Method, System, Apparatus, and Computer-Readable Medium for Interactive Notification of Events

• US 20070198691A1
• Filed: 04/12/2007
• Published: 08/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Koch, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,818,674 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/544 Remote
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/975 Pop-up dialog box for entry

Abstract

A method, system, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for the interactive notification of events is provided. A notification client application program executes in a background state and receives notifications from a business application server computer that an event has occurred. The notification may include a request to display a visual indication that the event has occurred, including a description of the event. In response to the request, the notification client application program displays a user interface window on the client computer including a description of the event that has occurred. The user interface window may include hyperlinks to additional Web content regarding the event, for scheduling appointments, for purchasing goods or services, or for placing a telephone call regarding the event.

Claims

1-22. -22. (canceled)

23. A method for providing a notification that an event has occurred, the method comprising:

sending a request for notification in response to the occurrence of the event at a server computer;

receiving the notification that the event has occurred from the server computer, the notification comprising a description of the event corresponding to the server computer, at least one hyperlink to additional data regarding the event, data for customizing a visual indication that the event has occurred, the visual indication comprising a user name, and a user identifier;

opening a user interface window to thereby display the notification, each notification comprising a description of the event;

receiving a selection of the hyperlink; and

based on the selection, placing an order for purchasing a product with a billing server computer.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the request for notification in response to the occurrence of the event is transmitted to a plurality of server computers.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the request for notification that an event has occurred is transmitted over a high speed, always-on network connection.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the request for notification that an event has occurred is received at a web server.

27. The method of claim 23, where based on the selection the method further comprises creating an appointment with a calendaring server computer.

28. The method of claim 23, where based on the selection the method further comprises placing a telephone call.

29. A computer readable medium containing instructions, the instructions operative to:

send a request for notification in response to the occurrence of the event to a server computer;

receive the notification that the event has occurred from the server computer, the notification comprising a description of the event corresponding to the server computer, at least one hyperlink to additional data regarding the event, data for customizing a visual indication that the event has occurred, the visual indication comprising a user name, and a user identifier;

open a user interface window to thereby display the notification, the notification comprising a description of the event;

receive a selection of the hyperlink; and

based on the selection, creating an appointment with a calendaring server computer.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 29, where based on the selection the instructions further comprise placing an order for purchasing a product with a billing server computer.

31. The computer readable medium of claim 29, where based on the selection the instructions further comprise placing a telephone call.

32. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the request for notification in response to the occurrence of the event is transmitted to a plurality of server computers.

33. The computer readable medium of claim 32, wherein the request for notification that an event has occurred is transmitted over a high speed, always-on network connection.

34. The computer readable medium of claim 32, wherein the request for notification that an event has occurred is received at a web server.

35. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the server computer determines a network address to send the notification by querying a network service provider with the user identifier.

36. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the instructions include a notification application program.

37. A system for providing a notification that an event has occurred, the system comprising:

a client computer comprising an output device, a memory, a central processing unit, and a storage device containing computer-readable instructions for execution on the central processing unit, the computer-readable instructions operative to cause the client computer to transmit a request for a notification in response to the occurrence of the event to each of a plurality of a server computers, to receive from each of the server computers a request to provide a notification that the event has occurred, the request to provide a notification comprising a description of the event corresponding to the server computer, at least one hyperlink to additional data regarding the event, data for customizing a visual indication that the event has occurred, the visual indication comprising a user name, and a user identifier, and to open a new user interface window for each request to provide a notification that is received to thereby display each notification, each notification comprising a description of the event, wherein the event is a user-specified event;

a plurality of server computers each comprising a memory, a central processing unit, and a storage device containing computer-readable instructions for execution on the central processing unit of the server computer, the computer-readable instructions operative to cause the server computer to send the request to provide a notification to the client computer, to determine whether the event has occurred, to identify a network address for the client computer based on the user identifier in response to determining that the event has occurred, wherein the network address is an Internet protocol address, and to transmit the request to the client computer to provide a notification that the event has occurred at the network address.

38. The system of claim 37, further comprising a billing server computer, and wherein the client computer is further operative to, based on a selection of the hyperlink, to place an order with the billing computer.

39. The system of claim 37, further comprising a calendaring server computer, and wherein the client computer is further operative to, based on a selection of the hyperlink, to place create an appointment with the calendaring server computer.

40. The system of claim 37, wherein based on a selection of the hyperlink, to place telephone call.

41. The system of claim 39, wherein the request to provide a notification that an event has occurred is received at a web server

42. The system of claim 41, wherein a user of the web server may request that a notification that an event has occurred.