Granted Patent B2

US 7,974,399 · App. 11/274,434 · Granted Jul 5, 2011

Abstract

Claims (36)

1. A telephony system for providing a presence-enhanced whisper feature that enables a user to simultaneously engage in disparate telephonic communication sessions, said telephony system comprising:

a presence system maintaining presence information indicating the user is involved in a first telephonic communication session, wherein said presence system is operable to receive updated presence information indicating a request for the user to engage in a second telephonic communication session has been received, the presence system further operable to transmit an instruction to enable the whisper feature of the user upon determining that the user is currently engaged in the first telephonic communication session when the request for the user to engage in the second telephonic communication session is received;

a user telephonic device associated with the user that is engaged in the first telephonic communication session and the second telephonic communication session; and

a switch within a housing of said user telephonic device, said switch being in communication with the presence system to receive the instruction and enable the whisper feature by isolating audible input of the user from the first telephonic communication session while providing audible output from each of the first telephonic communication session and the second telephonic communication session to the user.

2. The telephony system of claim 1 , wherein said presence system is operable to provide said updated presence information to watchers of the user to enable the whisper feature.

3. The telephony system of claim 2 , wherein said request is a request to establish the second telephonic communication session, and wherein said updated presence information causes said switch to isolate the audible input of the user from the first telephonic communication session and provide the audible input of the user to the second telephonic communication session.

4. The telephony system of claim 2 , wherein said request is a request for said switch to switch between the first telephonic communication session and the second telephonic communication session to isolate the audible input of the user from the first telephonic communication session and provide the audible input of the user to the second telephonic communication session.

5. The telephony system of claim 2 , wherein said user telephonic device is a watcher of the user that receives said updated presence information and controls said switch in response to said updated presence information.

6. The telephony system of claim 2 , wherein:

said user telephonic device includes a first user telephonic device associated with the first telephonic communication session and a second user telephonic device associated with the second telephonic communication session;

said switch includes a first switch contained within a first housing of said first user telephonic device and a second switch contained within a second housing of said second user telephonic device;

said first switch enabling the whisper feature by isolating the audible input of the user from the first telephonic communication session while providing the audible output from the first telephonic communication session to the user;

said second switch providing the audible input of the user to the first telephonic communication session while providing the audible output from the second telephonic communication session to the user; and

said second user telephonic device further being a watcher of the user that receives said updated presence information and automatically activates a silent ring mode in response to receipt of the updated presence information and the request for the user to engage in the second telephonic communication session.

7. A method for providing a whisper feature to enable a user to simultaneously engage in disparate active telephonic communication sessions, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving presence information at a presence system indicating that the user is actively engaged in a first telephonic communication session;

receiving updated presence information at the presence system indicating a request for the user to actively engage in a second telephonic communication session has been received;

transmitting an instruction from the presence system to a switch contained within a housing of a user telephonic device associated with the user that is engaged in the first telephonic communication session and the second telephonic communication session to enable the whisper feature of the user upon determining that the user is currently engaged in the first telephonic communication session when the request for the user to engage in the second telephonic communication session is received;

isolating audible input of the user from the first telephonic communication session at the switch;

providing the audible input of the user to the second telephonic communication session by the switch; and

providing audible output from each of the first telephonic communication session and the second telephonic communication session to the user by the switch.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the step of providing the audible output further comprises:

converging the audible output of the first telephonic communication session and the second telephonic communication session.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising the steps of:

determining the second telephonic communication session is terminated; and

providing the audible input of the user to the first telephonic communication session.

10. The method of claim 7 , further comprising the steps of:

receiving a switch whisper signal from the user to switch from the second telephonic communication session and the first telephonic communication session;

in response to said switch whisper signal, isolating audible input of the user from the second telephonic communication session;

providing the audible input of the user to the first telephonic communication session; and

providing audible output from each of the first telephonic communication session and the second telephonic communication session to the user.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein said user telephonic device includes a first user telephonic device associated with the first telephonic communication session and a second user telephonic device associated with the second telephonic communication session and said switch includes a first switch contained within a first housing of said first user telephonic device and a second switch contained within a second housing of said second user telephonic device, and further comprising the steps of:

enabling, by said first switch, the whisper feature by isolating the audible input of the user from the first telephonic communication session while providing the audible output from the first telephonic communication session to the user;

providing, by said second switch, the audible input of the user to the first telephonic communication session while providing the audible output from the second telephonic communication session to the user;

receiving, by said second user telephonic device said updated presence information; and

automatically activating a silent ring mode on the second user telephonic device in response to receipt of the updated presence information and the request for the user to engage in the second telephonic communication session.

Assignments (12)