Abstract:
A system and method that provides a dialog with the called party when a call is received, a process is initiated to communicate with the calling party and a process is initiated to communicate with the called party. The processes communicate with each other to provide limited communication between the called and calling parties without an actual connection being made between them. The called party process determines disposition of the call based on the caller ID of the calling party and the state of the called party telephone. Advantageously, the called party process prompts the called party as to how to handle the call. The called party can request further information regarding the person calling, the purpose of the call, etc., without a connection being made to the calling party.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the field of telephony and, more specifically, to a system and method for notifying a called party of an incoming call by providing call-specific information to the called party interactively and providing the called party the ability to direct disposition of the call dynamically without establishing a connection between the calling and the called party. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Currently, a called party is notified of an incoming call in a manner that has remained the same for over one hundred years: the telephone “rings”. Ringing signals may have changed from the ringing of copper bells to electronic simulations thereof, flashing lights and other forms of audible and/or visible signals (e.g., musical melodies, text messages on a display on or adjacent the telephone, synthesized or recorded speech, etc.) but the meaning is the same. Regardless of whether a bell rings, a light flashes or a melody plays, the called party knows that he or she has an incoming call. 
     The only additional information regarding the incoming call that is available is caller identification (“caller ID”), which is usually the telephone number of the calling telephone and, optionally, the name of the person associated with the calling telephone. Frequently, however, the caller ID is blocked, or the person calling is not the one whose name and/or telephone number appears in the caller ID. The called party has to answer the call to find out more. 
     Thus, when the phone rings, the called party must make a decision as to how to (and whether to) answer the call based on the caller ID information. Currently, the called party has two choices: to not answer the call and allow the call to go to no-answer treatment (e.g., voice mail, telephone coverage, etc.) or to answer the call. Once the called party answers the call, the call is connected through the network and nothing further can be done without direct interaction with the calling party. As a result, network resources are consumed, multiple calls may be required and the called party&#39;s privacy is compromised. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This problem is solved and a technical advance is achieved in the art by a system and method, herein called a “script,” that gathers information, including the called and calling telephone numbers and, advantageously, the state of the called telephone, applies the information to user-defined preferences and performs user-defined actions. These actions include, but are not limited to, disposing of the call, sending a message to the calling party, seeking additional input from the calling party and/or seeking additional information from the called party by establishing a dialog with the called party. Importantly, the calling party and the called party are not connected unless and until the called party selects to answer the call. 
     According to one embodiment of this invention, the called party sets the script to the desired disposition of incoming calls based on the caller, the state of the called party&#39;s telephone and, optionally, other parameters. The called party&#39;s script is started when an incoming call is received from a calling party. Advantageously, the called party can dynamically change the script as needed (such as when the called party is active on another call). If the script can dispose of the call without input from the called party, then such action is taken and the called party is not made aware of the call. If the called party&#39;s input is required, a telephony device notifies the called party with some form of attention signal, and, optionally, the caller ID of the calling party, as in the prior art. Further, the called party&#39;s telephony device prompts the called party as to how he or she wishes to handle the call. For example, a menu may be presented that includes such diverse elements as send to voice mail, redirect to a covering party, redirect to another telephone, or, alternatively, simply answering the call. 
     Advantageously, the called party can request further information regarding the person calling, the purpose of the call, etc., without a connection being made to the calling party. Responses to such inquiries are delivered to the called party. The called party may then make an informed choice as to whether or not to answer the call, send it to voicemail, etc. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of this invention, an incoming call is first received at a call control unit, such as a processor adjunct to the telephone system, which “holds” the incoming call whilst a dialog is established with the called party. A process is initiated to communicate with the calling party and a process is initiated to communicate with the called party, which operates according to the called party script. The processes communicate with each other to provide limited communication between the called and calling parties without an actual connection being made between them. In this manner, telecommunications network resources may be more efficiently used and a called party may make the best use of his or her time, while maintaining privacy. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A more complete understanding of this invention may be obtained from a consideration of this specification taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an Internet Protocol (IP) telephone network in which an exemplary embodiment of this invention may be implemented; 
         FIG. 2  is an exemplary call flow diagram of the operation of the exemplary embodiment of this invention; 
         FIG. 3  is another exemplary call flow diagram of the operation of the exemplary embodiment of this invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a further exemplary call flow diagram of the operation of the exemplary embodiment of this invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a telecommunications system illustrating an exemplary embodiment of this invention in the context of a telephone network  100 . For purposes of describing the various aspects of this invention, a cellular telephone  102  is in communication with a transport network  104 , as is known in the art. Cellular telephone  102  includes a display  106  and is short-message-service capable. In this exemplary embodiment, transport network  104  comprises the public switched telephone network (PSTN), as is also well known in the art. Transport network  104  is not so limited, however. Transport network  104  can be a signaling network, pager network, the Internet or a combination of networks. 
