Call Park System for Managing Driver Communication Reliability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Drivers often face challenges in managing incoming calls while occupied or in situations where immediate answering is not feasible, leading to potential missed important communications, which can be detrimental in personal or professional contexts.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus that allow a call to be parked and notified to the user's destination communications device, enabling them to retrieve it when ready, using an application server that processes user data to determine their availability and state, and triggers notifications or connections as needed.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the user answers the call immediately, then the communication is maintained, but the user's safety and current activity are compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication reliabilityVSAvoidsafety risk
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by detecting the user's state (driving, meeting, etc.) before the call is answered, and proactively parks the call in advance. This allows the call to be held in a suspended state rather than immediately connected, resolving the contradiction between maintaining communication reliability and ensuring user safety during critical activities

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The call parking system acts as an intermediary between the caller and the user. Instead of directly connecting the call to the user (which would compromise safety), the system introduces a intermediate holding state where the call is parked and can be retrieved later when the user is safe to answer, thus mediating between communication needs and safety concerns

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If the user ignores the call by letting it go to voicemail, then the user's safety and current activity are maintained, but important communications may be missed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesafety maintenanceVSAvoidmissed communication
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts the call from the normal call flow and places it in a separate parked state. Instead of letting the call go directly to voicemail (which would lose the communication), the call is taken out and held in a retrievable state, allowing the user to maintain safety while preserving the opportunity to answer important calls later

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback to both the caller and the user about the call's parked status. The caller receives information that the call is parked and can be retrieved, while the user is notified of the parked call and can choose to retrieve it when appropriate, ensuring neither party loses information about the communication

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Ease of operation

If the call is parked and held, then the user can retrieve it when ready, but the call duration and system resource usage increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecall retrieval flexibilityVSAvoidcall handling time
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The call parking system implements a dynamic call handling approach where the call state can change from active to parked and back to active based on user needs. This dynamic state transition allows flexible retrieval timing without permanently extending call duration, as the call can be picked up and completed efficiently when the user is ready

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP2009888B1Method and apparatus comprising a call park function
Publication Date: 2018.07.11 MITEL CORP
  • EP2009888B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2009888B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2009888B1 patent drawingFigure 3~5

AI summary

According to embodiments described in the specification, a method and apparatus for managing a call to a user associated with a destination communications device, the call initiated by a caller at an originating communications device, is described. An indication of the call is received, the indication of the call comprising data associated with the user. A state of the user is determined by processing the data associated with the user and consulting a record of the state of the user. The call is parked if the state of the user comprises a delayed answer state, the delayed answer state comprising the user being available to receive the call, but requiring additional time to retrieve the call using the destination communications device, and a notification of the call is triggered at the destination communications device by transmitting a signal to the address of the communications device.