Methods and systems for managing telecommunications

• US 8,325,886 B1
• Filed: 01/08/2008
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CallWave Communications, LLC
• Original Assignee: CallWave Communications, LLC
• Inventors: Kirchhoff, Leland W., Trandal, David S., Hofstatter, David F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sing, Simon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huynh, Van D
• Application Number:
  US11/971,097
• Time in Patent Office: 1,792 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.12, 379/88.14, 379/88.17, 379/88.13, 379/93.15, 707/3, 707/104.1, 709/246
• US Class Current: 379/88.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72433 for voice messaging, e.g. dictaphones for answering incoming calls H04M1/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2038 Call context notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/252 where a voice mode is enhanced with visual information
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/558 Databases
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs
• 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 3/53333 Message receiving aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53358 Message preview

Abstract

Methods and systems for call processing are described. In an illustrative embodiment, a call processing system answers a call from a caller intended for a first party and records a message from the caller. The call processing system stores call information and the caller message. Some or all of the caller message is transmitted in substantially real time to a terminal associated with the first party. Further, at least a portion of the caller message is converted to text, which is transmitted to a terminal associated with the first party and is stored for later access. The first party can then submit a search query with respect to the stored information. When a search query is received from the first party, the system searches a data store to determine if there is matching call and provides the first party with information related to a matching call.

Claims

1. A method of processing a call comprising:

receiving at a call processing system a first call from a caller intended for a first person;

recording a voice communication from the caller;

determining if at least a portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication is to be converted into text by querying a caller contact database associated with the first person;

converting at least a portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication into text at least partly in response to determining that at least a portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication is to be converted into text;

transmitting a call notification regarding the first call to a terminal associated with the first person;

enabling the first person to search the voice communication text for one or more search terms specified by the first person;

providing the first person with the search results;

wherein the search results include at least a portion of the text of the voice communication;

enabling the first person to position a cursor within the text included in the search results to indicate where playback of the voice communication is to be performed; and

playing the original voice communication associated with the voice communication text at a point corresponding to the cursor position in the text

enabling the first person to edit the text and/or call signaling information.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving call signaling information associated with the first call;

storing at least a portion of the call signaling information associated with the first call;

responding to a first search request by providing at least a portion of the call signaling information associated with the first call.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising enabling the first person to assign and/or edit a name in a contact record associated with the caller.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the conversion of the voice communication to text is performed by an electronic system, a human transcriber, or a combination of the electronic system and the human transcriber.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the call signaling information includes caller name.

6. A system, including at least one processing device, configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving at a call processing system a first call from a caller intended for a first person;

recording a voice communication from the caller;

determining if at least a portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication is to be converted into text by querying a caller contact database associated with the first person;

converting at least a portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication into text at least partly in response to determining that at least a portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication is to be converted into text;

transmitting a call notification regarding the first call to a terminal associated with the first person;

enabling the first person to search the voice communication text for one or more search terms specified by the first person;

providing the first person with the search results;

wherein the search results include at least a portion of the text of the voice communication;

enabling the first person to position a cursor within the text included in the search results to indicate where playback of the voice communication is to be performed; and

playing the original voice communication associated with the voice communication text at a point corresponding to the cursor position in the text.

7. The system as defined in claim 6, the operations further comprising:

receiving call signaling information associated with the first call;

storing at least a portion of the call signaling information associated with the first call;

responding to a first search request by providing at least a portion of the call signaling information associated with the first call.

8. The system as defined in claim 6, the operations further comprising enabling the first person to assign and/or edit a name in a contact record associated with the caller.

9. The system as defined in claim 6, wherein the conversion of the voice communication to text is performed by an electronic system, a human transcriber, or a combination of the electronic system and the human transcriber.

10. The system as defined in claim 6, wherein the call signaling information includes caller name.

11. A system comprising:

at least one computing device;

program instructions stored in non-transitory memory when executed by the at least one computing device, are configured to cause the system to perform the operations comprising;

receiving a first call from a caller intended for a first person;

recording a voice communication from the caller;

determining if at least a portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication is to be converted into text by querying a caller contact database associated with the first person;

converting at least a portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication into text at least partly in response to determining that at least a portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication is to be converted into text;

transmitting a call notification regarding the first call to a terminal associated with the first person;

enabling the first person to search the voice communication text for one or more search terms specified by the first person;

providing the first person with the search results;

wherein the search results include at least a portion of the text of the voice communication;

enabling the first person to position a cursor within the text included in the search results to indicate where playback of the voice communication is to be performed; and

playing the original voice communication associated with the voice communication text at a point corresponding to the cursor position in the text enabling the first person to edit the text and/or call signaling information.

12. The system as defined in claim 11, the operations further comprising:

receiving call signaling information associated with the first call;

storing at least a portion of the call signaling information associated with the first call;

responding to a first search request by providing at least a portion of the call signaling information associated with the first call.

13. The system as defined in claim 11, the operations further comprising:

enabling the first person to assign and/or edit a name in a contact record associated with the caller.

14. The system as defined in claim 11, wherein the conversion of the voice communication to text is performed by at least one computing device, a human transcriber, or a combination of the at least one computing device and the human transcriber.

15. The system as defined in claim 11, wherein the call signaling information includes caller name.