UNIVERSAL POINT OF CONTACT IDENTIFIER SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20080144791A1
• Filed: 02/25/2008
• Published: 06/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ayman, LLC
• Original Assignee: Ayman, LLC
• Inventors: Hariri, Ayman, Birnbaum, Scott D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,548,142 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/201.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• 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 3/42263 where the same subscriber uses different terminals, i.e. nomadism
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/46 Arrangements for calling a number of substations in a predetermined sequence until an answer is obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/465 Arrangements for simultaneously calling a number of substations until an answer is obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0009 where voice calls remain entirely in the telephone network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0054 where the data service is an electronic mail service
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/005 Personal communication services, e.g. provisions for portability of subscriber numbers

Abstract

A subscriber to a universal point of contact service designates a preferred point of contact at which a communication initiator, such as a telephone caller, can contact the subscriber. Such an initiator desiring to contact the subscriber uses the subscriber'"'"'s email address to establish a communication session with a device associated with the subscriber'"'"'s preferred point of contact. The subscriber'"'"'s email address is input to an initiating device, preferably a telephone or facsimile machine, using an entry device capable of entering an email address. A requestor unit, receiving the email address, locates a repository of the subscriber'"'"'s point of contact information, and requests that information. The repository sends the point of contact information the subscriber has designated as preferred, and the requester unit uses that information to control a telephone switch to establish a communication session between the initiating device and the subscriber'"'"'s preferred point of contact device.

Claims

1. A method of contacting a person who has a universal point of contact identifier, comprising:

entering the person'"'"'s universal point of contact identifier into an initiating device;

presenting, in response to entry of the universal point of contact identifier, indicators of a plurality of points of contact for the person;

selecting one of the indicators; and

contacting the person at the preferred point of contact indicated by the selected indicator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the person is contacted by automatically establishing a communication session between the initiating device and the point of contact indicated by the selected indicator.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the person is contacted by presenting a mailing address corresponding to the selected indicator, and delivering a package to the mailing address.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the universal point of contact identifier is an email address.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the email address consists of a user identification portion, a domain name portion and a demarcation symbol between the user identification and domain name portions.

6. The method of claim 5, 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.

7. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium, the computer program enabling the contacting of a person who has a universal point of contact identifier, the computer program comprising:

program code for entering the person'"'"'s universal point of contact identifier into an initiating device;

program code for presenting, in response to entry of the universal point of contact identifier, indicators of a plurality of points of contact for the person;

program code for selecting one of the indicators; and

program code for contacting the person at the preferred point of contact indicated by the selected indicator.

8. The computer program of claim 7, wherein the person is contacted by automatically establishing a communication session between the initiating device and the point of contact indicated by the selected indicator.

9. The computer program of claim 7, wherein the person is contacted by presenting a mailing address corresponding to the selected indicator, and delivering a package to the mailing address.

10. The computer program of claim 7, wherein the universal point of contact identifier is an email address.

11. The computer program code of claim 10, wherein the email address consists of a user identification portion, a domain name portion and a demarcation symbol between the user identification and domain name portions.

12. The computer program of claim 11, 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.