Method and apparatus for phone application state management mechanism

• US 7,908,383 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2008
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tellme Networks Incorporated ([24]7.ai, Inc.)
• Inventors: Luong, Daphne H., Ellerman, E. Castedo, Porter, Brandon William, Walther, Eckart
• Primary Examiner(s): BOUTAH, ALINA A
• Application Number:
  US12/049,985
• Publication Number:
  US 20080313336A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,093 Days
• Field of Search: 709225-227, 709202-203, 709/229, 370351-352, 370/356
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0024 Services and arrangements where telephone services are combined with data services arrangements which combine a telephonic equipment and a computer H04M7/0012

Abstract

A phone application state management mechanism is described. The mechanism adopts the state storage format widely known as “Cookies” to store information in a cross-application standard format. Cookies for multiple users are stored on a single machine that retrieves phone applications using a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Suitable state information for a particular user is automatically retrieved in connection with HTTP requests. Further, by phone based applications can set the values of suitable cookies. An enforced access policy can be used to prevent an application provided by a first legal entity from accessing state information stored by an application provided by another legal entity. The approach can also be used to reduce the passing of telephone identifying information between applications for user identification purposes.

Claims

1. A method of using a telephone identifying information to preserve state for an application over a telephone interface using a first computer, the method comprising:

identifying a user profile using the first computer and the telephone identifying information associated with a request received at the first computer to access the application;

selecting a state associated with the user profile using the first computer, the state comprising a cookie;

determining a confidence level with which a user can be identified using the user profile;

persistently storing the cookie at the first computer when the confidence level reaches a predetermined level;

providing, by the first computer, the cookie to the application hosted remotely from the first computer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, initiating the application by retrieving the application using a HTTP request and including in the HTTP request at least one “

Cookie;

”

header corresponding to the cookie.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the application has a corresponding uniform resource indicator (URI) and wherein the cookie is selected according to applicability to the URI.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the applicability of the cookie for inclusion in the subset is determined according to IETF RFC 2109.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the applicability of the cookie for inclusion in the subset is determined according to policies in a state management standard.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing a new cookie, the new cookie received from the application as part of a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request for a uniform resource indicator (URI).

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the storing occurs responsive to verification of the new cookie by the first computer according to IETF RFC 2109.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the storing occurs responsive to verification of the new cookie by the first computer according to policies in a state management standard.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising, verifying a password for the user profile received over the telephone interface prior to the selecting.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising, creating a user profile on the first computer.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein each cookie in the plurality of cookies associated with a corresponding domain, wherein the HTTP request include an HTTP request host and wherein the subset of the plurality of cookies comprises each cookie in the plurality of cookies with a corresponding domain similar to the HTTP request host.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising, creating a new user profile responsive to receiving telephone identifying information not associated with an existing user profile.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising, creating a temporary user profile responsive to receiving telephone identifying information not associated with an existing user profile;

and

deleting the temporary user profile upon receiving a signal from the telephone interface signaling an end of a telephone call.

14. An apparatus for preserving state for an application over a telephone interface, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a telephone identifying information over the telephone interface;

wherein, the telephone identifying information is associated with a request received at a first computer to access the application;

means for identifying a user profile according to the telephone identifying information;

means for selecting a state associated with the user profile, the state comprising multiple cookies;

means for determining a confidence level with which a user can be identified using the user profile;

means for persistently storing the cookie at the first computer when the confidence level reaches a predetermined level;

means for providing, at the first computer, a subset of the multiple cookies to the application hosted remotely from the first computer.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus supports a second application, the application provided by a first legal entity and the second application provided by a second legal entity.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the multiple cookies includes a first cookie set by the second application, and wherein the subset of the plurality of cookies does not include the first cookie.

17. A computer system to preserve state for an application over a telephone interface, the computer system comprising:

a memory device;

an Internet interface including at least one program for the computer system to access a second computer system over the Internet, wherein, the second computer system includes an application;

a telephone interface to send and receive audio signals to and from a telephone and to receive a telephone identifying information corresponding to the telephone; and

a control subsystem to control the Internet interface and the telephone interface, the control subsystem including at least one program for identifying a user profile according to the telephone identifying information, the user profile having a corresponding state, the state comprising a plurality of cookies, determining a confidence level with which a user can be identified using the user profile;

persistently storing the cookie at the first computer when the confidence level reaches a predetermined level; and

providing a subset of the plurality of cookies over the Internet interface to the second computer system when retrieving the application.