Method and apparatus for content presentation in association with a telephone call

• US 9,264,540 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2014
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vusura Technology LLC
• Original Assignee: Wendell Brown
• Inventors: Brown, Wendell D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sing, Simon
• Application Number:
  US14/327,332
• Publication Number:
  US 20140321625A1
• Time in Patent Office: 587 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/00 Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers subscriber services or facilities provided at exchanges H04M3/00; prepayment telephone coin boxes H04M17/00; current supply arrangements H04M19/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72439 for image or video messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/61 based on the service used
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/83 Notification aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8351 before establishing a communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8353 during the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8355 after the end of the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/846 optical, e.g. icon
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/848 Tone, e.g. beeper
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/85 characterised by the type of condition triggering a notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6054 Biometric subscriber identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7231 by SIM, e.g. smart card account in SCP, SDP or SN
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42051 where the notification is included in the ringing tone
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4365 : based on information specified by the calling party, e.g. priority or subject
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 : Advertisement messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0036 : where the data service is an information service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0051 : where the data service is a multimedia messaging service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 : Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 : Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 : Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 : Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 : for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/23 : for mobile advertising

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for presenting multimedia content to a caller and/or a called party in association with a telephone call. Content may be presented pre-ring (before the called party'"'"'s telephone rings), in-call, and/or post-call. Content presented to a party may be related to another party participating in the call or may be related to a third party (e.g., an advertiser that paid for the ability to have its content presented). Presented content may be actuable, to allow a caller to change the destination of a call, take advantage of an offer presented to him or her, redeem a coupon, schedule or queue a subsequent call, etc. To find a desired destination party, a caller may initiate a manual or automatic search of his or her local contacts (on his telephone) and/or a central or global directory or contact list.

Claims

1. A method of controlling presentation of content on a communication device, the method comprising:

receiving electronic notification of initiation of a call from a first communication device having a first telephone number to a second communication device having a second telephone number, wherein one of the first telephone number and the second telephone number is associated with a commercial organization and the other is associated with a private individual;

transmitting a first signal to the first communication device to delay dialing the call, without soliciting action by an operator of the first communication device; and

transmitting to the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual one or more of;

pre-ring content delivered before the call rings at the second communication device;

in-call content delivered during the call; and

post-call content delivered after the call.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

during the delay, soliciting one or more of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content from the commercial organization.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual, a second signal indicating activation of a control embedded in the pre-ring content, the in-call content, or the post-call content.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, the in-call content, and the post-call content is provided by the commercial organization.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content corresponds to a transaction conducted between the private individual and the commercial organization.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content is selected by a human agent representing the commercial organization.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content includes an offer from the commercial organization to the private individual.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content is provided by a competitor of the commercial organization.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content is provided by an affiliate of the commercial organization.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting one or more of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content based on identities of the private individual and the commercial organization.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting one or more of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content based on one or both of the first telephone number and the second telephone number.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual is the first device; and

pre-ring content transmitted to the first device enables the operator to select a destination of the call within the commercial organization.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the selected destination is one of:

an individual within the commercial organization;

an office within the commercial organization;

a department within the commercial organization; and

a store associated with the commercial organization.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-ring content:

identifies a purpose of the call; and

includes a control actuable by the private individual to postpone or reject the call.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual is the first device; and

in-call content transmitted to the first device comprises graphical customer assistance.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual is the first device; and

in-call content transmitted to the first device comprises payment options for paying for a transaction conducted with the commercial organization.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual is the first device; and

post-call content transmitted to the first device comprises acknowledgement of a transaction between the private individual and the commercial organization.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

refreshing, on the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual, one or more of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of controlling presentation of content on a communication device, the method comprising:

receiving electronic notification of initiation of a call from a first communication device having a first telephone number to a second communication device having a second telephone number, wherein one of the first telephone number and the second telephone number is associated with a commercial organization and the other is associated with a private individual;

transmitting a first signal to the first communication device to delay dialing the call, without soliciting action by an operator of the first communication device; and

transmitting to the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual one or more of;

pre-ring content delivered before the call rings at the second communication device;

in-call content delivered during the call; and

post-call content delivered after the call.

20. Apparatus for controlling presentation of content on a communication device external to the apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

one or more processors; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to;

receive electronic notification of initiation of a call from a first communication device having a first telephone number to a second communication device having a second telephone number, wherein one of the first telephone number and the second telephone number is associated with a commercial organization and the other is associated with a private individual;

transmit a first signal to the first communication device to delay dialing the call, without soliciting action by an operator of the first communication device; and

transmit to the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual one or more of;

pre-ring content delivered before the call rings at the second communication device;

in-call content delivered during the call; and

post-call content delivered after the call.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:

during the delay, solicit one or more of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content from the commercial organization.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:

receive, from the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual, a second signal indicating activation of a control embedded in the pre-ring content, the in-call content, or the post-call content.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, the in-call content, and the post-call content is provided by the commercial organization.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content corresponds to a transaction conducted between the private individual and the commercial organization.

25. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content is selected by a human agent representing the commercial organization.

26. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content includes an offer from the commercial organization to the private individual.

27. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content is provided by a competitor of the commercial organization.

28. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein at least one of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content is provided by an affiliate of the commercial organization.

29. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:

select one or more of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content based on identities of the private individual and the commercial organization.

30. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:

select one or more of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content based on one or both of the first telephone number and the second telephone number.

31. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein:

the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual is the first device; and

pre-ring content transmitted to the first device enables the operator to select a destination of the call within the commercial organization.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the selected destination is one of:

an individual within the commercial organization;

an office within the commercial organization;

a department within the commercial organization; and

a store associated with the commercial organization.

33. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the pre-ring content:

identifies a purpose of the call; and

includes a control actuable by the private individual to postpone or reject the call.

34. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein:

the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual is the first device; and

in-call content transmitted to the first device comprises graphical customer assistance.

35. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein:

the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual is the first device; and

in-call content transmitted to the first device comprises payment options for paying for a transaction conducted with the commercial organization.

36. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein:

the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual is the first device; and

post-call content transmitted to the first device comprises acknowledgement of a transaction between the private individual and the commercial organization.

37. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:

refresh, on the device having the telephone number associated with the private individual, one or more of the pre-ring content, in-call content, and post-call content.