United States Patent (19)
`Staples et al.
`
`54 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A
`REMOTE USER WITH A WRTUAL
`PRESENCE TO AN OFFICE
`76 Inventors: Leven E. Staples. 9641 Airpark Dr.,
`Granbury, Tex. 76049; W. B. Barker, 9
`Inwood Mist, San Antonio, Tex. 78.248;
`Kenneth L. Witt, 8503 Watchtower,
`San Antonio, Tex. 78250
`
`21 Appl. No.: 559,472
`22 Filed:
`Nov. 15, 1995
`(51) Int. Cl. .............................. HO4, 3/02
`(52) U.S. Cl. .......................... 370,401; 370/359; 370/419;
`395/200.49; 395/200.47; 379/93.02; 379/211
`58) Field of Search ..................................... 370/401, 402,
`370/522,389, 392,352,404, 458,357,
`419:379/90.01, 93.01, 93.02, 93.03, 93.09.
`210, 211, 219, 220; 395/200.33, 200.39,
`200.35, 200.47, 200.48, 200.49; 345/329,
`330,331
`
`56
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`1/1997 Slaughter, III et al. ........... 395/200.47
`5,598.536
`5,602,846 2/1997 Homguist et al. ................... 379/93.02
`5,636,218
`6/1997 Ishikawa et al. ....................... 3O4O1
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`O 367 455A2 5/1990 European Pat. Off. .
`0.536949 A2 4/1993 European Pat. Off. .
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Patent Abstract of Japan, Publication No. 60030248, dated
`Feb. 15, 1985.
`Dieter Hochreuter. Michael Nash, "Hicom 300-eine Viel
`falt neuer Mölichkeiten.” Telcom Report (Siemens), vol. 18,
`No. 5, Oct. 1995, München, DE, XP000543153, pp.
`265-267.
`
`(List continued on next page.)
`Primary Examiner Curtis Kuntz
`Assistant Examiner-Paul Loomis
`
`USOO5764639A
`Patent Number:
`11
`45) Date of Patent:
`
`5,764,639
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Conley. Rose & Tayon; Jeffrey C.
`Hood
`
`57
`ABSTRACT
`A system and method for enabling a remote user to maintain
`a virtual presence at a corporate office and behave substan
`tially as if the user were physically present at the corporate
`office. The remote user's telephone behaves as a PBX
`extension. and the remote user may send and receive faxes
`and email, have Internet access and maintain LAN
`connectivity, substantially as if the user were present at the
`corporate office. The remote computer system includes an
`individual remote worker unit or communication device, and
`the remote computer executes virtual presence software
`according to the present invention. The corporate office
`includes a virtual presence server according to the invention
`which connects to the corporate PBX and also to the
`corporate LAN. The virtual presence server executes soft
`ware which enables the remote user to maintain a virtual
`presence at the corporate office. First the remote user estab
`lishes a virtual presence at the corporate office, including
`providing identification and security information. Once the
`remote user is connected, the virtual presence server
`instructs the corporate PBX to automatically forward all
`calls to the remote user. The virtual presence server also
`routes email, faxes, and LAN data to the remote user. The
`virtual presence server also extends the corporate PBX and
`corporate LAN features to the remote user, just as if the
`remote user were physically located in the corporate office.
`According to the invention, the remote user makes outgoing
`telephone calls, sends faxes, transmits data, sends email and
`performs Internet access as if the remote user were physi
`cally present in the corporate office. Likewise, incoming
`calls, faxes, data transmissions and email received at the
`corporate office are routed to the remote user as if the remote
`user were physically present in the corporate office.
`Therefore, a co-worker or external party who telephones the
`user at the corporate office, or sends email or a fax to the user
`at the corporate office, is unaware that the user is actually not
`physically located at the corporate office, but rather is at a
`remote location. The present invention also includes meth
`ods for disconnecting and re-establishing virtual presence to
`reduce message rate charging.
`
`50 Claims, 13 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`RMOE
`ACCESS
`SERVER
`
`BRIDGE
`(OUTER
`
`WUAL
`RESENCE
`SERVER
`
`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 1 of 33
`
`

`

`5,764,639
`Page 2
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`International Search Report for PCT/US96/16455 dated Apr.
`24, 1997.
`The ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector
`(ITU-T). Draft V.75 (Draft of Feb. 2, 1996), pp. 1-23.
