EP0719059A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Personal communication using intelligent terminals
Assignee: AT&T Inc
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Filing: 1995-12-11
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2015-12-11
Abstract
Abstract An intelligent terminal (which can be a telephone (101-2, 101-3), a facsimile machine (101-4), or similar device (101-1)) is arranged so that (a) it can store information indicating when (e.g., date and time) a particular subscriber last was present at the terminal, and (b) the stored information can be retrieved from the terminal remotely, preferably without completing a conventional call to the terminal. A central processor (114) contains, for each subscriber, a list of the intelligent terminals that have been pre-designated for use by that subscriber, and has the ability to query terminals on the list. In response to a call placed to the subscriber by dialing the subscriber's unique personal number, specific intelligent terminals on that subscriber's list are queried by the central processor to determine when the subscriber was last present at each terminal. The central processor then generates a control signal such that the call is then completed to the particular terminal that was most recently visited by the subscriber.
Inventors
- 👤 Ralph Carlsen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 15:21
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04Q; H04Q3/00; H04Q3/0016; H04Q3/0029; H04Q3/005; H04M; H04M1/00; H04M1/247; H04M1/2473; H04M1/26; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/4228; H04M3/42229; H04Q2213/00; H04Q2213/13248; H04Q2213/13513; H04Q2213/13527; H04Q2213/13547
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
165 words
A system for completing telephone calls placed to a subscriber's personal telephone number, said system being characterized by: a plurality of intelligent terminals (101) each arranged (a) to store information indicating when a particular subscriber last was present at said terminal, and (b) to permit remote retrieval of said stored information, without completing a conventional call to the terminal, a central processor (114) containing, for each subscriber, a list of the intelligent terminals that have been pre-designated for use by that subscriber, said central processor arranged to query said pre-designated intelligent terminals on a selected subscriber's list in order to determine when said selected subscriber was last present at each terminal, and call handling means responsive to a call placed to a selected subscriber by dialing said selected subscriber's unique personal number for causing said central processor to query said pre-designated intelligent terminals and for completing the call to the particular terminal that was determined to be the terminal most recently visited by the subscriber.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
31 words
The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that the intelligent terminal (101) is a telephone (101-2, 101-3), a facsimile machine (101-4), a personal computer (101-1) or a cellular telephone.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that said intelligent terminal (101) includes means (112) for receiving and transmitting signals while in an on-hook condition, using the X.25 protocol.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that said intelligent terminals (101) are queried and respond without completion of a conventional call.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that said central processor (114) is a Service Control Point (SCP) in the public switched telephone network.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that said call handling means (112) is a switch in the public switched telecommunications network.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that said central processor includes processing and storage elements in a personal computer and said call handling means includes a switching element in said personal computer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that said central processor includes processing and storage elements in a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) and said call handling means includes a switching element in said PBX.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
52 words
The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that each of said intelligent terminals (101) includes a login memory (208), and wherein each of said terminals is arranged to store information indicating the current date and time when a login code is entered in said terminal while in the on-hook state.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
The invention defined in claim 9, further characterized in that said login memory (208) is arranged to store login information indicating when a plurality of subscribers were last at said terminal.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that stored information is retrieved from at least one of said terminals using an Analog Display Services Interface (ADSI) protocol.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
34 words
The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that at least one of said terminals is an ISDN terminal, and wherein stored information is retrieved from said terminal using the ISDN D channel.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
132 words
A method for completing telephone calls placed to a subscriber's personal telephone number, said method being characterized by the steps of storing information indicating when a particular subscriber last was present at a plurality of intelligent terminals, storing in a central processor, for each subscriber, a list of the intelligent terminals that have been pre-designated for use by that subscriber, responsive to a call placed to a selected subscriber by dialing said selected subscriber's unique personal number, querying specific pre-designated intelligent terminals on said selected subscriber's list to determine when said selected subscriber was last present at each terminal, said stored information being retrieved from each terminal remotely, without completing a conventional call to the terminal, and completing the call to the particular terminal that was most recently visited by the subscriber.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method defined in claim 13, further characterized in that said querying step includes receiving and transmitting signals to said intelligent terminal while said terminal is in an on-hook condition.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method defined in claim 13, further characterized in that said intelligent terminals are queried and respond with messages using the X.25 protocol.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method defined in claim 13, further characterized in that said central processor includes processing and storage elements in a personal computer and said querying and completing steps are performed in a switching element in said personal computer.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method defined in claim 13, further characterized in that said central processor includes processing and storage elements in a private branch exchange (PBX) and said querying and completing steps are performed in a switching element in said PBX.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method defined in claim 13, further characterized in that each of said intelligent terminals includes a login memory, and further characterized in that said first mentioned storing step includes storing, in the login memory in each of said terminals, information indicating the current date and time when a login code was entered in said terminal while in the on-hook state.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method defined in claim 13, further characterized by a step of retrieving stored information from at least one of said terminals using an Analog Display Services Interface (ADSI) protocol.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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