APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING VOICE COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20110142215A1
• Filed: 12/10/2009
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bi, Xiaolian, Bi, Haifeng
• Granted Patent: US 8,869,195 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/93.23
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1076 Screening of IP real time communications, e.g. spam over Internet telephony [SPIT]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42314 in private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/003 Click to dial services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server having a controller to receive a call request from a set top box that is remote from the server where the call request identifies a telephone number that is displayed in video content presented by the set top box where the telephone number was detected based on at least one of image pattern recognition and voice recognition and where the telephone number is associated with a marketing entity of the video content, establish a voice communication with a first telephone device associated with the set top box, and establish the voice communication with a second telephone device associated with the telephone number and the marketing entity if the first telephone device accepts the voice communication. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium operating in a set top box, the storage medium comprising computer instructions to:

present video content at a display device;

determine a telephone number that is displayed in the video content at the display device using image pattern recognition;

present an option to establish voice communication with a marketing entity associated with the video content;

receive an input from a remote controller associated with the set top box in response to the presentation of the option; and

transmit a call request to a remote server when the input is received, wherein the voice communication is established between a first telephone device associated with the set top box and a second telephone device associated with the marketing entity based on the call request and the determined telephone number.

2. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first telephone device receives a first call from the remote server prior to the voice communication being established.

3. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions to determine an area code associated with the telephone number.

4. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the voice communication is based on VoIP protocol.

5. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions to present the option based on a user profile associated with the set top box.

6. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the option is presented as an overlay.

7. The storage medium of claim 6, wherein the overlay is semi-transparent.

8. A server comprising a controller to:

receive a call request from a set top box that is remote from the server, wherein the call request identifies a telephone number that is displayed in video content presented by the set top box, wherein the telephone number was detected based on at least one of image pattern recognition and voice recognition, wherein the telephone number is associated with a marketing entity of the video content;

establish a voice communication with a first telephone device associated with the set top box;

establish the voice communication with a second telephone device associated with the telephone number and the marketing entity if the first telephone device accepts the voice communication.

9. The server of claim 8, wherein the voice communication is according to VoIP protocol.

10. The server of claim 8, wherein an alternative telephone number is determined based on metadata pointers embedded in the video content.

11. A method comprising:

presenting video content at a display device;

determining a telephone number that is displayed in the video content at the display device using image pattern recognition; and

transmitting a call request to a remote server based on the telephone number, wherein a VoIP communication is established between a first telephone device associated with the set top box and a second telephone device associated with a marketing entity of the video content based on the call request and the determined telephone number.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising presenting an option on the display device to establish the VoIP communication.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising receiving an input from a remote controller associated with the set top box in response to the presentation of the option.

14. The method of claim 11, comprising establishing the VoIP communication with the second telephone device if the first telephone device accepts the VoIP communication.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the option is presented as an overlay with the video content.

16. The method of claim 11, comprising determining an alternative telephone number associated with the marketing entity based on metadata pointers associated with the video content.

17. The method of claim 12, comprising transmitting the option to an other communication device associated with the set top box.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the other communication device is a mobile phone.

19. The method of claim 11, comprising determining an area code associated with the telephone number.

20. The method of claim 11, comprising presenting an option on the display device to establish the VoIP communication, wherein a graphical user interface for the option is based on a user profile associated with the set top box.