CA2264230C - Call on-hold improvements - Google Patents
Call on-hold improvements Download PDFInfo
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- CA2264230C CA2264230C CA 2264230 CA2264230A CA2264230C CA 2264230 C CA2264230 C CA 2264230C CA 2264230 CA2264230 CA 2264230 CA 2264230 A CA2264230 A CA 2264230A CA 2264230 C CA2264230 C CA 2264230C
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Abstract
In a communication system wherein a communication connection is established between a communication apparatus of a first subscriber and a communication apparatus of a second subscriber, a method of terminating the communication connection by a subscriber placed on hold comprises the steps of displaying to the on hold subscriber a prompt to leave a message; in response to selection of the prompt, recording the message left by the on hold subscriber; transmitting the message to the other subscriber; terminating the communication connection; and providing a visual indication to the other subscriber that the communication connection has been terminated by the on hold subscriber and that the on hold subscriber has sent a message. A method of signifying one of the subscriber's desire to return to a communication connection when the communication connection has been placed on hold is also provided.
Description
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CALL ON-HOLD IMPROVEMENTS
The present invention relates to telephony and in particular to a method
and apparatus for allowing a subscriber placed on hold during a communication
connection to send a message to another subscriber prior to terminating the
communication connection. The present invention also relates to a method and
apparatus for allowing a subscriber to signify to another subscriber their desire to
return to a communication connection when the communication connection has been
placed on hold.
Feature telephone sets which provide a display of the status of calls
such as on hold status provide only limited information to a subscriber as to the status
of calls. For example, a telephone set used in a key telephone system may have
several lines that it may use. When one of the lines is busy, a light adjacent a push
button associated with that line illuminates. However, there is no indication that the
line is actually in use or who are the parties in the call.
If a caller has placed a call on one line on hold and has made one or
more calls on other lines which may have also been placed on hold, lights associated
with the lines on hold may ï¬ash as a reminder. However, there is no indication as to
who is actually on hold. It is often difï¬cult to remember which call on hold belongs
to which party. The end result is that calls may be retrieved from hold and the party
addressed incorrectly.
When a conference call is made and several conferences are placed on
hold and a subscriber wishes to have a private conversation with one or more of the
conferences while excluding others, mistakes can often be made with sometimes
embarrassing and costly results when taking conferences off hold and bringing them
into the private conversation.
To overcome the above-described problems, a human machine
interface for telephone feature invocation has been developed and is described in U.S.
Patent No. 5,533,110 to Pinard et al. issued on July 2, 1996 and assigned to Mitel
Corporation, assignee of the present invention. The human machine interface
provides information to a user which unambiguously indicates which subscribers are
party to a call. The human machine interface also provides a clear indication as to the
parties placed on hold, removed from a call or added to a call.
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In some instances, when a subscriber is placed on hold by another
subscriber, the subscriber may wish to terminate the call but before doing so send a
message to the other subscriber. In the past, this has required the subscriber to
terminate the call, call the other subscriber back, wait to be forwarded to the other
subscriberâs voice-mail, leave a voiceâmail message and then terminate the call. Also,
in some instances, when a subscriber has been placed an on hold condition, a
subscriber may wish to signify to the other subscriber that they wish to be
reconnected. This has not been possible, giving the subscriber the options of either
waiting out the on-hold condition or terminating the call and calling the other
subscriber back in an attempt to reestablish the communication connection.
