Method and apparatus for intermediation of meetings and calls
First Claim
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1. A computer-implemented method for the intermediation of real time meetings, comprising:
- receiving an indication by a requester system that a requester (R-A) wants to request a realtime meeting M-A with a target T-A;
sending to a decider system (D) a request to conduct a real time meeting M-A;
queuing the request for the meeting M-A by the decider system;
receiving by the decider system (D) an availability status of T-A;
receiving by the decider system (D) an availability status of R-A, where a possible availability status includes not available;
receiving an indication by the requester system that a requester (R-B) wants to request a realtime meeting M-B with target T-B, the meeting M-B to be disjoint in time with the meeting M-A; and
such that one of the parties to M-A (R-A or T-A), known as the ‘
common party’
is also the same as one of the parties to M-B (R-B or T-B) and thus there are three distinct parties, the decider D being associated with the common party;
sending to the decider system (D) a request to conduct a real time meeting M-B;
queuing the request for the meeting M-B by the decider system, such that requests for at least two distinct meetings, disjoint in time are placed in the queue, so that multiple pending real time meetings for the common party are in the queue at the same time;
receiving by the decider system (D) an availability status of targer T-B;
receiving by the decider system (D) an availability status of the requester R-B, where a possible availability status includes not available;
initiating, by the decider, one of the two meetings M-A and M-B by connenting the common party and the other party to that meeting when the common party and that other party are mutually available; and
dequeuing the request for a meeting.
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Abstract
A computer-implemented method and system for assisting in the intermediation of realtime meetings, including telephone calls and face to face meetings. A user informs his system that he wishes to, for example, make a telephone call. The system sends a request for a realtime meeting to the specified target. Both the target and the requester queue the request. When both the requester and the target are mutually available, the realtime meeting can take place. Some embodiments cause this to happen automatically, some prompt the user to take action, such as dialing the telephone.
58 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for the intermediation of real time meetings, comprising:
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receiving an indication by a requester system that a requester (R-A) wants to request a realtime meeting M-A with a target T-A; sending to a decider system (D) a request to conduct a real time meeting M-A; queuing the request for the meeting M-A by the decider system; receiving by the decider system (D) an availability status of T-A; receiving by the decider system (D) an availability status of R-A, where a possible availability status includes not available; receiving an indication by the requester system that a requester (R-B) wants to request a realtime meeting M-B with target T-B, the meeting M-B to be disjoint in time with the meeting M-A; and
such that one of the parties to M-A (R-A or T-A), known as the ‘
common party’
is also the same as one of the parties to M-B (R-B or T-B) and thus there are three distinct parties, the decider D being associated with the common party;sending to the decider system (D) a request to conduct a real time meeting M-B; queuing the request for the meeting M-B by the decider system, such that requests for at least two distinct meetings, disjoint in time are placed in the queue, so that multiple pending real time meetings for the common party are in the queue at the same time; receiving by the decider system (D) an availability status of targer T-B; receiving by the decider system (D) an availability status of the requester R-B, where a possible availability status includes not available; initiating, by the decider, one of the two meetings M-A and M-B by connenting the common party and the other party to that meeting when the common party and that other party are mutually available; and dequeuing the request for a meeting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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28. A method comprising:
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transmitting or receiving at a computing system a first request for a first real-time meeting between a requestor and a first target, the requestor and the first target being individuals; storing the first request in a queue on the computing system, the queue including more than one request for a real-time meeting; determining that the first target is unavailable using the computing system, the determination being based on a first signal received by the computing system from an electronic tool of the first target; waiting until the first target changes from being unavailable to being available; when the first target is available, determining if the requester is available based on a second signal received by the computing system; if the requestor is available, then automatically initiating the first real-time meeting using computing instructions stored on a computer readable medium of the computing system; and if the requester is unavailable, then waiting until a time the requestor becomes available. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 38)
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37. A method comprising:
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transmitting or receiving at a computing system a first request for a first real-time meeting between a requestor and a first target, the requestor and the first target being individuals; determining that the first target is unavailable, using the computing system, the determination being based on a first electronic signal received from the first target; storing the first request in a queue on the computing system, the queue including more than one request for a real-time meeting; waiting until the first target changes from being unavailable to being available; when the first target is available, automatically determining if the requester is available based on a second electronic signal received by the computing system; and if the requester is unavailable, then waiting until a time the requestor becomes available.
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Specification