U.S. patent application number 14/470757 was filed with the patent office on 2014-12-18 for system and method for providing information to a user of a telephone about another party on a telephone call.
The applicant listed for this patent is CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC. Invention is credited to Koushik Chatterjee, Shekhar Gupta, Johnny Hawkins, Mike A. Roberts, Rich Schermerhorn, Victoria M. Toner.
Application Number | 20140369240 14/470757 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41447439 |
Filed Date | 2014-12-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140369240 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Toner; Victoria M. ; et
al. |
December 18, 2014 |
System and Method for Providing Information to a User of a
Telephone about Another Party on a Telephone Call
Abstract
A system and method for displaying information to a user of a
telephone during a telephone call may include requesting
information from a plurality of applications in response to
receiving data indicative of a telecommunications device during a
telephone call. The information may include information associated
with a second user of the telecommunications device. The
information received from the applications may be displayed for the
first user to view during the telephone call.
Inventors: |
Toner; Victoria M.;
(Sheboygan, WI) ; Hawkins; Johnny; (Kansas City,
MO) ; Schermerhorn; Rich; (Overland Park, KS)
; Gupta; Shekhar; (Lower Gwynedd, PA) ; Roberts;
Mike A.; (Overland Park, KS) ; Chatterjee;
Koushik; (Orlando, FL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC |
Denver |
CO |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
41447439 |
Appl. No.: |
14/470757 |
Filed: |
August 27, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12146049 |
Jun 25, 2008 |
8848886 |
|
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14470757 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
370/259 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 7/0012 20130101;
H04M 7/006 20130101; H04M 3/42068 20130101; H04M 3/42093
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/259 |
International
Class: |
H04M 3/42 20060101
H04M003/42; H04M 7/00 20060101 H04M007/00 |
Claims
1. A system configured to display information to a user of a
telephone during a telephone call, said system comprising: an
input/output (I/O) unit configured to communicate voice and data
communications via a network; an electronic display configured to
display a user interface to a first user on a telephone call; and a
processing unit in communication with said I/O unit and electronic
display, said processing unit configured to: in response to
receiving data indicative of a telecommunications device to which
said I/O unit is in communication during a telephone call, request
information from a plurality of applications in communication with
a plurality of geographically distributed data sources, the
information including information associated with a second user of
the telecommunications device; and display the information received
from the applications on said electronic display for the first user
to view during the telephone call.
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of
applications include at least two of a content management
application, calendar management application, email management
application, document management application, content management
application, menu management application, website management
application, and database management application.
3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of data
sources includes at least one data source maintained by the second
user.
4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said processing unit,
in displaying the information received from the applications, is
configured to display a graphical user interface having a plurality
of regions, each region configured to display information from
respective different applications.
5. The system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the
applications is remotely located with respect to said processing
unit and available via a network.
6. The system according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the
applications is locally located with respect to said processing
unit.
7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said processing unit is
further configured to convert the information from a first language
to a second language for display on said electronic display.
8. The system according to claim 1, wherein said processing unit is
further configured to receive the data via voice over Internet
Protocol VoIP) data packets and communicate the VoIP data packets
to a VoIP telephone to which said I/O unit is in communication for
the first user to utilize during the telephone call.
9. The system according to claim 1, wherein said processing unit is
further configured to display a list of selectable elements that
enable the first user to purchase goods or services in response to
viewing the information displayed on said electronic display.
10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the information
displayed includes personal information about the second user.
11. A method for displaying information to a user of a telephone
during a telephone call, said method comprising: in response to
receiving data indicative of a telecommunications device during a
telephone call, requesting information from a plurality of
applications in communication with a plurality of geographically
distributed data sources, the information including information
associated with a second user of the telecommunications device; and
displaying the information received from the applications for a
first user to view during the telephone call.
12. The method according to claim 11, requesting information from a
plurality of applications includes requesting information from at
least two of a content management application, calendar management
application, email management application, document management
application, content management application, menu management
application, website management application, and database
management application.
13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of data
sources includes at least one data source maintained by the second
user.
