Directory assistance with multi-modal messaging
First Claim
1. A method of providing information assistance to a wireless terminal, comprising the steps of:
- receiving, from a wireless terminal operated by a requestor, a contact information request with an information assistance application located on an information assistance server, wherein the contact information request is a request for contact information of a user of a subscriber terminal that is other than the wireless terminal;
querying a participating communication provider database of a communication provider providing communication services to the wireless terminal to identify a virtual key of the requestor from unique information of the wireless terminal included with the contact information request, the virtual key being a universal anonymous identifier of the requestor that is shared among a plurality of different participating businesses;
accessing a consumer internal profile database containing verification data of the requestor and proprietary information of the requestor with the virtual key of the requestor, the verification data providing verification of consent by the requestor of release and use of the proprietary information of the requestor;
accessing permissions of the user of the subscriber terminal with the information assistance application to determine if the contact information request should be automatically denied categorically or specifically, based on the proprietary information of the requestor obtained from the consumer internal profile database with the virtual key of the requestor;
determining a contact preference for how to contact the subscriber terminal about the received contact information request with the information assistance application only when the information request is determined as not being automatically denied;
generating an authorization request to request permission from the subscriber terminal to provide the contact information of the user of the subscriber terminal to the wireless terminal, wherein the authorization request includes an indication of an identity of the requestor based on the proprietary information of the requestor;
transmitting the authorization request to the subscriber terminal in accordance with the determined contact preference;
receiving a reply from the subscriber terminal indicative of whether or not the requested information record is permitted to be provided to the wireless terminal;
accessing the consumer internal profile database to determine pre-determined contact parameters of the requestor based on the virtual key of the requestor; and
generating a response for transmittal to the wireless terminal when the reply is indicative of permission to proceed with provision of the requested contact information of the user to the wireless terminal, the response including only contact information identified by the user of the subscriber terminal as permissible to send to the wireless terminal, the response generated in accordance with the format preferences of the requestor.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A information assistance application is disclosed for use in a wireless communication environment. A requestor terminal is operable to generate a request for an information record associated with a subscriber terminal. The request is transmitted from the requestor terminal to an information assistance application server. The information assistance application server processes the request to determine the identity of the person for whom information has been requested and to determine how to contact the subscriber terminal. A message is generated and sent to the subscriber terminal requesting permission to provide the requester terminal with the requested information. If the subscriber terminal replies with an indication that the information may be provided, then the information application server generates a message that includes the information being requested and transmits it to the requestor terminal.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method of providing information assistance to a wireless terminal, comprising the steps of:
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receiving, from a wireless terminal operated by a requestor, a contact information request with an information assistance application located on an information assistance server, wherein the contact information request is a request for contact information of a user of a subscriber terminal that is other than the wireless terminal; querying a participating communication provider database of a communication provider providing communication services to the wireless terminal to identify a virtual key of the requestor from unique information of the wireless terminal included with the contact information request, the virtual key being a universal anonymous identifier of the requestor that is shared among a plurality of different participating businesses; accessing a consumer internal profile database containing verification data of the requestor and proprietary information of the requestor with the virtual key of the requestor, the verification data providing verification of consent by the requestor of release and use of the proprietary information of the requestor; accessing permissions of the user of the subscriber terminal with the information assistance application to determine if the contact information request should be automatically denied categorically or specifically, based on the proprietary information of the requestor obtained from the consumer internal profile database with the virtual key of the requestor; determining a contact preference for how to contact the subscriber terminal about the received contact information request with the information assistance application only when the information request is determined as not being automatically denied; generating an authorization request to request permission from the subscriber terminal to provide the contact information of the user of the subscriber terminal to the wireless terminal, wherein the authorization request includes an indication of an identity of the requestor based on the proprietary information of the requestor; transmitting the authorization request to the subscriber terminal in accordance with the determined contact preference; receiving a reply from the subscriber terminal indicative of whether or not the requested information record is permitted to be provided to the wireless terminal; accessing the consumer internal profile database to determine pre-determined contact parameters of the requestor based on the virtual key of the requestor; and generating a response for transmittal to the wireless terminal when the reply is indicative of permission to proceed with provision of the requested contact information of the user to the wireless terminal, the response including only contact information identified by the user of the subscriber terminal as permissible to send to the wireless terminal, the response generated in accordance with the format preferences of the requestor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A computer readable medium storing a computer program for providing information assistance to a wireless terminal in a wireless communication system, comprising:
