(12)
`
`United States Patent
`Swartz
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,445,694 B1
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`US006445694B1
`
`(54) INTERNET CONTROLLED TELEPHONE
`SYSTEM
`
`6,052,372 A * 4/2000 Gittins et al. ............. .. 370/396
`6,131,095 A * 10/2000 Low et a1. .................. .. 707/10
`
`(76) Inventor: Robert Swartz, 1066 center?eld CL,
`Highland Park, IL (US) 60035
`
`6,199,076 B1 * 3/2001 Logan et a1. .......... .. 707/501.1
`* Cited by examiner
`
`6,161,128 A * 12/2000 Smyk . . . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 709/205
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U_S_C_ 154(k)) by 0 days_
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/033,287
`_
`(22) Flled:
`
`Mar- 2’ 1998
`
`_
`_
`Apphcatlon Data
`_ Related_
`_
`(60) ligg‘élslonal apphcanon NO‘ 6O/O4O’O46’ ?led on Mar‘ 7’
`'
`(51) Int. Cl.7 .............................................. .. H04L 12/ 66
`(52)
`370/352; 379/85; 379/88.01
`(58) Field of Search ............................... .. 370/352, 218,
`370/235, 252, 253, 254, 255, 260, 264,
`299, 321, 326, 327, 336, 353, 354, 355,
`356, 357, 359, 360, 396, 398, 400, 401,
`402, 404, 405, 420, 421, 422; 379/68, 69,
`70, 71, 85, 8801, 8804, 8827
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U'S' PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,737,395 A * 4/1998 Irribarren ............... .. 379/88.13
`5,742,596 A * 4/1998 Baratz et a1, __
`370/356
`5,761,294 A * 6/1998 Shaffer etal.
`379/230
`5,764,639 A * 6/1998 Staples et a1- -
`370/401
`5,764,910 A * 6/1998 Shachar .......... ..
`709/223
`5’838’682 A : 11/1998 Dek‘f’lbaum et a1‘ """ " 370/401
`2 *
`giiggg?hlg'jtsl' "" "
`652
`5’914’951 A * 6/1999 Bentley et a1‘
`~~~
`709/249
`5:940j598 A * 8/1999 Strauss et aL
`370/352
`5,991,292 A * 11/1999 Focsaneanu et a1. .
`709/202
`5,999,965 A * 12/1999 Kelly ................ ..
`6,044,107 A * 3/2000 Gatherer et al. .......... .. 375/222
`
`P 1’ imary Examiner —D01lg1a5 Olms
`Assistant ExaminerQhirin Sam
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Charles G. Call
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`
`An Internet controlled telephony system employing a host
`services processor connected to a subscriber via the Internet
`and further connected to the public sWitched telephone
`system (PSTN). The subscriber employs a Web interface to
`populate a database With preference data Which is used by
`the host services processor to handle incoming calls and
`establish outgoing telephone connections in accordance With
`the preference data provided by the subscriber. Incoming
`Calls to a telephone number assigned to the Subscriber may
`be automatically forWarded to any telephone number speci
`?ed by the preference data. The subscriber may also use the
`Web interface to specify Whether call Waiting is to be
`activated, to screen or reroute calls from designated
`numbers, for recording voice mail messages in designated
`voice mailboxes, for selectively playing back voice mail
`messages via the Web interface or for forWarding voice mail
`as an email attachment, for handling incoming faX trans
`missions using character recognition and email attachment
`functions, and for automatically Paging the Subscriberwhen
`incoming voice mail, fax or email messages are received, all
`in accordance With the preference data supplied by the
`subscriber using the Web interface. Outgoing connections
`and Conference Calls may be initiated using the Web
`interface, and the subscriber may block the operation of
`caller identi?cation functions. Call progress information
`may be visually displayed to the subscriber during calls by
`transmitting Web pages from the host services computer to
`the subscriber’s Web browser
`
`13 Claims, 11 Drawing Sheets
`
`41 /
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`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1005, Page 1
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`U.S. Patent
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`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1005, Page 2
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`Sep. 3, 2002
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`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1005, Page 4
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`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1005, Page 7
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`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1005, Page 10
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`Sep. 3, 2002
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`US 6,445,694 B1
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`1
`INTERNET CONTROLLED TELEPHONE
`SYSTEM
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATION
`
`This application claims the bene?t of the prior ?led
`copending US. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
`60/040,046 ?led on Mar. 7, 1997.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates to computer controlled telephone
`systems and more particularly to a telephone system Which
`may be controlled using commands transmitted from a
`subscriber location over the Internet to a host computer
`Which provides telephone services.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram shoWing an illustrative
`arrangement of hardWare components Which provide the