Although the human machine interface referred to above provides
unambiguous information concerning the parties to a call and the status of the parties
to the call, call hold improvements are desired to deal with the above described
situations.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel
method and apparatus for allowing a subscriber placed on hold during a
communication connection to send a message to another subscriber prior to
terminating the communication connection. It is also an object of the present
invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for allowing a subscriber to signify
to another subscriber their desire to return to a communication connection when the
communication connection has been placed on hold.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided in a
communication system wherein a communication connection is established between a
communication apparatus of a first subscriber and a communication apparatus of a
second subscriber, a method of terminating the communication connection by a
subscriber placed on hold comprising the steps of:
(i) displaying to said on hold subscriber a prompt to leave a message;
(ii) in response to selection of said prompt, recording the message left by
said on hold subscriber;
(iii) transmitting the message to the other subscriber;
(iv) terminating the communication connection; and
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(v) presenting a visual indication to said other subscriber that said
communication connection has been terminated by said on hold subscriber and that
said on hold subscriber has sent a message, said visual indication being presented in a
manner to place said other subscriber in immediate context for said message.
Preferably during the communication connection, icons representing
the subscribers are displayed to both subscribers. Upon termination of the
communication connection at step (iv), the icon displayed to the other subscriber
representing the on hold subscriber is replaced with an icon representing the message.
It is also preferred that the prompt to leave a message is displayed to the on hold
subscriber in response to on hold subscriber input.
Preferably during step (ii), the on hold subscriber can record either a
voice message, a text message or a video message. A window is displayed to the on
hold subscriber which includes a box for a text message, a box for a voice message
and a box for a video message. One of the boxes can be selected to allow the on hold
subscriber to leave either the voice message, text message or video message.
Preferably, the method further comprises the step of presenting the
message to the other subscriber as soon as the other subscriber returns to the
communication connection.
In another embodiment, the prompt to leave a message is displayed to
the on hold subscriber as soon as the on hold subscriber is placed on hold. The
prompt is selected by entering a soft key sequence via the communication apparatus
of the on hold subscriber.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided
in a communication system wherein a communication connection is established
between a communication apparatus of a first subscriber and a communication
apparatus of a second subscriber, a method of signifying one of the subscribers desire
to return to a communication connection when said communication connection has
been placed on hold comprising the steps of:
(i) generating a reconnection request via the communication apparatus of
the one subscriber;
(ii) transmitting the reconnection request to the other subscriber; and
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(iii) in response to the reconnection request, displaying to the other
subscriber a reestablish communication connection icon signifying the one
subscribers desire to return to the communication connection and at least one deny
communication connection icon, said reestablish communication connection icon
being selectable to reestablish said communication connection and said at least one
deny communication connection icon being selectable to maintain the on hold
communication connection.
Preferably, the method further comprises the step of reestablishing the
immediately upon selection of the reestablish
communication connection
communication connection icon. It is also preferred that the method further
comprises the steps of transmitting a deny communication connection response to the
one subscriber upon selection of the at least one deny communication connection icon
and displaying a message to the one subscriber signifying the selection.
Preferably, the method further comprises the steps of during the
communication connection, displaying icons representing the first and second
subscribers to both subscribers; during an on hold condition displaying to the one
subscriber their icon as a ghost icon and displaying to the other subscriber their icon
as a ghost icon; and generating the reconnection request in response to selection of a
ghost icon.
The present invention provides advantages in that a subscriber placed
on hold can send a message to the other subscriber prior to terminating the call
avoiding the need to call the other subscriber back to leave a message. The other
subscriber is notified that the call has been terminated and that a message has been
sent putting that subscriber in immediate context for the message. The present
invention also provides advantages in that a subscriber on hold can signal to the other
subscriber that they wish to return to a communication connection even though the on
hold condition exists.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more
fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure l is a schematic diagram of a communications system over
which communication connections between subscribers may be established;
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Figure 2 to 10 are diagrams of displays on personal computers
illustrating a call on-hold improvement in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
Figures 11 to 13 are diagrams of displays on personal computers
illustrating a call on-hold improvement in accordance with another embodiment of the
present invention;
Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of two subscriber display phone sets
forming part of the communications system of Figure 1;
Figure 15 are schematic diagrams illustrating the agent layout and
message ï¬ow during handling of the call on-hold improvement of Figures 2 to 10; and
Figure 16 are schematic diagrams illustrating the agent layout and
message ï¬ow during handling of the call on-hold improvement of Figures 11 to 14.
