Unified and consistent user experience for server and client-based services

• US 20080175358A1
• Filed: 01/22/2007
• Published: 07/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Huang, Xuedong David
• Granted Patent: US 8,995,626 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/93.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2473 Telephone terminals interfacing a personal computer, e.g. using an API (Application Programming Interface) details of API H04M7/0021
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2745 using static electronic memories, e.g. chips
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/56 Arrangements for indicating or recording the called number at the calling subscriber's set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs logging of telephone numbers H04M1/56, H04M1/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4935 Connection initiated by DAS system

Abstract

Described is a technology by which a storage at a telephone device (e.g., a client telephone) is synchronized with information corresponding to actions performed at a computing device (e.g., a server) on behalf of the client. For example, the server may employ speech recognition to recognize a name or number spoken into the client telephone, and in response, dial out a corresponding telephone number for the client telephone. This action is synchronized back to the client storage so that the client'"'"'s call history includes knowledge of the server'"'"'s dialing action. Thereafter, an action at the telephone device that accesses the call history (e.g., for redialing or scrolling) obtains the full call history, independent of whether the telephone device or computing device performed the action. Changes made via telephone device may be similarly synchronized to the computing device, such as directly dialed calls, user-input speed dial information, and so forth.

Claims

1. In a telephony environment in which a telephone device is coupled to a computing device, a method comprising:

performing an action at the computing device on behalf of the telephone device; and

synchronizing a storage at the telephone device with information corresponding to the action such that the telephone device storage contains information regarding computing device-performed actions and any telephone device-performed actions.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein performing the action at the computing device comprises outputting data corresponding to a number to which the telephone device will be coupled if answered.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein performing the action includes recognizing speech received from the telephone device.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein synchronizing the storage at the telephone device comprises providing information to the telephone device corresponding to the number.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising storing the information at the telephone device as part of a call history maintained in the storage at the telephone device.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising, at the telephone device, scrolling the call history using the storage at the telephone device.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising, at the telephone device, using the call history to perform a redial operation.

8. In a telephony environment in which a telephone device is coupled to a computing device, a method comprising:

performing an action at the telephone device that changes contents in a storage maintained at the telephone device; and

sending information from the telephone device to the computing device, the information corresponding to at least one content change to the storage maintained at the telephone device.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein performing the action at the telephone device comprises dialing a number.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein sending the information comprises sending call history information to the computing device.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein performing the action at the telephone device comprises receiving data input at the telephone device.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein sending the information comprises sending information corresponding to the data input at the telephone device to the computing device.

13. In a telephony environment, a system comprising:

a telephone device having a user interface and a storage;

a telephone interface that couples the telephone device to a public switching telephone network;

a computing system coupled to the computing device and to the telephone interface, the computing system configured to interpret commands received at the user interface of the telephone device to perform telephone-related actions for the telephone device; and

synchronization logic that synchronizes information about telephone-related actions performed by the computing device with data maintained in the storage of the telephone device.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the telephone device comprises a client of a server, the server corresponding to the computing device.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the server includes communication application logic that couples a means for performing the telephone-related actions to at least one other application or a database accessible to the server.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the telephone interface comprises an analog telephone adapter, and wherein the telephone device is coupled to the computing device via the analog telephone adapter.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein the computing device includes a speech recognition mechanism that recognizes spoken commands at the user interface and performs actions corresponding to those commands, including performing at least one telephone-related action that dials a number to couple the telephone device to a recipient, and wherein the synchronization logic obtains data corresponding to the number for including in a call history maintained in the storage of the telephone device.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the user interface of the telephone device includes a local redial mechanism, and wherein the telephone device redials a number from the call history upon actuation of the local redial mechanism, independent of whether the number in the call history was dialed from the telephone device or from the computing device as a telephone-related action.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the user interface of the telephone device includes a scrolling mechanism, and wherein the telephone device scrolls to output numbers from the call history upon operation of the scrolling mechanism, independent of whether any of the numbers in the call history were dialed from the telephone device or from the computing device as a telephone-related action.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the synchronization logic communicates data corresponding to changes to the storage of the telephone device to the computing device.