Call arrangement and connection using messaging

• US 7,864,939 B1
• Filed: 04/20/2004
• Issued: 01/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Burg, Frederick Murray
• Primary Examiner(s): SING, SIMON P
• Application Number:
  US10/828,397
• Time in Patent Office: 2,450 Days
• Field of Search: 379/209.01, 379/211.01, 379/207.15, 379/210.01, 379/88.17, 379/93.01, 379/93.35, 379/70, 379/88.23, 379/207.08, 37920201-20501, 709/206, 709/207
• US Class Current: 379/205.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/652 Call initiation triggered by text message
• 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

Abstract

A method and a system allows an Instant Message (IM) user or an E-mail user to arrange and to place a present or a future telephone call by way of a respective IM or E-mail, without dialing a telephone.

Claims

1. A method of arranging a telephone call, comprising:

receiving, from a caller network device, a free form instant text message having caller information associated with the caller network device and called endpoint information associated with a network device to be called, the free form instant text message including a time at which a telephone call is to be initiated;

initiating an arrangement of the telephone call by a server prior to an attempt to call the network device in response to receiving the free form instant text message, the arrangement being associated with the time to initiate the telephone call;

sending a first alerting signal to the network device to be called and a second alerting signal to the caller network device automatically by the server at the time included in the free form instant text message, the network device to be called becoming a called network device in response to the first alerting signal being sent, the first and second alerting signals being sent to each of the caller network device and the called device at the time included in the free form instant text message so that the caller network device and the called network device are each called by the server at the time included in the free form instant text message;

detecting whether a first connection signal is received from the called network device and whether a second connection signal is received from the caller network device;

attempting to connect the called network device to the caller network device in response to the first connection signal and the second connection signal; and

sending at least one of an instant message and an e-mail to the caller network device after attempting to connect the called network device to the caller network device fails and in response to the first connection signal not being received from the called network device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a session; and

recalling saved caller information based upon the session.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a confirmation message indicating a successful connection to at least one of the called network device and the caller network device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the message further includes time information, and the sending the first alerting signal, the detecting if the first connection signal is received, the connecting to the called network device, the sending the second alerting signal, the detecting if the second connection signal is received, and the connecting the called network device to the caller network device are performed at a time identified in the time information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the caller information includes at least one of a caller telephone number, a caller text description, a caller E-mail address, a caller login name, a caller network address, and a session identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the called endpoint information includes at least one of a called telephone number, a called endpoint text description, a called endpoint E-mail address, a called endpoint network address.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising decoding the called endpoint information to provide a called telephone number.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising decoding the caller information to provide a caller telephone number.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving a called telephone number associated with the called endpoint information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the message includes at least one of an instant message and an E-mail.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a voice message to the called network device in response to the first connection signal being received from the called network device.

12. The method of claim 1, further including comprising sending a voice message to the caller network device in response to the second connection signal being received from the caller network device.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

terminating the sending of the first alerting signal to the called network device in response to the first connection signal not being received from the called network device.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

retrying sending the first alerting signal to the called network device.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

terminating the sending of the second alerting signal to the caller network device in response to the second connection signal not being received from the caller network device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

retrying sending the second alerting signal to the caller network device.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a voice message to the called network device in response to the second connection signal not being received from the caller network device and the first connection signal being received from the called network device.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the caller network device is selected from a telephone and an Internet telephony device and the called network device is selected from a telephone and an Internet telephony device.

19. A method of arranging a telephone call to a calling center, comprising:

receiving, from a caller network device, a free form instant text message having caller information associated with the caller network device and calling center information associated with the calling center, the free form instant text message including a time at which a telephone call is to be initiated;

initiating an arrangement of the telephone call prior to an attempt to call the calling center in response to the free form instant text message, the arrangement being associated with the time to initiate the telephone call;

sending a first alerting signal to the calling center and a second alerting signal to the caller network device automatically by the server at the time included in the free form instant text message, the first and second alerting signals being sent to each of the caller network device and the calling center at the time included in the free form instant text message so that the caller network device and the calling center are each called by the server at the time included in the free form instant text message;

detecting whether a first connection signal is received from the calling center and whether a second connection signal is received from the caller network device;

attempting to connect the caller network device to the calling center in response to the first connection signal and the second connection signal; and

sending at least one of an instant message and an e-mail to the caller network device after attempting to connect the called network device to the caller network device fails and in response to the first connection signal not being received from the called network device.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

establishing a session; and

recalling saved caller information based upon the session.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the caller information includes at least one of a caller telephone number, a caller text description, a caller E-mail address, a caller login name, a caller network address, and a session identifier.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the calling center information includes at least one of a called telephone number, a calling center text description, a calling center E-mail address, and a calling center network address.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising decoding the calling center information to provide a calling center telephone number.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising decoding the caller information to provide a caller telephone number.

25. The method of claim 19, further comprising retrieving a calling center telephone number associated with the calling center information.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the message includes at least one of an instant message and an E-mail.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein the caller network device is selected from a telephone and an internet telephony device and the calling center is adapted to couple to at least one of the public switched telephone network and a data network.

28. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

sending at least a portion of the calling center information to the calling center;

receiving a calling center response having calling center knowledge in response to the portion of the calling center information; and

connecting the caller network device to the calling center in response to the caller information and to the calling center knowledge.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the portion of the calling center information includes an interactive voice response system (IVR) sequence associated with an interactive voice response system (IVR).

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the calling center knowledge includes at least one of a calling center expected response time and a calling center queue value.

31. A system for arranging a telephone call, comprising:

a server adapted to receive, from a caller network device, a free form instant text message having caller information associated with the caller network device and called endpoint information associated with a network device to be called, the free form instant text message including a time at which a telephone call is to be initiated, receipt of the free form instant text message initiating an arrangement of the telephone call prior to an attempt to call the network device, the arrangement being associated with the time to initiate the telephone call and the server being adapted to attempt to connect the telephone call in accordance with the arrangement, the caller information, and the called endpoint information; and

a gateway coupled to the server and to a telephony network for providing communications from the server to the telephony network,

wherein at least one of the gateway and the server is adapted to send alerting signals to the network device to be called and to the caller network device in response to the arrangement initiated by the free form instant text message, the network device to be called becoming a called network device in response to one of the alerting signals being sent to the network device to be called and at least one of the gateway, and

wherein the server is further adapted to detect connection signals from the caller network device and from the called network device and send at least one of an instant message and an e-mail to the caller network device after attempting to connect the called network device to the caller network device and in response to the first connection signal not being received from the called network device.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the gateway is adapted to connect the server to one or more of the called network device and the caller network device, and the gateway is still further adapted to connect the called network device to the caller network device.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the caller information includes at least one of a caller telephone number, a caller text description, a caller E-mail address, a caller login name, a caller network address, and a session identifier.

34. The system of claim 31, wherein the called endpoint information includes at least one of a called telephone number, a called endpoint text description, a called endpoint network address, a called endpoint E-mail address, and a called endpoint interactive voice response (IVR) sequence.

35. The system of claim 31, further comprising a decoder to decode the called endpoint information to provide a called telephone number.

36. The system of claim 31, further comprising a decoder to decode the caller information to provide a caller telephone number.

37. The system of claim 31, wherein the message includes at least one of an instant message and an E-mail.

38. The system of claim 31, wherein the called network device is associated with a calling center.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the calling center includes an interactive voice response (IVR) system and the server is further adapted to communicate an IVR sequence to the calling center.