Referring now to Figure 1, a communications system is shown and is
generally indicated to by reference numeral 110. As can be seen, the communications
system includes a phone hub server 112 connected to a local area network (LAN) 114.
A plurality of display phone sets 116 (best seen in Figure 14) are connected to the
phone hub server 112. Each display phone set 116 includes a display 116a, a keypad
116b, a handset 1l6c and a plurality of line select buttons 116d which illuminate
when a line is selected or ï¬ash when a line is on hold.
A call server 118 is connected to the LAN 114, to a public switched
telephone network (PSTN)/wide area network (WAN) 120 via trunks 122 and to stand
alone telephones 124 via individual lines 126. Stand alone telephones 130 and
personal computers 132 are also connected to the PSTN/WAN 120. Telephones 134
are connected to the personal computers 132 by way of universal serial busses (USB)
136. Personal computers 132 are also connected to the LAN 114 and have telephones
134 connected to them via USBs 136.
The phone hub server 112 and the call server 118 both implement
MVIP technology as set out in U.S. Patent No. 5,657,446 entitled âLocal Area
Communications Server Systemâ to Pinard et al issued on August 12, 1997, assigned
to Mitel Corporation, assignee of the present invention. The phone hub server 112
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handles the display phone sets 116 while the call server 118 handles the trunks 122
and stand alone telephones 124.
The communications system 110 is based on the architecture described
in U.S. Patent No.â5,63 8,494 entitled âAdaptive Communication Systemâ to Pinard et
al issued on June 10, 1997 assigned to Mitel Corporation, assignee of the present
invention. Accordingly, the servers include telephone interface circuits, conference
digital signal processing circuits, dialing circuits and trunk circuits to enable
telephone calls to be made. The servers also include agents to process calls.
Each personal computer 132 includes a monitor 150, a processor 152, a
keyboard 154 and a pointing device in the form of a mouse 156. The processor 152
executes a telephone applications program which controls the telephone connected to
it via agents. In this particular example, the telephone applications program functions
as a communications accessory in a Windows environment. The telephone
applications program is similar to that disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,533,110 entitled
âHuman Machine Interface For Telephone Feature Invocationâ to Pinard et al issued
on July 2, 1996 and assigned to Mitel Corporation, assignee of the present invention.
The telephone applications program controls the views, windows and
icons appearing on the monitor 150 of the personal computer 132 during a telephone
communications session. When the telephone applications program is called, it
creates a user icon in the form of a stick ï¬gure representing the user logged into the
LAN 114. The telephone applications program also provides a call setup icon which
can be used to tell the telephone applications program that a telephone call is to be
made by dragging the user icon into the call setup icon. When the call setup icon tells
the telephoneâ applications program that a telephone call is to be made, the telephone
applications program displays a subscriber directory stored in memory. The
subscriber directory includes a list of names in the directory together with associated
image icons. Image icons in the directory can be dragged into the call setup icon or
names can be entered into a dialog box in the call setup icon to initiate telephone calls.
At this stage, the telephone applications program creates an icon of the party to be
called and places the icon in the call setup icon beside the user icon. Further specifics
of the telephone applications program will now be described with particular reference
to Figures 2 to 14.
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Referring now to Figure 2, a window 200 is shown that is presented on
the monitor 150 of one of the personal computers 132 when the telephone applications
program executed thereby is called. A user icon 202 representing the local user of the
telephone 134 is created by the telephone applications program and is displayed in the
window 200 with the name of the user (Joe). In this example, the icon 202 is in the
form of a stick ï¬gure. The telephone applications program also creates and displays a
call set up icon 204 which is used to establish a telephone call. As mentioned above,
to establish a telephone call, the user moves the user icon 202 into the call set up icon
204 by dragging the icon using the mouse 156 or other pointing device. The
telephone applications program interprets this action as a request to initiate a
telephone call.
