Abstract: An apparatus and method combine visual addresses and electronic addresses for identification of electronic units. In which, the apparatus is one device per electronic unit. Each device comprises a circuit board encapsulated in a device enclosure, and the circuit board provides electronic identification for the electronic unit. The electronic identification of the electronic unit is communicated via bus pins attached to the circuit board to the electronic unit upon the bus pins being inserted into the electronic unit. A cabinet label is affixed to the device enclosure provides visual identification for the electronic unit.

Abstract: A communication system for use in accessing switch functionality from an external endpoint is provided. The system includes: (a) a switch 104; and (b) an internal endpoint 106 and an external endpoint 116. Each of the internal and external endpoints is in communication with the switch and associated with a common user. The internal endpoint comprises a plurality of feature activators for activating a plurality of switch-based features, and each feature activator has an associated feature activator identifier and/or an associated feature identifier.

Abstract: A voice communications terminal is provided that includes: a microphone 208 operable to receive an audio stream; and a voice activity detector 220 operable to (a) determine whether the audio stream comprises voice signals and (b) when the audio stream comprises voice signals, at least one of (i) notify a communications server 110 and (ii) provide at least a portion of the audio stream to the communications server 110.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable a data-processing system, such as a server, to determine whether or not to grant a telecommunications terminal one or more privileges, without some of the disadvantages of the prior art. Specifically, in accordance with the illustrative embodiments of the present invention, a call-processing server transmits, to a first terminal, a first signal for verifying a second terminal, such as one that has been designated by a user. The user is then required to transmit a second signal to the call-processing server via the second terminal. The call-processing server then examines the received second signal with respect to the first signal and determines whether or not to grant the second terminal a privilege (e.g., handling calls on behalf of the user, etc.), based on the relationship between the first and second signals.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable a call-processing server to extend a received call out to a telecommunications terminal endpoint, wherein the terminal, such as a hotel room phone, is local to and accessible only through an intermediate point, such as a hotel switchboard. Also disclosed are a method and apparatus that enable a data-processing system, such as a server, to determine whether or not to grant a telecommunications terminal endpoint one or more privileges, without some of the disadvantages of the prior art. The methods and apparatus that are taught in this disclosure can be used for extending the incoming call to the endpoint independently of or in the absence of determining whether or not to grant privileges to the endpoint.

Abstract: The system for providing location independent uniform service access for communication subscribers provides the capability to dynamically translate the local communications access paradigms to enable the subscriber to access the desired communications services without manually translating these access modalities from those known by the subscriber in their home service area to those used in this new locale. The implementation of the present system for providing location independent uniform service access for communication subscribers is illustrated as being resident in the subscriber's communication network access device.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus and system for accurately predicting and evaluating cellular system performance before an actual system is installed at a site. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, only two persons (or under certain conditions, as few as one) are required to operate the portable measurement and antenna placement (MAP) tools of the invention, and evaluate system performance (e.g., voice quality) at varied locations of a site without the system being in place. A user can measure out the size of cells using a bar graph display that shows the range of acceptable signal levels for the system, and an audible warning tone that signals the user when the cell edge has been exceeded. In addition, other quality determinative system parameters (e.g., bit error rate (BER), etc.) can be evaluated simultaneously with voice quality and average received signal strength.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are disclosed that enable an interactive voice response (IVR) system to deliver content streams of various media types (e.g., video, audio, etc.) to telecommunications terminals via the addition of extensions to the Voice extensible Markup Language (VXML). The IVR system will deliver a particular content stream to a terminal only if: (i) the terminal has a transducer (e.g., speaker, video display, etc.) that is capable of outputting the content stream's media type, and (ii) that transducer is currently enabled.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable an interactive voice response (IVR) system to generate video content in addition to audio content (e.g., synthesized speech, etc.). The video content is based on the state of the IVR system, the video display capacity of the calling telecommunications terminal, and information supplied by the user via a telecommunications terminal. The illustrative embodiment generates video content based on the text from which the audio content is generated. In particular, the video content comprises an abridged version of this text that is suitable for display at the telecommunications terminal. In the illustrative embodiment, the abridged version of the text is generated via syntactic and semantic processing. In addition, an abridged version of user-supplied information is generated and incorporated into the video content.

