External messaging during conference call

• US 8,638,919 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2012
• Issued: 01/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated (Kyndryl Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: DeLuca, Lisa Seacat
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, CREIGHTON H
• Application Number:
  US13/484,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20130322610A1
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 379/202.01, 379/204.01, 370/260, 709/204
• US Class Current: 379/204.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/00 Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5009 Adding a party to an existing conference
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5081 Inform conference party of participants, e.g. of change of participants
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• 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 3/563 User guidance or feature selection

Abstract

A solution for enabling a participant to a conference call to obtain contact information for other participants to the conference call in order to send an external message to one or more of the other participants is provided. The contact information can be used by a messaging system, which is available to the participant independent of the conference call, to transmit the external message for presentation to the other participant(s).

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of managing a conference call, the method comprising:

receiving a request to send an external message to a set of other participants to the conference call from a first participant device of a first participant to the conference call;

sending a response to the request to the first participant device, wherein the response includes external contact information for use by the first participant device in transmitting the external message to a device associated with at least one of the set of other participants using a messaging system available independent of the conference call;

receiving a request to join the conference call from a participant; and

sending a request for the external contact information for the participant in response to the request to join the conference call.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a message desired inquiry to at least one participant in the set of other participants in response to receiving the request; and

including external contact information for the at least one of the set of other participants in the response based on at least one of;

a response to the message desired inquiry from the at least one of the set of other participants or a default action.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the response further includes additional information for the at least one of the set of other participants, the additional information including at least one of:

name information for the participant or alternative contact information for the participant.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the external contact information for at least one of the set of other participants includes anonymous contact information, the method further comprising:

receiving a request for message contact information from the messaging system, wherein the request includes data corresponding to the anonymous contact information; and

providing message contact information for use by the messaging system in response to the request, wherein the message contact information corresponds to the anonymous contact information and enables the messaging system to transmit the external message to a device associated with the anonymous contact information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the set of other participants is limited to participants currently connected to the conference call.

6. A method comprising:

receiving, by a conference call system managing a conference call, a request to join the conference call from a participant;

sending, by the conference call system, a request for the external contact information for the participant in response to the request to join the conference call;

sending, from a computing device while the computing device is connected to the conference call, a request to send an external message to a set of other participants to the conference call for processing by the conference call system managing the conference call; and

receiving, on the computing device, a response to the request from the conference call system, wherein the response includes external contact information for use in sending the external message to at least one of the set of other participants using a messaging system available to the computing device independent of the conference call.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

automatically initiating, on the computing device, preparation of the external message while the computing device is connected to the conference call; and

automatically designating a set of destination contacts for the external message using the external contact information included in the response.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising sending the external message from the computing device for processing by the messaging system during the conference call, wherein the external message is one of:

a short message service (SMS) message or a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the external contact information for at least one of the set of other participants is anonymous contact information, and wherein the anonymous contact information enables the messaging system to obtain message contact information for providing the external message for presentation to the at least one of the set of other participants.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the response includes additional information for at least one of the set of other participants, the method further comprising adding a new contact entry to a set of contact entries stored on the computing device using the additional information and the external contact information for the at least one of the set of other participants.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving a message desired inquiry from the conference call system during the conference call; and

providing a response to the conference call system in response to the message desired inquiry.

12. A system comprising:

a computer system for managing a conference call by performing a method comprising;

receiving a request to send an external message to a set of other participants to the conference call from a first participant device of a first participant to the conference call;

sending a response to the request to the first participant device, wherein the response includes external contact information for use by the first participant device in transmitting the external message to a device associated with at least one of the set of other participants using a messaging system available independent of the conference call;

receiving a request to join the conference call from a participant; and

sending a request for the external contact information for the participant in response to the request to join the conference call.

13. The system of claim 12, the method further comprising:

sending a message desired inquiry to at least one participant in the set of other participants in response to receiving the request; and

including external contact information for the at least one of the set of other participants in the response based on at least one of;

a response to the message desired inquiry from the at least one of the set of other participants or a default action.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the response further includes additional information for the at least one of the set of other participants, the additional information including at least one of:

name information for the participant or alternative contact information for the participant.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the external contact information for at least one of the set of other participants includes anonymous contact information, the method further comprising:

receiving a request for message contact information from the messaging system, wherein the request includes data corresponding to the anonymous contact information; and

providing message contact information for use by the messaging system in response to the request, wherein the message contact information corresponds to the anonymous contact information and enables the messaging system to transmit the external message to a device associated with the anonymous contact information.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one of the set of other participants is limited to participants currently connected to the conference call.