At this point, the telephone applications program displays a directory
206 that is stored in memory of the personal computer 132 in the window 200 (see
Figure 3). The directory 206 includes a list of names and associated image icons. If
the telephone call is to be made to a party in the directory, the image icon associated
with that party is dragged into the call set up icon 204 using the mouse 156 or the
name of the party is typed into a dialog box 208 in the call setup icon 204 and a return
command function is invoked.
The telephone application program then creates an icon 210
representing the party to be called and places the icon with the name of the party
(Alice) in the call set up icon 204. The telephone applications program then retrieves
the telephone number from the directory 206 and causes the call server 118 to dial
Aliceâs telephone number. As soon as Alice answers the call, the call setup icon 204
is changed to âa call icon 212 and a new call setup icon 204 is presented in the window
200 at a location spaced from the call icon 212. Hold and terminate call icons 214 and
216 are also displayed in the window 200 (see Figure 4).
When Alice answers the call, her personal computer 132 calls the
telephone applications program which in tum presents a window displaying a call icon
212 showing the same icons 202 and 210 as displayed on J oeâs personal computer. If
Joe decides to place another call while maintaining the call to Alice, Joe drags his icon
202 into the call setup icon 204 causing the directory 206 to be displayed again. Joeâs
icon 202 also remains in the call icon 212 but is displayed in ghost form. At this point
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the image icon representing the next party (Fred) to be called is dragged from the
directory 206 into the call setup icon 204 (see Figure 5). An icon 218 with Fredâs
name beside the icon is then created by the telephone applications program and is
placed in the call setup icon 204. The telephone applications program then retrieves
Fredâs telephone number from the directory 206, causes the call server 118 to place
Alice on hold, and causes the call server to dial Fredâs telephone number.
As soon as Fred answers the call, the call setup icon 204 is changed to
a call icon 220 including Joeâs icon 202 and Fredâs icon 218 and a new call setup icon
204 is presented in the window 200. Thus, the monitor 150 of Joeâs personal
computer 132 presents two call icons 212 and 220, one showing the current telephone
communication connection to Fred and the other showing the on-hold communication
connection to Alice (see Figure 6).
When Alice is put on hold as a result of Joe making the second call to
Fred, Joeâs icon 202 in the call icon 212 is in ghost form to signify visually to Joe that
Alice has been put on hold. The telephone applications program executed by A1iceâs
personal computer 132 changes her icon 210 in the call icon 212 to ghost form
signifying visually to Alice that the call to Joe has been placed on hold (see Figure 7).
If Alice does not want to wait on hold, Alice can terminate the call immediately either
by going on-hook or by dragging her icon 210 into the terminate call icon 216. The
telephone applications program recognizes this as a command to go on-hook and
terminate the telephone communication coimection.
Alternatively, Alice has the option of sending a message to Joe prior to
terminating the telephone communication connection. To send a message to Joe,
Alice uses the mouse 156 to move the cursor over her ghost icon 210 and performs a
right mouse click. The telephone applications program in turn opens a directory 230
having a number of selectable options including a hang-up option 232 and a send
message option 234 (see Figure 8). If the send message option 234 is selected, the
telephone applications program opens a send message icon 240 which allows the
Alice either to leave a text message, a voice message or a video message (see Figure
9). The send message icon 240 includes selectable text, voice and video boxes 242,
244 and 246 respectively. If the text box 242 is selected, text can be typed into an
associated dialog box 248. If the voice box 244 is selected, a tape recorder 248 is
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displayed which can be operated using the mouse 156 in a known manner to record a
voice message. If the video box 246 is selected, a video ï¬le message can be created.
Once the message is created, the message can be sent to Joe by pressing a send button
250 in the send message icon 240 using the mouse 156.
When the send button 250 is pressed, the telephone applications
program sends the message to the call server 118 which routes the message to Joe.
The telephone applications program then terminates the communication connection.
