End-user control of audio delivery endpoint in a multimedia environment
US6307932A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 31, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 23, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 31, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04M2203/2066
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In an integrated voice and multimedia communications system (FIG. 1), an end-user is given explicit control over which audio access mechanism he wishes to use regardless of whether a call is a multimedia or a voice call. The end-user's voice terminal (101) is equipped with a PC-Audio control button (127). When the user originates or receives a call, a multimedia PBX (102) automatically connects audio to the voice terminal's handset (124) regardless of whether the call is a multimedia or a voice call. If the user then presses the PC-Audio button, the PBX transfers audio to the audio subsystem (112-114) of the multimedia terminal (100), an LED (128) associated with the button is lit, and the user may cradle the handset without disconnecting the call. If the handset is subsequently lifted, audio is reconnected to the handset and the LED is extinguished. If the button is pressed while its LED is lit, the call is disconnected. If the voice terminal is equipped with a speakerphone (125), interaction thereof with the PC-Audio button mimics a telephone with an integrated speakerphone that is supplemented with an external speakerphone connection.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.