Method for handling unanswered calls
AssigneeTelecom Italia S.p.A.
InventorBruno Bottiero
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Reliable and interactive communication between parties is allowed even in those cases in which an incoming call cannot be answered due to inconvenience, inopportunity and/or impoliteness, e.g., during an important meeting, a conference or a ceremony. A packet-switched connection between the called party and the calling party is established in response to an action intended for terminating an incoming call performed at the called party's terminal.
Claims16
A method for handling an incoming call at a called party's terminal, the incoming call being originated by a calling party's terminal, comprising:
- receiving a first signal indicative of the incoming call;
- detecting a predetermined action of the called party on the called party's terminal corresponding to a refusal of the incoming call;
- in response to the detection of said predetermined action, terminating the incoming call, by the called party's terminal, and sending, by the called party's terminal, a second signal to the calling party's terminal, wherein the second signal carries a network address of the called party's terminal so as to allow establishment of a packet-switched connection between the called party's terminal and the calling party's terminal;
- receiving a third signal from the calling party's terminal, the third signal being indicative of an acceptance of the establishment of the packet-switched connection by the calling party;
- and
- in response to the reception of said third signal, starting a user interface which allows communication between the called party and the calling party via the established packet-switched connection.
A user terminal configured for performing a method for handling an incoming call at a called party's terminal, the incoming call being originated by a calling party's terminal, the method comprising:
- receiving a first signal indicative of the incoming call;
- detecting a predetermined action of the called party on the called party's terminal corresponding to a refusal of the incoming call;
- in response to the detection of said predetermined action, terminating the incoming call, by the called party's terminal, and sending, by the called party's terminal, a second signal to the calling party's terminal, wherein the second signal carries a network address of the called party's terminal so as to allow establishment of a packet-switched connection between the called party's terminal and the calling party's terminal;
- receiving a third signal from the calling party's terminal, the third signal being indicative of an acceptance of the establishment of the packet-switched connection by the calling party;
- and
- in response to the reception of said third signal, starting a user interface which allows communication between the called party and the calling party via the established packet-switched connection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.