`infrastructure for implementing a preferred embodiment of
`the invention;
`FIG. 2 shoWs the screen display of a main menu giving
`options available to the subscriber;
`FIG. 3 illustrates a screen displayed to enable the sub
`scriber to place a call and request a conference call;
`FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative screen display Which enables
`the subscriber to control a call in progress;
`FIG. 5 is a screen display presented to enable the sub
`scriber to revieW and select particular persons or ?rms listed
`in a phone book database;
`FIG. 6 shoWs a screen displayed When a form is presented
`to enable the subscriber to add or edit information in a phone
`book entry and to take place calls and the like to the person
`listed;
`FIG. 7 illustrates a screen Which is displayed to enable
`call forWarding and “folloW me” calling;
`FIG. 8 illustrates a further screen display Which enables
`the subscriber to select and change a variety of call and
`message forWarding options;
`FIG. 9 is a screen display Which enables the subscriber to
`create and specify features of a voice mailbox;
`FIG. 10 is a screen display Which is alloWs the subscriber
`to vieW and control the playback of voice messages left in
`a voice mailbox; and
`FIG. 11 is a screen display Which enables the user to select
`various options and control the operation of an automatic
`paging system implemented by the disclosed embodiment of
`the invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`The infrastructure used to implement the present inven
`tion may consist entirely of conventional and readily avail
`able hardWare and softWare components. As Will be seen
`from the discussion that folloWs, the hardWare and softWare
`used at the subscriber (client) location is already present and
`in use in many Well equipped home and small of?ce com
`puter installations. Similarly, the principal hardWare and
`softWare components needed by the host services computer
`(server) are similarly readily available, as are the softWare
`development tools needed to prepare the limited amount of
`special purpose programs required for execution at the
`server.
`FIG. 1 of the draWings shoWs the manner in Which various
`conventional hardWare components may be interconnected
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`to provide an illustrative hardWare infrastructure for imple
`menting the invention. The arrangement seen in FIG. 1
`provides the facilities needed for controlling a variety of
`communications services, including telephone, email, fax
`and paging services provided by a host services computer
`operating under the control of either or both (1) a World
`Wide Web interface and (2) a telephone interface.
`A typical subscriber location seen at 30 includes, by Way
`of example, a personal computer 31, a monitor 32 for
`displaying text and images, a keyboard 33 for entering data
`and commands from the user, a printer 34, a digital scanner
`35, a modem 36 and a microphone and headset/speaker
`represented in FIG. 1 by the handset 37.
`The modem 36 is used to establish a dialup telephone
`connection via the conventional telephone netWork 40 to a
`remote computer 50 Which operates as an Internet Service
`Provider (ISP). The ISP computer 50 provides the connected
`computer 31 With access to the Internet, enabling the sub
`scriber computer 31 to exchange data via the Internet seen
`at 70 in FIG. 1 With other computers, such as the computer
`41 at the host services location 40 and a computer 60 Which
`is representative of a selected one of the millions of remote
`computers connected to the Internet. The dialup connection
`betWeen computers 31 and 50 seen in FIG. 1 is merely
`illustrative of one common method for connecting a sub
`scriber location to the Internet. Alternatively, the conven
`tional modem 36 may be replaced by a cable modem,
`satellite connection, local area netWork gateWay, proxy
`server or a connected router. All such communications
`facilities and the components for providing Internet access
`are conventional.
`The host services computer 41 is connected to the Internet
`70 and employs a multi-port input/output (I/O) unit 43 to
`permit a number of outside callers to be concurrently
`connected via the dialup telephone system 40. The dialup
`telephone system 40 also provides conventional connections
`to a conventional telephone stationset 38 and a conventional
`facsimile machine 39, both of Which are provided With
`separate assigned lines and telephone numbers for use at the
`subscriber location 30. In addition, the telephone system 40
`may also interconnect any other connected telephone or
`facsimile machine, as illustrated at 81 and 83 respectively, as
`Well as other services, such as a remote radio transmission
`facility 85 used to provide communication to a pager 87
`Which is assigned to and used by the subscriber. Similarly,
`the subscriber may utiliZe a cellular phone (not shoWn) When
`traveling to remote locations. As discussed beloW, the sub
`scriber controls and uses the host service computer using
`these conventional instrumentalities. Importantly, conven
`tional Web broWser softWare running on the computer 31
`may be employed, along With voice commands and DTMF
`(dialtone) signaling via the conventional telephone hookup,
`to control the state and function of the host services com
`puter 41.