     An Internet Protocol (IP) telephone system  108  is connected to transport network  104  at a transport network interface unit  110 . Interface unit  110  translates call signals (voice, data and signaling) between transport network  104  and IP telephone system  108 . 
     In the IP telephony system  108  of  FIG. 1 , LAN  114  interconnects interface unit  110  to a plurality of telephones, represented by telephones  116  and  118 , computers, represented by personal computer (PC)  120 , voice mail system  122  and one or more call processing systems, such as call answering system  124 . Other call processing systems, such as an outgoing call processing system, an intercom system, etc. may also be present, but are not shown for clarity. Call answering system  124  includes a dialog data storage unit  126  for storing information regarding each telephone&#39;s answering dialog script, as will be described further, below. 
     For the purpose of describing one exemplary embodiment of this invention, the user of telephone  102  (the “calling party”) is attempting to call the user of telephone  116  (the “called party”). The calling party at telephone  102  places a call to the called party by entering the telephone number of telephone  116 . Transport network  104  processes the call in the usual manner, as is known in the art. The called telephone number is located and the call is routed through transport network  104 . The call is delivered to a destination switching system associated with the entered telephone number. In this example, the call is delivered to transport network interface unit  110 . 
     Interface unit  110  receives the call notification along with the called and, in most cases, the calling telephone number. Interface unit  110  notifies called party answering system  124  of an incoming call and delivers the calling and called numbers via LAN  114 . For purposes of describing features that may be implemented on this exemplary embodiment of this invention, called party answering system  124  includes a speech recognition unit  126 , a text-to-speech unit  127  and a dual-tone, multi-frequency (DTMF) detector  128  (all of which are well known in the art and therefore not further described). According to this exemplary embodiment of this invention, called party answering system  124  spawns a process for each of a calling party dialog  130  and a called party dialog  132  according to data stored in dialog data storage  126 . Called party dialog instance  132  then processes the incoming call using the script for called party telephone  116 . 
     In the prior art, the called party dialog instance  132  would cause the called party telephone  116  to ring and display the caller ID of the calling party telephone  102 . The called party then decides to answer the call or ignore it based on that information alone. If the calling party answers, a voice path is set up. If the called party does not answer, the call may be redirected to voicemail system  122  or possibly to a third party telephone  118 . 
     According to this exemplary embodiment of this invention, and in contradistinction to the prior art, called party dialog instance  132  retrieves the notification script for telephone  116  from dialog data storage  126 . Called party dialog instance  132  performs called party notification based on the script, using the called party telephone number, the calling party telephone number, and, advantageously, the state of the called party devices (i.e., called party telephony device  116  and/or called party PC  120 ). Such scripts are preprogrammable; prepopulated by the user to perform certain functions based upon the calling telephone number and the state of the called party telephony device  116 . In this exemplary embodiment, the scripting language comprises Voice XML. Further, the script may be changed dynamically by the called party; the called party may change the script to meet a current situation (i.e., do not disturb except for certain telephone numbers during a conference call). Further, a script may be changed by an application; the script may be changed based on “presence information” of the called party. 
     According to this exemplary embodiment, called party dialog instance  132  is illustrated as operating on called party answering system platform  124 . Called party dialog instance  132  may run in called party telephony device  116 , called party PC  120 , or a combination of the above. If called party dialog instance  132  is operating in telephony device  116 , then obtaining the status of the telephony device and dynamic control of the called party dialog instance  132  is facilitated. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the operation of called party dialog instance  132  is not dependent upon the physical platform. 
     Three examples of simple scripts are presented hereinafter. These examples are to illustrate clearly an exemplary embodiment of this invention and not to limit the scope of the appended claims. It will be clear to one skilled in the art how to make other, more complex scripts after studying this disclosure. 
     Continuing from the scenario above, calling party dialog  132  instance receives the called and calling telephone numbers. Calling party dialog instance  132  then checks the state of the called party telephony device  116 . In this first example, called party telephony device  116  is busy. Calling party dialog instance  132  then routes the call to voice mail system  122 , a third party telephone  118  or take other action depending on the script. For example, the call may be routed to a third party telephone  118  based on the caller ID, time of day, etc. and all other calls routed to voicemail. Further, calling party dialog instance  132  may send a message to called party PC  120  to indicate the fact of the incoming call and the disposition thereof. Additionally, called party dialog instance  132  may send an instant message to calling party cellular telephony device  102  to indicate the called party&#39;s busy status, to give an alternative time to call, or to send another message. 
