Methods and systems for communicating and controlling facsimile information

Abstract

Methods for managing and routing multiple telephone calls through a wireless network provide efficient and cost-effective ways in which a subscriber to the network can take advantage of the multiple services being offered. When the subscriber has only one line in the network, or when the subscriber often uses more than one line, multiple telephone calls may attempt transmission to the subscriber and so the subscriber may miss the call. The inventive methods determine what type of incoming call is attempting to contact the subscriber and routes the call to another location, such as the subscriber's voice mail, if the subscriber is otherwise occupying his or her line or lines in the network. The methods are particular useful for storing and forwarding facsimile messages to subscriber.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of managing multiple telephone calls in a network, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving an incoming telephone call having a first character for a subscriber to the network;    determining whether the incoming telephone call has one of the first character and a second character in order to classify the incoming telephone call; and    routing the incoming telephone call to a location depending upon its classification as a telephone call of the first or second character.    
     
     
         2 . The method recited in  claim 1 , wherein the determining step comprises the step of reading an identification number associated with the subscriber to determine whether the subscriber has activated a feature associated with the incoming call indicative of the first or second character.  
     
     
         3 . The method recited in  claim 2 , wherein the determining step comprises the step of detecting at least one tone associated with the incoming telephone call wherein the first or second character can be determined from the tone.  
     
     
         4 . The method recited in  claim 3 , wherein the second character indicates that the incoming call comprises a facsimile transmission.  
     
     
         5 . The method recited in  claim 4  wherein the first character indicates that the incoming call comprises a voice call.  
     
     
         6 . The method recited in  claim 5 , further comprising the step of notifying the subscriber that a facsimile transmission has been received by the network.  
     
     
         7 . The method recited in  claim 6 , wherein the routing step comprises the step of sending the facsimile transmission to a voice mail location for the subscriber.  
     
     
         8 . The method recited in  claim 7 , wherein the notifying step comprises the step of sending a web page to the subscriber to tell the subscriber that a facsimile transmission has been received and forwarded to voice mail.  
     
     
         9 . A method of routing telephone calls in a network, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving an incoming telephone call to the network that is intended for a subscriber to the network;    classifying the incoming call as one of a voice call and another type of call;    routing the incoming all to the subscriber to the network if the incoming call is classified as a voice call; and    routing the incoming call to another location if the incoming call is classified as another type of call.    
     
     
         10 . The method recited in  claim 9 , further comprising the step of notifying the subscriber that an incoming call of the other type has been received by the network.  
     
     
         11 . The method recited in  claim 10 , wherein the incoming call of the other type comprises a facsimile call.  
     
     
         12 . The method recited in  claim 11 , the step of routing the facsimile call comprises the storing the facsimile call in a voice mail location associated with the subscriber of the network.  
     
     
         13 . The method recited in  claim 12 , wherein the facsimile call has associated with it a series of tones which indicate to the network that the incoming call is a facsimile call.  
     
     
         14 . The method recited in  claim 9 , further comprising the step of identifying a mobile identification number associated with a subscriber so that the network can determine whether the subscriber has activated a feature associated with the incoming call so that it can be determined whether the incoming call is the voice call or the call of the other type.  
     
     
         15 . A system for managing multiple telephone calls in a network, comprising: 
 a receiving module for receiving an incoming telephone call having a first character for a subscriber to the network;    a classifying module for classifying the incoming telephone call as a call having one of the first character and a second character; and    a routing module for routing the incoming telephone call to a location depending upon its classification as a telephone call of the first or second character.    
     
     
         16 . The system recited in  claim 15 , wherein the classifying module comprises a reading module for reading a mobile identification number associated with the subscriber to determine whether the subscriber has activated a feature associated with the incoming call so that the first or second character can be determined.  
     
     
         17 . The system recited in  claim 16 , wherein the classifying module is operable for detecting at least one tone associated with the incoming telephone call wherein the first or second character can be determined from the tone.  
     
     
         18 . The system recited in  claim 17 , wherein the second character indicates that the incoming call comprises a facsimile transmission.  
     
     
         19 . The system recited in  claim 18  wherein the first character indicates that the incoming call comprises a voice call.  
     
     
         20 . The system recited in  claim 19 , further comprising a notifying module for notifying the subscriber that a facsimile transmission has been received by the network.  
     
     
         21 . The system recited in  claim 20 , wherein the routing module is operable for sending the facsimile transmission to a voice mail location for the subscriber.  
     
     
         22 . The method recited in  claim 21 , wherein the notifying module is operable for sending a web page to the subscriber to tell the subscriber that a facsimile transmission has been received and forwarded to voice mail.