U.S. patent application number 12/749028 was filed with the patent office on 2010-09-30 for system and method for graphically managing communication sessions.
This patent application is currently assigned to Avaya Inc.. Invention is credited to Birgit GEPPERT, Frank Roessler.
Application Number | 20100251158 12/749028 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42267200 |
Filed Date | 2010-09-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100251158 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
GEPPERT; Birgit ; et
al. |
September 30, 2010 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GRAPHICALLY MANAGING COMMUNICATION
SESSIONS
Abstract
Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory
computer-readable storage media for managing a communication
session via a graphical user interface (GUI). The method causes a
communication device to present a set of connected graphical
elements representing a structure of the communication session via
the GUI, the communication session comprising at least two
communicating users, receive user input associated with the set of
connected graphical elements, the user input having an action
associated with the communication session, and perform the action
based on the received user input. The graphical elements can
include images, text, caricatures, and avatars, and can change
based on a contacted party context, persona, and presence. Active
connections to the communication session can be visually
represented as overlapping graphical elements, a line connecting
graphical elements, a shape connecting graphical elements, a shape
with radiating lines connecting graphical elements, and a common
augmented appearance of graphical elements.
Inventors: |
GEPPERT; Birgit; (Basking
Ridge, NJ) ; Roessler; Frank; (Basking Ridge,
NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Novak Druce + Quigg LLP - Avaya Inc.
Laurian Building, 2810 Laurian Lane, Suite 200
Dunkirk
MD
20754
US
|
Assignee: |
Avaya Inc.
Basking Ridge
NJ
|
Family ID: |
42267200 |
Appl. No.: |
12/749028 |
Filed: |
March 29, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61164753 |
Mar 30, 2009 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
715/771 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/0486 20130101;
H04L 51/36 20130101; H04M 3/563 20130101; H04L 51/04 20130101; H04L
65/1069 20130101; H04M 1/247 20130101; H04M 1/27453 20200101; H04M
3/42221 20130101; H04M 2250/62 20130101; H04M 3/42068 20130101;
G06F 3/04817 20130101; H04L 12/1822 20130101; G06Q 10/10 20130101;
H04L 51/046 20130101; H04M 2203/5027 20130101; H04M 3/42289
20130101; H04M 1/27475 20200101; H04M 2201/42 20130101; H04M 3/564
20130101; H04M 2250/22 20130101; G06F 3/04842 20130101; H04L 65/403
20130101; H04M 3/42161 20130101; H04W 4/21 20180201 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/771 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/048 20060101
G06F003/048 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method of managing a communication
session via a graphical user interface (GUI), the method causing a
communication device to perform steps comprising: presenting a set
of connected graphical elements representing a structure of a
communication session via the GUI, the communication session
comprising at least two communicating users; receiving user input
associated with the set of connected graphical elements, the user
input having an action associated with the communication session;
and performing the action based on the received user input.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
graphical elements comprise one or more of images, text,
caricatures, and avatars.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
graphical elements change based on at least one of a contacted
party context, persona, presence, and connectivity status.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
graphical elements comprise text of related information comprising
one or more of a name, a title, a position, a bio, a telephone
number, email address, local time, biological time, presence
information, and location.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein at least one
of the graphical elements includes at least a hyperlink to related
information.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the
additional related information relates to the user associated with
the at least one of the graphical elements.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein within the
set of connected graphical elements, active connections to the
communication session are visually represented as a graphical
connection metaphor including one or more of overlapping graphical
elements, a line connecting graphical elements, a shape connecting
graphical elements, a shape with radiating lines connecting
graphical elements, and a common augmented appearance of graphical
elements.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein active
connections are visually represented as overlapping graphical
elements, the overlapping graphical elements representing
individuals at one location.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the
graphical connection metaphor indicates a communication session
relationship between connected graphical elements by changing one
or more color, thickness, animation, texture, and length.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the
communication session relationship includes one or more of an
active, a held, a pending, a sidebar, a monitored transfer, an
unmonitored transfer, selective forwarding, and selective breakup
of the communication session into multiple communication
sessions.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein graphical
elements corresponding to individuals at a same location are one of
(1) grouped close together, (2) overlapped, and (3) connected by a
shape.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein a
communication session moderator graphical element is placed in a
central location in relation to other graphical elements.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein graphical
elements are arranged based on at least one of an organizational
hierarchy, role, location, and seniority.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
communication session includes one or more communication
modalities.
15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the
communication modalities include telephone, cellular phone, voice
over IP (VoIP), instant messaging, e-mail, text messaging, web
conferencing, screen sharing, file sharing, and video
conferencing.
16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the action
is one or more of adding a party to the communication session,
inviting a party to the communication session, dropping a party
from the communication session, splitting a communication session,
initiating the communication session, ending the communication
session, transferring a party to a different mode of communication,
and forming a sidebar communication session.
17. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the action
is one or more of merging the communication session with a second
communication session and moving one or more parties of the
communication session to a second communication session.
18. A system for managing a communication session via a graphical
user interface (GUI), the system comprising: a processor; a module
controlling the processor to present a set of connected graphical
elements representing a structure of the communication session via
the GUI, the communication session comprising at least two
communicating users; a module controlling the processor to receive
user input associated with the set of connected graphical elements,
the user input having an action associated with the communication
session; and a module controlling the processor to perform the
action based on the received user input.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein within the set of connected
graphical elements, active connections to the communication session
are visually represented as a graphical connection metaphor
including one or more of overlapping graphical elements, a line
connecting graphical elements, a shape connecting graphical
elements, a shape with radiating lines connecting graphical
elements, and a common augmented appearance of graphical
elements.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing
instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the
computing device to manage a communication session via a graphical
user interface (GUI), the instructions comprising: presenting a set
of connected graphical elements representing a structure of the
communication session via the GUI, the communication session
comprising at least two communicating users; receiving user input
associated with the set of connected graphical elements, the user
input having an action associated with the communication session;
and performing the action based on the received user input.
21. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein if the
action is removing a participant from the communication session,
the method further causing the communication device to perform
steps comprising: dropping the participant from the communications
session; and updating the set of connected graphical elements to
remove graphical elements associated with the dropped
participant.
22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, the method further
causing the communications device to terminate the communication
session if only one user remains in the communication session.
23. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein if the
action is adding a new participant to the communication session,
the method further causing the communication device to perform
steps comprising: bridging the new participant into the
communication session; and updating the set of connected graphical
elements to include a new graphical element for the new
participant.
24. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
communication session is created in response to a drag and drop
action in the GUI of a first icon associated with a first user to a
second icon associated with a second user.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/164,753, filed 30 Mar. 2009, which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0002] This application is related to Attorney Docket Numbers
509022-US2 (application no. ______), 509022-US3 (application no.
