Method and system of providing personal and business information

• US 7,505,568 B2
• Filed: 02/09/2005
• Issued: 03/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Call Genie, Inc. (UpSnap, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Call Genie, Inc. (UpSnap, Inc.)
• Inventors: Simpson, Todd Garrett, Lugg, Christopher Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier; Gerald
• Application Number:
  US10/906,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20050175160A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,497 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201.01, 379/213.01, 379/218.01, 379/88.01, 379/201.1, 379/88.13, 379/88.17, 704/275, 707/3, 455/414.1
• US Class Current: 379/88.01
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/14 with services dependent on location
• 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;

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;

said attributes associated with said user including a location indicator, said location indicator providing a search criterion for searching contact information located within a given distance relative to said location indicator;

said voice interface for said user database including an identification module, said identification module being responsive to a voice input for validating a user; and

said attributes associated with said user including a presence indicator, said presence indicator providing the user with a mechanism for accepting or declining a communication from an enterprise or a contact associated with one or more of said directory entries.

2. 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;

retrieving said contact information;

storing data associated with said retrieved contact information, said data being stored in a user database;

said data comprising contact information, and said contact information being stored in one or more categories, and wherein each of said categories provides a search criterion for the user; and

said attributes associated with the user including a location indicator, said location indicator providing an indication of a current location for the user, and wherein said step of searching comprises searching one or more of said categories and selecting contact information corresponding to a location proximate to the current location of the user.

3. 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;

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; and

wherein said user attributes include a presence indicator, said presence indicator providing the user with a mechanism for accepting or declining a communication from an enterprise or a contact associated with one or more of said directory entries.

4. 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; and

applying a presence indicator, said presence indicator providing the user with the ability to decline a communication from an entity associated with the contact information.