The call icon 212 displayed on the monitor 150 of Aliceâs personal computer 132 is
replaced with the call setup icon 204 to allow Alice to initiate another telephone call.
When the message sent by Alice is received by Joeâs personal
computer 132, the telephone applications program immediately replaces Aliceâs icon
210 in the call icon 212 with a message icon 260 to notify Joe that Alice has
terminated the communication connection but has left a message placing Joe in
immediate context for the message (see Figure 10). When Joe returns to the call icon
212 either by terminating the call with Fred or by placing Fred on hold, the telephone
applications program opens a message window and presents the message to Joe. In
the case of a text message, the message is displayed in a text box. In the case of a
voice message, a tape recorder icon is presented and is conditioned to play the voice
message. In the case of a video message, a video recorder icon is presented and is
conditioned to play the video ï¬le message.
During a communication connection, either party to the call can place
the other party on hold by dragging that partyâs icon from the call icon into the hold
icon 214. For example, if Joe drags Aliceâs icon 210 into the hold icon 214, the
telephone applications program causes the call server 118 to place the communication
connection to Alice on hold. When the communication connection is placed on hold,
Joeâs icon 202 in the call icon 212 as presented in the window 200 on the monitor 150
of Joeâs personal computer 132 is shown as a ghost to signify visually that Alice is on
hold (see Figure 1 1). Likewise, Aliceâs icon 210 in the call icon 212 displayed in the
window 200 on the monitor 150 of Aliceâs personal computer 132 is shown as a
ghost.
During the on-hold condition, if either Joe or Alice wishes to
reestablish the communication connection, they can signal the other party. For
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example, if Joe wishes to signify to Alice that he wants to reestablish the
communication connection, Joe places the cursor over his ghost icon 202 and
performs a leï¬ mouse click. The telephone applications program detects this action
and generates a reestablish communication connection request. The reestablish
communication connection request is then sent to Aliceâs personal computer 132.
When the reestablish connection request is received by Aliceâs
personal computer, a request connection icon 270 is displayed in the widow 200
presented on the monitor 150 of Aliceâs personal computer 132 (see Figure 12). The
request connection icon 270 includes three response buttons, namely a âyesâ button
272, a ânoâ button 274 and a âjust a minuteâ button 276. If the âyesâ button 272 is
selected using the mouse 156, the telephone applications program causes the call
server 118 to reestablish the communication connection tenninating the on-hold
condition. If the no or just a minute button 274 or 276 respectively is selected, the on
hold condition is maintained. The telephone applications program however, sends a
message back to the Joe responding to the reestablish communication request. The
message corresponds with Aliceâs button selection. When Joeâs personal computer
receives the message, a reply icon 280 corresponding to Aliceâs selection is displayed
in the window 200 (see Figure 13). A similar process occurs when Alice wishes to
reestablish the communication connection and performs a left mouse click on her
ghost icon 210.
The phone hub server 112 also includes telephone applications
programs to allow parties using display phone sets 116 to send messages to other
parties prior to terminating on-hold communication connections.
â When a telephone call is initiated by a caller (John) using a display
phone set 116, a line is selected by John causing a light in the line select button 116d
associated with the selected line to illuminate. The telephone number of the party
being called (J ane) is then dialed. The phone hub server 112 handles the display
phone set 116 and causes the call server 118 to dial the telephone number to establish
the telephone call. When Jane answers, J aneâs name appears in the display 116a of
Johnâs display phone set 116 (see Figure 14). Likewise, when Jane answerâs, Johnâs
name appears in the display 116a of J aneâs display phone set 116.
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If John places Jane on hold either by selecting another line to make or
answer another call or by pressing a hold button, the on hold communication
connection is detected by the telephone applications program. The telephone
applications program sends a message to Jane causing the message to be displayed on
the display 116a of J aneâs display phone set 116 notifying Jane of the on-hold
condition and giving Jane the option to terminate the call immediately or to send a
message to John prior to terminating the call by entering an appropriate soft key
dialing sequence.
