COMMUNITY TELEPHONY BROKERAGE SYSTEM AND TECHNIQUES

• US 20110051915A1
• Filed: 08/28/2009
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kaufman, Amit
• Granted Patent: US 8,989,371 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/112.06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/70 Administration or customization aspects; Counter-checking correct charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/765 Linked or grouped accounts, e.g. of users or devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/7652 shared by users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42008 Systems for anonymous communication between parties, e.g. by use of disposal contact identifiers

Abstract

A community telephony brokerage system (“CTBS”) and techniques for facilitating telephony communications (including but not limited to text messages, audible messages, multimedia messages, commands, and voice communications) between members of a virtual or real-life community are described. The CTBS operates in conjunction with any known or later developed communication application or service, such as an email application, a social networking application, a gaming application, a discussion forum application, a blogging application, or a subscription/publication application, to provide intra-community telephonic communications via community members'"'"' own electronic devices, in a manner that keeps community members'"'"' unique telephone numbers secret from other members, and preserves other desired levels of privacy and/or security established by the community and/or communication application.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform a method for facilitating intra-community communications, the method comprising:

identifying a community having a plurality of community members;

identifying a plurality of community telephone numbers, each community telephone number designated for non-exclusive use for intra-community communications;

identifying a destination community member;

identifying one or more source community members, each of the one or more source community members operating a source electronic device configured for telephonic communication via a unique source telephone number, the unique source telephone number designated for uniquely identifying telephonic communications by or to the source community member;

for each of the one or more source community members, assigning to each of the one or more source community members a community telephone number of the plurality of community telephone numbers, the assigned community telephone number usable to contact the destination community member via the source electronic device, the same community telephone number able to be assigned to different source community members to contact the destination community member;

keeping records of the assignments; and

when a telephonic communication from a particular source electronic device is transmitted to a particular assigned community telephone number,

based on the telephonic communication, identifying the unique source telephone number,

based on the unique source telephone number, identifying the source community member,

based on the source community member, the particular assigned community telephone number, and the records of the assignments, identifying the destination community member, and

transmitting the telephonic communication to the identified destination community member.

2. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

for at least some of the community members, identifying each of the at least some of the community members as destination community members operating destination electronic devices configured for telephonic communication via unique destination telephone numbers, the unique destination telephone numbers designated for uniquely identifying telephonic communications by or to the destination community members, and

for each of the identified destination community members, performing the steps of

identifying one or more source community members, each of the one or more source community members operating a source electronic device configured for telephonic communication via a unique source telephone number, the unique source telephone number designated for uniquely identifying communications by or to the source community member,

identifying a quantity of the plurality of community telephone numbers,

for each of the one or more source community members, assigning to each of the one or more source community members a community telephone number of the plurality of community telephone numbers, a particular assigned community telephone number comprising a destination contact, the destination contact usable to contact a particular destination community member via the source electronic device, and

keeping records of the assignments,

each different community telephone number of the plurality of community telephone numbers able to represent a single destination contact for each community member of the community, each community member able to have a number of destination contacts up to the quantity, and a number of community members of the community unlimited by the quantity of the plurality of community telephone numbers.

3. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein when a telephonic communication from a particular source electronic device is transmitted to a particular assigned community telephone number, the method further comprises:

based on the identified destination community member,

identifying a desired communication technique of the destination community member, and

transmitting the telephonic communication via the desired communication technique.

4. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 3, wherein the desired communication technique is selected from the group comprising:

communication via a telephony network; and

communication via a packet-switched network-based communication application, the communication application selected from the group comprising;

an email application;

a social networking application;

a discussion forum application;

a blogging application; and

a subscription/publication application.

5. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein the destination community member operates a destination electronic device configured for telephonic communication via a unique destination telephone number, the unique destination telephone number designated for uniquely identifying telephonic communications by or to the destination community member,

wherein the desired communication technique of the destination community member comprises communication via a telephony network, and

when a telephonic communication from a particular source electronic device is transmitted to a particular assigned community telephone number, the method further comprises:

based on the identified destination community member, identifying the unique destination telephone number, and

transmitting the telephonic communication to the identified unique destination telephone number.

6. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5, wherein the telephonic communication from the particular source electronic device is selected from the group comprising:

a voice call;

a multimedia call;

a text message; and

a multimedia message.

7. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving notification that the destination community member consents to receive telephonic communications from the one or more source community members.

8. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein a community member comprises a person or a group of people.

9. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the community members have a pre-established affiliation or logical relationship, and wherein the community is selected from the group comprising:

a virtual community; and

a real-life community.

10. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of community telephone numbers are designated by one or more telephony network operators, the one or more telephony network operators selected from the group comprising:

wireless network operators;

PSTN operators; and

voice-over-IP network operators.

11. computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the source electronic device is selected from the group comprising:

a mobile phone;

a landline phone; and

a voice-over-IP phone.

12. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein assigning to each of the one or more source community members a community telephone number further comprises:

transmitting, via a telephonic communication to each of the one or more source electronic devices, an electronic business card, the electronic business card including the assigned community telephone number usable to contact the destination community member.

13. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform a method for facilitating intra-community communications, the method comprising:

identifying a community having a plurality of community members;

identifying a source community member;

identifying a destination community member authorized to operate an electronic device configured for telephonic communication;

identifying a unique telephone number associated with the electronic device, the unique telephone number designated for uniquely identifying telephonic communications by or to the destination community member;

identifying a plurality of community telephone numbers designated for non-exclusive use for intra-community telephony communications;

assigning a first community telephone number of the plurality of community telephone numbers to the source community member, the source community telephone number usable to transmit a message associated with the source community member to the electronic device;

keeping a record of the assignment;

when a message associated with the source community member is transmitted to the first community telephone number,

based on the record of the assignment, identifying the destination community member;

based on the identification of the destination community member, identifying the unique telephone number; and

transmitting the message to the electronic device via the unique telephone number, the unique telephone number kept secret from the source community member entity.

14. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

assigning a second community telephone number of the plurality of community telephone numbers to the destination community member, the second community telephone number usable by the destination community member to reply to the message, when the message is transmitted to the electronic device.

15. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 14, wherein assigning a second community telephone number comprises transmitting the second community telephone number to the electronic device via the message.

16. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 14, wherein assigning a second community telephone number comprises transmitting the second community telephone number to the electronic device via an electronic business card.

17. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein when a message associated with the source community member is transmitted to the first community telephone number, the message is selected from the group comprising:

a voice message;

a text message; and

a multimedia message.

18. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein when a message associated with the source community member is transmitted to the first community telephone number, the message is transmitted from an interface associated with the community to an application programming interface associated with a service responsible for keeping a record of the assignment.

19. A system for facilitating intra-community communications, the system comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium; and

a processor responsive to the computer-readable storage medium and to one or more computer programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium, the one or more computer programs comprising

one or more telephony interfaces responsive to receive and transmit telephonic communications via a telephony network, and

one or more application program interfaces responsive to receive programmatic calls from, and generate programmatic callbacks to, a communication application,

the one or more computer programs, when loaded into the processor, operable to perform a method comprising

identifying a community having a plurality of community members, the community members able to communicate via a user interface associated with the communication application, and at least some of the community members authorized to operate electronic devices configured for telephonic communication via unique telephone numbers designated for uniquely identifying telephonic communications by or to particular community members,

identifying a plurality of community telephone numbers, each of the plurality of community telephone numbers designated by the telephony network for non-exclusive use for intra-community communications,

identifying a quantity of the plurality of community telephone numbers,

via the user interface, receiving identification of one or more desired contacts for a particular community member, the one or more desired contacts comprising community members selected from among the plurality of community members,

for each desired contact, up to the quantity, who is authorized to operate an electronic device configured for telephonic communication via a unique contact telephone number, assigning to the particular community member a different community telephone number of the plurality of community telephone numbers, each different community telephone number of the plurality of community telephone numbers able to represent a single contact for each of the plurality of community members, a number of community members of the community unlimited by the quantity of the plurality of community telephone numbers,

keeping a record of the assignments,

when a particular assigned community telephone number for a particular contact of a particular community member is used by the particular community member to transmit a message to the particular contact,

when the message comprises a telephonic communication received from an electronic device configured for telephonic communication via a unique telephone number,

receiving the message via the one or more telephony interfaces,

based on the unique telephone number, identifying the particular community member authorized to operate the electronic device,

based on the particular community member, the particular assigned community telephone number, and the record of the assignments, identifying the particular contact,

based on the particular contact, identifying the electronic device operated by the particular contact and the unique contact telephone number of

the identified electronic device,

via the one or more telephony interfaces, transmitting the telephonic communication to the electronic device via the unique contact telephone number,

when the message is received via the communication application,

receiving the message via a programmatic call from the communication application to the one or more application program interfaces,

based on the record of the assignments, identifying the particular contact,

identifying the electronic device operated by the particular contact and

the unique contact telephone number of the identified electronic device electronic device, and

via the one or more telephony interfaces, transmitting the message to the electronic device via the unique contact telephone number, the message transmitted from a community telephone number assigned to the particular contact to represent the particular community member.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein assigning to the particular community member a different community telephone number of the plurality of community telephone number for each desired contact comprises

via the one or more telephony interfaces, using an electronic business card to transmit a different community telephone number to the unique contact telephone number of each contact electronic device.