14. The method according to claim 11, wherein, in displaying the
information received from the applications, displaying a graphical
user interface having a plurality of regions, each region
configured to display information from respective different
applications.
15. The method according to claim 11, wherein requesting
information from at least one of the applications includes
requesting information from at least one application remotely
located and available via a network.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein requesting
information from at least one of the applications includes
requesting information from at least one application locally
located.
17. The method according to claim 11, further comprising converting
the information from a first language to a second language.
18. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: receiving
the data via voice over Internet Protocol VoIP) data packets; and
communicating the VoIP data packets to a VoIP telephone for the
first user to utilize during the telephone call.
19. The method according to claim 11, further comprising displaying
a list of selectable elements that enable the first user to
purchase goods or services in response to viewing the
information.
20. The method according to claim 11, wherein displaying the
information includes displaying personal information about the
second user.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Telephony and data communications have dramatically improved
in recent years. One advancement includes the development of voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP is a protocol that provides for
voice communications through the Internet or other packet-switched
network. VoIP telephones may communicate with the Internet in a
variety of ways, including wired, wirelessly, or via a computer. In
some configurations, certain control is provided by a computer and
VoIP telephone, including placing and receiving calls by
interfacing with a graphical user interface (GUI) on the computer.
For example, a user may view a contact list and select a contact
with whom to place a call via the VoIP telephone in communication
with the computer.
[0002] While VoIP communications have advanced, integration and
convergence of voice and data technologies remain relatively
undeveloped. Continued development of voice and data integration is
needed to advance convergence of voice and data communications over
data networks.
SUMMARY
[0003] To advance VoIP and other voice and data technologies, the
principals of the present invention provide for collecting and
displaying information for a first telephone call party about a
second telephone call party with whom the first telephone call
party is speaking. In one embodiment, a computing unit may be in
communication with a telephone, such as a VoIP telephone, and
access multiple applications to collect and display data associated
with the second telephone call party. The data associated with the
second telephone call party may be determined based on data
associated with the telecommunications device, such as caller ID
data, of the second telephone call party. The data may be collected
from two or more applications and displayed on a user interface for
the first telephone call party. The applications may be any
software applications located either locally or remotely that store
information associated with the second call party.
[0004] One embodiment of a system configured to display information
to a user of a telephone during a telephone call may include an
input/output (I/O) unit configured to communicate voice and data
communications via a network. An electronic display may be
configured to display a user interface or a first user on a
telephone call. A processing unit may be in communication with the
I/O unit and electronic display, and be configured to request
information from a plurality of applications in response to
receiving data indicative of a telecommunications device to which
said I/O unit is in communication during a telephone call. The
information may include information associated with a second user
of the telecommunications device. The information received from the
applications may be displayed on the electronic display for the
first user to view during the telephone call.
[0005] One embodiment of a method for displaying information to a
user of a telephone during a telephone call may include requesting
information from a plurality of applications in response to
receiving data indicative of a telecommunications device during a
telephone call. The information may include information associated
with a second user of the telecommunications device. The
information received from the applications may be displayed for the
first user to view during the telephone call.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] These and/or other aspects and utilities of the present
general inventive concept will become apparent and more readily
appreciated from the following description of the embodiments,
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
[0007] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an illustrative network
environment providing voice and data communications between
telecommunications device users;
[0008] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a illustrative network
environment that provides for voice and data communications and
enables a user to access and display information associated with
another party with whom he or she is speaking;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative server
configured to provide information in accordance with the principle
of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a set of illustrative modules configured to
provide for user information during a telephone call;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram of an illustrative process for
providing information of another call party to a user during a
telephone call;
[0012] FIGS. 6A and 6B are screen shots of illustrative user
interfaces that provide a user on a telephone call with information
about another user with whom the user is speaking during the
telephone call; and
[0013] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for
providing information of another call party to a user during a
telephone call.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] With regard to FIG. 1, an illustrative network environment
100 provides for communication of voice and data between users
102a-102n (collectively 102) and an organization 104, such as a
telecommunications service provider or any other business or
entity. The users 102 may communicate with the organization 104 via
one or more network(s) 106. The network(s) 106 may include a
telecommunications network or packet-switched network, such as the
Internet. The network(s) 106 may provide for voice communications
in the form of data packets 108, where each of the users 102 may
utilize telephones 110a-110n (collectively 110). The telephones 110
may communicate using data packets 108 or, alternatively, analog
communications, as understood in the art.
