Methods and apparatuses to track information via telephonic apparatuses

• US 9,094,487 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2007
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thryv, Inc. (Mudrick Capital Management LP)
• Original Assignee: YellowPages.com LLC (Mudrick Capital Management LP)
• Inventors: Altberg, Ebbe, Faber, Scott, Hirson, Ron, Van Der Linden, Sean, Agarwal, Anuj, Jain, Mehul, Ahuja, Nitin
• Primary Examiner(s): KASSIM, KHALED M
• Application Number:
  US11/761,987
• Publication Number:
  US 20070230374A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,968 Days
• Field of Search: 370351-356, 705/14.26, 705/34
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/154 Functional or symbolic dial plan such as license plate numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4935 Connection initiated by DAS system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0036 where the data service is an information service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

Methods and systems to facilitate real time communications via a telephonic apparatuses that support data communications. In one embodiment, a telephonic apparatus includes: a network interface to submit a query through a data communication network and to receive a listing with embedded information about the query; and a call module coupled to the network interface to establish a telephonic connection according to the listing and to identify a relation between the telephonic connection and the information about the query.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a telephonic apparatus, a search query through a data communication network;

generating, by a computing device, a listing in response to the search query;

embedding, by the computing device, query information in the listing, the query information configured to identify the search query received from the telephonic apparatus, wherein the query information includes a position of an advertisement in a result of a search performed in response to the search query, a price of an advertisement fee offered by an advertiser, and two or more items from the items;

a search criterion, an identification of the advertisement, a timestamp of the query, and an identification of a user of the telephonic apparatus;

transmitting, by the computing device to the telephonic apparatus, the listing, including the query information and connection information embedded in the listing, wherein the telephonic apparatus is configured to establish, utilizing the connection information embedded in the listing, a telephonic connection between a callee and the telephonic apparatus, responsive to selection of the listing by the user of the telephonic apparatus;

receiving, from the telephone apparatus, a report, the report identifying

the telephonic connection established via the listing, and

the search query identified by the query information embedded in the listing provided to the telephonic apparatus in response to the search query;

storing, by the computing device, data associating the telephonic connection and the search query; and

billing the callee for the telephonic connection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the report is received from the telephonic apparatus after termination of the telephonic connection.

3. method of claim 1, wherein the report is received from the telephonic apparatus during the telephonic connection.

4. method of claim 1, wherein the report is received from the telephonic apparatus during initiation of the telephonic connection.

5. method of claim 4, wherein the report is embedded in a call signaling message transmitted by the telephonic apparatus in initiation of the telephonic connection.

6. method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating by the computing device with the telephonic apparatus in initiation of the telephonic connection.

7. method of claim 6, wherein the communicating in initiation of the telephonic connection comprises requesting, by the telephonic apparatus, a telephonic reference of the callee of the listing from the computing device.

8. method of claim 7, wherein a request for the telephonic reference of the callee transmitted from the telephonic apparatus to the computing device includes the query information;

and the storing of the data associating the telephonic connection and the search query is based on the query information received via the request for the telephonic reference.

9. method of claim 7, wherein the telephonic reference of the callee comprises one of:

a session initiation protocol uniform resource identifier, a telephone number without an extension, a telephone number with an extension, or a user identifier.

10. method of claim 6, wherein the communicating in initiation of the telephonic connection comprises requesting a callback from the computing device.

11. method of claim 10, wherein a request for the callback, transmitted from the telephonic apparatus to the computing device, includes the query information;

and the storing of the data associating the telephonic connection and the search query is based on the query information received via the request for the telephonic reference.

12. method of claim 1, wherein the telephonic connection comprises a peer to peer voice over Internet protocol connection.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the listing comprises the advertisement presented on the telephonic apparatus on behalf of the advertiser;

and the advertiser is charged the advertisement fee in response to the telephonic connection being connected to the callee.

14. method of claim 13, wherein the query information embedded in the listing includes at least one of:

an identification of a distributor of the telephonic apparatus, an identification of a distribution channel of the advertisement, and an identifier of a party who has a contribution in a process of delivering the advertisement to the telephonic apparatus.

15. A tangible non-transitory machine readable media storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving, from a telephonic apparatus, a search query through a data communication network;

generating, by the computing device, a listing in response to the search query;

embedding, by the computing device, query information in the listing, the query information configured to identify the search query received from the telephonic apparatus, wherein the query information includes a position of an advertisement in a result of a search performed in response to the search query, a price of an advertisement fee offered by an advertiser, and two or more items from the items;

a search criterion, an identification of the advertisement, a timestamp of the query, and an identification of a user of the telephonic apparatus;

transmitting, by the computing device to the telephonic apparatus, the listing, including the query information and connection information embedded in the listing, wherein the telephonic apparatus is configured to establish, utilizing the connection information embedded in the listing, a telephonic connection between the telephonic apparatus and a callee, responsive to selection of the listing by the user of the telephonic apparatus;

receiving, from the telephone apparatus, a report, the report identifying

the telephonic connection established via the listing, and

the search query identified by the query information embedded in the listing provided to the telephonic apparatus in response to the search query;

storing, by the computing device, data associating the telephonic connection and the search query; and

billing the callee for the telephonic connection.

16. A computing device, comprising:

at least one microprocessor; and

memory coupled with the at least one microprocessor, the memory storing instructions configured to instruct the at least one microprocessor to perform at least;

receiving, from a telephonic apparatus, a search query through a data communication network;

generating, by the computing device, a listing in response to the search query;

embedding, by the computing device, query information in the listing, the query information configured to identify the search query received from the telephonic apparatus, wherein the query information includes a position of an advertisement in a result of a search performed in response to the search query, a price of an advertisement fee offered by an advertiser, and two or more items from the items;

a search criterion, an identification of the advertisement, a timestamp of the query, and an identification of a user of the telephonic apparatus;

transmitting, by the computing device to the telephonic apparatus, the listing, including the query information and connection information embedded in the listing, wherein the telephonic apparatus is configured to establish, utilizing the connection information embedded in the listing, a telephonic connection between the telephonic apparatus and a callee, responsive to selection of the listing by the user of the telephonic apparatus;

receiving, from the telephone apparatus, a report, the report identifying

the telephonic connection established via the listing, and

the search query identified by the query information embedded in the listing provided to the telephonic apparatus in response to the search query; and

storing, by the computing device, data associating the telephonic connection and the search query.