Method and apparatus for providing Web users with a click-to-contact service

• US 20040122951A1
• Filed: 12/18/2002
• Published: 06/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Hilt, Volker, Beck, Andre, Hofmann, Markus Andreas
• Application Number:
  US10/322,679
• Publication Number:
  US 20040122951A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4557 Directories for hybrid networks, e.g. including telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/003 Click to dial services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/128 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables

Abstract

A click-to-contact service automatically and uniformly converts all types of contact information embedded in any Web page into click-to-contact links. This user-oriented service is realized with a click-to-contact agent, which takes any Web page as an input and adds click-to-contact links to the contact information located within that Web page. This agent can be invoked from the Web browser running on an end-user'"'"'s client system or from within the network. This click-to-contact agent performs the tasks of searching an incoming Web page for contact information by applying a grammar for such contacts. When contact information is found, the Web page is modified to include a link in association with that contact information within the Web page. When the end-user subsequently clicks on or otherwise selects such a click-to-contact link, one or two-way telephonic or electronic communication is established between the end-user and an address associated with the contact information within the Web page.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

receiving a Web page;

locating within the received Web page contact information associated with a point of contact; and

modifying the Web page by inserting in association with the located contact information a link which when selected by an end-user facilitates communication with the point of contact.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the contact information is at least one of a telephone number, an email address, an Instant Messaging address, an alphanumeric name and address, and an SIP address that are associated with the point of contact.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the information is a telephone number associated with the point of contact and the link is a link to a click-to-contact server, which when selected by the end-user establishes telephonic connections to a telephone at the telephone number associated with the point of contact and to a telephone at a telephone number associated with the end-user.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the information is a telephone number associated with the point of contact, the link associated with the telephone number when selected by the end-user, directly establishing telephonic connections to a telephone at the telephone number associated with the point of contact and to a telephone at a telephone number associated with the end-user.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

determining from the contact information at least one other address for telephonically or electronically establishing communication with the point of contact; and

creating a link to the determined other address;

wherein telephonic or electronic communication is facilitated between the end-user and the point of contact at the determined other address when the end-user selects the link to the determined other address.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the contact information is an alphanumeric name and an address and the determined other address is at least one of a telephone number, an email address, an SIP address, and an Instant Messaging address.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of determining from the contact information at least one address comprises sending the located contact information in a request to a directory service server to determine the other address.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is performed by a Web intermediary.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of locating contact information is performed only if the Web page is received from one of a plurality of predetermined Web servers.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is performed on an end-user'"'"'s client in conjunction with a browser by a software module that is invoked when the browser loads a Web page.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the steps of locating contact information and modifying the Web page are performed by JavaScript code contained in a bookmark that is invoked by an end-user from the received Web page.

12. A computer readable media tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to perform a method, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a Web page;

locating within the received Web page contact information associated with a point of contact; and

modifying the Web page by inserting in association with the located contact information a link which when selected by an end-user facilitates communication with the point of contact.

13. The computer readable media of claim 12 wherein the contact information is at least one of a telephone number, an email address, an Instant Messaging address, an alphanumeric name and address, and an SIP address that are associated with the point of contact.

14. The computer readable media of claim 13 wherein the information is a telephone number associated with the point of contact and the link is a link to a click-to-contact server, which when selected by the end-user establishes telephonic connections to a telephone at the telephone number associated with the point of contact and to a telephone at a telephone number associated with the end-user.

15. The computer readable media of claim 13 wherein the information is a telephone number associated with the point of contact, the link associated with the telephone number when selected by the end-user, directly establishing telephonic connections to a telephone at the telephone number associated with the point of contact and to a telephone at a telephone number associated with the end-user.

16. The computer readable media of claim 13 wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

determining from the contact information at least one other address for telephonically or electronically establishing communication with the point of contact; and

creating a link to the determined other address;

wherein telephonic or electronic communication is facilitated between the end-user and the point of contact at the determined other address when the end-user selects the link to the determined other address.

17. The computer readable media of claim 16 wherein the contact information is an alphanumeric name and an address and the determined other address is at least one of a telephone number, an email address, an SIP address, and an Instant Messaging address.

18. The computer readable media of claim 16 wherein in the method the step of determining from the contact information at least one address comprises sending the located contact information in a request to a directory service server to determine the other address.

19. Apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a Web page;

means for locating within the received Web page contact information associated with a point of contact; and

means for modifying the Web page by inserting in association with the located contact information a link which when selected by an end-user facilitates communication with the point of contact.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the contact information is at least one of a telephone number, an email address, an Instant Messaging address, an alphanumeric name and address, and an SIP address that are associated with the point of contact.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the information is a telephone number associated with the point of contact and the link is a link to a click-to-contact server, which when selected by the end-user establishes telephonic connections to a telephone at the telephone number associated with the point of contact and to a telephone at a telephone number associated with the end-user.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the information is a telephone number associated with the point of contact, and when the link associated with the telephone number is selected by the end-user, telephonic connections are directly established to a telephone at the telephone number associated with the point of contact and to a telephone at a telephone number associated with the end-user.

23. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising:

means for determining from the contact information at least one other address for telephonically or electronically establishing communication with the point of contact; and

means for creating a link to the determined other address;

wherein telephonic or electronic communication is facilitated between the end-user and the point of contact at the determined other address when the end-user selects the link to the determined other address.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the contact information is an alphanumeric name and an address and the determined other address is at least one of a telephone number, an email address, an SIP address, and an Instant Messaging address.

25. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the means for determining from the contact information at least one address sends the located contact information in a request to a directory service server to determine the other address.

26. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the apparatus is within a Web intermediary.