Abstract: A method that seeks to provide a satisfactory quality of service for a stream of packets through a network. The illustrative embodiment of the present invention seeks to provide a satisfactory quality of service for a stream of packets by periodically or sporadically evaluating one or more alternative paths through the network and by sending the packets through a path with an acceptable quality of service. Normally, neither the source node nor any other node in a packet's path controls its route after it has left the node. In contrast, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention has the capability to affect the packet's path through the network by sending the packet to an intermediate or “ricochet” node in the network, which forwards the packet to the destination node. In effect, the source node can, if it deems appropriate, ricochet the packet off of the intermediate node rather than allowing the packet to take its normal direct path through the network.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable an interactive voice response (IVR) system to deliver content streams of various media types (e.g., video, audio, etc.) to telecommunications terminals. The illustrative embodiment provides extensions to the Voice extensible Markup Language (VXML) standard that enable an IVR system script to specify the playback order, timing, and coordination of multiple content streams (e.g., whether an audio stream and a video stream should be played back concurrently or serially; whether a particular content stream should finish before playback of another content stream commences; whether a content stream that is currently playing should be stopped and supplanted with another content stream, etc.).

Abstract: The present invention is directed to the discovery of network devices capable of handling multiplexed packet data flows. According to the present invention, multiplexing routers included in a path along which communication resources are reserved insert an object into the RSVP RESV message, to provide operating parameters to an originating multiplexing router. Using the operating parameters provided by multiplexing routers along the path, the originating multiplexing router can identify a multiplexing router proximate to a receiving communication device or devices. The originating multiplexing router can then create super packets addressed to the receiving multiplexing router proximate to the receiving communication that contains multiple data packets. The router to which the super packet is addressed can then deaggregate the super packet, and deliver the data packets to the receiving communication device or devices.

Abstract: A switching center for use in a communication network includes a pool of echo cancellation units for use in providing echo cancellation services to users associated with the switching center on an “as needed” basis. A communication connection being supported by the switching center is analyzed to determine whether intolerable reflections are being received from an associated trunk. If such reflections are detected, one of the echo cancellation units in the pool is assigned to the communication connection for use in reducing or eliminating the reflections. When the communication connection terminates, the echo cancellation unit is returned to the pool for subsequent use with another communication connection.

Abstract: An apparatus and method communicate TTY calls by detecting a TTY call, determining that a digital display on a first telecommunication terminal is to be used to display TTY information of the call from a second telecommunication terminal and that audio information will be transmitted to the second telecommunication terminal, converting the TTY information from the second telecommunication terminal to digital display information, transmitting the digital display information to the first telecommunication terminal, and muting an incoming call audio path from the second telecommunication terminal to the first telecommunication terminal.

Abstract: Fault tolerance is improved in a computing system which includes one or more computing machines by (i) executing a control thread or other control program in conjunction with a fault tolerance software system running on at least one of the machines, and (ii) initiating via the control program a test script program which sends one or more requests to a monitored program. The test script program also processes corresponding responses to the one or more requests, and generates a return value utilizable by the control program to indicate a failure condition in the monitored program. The computing system may be configured in accordance with a client-server architecture, with the fault tolerance software system and the monitored program both running on a server of the system.

Abstract: A queued task/queued resource state forecaster employs a binomial distribution fitter to fit a composite binomial distribution to operational data of a work management system, such as a call center. The fitter obtains arrival statistics for calls and agents in the call center, determines moments for the net calls in-queue from the obtained arrival statistics, determines parameters of binomial distributions that corresponds to the moments, and fits the determined moments to a linear combination of offset binomial distributions to obtain a composite binomial distribution. The composite binomial distribution is then evaluated by a scheduler which adjusts the operation of the call center accordingly. For example, a task scheduler evaluates the distribution to obtain a probability of an additional call being enqueued by the future point in time in order to determine whether an outbound call should be launched.

Abstract: An apparatus and methods are disclosed that enable a caller to specify a condition of availability for a return call when the caller is unable to reach the called user. A condition might indicate a time interval in which the caller is willing to accept a return call, a location, or some other constraints. In the illustrative embodiments, when a caller places a call and is unable to reach the called user, the caller is prompted via an interactive voice response (IVR) system for one or more conditions of availability for a return call. As soon as the called user's terminal becomes available, a software application checks whether the condition of availability is satisfied, and if so, establishes a call between the caller's terminal and the called user's terminal.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable: (i) applications that are external to a telecommunications terminal, rather than the user, to initiate the delivery of content to the terminal, and (ii) the terminal to determine, based on the state of the terminal, whether or not to provide the content to a user. The “state” of the terminal is determined by one or more of (i) user-driven states, (ii) data states, and (iii) call states. When the terminal's state is considered, as in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the readiness of the user and terminal to accept and process the content are accounted for, and as a result the content does not interfere.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable a telecommunications terminal to securely receive unsolicited content from applications that are external to the terminal. In particular, the present invention enables the terminal to control the interaction with external applications by using a secure, two-task process. In the two-task process of the present invention, the execution of the second task is based on verifying the trustworthiness of address information that is provided in the first task. This is in contrast to a one-task process, in which an untrustworthy server that provides content might hide its own address by substituting a legitimate address.