Call status sharing

• US 9,060,059 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2010
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Foster, Marcus
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US12/963,408
• Publication Number:
  US 20120063577A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,651 Days
• Field of Search: 379/93.02, 379/93.17, 379/90.01, 379/93.05, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/466, 715/753
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/65 related to applications where calls are combined with other types of communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

In general, techniques are described for sharing information about a client device phone call to enhance other services. In one example, a method includes receiving, at a server device, voice call parameters that describe at least one characteristic of a voice call in which a user of a first device is participating wherein the first device is physically separate from the server device, and responsive to receiving the voice call parameters, determining, by the server device, a status of the user based on the received voice call parameters. The method further includes storing an account for the user on the server device, wherein the account includes a user profile for the user and identifies contacts of the user, and modifying, by the server device, the user profile to reflect the status of the user, and sending the modified user profile to a device associated with a contact of the user.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a server device, voice call parameters that describe at least one characteristic of a voice call in which a user of a first device is participating, wherein the first device is physically separate from the server device;

identifying, by the server device, a second device that is associated with the user, wherein the second device is physically separate from the first device and the server device; and

responsive to receiving the voice call parameters, blocking incoming voice calls to the second device associated with the user when the voice call parameters indicate the user is participating in the voice call using the first device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the server device, second voice call parameters that describe at least one characteristic of the voice call; and

responsive to receiving the second voice call parameters, allowing incoming voice calls to the second device when the second voice call parameters indicate the user is no longer participating in the voice call using the first device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the server device, a status of the user based on the received voice call parameters; and

modifying, by the server device, a user profile for the user to reflect the status of the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein blocking incoming voice calls to the second device comprises sending the incoming voice calls directly to a voice message service associated with the second device without immediately notifying the user of the incoming voice calls to the second device.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that cause one or more processors of a server device to:

receive voice call parameters that describe at least one characteristic of a voice call in which a user of a first device is participating, wherein the first device is physically separate from the server device;

identify a second device that is associated with the user, wherein the second device is physically separate from the first device and the server device; and

responsive to receiving the voice call parameters, block incoming voice calls to the second device associated with the user when the voice call parameters indicate the user is participating in the voice call using the first device.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 5, further comprising instructions that cause one or more processors of the server device to:

receive second voice call parameters that describe at least one characteristic of the voice call; and

responsive to receiving the second voice call parameters, allow incoming voice calls to the second device when the second voice call parameters indicate the user is no longer participating in the voice call using the first device.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 5, further comprising instructions that cause one or more processors of the server device to:

determine a status of the user based on the received voice call parameters; and

modify a user profile for the user to reflect the status of the user.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 5, wherein the instructions to block incoming voice calls to the second device comprise instructions to send the incoming voice calls directly to a voice message service associated with the second device without immediately notifying the user of the incoming voice calls to the second device.

9. A system comprising:

an interface of a server device that receives voice call parameters that describe at least one characteristic of a voice call in which a user of a first device is participating, wherein the first device is physically separate from the server device;

a call status module that identifies a second device that is associated with the user, wherein the second device is physically separate from the first device and the server device; and

means for blocking incoming voice calls to the second device associated with the user, responsive to receiving the voice call parameters, when the voice call parameters indicate the user is participating in the voice call using the first device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the interface receives second voice call parameters that describe at least one characteristic of the voice call, the system further comprising:

means for allowing, responsive to receiving the second voice call parameters, incoming voice calls to the second device when the second voice call parameters indicate the user is no longer participating in the voice call using the first device.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the call status module determines a status of the user based on the received voice call parameters, and modifies a user profile for the user to reflect the status of the user.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the means for blocking incoming voice calls to the second device comprises means for sending the incoming voice calls directly to a voice message service associated with the second device without immediately notifying the user of the incoming voice calls to the second device.