Call extension in telecommunications systems
View Patent ↗A method is disclosed that enables a user of one telecommunications terminal that is engaged in a call to move or “extend” the call to a second telecommunications terminal without notifying any other party on the call of the move. This is particularly useful in many situations. For example, the user might be at work and engaged in a call with a client on the user's wireline desk telephone. If the user needs to leave the office, the user can extend the call to his or her cell phone, while the call is in progress, without notifying the client. This enables the user to leave the office and continue the call on his or her cell phone without having the client ever know that the user is on his or her cell phone and not in the office.
1. A method comprising:
establishing, by a private branch exchange, a call between a first telecommunications terminal and a second telecommunications terminal;
adding, by the private branch exchange, a third telecommunications terminal to the call while the call is in progress, wherein the private branch exchange:
i. comprises an affiliation between the first telecommunications terminal and the third telecommunications terminal, and
ii. adds the third telecommunications terminal to the call without transmitting any indication to the second telecommunications terminal that the third telecommunications terminal is being added to the call; and
dropping, by the private branch exchange, the first telecommunications terminal from the call when the third telecommunications terminal goes off-hook;
wherein the affiliation designates one of the first telecommunications terminal and the third telecommunications terminal to be a façade for both the first telecommunications terminal and the third telecommunications terminal, and wherein the private branch exchange is to represent either the first telecommunications terminal or the third telecommunications terminal using the telephone number of the façade,
wherein the façade comprises an automatic number identification or caller-ID of one telecommunications terminal when the automatic number identification or caller-ID of the one telecommunications terminal is used by another telecommunications terminal.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the private branch exchange drops the first telecommunications terminal from the call without transmitting any indication to the second telecommunications terminal that the first telecommunications terminal is being dropped from the call.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein:
i. the first telecommunications terminal is a wireless telecommunications terminal in a first address space, and
ii. the third telecommunications terminal is a wireline telecommunications terminal in a second address space that is different from the first address space.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein:
i. the private branch exchange and the first telecommunications terminal are in a first address space, and
ii. the second telecommunications terminal and the third telecommunications terminal are in a second address space that is different from the first address space.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
adding, by the private branch exchange, a fourth telecommunications terminal to the call while the call between the second telecommunications terminal and the third telecommunications terminals is in-progress; and
transmitting, by the private branch exchange to the fourth telecommunications terminal, the telephone number of the first telecommunications terminal to represent the third telecommunications terminal according to the façade designation in the affiliation.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
re-adding, by the private branch exchange, the first telecommunications terminal to the call while the call is in-progress, wherein the private branch exchange:
i. adds the first telecommunications terminal to the call based on the affiliation, and
ii. adds the first telecommunications terminal to the call without transmitting any indication to the second telecommunications terminal that the first telecommunications terminal is being re-added to the call.
7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:
dropping, by the private branch exchange, the third telecommunications terminal from the call when the first telecommunications terminal goes off-hook, wherein the third telecommunications terminal is dropped from the call without transmitting any indication to the second telecommunications terminal that the third telecommunications terminal is being dropped from the call.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the affiliation designates the first telecommunications terminal as the façade, and the first telecommunications terminal is uniquely associated with an address in the address space of the private branch exchange.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the affiliation designates the first telecommunications terminal as the façade, and the first telecommunications terminal is uniquely associated with an address in an address space that is different than the address space of the private branch exchange.
10. A method comprising:
establishing, by a private branch exchange, a two-party call between a first telecommunications terminal and a second telecommunications terminal;
adding, by the private branch exchange while the two-party call is in progress, a third telecommunications terminal, wherein the private branch exchange:
i. comprises an affiliation between the first telecommunications terminal and the third telecommunications terminal, and
ii. adds the third telecommunications terminal to the two-party call without transmitting any indication to the second telecommunications terminal that the third telecommunications terminal is being added;
dropping, by the private branch exchange, the first telecommunications terminal from the two-party call when the third telecommunications terminal goes off-hook , wherein the two-party call continues between the second telecommunications terminal and the third telecommunications terminal;
establishing, by the private branch exchange, a three-party call from the two-party call by adding a fourth telecommunications terminal; and
transmitting, by the private branch exchange to the fourth telecommunications terminal, the telephone number of the first telecommunications terminal to represent the third telecommunications terminal according to the affiliation;
wherein the affiliation designates one of the first telecommunications terminal and the third telecommunications terminal to be a façade for both the first telecommunications terminal and the third telecommunications terminal, and wherein the private branch exchange is to represent either the first telecommunications terminal or the third telecommunications terminal using the telephone number of the façade,
wherein the façade comprises an automatic number identification or caller-ID of one telecommunications terminal when the automatic number identification or caller-ID of the one telecommunications terminal is used by another telecommunications terminal.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the private branch exchange drops the first telecommunications terminal from the two-party call without transmitting any indication to the second telecommunications terminal that the first telecommunications terminal is being dropped.
12. The method of claim 10 further comprising:
re-adding, by the private branch exchange while the three-party call is in progress, the first telecommunications terminal, wherein the private branch exchange:
i. adds the first telecommunications terminal to the third-party call based on the affiliation, and
ii. adds the first telecommunications terminal to the third-party call without transmitting any indication to the second telecommunications terminal that the first telecommunications terminal is being re-added.
13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:
dropping, by the private branch exchange while the three-party call is in progress, the third telecommunications terminal when the first telecommunications terminal goes off-hook, wherein the third telecommunications terminal is dropped from the three-party call without transmitting any indication to the second telecommunications terminal that the third telecommunications terminal is being dropped.
14. The method of claim 10 wherein:
i. the first telecommunications terminal is a wireless telecommunications terminal in a first address space, and
ii. the third telecommunications terminal is a wireline telecommunications terminal in a second address space that is different from the first address space.
15. The method of claim 10 wherein at least one of the first telecommunications terminal and the third telecommunications terminal is uniquely associated with an address in the address space of the private branch exchange.