Integrated telephone call and context notification mechanism

• US 7,477,730 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2007
• Issued: 01/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Van Tilburg, Martijn E., Starbuck, Bryan T., Fuller, Deana R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang; Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): SING, SIMON P
• Application Number:
  US11/688,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20070153998A1
• Time in Patent Office: 665 Days
• Field of Search: 379 8821- 8823, 379/93.23, 379/88.12, 379/142.01
• US Class Current: 379/88.12
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2478 Telephone terminals specially adapted for non-voice services, e.g. email, internet access centralized arrangements where telephones services are combined H04M7/0024; for recording text messages H04M3/5322; for accessing Internet H04M3/4938
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/575 Means for retrieving and displaying personal data about calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/06 Recording class or number of calling , i.e. A-party or called party , i.e. B-party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2038 Call context notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/652 Call initiation triggered by text message
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/654 Pre, in or post-call message
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5322 for recording text messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/58 Arrangements for transferring received calls from one subscriber to another; Arrangements affording interim conversations between either the calling or the called party and a third party substation line holding circuits H04M1/80

Abstract

A mechanism for placing a telephone call while at the same time communicating context (e.g., subject, importance and/or nature) of the telephone call. The caller uses a mechanism on a user interface to instruct a caller computing system to place a telephone call to a callee computing system. Using the same user interface, the caller also identifies some contextual information for the telephone call such as, for example, the subject, importance and/or nature of the telephone call. The caller computing system then constructs a call invitation data structure that includes both an invitation to the callee to engage in a telephone conversation and the user-entered identification of the context of the telephone call. Upon receiving the call invitation data structure, the callee computing system reads the identification of the context of the telephone call, and then takes appropriate action based on the context for the telephone call.

Claims

1. A caller user interface for enabling a caller, which comprises a computing system and a display, to place one or more telephone calls with a callee in response to receiving user input, the callee comprising another computing system, wherein the caller user interface is displayed on the display, the caller user interface comprising:

computer modules configured for displaying the caller user interface; and

caller interface display features, including;

a graphically displayed telephone number display feature configured for receiving input corresponding to a telephone number for placing a telephone call from the caller to the callee; and

at least three visually distinct and graphically displayed context information display features that are each configured for receiving input that identifies different context information associated with the telephone call and wherein the at least three visually distinct context information display features include;

a graphically displayed subject matter display feature configured for receiving input that identifies a subject matter of the telephone call being placed with the callee, wherein the subject matter display feature comprises a type-in line;

a graphically displayed importance level display feature, which is visually distinguished from the subject matter display feature, and which is configured for receiving input corresponding to an importance level of the telephone call being placed with the callee; and

a graphically displayed call nature display feature, which is visually distinguished from the subject matter display feature and the importance level display feature, and which is configured for receiving input corresponding to a call type and to indicate the call type, the call type including at least two members of a group comprising;

a personal call type, a professional call type and a commercial call type, wherein each of the importance level display feature and the call nature display feature comprise a unique set of selectable context information options.

2. A caller user interface as recited in claim 1 and which further includes a selectable call initiation display element for initiating the telephone call.

3. A caller user interface as recited in claim 2, wherein initiating the call causes the caller system to construct a call invitation data structure that includes the context information associated with the telephone call.

4. A caller user interface as recited in claim 3, wherein initiating the telephone call further causes the caller system to transmit the call invitation data structure to the callee and which further cause the callee, in response to receiving the call invitation data structure, to automatically take one or more actions depending upon the context information and one or more rules defined at the callee.

5. A caller user interface as recited in claim 1 and which further includes a selectable interface display element for terminating the telephone call.

6. The caller user interface recited in claim 1, wherein the unique set of selectable context information options included in the importance level display feature includes an emergency option, a high option, a normal option and a low option.

7. The caller user interface recited in claim 1, wherein the unique set of selectable context information options included in the call nature display feature includes a personal option, a professional option and a commercial option.

8. A callee user interface for enabling a callee, which includes a computing system, to automatically respond to one or more telephone calls received from a caller, which comprises another computing system, and wherein the one or more telephone calls include at least one telephone call that includes a call invitation data structure comprising context information of the telephone call, and wherein the user interface is displayed on a display associated with the callee, the callee user interface comprising:

computer modules configured for displaying the callee user interface; and

callee interface display features, including;

a received call interface display feature that is configured to be displayed in response to receiving a call invitation data structure from a caller that satisfies predetermined criteria, the interface display feature including a display of context information associated with the call invitation data structure and that corresponds directly with an asserted context of the telephone call, wherein the context information includes at least one member of a group comprising;

(a) a subject matter of the telephone call,

(b) an importance of the telephone call, and

(c) a call type that indicates a type of an intended telephone conversation comprising at least one of a personal, professional or commercial conversation; and

wherein the received call interface further includes a selectable display element for declining the telephone call which, when selected, automatically causes a new interface to be displayed, the new interface including a listing of selectable reasons for declining the telephone call which, when any of the selectable reasons is selected, causes a corresponding statement to be communicated to the caller computing system.

9. A callee user interface as recited in claim 8, wherein the callee user interface further includes a selectable display element for answering the telephone call.

10. A callee user interface as recited in claim 8, wherein the received call interface is further configured to receive user input comprising custom statement corresponding to a reason for declining the telephone call.

11. A callee user interface as recited in claim 8, wherein the callee user interface causes the callee computing system to automatically take an action based upon an identified context of the telephone call, the identified context being determined from the context information in the call invitation data structure.

12. A callee user interface as recited in claim 11, wherein the action that is automatically taken is sending a particular statement to the caller.

13. A callee user interface as recited in claim 8, wherein the context information included in the call invitation data structure corresponds directly to user-entered context information received at an input device of the caller.

14. A callee user interface as recited in claim 8, wherein the context information includes at least two of the following:

(a) the subject matter of the telephone call,

(b) the importance of the telephone call, or

(c) the call type.

15. A callee user interface as recited in claim 8, wherein the context information includes all of the following:

(a) the subject matter of the telephone call,

(b) the importance of the telephone call, and

(c) the call type.