______), 509022-US4 (application no. ______), 509022-US5
(application no. ______), 509048-US (application no. ______),
509049-US (application no.), and 509098-US (application no.
______), filed on Mar. 29, 2010, each of which is herein
incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0003] 1. Technical Field
[0004] The present disclosure relates to telecommunications and
more specifically to systems and methods for managing communication
sessions via a graphical user interface (GUI). Communication
sessions can exist in a variety of modes such as telephone calls,
instant messaging sessions, email sessions, video conference
sessions, screen sharing sessions, multi-media sessions, and the
like, as well as communication devices such as desktop phones,
handheld devices, netbooks, and the like.
[0005] 2. Introduction
[0006] Touchtone telephones have been supplemented over the years
by the addition of feature buttons and menus. Interfaces for these
features have evolved from simple buttons to hierarchical menus
actuated by trackballs, quadrant style pointers, and the like. As
the number of features increases, the interfaces add more buttons,
sequences, and/or combination of button presses. This proliferation
of features has led to a multitude of different interfaces with
varying levels of complexity. Often users resort to rote
memorization of key features, but that is not always practical or
desirable. Recently, smartphones with touch-sensitive displays have
begun to provide similar functionality. However, the
touch-sensitive displays in such devices typically reproduce the
feature buttons and menus, albeit on a touch-sensitive display.
[0007] Further, users are migrating to other communication forms,
such as text messaging, instant messaging, email, chat sessions,
video conferencing, and so forth. Incorporating the ability to
handle these modes of communication into a traditional telephone
increases the complexity and difficulty manyfold. What is needed in
the art is a more intuitive communication management interface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited
and other advantages and features of the disclosure can be
obtained, a more particular description of the principles briefly
described above will be rendered by reference to specific
embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.
Understanding that these drawings depict only exemplary embodiments
of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be
limiting of its scope, the principles herein are described and
explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of
the accompanying drawings in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system embodiment;
[0010] FIG. 2A illustrates an initial view not having any
communication sessions;
[0011] FIG. 2B illustrates a view of an incoming communication
session;
[0012] FIG. 2C illustrates an initial view after accepting the
incoming communication session;
[0013] FIG. 2D illustrates a view of the communication session
after adding a third party;
[0014] FIG. 3 illustrates a network view of a communication
session;
[0015] FIG. 4 illustrates a second view of the communication
session;
[0016] FIG. 5 illustrates a third view of the communication session
with other concurrent communication sessions;
[0017] FIG. 6A illustrates an action to split a communication
session;
[0018] FIG. 6B illustrates a result of the action to split the
communication session; and
[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates an example method embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in
detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it
should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes
only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that
other components and configurations may be used without parting
from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
[0021] The present disclosure addresses the need in the art for
improved communication session management. A system, method and
non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed which in each
respective embodiment relate to graphical user interfaces for
managing various types of communication sessions quickly and
efficiently. In the system embodiment, the system displays to the
user on a graphical user interface a set of graphical connected
elements representing a structure of a particular communication
session or group of communication sessions. A brief introductory
description with reference to FIG. 2 will be provided, followed by
a discussion of a basic general purpose system or computing device
in FIG. 1 which can be employed to practice the concepts disclosed
herein. A more detailed description of methods and graphical
interfaces will then follow.
[0022] The graphical interface 200 of FIGS. 2A-2D illustrates the
communication session with three users communicating in a
communication session. The interface 200 receives user input, which
can include multimodal user input, to manage the communication
session. For example, a user on a communication session can perform
a drag and drop input or otherwise move and locate input to select
a contact from a contacts list 218 and add the new contact to the
communication session. The system receives such input and
automatically dials the phone number for that contact and adds them
to the communication session. Users can be dropped from the call by
dragging a connected element representing the user to a trash bin
220 or other icon or location on the display representing deleting
them from the communication session. Users can include human and
non-human participants in the communication session.
[0023] The communication session is also agnostic with respect to
the mode of communication. The same metaphor of a connected user in
a communication session being displayed on the graphical interface
can represent a called/calling user, an instant messaging (IM)
user, an email user, a user connecting via video conferencing, web
conferencing, and so forth. For example, from the context shown in
FIG. 2A, the user can select a contact and then use the same type
of user input (drag and drop, flicking, gestures, etc.) to initiate
any of the communication modes with that person. The user does not
have to know or learn different input mechanisms for different
communication modes.
[0024] The presentation of the graphical elements in connection
with participants in a session, how they are connected and how the
user interacts with the elements all vary depending on the needs
and current active context of the communication session. For
example, elements associated with participants in a session can
include text, titles, positions, or any other data about each user.
The connection metaphor between users can also represent
information such as the type of connection (phone, video, web
conference, etc), the quality of the connection (low-band,
high-band, etc.), a hierarchy of how participants are related to
the primary user (friend, associate, acquaintance, un-trusted user,
etc.), a status of the connection (active, inactive, on-hold,
etc.), and so forth. These variations shall be discussed herein as
the various embodiments are set forth. The disclosure now turns to
FIG. 1.
[0025] With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system 100 includes a
general-purpose computing device 100, including a processing unit
(CPU or processor) 120 and a system bus 110 that couples various
system components including the system memory 130 such as read only
memory (ROM) 140 and random access memory (RAM) 150 to the
processor 120. The system 100 can include a cache 122 of high speed
memory connected directly with, in close proximity to, or
integrated as part of the processor 120. The system 100 copies data
from the memory 130 and/or the storage device 160 to the cache 122
for quick access by the processor 120. In this way, the cache 122
provides a performance boost that avoids processor 120 delays while
waiting for data. These and other modules can be configured to
control the processor 120 to perform various actions. Other system
memory 130 may be available for use as well. The memory 130 can
include multiple different types of memory with different
performance characteristics. It can be appreciated that the
disclosure may operate on a computing device 100 with more than one
processor 120 or on a group or cluster of computing devices
networked together to provide greater processing capability. The
processor 120 can include any general purpose processor and a
hardware module or software module, such as module 1 162, module 2
164, and module 3 166 stored in storage device 160, configured to
control the processor 120 as well as a special-purpose processor
where software instructions are incorporated into the actual
processor design. The processor 120 may essentially be a completely
self-contained computing system, containing multiple cores or
processors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc. A multi-core
processor may be symmetric or asymmetric.
