal 22 used by the user 12 that can be connected to the Internet. In this case, the client software typically determines the state of the telephone line 14 by being in communication with a device that determines the on / off status of the telephone line 14. the device may be attached to the telephone line (a telephone detector). line), directly connected to a telephone 24, which is part of the same telephone 24, or is contained within the computer terminal 22 to which the telephone 24 or the telephone line 14 can be connected via any number of interface devices either known. Alternatively, the client software can be integrated with and reside in the telephone 24. Alternatively, the telephone line 14 can be a PABX extension. In this case, the telephone state acquirer 20 acquires the status of an integral and known part of a PABX system configured to determine the status of the telephone line 14, and then supplies the status, typically via the Internet or another connection without PABX , to request the server 15, computer terminal 18 or any destination or destinations specified in the user's request 10. The user 12 may alternatively or alternatively enter the physical state of the telephone line 14 in the client's software to indicate that the line telephone 14 is busy, and / or "logical" telephone states such as "available / not available for ca, or more detailed status information such as "available for ca, but only for the following list of users "and the like" The user 12 may alternatively or alternatively enter one or more telephone numbers with which the user 12 is associated in the client's software. the user 10 does not know with which telephone number user 12 is associated, or otherwise does not wish to refer to the user 12 through a telephone number, the user 19 may include the information in his request to identify the user 12 by means of another phone number In this case, the returned state typically includes a telephone number or numbers entered by the user 12 into the client software as described above. Alternatively, the user 10 may request the states of the telephone numbers that the user 12 uses regularly, typically with the telephone state acquirer 20 or the request server 16 storing one or more telephone numbers recently used by the user 12. request server 16 or telephone state acquirer 20 may be provided with means for verifying the authorization of user 10 to request the status of telephone line 14 before disclosing. For example, the state can only be disclosed if the user 10 has a certain security scale or a certain level of account, or if the user 10 provides a given password. In response to the request issued from the request server 16, the telephone state acquirer 20 preferably sends the requested status information to the address or destination addresses indicated by the user. It is appreciated that the request of the user 10 may specify different destinations. depending on the nature of the state determination. The user 10 may alternatively enter the telephone line status requests on a cellular telephone 16. In this case, the cellular telephone company, or the Internet Service Provider with which the cellular telephone 26 has contact, typically issues the request to the request server 16 as described above. The client software can reside in the cell phone 26. The cell phone 26 can also be connected to the Internet or another communication network. The client software that resides on the cellular telephone 26 typically functions in a general manner as described above with reference to the computer terminal 18, with the information of the telephone status preferably being displayed on the cell phone screen 26. It is appreciated that the request server 16 can be modeled within the client software running on the cell phone 26 being able to send a request directly to the client. telephone status acquirer 16 as described above. It is further appreciated that the cellular phone 26 can be used alone or in combination with the computer terminal 18, and that the cellular phone 26 can communicate using IP or other protocols. The user 12 may alternatively or alternatively communicate via a cell phone, which may comprise either the client's software or the functionality described herein with reference to the computer terminal 22 and the telephone 24. It is appreciated that the user's cell phone 12 it can be used alone or in combination with the computer terminal 22 and the telephone 24, and that the cell phone of the user 12 can communicate using IP or other protocols. It can be seen that the client software described above with reference to the cell phones of users 10 and 12 can reside in a computer located far from the cell phone.

In this case, the communication between the cell phones of the users 10 and 12 and the client can use IP or other protocols. It will be appreciated that a notification system such as the one described above can be used to provide other types of status information, for example, the states of monitors, sensors or measuring devices and / or logic states entered by the user. In addition, it will be appreciated that a notification system such as the one described above can be used in conjunction with IP telephones designed for use with the Internet, wherein the IP telephones comprise a computer circuit and voice processing capability. In addition, a notification and acquisition system, such as the one described above, can be used together with communication devices using CATV as part of the network infrastructure. It is appreciated that once the user 10 receives the telephone number and other status information associated with the user 12 as described above, or once it is stored in his client software, the user 10 can send a request to the terminal of computer 22, typically over the Internet, so that a telephone call is placed from user 12 to user 10. The client software residing in computer terminal 22 can automatically place a call to user 10 either immediately, or when the telephone line status of the user 10 and / or user 12 becomes known to the computer terminal 22.

The user 10 alternatively sends a request, typically via the Internet, to an automated telephone operator or switch 28 to initiate two calls, one to user 10 and the other to the user 12, and the conference of two calls using known conference media. The user 10 can typically configure his client software to send the telephone numbers for himself and for the user 12, or other means to identify the user 10 and the user 12, in addition to billing the information indicating to whom the bill should be billed. call, along with the appropriate authorization. The user 10 can request a conference call with more than one user by sending, in this manner, multiple telephone numbers and / or identifiers. The user 10 may further indicate whether a conference call is to be dealt with immediately, with calls to be conferred as telephone numbers become available, or to deal only when all the telephone numbers requested for a conference are known to be available , such as through the request for the status of telephone numbers as described above. The user 10 can also initiate a query line, supplying his telephone number and availability of an automatic switch, which will be conferred with one of the dial-out lines of the switch. The user 10 may further indicate whether a query line is to be treated immediately or treated only when the telephone number with which the inquiry line has to see is known to be available, such as through the request of the status of the number. telephone as described above. It is appreciated that various aspects of the invention which, for clarity, are described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination with a single embodiment. Conversely, various aspects of the invention which, for brevity, are described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination. It will be appreciated by those in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described above. Rather, the scope of the present invention is defined only by the claims that follow

Claims (38)

1. - A telephone line status notification system comprising: at least one telephone line having a status; a communications network; at least one communication terminal, which can be connected to said communication network and which can be used by a search user to communicate, through said communication network, a state request with respect to said state of at least one telephone line; an apparatus for processing the status request, wherein the processing apparatus can be connected to the communication network to receive said status request from the search user and communicate the request; and an apparatus for acquiring said state from at least one telephone line, wherein said apparatus for acquiring is in communication with the apparatus for processing and receiving said state request thereof, and wherein the apparatus for acquiring can be connected to the communication network to communicate the state via the communications network.

2. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, wherein the status request comprises a unique identification of any of the users.

3. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 2, further comprising an apparatus for identifying a network address associated with said unique identification.

4. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, further comprising at least one server that can be connected to said communication network.

5. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 4, wherein either the apparatus for acquiring or the apparatus for processing is resident in at least one server.

6. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus for processing is resident in the communications terminal that can be employed by said search user.

7. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, further comprising a communication terminal that can be used by a wanted user and that can be connected to the communication network.

8. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, comprising a telephone that can be connected to the telephone line.

9. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 8, wherein said apparatus for acquiring is resident in the telephone.

10. - A system for notifying telephone line status according to claim 7, wherein the apparatus for acquiring is resident in the communications terminal that can be employed by the intended user.

11. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 10, wherein the searched user communicates said status to the apparatus for acquiring via the communications terminal that can be used by the searched user.

12. A telephone line status notification system 10 according to claim 1, wherein the telephone line is part of a PABX system, and wherein the state is communicated to a user not regularly connected to said PABX system .

13. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, further comprising a cellular telephone in communication with the communications terminal that can be used by the search user.

14. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 7, further comprising a cellular telephone in communication with the communications terminal 20 that can be employed by the user sought.

15. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal that can be employed by the search user is a cellular telephone. 25 16.- A telephone line status notification system ^ M »^^ | ^ g £ _ ^ according to claim 7, wherein the communication terminal that can be employed by the intended user is a cellular telephone. 17.- A telephone line status notification system 5 according to claim 7, wherein the communication terminal that can be used by the searched user is adapted to receive a query line request from the search user and initiate a call for the search user through the telephone line. 18. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 17, wherein the search user has a telephone line status, and wherein the communication terminal that can be employed by the user further searched. is adapted to initiate the call for the user of 15 search once the phone line status of the search user has been determined. 19. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 17, wherein the searched user has a telephone line status, and wherein the terminal of 20 communications that can be employed by the searched user is also adapted to initiate the call for the search user once the telephone line status of the searched user has been determined. 20.- A telephone line status notification system 25 according to claim 17, wherein the user searched & i? m has a telephone line status, and where the search user has a telephone line status, and where the communication terminal can be used by the searched user is also adapted to initiate the call for the search user once either the searched user's phone line status or the search user's phone line status has been determined. 21. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, further comprising a conferencing device can be connected to the communication network and adapted to receive a request from the search user's conference and initiate a conference call between the search user and at least one user searched. 22. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 21, wherein the conferencing device is further adapted to first initiate a call for said search user and telephone to receive from the search user both a telephone number of said searched user as an identifier associated with a telephone number of the searched user. 23. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 21, wherein at least one searched user has a telephone line status, and wherein the conferencing device is further adapted to initiate said call. of a conference once the telephone line status of the searched user has been determined. 24. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 21, wherein the search user has a telephone line status, and wherein the conference device is further adapted to initiate said conference call once the search user phone line status has been determined. 25. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 21, wherein at least one search user has a telephone line status, where at least one searched user has a line status of telephone, and wherein said conferencing device is further adapted to initiate the conference call once either the search user telephone line status or the searched user telephone line status has been determined. 26. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus for acquiring maintains at least one telephone number associated with at least one searched user. 27. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, wherein either the apparatus for acquiring or the apparatus for processing comprises an apparatus for verifying said state request of the search user for an authorization. 28. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 1, wherein the communication network is the Internet. 29. A telephone line status notification system according to claim 13, wherein the cellular telephone is adapted to communicate using either IP protocols or non-IP protocols. 30.- A method to provide a telephone line status, the method comprises: providing at least one telephone line having a state; provide a communications network; communicating through said communication network, a status request of a search user, said status request with respect to said state of at least one telephone line; acquire the status of at least one telephone line; and communicate the state via the communications network, thus providing the status of the telephone line. 31. A method according to claim 30, wherein said communication through the communication network of a state request step comprises communicating a unique identification of any of the users. 32. A method according to claim 31, further comprising a network address associated with the unique identification. 33. A method according to claim 30, wherein the step of acquiring comprises acquiring the status of at least one telephone line of a searched user. 34.- A method according to claim 30, further comprising the steps of: receiving a query line request from the search user on a searched user, and starting a query line for said search user from the user searched via the telephone line. 35. A method according to claim 30, further comprising the steps of: receiving a conference request from the search user; and initiate a conference call between the search user and at least one searched user. 36. A method according to claim 34, wherein the step of initiating comprises the initiation once the telephone line state of the search user or the telephone line status of the searched user has been determined. 37. A method according to claim 30, wherein the step of acquiring comprises verifying the status request of the search user for an authorization. 38.- A method according to claim 30, wherein the step of communicating said state comprises communicating the state to either the user or a recipient indicated in the status request.