Context aware help system

• US 9,148,456 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2014
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RingCentral Incorporated
• Original Assignee: RingCentral Incorporated
• Inventors: Vendrow, Vlad, Fomin, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): King, Simon
• Application Number:
  US14/161,366
• Publication Number:
  US 20140173119A1
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.22, 379/265.09, 709/205
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/56 including a user help function
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2254 in networks

Abstract

A context aware help system generates context data for web sessions. The context data may be used either by a human operator or by an automated response system to help resolve user web session problems. For example, a user may initiate a telephone call to the context aware help during a web session. The context data may be displayed to a telephone operator in response to the telephone call. The telephone operator may use the context data to determine what web pages and user inputs were previously entered during the web session. This allows the telephone operator to quickly analyze web session problems and provide more effective and efficient web session support. The help system may alternatively, or in addition, provide other types of automated audio or data support.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a processing device, a telephone call from a computing device;

establishing, by the processing device, a telephone connection with the computing device;

receiving, by the processing device, context data associated with a web session for the computing device, wherein;

the context data identifies one or both of data entered into web pages during the web session and a path of the web pages accessed during the web session;

timestamps are associated with the web pages accessed during the web session;

timestamps are associated with the data entered into the web pages during the web session;

the timestamps identify an ordered sequence of the web pages accessed during the web session and the data entered into the web pages; and

the context data associated with the web session is based on the ordered sequence of the web pages accessed during the web session and the data entered into the web pages; and

generating, by the processing device, a response to the telephone call based on the context data associated with the web session.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, by the processing device, an automated audio message based on the context data; and

sending the automated audio message to the computing device over the telephone connection.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a context identifier from the computing device over the telephone connection, wherein the context identifier identifies the web session for the computing device; and

using the context identifier to identify the context data associated with the web session.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing device comprises one or both of an application server and a telephony server.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying advertisements based on the context data; and

sending the advertisements to the computing device.

6. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a processing device, context data associated with a web session for a computing device, wherein the context data identifies one or both of data entered into web pages during the web session and a path of the web pages accessed during the web session;

identifying an address for a telephony server based on the context data;

sending the address to the computing device for establishing a telephone connection with the computing device;

receiving, by the processing device, a telephone call from the computing device;

establishing, by the processing device, the telephone connection with the computing device; and

generating, by the processing device, a response to the telephone call based on the context data associated with the web session.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

connecting the telephone call to a telephone operator computer; and

sending the context data for display on the telephone operator computer.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising responding to the telephone call by sending one or both of a data message and an audio message to the computing device based on the context data.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

logic circuitry configured to;

identify a web session associated with a client device; and

identify one or both of a sequence of web pages opened during the web session and user inputs entered into the web pages; and

wherein the logic circuitry comprises a context server configured to;

generate context data based at least on the sequence of the web pages opened during the web session or the user inputs entered into the web pages during the web session received from the client device;

identify an address for a telephony server based on the context data;

forward the address to the client device for establishing a telephone connection with the telephony server;

receive a context identifier associated with the web session from the telephony server configured to receive a telephone call from the client device in response to the client device establishing the telephone connection with the telephony server;

identify the context data associated with the context identifier; and

send the context data to the telephony server in response to receiving the context identifier.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the context server comprises a web server providing the web pages to the client device.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the context server is further configured to:

generate an automated audio message based on the context data; and

send the automated audio message to the telephony server for relaying over the telephone connection with the client device.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the context server is further configured to generate the context data based on a path of the web pages accessed by the client device during the web session.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the logic circuitry is further configured to send data messages to the client device over a network connection based on the context data.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the logic circuitry is further configured to send the data messages in response to a help request received from the client device.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

a client device configured to;

identify a web session associated with the client device;

identify a context identifier associated with the web session;

identify context data associated with the web session;

send the context data to a context server;

receive an address from the context server based on the context data for establishing a telephone connection with a telephony server;

establish the telephone connection with the telephony server based on the address;

send the context identifier over the telephone connection to the telephony server; and

receive a response associated with the context identifier over the telephone connection, wherein receipt of the response is based on the context data.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the response comprises an automated audio message received from the telephony server over the telephone connection based on the context data.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

a client device configured to;

identify a web session associated with the client device;

identify a context identifier associated with the web session;

identify context data associated with the web session;

receive a message from a context server requesting the context data;

provide the context data to the context server in response to the message;

receive a phone number from the context server for establishing a telephone connection with a telephony server based on the context data;

establish the telephone connection with the telephony server;

send the context identifier over the telephone connection to the telephony server; and

receive a response associated with the context identifier over the telephone connection, wherein receipt of the response is based on the context data.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the context data is based on paths of web pages accessed by the client device during the web session.