Automated communications response system

• US 9,100,465 B2
• Filed: 08/11/2010
• Issued: 08/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eolas Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Eolas Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Landers, Steven Carl, Doyle, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilles, June Jean
• Assistant Examiner(s): Means, Jaren M
• Application Number:
  US12/854,842
• Publication Number:
  US 20110038367A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,819 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/64 Automatic arrangements for answering calls; Automatic arrangements for recording messages for absent subscribers; Arrangements for recording conversations centralised dictation systems H04M11/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 via computer interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0015 First party call control architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0063 where the network is a peer-to-peer network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

In one embodiment, a system provides for end-user control over the automatic recognition of communication situations by detection of unique telecommunication event characteristics and the consequential responses to those situations by invocation of related programmatic responses. The system allows an end user to specify various patterns of telecommunication event characteristics that describe various situational aspects of incoming communications, such as the timing and originator of voice calls, the content of, timing of, and author of chat messages, etc., as well as appropriate sets of programmatic response actions to be performed in response to those communications, such as initiating conference calls, sending chat messages, routing calls to other users, etc. The system monitors incoming communications, matches characteristic patterns to recognize the situations, and then invokes the matching response actions, thereby automating many functions of the communication system that previously would have had to be performed manually.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a portable communications device containing a data processor coupled to a memory, a voice input subsystem, a text input mechanism, a graphic display, and an audio output subsystem, and with the portable communication device including communications subsystems for at least three types of communications, including voice type communications, chat text message type communications, and email message type communications, with a communications content monitoring component that surveils incoming communications from all three said communications subsystems, and a response component that automates typical user response actions and where the response component is responsive in real time to incoming communications content, wherein an action performed by said response component in response to real time incoming communications of at least one of said three types is the real time transmission by said communications device of at least one outgoing communication of at least one other of said three types, with the memory storing a program including at least one of list of commands and a database storing rules, each rule invoked by a plurality of event characteristics including at least a who telecommunication event characteristic that identifies the source of an incoming communication detected by said monitoring component and a when telecommunication event characteristic that identifies the time the incoming communication was received and with each rule including an action characteristic that specifies an automated response action to be performed by said response component,

wherein said automated response action invokes a list of commands run by the data processor to perform operations to implement an action responsive to said communications content, specified by the action characteristic, when the rule is invoked, wherein the program instructs the data processor to run the list of commands to perform the following steps;

employing the monitoring component to detect at least one pushed telecommunication event characteristic of an incoming communication of at least one of said three types, with a pushed telecommunication event characteristic pushed by a communication subsystem to the monitoring component, with the incoming communication having telecommunication event characteristics such as the who telecommunication event characteristic, the when telecommunication event characteristic and a type telecommunication event characteristic identifying the type of the received communication;

pulling any additional required telecommunication event characteristics of the incoming communication from the communication subsystem;

comparing pushed and any additional pulled required telecommunication event characteristics to telecommunication event characteristics included in rules stored in the database to determine whether the pushed and any pulled required telecommunication event characteristics match a situation included in one of the rules stored in the database;

executing the list of commands specified by the action characteristic of a matched rule to cause the data processor to perform the action specified by the action characteristic of the matched rule; and

transmitting in real time from said communications device said at least one outgoing communication of at least one other of said three types.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an automatic user response action to a voice type of communication includes one of the group comprising accepting the call, not answering the call, sending an Instant Message to either the user, the caller or both via an IM gateway, replying to caller with pre-defined chat message, sending mail to me/caller/whoever, playing a sound clip to audio output device or caller, “

speech to text”

to audio output device or caller, sending call to voice mail, logging call details (start time, then end time), hanging up call then initiate conference call with pre-defined numbers, hanging up call, then initiate conference with mute speakers.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an automatic user response action to a chat text type of communication includes one of the group comprising replying with pre-defined chat message, forwarding chat message to call, via text to speech, forwarding message via mail, sending the user an Instant Message via an IM gateway, proxying the entire chat session to another IM system, playing a sound clip to an audio output device, “

speech to text”

to audio output device, displaying a confirm dialog that allows the user to accept or reject the chat and logging call details (start time, then end time).

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of event characteristics further includes a where telecommunication event characteristic.