Apparatus, systems and methods for managing incoming and outgoing communication

• US 20040240642A1
• Filed: 12/17/2003
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Brian K. Wharton, Jeffrey L. Crandell
• Original Assignee: Brian K. Wharton, Jeffrey L. Crandell
• Inventors: Wharton, Brian K., Crandell, Jeffrey L.
• Application Number:
  US10/482,527
• Publication Number:
  US 20040240642A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.22
• 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: 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 15/08 Metering calls to called party , i.e. B-party charged for the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/51 for resellers, retailers or service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/705 Account settings, e.g. limits or numbers or payment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/72 by the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/50 Telephonic communication in combination with video communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/52 Telephonic communication in combination with fax communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2072 Schedules, e.g. personal calendars
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4509 Unified messaging with single point of access to voicemail and other mail or messaging systems unified messaging in packet switching networks H04L51/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5063 Centrally initiated conference, i.e. Conference server dials participants computer conference organisation arrangements H04L12/1818
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/652 Call initiation triggered by text message
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0108 Customization according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. customer preferences, friends and family, selecting services or billing options, Personal Communication Systems [PCS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0168 On line or real-time flexible customization or negotiation according to wishes of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/54 Resellers-retail or service providers billing, e.g. agreements with telephone service operator, activation, charging/recharging of accounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/62 : Called party billing, e.g. reverse billing, freephone, collect call, 0800 or 0900
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7009 : Account settings, e.g. users, terminals, limits, numbers or payment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7036 : Administer via user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42008 : Systems for anonymous communication between parties, e.g. by use of disposal contact identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4211 : where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42127 : Systems providing several special services or facilities from groups H04M3/42008 - H04M3/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 : by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/432 : Arrangements for calling a subscriber at a specific time, e.g. morning call service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 : Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/48 : Arrangements for recalling a calling subscriber when the wanted subscriber ceases to be busy
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/527 : Centralised call answering arrangements not requiring operator intervention
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 : for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 : Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 : Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/563 : User guidance or feature selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/565 : relating to time schedule aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 : Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0012 : Details of application programming interfaces [API] for telephone networks; Arrangements which combine a telephonic communication equipment and a computer, i.e. computer telephony integration [CPI] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/003 : Click to dial services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0033 : Notification or handling of incoming calls by a computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0045 : where the text-based messaging service is an instant messaging service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0048 : where the text-based messaging service is a Short Message Service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0054 : where the data service is an electronic mail service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/128 : Details of addressing, directories or routing tables

Abstract

The present invention provides apparatus, systems and methods for managing incoming and outgoing communications for various communications methods. The invention provides control over inbound communications including definition of if, when, and who may communicate with a recipient. The invention also supports concealed identification communication in that no actual addresses, phone numbers, or other addressing IDs are required to be exchanged by the communication initiator and recipient The invention also provides the capability to initiate immediate, delayed, scheduled, or recurring outbound communications. As depicted in FIG. 1, if the database (45) contains call management settings for a call recipient, the application logic (40) will evaluate the rules to determine if a particular caller is authorized to connect with the call recipient at the current time and date. If the caller is authorized by the recipient to connect to the recipient phone number, and is furthermore authorized to do so for the current time and date, the application logic (40) will connect the call utilizing the public telephone switch (50). The computer (1) passes the caller and call recipient phone numbers as stored in the database (45) to the telephone switch (50) using an application programming interface (“API”) appropriate to the service provider or telephone switch manufacturer. The exemplary embodiment of the invention utilizes an API provided by a telephone service provider as an interface to its switching infrastructure (50). The API captures both, caller and recipient telephone numbers along with other variables useful for call setup and tracking. The telephone service provider then connects both parties'"'"' telephones (55), (60) to a phone call by dialing both numbers and connecting the call upon the parties'"'"' answer.

Claims

1. A method using a computer for managing incoming telephone calls to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming telephone calls according to a preference of the individual to take calls according to a set of rules.

2. A method using a computer for managing incoming telephone calls to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming telephone calls according to a schedule of the individual for taking calls according to a set of rules.

3. A method using a computer for managing incoming telephone calls to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming telephone calls according to an identification of callers from whom the individual will accept calls.

4. The method of claim 3, said method further comprising:

concealing the telephone numbers of a caller and the telephone number of the individual from each other.

5. A method using a computer for managing incoming telephone calls to an individual, said method comprising:

automatically originating a call by an individual according to a designated time delay.

6. A method using a computer for managing incoming telephone calls to an individual, said method comprising:

automatically originating a call by an individual according to a schedule at a specific date and time.

7. A method using a computer for managing incoming voice messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming voice messages according to a preference of the individual to receive voice messages according to a set of rules.

8. A method using a computer for managing incoming voice messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming voice messages according to a schedule of the individual for receiving voice messages according to a set of rules.

9. A method using a computer for managing incoming voice messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming voice messages according to an identification of voice message senders from whom the individual will accept voice messages.