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a code segment that receives a contact information request message specifically requesting a phone number associated with a subscriber terminal, the request generated with a wireless terminal that is other than the subscriber terminal by a requestor that is other than a user of the subscriber terminal; a code segment to query a participating communication provider database of a communication provider providing communication services to the wireless terminal to identify a virtual key of the requestor from unique information included within the contact information request, the virtual key being a universal anonymous identifier of the requestor that is shared among a plurality of different participating businesses; a code segment to access, using the virtual key of the requestor, a consumer internal profile database containing verification data of the requestor and proprietary information of the requestor; a code segment to verify, with the verification data, consent of the requestor to release and use of the proprietary information of the requestor; a code segment responsive to the contact information request that determines how to contact the subscriber terminal; a code segment that generates an authorization request for permission to provide the phone number associated with the subscriber terminal to the wireless terminal, wherein the authorization request includes at least a portion of the proprietary information of the requestor from the consumer internal profile database; a code segment that transmits the authorization request to the subscriber terminal; a code segment that interprets a reply from the subscriber terminal to determine if permission to provide the phone number associated with the subscriber terminal to the wireless terminal was granted; a code segment to determine from the consumer subscriber database based on the virtual key of the requestor, a communication preference of the requestor and compatibility settings of the wireless terminal; and a code segment that generates a response to the wireless terminal that includes the phone number associated with the subscriber terminal when permission is granted, the response generated in accordance with the communication preference and the compatibility settings. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A system for providing information assistance to a wireless terminal, comprising:
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an information assistance application server; the information assistance application server operable to run an information assistance application that is configured to generate a webpage comprising input fields configured to receive a contact information request from a wireless terminal operated by a requestor for an information item associated with a subscriber terminal other than the wireless terminal; a virtual customer database system in communication with the information assistance application server, the virtual customer database comprising a communication provider database of a communication provider providing communication services to the wireless terminal and a consumer internal profile database comprising verification data of the requestor and proprietary information of the requestor; the information assistance application server further configured to generate a query to the virtual customer database system comprising unique information included with the contact information request; the virtual customer database system configured to query the participating communication provider database to determine a virtual key of the requestor based on the unique information, the virtual key being a universal anonymous identifier of the requestor that is shared among a plurality of different participating businesses; the virtual customer database system further configured determine if the proprietary information of the requestor is available for release based on the verification data, and in response to the proprietary information being available for release, the virtual customer database system further configured to provide the proprietary information to the information assistance application server, the proprietary information comprising a name of the requestor and specific contact information of the requestor, the specific contact information indicative of preferred communications channels of the requestor and contact parameters for the preferred communication channels of the requestor; the information assistance application further configured to determine how to contact the subscriber terminal as a function of a contact preference associated with the subscriber terminal; the information assistance application further configured to generate an authorization request to request authorization from the subscriber terminal to provide the information item associated with the subscriber terminal to the wireless terminal, wherein the authorization request includes the name of the requestor; the information assistance application further configured to initiate transmission of the authorization request and the selectable option to the subscriber terminal; the information assistance application further configured to receive from the subscriber terminal a reply to the authorization request indicating whether or not to provide the information item to the wireless terminal; and the information assistance application further configured to generate the response message for the wireless terminal that includes only information from the information item that is specified by a user of the subscriber terminal, the response message generated when the reply indicates the information item is to be provided, wherein the response message is generated in accordance with the preferred communications channels and contact parameters of the requestor. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method of providing information assistance to a wireless terminal, comprising the steps of:
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receiving, from a wireless terminal, a contact information request with an information assistance server, wherein the contact information request is a request for an information record associated with a consumer subscriber that is other than a user of the wireless terminal; querying a first participating communication provider database of a first communication provider providing communication services to the wireless terminal to identify a first virtual key of the user of the wireless terminal based on unique information of the wireless terminal included with the contact information request, the first virtual key being a universal anonymous identifier of the user of the wireless terminal that is shared among a plurality of different participating businesses; accessing a consumer internal profile database containing verification data of the user and proprietary information of the user with the first virtual key, the verification data providing verification of consent by the user of release and use of the proprietary information of the user; querying a consumer cross reference database to identify a second virtual key of the consumer subscriber identified in the contact information request; accessing the consumer subscriber database with the second virtual key to determine a user specific contact preference and a user specific message format for the consumer subscriber; transmitting for receipt by a subscriber terminal determined to be a contact preference of the consumer subscriber an authorization request that includes at least a portion of the proprietary information of the user, the authorization request comprising a multi-modal message that includes both a voice-based request and a text-based request in accordance with the user specific message format, wherein the authorization request is to request permission from the subscriber terminal to provide the information record to the wireless terminal; receiving a reply from the subscriber terminal indicative of whether or not the requested information record is permitted to be provided to the wireless terminal; accessing the consumer internal profile database with the first virtual key to determine a requestor specific contact preference and a requestor specific message format for the wireless terminal, the requestor specific contact preference and the requestor specific message format pre-stored in the consumer internal profile database in association with the virtual key of the user; and generating a response message for the wireless terminal, the response message comprising a multi-modal message that includes both a voice-based response and a text-based response in accordance with the requestor specific message format and the requestor specific contact preference. - View Dependent Claims (40)
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Specification