Outbound notification using customer profile information

• US 7,996,481 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2003
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Decker, John Jeffrey, Stillman, Scott T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr.; William C
• Assistant Examiner(s): DONABED, NINOS J
• Application Number:
  US10/393,130
• Publication Number:
  US 20040003048A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,064 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709223-224, 709207-211
• US Class Current: 709/207
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2016 Call initiation by network rather than by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4872 Non-interactive information services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0036 where the data service is an information service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1235 where one of the core networks is a wireless network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/126 Interworking of session control protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/128 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking

Abstract

Methods and systems provide for automatic outbound information notification to a subscriber based on a subscriber'"'"'s communications customer profile. A subscriber may select one or more events for which the subscriber desires notification from an outbound notification events options list. When an event is triggered for which the subscriber has requested notification, for example a traffic information report at a selected notification time, a voice services node queries a customer profile database to determine what information must be obtained and transmitted to the subscriber based on the subscriber'"'"'s selected notification options and frequencies. The voice services node calls the subscriber at the subscriber'"'"'s telephone directory number and plays the prescribed event information to the subscriber.

Claims

1. A method of providing an outbound information notification to a communications system subscriber, comprising:

at a first communications network component, converting a list of outbound information notification options from text to speech for playing as an audio message, providing the audio message to provide a subscriber the list of outbound information notification options, said options comprising a list of information types that are available to the subscriber, and receiving a selection of one or more outbound information notification options, receiving a selection of a designated day and time for outbound information notification, and saving the selected one or more outbound information notification options and the designated day and time to a customer profile;

at the first communications network component, tracking the subscriber designated day and time;

at an occurrence of the subscriber designated day and time, perform the following;

determining information to be provided to the subscriber and determining a destination in accordance with a personal calendar and schedule of the subscriber;

receiving at the first network component an identification associated with the information that is determined to be provided to the subscriber;

at the first network component, retrieving the information associated with the identification that is determined to be provided to the subscriber; and

sending only to the subscriber the outbound information notification including the information associated with the identification in a predetermined manner to the determined destination designated by the subscriber at the subscriber designated day and time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the outbound information notification comprises placing a call to the subscriber and playing the information as an audio.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising querying a customer profile database for the customer profile of the subscriber, wherein the customer profile has been populated with personal calendaring and scheduling information of the subscriber.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein after querying the customer profile database, parsing the customer profile of the subscriber to determine what information is to be provided to the subscriber at the designated day and time.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising converting the information from text to speech for transmitting to the subscriber via a text-to-speech translation.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving the information that is to be provided to the subscriber includes retrieving the information as a prerecorded audio file.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving the information includes parsing a memory storage medium populated with the information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving the information comprises:

sending a database query to a remote storage medium from the first network component; and

at the remote storage medium, retrieving the information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein sending a database query to the remote storage medium includes sending the database query from the first network component to a remote information clearinghouse via a distributed computing network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein sending a database query from the first network component to a remote information clearinghouse includes sending the database query via the Internet.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein sending the database query via the Internet comprises sending the database query via a TCP/IP communications protocol.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising playing a prerecorded audio message including the list of outbound information notification options to the subscriber.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a selection of one or more outbound information notification options from the list of outbound information notification options includes receiving a selection of one or more subscriber defined event occurrences at which information associated with the subscriber defined event occurrence is to be provided to the subscriber.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising receiving from the subscriber a frequency with which the outbound information notification is to be sent to the subscriber wherein the frequency comprises the subscriber designated day and time.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein saving the selected one or more outbound information notification options to a customer profile of the subscriber includes saving the selected one or more outbound information notification options to the customer profile for the subscriber in a customer profile database.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising saving the identification associated with the information that is to be provided to the subscriber at the subscriber designated day and time.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving from the subscriber a request for options for providing outbound information notification includes receiving the request from the subscriber via a distributed computing network.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving from the subscriber via a distributed computing network a request for options for outbound information notification includes receiving the request from the subscriber via the Internet.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving from the subscriber via a distributed computing network a request for options for outbound information notification includes receiving the request from the subscriber via a TCP/IP protocol connection from a subscriber computing device to the first network component.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the information associated with the identification includes traffic information for the subscriber'"'"'s local driving area.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the information associated with the identification includes weather information of the subscriber'"'"'s local driving area.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein the information associated with the identification includes financial information designated by the subscriber.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein the information associated with the identification includes news information designated by the subscriber.

42. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the outbound notification comprises:

placing a call from the first network component to the subscriber at a designated subscriber telephone directory number; and

playing the information as an audio message to the subscriber.

43. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting a flag at the first network component for the designated day and time at which the outbound information notification is to be sent to the subscriber, wherein sending an outbound information notification comprises sending notification via at least one of the following:

voice over Internet protocol;

voice/audio;

electronic mail; and

SMS.

44. The method of claim 1, wherein sending an outbound information notification comprises sending notification via at least one of the following:

telephone;

personal computer;

wireless device; and

PDA.