`The host services computer may alternatively take the
`form of an Intranet server Which is connected to a plurality
`of client (subscriber) computers by means of a local area
`netWork and/or a Wide area netWork. In addition, the host
`services computer may be connected via a multiport I/O
`device to serve a number of telephone stationsets. In this
`arrangement, the host services computer operates as both a
`shared computer resource for the connected client computers
`and provides PBX services to the connected subscriber
`telephone stationsets. Internet connections are provided via
`an Internet gateWay on the LAN/WAN such that both the
`host services computer and the connected subscriber com
`puters have Internet access.
`
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`US 6,445,694 B1
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`3
`Note further that, With the host services computer oper
`ating as a PBS, a direct telephone voice line connection may
`be established betWeen host services computer and indi
`vidual telephone subscriber stationsets. In this Way, incom
`ing calls may be directly connected to the called subscriber
`stationset Without forwarding the incoming call through the
`dialup telephone facility. Amultiplexed telephone line, such
`as a leased T1 carrier line, may be used to connect a plurality
`of subscriber phones to the host services computer, enabling
`the servicing of branch offices. By concentrating traf?c in a
`shared Wideband leased line, branch locations can be served
`through a central PBX provided by the host services com
`puter at less cost by eliminating individual lines.
`The host services computer 41 may employ conventional
`server operating system softWare, such as the SCO OpenS
`erver operating system sold by The Santa CruZ Operation,
`Inc. (SCO), Santa CruZ, Calif. 95061. This client/server
`UNIX operating system for Intel processor-based platforms
`includes graphical system administration and softWare man
`agement facilities for managing both local and remote
`systems. The program’s Motif GUI provides the look and
`feel of Microsoft WindoWs and includes TCP/IP communi
`cation gateWay services for local and netWork access exter
`nal information services. The computer 41 may advanta
`geously equipped With an enhanced audio input/output
`facilities, such as the Dialogic D/240SC 24 channel digital
`interface board Which provides a voice channel interface
`betWeen the computer 41 and incoming audio channels from
`the connected telephone lines as Well as call management
`functions. The D/240SC is marketed by Dialogic Corp. of
`Parsippany, N]. 07054. As discussed beloW, it is the prin
`cipal function of the host services computer 41 to receive
`and respond to data and commands received from the
`subscriber location 30, either in the form of HTML form
`submissions or in the form of voice and/or dialtone
`commands, and to perform requested functions in response
`to those commands.
`Web Interface
`AWide variety of available interface mechanisms can be
`utiliZed to facilitate communications and control betWeen
`the subscriber and the host services computer. As described
`in more detail beloW, a highly effective interface may be
`readily implemented using a conventional HTML Web pages
`Which are sent to the subscriber computer from the host
`services computer, including HTML forms Which are trans
`mitted to request and accept speci?c information from the
`subscriber using as “?ll-in-the-blanks” input boxes, memo
`boxes, check boxes, and radio buttons. Javascript may be
`advantageously included in the HTML pages to provide
`validity checking of entered data by the subscriber com
`puter. Alternatively, these and other interface functions and
`“client-side” operations may be implemented special pur
`pose “plug-in” programs Which Work With a conventional
`broWser program, or by Java and/or Active-X applets Which
`are transmitted from the host services computer for execu
`tion on the subscriber computer using facilities provided by
`the broWser. If desired, special-purpose client application
`programs may be used to directly communicate With the host
`services computer Without using a general purpose broWser.
`In one particularly useful form, the functions performed at
`the subscriber location as contemplated by the present
`invention can advantageously be implemented by routines
`stored as dynamic link libraries Which make telephone
`subscriber functions available through an open application
`program interface (API). By Way of example, the Widely
`used Microsoft WindoWs 95 operating system provides
`speci?cations for a robust computer/telephone interface
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`named “TAPI” Which is fully documented in the Microsoft
`Win32 SoftWare Development Kit (SDK) Which includes
`documentation, tools, and sample code to assist application
`programmers in adapting programs to be compatible With
`TAPI. TWo documents, the Microsoft Telephony Program
`mer’s Reference and the Microsoft Telephony Service Pro
`vider Interface (T SP1) for Telephony, are also available from
`Microsoft Corp. to provide additional development guid
`ance. The programmer’s reference is intended to document
`the functionality that an application using TAPI Will need.
