Patent Publication Number: US-2007105534-A1

Title: System and method for taking over incoming call

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims the right of priority based on Taiwan Patent Application No. 094139239 entitled “System And Method For Taking Over Incoming Call In Mobile Device,” filed on Nov. 09, 2005, which is incorporated herein by reference and assigned to the assignee herein.  
     FIELD OF INVENTION  
      The present invention generally relates to a system and a method for managing an incoming call, and more particularly, to a system and a method for managing an incoming call to be answered by other wireless receivers.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Mobile phones equipped with wireless answering earphones are quite popular recently. Such wireless answering earphones include Inferred answering modules and Bluetooth answering modules, and the Bluetooth answering modules are much more prevailing. Using Bluetooth technology in audio frequency signal transmission not only provides longer transmission distance and better transmission angles, but also reduces power consumption. Hence, research related to Bluetooth answering module has been widely developed. For example, Taiwan Patent Application No. 92100448 discloses a method for connecting a Bluetooth answering module to multiple electronic devices. The matched Bluetooth answering module will store the identification code (ID) of those electronic devices and give each electronic device a corresponding calling code with capability to obtain the corresponding ID so as to achieve the fast on-line change effect. Furthermore, U.S. Publication No. 2003/0055735 also discloses a method of using Bluetooth technology in wireless transmission.  
      Though mobile phone usage is widespread, it is still common that someone leaves his/her cubicle without carrying the mobile phone during the work. Consequently, when the mobile phone rings, nobody answers the phone and important incoming messages may be missed.  
      Therefore, there is a need to provide a method for managing an incoming call, so that fellow workers in the same group can take over to answer the other&#39;s incoming call as appropriate. Since wireless answering devices are widely used, there is a further need to provide a method for wirelessly managing an incoming call through wireless answering modules.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In viewing the drawbacks of prior art, the present invention provides a system and a method for managing an incoming call.  
      One aspect of the present invention is to provide a system for managing an incoming call. When a mobile device receives an incoming call, other answering modules predefined as being in the same group with the mobile device can take over to answer the incoming call.  
      Another aspect of the present invention is to store an authentication matrix for grouping multiple answering modules into a same group in each answering module.  
      A further aspect of the present invention is to connect a mobile device to a corresponding answering module through the Bluetooth protocol.  
      In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for managing an incoming call is also provided. The method includes the steps of wirelessly connecting each mobile device to its corresponding answering module through Bluetooth protocol; storing an authentication matrix for grouping multiple answering modules into a same group in each answering module; and when a mobile device receives an incoming call, other answering modules within the same group can selectively take over to answer the incoming call.  
      According to still another aspect of the present invention, the answering module includes an activation device to activate or deactivate the take over answering function. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
       FIG. 1  illustrates answering modules within a group in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  illustrates the grouping process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary answering module in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  illustrates a flow chart of managing an incoming call in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  illustrates a flow chart of managing an incoming call in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary grouping of answering modules in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention provides a system and a method for managing an incoming call. For better understanding, please refer to the following descriptions in conjunction with the accompanying  FIGS. 1-6 .  
       FIG. 1  illustrates answering modules within a group  100  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The group  100  includes three answering modules  110 ,  120 , and  130 , which respectively correspond to mobile devices  112 ,  122 , and  132 . The mobile device can be a mobile phone, and the answering module can be a wireless Bluetooth earphone. An authentication matrix (shown in  FIG. 3 ) configured to group answering modules into groups is stored in the answering modules  110 ,  120 , and  130 , respectively. By incorporating with the authentication matrix, the answering modules within the same group can take over to answer an incoming call for each other.  
       FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary grouping process in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Groups  200 ,  300 , and  400  respectively represent different groups classified to be capable of taking over to answer incoming calls for other members within the same group. Each group includes its corresponding answering modules. Each answering module matches a corresponding mobile device, which communicates with a telephone system, such as a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) network. In an exemplary embodiment, the answering module is a Bluetooth transmitter/receiver, which is wirelessly connected to a mobile phone. Any two answering modules within the same group are configured to have the function of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other. For example, in the group  200 , there are three exemplary relationships among the answering modules  210 ,  220 , and  230 , such as the answering modules  210  and  220  capable of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other; the answering modules  210  and  230  capable of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other; and the answering modules  220  and  230  capable of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other. In the group  300 , there are six exemplary relationships among the answering modules  310 ,  320 ,  330 , and  340 . For example, the answering modules  310  and  320  are capable of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other. The answering modules  310  and  330  are capable of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other. The answering modules  310  and  340  are capable of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other. The answering modules  320  and  330  are capable of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other. The answering modules  320  and  340  are capable of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other, and the answering modules  330  and  340  are capable of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other. In other words, answering modules  310 ,  320 ,  330 , and  340  in the group  300  are configured to have the function of taking over to answer incoming calls for other answering modules in the same group. Moreover, one answering module may belong to two different groups at the same time. For example, the answering module  340  is configured to be included in the groups  300  and  400 . In the group  400 , the answering modules  340  and  410  are capable of taking over to answer an incoming call for each other.  
      In the embodiment, the answering module wirelessly connects to its corresponding mobile device through the Bluetooth protocol. However, the present invention is applicable to other wireless communication protocols, such as Infrared transmission, and not limited to the embodiments.  
      The relationships among the answering modules of any group in  FIG. 2  are defined in an authentication matrix. The authentication matrix is then stored in the corresponding answering modules.  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , an answering module  510  includes an authentication matrix  512 , an activation device  514 , and an input device  516 . The authentication matrix  512  is provided to configure the relationship among the answering module  510  and other answering modules within same group so that the answering modules in the very same group are capable of taking over to answer an incoming call based on the relationship defined in the authentication matrix  512 . The authentication matrix  512  may be established by using the input device  516 , such as a man-machine interface, to input identification codes for each module which is configured to take over to answer an incoming call, to define a waiting time T, to edit or to update the authentication matrix  512 . The activation device  514  is configured to activate or deactivate the function of taking over to answer an incoming call for the answering module  510  by other answering modules in the same group. In addition, the activation or deactivation of the activation device  514  can be determined by using the input device  516 . If the activation device  514  is deactivated, other answering modules within the group same as the answering module  510  cannot connect to the answering module  510 , and accordingly cannot take over to answer an incoming call for the corresponding mobile phone of the answering module  510 . Alternatively, if the activation device  514  is activated, the answering modules within the same group can take over to answer an incoming call for the answering module  510 .  
       FIG. 4  illustrates a flow chart of managing an incoming call in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In step S 100 , each answering module wirelessly connects to a corresponding mobile device through Bluetooth or Infrared protocol. In step S 102 , answering modules are classified into groups, such as several groups or one group. For example, one answering module may be included in more than one group simultaneously. In step S 104 , an authentication matrix is established to configure relationships among the answering modules within the same group, and then stored in each corresponding answering module. In step S 106 , the function of taking over to answer an incoming call by other answering modules in the same group is selectively activated or deactivated.  
      Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the answering modules  110 ,  120 , and  130  are configured in the same group  100 , so that the three answering modules can take over to answer an incoming call for each other when the activation device in each answering module is activated.  
