Abstract:
A personalized call reception prompter ( 106  for a shared communications reception terminal ( 104 ) or for co-located communications reception terminals ( 104 A- 104 X) enables the users ( 100 - 102 ) of the shared terminal or the co-located terminals to customize and prioritize ( 200 - 204 ) a list of callers, whereupon the prompter alerts the users to incoming calls in a distinctive manner that identifies both the intended recipient and the priority and/or source of the call. A user-programmable table ( 210 ) correlates ( 212 ) users&#39; IDs ( 220 ) with callers&#39; IDs ( 222 ) and with corresponding alerting signals or call priorities ( 224 ). The prompter uses ( 308 ) the caller ID of an incoming call to determine ( 310 ) the user ID and alerting signals or priority that are correlated in the table, with that caller ID. The prompter then generates ( 312 ) an alert that both identifies the correlated user as the intended recipient of the call and includes either the correlated alerting signals to identify the caller or indicates the correlated call priority.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    This invention relates to user communications terminals in general, and to alerting by such terminals of incoming communications in particular.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    When receiving a communication on a communications terminal that is either shared by a plurality of people—such as receiving a telephone call on a family&#39;s home telephone or receiving an e-mail on a family&#39;s computer—or co-located with other such instruments—such as a plurality of wireless phones carried by attendees at a meeting—the signal that is produced by the terminal to alert a user of the incoming communication does not instantly uniquely identify the intended recipient. Nor does it indicate the priority of the communication to the intended recipient.  
           [0003]    Caller ID indirectly identifies the intended recipient, in that it displays the identity of the calling party, which can be used by the users who share the communications terminal to decide which one of them the communication is for. Standard Caller ID requires a user to locate the Caller ID device in order to read the display and interpret the displayed caller ID information. However, Talking Caller ID identifies all callers by text-to-speech, removing the need for a separate Caller ID box or CLID-equipped phone.  
           [0004]    Distinctive ringing on a party line is used to identify the one of the telephones that shares use of the line for which the incoming call is intended. And MEWPRIC (Multiple Extension With Personal Ringing on Incoming Calls) operation is a party-line type of operation where telephones sharing a single station port are assigned different endpoint addresses. However, these are unable to indicate which one of a plurality of users who share one of those telephones the call is intended for.  
           [0005]    Priority ringing is used in some office telephone system to signal to the call recipient the priority of the call. However, priority ringing is initiated by the caller and thus indicates the caller&#39;s estimation of the priority, not the call recipient&#39;s. Also, some office systems have a boss-secretary arrangement wherein distinctive ringing indicates whether a call is destined for the boss or the secretary of a boss-secretary team.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    This invention is directed to solving these and other problems and disadvantages of the prior art. Illustratively according to the invention, a personalized alerting arrangement enables each one of a plurality of users of one or a plurality of communications terminals to customize and prioritize a list of communications sources (e.g., callers), whereupon the arrangement alerts the users to incoming communications in a distinctive manner that identifies both the intended recipient and the priority and/or source of the communication.  
           [0007]    Generally according to one aspect of the invention, the alerting arrangement comprises a device for determining both (a) which of the plurality of users of the communications terminal is an intended recipient of a communication incoming to the terminal and (b) the priority or the source of the communication. It further comprises a device responsive to the determination, for effecting alerting of the users to the incoming communication in a manner indicating to the users both (a) the intended recipient and (b) the priority or the source. According to another aspect of the invention, the alerting arrangement comprises a device for determining both (a) which of a plurality of users is an intended recipient of an incoming communication and (b) the priority or the source of the communication. It further comprises a device responsive to the determination, for effecting alerting of the intended recipient to the incoming communication via an alerting signal that is unique to the intended recipient and that indicates to the intended recipient the priority or the source. In either case, the alerting arrangement may either be incorporated into a communications terminal or may be a separate apparatus. The device for determining may be a memory that stores information correlating the users with sources, plus associated circuitry or programs that either determine or receive the identity (e.g., caller ID) of the source of the incoming communication and use it to access corresponding information in the memory. The device for effecting alerting may either control the output of an alerting mechanism (e.g., ringer) of the communication terminal or a separate alert generator. The alerting may illustratively be a distinctive ringing sequence, a distinctive tone sequence, flashing lights, vibration, screen pop, or an announcement (software-generated, pre-recorded, or custom [user]-recorded).  
