Open cable application platform (OCAP) and set-top box (STB)-based bill notification and payment application

• US 9,215,421 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2008
• Issued: 12/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Campagna, Theresa, Chavez, David L., Weber, Gregory D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Hai V
• Application Number:
  US12/130,611
• Publication Number:
  US 20090300668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,755 Days
• Field of Search: 725/1, 725 34- 3546, 705/14.57, 705/14.66, 705/14.73, 705/35, 705/40, 709227-229
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47805 Electronic banking banking in general G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6168 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

One exemplary aspect is advanced multimedia communications via OCAP using customer specific profiles resident in the STB for bill management. Aspects of the invention also relate to managing payment preferences, auto payment of bills or invoices, managing bill notification preferences, triggering a notification to be sent to one or more of an associated device and the STB upon receipt of a bill, analyzing an incoming bill with an intelligent agent and optionally initiating a communication to the vendor associated with a bill based on the analysis, acquiring additional information about the bill including an image of the bill and/or additional details, and forwarding invoice information to a destination associated with the STB.

Claims

1. A set-top box with an operating system layer operable to support cable network interconnectability and to provide an application platform comprising:

one or more profiles stored on the set-top box, each profile including personal information and personal preferences, one or more of the personal information and personal preferences used in association with a bill management application;

a bill management interface operable to allow management of one or more received bills, the management including initiating a voice or multi-media communication with a vendor'"'"'s contact center based on an analysis of the one or more received bills, the analysis including one or more of identifying one or more of an amount due, minimum payment information, due date information, account number information and invoice number;

a communication application operable to receive a request, from a common customer routing center, to retrieve a stored service information entry from the one or more profiles in the set-top box, wherein the request to retrieve the stored service information entry is sent based on a phone number for the voice or multi-media communication, and send the stored service information entry to the common customer routing center, wherein the common customer routing center uses the stored service information entry to forward the voice or multi-media communication to the vendor'"'"'s contact center; and

a security module operable to do at least one of;

filter, analyze, restrict access to, restrict dissemination of, and control information in the one or more profiles.

2. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein the one or more profiles comprise one or more of personal information, communications preferences, personal preferences, calendar information, vendor information, priority information, contextual preferences, one or more sub-profiles, alternate contact modalities and one or more trusted contacts.

3. The set-top box of claim 1, adapted to receive one or more of television programming, data, voice information, internet communications, VOIP communications, e-commerce communications, communication from attached electronic devices, content, invoices and bills.

4. The set-top box of claim 1, further comprising a menu module, the menu module operable to display one or more menus based on the bill management application.

5. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein the bill management application includes an initiate service transaction request that includes information from the one or more profiles, the initiate service transaction request utilizing internet-based protocols to communicate with one or more of a trusted entity, a content/service provider, an intelligent agent and an IVR system.

6. The set-top box of claim 1, further comprising a module operable to analyze and process one or more received bills based on one or more rules, a result of the analysis being one or more of automatically paying the bill, forwarding information from the bill to one or more destinations, securing an image of the bill, categorizing the bill and calendaring the bill based on a due date.

7. The set-top box of claim 6, wherein one or more additional devices are bound to the set-top box, the additional devices including one or more of a phone, a SIP enabled device, an electronic communication device, a soft phone, a multimedia device, an audio device, a PDA, a video device and an electronic device.

8. The set-top box of claim 1, further comprising one or more sub-profiles, the behavior of which is governed by the one or more profiles.

9. A method of operating a set-top box having an operating system layer operable to support cable network interconnectability and to provide an application platform comprising:

establishing and storing one or more profiles, in the set-top box, each profile including personal information and personal preferences, one or more of the personal information and personal preferences used in association with a bill management application;

securing, by a security module, at least one of;

filters, analyzes, restricts access to, restricts dissemination of, and controls information in the one or more profiles;

managing the bill management application, the management including initiating a voice or multi-media communication, with a vendor'"'"'s contact center based on an analysis of the one or more received bills, the analysis including one or more of identifying one or more of an amount due, minimum payment information, due date information, account number information and invoice number;

receiving, from a common customer routing center, a request to retrieve a stored service information entry from the one or more profiles in the set-top box, wherein the request to retrieve the stored service information entry is sent based on a phone number for the voice or multi-media communication; and

sending the stored service information entry to the common customer routing center, wherein the common customer routing center uses the stored service information entry to forward the voice or multi-media communication to the vendor'"'"'s contact center.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more profiles comprise one or more of personal information, communications preferences, personal preferences, bill information, vendor information, priority information, contextual preferences, one or more sub-profiles, alternate contact modalities and one or more trusted contacts.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving one or more of television programming, data, voice information, internet communications, VOIP communications, ecommerce communications, communication from attached electronic devices, bills, invoices and content.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising analyzing and processing one or more received bills based on one or more rules, a result of the analysis being one or more of automatically paying the bill, forwarding information from the bill to one or more destinations, securing an image of the bill, categorizing the bill and calendaring the bill based on a due date.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein a calendaring application includes an initiate service transaction request that includes information from the one or more profiles, the initiate service transaction request utilizing internet-based protocols to communicate with one or more of a trusted entity, a content/service provider, an intelligent agent and an IVR system.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising binding one or more additional devices to the set-top box, wherein the one or more additional devices include a phone, a SIP enabled device, an electronic communication device, a soft phone, a multimedia device, a PDA, an audio device, a video device and a electronic device.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising establishing one or more sub-profiles, the behavior of which is governed by the one or more profiles.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

comparing the one or more received bills from the vendor to one or more pervious received bills from the vendor;

determining whether a change in the one or more received bills appears to be abnormal; and

in response to determining whether the change in the one or more received bills is abnormal, initiating the voice or multi-media communication with the vendor'"'"'s contact center.

17. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining if the one or more received bills are over a certain amount or due within a certain time period;

in response to determining if the one or m ore received bills are over the certain amount or due within the certain time period, forwarding, to an associated communications device, the one or more received bills; and

in response to determining if the one or more received bills are not over the certain amount or due within the certain time period letting the one or more bills reside on the set-box.

18. A means for operating a set-top box having an operating system layer operable to support cable network interconnectability and to provide an application platform comprising:

means for establishing one or more profiles, each profile including personal information and personal preferences, one or more of the personal information and personal preferences used in association with a bill management application;

means for doing at least one of;

filtering, analyzing, restricting access to, restricting dissemination of, and controlling information in the one or more profiles;

means for managing the bill management application, the management including and initiating a voice or multi-media communication with a vendor'"'"'s contact center based on an analysis of the one or more received bills, the analysis including one or more of identifying one or more of an amount due, minimum payment information, due date information, account number information and invoice number;

means for receiving a request, from a common customer routing center, to retrieve a stored service information entry from the one or more profiles, wherein the request to retrieve the stored service information entry is sent based on a phone number for the voice or multimedia communication; and

means for sending the stored service information entry to the common customer routing center, wherein the common customer routing center uses the stored service information entry to forward the voice or multi-media communication to the vendor'"'"'s contact center.

19. The means for operating the set-top box of claim 18 further comprising:

means for binding one or more additional devices to the set-top box, wherein the one or more additional devices include a phone, a SIP enabled device, an electronic communication device, a soft phone, a multimedia device, a PDA, an audio device, a video device and a electronic device.

20. The means for operating the set-top box of claim 18 further comprising:

one or more sub-profiles, the behavior of which is governed by the one or more profiles.