Automatic initiation of communications

• US 20060271619A1
• Filed: 05/26/2005
• Published: 11/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Nurminen, Jukka K., Bakos, Balazs, Ivanfi, Zoltan
• Granted Patent: US 8,832,561 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4557 Directories for hybrid networks, e.g. including telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2745 using static electronic memories, e.g. chips
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27453 Directories allowing storage of additional subscriber data, e.g. metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2753 providing data content

Abstract

A selection of a contact is received from a user. This contact is within a content item, such as a word processing document, a hypertext document, an e-mail, a spreadsheet, or an electronic presentation. The user receives an indication of one or more connection channels associated with the contact and the user makes a selection a designated connection channel from the one or more connection channels. Upon this selection a device (such as a portable communications device) is instructed to establish communications across the designated connection channel. This connection channel may be, for example, a telephone number, an SMS number, an e-mail address, or a uniform resource locator (URL).

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

(a) receiving from a user, a selection of a contact within a content item;

(b) indicating to the user one or more connection channels associated with the contact;

(c) receiving from the user, a selection of a designated connection channel from the one or more connection channels; and

(d) instructing a device to establish communications across the designated connection channel.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically identifying one or more contacts within a portion of the content item.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

providing a visual indication of the one or more automatically identified contacts.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein step (d) comprises instructing the device to send the portion of the content item across the designated connection channel.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

providing the user with an opportunity to edit the portion of the content item.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein step (d) comprises transmitting the portion of the content item to the device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the user with an opportunity to enter a message; and

wherein step (d) comprises instructing the device to send the message across the designated connection channel.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises displaying a pull-down menu, the pull-down menu including the one or more connection channels associated with the contact.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending to the device a query regarding the selected contact; and

in response to the query, receiving at least one of the one or more connection channels from the device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more connection channels associated with the contact includes at least one of a telephone number, an SMS number, an e-mail address, an Internet Protocol (IP) address, and a uniform resource locator (URL).

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the content item is one of a word processing document, an e-mail, a web page, and a spreadsheet.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises sending a response to a radio frequency identification (RFID) interrogation signal from the device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises transmitting a directive to the device across a communications interface.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises receiving through an abbreviated user input, a selection of a default connection channel as the designated connection channel.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the contact includes at least one of a name of a person, a name of a company, and a name of an entity.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is a mobile communication device.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises transmitting information of the designated connection channel to the device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein step (d) further comprises transmitting the information of the designated connection across a short range wireless connection.

19. An apparatus comprising,

a user interface configured to present a content item to a user, and to receive from the user a selection of a contact within the content item;

a controller configured to obtain one or more connection channels associated with the contact, to instruct a device to establish communications across a designated connection channel from the one or more connection channels;

wherein the designated connection channel is selected by the user through interaction with the user input device.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a parsing engine configured to identify one or more potential contacts from the content item.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the controller is further configured to send to the device a query regarding the selected contact;

and in response to the query, to receive at least one of the one or more connection channels from the device.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the one or more connection channels associated with the contact includes at least one of a telephone number, an SMS number, an e-mail address, an Internet Protocol (IP) address, and a uniform resource locator (URL).

23. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the content item is one of a word processing document, an e-mail, a web page, and a spreadsheet.

24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the controller is configured to instruct the device to establish communications across the designated connection channel in response to a radio frequency identification (RFID) interrogation signal, wherein the RFID interrogation signal is received from the device.

25. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the user interface is further configured to provide a visual indication of one or more identified contacts within a portion of the content item.

26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the user interface is further configured to provide the user with an opportunity to enter a message;

and

wherein the controller is further configured to instruct the device to send the message across the designated connection channel.

27. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the controller is further configured to instruct the device to establish communications across the designated connection channel by transmitting a directive to the device across a communications interface.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the communications interface includes a short range wireless connection.

29. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the designated connection channel is a default connection channel selected through an abbreviated user input.

30. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for enabling a processor in a computer system to initiate communications, the computer program logic comprising:

program code for enabling the processor to receive from a user, a selection of a contact within a content item;

program code for enabling the processor to indicate to the user one or more connection channels associated with the contact;

program code for enabling the processor to receive from the user, a selection of a designated connection channel from the one or more connection channels; and

program code for enabling the processor to instruct a device to establish communications across the designated connection channel.

31. A system, comprising:

a first device configured to present a content item to a user, and to receive from the user a selection of a contact within the content item;

a second device to establish communications across a designated connection channel, the designated connection channel from one or more connection channels that correspond to the selected contact; and

a communications link between the first and second devices;

wherein, through employment of the communications link, the first device obtains from the second device the one or more connection channels that correspond to the selected contact, and directs the second device to establish communications across the designated connection channel.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the first device is further configured to automatically identify one or more contacts within a portion of the content item, wherein the selected contact is from the one or more identified contacts.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the second device includes a contact database;

and

wherein, in response to a request from the first device, the second device sends the one or more identified contacts to the first device across the communications link.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein the first device is further configured to provide the user with a visual indication of the one or more automatically identified contacts.

35. The system of claim 31, wherein the communications link is a Bluetooth link.

36. The system of claim 31, wherein the communications link is a wireless local area network (WLAN) link.

37. The system of claim 31, wherein the communications link employs radio frequency identification (RFID) communications.

38. The system of claim 31, wherein the designated connection channel is selected from a telephone number, an SMS number, an e-mail address, and a uniform resource locator (URL).