`The service provider documentation assists developers and
`telephone equipment vendors in Writing their oWn TAPI
`services.
`Telephone services are integrated into WindoWs using the
`WindoWs Open Systems Architecture (“WOSA”). WOSA
`uses a WindoWs dynamic-link library (DLL) that alloWs
`softWare components to be linked at runtime. In this Way,
`applications are able to connect to services dynamically. An
`application needs to knoW only the de?nition of the
`interface, not its implementation. Telephony services under
`WindoWs folloW the WOSA model. This means that there
`exists a Telephony API, Which is the application program
`mers access to telephony services, a Telephony SPI (Service
`Provider Interface) Which is implemented by telephony
`service vendors, and a Telephony Dynamic Link Library
`(the TAPI DDL) Which is part of the WindoWs operating
`system. Applications are presented With a uniform set of
`devices accessed uniformly via the API Without needing to
`knoW Which service provider actually ends up controlling
`Which device. Similarly, service providers just execute
`requests on behalf of the WindoWs Telephony DLL; they are
`unaWare that these requests are the result of multiple appli
`cations using the API. The SPI de?nition re?ects this single
`user model at the service provider level. All this multiplex
`ing demultiplexing of requests and replies is con?ned to the
`Telephony DLL. In an environment With multiple PCs on a
`local area netWork, it is possible to develop applications
`and/or service providers that are distributed in nature. With
`a distributed service provider, a service provider instance on
`one client PC is able to communicate With its peers on other
`client PCs, providing potentially a more poWerful model as
`it can combine knoWledge about multiple client PCs that
`may be involved With the same call. The services provided
`by the line and phone abstractions of the Telephony SPI can
`be partitioned into three classes:
`(1) Basic Services are a minimal subset of core services.
`They must be provided by all service providers. The
`function contained in basic telephony roughly corre
`spond to that of POTS. Phone device services are not
`part of basic telephony.
`(2) Supplementary Services are the collection of all the
`services de?ned by the SPI, but not included in the
`basic telephony subset. It includes all so-called supple
`mentary features found on modern PBXs including
`hold, transfer, conference, park, etc. All supplementary
`features are optional. This means that a service provider
`decides Which of these services it does or does not
`provide. The TAPI DLL can query a line or phone
`device for the set of supplementary services it provides.
`Note that a single supplementary service may consist of
`multiple function calls and messages. It is important to
`point out that the Telephony SPI de?nes the meaning
`(i.e., behavior) for each of these supplementary fea
`tures.
`(3) Extended Services (or Device Speci?c Services)
`include all service provider de?ned extensions to the
`SPI. A mechanism is de?ned in the SPI, and re?ected
`
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`US 6,445,694 B1
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`5
`in the API, that allows service provider vendors to
`extend the Telephony SPI using device-speci?c exten
`sions. Since the SPI only de?nes the extension
`mechanism, de?nition of the extended service behavior
`must be completely speci?ed by the service provider.
`The extension mechanism alloWs a service provider to
`de?ne neW values to enumeration types and bit ?ags, as
`Well as to add ?elds to data structures. The interpreta
`tion of extensions is keyed off of the service provider’s
`manufacturer ID. Special function and callbacks are
`provided in the SPI that alloW an application to directly
`communicate With a service provider. Many of the
`control functions contemplated by the present inven
`tion Which are controlled through the TAPI interface by
`the SPI DLL are in fact executed, as Will be described,
`by the host services computer in Ways that are invisible
`to the user or the application program Which is execut
`ing on the subscriber computer.
`As an alternative to the TAPI implementation noted
`above, the host services computer may present an API to
`programs Which execute on the subscriber computers and
`communicate With the host computer over the Internet or an
`equivalent data pathWay. With the remote host services
`computer providing an API Which makes available a set of
`telephony functions, application programmers may imple
`ment a rich and expandable set collection of special purpose
`programs Which execute on the subscriber computer to
`implement the features and functions such as those
`described beloW in the example HTML/CGI implementation
`of the invention. When these application programs take the
`form of Java applets or Active-X applets that are doWn
`loadable from the host services computer to the subscriber
`computer, the necessity for resident special purpose softWare
`at the subscriber location is eliminated and the cost savings
`associated With “thin client” netWork computer architectures
`are preserved.
