CREATING MULTIPLE HOME PHONE GROUPS FROM A NETWORK OF COMMUNICATION DEVICES

摘要

Exemplary embodiments for creating one or more home phone groups from a network of communication devices comprise receiving from one or more users, configuration parameters for the one or more home phone groups that identify the communication devices in the home phone groups; a proximity designation for each of the communication devices; and a group mode setting for each of the communication devices that controls participation in the assigned home phone groups. The group mode setting for each of the communication devices is automatically activated is when the current location of each respective communication device meets the proximity designation. Users control participation of their communication devices within the assigned home phone groups by changing the designated proximity and/or a manual override of the group mode setting. When an incoming call is received, the call is routed to each communication device in the identified home phone group that has an active group mode setting.

主权项

1. A method for creating one or more home phone groups from a network of communication devices, the method performed by at least one software component executing on at least one processor, the method comprising:
reading configuration parameters from one or more users for the one or more home phone groups, wherein the configuration parameters for each of the one or more home phone groups include:
an assignment of communication devices to the home phone group, wherein each of the communication devices are identified by at least a corresponding phone number;a proximity designation for each of the communication devices assigned to the home phone group that defines a proximity to a designated geographic location or to one or more other phones; anda group mode setting for each of the communication devices assigned to the home phone group that dynamically controls participation of the corresponding communication device in the assigned home phone group; periodically determining a current location of each of the communication devices, and automatically activating the group mode setting for each of the communication devices when the current location of each respective communication device meets the proximity designation assigned to the communication device; periodically receiving from at least a portion of the users of the communication devices, at least one of i) a change to the designated proximity assigned to the respective communication device and ii) a manual override of the group mode setting associated with the respective communication device, to enable the users to manually control participation of their respective communication device within the one or more home phone group to which each respective communication device is assigned; and responsive to receiving an incoming call to one of the communication devices, identifying which of the one or more home phone groups the communication device is assigned and automatically ringing all the communication devices on the identified home phone groups that have a currently active group mode setting.