Communication system, communication management system and method

• US 7,113,571 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2001
• Issued: 09/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Matsubara, Akira, Itabashi, Tatsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US09/754,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20010022788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,090 Days
• Field of Search: 705/75, 705/64, 705/67, 455/412.1, 340/539.11, 704/246
• US Class Current: 379/72
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• 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 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/90 using Intelligent Networks [IN] or Advanced Intelligent Networks [AIN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2083 Confirmation by serviced party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/353 where the information comprises non-audio but is provided over voice channels protocols for multimedia information services per se H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/016 Billing using Intelligent Networks [IN] or Advanced Intelligent Networks [AIN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0184 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions, volume discounts, cell discounts, group billing, frequent calling destination(s) or user history list
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages

Abstract

A communications system, a communication management system and method are disclosed. Distribution information is distributed to communication terminal devices to which communication lines are connected. And a privilege is assigned to a user of the communication terminal device to which the distribution information is distributed.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

line connection means for connecting lines between communication terminal devices;

communication management means for managing communication between the communication terminal devices through said line connection means;

information supply means for supplying advertisement information to said communication management means;

information distribution means, provided in said communication management means, for distributing the advertisement information to a corresponding communication terminal device; and

privilege assignment means, provided in said communication management means, for assigning a privilege to a user of the communication terminal device to which the advertisement information is distributed,

wherein said corresponding communication terminal device comprises keyword extraction means for extracting a keyword by recognizing a voice of said user, wherein the keyword is used by said user in a conversation with another user, and

wherein said information distribution means selects a particular advertisement information from among plural pieces of said advertisement information based on an extraction result by said keyword extraction means, and supplies said particular advertisement information to said corresponding communication terminal device.

2. The communication system according to claim 1 wherein said privilege assignment means assigns a privilege after said particular advertisement information is confirmed to have been browsed or viewed by a user of the communication terminal device.

3. A communication management system for managing communication between communication terminal devices, said system comprising:

information distribution means for distributing advertisement information to said communication terminal devices to which communication lines are connected; and

privilege assignment means for assigning a privilege to a user of one of said communication terminal devices to which the advertisement information is distributed,

wherein said corresponding communication terminal device comprises keyword extraction means for extracting a keyword by recognizing a voice of said user, wherein the keyword is used by said user in a conversation with another user, and

wherein said information distribution means selects a particular advertisement information from among plural pieces of said advertisement information based on an extraction result by said keyword extraction means, and supplies said the particular advertisement information to said communication terminal device.

4. The communication management system according to claim 3 wherein said communication terminal device is a telephone.

5. The communication management system according to claim 3 wherein said information distribution means distributes said advertisement information by temporarily suspending the communication while said communication terminal device is communicating.

6. The communication management system according to claim 3 wherein said information distribution means supplies the particular advertisement information in parallel with voice information in said communication while said communication terminal device is communicating.

7. The communication management system according to claim 3, further comprising position detection means for detecting a position of said user.

8. A communication management method for managing communication between communication terminal devices, said method comprising:

a first step of distributing advertisement information to said communication terminal devices to which communication lines are connected; and

a second step of assigning a privilege to a user of one of said communication terminal devices to which the advertisement information is distributed,

wherein said communication terminal is a telephone, and in said first step, after extracting a predetermined keyword by recognizing voice in a conversation of said user between said telephones, wherein the predetermined keyword is used by said user in the conversation with another user, a particular advertisement information is selected from among plural pieces of said advertisement information based on the extraction result, and the particular advertisement information is distributed to said communication terminal device.

9. The communication management method according to claim 8 wherein in said second step, after said particular advertisement information is confirmed to have been browsed or viewed by the user of said communication terminal device, a privilege is assigned according to the confirmation.

10. The communication management method according to claim 8 wherein said communication terminal device is a telephone;

and in said first step, said advertisement information is distributed by temporarily suspending the communication during the communication between the telephones.

11. The communication management method according to claim 8 wherein said communication terminal device is a telephone;

and in said first step, said particular advertisement information is distributed in parallel with voice information in the communication during the communication between the telephones.

12. The communication management method according to claim 8 wherein in said first step, after detecting a position of said user, corresponding advertisement information is selected from among plural pieces of said advertisement information based on the detected position, and the corresponding advertisement information is distributed to said communication terminal device.

13. A communication system comprising:

plural communication terminal devices for communicating with each other via a channel;

information supplying means for supplying advertisement information to a designated communication terminal device among said communication terminal devices; and

privilege assignment means for, after being notified through a notification by said communication terminal device that said advertisement information is confirmed by a user of said communication terminal device, assigning a privilege to the notification of said communication terminal device,

wherein said information supplying means comprises keyword extracting means for, while recognizing content of said communication from said communication terminal device, selectively extracting a keyword contained in said communication contents, wherein said keyword is used by a user of a corresponding communication terminal device from the plural communication terminal devices in a conversation with another user, and wherein based on the keyword extracted by the keyword extracting means, supplying a particular advertisement information corresponding to said keyword to a the corresponding communication terminal device.

14. The communication system according to claim 13 wherein said information supplying means comprises means for recording a distribution history of said supplied advertisement information, and means for updating said distribution history when notified by said designated communication terminal device.

15. The communication system according to claim 13 wherein said information supplying means temporarily suspends communication of at least one of said communication terminal devices after communication starts and supplies said advertisement information during said suspended period, or supplies said advertisement information in synchronization with said communication or after said communication.

16. The communication system according to claim 13 wherein said communication terminal device for, when said advertisement information is supplied from said information supplying means, outputting a notification of said information as confirmation information based on at least one of a predetermined operation and a voice that is inputted externally.

17. The communication system according to claim 13 wherein said communication terminal device further comprises outputting means for outputting language information based on the keyword extracted by the keyword extracting means to said information supplying means, wherein said information supplying means supplies information corresponding to said language information given from said communication terminal device to a corresponding communication terminal device.

18. The communication system according to claim 13 wherein said information supplying means comprises position detection means for detecting a position of a designated communication terminal device, and based on the position information given from the position detection means supplies information corresponding to said position information to a corresponding communication terminal device.

19. The communication system according to claim 13 wherein said communication terminal device comprises position detection means for detecting a position of said communication terminal device, and means for outputting position information detected by the position detection means to said information supplying means;

and said information supplying means, based on the position information given from said communication terminal device, supplies advertisement information corresponding to said position information to a corresponding communication terminal device.

20. A communication management method for managing communications of a communication terminal device connected via a channel, said method comprising the steps of:

supplying advertisement information via the channel corresponding to said communication terminal device to a designated communication terminal device; and

receiving a confirmation result that said information supplied from said communication terminal device has been confirmed,

wherein the step of supplying information includes recognizing content of a communication sent over the channel, selectively extracting a keyword from the content of said communication, wherein said content comprises a conversation between users connected via the channel, outputting language information based on the extracted keyword; and

supplying a particular advertisement information corresponding to said language information given from said communication terminal device to said designated communication terminal device.

21. The communication management method according to claim 20 wherein in said step of supplying advertisement information, a distribution history of said advertisement information is stored, and in said step of receiving the confirmation result, said distribution history is updated when said confirmation result is received from said designated communication terminal device.

22. The communication management method according to claim 20 wherein said communication terminal device, when said particular advertisement information is supplied, outputs a confirmation result of said information as confirmation information based on at least one of a predetermined operation and a voice that is inputted externally.