Methods and systems for managing telecommunications

• US 8,526,582 B1
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• 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): Islam, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huynh, Van D
• Application Number:
  US13/614,532
• Time in Patent Office: 355 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 speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• 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 logging of telephone numbers H04M1/56, H04M1/57
• 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. A call from a caller intended for a first party is received at a call processing system, which stores call signaling information associated with the call. A greeting is played to the caller, and a voice communication is received and recorded. At least a first portion of the voice communication is transmitted in substantially real time to a terminal associated with the first person. At least a portion of the voice communication is converted to text and the text is stored and transmitted to a terminal associated with the first party. When a search query is received from the first party, the system searches the data store to determine if there is matching call having related matching call information. If there is a matching call, related information may be provided to the first party.

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;

storing a voice communication from the caller;

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

transmitting, by the call processing system, a notification regarding the first call to a terminal associated with the first person;

converting a set of words, including some or all words, in the first portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication into text, wherein the set of words is larger than the first subset of words, and the set of words includes one or more words in the first subset of words;

enabling the first person to search the first subset of words of voice communication text, the set of words of voice communication text, or the first subset of words of voice communication text and the set of words of voice communication text, for one or more search terms specified by the first person;

obtaining first search results corresponding to a search query from the first person;

providing the first person with the first search results;

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

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

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

promoting one or more services based at least in part on content of the first subset of words of voice communication text, the set of words of voice communication text, or the first subset of words of voice communication text and the set of words of voice communication text.

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; and

providing at least a portion of the call signaling information associated with the first call in association with the first search results.

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 at least the first portion of the caller'"'"'s 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 2, wherein the call signaling information includes a name associated with the caller.

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

determining if one or more keywords are included in the first portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication; and

at least partly in response to determining that the first portion of the voice communication includes at least one of the one or more keywords, including the at least one keyword in the text converted from the first subset of words in the first portion.

7. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein the one or more keywords include activity words.

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

accessing a lead-in-text count from computer readable memory; and

converting an initial portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication into a first quantity of text wherein the first quantity is not to exceed a second quantity, wherein the second quantity is based at least in part on the lead-in-text count.

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

accessing a time period value from computer readable memory; and

converting an initial portion, having a first time length, of the caller'"'"'s voice communication into text wherein the first time length does not exceed a second time length, wherein the second time length is based at least in part on the time period value.

10. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising indexing the first subset of words corresponding to the first portion of voice communication text to enhance search performance.

11. A method of processing a call comprising:

receiving at a call processing system a first call from a caller directed to a first called party;

storing a voice communication from the caller;

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

transmitting, by the call processing system, a notification regarding the first call to a terminal associated with the first person;

converting a set of words, including some or all words, in the first portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication into text, wherein the set of words is larger than the first subset of words, and the set of words includes one or more words in the first subset of words;

enabling, via at least one computing system, the first person to search the first subset of words of voice communication text, the set of words of voice communication text, or the first subset of words of voice communication text and the set of words of voice communication text, for one or more search terms specified by the first called party;

obtaining first search results corresponding to a search query from the first person;

providing the first called party with the first search results;

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

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

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

promoting one or more services based at least in part on content of the first subset of words of voice communication text, the set of words of voice communication text, or the first subset of words of voice communication text and the set of words of voice communication text.

12. The method as defined in claim 11, 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; and

providing at least a portion of the call signaling information associated with the first call in association with the first search results.

13. The method as defined in claim 11, the method further comprising enabling the first called party to assign and/or edit a name in a contact record associated with the caller.

14. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the conversion of at least the first portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication to text is performed by an electronic system, a human transcriber, or a combination of the electronic system and the human transcriber.

15. The method as defined in claim 11, the method further comprising:

determining if one or more keywords are included in the first portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication; and

at least partly in response to determining that the first portion of the voice communication includes at least one of the one or more keywords, including the at least one keywords in the text converted from the first subset of word corresponding to the first portion.

16. The method as defined in claim 15, wherein the one or more keywords include activity words.

17. The method as defined in claim 11, the method further comprising:

accessing a lead-in-text count from computer readable memory; and

converting an initial portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication into a first quantity of text wherein the first quantity is not to exceed a second quantity, wherein the second quantity is based at least in part on the lead-in-text count.

18. The method as defined in claim 11, the method further comprising:

accessing a time period value from computer readable memory; and

converting an initial portion, having a first time length, of the caller'"'"'s voice communication into text wherein first time length does not exceed a second time length, wherein the second time length is based at least in part on the time period value.

19. The method as defined in claim 11, the method further comprising indexing the first subset of words corresponding to the first portion of voice communication text to enhance search performance.

20. A system comprising:

at least one computer processor and

non-transitory memory, which is operably connected to the at least one computer processor, and embodied with a computer program comprising instructions that when executed by the at least one computer processor cause the at least one computer processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving a first call from a caller directed to a first called party;

storing a voice communication from the caller;

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

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

converting a set of words, including some or all words, in the first portion of the caller'"'"'s voice communication into text, wherein the set of words is larger than the first subset of words, and the set of words includes one or more words in the first subset of words;

enabling the first person to search the first subset of words of voice communication text, the set of words of voice communication text, or the first subset of words of voice communication text and the set of words of voice communication text, for one or more search terms specified by the first called party;

obtaining first search results corresponding to a search query from the first person;

providing the first called party with the first search results;

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

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

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

promoting one or more services based at least in part on content of the first subset of words of voice communication text, the set of words of voice communication text, or the first subset of words of voice communication text and the set of words of voice communication text.