[0026] The system bus 110 may be any of several types of bus
structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a
peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus
architectures. A basic input/output (BIOS) stored in ROM 140 or the
like, may provide the basic routine that helps to transfer
information between elements within the computing device 100, such
as during start-up. The computing device 100 further includes
storage devices 160 such as a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk
drive, an optical disk drive, tape drive or the like. The storage
device 160 can include software modules 162, 164, 166 for
controlling the processor 120. Other hardware or software modules
are contemplated. The storage device 160 is connected to the system
bus 110 by a drive interface. The drives and the associated
computer readable storage media provide nonvolatile storage of
computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules
and other data for the computing device 100. In one aspect, a
hardware module that performs a particular function includes the
software component stored in a non-transitory computer-readable
medium in connection with the necessary hardware components, such
as the processor 120, bus 110, display 170, and so forth, to carry
out the function. The basic components are known to those of skill
in the art and appropriate variations are contemplated depending on
the type of device, such as whether the device 100 is a small,
handheld computing device, a desktop computer, or a computer
server.
[0027] Although the exemplary embodiment described herein employs
the hard disk 160, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the
art that other types of computer readable media which can store
data that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes,
flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random
access memories (RAMs) 150, read only memory (ROM) 140, a cable or
wireless signal containing a bit stream and the like, may also be
used in the exemplary operating environment. Non-transitory
computer-readable storage media expressly exclude media such as
energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per
se.
[0028] To enable user interaction with the computing device 100, an
input device 190 represents any number of input mechanisms, such as
a microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or
graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so
forth. An output device 170 can also be one or more of a number of
output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. If the device
includes a graphical display which also receives touch sensitive
input, the input device 190 and the output device 170 can be
essentially the same element or display. In some instances,
multimodal systems enable a user to provide multiple types of input
to communicate with the computing device 100. The communications
interface 180 generally governs and manages the user input and
system output. There is no restriction on operating on any
particular hardware arrangement and therefore the basic features
here may easily be substituted for improved hardware or firmware
arrangements as they are developed.
[0029] For clarity of explanation, the illustrative system
embodiment is presented as including individual functional blocks
including functional blocks labeled as a "processor" or processor
120. The functions these blocks represent may be provided through
the use of either shared or dedicated hardware, including, but not
limited to, hardware capable of executing software and hardware,
such as a processor 120, that is purpose-built to operate as an
equivalent to software executing on a general purpose processor.
For example the functions of one or more processors presented in
FIG. 1 may be provided by a single shared processor or multiple
processors. (Use of the term "processor" should not be construed to
refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software.)
Illustrative embodiments may include microprocessor and/or digital
signal processor (DSP) hardware, read-only memory (ROM) 140 for
storing software performing the operations discussed below, and
random access memory (RAM) 150 for storing results. Very large
scale integration (VLSI) hardware embodiments, as well as custom
VLSI circuitry in combination with a general purpose DSP circuit,
may also be provided.
[0030] The logical operations of the various embodiments are
implemented as: (1) a sequence of computer implemented steps,
operations, or procedures running on a programmable circuit within
a general use computer, (2) a sequence of computer implemented
steps, operations, or procedures running on a specific-use
programmable circuit; and/or (3) interconnected machine modules or
program engines within the programmable circuits. The system 100
shown in FIG. 1 can practice all or part of the recited methods,
can be a part of the recited systems, and/or can operate according
to instructions in the recited non-transitory computer-readable
storage media. Such logical operations can be implemented as
modules configured to control the processor 120 to perform
particular functions according to the programming of the module.
For example, FIG. 1 illustrates three modules Mod1 162, Mod2 164
and Mod3 166 which are modules configured to control the processor
120. These modules may be stored on the storage device 160 and
loaded into RAM 150 or memory 130 at runtime or may be stored as
would be known in the art in other computer-readable memory
locations.
[0031] Having briefly discussed the exemplary system embodiment,
the disclosure now turns to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D and other
graphical views of an interface for managing communication
sessions. A system 100, such as the one described in FIG. 1, can be
configured to display a graphical user interface 200, such as the
one described in FIGS. 2A-2D, and receive input for manipulating
and managing the communication session. In one aspect, the system
100 interacts with a communications device, such as a telephone,
instant messenger, personal or mobile computer, or email device to
manage the communication session. For example, a user may have a
desktop telephone that is in communication with a computing device
which can interface with the telephone and present a display such
as that shown in FIGS. 2A-2D to manage communication sessions using
the telephone.
[0032] FIG. 2A illustrates a display 200 of an initial graphical
view without any communication sessions. The display 200 can
include a series of icons 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 220, and a
contacts list 218 for initiating a communication session or
interacting with an incoming communication session, for example.
The series of FIGS. 2A-2D shall illustrate communication session
management features such as setup and teardown of communication
sessions, adding and removing participants from sessions, and so
forth from the initial state shown in FIG. 2A.
[0033] As shall be discussed, from the context of FIG. 2A, the user
can identify a person to contact, and then initiate any type of
communication using the same mode to initiate any other type of
communication. The system is agnostic in this respect. A drag and
drop, gesture, tapping or any input mode described herein can be
used to initiate and establish a phone call, teleconference with a
group of individuals, an IM or email session, and so forth. Various
examples of different inputs will be described in connection with
the utility icons 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 220 but any input mode
can be applied to engage any utility.
[0034] FIG. 2B illustrates a view of an incoming communication
session 201. The incoming communication session 201 can be any type
of session such as an incoming phone call, incoming instant
message, incoming text message, incoming request for a web
conference or, in this case, an incoming video conference. The
incoming communication session 201 shows an icon 206 representing
the requester, Karl. The icon 206 can include sub-parts such as a
name/title 206a and a communication modality icon 206b, among
others. The user can interact with the incoming communication
session 201, for example, by clicking and dragging a modality icon
onto the incoming communication session 201 to accept the incoming
video conference request from Karl 206. In this example, the user
clicks and drags 250 the icon for the telephone modality 208. The
user can select a different icon. The user can also provide other
types of input to interact with communication sessions, such as
tapping an icon via a touch screen or stylus, a flicking gesture,
mouse clicks/movements, speech input, keyboard input, swipes or
taps on a touch-sensitive surface, touchless gestures, and/or any
other combination of suitable user input. In the case of touch, for
example, taps of different duration or pressure can perform
different actions. User input can include mouse movement, clicks,
right clicks, double clicks, dragging, flicking, hovering,
gestures, and so forth. The device can be shaken or tilted to
receive accelerometer input, or positional/orientation input that
indicates certain actions. Actions generally relate to connecting a
utility icon with one or more entities to perform functions such as
ignore, send a message, accept an incoming call, create a
communication session, remove a person from a session, and so
forth.
