Systems and methods for implementing instant social image cobrowsing through the cloud

• US 9,444,857 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2015
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Isaacs, Charles Hart
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Joseph J
• Application Number:
  US14/937,704
• Publication Number:
  US 20160065632A1
• Time in Patent Office: 308 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/3065 for real time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4025 where none of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. downloading a file in a parallel FTP session, initiating an email or combinational services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/141 between two video terminals, e.g. videophone telephonic communication systems combined with television receiver for reception of entertainment or information matter H04M11/085
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/155 involving storage of or access to video conference sessions tracking arrangements for later retrieval of a computer conference content or participants activities H04L12/1831
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits

Abstract

In accordance with disclosed embodiments, there are provided methods, systems, and apparatuses for implementing instant social image cobrowsing through the cloud, including, for example, means for loading an application at the client device, the application displaying a graphical interface at the client device; receiving input at the graphical interface of the client device to initiate an instant share session; generating an action at the client device to request an instant share session; communicating the action from the client device to a remote host organization via a public Internet; receiving, at the client device, a pointer to a dynamically created co-browse site at the host organization responsive to communicating the action from the client device to the remote host organization; following the pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site at the host organization communicably linking the client device with the host organization; and exchanging a video telephony stream between the client device and a remote party through the dynamically created co-browse site. Other related embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method at a client device having at least a processor and a memory therein, wherein the method comprises:

loading an application at the client device, the application displaying a graphical interface at the client device;

receiving input at the graphical interface of the client device to initiate an instant share session;

generating an action at the client device to request an instant share session;

communicating the action from the client device to a remote host organization via a public Internet, wherein the action from the client device causes the remote host organization to include an expert or support person to participate as a remote party in the instant share session with the client device by exchanging a video telephony stream with the client device through a dynamically created co-browse site;

receiving, at the client device, a pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site at the remote host organization responsive to communicating the action from the client device to the remote host organization;

following the pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site at the remote host organization communicably linking the client device with the remote host organization to join the client device to the instant share session;

exchanging the video telephony stream between the client device and the remote party through the dynamically created co-browse site, wherein the client device and the remote party are each participants of the instant share session;

wherein the expert or support person renders a solution to a user of the client device via the video telephony stream exchanged between the client device and the remote party through the dynamically created co-browse site.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the client device having at least the memory and the processor therein is embodied within one of:

a tablet computing device;

a hand-held smartphone; and

a mobile computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein loading an application at the client device, comprises one of:

loading an android platform compatible mobile application at the client device;

loading an iOS platform compatible mobile application at the client device;

loading a Windows mobile platform compatible mobile application at the client device; and

loading an HTML5 compliant website within a web-browser at the executing at the client device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein loading an application at the client device, comprises:

loading a mobile application provided by a third party separate from the remote host organization;

wherein the mobile application is branded by the third party; and

wherein the mobile application is configured to interface with the remote host organization upon receiving the input at the graphical interface to initiate the instant share session.

5. The method of claim 1:

wherein the action generated at the client device and communicated to the remote host organization is routed through an escalation path according to routing rules;

wherein the routing rules determine a priority for escalating the instant share session to the expert or support person to participate as the remote party in exchanging the video telephony stream with the client device through the dynamically created co-browse site.

6. The method of claim 5:

wherein the video telephony stream is recorded by the host organization for later playback.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the recorded video telephony stream is published to a community forum for reference as a solution to a specified problem.

8. The method of claim 1:

wherein the action generated at the client device and communicated to the remote host organization is;

passed to a routing system to determine a priority for escalating the instant share session;

passed to an escalation system to apply the priority determined by expediting the request for the instant share session out of turn based on the priority determined; and

passed to an expert locator to identify one or more experts to participate as the remote party in exchanging the video telephony stream with the client device through the dynamically created co-browse site.

9. The method of claim 8:

wherein the experts send an optional invitation to other experts to participate as optional invitees in exchanging the video telephony stream with the client device through the dynamically created co-browse site; and

wherein the optional invitees accept the optional invitation by following a pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site.

10. The method of claim 8:

wherein a user of the client device sends an optional invitation to other users to participate as optional invitees in exchanging the video telephony stream with the client device through the dynamically created co-browse site; and

wherein the optional invitees accept the optional invitation by following a pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site.

11. A method in a host organization having at least a processor and a memory therein, wherein the method comprises, wherein the method comprises:

receiving an action generated by a client device remote from the host organization, the action requesting an instant share session pursuant to an instant share icon selection at the client device;

dynamically creating a co-browse site at the host organization responsive to receiving the action requesting the instant share session from the client device;

including an expert or support person to participate as a remote party in the instant share session with the client device by exchanging a video telephony stream with the client device through the dynamically created co-browse site;

returning, to the client device, a pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site at the host organization responsive to the action from the client device received at the host organization, wherein the client is to follow the pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site at the host organization communicably linking the client device with the host organization to join the client device to the instant share session;

exchanging the video telephony stream between the client device and the remote party through the dynamically created co-browse site, wherein the client device and the remote party are each participants of the instant share session;

wherein the expert or support person renders a solution to a user of the client device via the video telephony stream exchanged between the client device and the remote party through the dynamically created co-browse site.