`
`The ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector
`4. 8." pas S (Draft of Dec. 8, 1995), Copy
`ITU-T),
`V.DSVD-
`f
`V
`K
`Teltone OfficeLink. Teltone advertising brochure (Pub. Jan.
`10, 1995).
`
`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 2 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 1 of 13
`
`5,764,639
`
`
`
`
`
`
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`
`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 3 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 2 of 13
`
`5,764,639
`
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`APPLE INC. / Page 4 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 3 of 13
`
`5,764,639
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`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 5 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 4 of 13
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`5,764,639
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`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 6 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 5 of 13
`
`5,764,639
`
`
`
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`
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`
`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 7 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 6 of 13
`
`5,764,639
`
`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 8 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 7 of 13
`
`5,764,639
`
`104
`
`N
`
`FULL DUPLEX
`SPEAKERPHONE
`
`104
`
`
`
`| FULL OUPLEX
`SPEAKERPHONE
`
`ISDN
`TERMINAL
`ADAPTER
`
`Fig. 7
`
`Fig. 3
`
`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 9 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 8 of 13
`
`5,764,639
`5,764,639
`
`
`
`
`
` MODULATOR/DEMODULATOR
`
`
`
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`PBXDATA
`
`PHONE
`
`
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`FIG).
`
`Ex.1048
`APPLEINC./ Page 10 of 33
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`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 10 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 9 of 13
`
`5,764,639
`
`
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`
`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 11 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 10 of 13
`
`5,764,639
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`APPLE INC. / Page 12 of 33
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 11 of 13
`
`5,764,639
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`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 13 of 33
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`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 12 of 13
`
`5,764,639
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`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 14 of 33
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`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 9, 1998
`
`Sheet 13 of 13
`
`5,764,639
`
`THIRD PARTY
`ACCESSES
`REMOTE USER
`
`
`
`
`
`582
`
`RECEIVE COMMUNICATION
`FROM THIRD PARTY
`INTENDED FOR
`REMOTE USER
`
`
`
`584
`
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`USER
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`586
`
`588
`
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`CALL TO REMOTE
`
`ESTABLISH
`CONNECTION
`
`TRANSFER MESSAGE
`TO REMOTE USER
`
`
`
`Fig 6
`
`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 15 of 33
`
`

`

`1
`SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A
`REMOTE USER WITH A WRTUAL
`PRESENCE TO AN OFFICE
`
`5,764,639
`
`O
`
`15
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention relates a system and method which
`provides connectivity between one or more remote users and
`a corporate office, wherein the remote users have a virtual
`presence at the corporate office, including access to the
`facilities and features provided by the corporate office tele
`phone system and local area network.
`DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
`Connectivity between remote workers and an office is
`becoming increasingly important in today's business cli
`mate. Business people who travel, commonly referred to as
`"road warriors". desire to "stay connected" to the corporate
`office as much as possible. In addition, a current trend in
`business is the "telecommuter". e.g., an employee who
`works primarily at home and is remotely connected to the
`corporate office. Another recent trend in business is referred
`to as the “remote small office” (RSO) or “branch office”
`(BO), wherein a group of workers or employees are in a
`location remote from the company's headquarters or corpo
`rate office and are electronically connected to the corporate
`office.
`In each of the above situations, the remote individuals
`require remote and transparent connectivity to the corporate
`office, including connectivity to the corporate office local
`area network (LAN) and the corporate office private branch
`exchange (PBX) or Centrex Facility. In the present
`disclosure, a PBX and a Centrex Facility, as well as other
`types of telephony server systems, are referred to collec
`tively as a PBX for convenience. Further, the remote indi
`viduals desire a "virtual presence" at the corporate office,
`wherein the remote users operate remotely just as if they
`were physically located in the corporate office.
`As corporations move away from mainframe based sys
`tems to PC based systems and local area networks (LANs).
`the options for remote connectivity have improved. In
`general personal computers and LANs facilitate remote
`access to computing resources. Remote connectivity is also
`made possible with the arrival of affordable, reliable, digital
`telecommunications services and inexpensive network hard
`ware. Currently, a variety of digital telecommunications
`services now support remote connections to enterprise
`networks, among these being Frame Relay, ISDN, Digital
`Data Service, and T1.
`Current remote connectivity software solutions provide
`remote access between computer systems at different physi
`cal locations. For example, one class of remote connectivity
`software, referred to as "remote control software", allows a
`user at a local computer system to control and manipulate a
`remote computer system as if the user were present at the
`remote computer system. The user enters commands into the
`local computer, either through a command line or a graphical
`user interface (GUI), and software executing on the local
`computer transmits the commands from the local computer
`to the remote computer. The remote computer executes the
`commands and provides the output or response back to the
`local computer.
