Patent ID: 6584188
Filing Date: 2003-06-24
Classification: H04M

Abstract:
A telephone device for use in a telecommunications network, the telephone device being coupled to the telecommunications network by a plurality of telephone lines, the telephone device comprising:a caller-ID circuit operative to extract a call identifier from an incoming call propagating on a first telephone line of the plurality of telephone lines; a call processing circuit coupled to the caller-ID circuit, the call processing circuit being operative to assign the incoming call to a caller category based on the call identifier, to select a call processing action corresponding to the caller category, and to process the incoming call in accordance with the selected call processing action, the call processing action includes forwarding the incoming call to a predetermined destination over a second telephone line of the plurality of telephone lines; and a computer interface circuit coupled to the call processing circuit, wherein an e-mail message is transmitted to a predetermined e-mail address via the computer interface when a connection is not established with the predetermined destination.