Patents by Inventor Bruce Merrill Bales

Bruce Merrill Bales has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6009157
    Abstract: Telephone terminals directly implement an automatic call back feature by establishing a logical channel between two telephone terminals when a calling telephone terminal is unable to complete a call to a called telephone terminal. Via the logical link, the called telephone terminal communicates to the calling telephone terminal any change in state that is related to its ability to receive a call. When both telephone terminals are idle, the calling telephone terminal recalls the called telephone terminal to set up a call. The logical link is established on user-user temporary signaling or D channel facilities of ISDN links. Since the interconnecting networks are not part of providing the automatic call back service, the telephone terminals can be interconnected by any combination of telephone networks that provide ISDN service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1999
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Merrill Bales, Stephen Max Thieler
  • Patent number: 5781863
    Abstract: Allowing for pre-location of authentication information to a switching node before a mobile telephone starts to register on that switching node. Where the switching node is part of a mobile telecommunication system having a plurality of switching nodes. The pre-location of authentication information allows the authentication information to be distributed to switching nodes in a distributed telecommunication switching system before peak traffic conditions arise. A user of a mobile telephone can directly specify the time and place for the pre-location of authentication information, or the switching node to which the mobile telephone is assigned can statistically determine the other switching nodes to which authentication information will be pre-located and the day and time of the pre-location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1998
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Merrill Bales, Stephen Max Thieler
  • Patent number: 5781854
    Abstract: Embedding one or a plurality of wireless switches into a switching system. The wireless switches are both physically and logically integrated into the switching system. The switching system performs the complex switching operations. Physically, each wireless switch emulates link interfaces in its connections to the switching system's communications control and data media. Logically, each of the wireless switch units communicates with a control processor controlling the operations of the switching system as if each of the wireless switches was a set of individual station sets. Each wireless switch is assigned a set of wireless sets. Each of the wireless sets has a unique telephone number which the control processor of the switching system identifies with a physical position on the communication media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1998
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventor: Bruce Merrill Bales
  • Patent number: 5781615
    Abstract: Storing messages intended for a communication terminal in a service circuit associated with the local network of a switch node serving the communication terminal. A switch node may have one or more local networks and can use a service circuit of these networks to store the message. If the switch node does not have capacity to store the message, the switch node will request that another switch node store the message. When it is necessary to process and store a message for a communication terminal connected to a local network, the service circuit associated with the local network may be busy and unable to process the call or the service circuit may not have sufficient memory to store a message. In which case, the switch node will attempt to find a service circuit with the ability to process the message and store the message on another local network controlled by the switch node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1998
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Merrill Bales, Norman Chin-Hung Chan
  • Patent number: 5729532
    Abstract: Continuously varying the type of media used during a multimedia communication conference call by a telecommunications terminal. In response to inputs from a user, a telecommunication terminal can vary the type of media by increasing, decreasing, or changing the bandwidth of the call. Further, a telecommunication terminal controlling the multimedia communication conference call is informed of changes being made by the telecommunication terminal on the conference call and informs the remaining telecommunication terminals of changes in participation of the telecommunication terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 17, 1998
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Merrill Bales, Stephen Max Thieler
  • Patent number: 5701295
    Abstract: Automatically reducing communication bandwidth to coincide with the state of a communication call by a communication terminal. If a first telecommunication terminal puts a second telecommunication terminal on hold, the first telecommunication terminal transmits a transport message that reduces the bandwidth of the call to a low speed data link. When the first telecommunication terminal wishes to again be in communication with the second telecommunication terminal, a transport message is utilized to restore the communication bandwidth. If a first communication terminal calls a second communication terminal and the second communication terminal is busy, the first communication terminal reduces the bandwidth of the communication call to that of a low speed data link. When the second telecommunication terminal becomes idle, the second terminal sends a message to the first terminal indicating the idle state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 23, 1997
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Merrill Bales, Stephen Max Thieler
  • Patent number: 5675583
    Abstract: Establishing a multimedia telecommunication conference call with reduced bandwidth if not all participants are available to be part of the conference call by telecommunication terminals. When one telecommunication terminal is initiating a conference call, the initiating telecommunication terminal first establishes low speed data links with each of the other telecommunications terminals that are to be part of the conference. When all users of the other telecommunication terminals are ready for the conference, the other telecommunication terminals signal the initiating telecommunication terminal which then adds the necessary bandwidth to the conference call to establish the multimedia telecommunication conference call. Since the conference call is already set up, the initiating telecommunication terminal only has to add the necessary bandwidth to conference call. Each participant in the telecommunication conference call designates when they are ready to have the conference call start.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 7, 1997
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Merrill Bales, Stephen Max Thieler
  • Patent number: 5666399
    Abstract: A mobility management system and a traditional telecommunication switching system provide telecommunication terminal features by the mobility management system executing a software architecture that utilizes a unique terminal management application for each type of wireless terminal and a unique terminal emulator application for each type of telecommunication link that interconnects the mobility management system to the telecommunication switching system. There is an individually assigned telecommunication link for each wireless terminal. The terminal management applications and the terminal emulator applications communicate utilizing an internal message protocol. In response to a wireless terminal requesting actuation of a feature, a terminal management application converts that request into the required internal protocol messages and transmits the internal protocol messages to the terminal emulator application that controls the telecommunication link assigned to the wireless terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 9, 1997
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Merrill Bales, Craig Steven Chapel, David Lee Chavez, Jr., Robert Louis Crumpley, Lisa P. Happel, Sandra Sue North