`Applicant is aware of products from various PBX vendors
`which provide a degree of connectivity to the remote office
`based upon certain types of transmission media, such as
`ISDN. Applicant is specifically aware of a product from
`Siemens Rolm referred to as the Rolm Officepoint Commu
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`65
`
`2
`nications system, which provides an integrated ISDN system
`for remote and small offices. Applicant is also aware of
`products offered by various remote access vendors which
`provide data only connectivity to the remote office. These
`products generally do not address the voice communication
`requirements of the user. Further, these products do not
`address the particular requirements of the road warrior.
`Therefore, a system and method is desired which provides
`remote connectivity between a remote computer or commu
`nications device and a corporate office, wherein the system
`provides remote and transparent telephony and data access
`to the corporate office Private Branch Exchange (PBX) and
`local area network (LAN). A system and method is also
`desired which provides a remote user with a virtual presence
`at the corporate office, including access to all of the facilities
`and features of the corporate office PBX and LAN.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention comprises a system and method for
`enabling a remote user to maintain a virtual presence at a
`corporate office. The present invention allows a remote user
`to connect to a corporate office and behave just as if the user
`were physically present at the corporate office. Thus the
`remote user's telephone behaves as a PBX extension. In
`addition, the remote user may send and receive faxes and
`email. have Internet access and maintain LAN connectivity,
`just as if the user were present at the corporate office.
`The remote computer system includes an individual
`remote worker unit or communication device, and the
`remote computer executes virtual presence software accord
`ing to the present invention. The corporate office includes a
`virtual presence server according to the invention which
`connects to the corporate PBX and also to the corporate
`LAN. The virtual presence server executes software which
`enables the remote user to maintain a virtual presence at the
`corporate office.
`When the remote user desires to establish a virtual pres
`ence at the corporate office, the remote user dials the virtual
`presence server and establishes a connection. This includes
`providing identification information and security informa
`tion to the virtual presence server. Once the remote user is
`connected, the virtual presence server instructs the corporate
`PBX to automatically forward all calls to the remote user.
`The virtual presence server also routes email, faxes, and
`LAN data to the remote user. The virtual presence server
`also extends the corporate PBX and corporate LAN features
`to the remote user, just as if the remote user were physically
`located in the corporate office.
`The present invention enables the concept of virtual
`presence or “telepresence", whereby a user at a remote
`location has the full capabilities and user interfaces of the
`corporate office just as if the user were physically located at
`the corporate office. Thus the telephone of the remote user
`mirrors the telephone the user sees at the corporate office,
`including substantially the same button configurations at
`substantially the same locations and performing substan
`tially the same functions. According to the present invention,
`the remote user dials the local extension number or DID
`(direct inward dialing) number of co-workers in the corpo
`rate office, and can be reached with a local extension
`number, just as if the remote user were physically located in
`the corporate office.
`According to the invention, the remote user makes out
`going telephone calls, sends faxes, transmits data, sends
`email and performs Internet access as if the remote user were
`physically present in the corporate office. Likewise, incom
`
`Ex.1048
`APPLE INC. / Page 16 of 33
`
`

`

`5,764,639
`
`3
`ing calls, faxes, data transmissions and email received at the
`corporate office are routed to the remote user as if the remote
`user were physically present in the corporate office.
`Therefore, a co-worker or external party who telephones
`the user at the corporate office, or sends email or a fax to the
`user at the corporate office, is unaware that the user is
`actually not physically located at the corporate office, but
`rather is at a remote location. In general, a secretary or
`receptionist located just outside the user's physical corporate
`office location is unable to discern, without opening the
`door, whether the user is located in his office at the corporate
`office or at a remote location.
`The present invention includes methods for disconnecting
`and re-establishing virtual presence to reduce message rate
`charging. When a connection first occurs, the system deter
`mines if message rate charging is in effect. If so, and if the
`user desires temporary disconnects, the remote computer
`system monitors activity and disconnects after certain
`elapsed periods of inactivity. When the remote user desires
`to contact the corporate office, or the virtual presence server
`desires to route data to the remote user, then the respective
`system automatically and transparently reconnects to rees
`tablish virtual presence and perform the communication.
`These reconnects preferably occur transparently to the user.