[0035] Although FIG. 2B illustrates an incoming communication
session 201, the user can initiate communication sessions in a
number of other ways. For example, the user can drag a contact from
a list of contacts 218 onto one of the communication modality icons
208, 210, 212, 214, 216. The user can also scroll through the list
of contacts 218 to locate and select a contact 204 having an
identifier 204a or group of desired contacts, then double-click or
tap on the selected group to initiate a communication session. The
identifier 204a can also include a graphic or icon showing
available modes of communication for that contact (IM only),
presence information (in their office but on a call) or scheduling
information (such as the person is/is not available but has an
opening in 1 hour). Information in a graphical form can also
include local time, a time in the time zone of the host of the
communication session, and/or biological time. Biological time can
be an aspect of context. For example, a person who is acclimated to
the Pacific time zone but who is currently located in the Eastern
time zone may accept telephone call communication sessions at 10:00
p.m. local time even though others in the Eastern time zone may
not. This information can help the user know whether to seek a
communication with that contact. Such information can also be
presented in connection with any icon or graphic representing an
entity in a communication session. Other user interface variations
can be used in addition to or in place of these examples.
[0036] FIG. 2C illustrates a view after the user accepts the
incoming communication session 201. In addition to the icon for
Karl 206, the user's own icon 202 (the example user being Frank
Grimes) appears in the communication session 201 as an icon 202
connected to Karl 206. Frank's icon 202 is optional and can include
sub-parts such as a name/title 202a and a communication modality
icon 202b. In this case, because the user responded to the incoming
request with the telephone icon 208, Frank 202 communicates with
Karl 206 in the communication session 201 via telephone, indicated
by the smaller telephone icon 202b. Karl's icon 206 includes a
video icon 206b which can represent video conferencing capability.
Assume Frank 202 then wishes to add Max Power 204 from a list of
contacts 218 to the communication session 201. The user 202 clicks
and drags 252 Max Power's icon 204 directly from the list of
contacts 218 and drops it on the communication session 201. The
system 100 adds Max Power to the communication session as shown in
FIG. 2D.
[0037] The system 100 can provide an interface to the user such
that the user can use multiple different connection metaphors to
establish or manipulate communication sessions. For example, the
system 100 can display participant icons on the screen, show
interconnections between participants and allow the user to place
mode icons on each interconnection to establish the session. The
system 100 can allow the user to position participant icons on the
screen, select a mode and hit a button such as "go" or "connect".
The system 100 can place participant icons on the screen, overlay
communication mode icons on each participant icon and allow the
user to hit "go" or "connect". These interface options are
exemplary. The actual interface can be implemented in any of a
number of variations.
[0038] In one aspect, participants join the communication session
201 via a telephone call. However, the communication session 201 is
neutral with respect to various communication modalities and treats
each the same even as users seek to join a call or other
communication session.
[0039] In another aspect, the system 100 integrates the functions
of one or more communications device. In this case, the display 200
shown in FIG. 2D may represent a computing device 100 (such as is
generally shown in FIG. 1) that includes a microphone and speakers
as well as a display. Such a device could act both as (1) a simple
telephone to communicate via a telephone call the user's voice to
another caller or a communication session and/or (2) a
communication session management system for displaying an image
representing the various parties or entities involved in the
session and receive instructions to add or remove individuals and
other wise manage the variety of parameters that are associated
with a communication session 200.
[0040] The system 100 receives input via a physical or on-screen
keyboard, mouse, stylus, touch screen, speech command, and/or
single-touch or multi-touch gestures. Before a communication
session is established, the system 100 can show a home screen where
the graphical elements representing communications utilities such
as 208, 210, 212, 214, 216 and 220 are shown. In one variation, the
system 100 displays a summary or welcome page showing a short
summary of news, messages, contacts, upcoming calendar events,
and/or configuration options. In yet another variation, the system
100 displays a default input mechanism, such as a ten-key numeric
pad for dialing telephone numbers.
[0041] The display 200 shows a communication session 201 of three
connected graphical elements or entities 202, 204, 206. The set of
graphical elements can include images, caricatures, avatars, text,
and/or a hyperlink to additional information related to a user
associated with the graphical elements. Any combination of
graphical data can be presented to provide information about
individual users, a connection mode, status, presence, other mode
capabilities, and so forth. The text can include a name, a title, a
position, a bio, a telephone number, email address, a current
status, presence information, and location. The system can change
or animate the graphical elements based on a contacted party
context, persona, presence, and/or other factors. For example, an
element may show an avatar or the person's face but show their eyes
closed. This can mean that the person is not actively on the call
or paying attention to the call. The avatar may show the person
looking away or to the side or can show the person shaded or in
some other graphical representation that they are not actively on
the call, or that they have muted the call, on a sidebar and so
forth. Active connections to the communication session can be
visually represented as a graphical connection metaphor having
overlapping graphical elements, a line connecting graphical
elements, a shape connecting graphical elements, a shape with
radiating lines connecting graphical elements, and/or a common
augmented appearance of graphical elements. Overlapping or
otherwise grouping graphical elements can represent individuals at
one location. In such a case, information about the location can
also be provided. Further, changing color, thickness, animation,
texture, and/or length of graphical elements can indicate a
relationship or status of entities represented by the graphical
elements.
[0042] The displayed communication session 201 in FIG. 2D
represents a real-time communication of entities in a session. In
this example, the real-time communication is a three-way
communication session 201 between Frank Grimes 202, Max Power 204,
and Karl 206, shown by connecting lines between their respective
icons 202, 204, 206. It is assumed in FIGS. 2A-2D that Frank 202 is
viewing this particular screen and is the host or manager of the
communication session 201. Thus, the display 200 is the graphical
display the system presents to him. Later figures will show the
same communication session from the points of view of the other
participants.
[0043] The call setup or communication session set up procedure
shall be discussed next. In order to establish a communication
session 201, the user can drag and drop a contact from a list of
contacts 218 or from some other selection mechanism into the blank
area or some designated spot such as over a the element 202
representing Frank Grimes. Each participant in the communication
session 201 or contact in a list of contacts can have multiple
associated addresses, phone numbers, or points of contact, such as
a work phone, home phone, mobile phone, work email, home email, AIM
address, social networking address such as a Facebook chat address,
and the like. Each participant may also have an icon 202b, 204b,
206b or a qualifier that indicates not only the party but the
contact mode. At this stage, a telephone number to be called or
other communication address for alternate modes needs to be
identified. The system can present an interface or menu which
enables the user to enter via a keypad of any type a phone number
to dial or to select a number for the user from a listing of
numbers, or type in an email address for example if the user only
can be reached by email. The system may only have one phone number
for the selected contact and automatically dial that number. The
system may also automatically select from available numbers based
on any criteria such as previous history, presence information,
etc. FIG. 2D illustrates the stage in the process in which the user
Frank Grimes 202 has created a communication session with both Max
Power 204 and Karl 206 as shown and described in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and
2C.