[0015] The organization 104 may include employees 112a-112n
(collectively 112) who communicate with the users 102 via
telecommunications devices 114a-114n (collectively 114),
respectively. The telecommunications devices 114 may be configured
to provide voice and data communications for the employees 112. In
operation, when the users 102 call employees 112 of the
organization 104, data associated with the telephones 110 may be
communicated to the telecommunications devices 114. The data may
include caller ID or any other address information associated with
the telephones 110 of the users 102. The data associated with the
telephones 110 may be communicated to the telecommunications
devices 114 via data packets 108 or any other data packets, as
understood in the art. The data associated with the telephones 110
may enable the telecommunications devices 114 to access and display
information associated with users 102 that is collected or
generated by the organization 104 or any of the employees 112 of
the organization 104, as further described herein.
[0016] With regard to FIG. 2, the telecommunications devices 114 of
FIG. 1 may include telephones 202a-202n (collectively 202) and
computing devices 204a-204n (collectively 204). In one embodiment,
the telephones 202 and respective computing devices 204 operate in
conjunction with one another, such that an application running on
each of the computing devices 204 may operate as a bridge or
otherwise communicate with the respective telephones 202. Such a
configuration provides for flexibility and functionality for uses
of the telephones 202 as additional control may be provided through
use of the computing devices 204.
[0017] In one embodiment, the computing devices 204 may communicate
with a server 206 via a network 208. In one embodiment, the network
208 is a local network and the server 206 operates locally to
support the computing devices 204. Alternatively, the network 208
is a wide area network, such as the Internet, and the server 206
operates on the network 208 remotely from the computing devices
204. Because the telephones 202 are configured to communicate voice
signals via data packets 210 along with data from the computing
devices 204 in the data packets 210, each may communicate with the
server 206 using data packets 210. The computing devices 204 and
server 206 may individually or jointly operate to provide for
collecting and displaying information about a person with whom a
user speaking on one of the telephones 202 during a telephone
call.
[0018] With regard to FIG. 3, the server 206 of FIG. 2 is shown
with internal components for use in providing the call party
information display features in accordance with the principles of
the present invention. A processing unit 302 may be utilized to
execute software 304. The processing unit 302 may be in
communication with a memory 306, input/output (I/O) unit 308, and
storage unit 310. The storage unit 310 may be configured to store
data repositories 312a-312n (collectively 312).
[0019] The software 304 may be configured to communicate with
computing devices and/or telephones that display information of a
call party on a telephone call. The software 304 may be configured
to access information in the data repositories 312 or data
repositories external from the server 206 that may be local or
operating in communication with a network, such as the Internet.
The memory 306 may be utilized to store data and software during
execution of the software. The I/O unit 308 may be utilized to
communicate with the computing devices and/or telephones, and other
computing devices, such as other servers, operating on a network.
The data repositories 312 may be configured to store data
associated with one or more applications operating on the server
206 or other computing devices. The data repositories 312 may be
databases, such as relational databases, as understood in the art.
The data repositories 312 may further be completely different from
one another, where one data repository, such as data repository
312a, is utilized by one application, such as a document management
application, and a second data repository, such as data repository
312n, is utilized to collect and store data from a second
application, such as an e-mail application. The applications may be
any software application, such as a content management application,
calendar management application, email management application,
document management application, content management application,
menu management application, website management application, and
database management application.
