Shared Call Stack for Telephony Call Function Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing IP telephony systems do not allow a secretary to share a portion of a boss's call stack, preventing the secretary from performing call functions on calls destined for the boss's extension or reconfiguring the boss's device.
Innovation Solution
A monitoring device implements a shared call stack in a telephony communications system, enabling a secretary to perform call functions on calls queued in a shared portion of the boss's call stack, including answering, transferring, and redirecting calls, by redirecting incoming calls and providing a bridged call appearance to both the boss and secretary extensions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a secretary monitors a boss' extension in traditional keyed telephone systems, then the secretary can detect call offerings and in-use status, but the secretary cannot perform call functions on calls in the boss' call stack
Solution Approach 1:
The call stack is divided into multiple positions, with specific positions designated as shared between the boss and secretary extensions. This segmentation allows the secretary to access and perform functions on calls in shared positions without having full access to all call stack positions, resolving the contradiction by providing selective accessibility while maintaining system integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
A call stack sharing mechanism acts as an intermediary between the boss and secretary extensions, enabling the secretary to perform call functions on shared call stack positions. This intermediary layer facilitates the secretary's ability to answer, transfer, or send calls to voicemail while maintaining the original call routing structure.
2Productivity
If the secretary extension can perform call functions on shared call stack positions, then call handling capability is improved, but the system requires shared extension configuration and call stack position allocation
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary configuration by pre-allocating specific call stack positions as shared between the boss and secretary extensions. This preliminary action establishes the sharing architecture in advance, allowing the secretary to immediately perform call functions on designated positions without requiring complex runtime configuration or negotiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the accessibility parameter of specific call stack positions from private to shared, enabling the secretary extension to access and perform functions on those positions. This parameter change approach allows flexible control over which call positions are shared while maintaining clear boundaries between private and shared access.
3Ease of operation
If call stack positions are shared between boss and secretary extensions, then the secretary can manage calls effectively, but the system requires monitoring device to redirect and manage call appearances
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring device serves as an intermediary that receives incoming calls for the boss extension and redirects them to appropriate call stack positions, including shared positions accessible by the secretary. This intermediary function automates the call routing and sharing management, reducing the operational burden on both the boss and secretary while maintaining system complexity within the monitoring device.
Data Source
AI summary
A monitoring device 132 provides a shared call stack to a monitored extension and one or more proxy extensions. For example, the monitored extension is a boss' extension in a business environment, and the proxy extension is an extension for a boss' secretary. The monitoring device 132 detects an incoming call for the monitored extension. The incoming call is redirected, by the monitoring device 132, to a shared extension that is associated with the monitored extension. The shared extension has a shared call stack. The shared call stack has a call stack position that is shared with a proxy extension. The incoming call is made available as a call option in the call stack position so that the monitored extension and the proxy extension can user the monitoring device to perform call functions on the incoming call. The monitoring device can also perform call functions on outgoing calls.