10. A method using a computer for managing incoming instant Internet messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming instant Internet messages according to a preference of the individual to receive instant Internet messages according to a set of rules.

11. A method using a computer for managing incoming instant Internet messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming instant Internet messages according to a schedule of the individual for receiving instant Internet messages according to a set of rules.

12. A method using a computer for managing incoming instant Internet messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming instant Internet messages according to an identification of instant Internet message senders from whom the individual will accept instant Internet messages.

13. A method using a computer for managing incoming electronic mail messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming electronic mail messages according to a preference of the individual to receive electronic mail messages according to a set of rules.

14. A method using a computer for managing incoming electronic mail messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming electronic mail messages according to a schedule of the individual for receiving electronic mail messages according to a set of rules.

15. A method using a computer for managing incoming electronic mail messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming electronic mail messages according to an identification of electronic mail message senders from whom the individual will accept electronic mail messages.

16. A method using a computer for managing incoming paging service messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming paging service messages according to a preference of the individual to receive paging service messages according to a set of rules.

17. A method using a computer for managing incoming paging service messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming paging service messages according to a schedule of the individual for receiving paging service messages according to a set of rules.

18. A method using a computer for managing incoming paging service messaging to an individual, said method comprising:

controlling incoming paging service messages according to an identification of paging service message senders from whom the individual will accept paging service messages.

19. A computer system for initiating communications between two devices, said system comprising a set of computer instructions for:

generating a unique communication initiation system code corresponding to a first communications address; and

identifying a data relationship between the generated unique communication initiation system code and a designated identifier.

20. The computer system of claim 19, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

storing the data relationship on a database.

21. The computer system of claim 20, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

retrieving the stored data relationship in response to a user input of the designated identifier.

22. The computer system of claim 21, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

displaying for user selection a selection mechanism for initiating a communications session between the first communications address and a second communications address corresponding to the user.

23. The computer system of claim 22, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

initiating a communications session between the first communications address and the second communications address corresponding to the user in response to a user selection of the displayed selection mechanism.

24. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the first communications address is a telephone number.

25. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the first communications address is an electronic document address

26. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the unique communication initiation system code is a globally unique identifier.

27. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the designated identifier is a keyword.

28. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the designated identifier is a Domain Name Service (DNS) host entry name.

29. The computer system of claim 23 wherein the communications session comprises an electronic download of an electronic document stored at the first communications address.

30. The computer system of claim 19, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

evaluating a search result set returned in response to a user search request.

31. The computer system of claim 30, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

identifying an occurrence of the designated identifier; and

retrieving the stored data relationship in response to a user input of the designated identifier.

32. The computer system of claim 31, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

displaying for user selection a selection mechanism for initiating a communications session between the first communications address and a second communications address corresponding to the user.

33. The computer system of claim 32, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

initiating a communications session between the first communications address and the second communications address corresponding to the user in response to a user selection of the displayed selection mechanism.

34. The computer system of claim 32, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

inserting a selectable online display of said selection mechanism into an online display of the search result set.

35. A computer system for automatically inserting selectable online communications initiation displays into search result displays, said system comprising a set of computer instructions for:

extracting a first communications address from a web page with a meta tag that identifies the first communications address as a communications address.

40. The computer system of claim 35 wherein the first communications address is a uniform resource locator address.

36. The computer system of claim 36, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

generating a unique communication initiation system code corresponding to the first communications address.

37. The computer system of claim 36, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

identifying a data relationship between the generated unique communication initiation system code and the web page.

38. The computer system of claim 37, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

displaying in response to a user search request a search result set comprising a search result entry corresponding to the web page as a member of the search result set; and

inserting in the search result set entry for the web page a selection mechanism corresponding to the generated unique communication initiation system code for initiating a communications session between the first communications address corresponding to the search result set member and a second communications address corresponding to the user.

39. The computer system of claim 38, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

initiating a communications session between the first communications address and the second communications address corresponding to the user in response to a user selection of the displayed selection mechanism.

41. A computer system for automatically inserting selectable online communications initiation displays into search result displays, said system comprising a set of computer instructions for:

generating a unique communication initiation system code corresponding to a first communications address; and

inserting the generated communications initiation system code into a web page with a meta tag that identifies the generated communications initiation system code as a communications initiation system code.

42. The computer system of claim 41, said computer system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

extracting the generated communications initiation system code from the web page.

43. The computer system of claim 42, said computer system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

identifying a data relationship associating the extracted communication initiation system code with the web page; and

storing the data relationship in a database.

44. The computer system of claim 42, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

displaying in response to a user search request a search result set comprising a search result entry corresponding to the web page as a member of the search result set; and

inserting in the search result set entry for the web page a selection mechanism corresponding to the extracted communication initiation system code for initiating a communications session between the first communications address and a second communications address corresponding to the user.

45. The computer system of claim 44, said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for:

initiating a communications session between the first communications address and the second communications address corresponding to the user in response to a user selection of the displayed selection mechanism.