[0020] With regard to FIG. 4, modules 400, which may be software or
hardware, may be configured to provide a user of a telephone with
information about a party with whom he or she is speaking on a
telephone call. The modules 400 may include an identify caller
module 402 that is configured to identify a caller based on
information received or otherwise collected at the start of a
telephone call. In one embodiment, the identify caller module 402
may be configured to use caller ID to access a data repository to
identify the owner or person assigned to a telephone number.
Alternatively, depending on the communications protocol, the
identify caller module 402 may access an address being communicated
via data packets associated with a telephone or other
communications device being used by a call party and may be used to
identify the caller by the identify caller module 402. In the event
that the other call party is called by a user of a telephone or
computing device that is operating the modules 400, the telephone
number dialed may be utilized by the identity caller module 402 to
identify a call party that is being called. The identify caller
module 402 may access a local data repository or remote data
repository on a network to look up a name, user ID, or other
identifier that may be used by other modules to look up information
about the call party.
[0021] A display dashboard module 404 may be configured to display
a user interface (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) on a computing device or
telephone. The display dashboard module 404 may be configured to
display a generic user interface that may be alterable by a user to
set up the user interface using his or her desired preferences for
content and layout, for example. The display dashboard module 404
may be in communication with other modules to receive information
of a call party for display on the user interface.
[0022] An access applications module 406 may be configured to
access applications that may include information of a call party.
The access applications module 406 may communicate directly with
applications that are or are not currently being executed by a user
on a computing device. In operation, the access applications module
406 may receive an identifier of a call party from the identify
caller module 402 and communicate the identifier to one or more
applications in requesting information of the call party. For
example, a name of a call party may be communicated to an e-mail
application that may perform a search of all recent e-mails with
that call party for display of the e-mails in the user interface
generated by the display dashboard module 404. In another
embodiment, the access applications module 406 may use the
identifier to determine a customer or client number associated with
the call party and request information, such as recent documents
edited by one or more employee of an organization.
[0023] A collect application data module 408 may be configured to
work in conjunction with the access applications module 406 to
collect data associated with a call party from an application. For
example, the collect application data module 408 may use a caller
ID to determine a customer or client number of the caller and
access data stored in a data repository associated with an
application, such as an e-mail application, word processing
application, spreadsheet application, and so on, to display that
application's data in a dashboard using the display dashboard
module 404.
[0024] A collect call data module 410 may be utilized to collect
information about a telephone call for later display in a user
interface. The collect call data module 410 may collect date of
call, time of call, duration of call, telephone number of call,
telephone operator, and notes from a telephone operator, for
example, for use in presenting call history information to the same
or other users at a later time. The collect call data module 410
may operate as a separate application or be integrated with an
application that includes a display dashboard module 404. In one
embodiment, the collect call data module 410 utilizes one or more
data repositories or databases to store data collected during
telephone calls. The data collected during telephone calls may be
automatically and/or manually entered by a user. For example, the
information specific to the telephone call (e.g., telephone
numbers, start of call, duration of call, etc.) may be
automatically entered into a user interface and additional text
entry fields may be available for a user to enter additional
information. If, for example, a user is a customer service
representative, the collect call data module 410 may be integrated
into another program that operates to enable the user to enter
information specific to one or more transactions that the call
party with whom the user is speaking wants to conduct (e.g., stock
transactions).
[0025] A translate text module 412 may be configured to enable a
user to translate text being displayed by the display dashboard
module 404 into one or more different languages. If a call party is
bilingual, but would prefer to speak in his or her native language,
then the translate text module 412 may enable a user to have the
text translated from a first language into a second language (e.g.,
English into Spanish) to enable the user to better communicate with
the call party.
[0026] An event manager module 414 may be configured to track
events associated with a call party. Events may include birthdays,
anniversaries, children's birthdays, or any other event that may be
associated with a call party. The event manager module 414 may
access the data repository in which events associated with a call
party are stored. In operation, the event manager module 414 may
utilize an identifier, such as a telephone number or customer
number, to request events that are upcoming or recently passed and
display a notification to a user via a user interface. For example,
in the case of an event coming up, such as a birthday, the event
manager module 414 may cause the user interface to display a
message in bold lettering or in red to notify the user of the
event.
