Patent · US Expired

Systems and methods for managing multiple communications

US6768722B1 · kind B1 · utility

207Cited by
17References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 23, 2000
Grant dateJul 27, 2004
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 9, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04M3/4285
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention enables a party which is placed on hold in a first communication session to enter a second communication session and continue to monitor the status of the first communication. For example, in a broadband communication system telephone call or multimedia call, two parties may be in an active communication session with one another and a first of the two parties to the call may receive another incoming call. The first party then places the second party on hold. At this time the second party may wish to place the communication session with the first party on hold to initiate another communication session with a third party. However, the second party would also like to know when the first party takes the communication session off hold so that they can resume their communication. As a result, the second party places the communication on “monitor” hold. While the communication is on monitor hold, the second party is able to monitor the on hold communication session to recognize when the first party returns. For example, the monitored call on hold may be maintained at a reduced volume or a video display of the video in a multimedia communication session ma…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.