METHOD AND SYSTEM OF PROVIDING PERSONAL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION

• US 20090204408A1
• Filed: 02/04/2009
• Published: 08/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Call Genie, Inc. (UpSnap, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Call Genie, Inc. (UpSnap, Inc.)
• Inventors: LUGG, CHRISTOPHER EDWARD, SIMPSON, TODD GARRETT
• Granted Patent: US 8,208,608 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/273
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/14 with services dependent on location where the service is an information service H04M2242/15; services independent of location H04M3/42229
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems

Abstract

A multi-modal system providing for a single point of contact that can allow users to manage their personal contact information and contact lists, and connect to other users and businesses in a personalized, efficient, location-sensitive and organized manner. By accessing the system using any type of telephony-based device, a user can manage all of their personal and business contacts as well as perform generalized searches in public databases, such as white page and/or yellow page listings, or more personalized searches through databases of their business or personal contacts. A user may also, during a generalized search, go to a personalized search, and vice-versa. The system may also provide users with the opportunity to select certain businesses from their contact lists and allow these businesses to provide them with personalized data, either on demand or based on user-controlled permissions or areas of interest through various technologies including presence technologies.

Claims

1. A system for searching contact information from a database using one or more voice prompts provided by a user, said system comprising:

a user database for storing contact information and said user database storing one or more attributes associated with said user;

a voice interface for said user database, said voice interface including a voice recognition module for converting said voice prompts into one or more search parameters;

a module for searching said user database for contact information according to one or more of said search parameters and according to one or more of said stored user attributes.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said voice interface for said user database includes an identification module, said identification module being responsive to a prompt for validating a user.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said attributes associated with said user includes a location indicator, said location indicator providing a search criterion for searching contact information corresponding to a location within a given distance relative to said location indicator.

4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said user attributes include one or more category indicators, each of said category indicators comprising a plurality of contacts.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, further including a directory database for storing a plurality of directory entries, and a module for searching said directory database for said directory entries associated with one or more of said search parameters.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5, further including a module for extending a search to said directory database when said module for searching said user database returns insufficient contact information.

7. The system as claimed in claim 5, further including a module for saving information associated with said directory entries from said directory database as contact data in said user database, said module being responsive to one or more additional prompts from said user.

8. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said attributes associated with said user includes a location indicator, said location indicator providing a search criterion for searching contact information located within a given distance relative to said location indicator.

9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said voice interface for said user database includes an identification module, said identification module being responsive to a voice input for validating a user.

10. A method for searching contact information in a database, said method comprising the steps of:

identifying a user associated with the search;

retrieving one or more attributes associated with the user;

receiving one or more voice prompts from the user;

converting said voice prompts into one or more search criteria;

searching the database for contact information according to one or more of said search criteria and one or more of said stored user attributes; and

retrieving said contact information.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said step of retrieving said contact information comprises converting said contact information into speech for playback to the user.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said step of identifying the user comprises receiving a vocal identifier from the user and confirming the identity of the user based on said vocal identifier.

13. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said attributes associated with the user include a location indicator, said location indicator providing an indication of a current position for the user.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said attributes associated with the user include one or more user preferences, said user preferences providing one or more search criteria for searching the database.

15. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said attributes associated with the user include a permission indicator, said permission indicator allowing a third party to provide information to the user.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the information received from said third party includes a mechanism for the user to contact said third party.

17. The method as claimed in claim 10, further including the step of storing data associated with said retrieved contact information, said data being stored in a user database.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein said attributes include one or more contact categories, and wherein said data is stored according to one or more of said contact categories.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, further including a directory database and the step of searching said directory database based on one or more of said search criteria and one or more of said stored user attribute, and the step of retrieving one or more directory entries from said directory database.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, further including the step of adding information associated with one or more of said directory entries to said user database.

21. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein said data comprises contact information, and said contact information is stored in one or more categories, and wherein each of said categories provides a search criterion for the user.

22. A system for searching contact information from a database using one or more voice prompts provided by a user, said system comprising:

a user database for storing contact information and said user database storing one or more attributes associated with said user;

a voice interface for said user database, said voice interface including a voice recognition module for converting said voice prompts into one or more search parameters;

a module for searching said user database for contact information according to one or more of said search parameters and according to one or more of said stored user attributes; and

a directory database for storing a plurality of directory entries, and a module for extending a search to said directory database when said module for searching said user database returns insufficient contact information.

23. The system as claimed in claim 22, further including a module for saving information associated with said directory entries from said directory database as contact data in said user database, said module being responsive to one or more additional prompts from said user.

24. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein said attributes associated with said user includes a location indicator, said location indicator providing a search criterion for searching contact information located within a given distance relative to said location indicator.

25. A system for searching contact information from a database using one or more voice prompts provided by a user, said system comprising:

a user database for storing contact information and said user database storing one or more attributes associated with said user;

a voice interface for said user database, said voice interface including a voice recognition module for converting said voice prompts into one or more search parameters;

a module for searching said user database for contact information according to one or more of said search parameters and according to one or more of said stored user attributes; and

a directory database for storing a plurality of directory entries;

a module for extending a search to said directory database when said module for searching said user database returns insufficient contact information; and

a module for saving information from said directory database in said user database.

26. A method for searching contact information in a user database, said method comprising the steps of:

identifying a user associated with the search, retrieving one or more attributes associated with the user;

receiving one or more voice prompts from the user;

converting said voice prompts into one or more search criteria;

searching the user database for contact information according to one or more of said search criteria and one or more of said stored user attributes;

extending searching to one or more other databases if the searching of the user database returns insufficient contact information;

retrieving said contact information.

27. The method as claimed in claim 26, further including storing information retrieved from said one or more other databases in the user database.

28. A system for searching contact information from a database using one or more voice prompts provided by a user, said system comprising:

a user database for storing contact information and said user database storing one or more attributes associated with said user;

a voice interface for said user database, said voice interface including a voice recognition module for converting said voice prompts into one or more search parameters;

a module for searching said user database for contact information according to one or more of said search parameters and according to one or more of said stored user attributes; and

wherein said attributes associated with said user include a location indicator, said location indicator providing another search parameter and said module for searching being responsive to said location indicator for searching contact information located within a given distance relative to said location indicator.

29. The system as claimed in claim 28, further including a directory database configured for storing a plurality of directory entries and a module for extending a search to said directory database when said module for searching said user database returns insufficient contact information.

30. The system as claimed in claim 29, further including a module configured for saving data associated with one or more of said plurality of directory entries as contact data in said user database.