           [0008]    The alerting arrangement provides a way to customize and prioritize a list of communications sources (e.g., callers) that one wishes to receive communications from. A collection of personal alerts can be generated. Each alert can be assigned to an individual source or to a group of services. The personal alerts can be custom recordings that both uniquely identify the source and the recipient with no further intervention by the recipient. The alerting arrangement is an advancement over traditional caller ID. Based on the priority of the communication, a different alert can be generated, including no alert. Instantly, the recipient can determine both if the call is for him or her and the call&#39;s source or priority. Using no alert is an effective mechanism for filtering out unwanted messages with no interruption of the recipient.  
           [0009]    The invention can be used in both wired and wireless telephones that allow a user to record personal distinctive alerts and generate a group of priority assignments. The invention can also be a platform for a service offered by a service provider. The invention can be used in call centers to alert agents to high-priority callers. Moreover, the invention may be used with any and all forms of personal communications, such as email, fax, web chat, etc.  
           [0010]    While the invention has been characterized in terms of apparatus, it also encompasses method that effects the described functionality of the apparatus. The apparatus preferably includes an effector—any entity that effects the corresponding step, unlike a means—for each method step. The invention further encompasses any computer-readable medium containing instructions which, when executed in a computer, cause the computer to perform the method steps.  
           [0011]    These and other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention considered together with the drawing. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first illustrative communications system that includes an illustrative embodiment of the invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a second illustrative communications system that includes an illustrative embodiment of the invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a data structure and a flow diagram of a corresponding initialization function of a personalized call reception prompter of the system of FIG. 1 or  2 ;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a first illustrative embodiment of functionality of the prompter of the system of FIG. 1 or  2 ; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a second illustrative embodiment of functionality of the prompter of the system of FIG. 1 or  2 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 shows an illustrative communications system comprising a communications network  108  connected to a communications terminal  104  whose use is shared by a plurality of users  100 - 102 . The system of FIG. 1 may be any conceivable communications system, such as a telephone system where network  108  is a public or a private telephone network and terminal  104  is a telephone set, or an e-mail system where network  108  is a telephone or a data network and terminal  104  is a personal computer, or an Internet system where network  108  is the Internet and terminal  104  is a browser-equipped data terminal, etc. According to the invention, the system of FIG. 1 further includes a personalized call reception prompter  106  which is also connected to network  108 . Prompter  106  is an alerting mechanism that alerts users  100 - 102  to incoming communications via distinctive alerting that indicates both who the communication is for and either who it is from or its priority to the recipient. Connection of prompter  106  to network  108  may be in series with terminal  104 , as shown in FIG. 1, or it may be in parallel with terminal  104 . Prompter  106  may be a stand-alone device, as shown in FIG. 1, or it may be integrated into terminal  104  or into network  108 . Prompter  106  is preferably co-located on-premises with terminal  104 —for example, both are located in a residence.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment of a communications system comprising the communications network  108  connected to a plurality of communications terminals  104 A- 104 X each dedicated for use by a corresponding one of the users  100 - 102 . The system of FIG. 2 may again be any conceivable communications system, but usually is a wireless communications system where user terminals  104 A- 104 X are cellular telephones, wireless handsets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. Prompter  106  may again be a stand-alone device, as shown in FIG. 2, but is usually integrated into a base station or a switching office of the wireless communications system. Alternatively, each terminal  104 A- 104 X may include its own integrated prompter  106 , in which case prompter  106  does not include terminal interface  124 .  
         [0019]    Prompter  106  is illustratively a stored-program controlled device. If a terminal  104  is likewise a stored-program controlled device, prompter  106  may be implemented as a control program stored in a memory and executing on a processor of that terminal  104 . In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, prompter  106  comprises an interface  124  to terminal(s)  104 , an interface  126  to network  108 , a sound circuit  128  for generating prompting signals, a processor  120  for controlling the operation of interfaces  124  and  126  and of sound circuit  126 , and a memory  122  for storing data and control programs for use by processor  120 , illustrative examples of which are shown in FIGS.  3 - 5 .  
         [0020]    Memory  122  of prompter  106  stores a data structure (a table)  210 , shown in FIG. 3, which contains one or more entries  212  each having a plurality of data fields  220 - 224 . Entries  212  are created by users  100 - 102 . A user ID field  220  stores the identifier of the one of the users  100 - 102  to whom it corresponds. A source ID field  222  stores the identifier of a source of communications, e.g., a caller ID. And a signal or priority ID field  224  identifies the prompt that is to be generated by prompter to alert a user  100 - 102  when a communication arrives from the identified source for the identified user. Field  224  identifies the prompt either directly via a signal ID, or indirectly via a priority ID which specifies the priority of communications arriving from the identified source. Each priority has a corresponding distinct prompt signal. Entries  212  include user default entries  214  which identify the signal or priority ID to be issued when a communication from an unknown source arrives for the identified user. Entries  212  further include a generic prompt entry  216  which identifies the signal or priority ID to be issued when a communication arrives for an unidentified user (e.g., from an unknown source). A specified prompt signal may be a null signal, i.e., no alert.  
