Single point of contact personal communication system

• US 7,672,440 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2005
• Issued: 03/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Walker, Keith Raymond, Handy-Bosma, John Hans, Chen, Yen-Fu, Sun, Nancy
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, HEMANT SHANTILAL
• Application Number:
  US11/039,535
• Publication Number:
  US 20060159067A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,867 Days
• Field of Search: 379 8812- 8813, 379 8817- 8819, 379/201.01, 379/211.01, 379/85, 379/87, 379/88.23, 379/209.01, 37921103-21104, 379/207.13, 370351-356, 455/412.1, 455/412.2, 455/415, 455/417, 709201-203
• US Class Current: 379/209.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

A computer/telephony integrated single-point-of-contact system (CISS) enabling a user to contact another using multiple devices with a single contact attempt is disclosed. A plurality of computer programs residing in a computer use a subscriber database, authorization database, priority list database, and device attributes database to determine how to respond to a request to contact a subscriber. If the request is an emergency, the computer repeatedly contacts all of the subscriber'"'"'s devices until a response is received. Otherwise, the computer contacts the subscriber'"'"'s devices in a sequential order determined by the subscriber. The computer can also delete redundant un-received messages from a subscriber'"'"'s devices and create a real-time connection between the requester and the subscriber, if it is technically possible, at the subscriber'"'"'s request.

Claims

1. A single point of contact personal communication system comprising:

a subscriber database to store information of at least one subscriber;

a device attributes database to store contact information of a plurality of subscriber devices of a subscriber;

an authorization database to store authorization information to verify whether a user is authorized to contact the subscriber;

a priority list database to store an order for contacting the plurality of subscriber devices;

a computer linked to the device attributes database, the subscriber database, the authorization database, and the priority list database;

a telephone interface attached to the computer, wherein the telephone interface is operable to communicate with at least one of office phones, facsimile machines, voicemail systems and telephone central office;

an Internet interface attached to the computer; and

a computer program residing within the computer, wherein the computer program causes a processor of the computer to;

responsive to a request received from the user to contact the subscriber via at least one of the telephone interface and the Internet interface, search the subscriber database;

responsive to finding a record matching the subscriber in the subscriber database, determine whether the user is authorized to contact the subscriber;

responsive to determining that the user is authorized to contact the subscriber, take a first message from the user for the subscriber and request the user to indicate an emergency;

responsive to an emergency indication, immediately attempt to contact and to convey the first message to all of the subscriber devices of the subscriber at the same time, and to continue attempting to contact and to convey the first message until a contact with the subscriber is achieved;

responsive to a non-emergency indication, attempt to contact and to convey the first message to each subscriber device by sequentially selecting each of the plurality of subscriber devices in the order stored in the priority list database and continue attempting to convey the first message until the contact with the subscriber is achieved;

responsive to selecting a subscriber device, finding a corresponding contact information of the subscriber device in the device attributes database, and using at least one of the telephone interface and the Internet interface to contact the subscriber and to convey the first message to the subscriber;

responsive to achieving contact with the subscriber, convey the first message to the subscriber and notify the user of a message delivery.

2. A computer-implemented method for a user to contact a subscriber comprising:

loading a program into a memory of a computer connected to a telephone interface, an Internet interface, a device attributes database, a subscriber database, an authorization database, and a priority list database, wherein the subscriber database stores information of at least one subscriber, wherein the device attributes database stores contact information of a plurality of subscriber devices of a subscriber, wherein the authorization database stores an authorization information to verify whether a user is authorized to contact the subscriber, wherein the priority list database stores an order for contacting the plurality of subscriber devices; and

wherein the telephone interface is operable to communicate with at least one of office phones, facsimile machines, voicemail systems and telephone central office;

responsive to loading the program, causing the processor of the computer to;

responsive to a request received from the user to contact the subscriber via at least one of the telephone interface and the Internet interface, search the subscriber database;

responsive to finding a record matching the subscriber in the subscriber database, determine whether the user is authorized to contact the subscriber;

responsive to determining that the user is authorized to contact the subscriber, take a first message from the user for the subscriber and request the user to indicate an emergency;

responsive to an emergency indication, immediately attempt to contact and to convey the first message to all of the subscriber devices of the subscriber at the same time, and to continue attempting to contact and to convey the first message until a contact with the subscriber is achieved;

responsive to a non-emergency indication, attempt to contact and to convey the first message to each subscriber device by sequentially selecting each of the plurality of subscriber devices in the order stored in the priority list database and continue attempting to contact and to convey the first message until the contact with the subscriber is achieved;

responsive to selecting a subscriber device, finding a corresponding contact information of the subscriber device in the device attributes database, and using at least one of the telephone interface and the Internet interface to contact the subscriber and to convey the first message to the subscriber; and

responsive to achieving the contact with the subscriber, convey the first message to the subscriber and notify the user of a message delivery.

3. A computer program product for contacting a subscriber comprising:

a computer readable storage medium;

a plurality of instructions stored in the computer readable storage medium, the plurality of instructions adapted to cause a processor of a computer to connect to a telephone interface, an Internet interface, a device attributes database, a subscriber database, an authorization database, and a priority list database, wherein the subscriber database stores information of at least one subscriber, wherein the device attributes database stores contact information of a plurality of subscriber devices of a subscriber, wherein the authorization database stores an authorization information to verify whether a user is authorized to contact the subscriber, wherein the priority list database stores an order for contacting the plurality of subscriber devices; and

wherein the telephone interface is operable to communicate with at least one of office phones, facsimile machines, voicemail systems and telephone central office; and

a further plurality of instructions stored in the computer readable storage medium adapted to cause the processor of the computer to;

responsive to a request received from the user to contact the subscriber via at least one of the telephone interface and the Internet interface, search the subscriber database;

responsive to finding a record matching the subscriber in the subscriber database, determine whether the user is authorized to contact the subscriber;

responsive to determining that the user is authorized to contact the subscriber, take a first message from the user for the subscriber and request the user to indicate an emergency;

responsive to an emergency indication, immediately attempt to contact and to convey the first message to all of the subscriber devices of the subscriber at the same time, and to continue attempting to contact and to convey the first message until a contact with the subscriber is achieved;

responsive to a non-emergency indication, attempt to contact and to convey the first message to each subscriber device by sequentially selecting each of the plurality of subscriber devices in the order stored in the priority list database and continue attempting to contact and to convey the first message until the contact with the subscriber is achieved;

responsive to selecting a subscriber device, finding a corresponding contact information of the subscriber device in the device attributes database, and using at least one of the telephone interface and the Internet interface to contact the subscriber and to convey the first message to the subscriber; and

responsive to achieving the contact with the subscriber, convey the first message to the subscriber and notify the user of a message delivery.