[0044] The communication session 201 is not limited to a telephone
call. The interface 200 enables the management of any communication
session mode. When the user initiates a call, instant message, text
message, videoconference, or the like with another user, the system
100 establishes a connection to the other party and displays a
graphical representation of the communication session with the
other party on the screen. The user can then add additional parties
to the communication session in a similar manner. The user can
remove participants from a communication session by dragging their
element to a trash can icon 220, providing a flicking motion,
clicking an X associated with that participant, highlight a
participant and shaking the device, if it is mobile with
accelerometer capability or click a physical or graphical
disconnect button. In one aspect where the communication session is
via telephone, the system 100 removes participants from the
communication session when the user hangs up the telephone
receiver. As participants leave the communication session 201, the
system 100 removes their icon from the graphical representation of
the communication session. As can be appreciated, adding and
removing individual participants to and from the communication
session occurs via the same drag and drop or other user input.
[0045] The graphical elements in FIGS. 2A-2D are icons, but can
also include images, text, video, animations, sound, caricatures,
and/or avatars. Users can personalize their own graphical elements
or feed a live stream of images from a camera or video camera, for
example. In addition, the graphical elements can have an associated
string of text 202a, 204a, 206a. The string of text can include a
name, a title, a position, a telephone number, email address, a
current status, presence information, location, and/or any other
available information. The string of text can be separate from but
associated with the graphical element, as shown in FIGS. 2A-2D.
Alternatively, the system 100 can overlay the string of text on top
of the graphical element or integrate the text as part of the
graphical element. All or part of the text and/or the graphical
elements can be hyperlinks to additional information related to the
user associated with the text or graphical elements, such as a blog
or micro blog, email address, presence information, and so
forth.
[0046] The system 100 can include for each icon 202, 204, 206 a
respective graphical sub-element 202b, 204b, 206b that indicates
the communication mode for each participant. For example, Max Power
204 is participating via an instant messaging (IM) client 204b;
Frank Grimes 202 is participating via telephone 202b; Karl 206 is
participating via a video conference client 206b. The system 100 is
mode-neutral, meaning that the system 100 treats each mode of
communication the same, such as telephone, cellular phone, voice
over IP (VoIP), instant messaging, e-mail, text messaging, and
video conferencing. As a user changes from one mode to another, the
sub-elements can change accordingly. For example, if Frank Grimes
202 changes from a landline to a cellular phone mid-conference, the
telephone icon 202b can change to a mobile phone icon.
[0047] Inasmuch as the system enables users to communicate in a
session in different modes, the system can also modify the modes to
align them in the session. Instant messages can be converted to
speech and spoken in the teleconference from Max Power and speech
can also be converted to text and transmitted to Max Power 204 for
effective communication across modes.
[0048] The graphical elements can also convey information about the
communication session by changing type, size, color, border,
brightness, position, and so forth. The lines, for example, can
convey relationships between participants. A user can manually
trigger the changes for his or her own icon or others' icons, or
the system 100 can detect change events and change the graphical
elements accordingly. Change events can be based on a contacted
party, context, persona, and/or presence. For example, as one
person is talking, the system 100 can enlarge the icon representing
that person. As another example, the system 100 can track how much
each person in the communication session is talking and move
graphical elements up and down based on a total talk time in the
communication session.
[0049] In another variation, the system 100 modifies the links
connecting the graphical elements 202, 204, 206 by changing their
thickness, length, color, style, and/or animating the links. These
modifications can represent a currently talking party, shared
resources, an active communication session status, a held
communication session status, a muted communication session status,
a pending communication session status, a connecting communication
session status, a multi-party line, a sidebar conversation, a
monitored transfer, an unmonitored transfer, selective forwarding,
selective breakup of the communication session into multiple
communication sessions, and so forth. In this manner, the user can
obtain knowledge about the status of the session, the types of
communications that are occurring, and other important details
about the communication session.
[0050] In one aspect, a user provides input such as a gesture (such
as drag and drop, tap and drag with a touch screen or performs any
other instructive user input) to manipulate and manage the
communication session. For example, the user can click a call icon
208, a video conference icon 210, an IM icon 212, an icon button
214, or a social media icon 216 to invite another user to join the
communication session. A user can drag these icons and drop them on
a contact or on a participant in a current communication session.
For example, if an incoming communication session is in one
modality (IM 212 for example), the user can drag the call icon 208
onto the incoming communication session to accept the incoming
communication session but transcode it from IM to a call.
[0051] Some basic examples of how a user can interact with such
icons are provided below. The disclosure will step through example
uses of each utility icon 208, 210, 212, 214, 216 and 220. The
first example will illustrate use of the calling icon 208. Assume
the users Karl 206 and Frank 202 are shown as in FIG. 2C in a
communication session but that it is via email and not a phone
call. Frank 202 could desire to simply talk on the phone. In this
case, Frank 202 could provide instructive input such as double
tapping on the call icon 208 which would instruct the system to
recognize a communication session exists but that a new mode of
communication is requested for that session. A telephone call is
then established between Frank 202 and Karl 206 and optionally
graphically illustrated on the screen 200 with phone icons such as
202b.
[0052] An example of the use of the video icon 210 is presented
next in the context of the initial display shown in FIG. 2A. Frank
202 taps and holds with one finger on the video icon 210 and
simultaneously taps on the icon for Max Power 204 in the list of
contacts 218. The system 100 recognizes the two inputs and
interprets them as a request to initiate a video conference
communication session with Max Power 204. The system 100 can
retrieve presence information for Max Power 204 to determine if Max
Power 204 can accept a video conference communication. Information
204a can indicate that Max has video conference capability and is
currently available. If so, the system 100 establishes a
communication session via video between Max 204 and Frank 202 and
updates the display 200 accordingly. If not, the system 100 can ask
Frank 202 if he desires to select another communication modality.
Frank 202 can then tap on one or more available utility icons.
[0053] An example use of the IM icon 212 is presented next in the
context of FIG. 2D. Frank 202 drags Karl 206, who is already a
participant in an existing communication session, onto the IM icon
212 to establish an IM sidebar with that participant. The system
100 creates an additional communication session between Frank 202
and Karl 206 via IM that is separate from but concurrent with the
main communication session 201. The system 100 can optionally show
a representation of the IM sidebar between Frank 202 and Karl 206
to Max Power 204.
[0054] In an example use of the email icon 214 also in the context
of FIG. 2D, Frank 202 can swipe three fingers over the email icon
214 on a touch screen to send a mass email to all or a portion of
the participants in current communication sessions. The system 100
can identify all participants represented in the display 200 and
retrieve available email addresses for those participants. If some
participants do not have an available email address, the system 100
can intelligently select a suitable replacement, such as IM or SMS
based on availability in general or current presence information or
a current mode. After or while the system 100 is gathering all the
email address information, Frank 202 can enter a message in a popup
window and click send. The system 100 then sends the message to the
intended recipients.
[0055] The social networking icon 216 is discussed in the context
of FIG. 2D. Frank 202 double taps on the social networking icon
216. In one variation, the system 100 visually identifies which
participants are not part of Frank's social network. Frank 202 can
then click or tap on the visually identified participants to
quickly add them to a social network such as LinkedIn or Facebook.
