Integrating data with conversations

• US 8,576,851 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2006
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Elumalai, Arulkumar, Combel, Craig M., Raghav, Amritansh, Ramanathan, Rajesh, Shtiegman, Eran
• Primary Examiner(s): Sam, Phirin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moutaouakil, Mounir
• Application Number:
  US11/534,630
• Publication Number:
  US 20080075074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,601 Days
• Field of Search: 370/260, 370/352, 370/389, 370/395.2, 709/207, 709/227
• US Class Current: 370/395.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport

Abstract

A facility for integrating data in conversations is provided. In various embodiments, the facility sends a first message to a responding computing device to begin a conversation, receives a second message associated with the conversation from the responding computing device, determines whether the received message contains an indication of data that is to be associated with the conversation and, when the received message contains an indication of data that is to be associated with the conversation, renders the data. The facility can comprise an application server that receives from an initiator a first message associated with a conversation and responds to received messages, a conversation component that handles messages associated with the conversation, and an integration component that determines whether there is data that is to be associated with the conversation and, if so, adds an indication of the data to a second message that it sends to the initiator.

Claims

1. A method performed by a computing system for integrating data in a conversation, comprising:

sending by a computing device executing a voice communication application an invitation message to a responding computing device to begin a voice conversation via Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP);

starting the conversation;

within a subsequent message received by the computing device from the responding computing device as part of the voice conversation via VoIP, receiving a uniform resource locator (URL) to be associated with the voice conversation;

under control of the voice communication application, opening a window and displaying within the opened window a web page associated with the URL;

receiving, from a user using the computing device, a request to connect with a human operator;

transmitting by the communication application the previously received URL and an indication of a portion of the web page to the responding computing device so that the responding computing device can identify the URL and the portion of the web page viewed by the user at the computing device to the human operator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the responding computing device provides an interactive voice response (IVR) application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the URL identifies a resource that provides details pertaining to a selection made by the user via the IVR application.

4. A computer-readable memory storing computer-executable instructions that, if executed, perform operations comprising:

sending by a computing device executing a voice communication application an invitation message to a responding computing device to begin a voice conversation via Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP);

starting the conversation;

within a subsequent message received by the computing device from the responding computing device as part of the voice conversation via VoIP, receiving a uniform resource locator (URL) to be associated with the voice conversation;

under control of the voice communication application, opening a window and displaying within the opened window a web page associated with the URL;

receiving, from a user using the computing device, a request to connect with a human operator;

transmitting by the communication application the previously received URL and an indication of a portion of the web page to the responding computing device so that the responding computing device can identify the URL and the portion of the web page viewed by the user at the computing device to the human operator.

5. A system, comprising:

one or more processors and memories;

a component, executing at a computing device executing a voice communication application, configured to send an invitation message to a responding computing device to begin a voice conversation via Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP);

a component configured to start the conversation;

a component configured to, within a subsequent message received by the computing device from the responding computing device as part of the voice conversation via VoIP, receive a uniform resource locator (URL) to be associated with the voice conversation;

a component configured to, under control of the voice communication application, open a window and displaying within the opened window a web page associated with the URL;

a component configured to receive, from a user using the computing device, a request to connect with a human operator;

wherein the communication application is configured to transmit the previously received URL and an indication of a portion of the web page to the responding computing device so that the responding computing device can identify the URL and the portion of the web page viewed by the user at the computing device to the human operator.