Systems and methods for managing electronic communications using various negotiation techniques

• US 7,747,752 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2001
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Pedersen, Elin R.
• Primary Examiner(s): DENNISON, JERRY B
• Application Number:
  US09/984,505
• Publication Number:
  US 20020069249A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,164 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-253, 364/401, 713/400, 707/201
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2011 Service processing based on information specified by a party before or during a call, e.g. information, tone or routing selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2072 Schedules, e.g. personal calendars
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/22 Automatic class or number identification arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42093 Notifying the calling party of information on the called or connected party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
• 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 3/53366 Message disposing or creating aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53391 dependent on calling party

Abstract

Systems and methods for negotiating a future communication are provided to facilitate interaction between persons who wish to interact but who presently may not be in a position or find it desirable to do so. Each party may be provided with an interaction manager that allows the parties to negotiate future time(s) for future communication by ascertaining mutually available free time and selecting from among these times. The parties may also elect to defer a communication until a particular communication channel becomes available.

Claims

1. A method of negotiating, in real time, a future time for a future communication between a caller and a callee, the method as viewed by the caller comprising:

sending a first request for a future communication to an interaction management system of the callee;

wherein if the first request is accepted by the interaction management system of the callee, obtaining electronic schedule information from electronic calendar systems of the caller and callee, determining a list of mutually available free times between electronic calendar systems of the caller and callee, presenting the list to both the caller and callee, and facilitating real time negotiation between the caller and callee for selecting the future time for the future negotiation,

wherein if the first request is rejected by the interaction management system of the callee, receiving, from the callee, one or more options for limited present interaction with the callee responsive to a present availability of the callee and to an access level of the caller to the callee; and

establishing a limited present electronic communication with the callee during periods when the present availability of the callee is low using the one or more options;

wherein the present availability is low if the callee is attending an important meeting,

wherein the access level is based on a preexisting relationship between the caller and the callee, the preexisting relationship being determined from a database coupled with a device of the callee, the database including entries for a plurality of potential callers identified by the database as being acquaintances of the callee, and

wherein the options for limited present interaction include a pager number, a telephone number and an email address of the callee.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

wherein if the callee is currently attending a meeting of high importance, limiting an amount of interaction information to be provided to the caller for a duration of the meeting.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic schedule information includes a plurality of times, each time being either free time having no scheduled activity expected to take place at that time or scheduled time having at least one scheduled activity expected to take place at that time.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein facilitating the negotiation further comprises negotiating, in real time, between an interaction manager associated with the caller and an interaction manager associated with the callee.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

sending the interaction manager associated with the caller a list of at least one occasion of mutually-available free time;

displaying at least one time from the list of at least one occasion of mutually-available free time on the interaction manager associated with the caller; and

selecting a desired time for future communication from among the displayed at least one occasion of mutually-available free time in response to an input from the caller.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising sending an indication to the second interaction manager indicative of the selected preferred time for future communication.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the schedule information is capable of being limited based on a relationship between the caller and the callee.

8. A system of interaction management for negotiating, in real time, a future time for a future communication, the system being implemented in a device adapted for being used by the caller or by the callee, the system comprising:

an input and output interface for sending and receiving a first request for a future communication, the first request being sent by the caller and being received by the callee;

a database including entries for a plurality of potential callers for each callee, the potential callers identified by the database as having a preexisting relationship with the callee by being acquaintances of the callee;

an electronic calendar system for maintaining schedule of a user of the device, the user being a caller or a callee;

a controller coupled to the input and output interface, the database and the electronic calendar system, the controller controlling the device to perform operations of;

sending the first request for the future communication to the interaction management system of the callee,

wherein if the first request is accepted by the interaction management system of the callee, the interaction management systems of the caller and callee determines a list of mutually available free times between the electronic calendar systems of the caller and callee and presents the list to both the caller and callee, and facilitating real time negotiation between the caller and callee for selecting the future time for the future negotiation,

wherein if the first request is rejected by the interaction management system of the callee, receiving, from the callee, one or more options for limited present interaction with the callee responsive to a present availability of the callee and to an access level of the caller to the callee, and

establishing a limited present electronic communication with the callee during periods when the present availability of the callee is low using the one or more options;

wherein the access level is based on the preexisting relationship between the caller and the callee determined from the database, and

wherein the options for limited present interaction include a pager number, a telephone number and an email address of the callee.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein

wherein if the callee is currently attending a meeting of high importance, an amount of interaction information to be provided to the caller is limited for a duration of the meeting by the controller.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the input interface obtains the electronic schedule information from the electronic calendar system for at least one of the caller and the callee.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the electronic schedule information includes a plurality of times, each time being one of free time having no scheduled activity expected to take place within that time or scheduled time having at least one scheduled activity expected to take place within that time.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the schedule information is capable of being limited based on a relationship between the caller and the callee.