In another variation, when Frank 202 taps once on a social
networking icon 216 and once elsewhere, the system 100 can post on
a social network data related to the location of the second tap,
such as an audio clip, a document, a video file, a link, text, an
image, or any other data. Social media include web sites such as
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, and so forth.
[0056] The user can interact with the trash icon 220 by flicking
participant icons in the general direction of the trash icon 220,
drawing an X over a participant icon or over an entire
communication session, shaking the device if the device is mobile
or via other instructive input. The system 100 can terminate a
communication session, delete a contact, remove a participant from
a communication session, or take other actions based on the user
interaction associated with the trash icon 220. Of course the trash
icon 220 can take any other graphical image which reflects that a
person or entity is leaving a communication session, such as door
or a window. For example, a window or door can be on the display
screen and the host can remove an entity from a communication
session by moving the respective icon to the window or door. As can
be appreciated, user interaction with a utility icon and at least
one entity in a communication session can take many forms as
discussed above. Each example interaction can be applied to other
utility icons in a similar manner.
[0057] A user can also initiate a communication session by dragging
and dropping an appropriate icon onto a contact. Alternatively, the
user can browse through a list of contacts 218, then drag and drop
a desired contact to add the desired contact to the communication
session. The system 100 then automatically contacts that person in
their desired mode, a sender preferred mode, a currently available
mode based on presence information, or in a common available mode
between the participants and joins that person to the communication
session. The system 100 can display other information as well, such
as a calendar, notes, memos, personal presence information, and
time. A user can manually and seamlessly switch over from one
modality to another mid-session. For example, a user participating
in a communication session via cell phone who is now near a webcam
can drag a video conferencing icon onto the communication session
to switch from cell phone to video conferencing. The system 100
display can be user-configurable.
[0058] While drag and drop is used primarily in these examples, any
user input can be provided such as tapping, flicking with a
gesture, etc. to indicate a linking of a selected utility icon 208,
210, 212, 214, 216 with one or more participants (which may include
people and non-person entities like a conference call or a calendar
item).
[0059] In one aspect, user preferences guide the amount and type of
information conveyed by the graphical elements and the associated
text. User preferences can be drawn from a viewer's preferences
and/or a source person's preferences. For example, a viewer sets
preferences to show others' email addresses when available, but a
source person sets preferences as never share email address. The
source person's preferences (or preferences of the "owner" of the
information) can override a third party's preferences.
[0060] Having discussed several variations of FIGS. 2A-2D, the
discussion now turns to a network view 300 of the communication
session as shown in FIG. 3. A network 302 connects various
communications devices 304, 306, 308, 310, 312 and conveys
information from device to device. The telecommunications network
can be one of or a combination of a plain old telephone service
(POTS) network, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, the
world wide web, an integrated services digital network (ISDN),
frame relay network, Ethernet network, token ring network, and any
other suitable wired or wireless network. The network can include
one or more interconnected nodes 314, 316, 318, 320 which perform
all or part of the connection and transmission functionality that
underlies the graphical representation of communication sessions on
a GUI. Such network nodes 314, 316, 318, 320 can perform all the
functionality in the network 302 or can operate in conjunction with
end-user communication devices 304, 306, 308, 312 to manipulate
communication sessions. Only the display component is shown for
devices 304 and 306.
[0061] In one aspect, a centralized entity such as node 320
controls the communication session. The centralized entity 320 can
reside in the network and/or communicate via the network. The
centralized entity 320 can operate as a centralized enterprise
intelligence server. In another aspect, the communication session
control and functionality is distributed among multiple server
resources 314, 316, 318, 320 in the network or cloud 302. In
addition to a centralized intelligence and distributed intelligence
in the cloud, the network 302 can provide this functionality using
a peer-to-peer approach with intelligence on the endpoints 312,
308, 306, 304. Some variations include providing standardized
functionality on a standards-compliant server and non-standardized
functionality distributed across the endpoints. In some respects,
the "system", "device", "communication device" or other
characterization of a hardware component that performs certain
steps can be interpreted as one or more of the various devices as
endpoints or network elements shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.
[0062] Each communications device 306, 304, 312, 308 of FIG. 3
shows a different aspect or view of the same communication session.
For example, the display of device 304 shows the same display of
the same participants 202, 204, 206 as shown in FIG. 2D. The
display of device 306 shows the same participants 202, 204, 206 in
a different view of the communication session from the perspective
of device 306. Likewise devices 308 and 312 show the same
participants 202, 204, 206 in different views which can each be
tailored to the individual participants in the communication
session. Device 304 can represent a host or manager of the
communication session but someone who is not shown as participating
in the call.
[0063] In one aspect, a mobile device 308 connects with a base
station 310 to connect to the network. A mobile device 308 can
generate its own view of the communication session or it can
generate a duplicate or a companion view of another device's
display.
[0064] In general, the management of the communication session
involves a user, such as the user interfacing with device 304,
providing input to the graphical interface. The input as is noted
herein involves an action step for manipulating or managing the
communication session. Corresponding instructions are provided to
the network node 320 or network nodes which actively provide the
communication links to the various participants. Thus, the network
node or nodes will carry out the instructions received from the
managing device such that actions like communication session
bridging, removing a person from the session, establishing a
sidebar discussion, separating the communication session into
several smaller communication sessions, and so forth, are
appropriately carried out.
[0065] FIG. 3 also can illustrate a view of a person or entity who
seeks to contact someone in a communication session. For example,
assume Mary has device 304 and wants to call Frank 202. If she
does, if permissions are granted, she can be presented with a
visual of Frank's communication session showing 202, 204, 206. This
can provide her varying levels of detail with respect to the type
of communication, who is on the call, the subject matter of the
call, etc. In this manner, Mary can be presented with options since
she now has this knowledge. Perhaps she may want to IM or email
instead of call. She may request to join the conference call. She
me want to send a message to Frank 202 that she noticed he was on a
call and could he return her call in 1 hour. Presenting Mary with a
graphical image of the communication session presence of the person
she is calling enables a more efficient mechanism for her to
determine how to best take the next step in communicating with
Frank 202.
[0066] FIG. 4 illustrates a different view 400 of the same
communication session shown in FIG. 2D, but from the perspective of
Max Power 204. In this case, Max Power is the moderator, so Max's
icon 204 appears at a central location compared to the remaining
participants' icons 202, 206. Each participant's icon has
associated text 202a, 204a, 206a indicating name and communication
mode. The text 202a, 204a, 206a can also represent other data about
each person or can include icons indicating various types of data
such as communication mode, presence, temporal information,
calendar information, hierarchical information, employer
information and so forth. The system 100 can arrange the icons
based on an organizational hierarchy, role, location, seniority or
other combinations of parameters.