`and thus a virtual presence is maintained from the user's
`perspective, even during temporary disconnects.
`For the telecommuter, the present invention optionally
`instructs the telephone company Central Office to automati
`cally route calls made to the telecommuter's home number,
`i.e. personal calls, to the corporate office. These calls are
`then routed to the telecommuter's home by the virtual
`presence server. Thus when a telecommuter is connected to
`the corporate office according to the virtual presence system
`of the invention, an external party who attempts to call the
`telecommuter at home is not blocked out, but rather is routed
`through the corporate office virtual presence server to the
`telecommuter.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`A better understanding of the present invention can be
`obtained when the following detailed description of the
`preferred embodiment is considered in conjunction with the
`following drawings, in which:
`FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a system wherein a remote user
`maintains a virtual presence to a corporate office according
`to the present invention;
`FIGS. 3-5 illustrate various embodiments of the virtual
`presence system of the present invention;
`FIG. 6 illustrates the individual remote worker logic
`configured as a PC Card adapted for connecting to the
`remote computer system of FIG. 1;
`FIGS. 7 and 8 are block diagrams illustrating embodi
`ments of the individual remote worker unit of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 9 illustrates a conceptual block diagram of the
`operation of the modem of FIG. 7;
`FIG. 10 illustrates a standard DSVD hardware model
`according to the prior art;
`FIG. 11 illustrates a modem architecture according to the
`present invention;
`FIG. 12 is a flowchart diagram illustrating operation of the
`individual remote worker unit of the present invention;
`FIG. 13 is a flowchart diagram illustrating operation of the
`virtual presence server of the present invention;
`FIG. 14 is a flowchart diagram illustrating operation of the
`virtual presence server of the present invention;
`
`4
`FIG. 15 is a flowchart diagram illustrating operation of the
`remote user accessing the corporate office; and
`FIG. 16 is a flowchart diagram illustrating operation of the
`virtual presence server accessing the remote user.
`DETALED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
`FIG. 1-Virtual Presence System
`Referring now to FIG. 1. a block diagram of a Remote
`Connectivity and Virtual Presence System according to the
`present invention is shown. As shown, a user who is remote
`from his/her "corporate office" utilizes a computer system or
`other communications device, referred to generally as com
`puter system 102, to communicate and/or connect with the
`corporate office, also referred to as the home office. In the
`present disclosure, the term "corporate office" is intended to
`generally mean an office location where a remote user is
`desired to be connected. In general, the corporate office will
`be a headquarters office or corporate office, a government
`agency office, or another type of office, to which the user
`desires a "virtual presence."
`The remote user preferably uses a computer system, such
`as laptop 102, to connect to the corporate office. The remote
`user may also use other types of communication devices.
`such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) or a cellular
`phone, as desired. The computer system 102 includes an
`individual remote worker (IRW) unit 104 (FIG. 2) according
`to the present invention which provides transparent tele
`phone and data connectivity and virtual presence to the
`corporate office. The IRW unit 104 preferably comprises a
`hardware card and/or software comprised in the computer
`system 102 which facilitate the remote connectivity and
`virtual presence.
`The individual remote worker (IRW) unit 104 couples
`through a communication mechanism or channel to a virtual
`presence server 106 at the corporate office, i.e., the office
`where the user desires to have a "virtual presence" or have
`“telepresence". In the preferred embodiment, as shown, the
`communication mechanism is the public switched telephone
`network (PSTN), using either conventional analog transmis
`sion or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) trans
`mission. In the present disclosure. the term "public switched
`telephone network” (PSTN) includes any of various types of
`communications mechanisms, including analog or digital
`telephony transmission as mentioned above. ATM
`(Asynchronous Transfer Mode) networks, FDDI (Fiber Dis
`tributed Data Networks), and T1 lines, among others.
`The virtual presence server 106 preferably supports one or
`more IRW units 104 via the public switched telephone
`network (PSTN). The virtual presence server 106 at the
`corporate office preferably supports a mixture of simulta
`neous analog and ISDN connections for connecting to
`various IRW units 104. The virtual presence server 106 is
`preferably a high performance computer system executing
`virtual presence software according to the invention.
