Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for extending a telephone's capabilities

US6862347B1 · kind B1 · utility

5Cited by
11References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 28, 1999
Grant dateMar 1, 2005
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 28, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04M1/2757
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An application programming interface (API) enables a telephone to utilize the hardware resources of a computer that is connected to the telephone in a master/slave relationship that causes the computer to function in the manner of a peripheral to the telephone. Specifically, the telephone attached to the computer can utilize the relatively large memory capacity of the attached computer to store excess telephone-specific data and can utilize the relatively high sophistication of the processing capability of the connected computer to perform intensive data processing operations. The API allows the functionality of the telephone to be extended without requiring a telephony-equipped computer.

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