         [0021]    Each user  100 - 102  can populate his or her own entries  212  with data. To signal a desire to perform this operation to prompter  106 , a user  100 - 102  initiates a data initialization function, at step  200 , either directly via a user interface (not shown) of prompter  106  or indirectly via a user interface (not shown) of a terminal  104 . Through interaction with prompter  106 , user  100 - 102  supplies his or her user ID and other data to prompter  106 , which receives the information, at step  202 , and uses it to populate fields  220 - 224  of entries  212 , at step  204 . When initialization ends, at step  206 , prompter  106  is ready for use.  
         [0022]    Use of prompter  106  consists of monitoring incoming communications and generating an appropriate alerting prompt to the one of the users  100 - 102  who is the intended recipient of an incoming communication. An illustrative example thereof is shown in FIG. 4. Upon detecting a communication incoming from network  108 —ringing or a SETUP message, for example—at step  300 , prompter  106  checks whether the arriving signals or message identify the source of the communication, at step  302 . If so, prompter  106  searches table  210  for an entry  212  that identifies that source in source ID field  222 , at step  310 . If prompter  116  finds such an entry, as determined at step  310 , it generates the specific prompt that is specified by that entry, at step  312 . The prompt has two components: one that uniquely identifies the user  100 - 102  who is specified in that entry&#39;s user ID field  220 , and another that uniquely corresponds either to the signal ID or to the priority ID specified in that entry&#39;s signal or priority ID field  224 . The prompt can take any desired form. For example, it can be a distinct ringing cadence, or one or more distinct tones, or even an announcement such as “X, you have a call from Y”. When a user responds to the prompt, e.g., by answering the communication on a terminal  104 , or if the source terminates the communication before the user responds, prompter  106  ends its operation, at step  328 , and further interaction between terminal  104  and network  108  takes place conventionally without intervention of prompter  106 .  
         [0023]    Returning to step  302 , if prompter  106  determines that a source of the communication is not identified, or if prompter  106  determines at step  310  that an entry  212  in table  210  corresponding to the identified source cannot be found, prompter  106  checks whether the arriving signals or message specifically identifies one of the users  100 - 102  as the intended recipient of the communication, at step  314 . If so, prompter  106  searches table  210  for the identified recipient&#39;s default entry  214 , at step  320 , and generates the recipient&#39;s default prompt that is specified therein, at step  322 . The default prompt may be a null, i.e., no prompt. Prompter  106  then proceeds to step  328 .  
         [0024]    Returning to step  314 , if the recipient of the communication is not identified, prompter  106  searches table  210  for the generic entry  216 , at step  324 , and gives the generic prompt that is specified therein. This prompt carries no information other than that a communication is arriving. The generic prompt may also be a null. Prompter  106  then proceeds to step  328 .  
         [0025]    The functionality of prompter  106  may be extended to give prompter  106  the capability of communicating with a source of a communication on behalf of users  100 - 102 . An illustrative example thereof is shown in FIG. 5, which is an expansion of FIG. 4 and uses the same numerals as FIG. 4 to identify steps that are common to both Figures. Upon detecting an incoming communication, at step  300 , and determining that it does not identify the source, at step  302 , prompter  106  prompts the source for its identification, at step  304 . For example, prompter  106  answers an incoming telephone call and prompts the caller to enter his or her own telephone number. Or, prompter  106  sends back a query data message. If the source provides its identification in response to the query, as determined at step  306 , prompter  106  proceeds to steps  308  et seq. If the source still does not provide its identification, as determined at step  306 , or if an entry  112  corresponding to the identified source is not found at step  310 , prompter  106  checks, at step  314 , whether the incoming communication identifies the recipient. If so, prompter  106  proceeds to steps  320  et seq. If not, prompter  106  prompts the source for the identification of the recipient, at step  316 . For example, prompter  106  plays a message to the caller stating “If you wish to speak to A, press one; if you wish to speak to X, press 2”. If the source provides the recipient&#39;s identification, as determined at step  318 , prompter  116  proceeds to steps  320  et seq.; if not, prompter  116  proceeds to steps  326  et seq.  
         [0026]    Of course, various changes and modifications to the illustrative embodiment described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, a recipient and/or a sender of a communication may be determined by one or more of the following: PC “cookies” during Web chat, DNIS, character-recognition scan of a fax, and software interpretation of message text. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the following claims except insofar as limited by the prior art.