When the terminate call soï¬ key sequence is entered by J ane, it is
detected by the telephone applications program. The telephone applications program
causes the phone hub server 112 to signal the call server 118 to terminate the call.
When the send message soft key sequence is entered, it is detected by the telephone
applications program and prompts Jane to record a voice-mail message. When the
voice-mail message has been completed, the telephone applications program causes
the phone hub server 112 to send the voice-mail message to the call server 118 which
in turn passes the message to John. The telephone applications program in the phone
hub server 112 handling J ohnâs display phone set 116 receives and holds the voice-
mail message from Jane and updates the display 116a on John's display phone set to
notify John that Jane has left a message. When John returns to J aneâs line, the voice-
mail message is presented to John.
Referring now to Figure 15, a message sequence diagram
corresponding to Figures 2 to 10 is shown wherein agents handle communications.
When a call is to be placed on hold (1), the user agent 300 associated with the party
placing the call on hold informs the user agent 302 associated with the party to be
placed on hold (2). The user agent 302 in turn displays this to the party (3). If the
party placed on hold elects to send a message prior to terminating the call, the user
agent 302 receives a send message request (4). The user agent 302 asks for the
message (5) and when the message is received (6), sends the message together with a
hang-up request to the user agent 300 (7). The user agent 300 upon receiving the
message and hang-up request notifies the party (8) and stores the message in a
database (9). When the party wishes to access the message (10), the user agent 300
retrieves the message from the database (11) and presents the message to the party
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(12). Phone agents or display agents and desktop controller agents (not shown) are
provided to manage the telephones and/or personal computers.
When parties are on hold and one of the parties wishes to reestablish
the communication connection and signal this to the other party, the user agent 304
informs the user agent 306 (see Figure 16). The user agent 306 in turn informs the
party of the reestablish communication connection request and displays the retrieve
options to the party. If the party selects the reconnect call option, the user agent 306
is notiï¬ed and informs the user agent 304 that it is accepting the reestablish
communication connection request. The user agent 304 then informs the user agent
306 to reconnect the communication link and the displays of the parties are updated to
show that the on-hold condition has been terminated.
As will be appreciated, the telephone applications programs executed
by the personal computers and phone hub server allow parties placed on hold to
terminate telephone calls but before doing so leave messages for the other parties.
This avoids the need for callers to have to hang up and call back to access called
partiesâ voice-mail. The telephone applications program also provides advantages in
that a party placed on hold can ï¬ag the other party indicating that they wish to be
removed from hold and reconnected.
Although the present application has been described with reference to
the agent architecture described in U.S. Patent No. 5,638,494 to Pinard et al, those of
skill in the art will appreciate that the on hold improvements can be incorporated into
telephony systems using other architectures. Those of skill in the art will also
appreciate that variations and modiï¬cations may be made to the present invention
without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as deï¬ned by the appended claims.
Claims (17)
1. In a communication system wherein a communication connection is established between a communication apparatus of a first subscriber and a communication apparatus of a second subscriber, a method of terminating the communication connection by a subscriber placed on hold comprising the steps of:
(i) displaying to said on hold subscriber a prompt to leave a message;
(ii) in response to selection of said prompt, recording the message left by said on hold subscriber;
(iii) transmitting the message to the other subscriber;
(iv) terminating the communication connection; and (v) presenting a visual indication to said other subscriber that said communication connection has been terminated by said on hold subscriber and that said on hold subscriber has sent a message, said visual indication being presented in a manner to place said other subscriber in immediate context for said message.