12. The method of claim 11:

wherein the action generated at the client device and communicated to the host organization is routed through an escalation path according to routing rules;

wherein the routing rules determine a priority for escalating the instant share session to the expert or support person to participate as the remote party in exchanging the video telephony stream with the client device through the dynamically created co-browse site.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

recording the video telephony stream at the host organization for later playback; and

publishing the recorded video telephony stream to a community forum for reference as a solution to a specified problem.

14. The method of claim 11:

wherein the action generated at the client device and communicated to the remote host organization is;

passed to a routing system to determine a priority for escalating the instant share session;

passed to an escalation system to apply the priority determined by expediting the request for the instant share session out of turn based on the priority determined; and

passed to an expert locator to identify one or more experts to participate as the remote party in exchanging the video telephony stream with the client device through the dynamically created co-browse site.

15. Non-transitory computer readable storage media having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a client device, the instructions cause the client device to perform operations including:

loading an application at the client device, the application displaying a graphical interface at the client device;

receiving input at the graphical interface of the client device to initiate an instant share session;

generating an action at the client device to request an instant share session;

communicating the action from the client device to a host organization remote from the client device via a public Internet, wherein the action from the client device causes the host organization to include an expert or support person to participate as a remote party in the instant share session with the client device by exchanging a video telephony stream with the client device through a dynamically created co-browse site;

receiving, at the client device, a pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site at the host organization responsive to communicating the action from the client device to the host organization;

following the pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site at the host organization communicably linking the client device with the host organization to join the client device to the instant share session;

exchanging the video telephony stream between the client device and the remote party through the dynamically created co-browse site, wherein the client device and the remote party are each participants of the instant share session;

wherein the expert or support person renders a solution to a user of the client device via the video telephony stream exchanged between the client device and the remote party through the dynamically created co-browse site.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 15:

wherein the action generated at the client device and communicated to the host organization is routed through an escalation path according to routing rules;

wherein the routing rules determine a priority for escalating the instant share session to the expert or support person to participate as the remote party in exchanging the video telephony stream with the client device through the dynamically created co-browse site.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the instructions cause the client device to perform operations further including:

recording the video telephony stream at the host organization for later playback; and

publishing the recorded video telephony stream to a community forum for reference as a solution to a specified problem.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 15:

wherein the action generated at the client device and communicated to the remote host organization is;

passed to a routing system to determine a priority for escalating the instant share session;

passed to an escalation system to apply the priority determined by expediting the request for the instant share session out of turn based on the priority determined; and

passed to an expert locator to identify one or more experts to participate as the remote party in exchanging the video telephony stream with the client device through the dynamically created co-browse site.

19. A mobile computing device comprising:

a processor and a memory to execute instructions at the mobile computing device;

a touchscreen to display a graphical interface at the mobile computing device;

the processor to load an application at the mobile computing device, the application displaying a graphical interface at the mobile computing device;

the touchscreen of the mobile computing device to receive input to initiate an instant share session;

the application to generate an action at the mobile computing device to request an instant share session;

a network interface to communicate the action from the mobile computing device to a host organization remote from the mobile computing device via a public Internet, wherein the action from the mobile computing device causes the host organization to include an expert or support person to participate as a remote party in the instant share session with the mobile computing device by exchanging a video telephony stream with the mobile computing device through a dynamically created co-browse site;

the network interface to receive a pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site at the host organization responsive to communicating the action from the mobile computing device to the host organization;

the application to follow the pointer to the dynamically created co-browse site at the host organization communicably linking the mobile computing device with the host organization to join the mobile computing device to the instant share session;

the application to exchange the video telephony stream between the mobile computing device and the remote party through the dynamically created co-browse site, wherein the mobile computing device and the remote party are each participants of the instant share session;

wherein the expert renders a solution to a user of the mobile computing device via the video telephony stream exchanged between the mobile computing device and the remote party through the dynamically created co-browse site.

20. The mobile computing device of claim 19:

wherein the mobile computing device is embodied within one of a tablet computing device and a hand-held smartphone; and

wherein the processor to load the application at the mobile computing device comprises the processor to perform one of the following operations at the client device;

loading an android platform compatible mobile application at the mobile computing device, loading an iOS platform compatible mobile application at the mobile computing device, loading a Windows mobile platform compatible mobile application at the mobile computing device, or loading an HTML5 compliant website within a web-browser at the executing at the mobile computing device.