     In a second example, calling party dialog instance receives the called and calling telephone numbers and determines the status of the calling party telephony device  116 . For purposes of this example, called party telephony device  116  is not busy. Alternatively, called party telephony device may be busy but the script indicates that a call with the caller ID of telephone  102  is to interrupt a busy status. Called party dialog instance alerts the called party, which may include playing recorded files or text-to-speech files via text-to-speech unit  127  on telephone  116  (on a speaker, handset, headset, a display screen on telephony device  116  or PC  120 , or some combination thereof). 
     Advantageously, after notification, the called party dialog instance  132  receives input from the called party. The input can be received via speech recognition unit  126 , DTMF detector  128  or from the called party&#39;s PC  120 . Called party dialog  132  responds according to its program. Importantly, called party telephone  116  and calling party telephone  102  are not connected through the telephone network  100 . The called party may request further information from the calling party, which is communicated between the called party dialog instance  132  and the calling party dialog instance  130 . 
     The calling party phone  102  may be connected through to the calling party dialog instance  130 , depending upon the specifics of the calling party dialog script. For example, the called party may request the name of the calling party. The called party dialog instance  132  receives the request and delivers it to calling party dialog instance  130 . Depending on the telephone network  100 , calling party dialog instance  130  may request that a connection be made between calling party instance  130  and telephone  102  so that the calling party can speak his or her name or give other identification directly to calling party dialog instance  130 . Calling party dialog instance  130  then delivers the recorded speech to called party dialog instance  132 , which plays the recorded speech to the called party at telephone  116 , transforms the speech into text via text-to-speech unit  127  and delivers the text to PC  120 , etc. Thus, the called party can collect enough information to determine whether to and how to respond to the call. The called party can then answer the call (and thus set up a connection directly to calling party telephone  102 ), send the call to voice mail system  122 , to a third party telephone  118 , etc. 
     The above scenario is a simplistic example of the exemplary embodiment of this invention. Of primary importance to this invention are the calling party dialog instance  130  and the called party dialog instance  132  that provide a platform on which many features may be built. The calling party telephone  102  and the called party telephone  116  are not connected to each other until the called party elects to make the connection. According to this exemplary embodiment of this invention, and in contrast to the prior art, the calling and called party can communicate in a limited manner without a complete connection in the telephony sense of the word “connection.” The called party can receive (or extract) further information to determine disposition of the call without connecting to the calling party. Thus, the called party&#39;s privacy is not compromised while effective communication is enhanced. Further, telecommunications resources are saved, because only minimal telecommunications resources are required to effect the exemplary embodiment of this invention. 
     Any number of features may be implemented upon the platform of this invention so far described. For example, the called party may verbally direct the call to be routed to voicemail system  122  or to a third party telephone  118 . 
     According to a further embodiment of this invention, a calling party at calling party cell phone  102  may call called party telephone  116 . The call is processed through transport network  104  in the usual manner and delivered to PSTN interface unit  110 . PSTN interface unit  110  delivers the call (and any associated information) to called party answering system  124 . Called party answering system  124  sets up a calling party dialog instance  130  and a called party dialog instance  132 . Called party dialog instance  132  informs called party telephone  116  according to scripts as described above. 
     According to this exemplary embodiment, calling party cell phone  102  includes short message service and a display  106 . The called party states a message into called party telephone  116  which is translated to text by ASR unit  126  at called party answering system platform  124 . The message is transferred to calling party dialog  130 , which is relayed to calling party cell phone  102  and shown on display  104 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 2 , a call flow diagram is shown, illustrating the call flow according to a first of the three scenarios presented above. A calling party initiates a call  200  at a calling party telephony device. The calling party telephony device can be a telephone, cell phone, pager, computer, personal digital assistant, etc. The call may be a voice call or a data call (e.g., email, instant message, etc.). The call is delivered to the transport network, which locates the called party  202 . The transport network may be the PSTN, a data network, a signaling network, etc., or some combination thereof. The called party is located by telephone number, email address, etc. 
     The call initiation is passed to the call control device associated with the called party, which initiates a calling party dialog  204  and called party dialog  206 . The called party dialog obtains the current status of the called party telephony device  208 . The called party telephony device returns its current status (e.g., busy, idle, do not disturb, on hold) to the called party dialog  210 . Called party dialog sends a “busy” notification to the calling party dialog  212 , in this exemplary call flow. 