`The virtual presence server 106 interfaces to a telephony
`server 112, such as a private branch exchange (PBX) or
`Centrex unit in the corporate office. In embodiments where
`the corporate office includes a call server instead of a
`conventional PBX. the virtual presence server 106 connects
`to the call server. In the present disclosure, the term "tele
`phony server" is intended to include a PBX. Centrex system,
`and other devices or systems which perform telephony
`switching services or functions. Also, the term "PBX" is
`used herein to be equivalent to "telephony server" for
`convenience.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`45
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`In one embodiment, the virtual presence server 106 per
`forms the functions of a call server as well as a virtual
`presence server. For example, the virtual presence server
`106 in one embodiment comprises a SCSA (Signal Com
`puting System Architecture) or MVIP server for performing
`call management functions as well as virtual presence func
`tions.
`The virtual presence server 106 also interfaces to a local
`area network (LAN) 114 at the corporate office. The LAN
`114 may use Ethernet, Token Ring, or other types of
`protocols. The LAN may also use the Isochronous Ethernet
`(IsoEthernet) protocol, which is IEEE specification 802.9a.
`Referring now to FIG. 2, the virtual presence server 106
`preferably includes one or more analog modems 184 for
`communicating analog signals over telephone lines, and one
`or more ISDN terminal adapters 182 for ISDN communi
`cations. It is noted that the virtual presence server 106 may
`include only analog modems 184 or only ISDN terminal
`adapters 182, or may include a combination. The virtual
`presence server 106 may include other types of communi
`cations devices and/or use other types of communications
`media, as desired.
`As shown in FIG. 2, the corporate office may also include
`a remote access server 108 and/or a bridge router for
`performing more conventional remote access functions.
`Alternatively, the virtual presence server 106 includes
`remote access software for performing remote accessing
`functions in addition to the virtual presence functions of the
`present invention.
`As shown, the remote user may either be a telecommuter
`or a road warrior, or may be a resident in a branch office, also
`referred to as a remote small office. The remote computer
`system 102 used by the remote user may comprise either an
`analog modem 184 or an ISDN terminal adapter 182, or
`another type of communications device.
`The virtual presence server 106 located at the corporate
`office connects to the corporate PBX 112 as one or more
`extensions and connects to the corporate LAN 114 as one or
`more remote terminals, LAN nodes, or a separate LAN
`segment. The virtual presence server 106then provides these
`features over the public switched telephone network (PSTN)
`to a remote site, i.e., to the remote user. Thus, the virtual
`presence server 106 of the present invention operates to
`extend PBX features, as well as LAN features, to the remote
`users. It is noted that the system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 does
`not include a key system or PBX intervening between the
`virtual presence server 106 and the remote users.
`The IRW unit 104 in the computer system 102, as well as
`the virtual presence server 106 at the corporate office, allow
`a remote user to seamlessly access and use resources at the
`corporate office, such as the corporate office private branch
`exchange (PBX) 112 and local area network (LAN) 114.
`Thus, a remote user with a virtual presence connection
`according to the present invention has all of the facilities and
`features provided by the PBX 112 and LAN 114 at the
`corporate office while working from a remote location.
`Further, the present invention enables the concept of
`virtual presence or "telepresence”, whereby a user at a
`remote location has the full capabilities and user interfaces
`of the corporate office just as if the user were physically
`located at the corporate office. In other words, the system of
`the present invention allows the remote user to have a virtual
`presence at the corporate office as if the user were actually
`present at the corporate office.
`Thus the telecommuter or road warrior using a virtual
`telephone on his/her computer “sees” a virtual telephone that
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`optionally substantially mirrors the telephone the user sees
`at the corporate office, including substantially the same
`button configurations at substantially the same locations and
`performing substantially the same functions. In one
`embodiment, the user configures the virtual telephone to
`provide different and/or more advanced features than the
`telephone at the corporate office.
`Typically, a person physically located in a corporate office
`dials a local extension number or DD (direct inward
`dialing) number, such as an N digit extension number. to call
`a co-worker in the corporate office. According to the present
`invention, the remote user dials the same local extension
`number of a co-worker in the corporate office, just as if the
`remote user were physically located in the corporate office.
`Similarly, a co-worker in the corporate office dials the local
`extension of the remote user and accesses the remote user,
`just as if the remote user were physically located in the
`corporate office.
`According to the invention, the remote user makes out
`going telephone calls, sends faxes, transmits data, sends
`email and performs Internet access as if the remote user were
`physically present in the corporate office. Likewise, incom
`ing calls, faxes, data transmissions and email received at the
`corporate office are routed to the remote user as if the remote
`user were physically present in the corporate office.
