Universal point of contact identifier system calling device and method

• US 20030118175A1
• Filed: 11/26/2002
• Published: 06/26/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ayman, LLC
• Original Assignee: Ayman, LLC
• Inventors: Simmons, William Nigel, Hariri, Ayman, Birnbaum, Scott D., Green, Stephen B., McPherson, Davis Edgar
• Granted Patent: US 7,092,498 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/355.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27453 Directories allowing storage of additional subscriber data, e.g. metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/275 implemented by means of portable electronic directories
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42297 with number portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1307 Call setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13095 PIN / Access code, authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13096 Digital apparatus individually associated with a subscriber line, digital line circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13097 Numbering, addressing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13103 Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13106 Microprocessor, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13202 Network termination [NT]
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1324 Conference call
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1332 Logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13377 Recorded announcement
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13389 LAN, internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/005 Personal communication services, e.g. provisions for portability of subscriber numbers

Abstract

A universal point of contact identifier system calling device facilitates a connection between a caller and a call recipient over a telephone network by communicating with a universal point of contact identifier system server. The calling device includes a keyboard, a display, a circuit to make a telephone call and transmit and receive digital data over the network, a memory unit and a micro-controller to control the functions of the device. The keyboard facilitates the entry of an identifier, e.g., an email address, into the memory unit of the device. After entry of the identifier, the circuit connects the device with the server and transmits the identifier to the server. The server utilizes the identifier to establish a connection over the network between the caller and call recipient.

Claims

1. A calling device for communicating with a server to permit the server to establish a connection between a caller and a call recipient over a telephone network, wherein the server connects a preferred end unit of the caller to a preferred contact device of the call recipient by selecting a connection address for the preferred contact device, the calling device comprising:

an input device including a keypad with alphanumeric characters configured to input an identifier corresponding to the call recipient, wherein the identifier is not the connection address of the preferred contact device;

an output unit configured to connect the calling device to the network;

a storage medium configured to store the identifier input by the input device and a predetermined connection code to connect with the server;

a communication unit coupled to the output unit and configured to establish a communication link between the calling device and the server over the network; and

a controller coupled to each of the input device, the storage medium and the communication unit, the controller being configured to control the communication unit to;

transmit an initiation signal over the network to the server to establish the communication link between the calling device and the server, wherein the initiation signal is based on the connection code; and

transmit a connection request signal over the network to the server in response to establishing the communication link, wherein the connection request signal includes the identifier;

wherein transmission of the connection request signal facilitates an automatic connection between the preferred end unit of the caller and the preferred contact device of the call recipient over the telephone network.

2. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the keypad of the input device facilitates input of an email address of the call recipient as the identifier.

3. The calling device of claim 2, wherein the email address includes a user identification portion, a domain name portion and a demarcation symbol between the user identification portion and the domain name portion.

4. The calling device of claim 3, wherein the email address is of the form userid@domainname, wherein userid is the user identification portion which is an identifier for the person within a computing domain having the domain name portion designated by domainname.

5. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the keypad of the input device facilitates input of at least one character as the identifier, the at least one character being selected from the group consisting of alphabetic characters, numeric characters and combinations thereof.

6. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the connection between the preferred end unit of the caller and the preferred contact device of the call recipient is a telephony connection.

7. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the preferred end unit of the caller is a telephone, the output unit is coupled to the telephone, the calling device includes a connection switch coupled between the output unit and the telephone, and the controller is further configured to control the connection switch to connect the telephone to the network in response to transmission of the connection request signal by the communication unit.

8. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit the initiation signal using a first communication protocol that is different from a second communication protocol that is used to transmit the connection request signal.

9. The calling device of claim 8, wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit the initiation signal as a dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) code exchange.

10. The calling device of claim 9, wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit the connection request signal as a frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation signal.

11. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the storage medium includes a character memory configured to store the identifier input by the input device and a nonvolatile memory unit configured to store the connection code.

12. The calling device of claim 1, further comprising:

a display configured to provide feedback information to the caller including at least one of the identifier input by the input device and an indication that a connection exists between the preferred end unit of the caller and the preferred contact device of the call recipient.

13. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the input device further includes an activation key, and the controller is further configured to control the communication unit to transmit the initiation signal in response to activating the activation key.

14. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the connection request signal further includes a connection address of the preferred end unit of the caller.

15. The calling device of claim 14, wherein the keypad of the input device is further configured to input the connection address of the preferred end unit of the caller for inclusion in the connection request signal.

