Immediate communication system

• US 9,565,151 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2013
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Babitech Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Babitech Ltd.
• Inventors: Babayoff, Ronen, Hemar, Elad
• Primary Examiner(s): SWEET, LONNIE V
• Application Number:
  US14/099,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20140222931A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,159 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42263 where the same subscriber uses different terminals, i.e. nomadism
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0075 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables

Abstract

A communication service network, comprising: (a) a communication network including a plurality of terminals configured to support at least a first personal communication service for a plurality of users over the communication network, in which service, each user has a unique handle; and (b) a plurality of clients supporting a second personal communication service, wherein each of said clients is configured to attempt a communication under said second service with any of said users using their unique handles.

Claims

1. A method of communicating with a user using a second communication service, comprising:

(a) receiving a selection by a first user of a second user with whom to communicate using a second communication service;

(b) attempting to set up communication under said second communication service between said first user and said second user, using a software client of said first user, using a unique handle of said second user on a first personal communication system;

(c) detecting based on the unique handle whether said second user is online on said second communication service; and

(d) if said second user is not online on said second communication service, then automatically sending said second user a callback request message under said first personal communication system, using said unique handle, said callback request message having communication data for communicating with said first user and setup data for providing support for said second communication service, whereby complying by the second user with the callback request automatically causes initiation of installation of software for communicating over the second communication service if said software is not already installed on a device of the second user, thereby allowing communication with the first user over said second communication service after completion of said installation.

2. A method according to claim 1, comprising completing said communication by said second user activating a control in said message, which control causes the setting up of said second user with said second communications service, said setting up including noting to call back said first user.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein said setting up culminates in an attempt to call back said first user, using said second communication service, based on said noted callback request.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said setup does not require any user input of information not known to said second communication service, to set up the second user.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said unique handle is selected from a group consisting of an email address, a landline number, a mobile number, and an instant messaging (IM) handle.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein said second communication service is a voice based personal communication service.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein said second communication service is a text-based personal communication service.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication with the first user over said second communication service is video communication.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication with the first user over said second communication service is audio communication.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first personal communication system is a non-real-time text-based communication service and the communication with the first user over said second communication service is real-time communication.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising after installation of said software for communicating over the second personal communication service, automatically initiating communication with the first user over said second communication service.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said device of the second user is a mobile communication device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the mobile communication device is selected from a group consisting of a smart-phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a mobile e-mail device and an Internet Protocol (IP) phone.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication over said second personal communication service is text communication.

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein a first time use of the second communication service by said second user does not require explicit registration with the second communication service by said second user.

16. A communication system, comprising:

(a) a communication server supporting at least a first personal communication system for a plurality of users over a communication network, wherein each said user has a unique handle in said first personal communication system; and

(b) a plurality of software clients supporting a second personal communication service, wherein each of said software clients is to automatically send any of said plurality of users a callback request message via said first personal communication system, using said unique handle, in response to an indication that said respective user is not online on said second personal communication service, said callback request message to the non-online user having communication data for communicating with a user of said sending software client and setup data for providing support for said second personal communication service, whereby complying by the second user with the callback request message automatically causes initiation of installation of software for communicating over the second personal communication service by the second user if said software is not installed, thereby allowing communication over said second personal communication service with the user of said sending software client after completion of said installation.

17. A system according to claim 16, wherein said second service is managed by an entity not affiliated with first communication service.

18. A system according to claim 16, wherein said first service comprises a multi-provider service.

19. A system according to claim 16, wherein said first communication service comprises e-mail.

20. A system according to claim 16, wherein said first communication service comprises telephone communication.

21. A system according to claim 16, comprising at least one server which manages a mapping between said unique handle and a handle used internally by said second communication service.

22. A system according to claim 16, wherein said second communication service is managed as a peer-to-peer network in which software clients direct data content of messages directly from one to another or via one or more relaying peer over said network.

23. A system according to claim 16, comprising a set-up server configured to validate and register new users of said second service based on said unique handle.

24. A system according to claim 16, wherein at least one of said software clients is configured to add controls for using said second communication service on existing software displays showing said unique handle.

25. A system according to claim 24, wherein the existing software comprises a software client for said first communication service.

26. A system according to claim 24, wherein at least one of said controls shows presence information.

27. A system according to claim 16, wherein at least one of said software clients is configured to import contact information used for said first communication service for use with said second communication service.

28. A system according to claim 16, wherein at least one of said software clients is configured to track contact information use for communication services other than said second service, on user computers on which the software client is installed.

29. A system according to claim 16, wherein at least one of said software clients is configured to mirror contact information for communication services other than said second service, on user computers on which the software client is installed.

30. A system according to claim 16, wherein at least one of said software clients is configured to facilitate the set up of a conference call with multiple users of said first service, that are not users of said second service, and users of said second service, inviting said users to said conference call.

31. The system of claim 16, wherein the communication over said second personal communication service is video communication.

32. The system of claim 16, wherein the communication over said second personal communication service is audio communication.

33. The system of claim 16, wherein the first personal communication system is a non-real-time communication service and the communication over said second personal communication service is real-time communication.

34. The system of claim 16, wherein said callback request message to the non-active user further causes automatic initiation of communication over said second personal communication service with the user of said sending software client after completion of said installation.

35. The system of claim 16, wherein said software client supporting a second personal communication service include mobile communication devices.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the mobile communication device is selected from a group consisting of a smart-phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a mobile e-mail device and an Internet Protocol (IP) phone.

37. The system of claim 16, wherein the communication over said second personal communication service is text communication.

38. The system of claim 16, wherein a first time use of the second communication service by said second user does not require explicit registration with the second communication service by said second user.