`Incoming calls are preferably automatically routed to the
`remote user. Faxes may also be automatically routed to the
`remote user if the remote user has a personal fax machine
`and/or personal fax number at the corporate office. It is noted
`that, for faxes to be automatically routed from the corporate
`office to the remote user, the corporate office is not required
`to have a physical fax machine, but is only required to have
`a direct number to receive faxes.
`Therefore, a co-worker or other party who telephones the
`remote user at the corporate office, or sends email, data or a
`fax to the remote user at the corporate office. is unaware that
`the user is actually not physically located at the corporate
`office, but rather is at a remote location. In general, a
`secretary or receptionist located just outside the user's
`physical corporate office location is unable to discern
`whether the user is located in his office at the corporate office
`or at a remote location. Thus the remote user maintains a
`virtual presence which is "just like being there".
`FIGS. 3-5: Embodiments of the Invention
`Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, various embodiments of the
`present invention are shown. As shown, the system of the
`present invention may be used for various types of remote
`SS
`1. FIG. 3: Telecommuters and Road Warriors
`Referring now to FIG. 3, an embodiment used for tele
`commuters and road warriors is shown. For a user who is a
`"telecommuter", i.e., a user who is working at home and
`remotely connects to the corporate office, the telecommuter
`may operate with either a desktop or portable computer
`system, or optionally with another type of communications
`device. FIG. 3 illustrates a telecommuter operating with a
`desktop computer system, designated as 102A. If the tele
`commuter operates with a desktop computer system 102A,
`the IRW unit 104 is preferably an add-in card to an expan
`sion bus of the computer system 102A, such as a PCI
`(Peripheral Component Interconnect) card or AT bus card.
`As shown in FIG. 3, in one embodiment a telephone
`instrument 124 is connected to the computer system 102A.
`Alternatively, or additionally, the computer system 102A
`executes software which presents a "virtual telephone" on
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`the video screen of the computer system 102A. The virtual
`telephone executing on the computer system preferably uses
`the computer's speakerphone, or the computer's built-in
`microphone and speakers, as the voice transmitter and
`receiver for the virtual telephone,
`For a "road warrior", i.e., a business traveler operating
`with a portable or notebook computer 102B, the IRW unit
`104 preferably comprises a PC Card, or the IRW logic is
`hardwired to the computer motherboard. Users who are
`"road warriors', i.e., business users who travel and desire to
`"stay connected" to the corporate office, generally use a
`portable computer system 102B or a portable communica
`tions device (not shown). Thus, for road warriors, the IRW
`unit 104 preferably comprises a PCMCIA card, also referred
`to as a PC Card, adapted for insertion into a PCMCIA slot
`of the portable computer system 102B. Also, if the telecom
`muter uses a portable computer or notebook computer, the
`IRW unit 104 also preferably comprises a PC Card.
`The portable computer system 102B may include an
`external telephone instrument which connects to the com
`puter system 102B. Alternatively, or additionally, as shown.
`the portable computer system 102B preferably executes
`software which presents a "virtual telephone" on the video
`screen of the computer system 102B, as described above. In
`this embodiment, the portable computer 102B preferably
`includes an integrated speakerphone which provides
`transmitter/receiver capabilities.
`As shown, each of the computers 102A and 102B are
`connected to the corporate office virtual presence server 106.
`also referred to as the IRW server, via the public switched
`telephone network (PSTN). Each of the computers 102A and
`102B are also connected to the corporate office PBX 112 via
`the PSTN.
`The computers 102A and 102B connect to the PSTN
`preferably using either analog modems 184 or ISDN termi
`35
`nal adapters 182. It is noted that the computers 102A and
`102B may connect to the PSTN using any of various
`communications devices and any of various communica
`tions media, as desired. In the present disclosure, the term
`"communications device' is intended to include analog
`modems, ISDN terminal adapters, and any of various other
`types of communications devices which use any of various
`types of communications media.
`In one embodiment, the IRW unit 104 includes an analog
`modem 184, preferably a W.34 modem, which is used where
`an ordinary analog telephone line is available to connect to
`the corporate office. In a second embodiment, the IRW unit
`104 utilizes an integrated services digital network (ISDN)
`terminal adapter 182. The ISDN embodiment provides
`higher speed data transmissions and improved voice quality.
`Any of the various embodiments preferably also supports a
`local group three facsimile (fax) machine.
`In an embodiment where the IRW unit 104 uses an analog
`modem, the IRW unit 104 preferably includes an analog
`W.34 modem. Voic