16. The calling device of claim 15, wherein the storage medium is further configured to store a predetermined caller profile and a plurality of connection addresses corresponding to a plurality of end units of the caller, and the controller is further configured to select a connection address for the preferred end unit of the caller from the storage medium for inclusion in the connection request signal based upon the predetermined caller profile.

17. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the storage medium is further configured to store a plurality of identifiers associated with different call recipients, and the controller is further configured to select a desired identifier stored in the storage medium for inclusion in the connection request signal based upon a selected input of at least one character from the keypad of the input device.

18. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the input device includes a microphone, and the calling device further includes a voice recognition unit coupled to the microphone and the storage medium, wherein the voice recognition unit is configured to convert a spoken identifier corresponding to the call recipient and received from the microphone into a text identifier and storing the text identifier in the character memory.

19. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the communication unit to send a plurality of connection request signals including identifiers associated with different call recipients to the server so as to facilitate at least one automatic connection between the preferred end unit of the caller and preferred contact devices of at least two call recipients.

20. The calling device of claim 1, wherein each of the preferred end unit and the preferred contact device is selected from the group consisting of a telephone and a facsimile machine.

21. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the calling device is separate from the preferred end unit.

22. The calling device of claim 1, wherein the calling device is integrated with the preferred end unit.

23. A method of establishing a connection between a preferred end unit of a caller and a preferred contact device of a call recipient over a telephone network utilizing a calling device communicating with a server over the network, wherein the calling device includes an input device with an alphanumeric keypad and a storage medium, the method comprising:

entering an identifier corresponding to the call recipient into the storage medium of the calling device utilizing the keypad of the input device, wherein the identifier is not a connection address of the preferred contact device;

transmitting an initiation signal from the calling device to the server over the network to establish a communication link between the calling device and the server; and

in response to establishing the communication link between the calling device and the server, transmitting a connection request signal from the calling device to the server, wherein the connection request signal includes the identifier;

wherein, in response to transmission of the connection request signal, a connection between the preferred end unit of the caller and the preferred contact device of the call recipient is automatically achieved over the network.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the preferred end unit of the caller is a telephone, the calling device is coupled to the telephone and further includes a connection switch to alternate connection between the calling device and the telephone to the network, the method further comprising:

connecting the telephone to the network in response to transmission of the connection request signal.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the initiation signal is transmitted using a first communication protocol that differs from a second communication protocol that is used to transmit the connection request signal.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the initiation signal is transmitted as a dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) code exchange.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the connection request signal is transmitted as a frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation signal.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein the entered identifier includes an email address of the call recipient.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the email address includes a user identification portion, a domain name portion and a demarcation symbol between the user identification portion and the domain name portion.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the email address is of the form userid@domainname, wherein userid is the user identification portion which is an identifier for the person within a computing domain having the domain name portion designated by domainname.

31. The method of claim 23, wherein the entered identifier comprises at least one character selected from the group consisting of alphabetic characters, numeric characters and combinations thereof.

32. The method of claim 23, wherein the connection between the preferred end unit of the caller and the preferred contact device of the call recipient is a telephony connection.

33. The method of claim 23, wherein the calling device further includes a display, and the method further comprises:

providing feedback information to the caller via the display, wherein the feedback information includes at least one of the entered identifier and an indication that a connection is being achieved between the preferred end unit of the caller and the preferred contact device of the call recipient.

34. The method of claim 23, wherein the keypad of the input device includes an activation key, and the method further comprises:

activating the activation key to facilitate transmission of the initiation signal from the calling device to the server over the network.

35. The method of claim 23, wherein the connection request signal further includes a connection address for the preferred end unit of the caller.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

entering the connection address for the preferred end unit of the caller into the storage medium of the calling device utilizing the keypad of the input device.

37. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

determining the connection address for the preferred end unit of the caller based upon a predetermined caller profile stored within the storage medium of the calling device.

38. The method of claim 23, wherein a plurality of identifiers associated with different call recipients is stored within the storage medium of the calling device, and the entering of an identifier includes entering at least one character utilizing the keypad of the input device to designate a desired identifier stored within the storage medium for inclusion in the connection request signal to be transmitted by the calling device to the server.

39. The method of claim 23, wherein the transmitting a connection request signal from the calling device to the server includes:

transmitting a plurality of connection request signals from the calling device to the server, wherein each connection request signal includes a different identifier corresponding to a different call recipient; and

,

wherein, in response to transmission of the plurality of connection request signals, at least one connection is automatically achieved between the preferred end unit of the caller and preferred contact devices of at least two call recipients.

40. The method of claim 23, wherein each of the preferred end unit and the preferred contact device is selected from the group consisting of a telephone and a facsimile machine.