`HTTP/CGI Control
`While such special purpose programs of the type noted
`above provide a high degree of interoperability With other
`application programs, they must be specially loaded for
`execution into each subscriber computer. By using the
`capabilities found in existing Web broWser softWare, it is
`possible to provide the desired functionality With no neW
`softWare of any kind being required at the subscriber loca
`tion. Thus, in perhaps its simplest form, the present inven
`tion can be readily implemented by using a conventional
`Web broWser program (e.g. Netscape Navigator or Microsoft
`Explorer) Which executes on the subscriber computer 31
`seen in FIG. 1, and conventional Web server softWare (e.g.
`BSD Unix 2.2, Apache 1.1.1) or an SQL server Which
`interoperates With a relational database (such as the Sybase
`SQL Server V.11). On the server side, Web page requests or
`form submission from the subscriber computer’s Web
`broWser are sent to the host services computer 41 using the
`HTTP protocol. At the host services computer 41, the
`received transmissions from the subscriber location may be
`handled by Common GateWay Interface (CGI) programs
`Which typically process information from the subscriber and
`return HTML pages for display on the subscriber’s Web
`broWser. The HTTP/CGI interface infrastructure is conven
`tional and is described, for example, in Developing CGI
`Applications with PERL, by John Deep and Peter Holfelder,
`John Wiley & Sons (1966), ISBN 0-471-14158-5.
`To establish a Working relationship betWeen the host
`services computer and the subscriber, the host services
`computer makes available to the public at large a “home
`page” at a predetermined URL (Universal Resource
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`Locator). The home page, When displayed, identi?es and
`makes available descriptive information about the system,
`inviting members of the public to subscribe to the offered
`services by displaying, completing and submitting a sub
`scription form.
`The HTML subscription form shoWn enables user to
`establish an account With the operator of the host services
`computer. When the subscription form is submitted, the host
`services computer stores the descriptive information entered
`on the submitted form in persistent storage (typically a
`database on a local magnetic disk drive) accessible to the
`host computer. As is conventional, the subscription process
`may advantageously employ conventional secure encrypted
`communications protocols for obtaining the subscriber’s
`credit card number and authoriZation to facilitate billing. As
`Will be understood, the subscriber may be billed for services
`based on monthly fees or measured use of the system at rates
`Which, because of economies achieved by the system, may
`be signi?cantly loWer than the costs associated With such
`services When provided by conventional means. When the
`subscription form is received and accepted, the neW sub
`scriber may be sent a user ID and passWord (Which may be
`done by conventional mail at the same time user manuals or
`other information is supplied to the subscriber).
`In accordance With an important feature of the invention,
`the subscriber can access his or her personaliZed phone
`services and database from any computer having access to
`the Internet, and need not be limited to a particular computer
`on Which special programs or data are stored. At the same
`time, the passWord protection afforded by the system assures
`the security of the information stored for access by the
`subscriber. The host services may be advantageously pro
`vided by an existing services provider, such as an Internet
`Services Provider (ISP), a cable modem company, a tele
`phone access provider, an telephone ansWering service, a
`paging services company, or the like.
`At the same time the neW subscription account is
`established, the host service assigns a telephone number to
`the neW subscriber service and informs the subscriber of that
`assigned number (Which may conveniently be an 800 or 888
`number, eliminating the need for the subscriber to indepen
`dently obtain 800 or 888 number service). This telephone
`number Will be referred to hereafter as the “assigned sub
`scriber number”. Any call to the assigned subscriber number
`is ansWered by and handled by the host services computer 41
`in the manner determined in part by preference data pro
`vided by the subscriber using HTML forms as described in
`more detail beloW, or by transmitting voice or DTMF
`commands over the conventional telephone system.
`Using the Web broWser softWare running on the subscriber
`computer 31, the subscriber accesses a predetermined (and
`typically bookmarked) Web page at a predetermined URL.
`The host services computer responds With a request to the
`subscriber to enter his or her assigned user ID and passWord,
`and if that step is performed satisfactorily, the host services
`computer transmits a main menu Webpage of the type
`illustrated in by FIG. 2.
`The main menu page seen in FIG. 2 provides hypertext
`links to six different Web pages, each of Which is also
`illustrated in the draWings as shoWn by the table beloW:
`
`Menu Anchor Text
`
`Place Outgoing Call
`Phone Book
`
`Drawing
`
`FIG. 3
`FIG. 5
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1005, Page 15
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`

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`US 6,445,694 B1
`
`-continued
`
`Menu Anchor Text
`
`“Follow Me” Calling
`Mail, Message & Fax
`Forwarding
`Voice Mail
`Paging Services
`
`Drawing
`
`FIG. 7
`FIG. 8
`
`FIG. 9
`FIG. 11
`
`Place Outgoing Call
`When the subscriber “clicks on” the anchor text “Place
`Outgoing Call” at 201 on the main menu webpage seen in
`FIG. 2, the browser sends a request for a further webpage
`speci?ed by a URL associated with the anchor text in the
`HTML text which created the main menu.
