Patents Assigned to AT & T
  • Enhanced call return in a wireless telephone network
    Patent number: 7466813
    Abstract: A method for providing enhanced call return in a wireless network is disclosed. The method includes receiving a call placed to a mobile subscriber from a caller, determining whether the mobile subscriber is a subscriber to an enhanced call return service, loading a mobile subscriber mailbox with caller-specific information, establishing a connection between the mobile subscriber and the mobile subscriber mailbox, retrieving caller-specific information from the mobile subscriber mailbox, and placing a return call to the caller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc.
    Inventors: Larry Scott Easley, Donald M. Cardina
  • System and method for dynamically routing communications
    Patent number: 7466809
    Abstract: A system and method for routing an incoming call to a subscriber-selected destination number in accordance with dynamic data concerning the subscriber provided by an address book, a calendar and a presence server. A routing system routes the incoming call in accordance with a subscriber-defined routing rule associated with the originating number of the incoming call, as determined from the address book. The routing rule may specify that the incoming call be routed to a destination number associated with the current date and time, as indicated by the calendar. The routing rule may specify, alternatively or in addition thereto, that the incoming call be routed to a destination number associated with a presence-enabled service on which the subscriber is currently active. The subscriber or caller may also be alternatively notified of the routing of the incoming call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: James M. Carnazza, Arun Guha, Douglas M. Nortz, Russell P. Sharples
  • Load balancing techniques for inter-domain traffic engineering
    Patent number: 7467224
    Abstract: A method for balancing traffic across paths connecting a network to the Internet using a fractional allocation strategy for distributing the traffic from a congested selected path. The strategy includes: (a) associating the paths j with a counter i; (b) calculating the total initial selected path overload; (c) calculating the selected path load, wherein the load is equal to the initial selected path overload less the sum of the low capacity boundary for i path(s); (d) calculating the portion of the traffic on the selected path to be distributed using a bi-sectional search strategy; (e) distributing a portion of the traffic on the selected path to the other paths; and (f) stopping if there are no more paths (i=j), otherwise increasing the numerical value of the counter by one (1) and go to step (c).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P.
    Inventors: Kartikeya Chandrayana, Matthew Roughan, Subhabrata Sen, Yin Zhang
  • System using policy filter decision to map data traffic to virtual networks for forwarding the traffic in a regional access network
    Patent number: 7467227
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a method and architecture for enabling multiple services or service providers to share the facilities of an access network infrastructure that provides physical connectivity to subscribers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: Han Q. Nguyen, Tayfun Cataltepe, Samir S. Saad
  • Controlled transmissions across packet networks
    Patent number: 7466706
    Abstract: Control over the movement of packets is exercised by edge nodes of a network mapping the addresses of incoming packets in accordance with a prespecified functional mapping P. Remote sources of packets are provided address information that is mapped with a prespecified functional mapping Q, where mappings P and Q are such that P(Q(j)=j. The mapping change at regular intervals, or upon the occurrence of specified events, and with each change, the communicating the remote source is provided with a different mapped address to be used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: John Carl Brown, Larry Arnise Russell
  • Polarization mode dispersion compensation
    Patent number: 7466923
    Abstract: Methods and systems for PMD compensation in an optical communication system are implemented by transmitting multiple optical signals through a common optical conduit to an optical compensator that adjustably rotates the polarization states of the multiple optical signals and transmits the rotated optical signals to an optical receiver. The receiver, upon sensing an excessive error condition, commands the optical compensator to change the polarization state of rotation, which changes the PMD profile of the received optical signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: Michael Herbert Eiselt, Jonathan A. Nagel
  • System for flexible multiple broadcast service delivery over a WDM passive optical network based on RF block-conversion, of RF service bands within wavelength bands
    Patent number: 7466919
    Abstract: A system and method for simultaneous delivery of a plurality of independent blocks of 500 MHz digital broadcast television services, stacking a plurality of RF blocks on a plurality of spectrally sliced WDM optical bands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: Martin Birk, Patrick P. Iannone, Kenneth C. Reichmann, Nicholas J. Frigo, Cedric F. Lam
  • Method and system for automatically rerouting logical circuit data from a logical circuit failure to dedicated backup circuit in a data network
    Patent number: 7466646
    Abstract: A method and system are provided for automatically rerouting logical circuit data from a physical circuit failure in a data network. When a failure in a logical circuit is detected, a label or services name associated with the logical circuit is automatically associated with a logical circuit identifier utilized for identifying the logical circuit in the data network. Once the logical circuit is associated with the logical circuit identifier, the logical circuit data may be automatically rerouted to a “failover network,” thereby minimizing lost data until the failure in the logical circuit is resolved. The logical failover circuit may be an already existing logical circuit provisioned over a dedicated backup physical circuit in the data network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventors: William Taylor, David Massengill, John Hollingsworth
  • Wavelength allocation in regional access network with optical add-drop multiplexers
    Patent number: 7466918
    Abstract: Wavelength assignment schemes that provide full-connectivity in RANs with fixed-tuned OADMs. In the first scheme, wavelengths are assigned to nodes according to Hadamard code, and in the second scheme, bands of contiguous wavelengths are assigned to nodes. Simulation results show that on the average, the Hadamard wavelength assignment schemes approach the performance of RANs with OADMs that add-drop all wavelengths, while saving 50% of the TDM terminals. The saving of TDM terminals by using wavelength tunable OADMs vary in different cases. Tunable OADMs are advantageous for lower traffic granularity and more interactions of a RAN with the outside network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Corporation
    Inventors: Cedric F. Lam, Aleksandra Smiljanic
  • Language-understanding training database action pair augmentation using bidirectional translation
    Patent number: 7467081
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and system for augmenting a training database of an automated language-understanding system. In one embodiment, a training example in a first language is received from the training database. The first language-training example translated to a second language output. The second language output is translated to a first variant of the first language-training example. An action pair including the first variant of the first language-training example and an action command associated with the first language-training example is stored in an augmented training database.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: Hiyan Alshawi, Shona Douglas
  • SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING PUBLICATIONS
    Publication number: 20080307090
    Abstract: A system and method of managing publications is disclosed. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a Address Book System (ABS) having a controller element to adjust publication privileges of a publisher of a portion of an address book stored in the ABS responsive to detecting that a number of recipients of an invitation to subscribe to the portion of the address book have declined the invitation and the number of declined invitations exceeds a first threshold. Additional embodiments are disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: AT&T KNOWLEDGE VENTURES, LP
    Inventor: Larry B. Pearson
  • Interest profiles for audio and/or video streams
    Publication number: 20080306807
    Abstract: A user interest profile, which indicates a portion-varying level of user interest toward a first streaming media item, is determined. The user interest profile is based on a plurality of ratings inputted by a user for a plurality of respective portions of the first streaming media item. A second streaming media item is recommended to the user based on the user interest profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, LP
    Inventors: Brian Amento, Christopher Harrison, Larry Stead
  • SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CLASSIFYING AND REPRESENTING GESTURAL INPUTS
    Publication number: 20080306737
    Abstract: Gesture and handwriting recognition agents provide possible interpretations of electronic ink. Recognition is performed on both individual strokes and combinations of strokes in the input ink lattice. The interpretations of electronic ink are classified and encoded as symbol complexes where symbols convey specific attributes of the contents of the stroke. The use of symbol complexes to represent strokes in the input ink lattice facilitates reference to sets of entities of a specific type.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2008
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: Michael J. Johnston, Srinivas Bangalore
  • System and method of managing digital rights
    Publication number: 20080306871
    Abstract: A method of managing digital rights is disclosed that includes recording media content at one or more servers supporting a multimedia content distribution service. The one or more servers are configured to transmit multimedia data to multiple customer premises equipment (CPE) devices. The method further includes determining recorded media content at the one or more servers that is associated with a content source and providing a graphical user interface (GUI) accessible to a content manager at the content source to manage digital rights. The GUI includes a list of the recorded media content and at least one selectable element associated with each item of the list accessible to select media content and to configure digital rights associated with the selected media content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, LP
    Inventor: Michael Grannan
  • Conference Call Setup Automation
    Publication number: 20080304646
    Abstract: The present invention automatically establishes a connection to each participant of a teleconference. Conference call set up and connect information may be provisioned in a variety of ways, including via a menu-based Dual Tone Multiple Frequency (DTMF) mechanism and via a form or formatted file sent from a subscriber. Additionally, a conference participant is not tied to one telephone number or other such address. The present invention queries a profile database to determine a conference participant's current location before connecting the participant to the conference. Therefore a conference participant who happens to be working from home on a particular day need only update one database, and any conferences in which the telecommuting worker is expected to participate will automatically be connected to the worker's home telephone number, rather than the worker's office telephone number.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2008
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: AT&T BLS Intellectual Property, Inc.
    Inventors: Hong Thi Nguyen, Linda Ann Roberts, Edward Michael Silver
  • System and method of recording and accessing multimedia data
    Publication number: 20080306962
    Abstract: The disclosure is directed to a system and method for recording and accessing multimedia data. In a particular embodiment, a method includes determining a first number of requests to record specific multimedia content at a first server supporting a multimedia content distribution service. The first server may be configured to transmit multimedia data to multiple customer premises equipment (CPE). The method may also include recording the specific multimedia content at a second server when the first number of requests is greater than or equal to a threshold. The second server may be configured to transmit the multimedia data to the first server.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, LP
    Inventors: Michael Grannan, Brad Medford
  • CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE REQUESTS
    Publication number: 20080304649
    Abstract: Information is shared between an agent and a user. Information for a communications service is provided to the user. Information for a related service that relates to the communications service is retrieved. The related service is described to the user. The related service is activated for the user when the agent confirms that the related service has been described to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2008
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P.
    Inventor: James C. CESARIO, JR.
  • Voice Mail Notification Using Instant Messaging
    Publication number: 20080304634
    Abstract: A system and method that notifies a voice mailbox subscriber of the receipt of a message at a voicemail server using instant messaging. A preferred embodiment of the invention includes an enhanced notification server that receives a notification of the message from the voicemail server, queries the availability of an instant messaging client via an instant messaging presence server, and forwards the notification to the instant messaging client via the instant messaging presence server if the instant messaging client is available. In preferred embodiments, provisions are made to forward the message to the subscriber via instant messaging.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: AT&T DELAWARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INC.
    Inventors: Xiaofeng Gao, Maria Adamczyk, Karen Mullis
  • Peer-to-peer distributed storage for internet protocol television
    Publication number: 20080307107
    Abstract: A plurality of portions of a video content item is distributed to a plurality of peers, respectively, of a peer-to-peer network. Each of the plurality of portions encodes less than an entire portion of the video content item. A peer of the network retrieves at least a subset of the plurality of portions of the video content item from at least a subset of the peers. The at least the subset of the plurality of portions of the video content item enables recovery of the video content item by the peer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, LP
    Inventors: Yih-Farn Chen, Yennun Huang, Jeremy Rahe, Bin Wei
  • Communication tablet
    Patent number: D582875
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventors: John Haspil, Susan S. Steele, David Mornhineway, Jerry O'Leary, Larry B. Pearson, Tyler Wallis