     In this example, the calling party dialog sets up a communication path to the calling party telephone device in order to obtain information regarding disposition of the call. For example, the calling party may be asked whether he or she wants to leave a message, be routed to another telephony device, send a short message, etc. To this end, calling party dialog requests a communication path be set up of the call control device  214 . The call control device performs the necessary tasks (depending upon the communications network) and forwards the request to the transport network  216 . The transport network sets up a communications path to the calling party telephone device and the calling party dialog sends the request for information to the calling party telephone device  218 . This request may be in audible form (either recorded or text-to-speech), may be in short message form, email, etc. 
     The calling party transmits the information from his or her telephony device  220 , which is received at calling party dialog. Calling party dialog forwards the information to the called party dialog  222 . Called party dialog disposes of the call according to the instructions. 
     Turning to  FIG. 3 , a call flow diagram is shown, illustrating the call flow according to the second of the three scenarios presented above. A calling party initiates a call  300  at a calling party telephony device. The call is delivered to the transport network, which locates the called party  302 . 
     The call initiation is passed to the call control device associated with the called party, which initiates a calling party dialog  304  and called party dialog  306 . The called party dialog requests the status of the called party telephony device  308 , which is delivered in step  310 . In this example, the status is “idle”. The called party dialog notifies the called party telephony device according to a preprogrammed script  312 . The called party provides input to the called party dialog  314 . This input may be, in a simplistic example, “what is the name of the calling party?” The called party dialog receives the request, translates the request to usable form (e.g., automatic speech recognition, receiving data from a PC, etc.). The called party dialog passes the request for information to the calling party dialog  316 . 
     In this example, the calling party dialog sets up a communication path to the calling party telephone device in order to obtain this information. To this end, calling party dialog requests a communication path be set up of the call control device  318 . The call control device performs the necessary tasks (depending upon the communications network) and forwards the request to the transport network  320 . The transport network sets up a communications path to the calling party telephone device and the calling party dialog sends the request for information to the calling party telephone device  322 . This request may be in audible form (either recorded or text-to-speech), may be in short message form, email, etc. 
     The calling party transmits the information from his or her telephony device  324 , which is received at calling party dialog. Calling party dialog forwards the information to the called party dialog  326 . Called party dialog formats the information according to the calling party script and forwards the information to the called party telephony device  328 . 
     In accordance with this simplistic example, the called party decides to communicate with the calling party. The called party indicates his or her willingness to accept the call to the called party dialog  330 . Called party dialog forwards the request to call control  332  and the transport network  334 . A full duplex communications path is established  336 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 4 , a call flow diagram is shown, illustrating the call flow according to the third of the three scenarios presented above. A calling party initiates a call  400  at a calling party telephony device. The call is delivered to the transport network, which locates the called party  402 . 
     The call initiation is passed to the call control device associated with the called party, which initiates a calling party dialog  404  and called party dialog  406 . The called party dialog requests the status of the called telephony device  408 , which is received in  410 . The called party dialog notifies the called party telephony device according to a preprogrammed script  412 . The called party provides input to the called party dialog  414 . This input may be, in a simplistic example, “what does the calling party want?” The called party dialog receives the request, translates the request to usable form (e.g., automatic speech recognition, receiving data from a PC, etc.). The called party dialog passes the request for information to the calling party dialog  416 . 
     In this example, the calling party dialog sets up a communication path to the calling party telephone device in order to obtain this information. To this end, calling party dialog requests a communication path be set up of the call control device  418 . The call control device performs the necessary tasks (depending upon the communications network) and forwards the request to the transport network  420 . The transport network sets up a communications path to the calling party telephone device and the calling party dialog sends the request for information to the calling party telephone device  422 . This request may be in audible form (either recorded or text-to-speech), may be in short message form, email, etc. 
     The calling party transmits the information from his or her telephony device  424 , which is received at calling party dialog. The message may be, for example, “where is the 2 o&#39;clock meeting?” Calling party dialog forwards the information to the called party dialog  426 . Called party dialog formats the information according to the calling party script and forwards the information to the called party telephony device  428 . 
     In accordance with this example, the called party sends a short message to the calling party (“The meeting is in room  2 A- 402 .”). The called party sends the message from the telephony device or PC to the called party dialog  430 . The called party dialog translates the message, if necessary (using, for example, automatic speech recognition) and forwards the message to the calling party dialog  432 . Calling party dialog formats and transmits the message to the calling party  434 . This step may comprise sending recorded speech, sending an instant message, sending email, etc. In this manner, the called party can dispose of the call in the most efficient manner without tying up telecommunications resources. 
     It is to be understood that the above-described embodiment is merely illustrative of the present invention and that many variations of the above-described embodiment can be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the transport network may be the PSTN, a signaling network, a data network such as the Internet, or a combination thereof. The telephony devices, as stated above, may be telephones, PC&#39;s, pagers, PDA&#39;s or a combination thereof. It is therefore intended that such variations be included within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.