Method, device and system for providing historical communication content

• US 9,742,714 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2016
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RingCentral Incorporated
• Original Assignee: RingCentral Incorporated
• Inventors: van Rensburg, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Chery, Dady
• Application Number:
  US15/206,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20160380943A1
• Time in Patent Office: 407 Days
• Field of Search: 370259-270, 709204-206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1093 by adding participants; by removing participants
• 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: H04L 67/01 Protocols

Abstract

A communication server is disclosed. The communication server may receive, via at least one network interface, a request to add one or more new participants to a communication group; receive, from one or more members of the communication group, one or more selections indicating one or more selected portions of communication content for providing to the one or more new participants, wherein the communication content includes information transferred between a plurality of participants of the communication group prior to the one or more new participants being added to the communication group; determine, based on the one or more selections, a portion of the communication content for providing to the one or more new participants; and provide, via the at least one network interface, the portion of the communication content to one or more user devices associated with the one or more new participants.

Claims

1. A communication server, comprising:

at least one network interface; and

at least one processor in communication with the network interface and configured to;

receive a request to add one or more new participants to a communication group from a first participant of the communication group;

receive, from one or more members of the communication group, one or more selections indicating one or more selected portions of communication content for providing to the one or more new participants, wherein the communication content includes information transferred between a plurality of participants of the communication group prior to the one or more new participants being added to the communication group, and wherein receiving the one or more selections comprises receiving, from the first participant, a first selected portion of the communication content for providing to the one or more new participants after receiving the request to add the one or more new participants;

determine, based on the one or more selections, a portion of the communication content for providing to the one or more new participants; and

provide the portion of the communication content to one or more user devices associated with the one or more new participants.

2. The communication server of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

send an indication to the one or more members of the communication group inquiring whether the first selected portion of the communication content is acceptable.

3. The communication server of claim 2, wherein the one or more selected portions of communication content includes a modification to the first selected portion of the communication content.

4. The communication server of claim 1, wherein the portion of the communication content for providing to the one or more new participants is an overlapping portion among the one or more selected portions of communication content.

5. The communication server of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

prior to providing the portion of the communication content to the one or more user devices, add the one or more new participants to the communication group for interacting with the plurality of participants.

6. The communication server of claim 1, wherein the portion of the communication content includes a plurality of non-contiguous segments of the communication content.

7. The communication server of claim 1, wherein the portion of the communication content includes a file shared among the plurality of participants, and the at least one processor is further configured to set a level of permission for the one or more new participants to access the file.

8. A user device, comprising:

a display; and

at least one processor configured to;

receive a first user input indicating a request to add one or more new participants to a communication group;

in response to the request, provide at least one selectable element on the display, the at least one selectable element being associated with a portion of communication content for providing to the one or more new participants, wherein the communication content includes information transferred between a plurality of participants of the communication group prior to the one or more new participants being added to the communication group;

receive a second user input indicating a selected portion of the communication content for providing to the one or more new participants, wherein the second user input includes a dragging action on the at least one selectable element, the dragging action moves the at least one selectable element to a position of the display, and the position of the display indicates an earliest time entry of the communication content to be provided to the one or more new participants; and

output an indication indicating the selected portion of the communication content for providing to the one or more new participants.

9. The user device of claim 8, wherein a position of the at least one selectable element on the display indicates the portion of communication content for providing to the one or more new participants.

10. The user device of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a notification that the one or more new participants are added to the communication group.

11. The user device of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a notification that the selected portion of communication content is modified by a member of the communication group.

12. The user device of claim 8, wherein the second user input includes a request to set a level of permission for the one or more new participants to access a file included in the selected portion of communication content.

13. A user device, comprising:

at least one communication interface; and

at least one processor in communication with the communication interface and configured to;

receive, via the at least one communication interface, a notification that one or more new participants are added to a communication group;

receive, via the at least one communication interface, an indication inquiring whether a first selected portion of communication content for providing to the one or more new participants is acceptable, wherein the communication content includes information transferred between a plurality of participants of the communication group prior to the one or more new participants being added to the communication group;

receive a user input indicating a second selected portion of the communication content for providing to the one or more new participants, wherein the second selected portion of the communication content includes a file shared among a plurality of participants of the communication group; and

send, via the at least one communication interface, an indication indicating the second selected portion of the communication content for providing to the one or more new participants.

14. The user device of claim 13, wherein the second selected portion of the communication content includes a less amount of content than the first selected portion of the communication content.

15. The user device of claim 13, wherein the second selected portion of the communication content includes a plurality of non-contiguous segments of the communication content.

16. The user device of claim 13, wherein the one or more new participants are provided with a portion of the communication content, the portion of the communication content being included in both the first selected portion of the communication content and the second selected portion of the communication content.

17. The user device of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one communication interface, another notification that the portion of the communication content is provided to the one or more new participants.