Communication initiation control

• US 8,726,171 B1
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Knapp, John E., Lachapelle, Serge, Liebenberg, Rian
• Primary Examiner(s): Halu, Tadeese
• Application Number:
  US13/249,296
• Time in Patent Office: 956 Days
• Field of Search: 715750-760
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2748 by matching character strings

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing communication initiation controls. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a term that a user has entered into a text field, selecting one or more contacts that match the term, providing a communication initiation control for each of multiple communication modes, determining, for each of the multiple communication modes, whether any of the selected contacts are available or are capable of communicating through the communication mode, and enabling or disabling, for each of the multiple communication modes, the communication initiation control for the communication mode based on determining whether any of the selected contacts are available or are capable of communicating through the communication mode.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

selecting a first set of multiple contacts using data associated with a computing device;

providing a communication initiation control for each of multiple communication modes;

determining that at least one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts is available to communicate through a first communication mode of the multiple communication modes;

enabling the communication initiation control for the first communication mode in response to determining that at least one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts is available to communicate through the first communication mode;

after enabling the communication initiation control for the first communication mode, selecting a second set of multiple contacts; and

before a user selects any of the second set of multiple contacts;

determining that none of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the first communication mode; and

in response to determining that none of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the first communication mode, disabling the communication initiation control for the first communication mode.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising providing a list identifying the first set of multiple contacts and providing a list identifying the second set of multiple contacts.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

selecting the first set of multiple contacts comprises;

receiving a term entered in an input field;

executing a first search using the received term as a query; and

selecting search results from the first search as the first set of multiple contacts; and

selecting the second set of multiple contacts comprises;

receiving additional user input that extends the term;

executing a second search using the extended term as a query; and

selecting search results from the second search as the second set of multiple contacts, the second set of multiple contacts being a subset of the first set of multiple contacts.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first set of multiple contacts include contacts selected from a contacts list.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first set of multiple contacts include contacts selected from a list of social networking connections.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first set of multiple selected contacts include contacts selected from a private information source associated with the user, and contacts selected from a different, public information source.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the first source comprises a contacts list and the second source comprises a web resource.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that at least one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts is available to communicate through the first communication mode comprises receiving information about a hardware capability of a client device associated with one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts or with the user.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that at least one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts is available to communicate through the first communication mode comprises receiving information about a network capability of a client device associated with one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that at least one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts is available to communicate through the first communication mode comprises receiving information about a current schedule of one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that at least one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts is available to communicate through the first communication mode comprises receiving information about a current location of one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a likelihood that the user will initiate communication,

wherein providing a communication initiation control for each of multiple communication modes is based on determining a likelihood that the user will initiate communication.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising providing a list with a plurality of entries, the entries including at least one of the selected contacts and a result from a search query that is not a contact,

wherein determining a likelihood that the user will initiate communication comprises determining that the highest ranked entry is one of the selected contacts.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, for each of the multiple communication modes, either (i) that one or more of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the communication mode, or (ii) that none of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the communication mode, one or more of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts being determined to be available to communicate through at least one of the multiple communication modes;

enabling, for each of the multiple communication modes for which one or more of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate, the communication initiation control based on determining that one or more of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the communication mode; and

disabling, for each of the multiple communication modes for which none of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate, the communication initiation control based on determining that none of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the communication mode.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein disabling the communication initiation control for the first communication mode comprises providing data that causes one or more disabled communication initiation controls to be displayed on a user interface in an inactive state, the one or more disabled communication initiation controls being visually distinguished from enabled communication initiation controls.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein providing a communication initiation control for each of the multiple communication modes comprises providing data for a user interface that:

presents a list that includes multiple entries, where each of the multiple entries corresponds to a different selected contact; and

presents the communication initiation controls in or on an entry in the list that corresponds to a highest ranking contact of the selected contacts.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein providing data for the user interface comprises providing data for the user interface such that one or more of the entries are at least partially obscured by the communication initiation controls.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein providing a communication initiation control for each of the multiple communication modes comprises providing data for a user interface that includes:

a text field and a drop-down list that expands below the text field, the drop-down list including multiple entries that each correspond to a different selected contact, and

the communication initiation controls located next to an entry in the list that corresponds to a highest ranking contact of the selected contacts.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein providing data for the user interface comprises providing data that causes each of the communication initiation controls to be presented on the user interface on a fly-out menu adjacent to one or more of the entries.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein providing the data that causes each of the communication initiation controls to be presented comprises providing data that causes the fly-out menu to be presented in response to a user action.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein selecting the first set of multiple contacts using data associated with the computing device comprises selecting multiple contacts that match a term entered at the computing device.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the second set of multiple contacts is a proper subset of the first set of multiple contacts.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the communication initiation control for a second communication mode of the multiple communication modes is a button identifying the second communication mode; and

wherein the method further comprises, after selecting the first set of multiple contacts and before selecting the second set of multiple contacts;

determining that none of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the second communication mode; and

in response to determining that none of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the second communication mode, indicating, through a state of the button identifying the second communication mode, an availability status shared by all of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts.

24. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving information identifying a first set of multiple contacts;

receiving a communication initiation control for each of multiple communication modes;

receiving data that enables the communication initiation control for a first communication mode of the multiple communication modes through which at least one of the multiple contacts is determined to be available to communicate;

after receiving the data that enables the communication initiation control for the first communication mode, receiving information identifying a second set of multiple contacts;

before receiving data indicating a user selection of any of the second set of multiple contacts, receiving data that disables the communication initiation control for the first communication mode, none of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts being available to communicate through the first communication mode;

receiving a user selection of a particular one of the communication initiation controls; and

initiating communication through the communication mode associated with the particular communication initiation control.

25. A system comprising:

one or more computers; and

a computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more computers having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

selecting a first set of multiple contacts using data associated with a computing device;

providing a communication initiation control for each of multiple communication modes;

determining that at least one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts is available to communicate through a first communication mode of the multiple communication modes;

enabling the communication initiation control for the first communication mode in response to determining that at least one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts is available to communicate through the first communication mode;

after enabling the communication initiation control for the first communication mode, selecting a second set of multiple contacts; and

before a user selects any of the second set of multiple contacts;

determining that none of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the first communication mode; and

in response to determining that none of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the first communication mode, disabling the communication initiation control for the first communication mode.

26. A computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

selecting a first set of multiple contacts using data associated with a computing device;

providing a communication initiation control for each of multiple communication modes;

determining that at least one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts is available to communicate through a first communication mode of the multiple communication modes;

enabling the communication initiation control for the first communication mode in response to determining that at least one of the contacts in the first set of multiple contacts is available to communicate through the first communication mode;

after enabling the communication initiation control for the first communication mode, selecting a second set of multiple contacts; and

before a user selects any of the second set of multiple contacts;

determining that none of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the first communication mode; and

in response to determining that none of the contacts in the second set of multiple contacts are available to communicate through the first communication mode, disabling the communication initiation control for the first communication mode.