24. A voice services node for providing an outbound information notification to a communications system subscriber, comprising:

means for converting a list of outbound information notification options from text to speech for playing as an audio message;

means for providing the audio message to provide the list of outbound information notification options;

means for tracking one or more days and times defined by a subscriber for providing outbound information notification from a first communication network component to a subscriber;

means for determining information that is to be provided to the subscriber upon an occurrence of the days and times defined by the subscriber for providing the outbound information notification wherein the occurrence of the outbound information event defined by the subscriber for providing outbound information notification comprises the subscriber designated day, time, and destination in accordance with a personal calendar and schedule of the subscriber;

means for determining the destination that is in accordance with the personal calendar and schedule of the subscriber;

means for retrieving, at the occurrence of the days and times, defined by the subscriber the information that is determined to be provided to the subscriber upon the occurrence of outbound information event having the subscriber designated time; and

means for sending only to the subscriber the outbound information notification including the information that is determined to be provided to the subscriber in a predetermined manner whenever the designated time occurs, wherein the outbound information notification is sent to the determined destination that is in accordance with the personal calendar and schedule of the subscriber.

25. The voice services node of claim 24, wherein the means for sending the outbound information notification comprises means for placing a call to the subscriber and playing the information as an audio.

26. The voice services node of claim 24, wherein the voice services node is further operative to query a customer profile database for a customer profile for the subscriber for determining information to be provided to the subscriber, wherein the customer profile has been populated with personal calendaring and scheduling information of the subscriber.

27. The voice services node of claim 24, wherein the voice services node is further operative to convert the information from text-to-speech for providing to the subscriber as an audio message.

28. The voice services node of claim 24, wherein the voice services node is further operative to parse a storage medium populated with the information.

29. The voice services node of claim 28, wherein the voice services node is further operative:

to send a database query to the storage medium; and

to retrieve the information from the storage medium.

30. The voice services node of claim 29, wherein the voice services node is operative to send the database query to a remote information resource provider via a distributed computing network.

31. The voice services node of claim 30, wherein the voice services node is operative to send the database query to the remote information resource provider via the Internet.

32. The voice services node of claim 24, wherein, prior to tracking one or more outbound information events defined by a subscriber for providing outbound information notification to a subscriber, the voice services node is further comprises:

means for receiving a call from a subscriber for voice interactive services;

means for receiving from the subscriber a request for options for outbound information notification;

means for receiving a selection of one or more outbound information notification options from the list of outbound information notification options for providing outbound information to the subscriber; and

means for saving the selected one or more outbound information notification options to a customer profile for the subscriber.

33. The voice services node of claim 24, wherein the outbound information event defined by a subscriber for providing outbound information notification includes a date for outbound notification of the information associated with the selected event occurrence.

34. The voice services node of claim 24, wherein the information includes traffic information for the subscriber'"'"'s local driving area.

35. The voice services node of claim 24, wherein the information includes weather information of the subscriber'"'"'s local driving area.

36. The voice services node of claim 24, wherein the information includes financial information designated by the subscriber.

37. The voice services node of claim 24, wherein the information includes news information designated by the subscriber.

38. A method of providing an outbound information notification to a communications system subscriber, comprising:

converting a list of outbound information notification options from text to speech for playing as an audio message;

providing the audio message to provide the list of outbound information notification options;

at a voice services node, tracking one or more times and days designated by a subscriber for an outbound information event occurrence defined by the subscriber for providing outbound information notification to the subscriber;

at an occurrence of a subscriber-designated day and time, perform the following;

querying a customer profile database that has been populated with personal calendaring and scheduling information of the subscriber for a customer profile for the subscriber for determining information to be provided to the subscriber at the occurrence of the selected day and determining a destination that is in accordance with a personal calendar and schedule of the subscriber;

receiving, at the voice services node from the customer profile database, identification of the information that is determined to be provided to the subscriber at the occurrence of the subscriber designated day and time;

at the voice services node, retrieving the information that is determined to be provided to the subscriber; and

from the voice services node, sending outbound information notification only to the subscriber in a predetermined manner to the destination in accordance with the personal calendar and schedule of the subscriber at the subscriber designated day and time.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein retrieving the information includes parsing a remote storage medium populated with the information.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein retrieving the information farther comprises:

sending a database query to the remote storage medium from the voice services node; and

at the remote storage medium, retrieving the information.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein sending a database query to the remote storage medium includes sending the database query from the voice services node to a remote information resource provider at a remote server via the Internet.

45. The method of claim 38, wherein sending a outbound information notification comprises:

placing a call from voice services node to the subscriber at a designated subscriber telephone directory number;

providing the information to the subscriber telephonically; and

terminating the call to the subscriber.

46. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computer to provide an outbound information notification to a communications system subscriber in accordance with a personal calendar and schedule of the subscriber, wherein the computer-readable medium is non-transitory, the control logic comprising computer readable program code for causing the computer to:

converting a list of outbound information notification options from text to speech for playing as an audio message;

providing the audio message to provide the list of outbound information notification options;

at a first communications network component, track a day and time designated by a subscriber for providing the outbound information notification to the subscriber;

at an occurrence of a subscriber designated day and time, perform the following;

determine information to be provided to the subscriber upon an occurrence of the days and times defined by the subscriber for providing the outbound information notification, wherein the occurrence of the outbound information event defined by the subscriber for providing outbound information notification comprises the subscriber designated day, time, and destination in accordance with a personal calendar and schedule of the subscriber; and

determine a destination in accordance with the personal calendar and schedule of the subscriber;

at the first network component, retrieve the information that is to be provided to the subscriber upon the occurrence of outbound information event having the subscriber designated time; and

send the outbound information notification only to the subscriber to the determined destination that is in accordance with the personal calendar and schedule of the subscriber in a predetermined manner at the subscriber designated day and time, wherein the outbound information notification includes the information determined to be provided to the subscriber.