41. The method of claim 23, wherein the calling device is separate from the preferred end unit.

42. The method of claim 23, wherein the calling device is integrated with coupled to the preferred end unit.

43. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving from the server information concerning the caller'"'"'s use of the calling device.

44. A calling device for communicating with a server to permit the server to establish a connection between a caller and a call recipient over a telephone network, wherein the server connects a preferred end unit of the caller to a preferred contact device of the call recipient by selecting a connection address for the preferred contact device, the calling device comprising:

a means for inputting an identifier corresponding to the call recipient, wherein the identifier is not the connection address for the preferred contact device;

a means for storing the identifier and a connection code to connect with the server; and

a means for transmitting a plurality of signals from the calling device to the server over the network, wherein the plurality of signals includes;

a initiation signal based on the connection code to establish a communication link between the calling device and the server; and

a connection request signal transmitted in response to establishing the communication link between the calling device and the server, the connection request signal including the identifier;

wherein transmission of the connection request signal facilitates automatic connection between the preferred end unit of the caller and the preferred contact device of the call recipient over the network.

45. The calling device of claim 44, wherein the means for inputting an identifier includes means for facilitating input of an email address of the call recipient.

46. The calling device of claim 45, wherein the email address includes a user identification portion, a domain name portion and a demarcation symbol between the user identification portion and the domain name portion.

47. The calling device of claim 46, wherein the email address is of the form userid@domainname, wherein userid is the user identification portion which is an identifier for the person within a computing domain having the domain name portion designated by domainname.

48. A calling device for communicating with a server over a telephone network to permit the calling device to receive a preferred physical address for a subscriber of a universal point of contact service associated with the server, the calling device comprising:

an input device including a keypad with alphanumeric characters configured to input an identifier corresponding to the subscriber;

an output unit configured to connect the calling device to the network;

a storage medium configured to store the identifier input by the input device and a predetermined connection code to connect with the server;

a communication unit coupled to the output unit and configured to establish a communication link between the calling device and the server over the network;

a display; and

a controller coupled to each of the input device, the storage medium, the communication unit and the display, the controller being configured to control the communication unit at least to;

transmit an initiation signal over the network to the server to establish the communication link between the calling device and the server, wherein the initiation signal is based on the connection code; and

transmit a connection request signal over the network to the server in response to establishing the communication link, wherein the connection request signal includes the identifier;

wherein the calling device is configured to receive the preferred physical address of the subscriber from the server and display the preferred physical address via the display in response to transmission of the connection request signal to the server.

49. The calling device of claim 48, wherein the preferred physical address is a postal address.

50. The calling device of claim 48, wherein the calling device is further configured to receive a preferred telephone number of the subscriber from the server and to display the preferred telephone number via the display in response to transmission of the connection request signal to the server.

51. The calling device of claim 48, wherein the keypad of the input device facilitates input of an email address of the subscriber as the identifier.

52. The calling device of claim 51, wherein the email address includes a user identification portion, a domain name portion and a demarcation symbol between the user identification portion and the domain name portion.

53. The calling device of claim 52, wherein the email address is of the form userid@domainname, wherein userid is the user identification portion which is an identifier for the person within a computing domain having the domain name portion designated by domainname.

54. A method of receiving a preferred physical address for a subscriber of a universal point of contact service utilizing a calling device communicating with a server associated with the universal point of contact service over a telephone network, wherein the calling device includes an input device with an alphanumeric keypad, a storage medium, and a display, the method comprising:

entering an identifier corresponding to the subscriber into the storage medium of the calling device utilizing the keypad of the input device;

transmitting an initiation signal from the calling device to the server over the network to establish a communication link between the calling device and the server;

in response to establishing the communication link between the calling device and the server, transmitting a connection request signal from the calling device to the server, wherein the connection request signal includes the identifier; and

in response to transmission of the connection request signal, receiving the preferred physical address of the subscriber from the server and displaying the preferred physical address via the display of the calling device.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the preferred physical address is a postal address.

56. The method of claim 54, further comprising:

in response to transmission of the connection request signal, receiving a preferred telephone number of the subscriber from the server and displaying the preferred telephone number via the display of the calling device.

57. The method of claim 54, wherein the entered identifier includes an email address of the subscriber.

58. The calling device of claim 57, wherein the email address includes a user identification portion, a domain name portion and a demarcation symbol between the user identification portion and the domain name portion.

59. The calling device of claim 58, wherein the email address is of the form userid@domainname, wherein userid is the user identification portion which is an identifier for the person within a computing domain having the domain name portion designated by domainname.