System and method for establishing a connection between parties based on their availability
First Claim
1. An automated method of establishing a voice connection between a caller and a called party, comprising:
- receiving a voice connection request from a caller;
determining the availability of a called party for a first voice connection with the caller; and
automatically establishing said first voice connection between the caller and the called party when both the caller and the called party are available.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for establishing a voice (or data) connection between two parties based on their availability. The system receives from a first subscriber a call request involving a second subscriber. The second subscriber may be identified by telephone number or other identifier. The system automatically detects the availability of the second subscriber through subscriber input, proactive availability testing, a tool executing on the subscriber'"'"'s computing or communication device, etc. When the first subscriber and second subscriber are determined to be available, the system signals a call processor to establish a voice connection between them. Subscribers may configure various preferences, including default rules regarding their availability for all or certain types of calls, how to classify calls (e.g., by caller identity, date, time, nature of call). The system may help establish anonymous calls or reach a party matching specified parameters (e.g., pizza shop, customer service department of an organization).
159 Citations
86 Claims
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1. An automated method of establishing a voice connection between a caller and a called party, comprising:
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receiving a voice connection request from a caller;
determining the availability of a called party for a first voice connection with the caller; and
automatically establishing said first voice connection between the caller and the called party when both the caller and the called party are available. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform an automated method of establishing a voice connection between a caller and a called party, the method comprising:
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receiving a voice connection request from a caller;
determining availability of a called party for a first voice connection with the caller; and
automatically establishing said first voice connection between the caller and the called party when both the caller and the called party are available.
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47. A method of automatically establishing a connection between two parties, comprising:
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receiving a first connection from a first party;
receiving from the first party a request for a connection with a second party;
receiving information indicating whether the second party is available for said connection; and
after said first connection is terminated, automatically initiating said connection between the first party and the second party when the first party and the second party are determined to be available for said connection. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of automatically establishing a connection between two parties, the method comprising:
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receiving a first connection from a first party;
receiving from the first party a request for a connection with a second party;
receiving information indicating whether the second party is available for said connection; and
after said first connection is terminated, automatically initiating said connection between the first party and the second party when the first party and the second party are determined to be available for said connection.
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72. An apparatus for establishing a voice connection between two parties, comprising:
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means for receiving from a first party a request for a voice connection with a second party, wherein said request comprises an identifier of the second party;
availability determination means for determining a dynamic availability of one or more of the first party and the second party; and
connection means for establishing said voice connection between the first party and the second party.
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73. A system for automatically establishing a voice connection between two parties based on their availability, comprising:
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a server configured to receive a call request from a first user, wherein said call request comprises an identifier of a second user;
an availability determination module configured to automatically determine an availability of the second user for said requested call with the first user; and
a connection to a call processor configured to establish said call between the first user and the second user;
wherein said server signals the call processor to establish said call when both the first user and the second user are determined to be available. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84)
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85. A system for establishing a call between two parties, comprising:
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a server configured to receive a call request from a first user, wherein said call request comprises an identifier of a second user;
a connection with a call processor configured to establish said requested call between the first user and the second user; and
a pre-connection notifier configured to notify one or more of the first user and the second user prior to establishment of said requested call. - View Dependent Claims (86)
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Specification