Patent ID: 8433041

Claim:
A method to enable touch-free incoming call handling and touch-free outgoing call origination with a communication device, said method being implemented by a network entity connected to the communication device via a communications network, said method comprising: detecting at a first speech recognition module of the communication device a signal indicative of sound sensed by a microphone associated with the communication device from a user of the device, the signal having been produced: as part of one of (i) an incoming call handling process associated with an incoming call destined for the communication device; and (ii) an outgoing call origination process associated with an outgoing call to be originated using the communication device; and without requiring the communication device to have been touched since a start of said one of the incoming call handling process and the outgoing call origination process; receiving the signal at the network entity; processing the received signal by a second speech recognition module of the network entity in an attempt to detect at least one of a plurality of spoken commands potentially contained therein, the plurality of spoken commands comprising at least one spoken call handling command and at least one spoken call origination command; responsive to detection of a specific one of the at least one spoken call handling command in the received signal, handling the incoming call associated with the incoming call handling process in accordance with the specific spoken call handling command; and responsive to detection of a specific one of the at least one spoken call origination command in the received signal, attempting to establish the outgoing call associated with the outgoing call origination process in accordance with the specific spoken call origination command.