(i) displaying to said on hold subscriber a prompt to leave a message;
(ii) in response to selection of said prompt, recording the message left by said on hold subscriber;
(iii) transmitting the message to the other subscriber;
(iv) terminating the communication connection; and (v) presenting a visual indication to said other subscriber that said communication connection has been terminated by said on hold subscriber and that said on hold subscriber has sent a message, said visual indication being presented in a manner to place said other subscriber in immediate context for said message.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein during said communication connection, icons representing said subscribers are displayed to both subscribers and wherein upon termination of said communication connection at step (iv), the icon displayed to the other subscriber representing the on hold subscriber is replaced with an icon representing said message.
3. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the prompt to leave a message is displayed to said on hold subscriber in response to on hold subscriber input.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein said on hold subscriber input is a mouse click on an icon representing a subscriber.
5. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein during step (ii) said on hold subscriber can record either a voice message, a text message or a video message.
6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein during step (i) said on hold subscriber is prompted either to send a message prior to terminating the communication connection or to terminate the communication connection immediately.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein at step (ii) a window is displayed to said on hold subscriber, said window including a box for a text message, a box for a voice message and a box for a video message, one of the boxes being selectable to allow said on hold subscriber to leave either a voice message, text message or video message.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of presenting the message to the other subscriber as soon as said other subscriber returns to the communication connection.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein at step (i) the prompt to leave a message is displayed to said on hold subscriber as soon as said on hold subscriber is placed on hold.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein said message is a voice message.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein during step (i) said on hold subscriber is prompted either to send a message prior to terminating the communication connection or to terminate the communication connection immediately.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein said prompt is selected by entering a soft key sequence via the communication apparatus of said on hold subscriber.
13. In a communication system wherein a communication connection is established between a communication apparatus of a first subscriber and a communication apparatus of a second subscriber, a method of signifying one of the subscribers desire to return to a communication connection when said communication connection has been placed on hold comprising the steps of:
(i) generating a reconnection request via the communication apparatus of the one subscriber;
(ii) transmitting the reconnection request to the other subscriber; and (iii) in response to the reconnection request, displaying to the other subscriber a reestablish communication connection icon signifying the one subscribers desire to return to the communication connection and at least one deny communication connection icon, said reestablish communication connection icon being selectable to reestablish said communication connection and said at least one deny communication connection icon being selectable to maintain the on hold communication connection.
(i) generating a reconnection request via the communication apparatus of the one subscriber;
(ii) transmitting the reconnection request to the other subscriber; and (iii) in response to the reconnection request, displaying to the other subscriber a reestablish communication connection icon signifying the one subscribers desire to return to the communication connection and at least one deny communication connection icon, said reestablish communication connection icon being selectable to reestablish said communication connection and said at least one deny communication connection icon being selectable to maintain the on hold communication connection.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of reconnecting the communication connection immediately upon selection of said reestablish communication connection icon.
15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of transmitting a deny communication response to said one subscriber upon selection of said at least one deny communication connection icon and displaying a message to said one subscriber signifying said selection.
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the steps of: displaying icons representing said first and second subscribers to both subscribers;
during an on hold condition displaying to the one subscriber their icon as a ghost icon and displaying to the other subscriber their icon as a ghost icon; and generating said reconnection request in response to selection of a ghost icon.
during an on hold condition displaying to the one subscriber their icon as a ghost icon and displaying to the other subscriber their icon as a ghost icon; and generating said reconnection request in response to selection of a ghost icon.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein said a ghost icon is selected via a mouse click.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB9811967.0 | 1998-06-03 | ||
GB9811967A GB2338146B (en) | 1998-06-03 | 1998-06-03 | Call on-hold improvements |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
CA2264230A1 CA2264230A1 (en) | 1999-12-03 |
CA2264230C true CA2264230C (en) | 2002-10-15 |
Family
ID=10833163
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
CA 2264230 Expired - Lifetime CA2264230C (en) | 1998-06-03 | 1999-03-03 | Call on-hold improvements |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
CA (1) | CA2264230C (en) |
-
1999
- 1999-03-03 CA CA 2264230 patent/CA2264230C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CA2264230A1 (en) | 1999-12-03 |
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