[0067] The interface 400 in FIG. 4 uses connecting lines and a
central hub 402 and spokes from the participants to the hub to
indicate that the three participants 202, 204, 206 are in the
communication session. As the system 100 engages in additional
communication sessions, the display shows additional concurrent
sessions in different locations. In some cases such as instant
messaging, a single location contains multiple communication
sessions of a same type. For example, multiple IM communication
sessions can be displayed as a stack of cards at a single location.
Sessions can also be grouped at a single location according to
other criteria such as sessions sharing same participants, sessions
on the same topic, or user specified. The hub 402 of FIG. 4 and the
lines connecting icons in FIG. 2D are also illustrative display
configurations for active connections. Other configurations of
icons, text, and/or graphical elements can replace those shown
herein.
[0068] The display 400 can include a title bar 404 and various
controls such as a mute button 406, an exit button 408, a
transcription button, and an "add participant" button 410. When a
user clicks on the "add participant" button 410, the system 100 can
present the user with a dialog to select one or more participants
to add. The title bar 404 can include information such as call
duration, call moderator, and preferred communication mode. When a
user clicks on the mute button 406, the system 100 can mute the
user's line or other participants' lines. For a participant,
clicking the exit button 408 causes that participant to leave the
conference. The moderator could also highlight one or more of the
participants with a click or gesture and then click on exit 408 to
remove them from the conference. The conference moderator can also
terminate the communication session for all participants by
clicking the exit button 408.
[0069] When a user clicks on a transcription button (not shown),
the system 100 can engage a speech recognition module to recognize
and transcribe speech. The system 100 can display transcriptions in
real time, such as a ticker of text beneath a user's icon. The
system 100 can also prepare a full transcript of an entire
communication session and email the full transcript to selected
participants after the communication session ends. The system 100
can transcode audio from a telephone call to text for a text
messaging session via automatic speech recognition (ASR) and can
convert in the other way via text-to-speech (TTS). Thus, Max 204
can communicate via IM with Frank 202 and Karl 206 in the same
session but in different modes. These differences can be visually
representing in the session display.
[0070] Alternatively, the user can browse and select a participant
from a list of contacts and drag desired participants directly into
the graphical representation of the conference. A user can also add
a party to the communication session, invite a party to the
communication session, drop a party from the communication session,
split a communication session, form a sidebar communication
session, and merge two communication sessions. A sidebar
communication session is a concurrent session between two or more
participants in a main communication session, but separate from the
main communication session. For example, if Max Power 204 is
proposing an idea, Frank Grimes 202 and Karl 206 can form a sidebar
to discuss the proposed idea without Max Power listening or even
knowing about the sidebar. In some cases knowledge of the sidebar's
existence is available to other participants, but the other
participants do not know what is being communicated in the
sidebar.
[0071] Having discussed several variations of FIG. 4, the
discussion now turns to FIG. 5, which illustrates a third view 500
of a communication session 502 between Max Power 204, Frank Grimes
202, and Karl 206, but from the perspective of Karl 206 and with
another concurrent real-time communication session 512 and a
current incoming call 514 for Karl 206. The active connections of
the communication session 502 are shown here connected via a
triangle 510. The system 100 as shown in FIG. 5 can display
overlapping graphical elements, a line connecting graphical
elements, a shape connecting graphical elements, a shape with
radiating lines connecting graphical elements, and/or a common
augmented appearance of graphical elements. The system can group
close together or overlap icons corresponding to individuals at a
same location. Thus, the visual representation can vary for each
"participant" in a communication session depending on the
individual, location, grouping of people, and so forth. This visual
image gives the participants and easy understanding of who is in
the communication and the ability to easily manage the session
graphically.
[0072] The display in FIG. 5 shows three separate concurrent
communication sessions 502, 512, 514. The first communication
session 502 is between Max 204, Frank 202 and Karl 206. Respective
metadata is shown 202a, 204a, 206a. The second communication
session 512 is a communication session in which Karl is a
participant and which includes a group from California 504, Paul
506, Rob 508, Layne 524, and a group from Florida 522. Thus, Karl
206 is a simultaneous participant in two communication sessions.
The system 100 displays each communication session separately. In
addition to these two communication sessions, the system 100
displays an incoming communication 514 from John Mah. The incoming
communication icon 514 can blink, bounce, pulse, grow, shrink,
vibrate, change color, send an audible alert (such as a ringtone),
and/or provide some other notification to the user of the incoming
call. Karl 206 can interact with and manipulate this incoming
request in the same manner as the other current communication
sessions. The system 100 does not differentiate between an active
communication session and a communication session representing an
incoming call. For example, Karl 206 can drag and drop the incoming
call 514 on top of the communication session 512 to add the
incoming call directly to the communication session 512 or 502. As
another example, Karl 206 can drag and drop the incoming
communication 514 to a trash can icon to ignore the call, double
click on the incoming communication 514 to send the incoming caller
(if it is a call) to voicemail, or tap and hold to place the caller
on hold.
[0073] If Karl 206 accepts the incoming communication 514 from John
Mah, the system 100 creates and displays a new communication
session including Karl 206 and John Mah (not shown in FIG. 5). The
system 100 can place the new communication session elsewhere on the
display.
[0074] The system 100 can visually represent active connections as
overlapping graphical elements for individuals at one location. For
example, in the second communication session 512, the participants
from Florida are overlapped as are the participants from
California. The user can manipulate these overlapping icons to
identify or communicate with participants in a communications
session.
[0075] The display can include a listing of contacts 520 and
calendar events 522. User interactions with the contacts can
trigger an expanding view or a popup window with more information.
The user can then click on a particular contact to see a list of
available modes of communication for that contact. The system 100
initiates an additional communication session with that contact
based on a user selection of an available mode of communication.
The system 100 connects and displays that communication session
along with the existing three 502, 512 and the newly added session
with John Mah (not shown).
[0076] Further, the system 100 can include a search capability. A
user can search for contacts, calendar events, email addresses,
phone numbers, and so forth. This approach can be advantageous for
users with very large contact lists or for finding all members of a
particular department.
[0077] Often a contact will include several contacts for a
particular communication modality. For example, one contact can
include four phone numbers, two text message numbers, three email
addresses, and so on. In these cases the system 100 can
intelligently select one of the available addresses or numbers for
a selected modality, or the system 100 can present a disambiguation
dialog so the user can select a desired address or number.
[0078] In many instances, a user will not have a contact entry for
all the other communication session participants. To add a
communication session participant as a contact, the user can drag
and drop the desired icon on the contacts icon. The system 100 can
automatically locate available information about that participant
to add to the contact database.
