Patent ID: 6442264
Filing Date: 2002-08-27
Classification: H04L,H04M,H04Q

Abstract:
Apparatus for selectively routing an incoming telephone call to at least one of a plurality of call receiving devices selected from a group of communication devices of a first â€œconventionalâ€  class, such as a telephone, a modem, or a facsimile machine, and a second â€œnon-conventionalâ€  class, such as a data collection and transmitting device, both classes of call receiving devices being located at a customer's premises, said apparatus comprising:customer alarming means for alerting a customer of an incoming call bearing signal indicia identifying one or more of said devices as a target, said signal indicia including caller ID indicia and a component for accessing a prioritization code residing in said memory means, means for detecting an initial sequence of signal characteristics in said signal indicia associated with the incoming call, said initial sequence indicating a particular targeted subset of targeted call receiving devices, means for selectively transferring said incoming call to one of the groups of call receiving devices at the customer's premises depending on whether said initial sequence of signal characteristics correspond with coded information associated with any of said devices in said first or second classes of communication devices, said call transferring means including memory means for storing a database of signal characteristics in said apparatus, means for comparing said signal characteristics of said incoming call with said signal characteristics in said database, and means for determining whether the signal characteristics match said one set corresponding to the call receiving device of said second type, said call transferring means deactivating said alarming means when said determining means indicates a match with said set of data, and means for comparing each of said prioritization codes of devices that have been accessed, and means for determining, based on the hierarchy of said codes, which are said devices are to be. enabled And in what order.