      When the mobile device  112  receives an incoming call from the telephone system, the mobile device  112  subsequently rings a original ring tone or vibrates to notice the user that an incoming call has been received. Within in a predetermined waiting time interval T, if the user of the mobile device  112  does not respond to the incoming call, or the call has not been answered by others directly, the answering module  110  of the mobile device  112  will then broadcast a ring message or ring a backup ring tone which is different from the original ring tone. The ring message may include an identification code for the answering module  110  or the group  100  so that other answering modules, such as  120  and  130 , are able to determine whether the answering module  110  is within the same group. When the user of other answering modules in the same group, such as the answering module  120 , recognizes the original ring tone, the backup ring tone or vibrations generated by the mobile device  112 , the user of all answering modules may be noticed and some of them may selectively take over to answer the incoming call by pressing a button (not shown.) to have the answering module  120  search the ring message broadcasted in the group  100 . When the answering module  120  locates the ring message being sent out by the answering module  110 , the answering modules  120  and  110  proceed to an authentication process. Due to the relationship between the answering modules  110  and  120  is predefined in the authentication matrix, the answering module  120  is able to connect to the answering module  110  without inputting additional authentication code and to execute the communication subsequently. Accordingly, a radio link between the answering module  110  and the answering module  120  is established so that the answering module  120  establishes the communication with the incoming call through the answering module  110  and the audio signal is transferred to the answering module  120 . When the communication between the answering module  120  and the incoming call is to be ended, the answering module  120  instructs the answering module  110  cut off the communication between the answering module  110  and the incoming call and return to a standby status. Furthermore, the answering module  110  can store information of the incoming call, such as data associated with the answering module  120 , data associated with a caller, a communication starting time, a communication period or message signals, in the mobile device  112  so that the user of the mobile device  112  could make a query afterwards. The message signals may be voice messages or text messages from the callers or people who take over to answer the incoming call, so that the user of the mobile device  112  can realize that an incoming call has been answered or processed by others.  
       FIG. 5  illustrates a flow chart in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates the process of managing an incoming call. In step S 200 , a first mobile device receives an incoming call and then rings and/or vibrates to signal the coming of the call. If the take over answering function of the first mobile device is deactivated, the process proceeds to step S 202 , in which the incoming call cannot be taken over by other answering modules. If the take over answering function of the first mobile device is activated, the process proceeds to step S 204 , wherein a first answering module corresponding to the first mobile device broadcasts a ring message. In step  206 , when the user of a second answering module detects the rings and/or vibrations, by pressing a button, the second answering module determines whether other answering modules in the same group is sending out the ring message. When the second answering module locates the ring message sent out by the first answering module, the process proceeds to step S 208 , in which a radio link between the first answering module and the second answering module is established. In step S 208 , an authentication procedure is performed by using the authentication matrix pre-stored in the first and the second answering modules. Then, the connection between the answering modules is automatically established. In step S 210 , the voice signal of the first answering module is transferred to the second answering module so as to communicate with the incoming call by the second answering module. Therefore, the second answering module communicates with the incoming call through the first answering module, the mobile device, and the telephone system. When the communication between the second answering module and the incoming call is to be ended, the procedure proceeds to step S 212 , wherein the connection between the first answering module and the second answering module is interrupted and the first answering module returns to a standby status. In step S 212 , the interruption of connection between the two answering modules is achieved by sending an interruption signal to the first answering module from the second answering module. Then, the first answering module sends an interruption confirmation signal back to the second answering module.  
      In these embodiments, the system of managing an incoming call is established by modifying configuration of the answering modules, such as configuring and storing the authentication matrix, and activating or deactivating the take over answering function. Therefore, the mobile device does not require additional modifications, and accordingly the cost is minimized. Though the present invention illustrates exemplary embodiments by modifying the configuration of answering modules, the present invention is not limited to embodiments; modifying the mobile device to achieve the effect of taking over to answer an incoming call by other answering modules in a same group is also included in the scope of the present invention.  
      Referring to  FIG. 6 , in another embodiment of the present invention, a group  600  includes the answering modules  610 ,  620 , and  630 , which correspond to the mobile devices  612 ,  622 , and  632  respectively. When the mobile device  612  receives an incoming call, and then rings or vibrates to signal the coming of the call, the answering module  620  does not need to connect to the answering module  610  to take over to answer the incoming call. Alternatively, the answering module  620  connects to the mobile device  612  to take over answering the incoming call. Therefore, the answering module  620  communicates with the incoming call through the mobile device  612 , the telephone system.  
      Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from what is intended to be limited solely by the appended claims.