`Note that, in general, the value of a URL sent when a
`hyperlink is activated is the ?le location of web page or a
`predetermined CGI script, along with parameters passed to
`the server for execution by that script. Note that, in general,
`because the hypertext links (URL’s) that are sent to the
`server are formed from text on pages written by the server,
`the URL may contain state information, either in the form of
`a ?le designation or in the form of CGI parameters, which
`identify the subscriber as well as the context in which the
`subscriber is making a request, and the speci?c request or
`data being sent to the server.
`The selection by the subscriber of the main menu option
`represented by the hypertext anchor text “Place Outgoing
`Call” causes the HTML for displaying the form seen in FIG.
`3 to be displayed by the browser. This form allows the user
`to enter a phone number to be called in the input line form
`control at 203. In addition, by clicking on the checkbox at
`205 and entering one or more numbers in the input line
`boxes arrayed in a table at 207, the subscriber may specify
`the telephone numbers of additional parties to be included in
`a conference call. The conference call may be implemented
`directly by the host services computer 41 which places all
`calls to all of the numbers speci?ed in the form seen in FIG.
`3, or the conference call may be requested from the dial up
`telephone system.
`Control of Telephone Central Of?ce Services
`Most public telephone services offer a variety of service
`functions which can be advantageously implemented using
`the user interface features of the present invention. To use
`many of these functions, the user must normally know and
`key-in control key sequences on the telephone keypad. In
`accordance with a feature of the present invention, these
`functions may be advantageously automated by the host
`services computer in response to easily understood menu
`selections made by the subscriber using the webpage inter
`face or voice command interface. The conventional tele
`phone system functions which can be advantageously imple
`mented in this way include those shown in the following
`illustrative examples, described using the control dialtone
`key sequence command codes employed by the Bell Atlantic
`telephone service. These functions include the activation
`and deactivation of call waiting services under the control of
`the HTML checkbox form control seen at 211 in FIG. 3, the
`blocking and unblocking of caller ID displays in response to
`the checkbox entry at 209 in FIG. 3, and the activation of call
`tracing.
`As an alternative to the use of DTMF key sequences to
`control telephone central offices, the SS7 call management
`protocol may be used. AT&T developed and made available
`a set of 1A ESS features called LASS (Local Area Signaling
`Services). As expanded by customized software enhance
`ments originating with Paci?c Bell, these functions are also
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`15
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`25
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`35
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`45
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`8
`available under the name CLASS (Custom Local Area
`Signaling Services). These services allow increased cus
`tomer control of phone calls. Existing customer lines can be
`used provide call management and security services. Akey
`feature of CLASS resides in the ability of the terminating
`of?ce to obtain the identity of the calling party. Special
`terminating treatment based on the identity of the calling
`party can then be provided. The CLASS features are depen
`dent upon an SS/CCS (Signaling System 7/Common Chan
`nel Signaling) network and use the SS7 Call Management
`Mode of operation. SS7 is an advanced signaling system that
`features ?exible message formatting, high speed data trans
`mission (56/64 kbps) and digital technology. CCS is de?ned
`as a private network for transporting signaling messages. In
`the existing voice and signaling network, signaling and
`voice use the same path but cannot use it at the same time.
`With SS7, signaling and voice have been separated. Signal
`ing (SS7) is over a high-speed data link which carries
`signaling for more than one trunk. In the context of the
`present invention, the SS7 protocol provides a more direct
`and effective way for the host services computer to control
`the functions of the connected dialup telephone system than
`the conventional DTMF signaling mechanisms which are set
`forth here for simplicity.
`If the subscriber wishes to prevent the called parties caller
`ID system from displaying the subscribers number on the
`next call, the box at 209 is checked and the host services
`computer requests the central of?ce to perform per call
`blocking by sending the dialtone sequence “*67” to the
`central office. If the telephone company has been requested
`to block caller ID display on all outgoing calls, the line
`associated with checkbox 209 would instead read “Unblock
`display of your number by caller ID for next call only” and
`the host services computer would instead sends the sequence
`“*82” to remove perform line blocking for the next call only.
`The host services computer can interrogate the central office
`to determine whether or not line blocking has been requested
`by diali