EP1051019A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Unified alerting method and apparatus
Assignee: AT&T Inc
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Filing: 2000-04-25
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2020-04-25
Abstract
Abstract This invention provides for a unified alerting system that alerts the subscriber via one or more devices. The unified alerting system receives alert events from services subscribed to by the subscriber, filters the alert events and alerts the subscriber via one or more devices identified in a subscriber profile. The alert event is filtered by if-then-else statements that contain conditions and actions. Conditions have Boolean values and the actions set various control variables or may be further if-then-else statements. In this way, the subscriber may specify complex conditions that process each alert event to determine whether the subscriber should be alerted via one of the available devices. The subscriber profile specifies possible devices through which the subscriber may be alerted via a schedule corresponding to each of the devices. The profile also includes a priority level for each of the devices when multiple devices are available. The unified alerting device may also perform various conversions such as voice-to-text and text-to-voice so that messages may be sent in an alert regardless of the capabilities of the devices used.
Inventors
- 👤 Jocelyn Cloutier
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 21:09
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04W; H04W4/00; H04W4/12; H04W4/16; H04W68/00; H04W68/12; H04W8/00; H04W8/18; H04W88/00; H04W88/18; H04W88/184
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
47 words
A method for alerting a subscriber in a communication network
(102), characterized by: receiving an alert event from the network (102); filtering the alert event; and alerting the subscriber with an alert via a device based on a subscriber profile
(300) and a result of the filtering.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 1, characterized in that the filtering step makes
a decision whether to alert the subscriber, the decision being made by evaluating one
or more if-then-else statements based on one or more conditions and one or more
actions.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 2, further characterized by: evaluating one or more conditions to obtain Boolean values, where each of
the conditions evaluate to a Boolean value; and taking one or more actions based on the Boolean values.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 3, characterized in that a condition is a regular
expression of one or more variables combined with operators, each of the variables
having a quantity that may be evaluated.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 2, characterized in that an action includes
setting a value of a variable or evaluating additional one or more conditions and
taking additional one or more actions based on results of the evaluations of the
additional one or more conditions.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 1, characterized in that the subscriber profile
includes a schedule of availability for one or more devices, the schedule specifying a
date and time for each of the devices that may be used to alert the subscriber.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 6, characterized in that the subscriber profile
includes a priority specification, the priority specification indicating a priority of
each of devices that are available for a common period of time.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method of claim 7, further characterized by: selecting a device from the subscriber profile tat has a highest priority
among those devices that may receive an information type that matches an
information type of a communication corresponding to the alert event; and alerting the subscriber using the information type of the communication via
the selected device.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 8, characterized in that the information type
includes text, voice and video.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1, characterized in that the alert includes at least
one of an audio signal, a text message or a video message.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 10, further characterized by: extracting information from a communication corresponding to the alert
event; and one of: including extracted information with the alert, or sending the extracted information as the alert.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 1, further characterized by one of:
waiting for a predetermined amount of time before performing the alerting step; or
not performing the alerting step during a pre-specified period of time.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 1, further characterized by: receiving a portion of a communication corresponding to the alert event in
one information type; and generating the alert for the device in another information type, where
information types include text, voice and video.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
81 words
A unified alerting device (104) that alerts a subscriber in a
communication network (102), characterized by: a database (106); a network interface (408); and a controller (402) coupled to the database (106) and the network interface
(408), the controller (402) receiving an alert event from the network (102) via the
network interface (408), filtering the alert event, and alerting the subscriber via a
device based on a subscriber profile (300) retrieved from the database (106) and a
result of the filtering.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
41 words
The device of claim 14, characterized in that the controller (402)
makes a decision whether to alert the subscriber, the decision being made by
evaluating one or more if-then-else statements based on one or more conditions and
one or more actions.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
41 words
The device of claim 15, characterized in that the controller (402)
evaluates one or more conditions to obtain Boolean values, where each of the
conditions evaluate to a Boolean value, and takes one or more actions based on the
Boolean values.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
33 words
The device of claim 16, characterized in that a condition is a regular
expression of one or more variables combined with operators, each of the variables
having a quantity that may be evaluated.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
44 words
The device of claim 15, characterized in that an action includes
setting a value of a variable or evaluating additional one or more conditions and
taking additional one or more actions based on results of the evaluations of the
additional one or more conditions.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
42 words
The device of claim 14, characterized in that the subscriber profile
(300) includes a schedule of availability for one or more devices, the schedule
specifies a date and time for each of the devices that may be used to alert the
subscriber.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
35 words
The device of claim 19, characterized in that the subscriber profile
(300) includes a priority specification, the priority specification indicating a priority
of each of devices that are available for a common period of time.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
61 words
The device of claim 20, characterized in that the controller (402)
selects a device from the subscriber profile (300) that has a highest priority among
those devices that may receive an information type that matches an information type
of a communication corresponding to the alert event, and alerts the subscriber using
the information type of the communication via the selected device.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
The device of claim 21, characterized in that the information type
includes text, voice and video.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
25 words
The device of claim 14, characterized in that the alert include at least
one of an audio signal, a text message or a video message.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
45 words
The device of claim 14, characterized in that the controller (402)
receives a portion of a communication corresponding to the alert event in one
information type, and generates the alert for the device in another information type,
where information types include text, voice and video.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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