[0079] One possible user input is to divide the communication
session shown in FIGS. 6A-2B. The user can draw a line with a mouse
drag or a finger on a touch screen separating the communication
session into two groups. The system 100 can then divide the
communication session into two separate concurrent communication
sessions based on the groups. In one aspect, a communication
session manager can divide a communication session for a limited
time, after which the communication sessions are automatically
merged together. For example, a manager can say "Team A, discuss
pros and cons of strategy A. Team B, discuss pros and cons of
strategy B. After five minutes, we'll return and report on our
discussions." Then the manager draws a line or otherwise selects
groups for the breakout sessions and sets a duration. A dialog or
icons can appear when the communication session is separated which
present the available options for managing the separation. The
system 100 divides the communication session and rejoins them after
the set duration. The manager can indicate additional settings,
such as prohibiting sidebar conversations between the groups during
the breakout sessions. The manager can be independent of the
breakout sessions and monitor each breakout session via audio,
summary, and/or real-time text.
[0080] FIG. 6A illustrates the action to split a communication
session 600. This communication session involves five participants
602, 604, 606, 608, 610 in a session identified by each participant
being connected by hub 616. A user provides input such as drawing a
line with his or her finger on a touch screen to divide the
communication session into two parts. The system 100 interprets
that input and performs an action based on that input. For example,
after the input shown in FIG. 6A, the system 100 (or a node or
nodes in the network) splits the communication session into a first
communication session 612 of participants 602, 604, 610 and a
second communication session 614 of participants 606, 608 as shown
in FIG. 6B.
[0081] FIG. 6B illustrates the hub 616a maintaining the session
with connected participants 602, 604 and 610. A new hub 616b
connects participants 608 and 606 in a separate communication
session. The session manager could recombine these sessions in a
number of ways including by dragging and dropping the hub 616b onto
the hub 616a.
[0082] The disclosure now turns to the exemplary method embodiment
shown in FIG. 7. For the sake of clarity, the method is discussed
in terms of an exemplary system such as is shown in FIG. 1
configured to practice the method. FIGS. 2, 4, and 5 illustrate
example graphical interfaces for the method disclosed in FIG.
7.
[0083] FIG. 7 illustrates an example method embodiment for managing
a communication session via a graphical user interface (GUI). The
system 100 presents a set of connected graphical elements
representing a structure of the communication session via the GUI,
the communication session having at least two communicating users
(702). The communication session can be a telephone call, other
communication session in another mode, a communication session. The
number of users or participants can be two or more. The
communication session can be mode-neutral so that users in the
session can communicate using any of a number of communication
modes such as telephone, cellular phone, voice over IP (VoIP),
video conference, text message, instant messaging, web-based chat,
email, social networking communications, and so forth. The GUI
allows users to manipulate the communication session quickly and
intuitively.
[0084] For example, using the graphical interface, setting up a
communication session can involve the user providing an instructive
input which causes the system to move individuals from a contacts
list into a particular portion of the interface. The system
interprets that user input as a desire to contact the person
dropped in. The system then dials that person and once they answer
the call, a graphical element shows that there is a connection
between the user and the called person. Other people can be added
or dropped from the call by dragging and dropping icons or
graphical elements to and from the communication session. Users can
change their own mode of communication by tapping on a different
connection modality icon.
[0085] The user could drag and drop in an additional person who the
user wants to IM, although the other people in the communication
session are communicating via phones. The system then will
automatically present a text field for the user to input the IM
text and then once the system receives an "enter" or another
indicator that the message is complete, the system transmits the IM
message to the selected user.
[0086] Devices having different capabilities can present a suitable
GUI tailored to those capabilities. For example, a desk phone may
have a more powerful processor and graphics abilities, larger
screen, more memory, higher bandwidth, and so forth than a smaller
mobile device. Such a desk phone can display the GUI with full
interaction and animation, whereas the mobile communication device
may only provide a subset of that full functionality suited to its
own capabilities. A desk phone can be in operative communication
with a computer such that the graphical interface for communication
sessions is presented on the computer screen but implemented via
the desktop phone.
[0087] The disclosure returns to the method of FIG. 7. The system
100 receives user input associated with the set of connected
graphical elements, the user input having an action associated with
the communication session (704). The user input can be received via
a physical or on-screen keyboard, mouse, stylus, touch screen,
speech command, single-touch and/or multi-touch gesture. Any single
or multimodal input can be received from the user to manage or
implement a particular function. The input can be directed to a
single graphical element or to other user-interface components on a
display.
[0088] The system 100 performs the action based on the received
user input (706). For example, if a user draws a line with his or
her finger on a touch screen between a first group of participants
in a communication session and a second group of participants in a
communication session, the system can separate the first group into
its own communication session and the second group into its own
communication session. The system or a network communication node
or nodes will manage bridging and connecting the identified groups
such that the separate communication sessions are established. The
appropriate action can also be processed in a peer-to-peer fashion
between end devices in the network.
[0089] As another example, if a user drags a contact into a
communication session, the system 100 can add that contact to the
communication session. Other actions include adding a party to the
communication session, inviting a party to the communication
session, dropping a party from the communication session, splitting
a communication session, forming a sidebar communication session
which is a concurrent communication session that is separate from
but includes participants in a main communication session, and
merging the communication session with a second communication
session. In each case, the network node responsible for the
communication session will manage the modification and
reorientation of the communication session based on the received
user input.
[0090] Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure may
also include tangible and/or non-transitory computer-readable
storage media for carrying or having computer-executable
instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such non-transitory
computer-readable storage media can be any available media that can
be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer,
including the functional design of any special purpose processor as
discussed above. By way of example, and not limitation, such
non-transitory computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM,
EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage
or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be
used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of
computer-executable instructions, data structures, or processor
chip design. When information is transferred or provided over a
network or another communications connection (either hardwired,
wireless, or combination thereof) to a computer, the computer
properly views the connection as a computer-readable medium. Thus,
any such connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium.
Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope
of the computer-readable media.
[0091] Computer-executable instructions include, for example,
instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer,
special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to
perform a certain function or group of functions.
Computer-executable instructions also include program modules that
are executed by computers in stand-alone or network environments.
Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components,
data structures, objects, and the functions inherent in the design
of special-purpose processors, etc. that perform particular tasks
or implement particular abstract data types. Computer-executable
instructions, associated data structures, and program modules
represent examples of the program code means for executing steps of
the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such
executable instructions or associated data structures represents
examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions
described in such steps.
[0092] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that other
embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in network computing
environments with many types of computer system configurations,
including personal computers, hand-held devices, multi-processor
systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,
network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.
Embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing
environments where tasks are performed by local and remote
processing devices that are linked (either by hardwired links,
wireless links, or by a combination thereof) through a
communications network. In a distributed computing environment,
program modules may be located in both local and remote memory
storage devices.
[0093] The various embodiments described above are provided by way
of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the scope
of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize
various modifications and changes that may be made to the
principles described herein without following the example
embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and
without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
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