Lucent Technologies Inc.

At+t Corp.

At&t Bell Laboratories

At&t Ipm Corp.

Ronald David Slusky

Eugene J Rosenthal

Mark Alan Lassig

Richard Alden DeFelice

Don Howard Dvorak

John A Caccuro

It is desirable to be able to recognize data calls so that different charges can be applied to such calls and that vertical services, such as the use of special transmission facilities, may be offered to data callers. This recognition is accomplished by attaching a tone detector to a call in order to detect the special tones characteristic of a data call. Advantageously, this permits different charges to be imposed on data calls.

System and method for special call detection and billing treatment

A stand-alone battery charger warning system for use with portable electronic devices is disclosed whereby a warning is generated in response to a determination that a) a battery is not presently connected to the charger and b) at least one predetermined time criterion has been met. This warning system advantageously may be used universally with any number of different battery chargers and is not limited to just one make or model. A particular embodiment of the present invention consists of a housing within which is contained the electronic circuitry and controls necessary to implement the warning system functionality. This housing is connected to an electrical source, such as a typical home electrical outlet. The battery charger for the portable electronic device is then connected electrically to the warning system. The current time of day may be automatically set in the electronic circuitry of the warning system by utilizing an antenna to receive a time of day indication signal from an external time source, such as one of the Coordinated Universal Time Clocks. If a predetermined time criterion is reached (e.g., illustratively, a pre-set time of day) and it is determined that the battery is not presently in the battery charger, then the warning system generates a warning. In a particular embodiment, the invention utilizes the detection of current flow to the battery charger to determine whether or not the battery is in the battery charger. The warning system interprets a lack of current flow as indicating that the battery is not present in the battery charger and, upon reaching the predetermined time criterion, generates an alarm.

Battery charging system for portable electronic devices

A battery charging system for cellular telephones or other portable devices is incorporated into a clock radio. A user is enabled to specify a time-of-day at which s/he wants to be reminded to insert the rechargeable battery into the charging system if re-charging is needed. No alarm is generated if the battery is already in the charging system at the appointed time. A low power radio frequency signal attempts to interrogate the portable device on the assumption that it is within radio range at that time so as to determine the current battery charge status at about the time that the alarm would be generated. If the charging system receives a return signal from the portable device which indicates, or from which it can be determined, that charging is not needed, then the alarm is not generated after all. Otherwise, the alarm is, in fact generated.

A global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver is used in an electronic lap counter which maintains a lap count and which increments the lap count upon 'observing' via the GPS receiver that the user, having gone away from an initial 'start' location (e.g., an end of a pool or the start line of a closed loop running track), has returned to that location. A user-supplied indication, such as the pressing of a push button, serves as an indication to the lap counter that the lap counter's then current location is to be used as the start location.

Lap counting

A method for use in a telecommunications system in which a call sequencing facility allows a caller who is trying to reach a called subscriber to be routed to each of a sequence of telephone numbers specified by the subscriber, even though a call placed to one such telephone number is answered.

Telecommunications system sequence calling

A voice messaging system is designed to select an announcement for a caller based on source information associated with a call initiated by that caller. The voice messaging system a) compares at least a portion of the source information to a stored language code selection list that associates particular call origination locations with predominant language(s) spoken at those locations, and b) based on the results of the comparison, delivers the system's message to the caller in the language that is most likely understood by the caller.

Language selection for voice messaging system

Personal telephone number service is provided by an adjunct within a communications network to provide a number of functionalities, one of which allows associated subscribers to customize the way in which they receive telephone calls. In particular, each subscriber may dynamically specify a number of caller identifiers and a different call treatment for each such identifier as well as a particular billing mode. A call treatment may include, for example, a specification to forward an associated call to an (a) particular telephone number, (b) default telephone number, or (c) messaging service. A profile defining information about how services are to be carried out for a particular subscriber is created and/or updated via an arrangement which receives the information in facsimile form and then uses character recognition technology to 'read' the information contained thereon and to update the profile.

Telecommunications system subscriber profile updating

In an automated directory assistance system, the telephone number of the calling party is used to determine whether or not the outgoing 'spoken' message will include the area code of the sought-after number.

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Highland Park, NJ, United States of America

Ronald David Slusky