[0027] An event purchase selection module 416 may be configured to
enable a user to select from among a number of different purchase
options or links to enable a user to purchase a gift or other item
in response to an event approaching or having just passed. For
example, if the person with whom the user is speaking has a
birthday coming up within the next few weeks, the event purchase
selection module 416 may display a number of different links to web
pages or otherwise so that the user may purchase or order a gift
for the person with whom he or she is speaking.
[0028] Multiple applications 418a-418n (collectively 418) may be
used in conjunction with the modules 400. The applications 418 may
include any application with which a user may utilize to create
information for a potential caller. For example, a law firm that
creates documents or performs transactions for a client may create
documents over the course of time using a word processing
application that interacts with a document management application
for storing the documents that are created. In storing documents,
the document management application may store the documents with an
associated customer number. The customer number may be stored in
association with the document or any other document that is created
for the client and, during a telephone call, the access
applications module 406 and collect application data module 408 may
interact with an application, such as the document management
application, to identify and collect data associated with documents
that have been stored in association with the client with whom a
user may be speaking. That document information may include date of
edit, completion status, and a link to the document itself for
display in a user interface, such as a dashboard, that the user may
open during the telephone call. By being able to view recent
transactions from the document management application or any other
application, the user may appear to be more knowledgeable about a
client and be able to answer a client's questions in a more
immediate fashion.
[0029] With regard to FIG. 5, an illustrative timing diagram 500 is
shown that provides for a user interface to be displayed to assist
a user with information about a call party with whom he or she is
speaking. As shown, a call party telephone 502, user telephone 504,
dashboard application 506, and applications 508a-508n (collectively
508) are shown. The call party telephone 502 may be used by another
individual who either called or has been called by a user of the
user telephone 504. In one embodiment, the user telephone 504 is a
VoIP telephone that includes a computing device and telephone and
communication therewith. At step 510, a call may be initiated
between the call party telephone 502 and user telephone 504. In the
event that the call is initiated by the call party telephone 502,
caller ID information may be communicated to the user telephone
504. In the event that the user telephone 504 is used to initiate
the call with the call party telephone 502, telephone number
information may be collected by the user telephone 504.
[0030] At step 512, the user telephone 504 may initiate the
dashboard application 506 by sending data, such as telephone number
or other user identifier, to the dashboard application 506. In one
embodiment, the dashboard application 506 may be launched by the
user telephone 504 or be continuously operating and awaiting data
to be received from the user telephone 504. At step 514, an address
identifier, such as a telephone number, MAC ID address, customer
number, or any other identifier associated with a call party using
the call party telephone 502 may be communicated from the user
telephone 504 to the dashboard application 506. In an alternative
embodiment, if the dashboard application 506 is used to place a
call to the call party telephone 502, such as by enabling a user to
look up and select contact information from the dashboard
application 506, then the address identifier may not be
communicated from the user telephone 504 to the dashboard
application 506 as the dashboard application 506 already has the
identifier of the call party.
[0031] At step 516, the dashboard application 506 may determine a
user or call party of the call party telephone. In determining the
user of the call party telephone, the dashboard application 506 may
look up a user name associated with the address identifier received
from the user telephone 504 in a local or remote database. At step
518, a call party identifier may be communicated to the
applications 508. The call party identifier may be a name, customer
identifier, client identifier, or any other identifier associated
with a call party that may be an individual or organization. At
steps 520a-520n, each of the applications 508a-508n, respectively,
may look-up call party information in each of their respective data
repositories. For example, a document management application may
look-up any documents that have been edited in the recent past and
an e-mail application may look-up any e-mails that have been
communicated with the call party in the recent past. At steps
522a-522n, each of the respective applications 508 may communicate
call party information that have been identified to the dashboard
application 506. At step 524, call party information may be
displayed in the dashboard by the dashboard application 506 for the
user of the user telephone 504. The call party information may be
displayed in separate regions of the dashboard depending upon how
the user of the user telephone 504 has the dashboard or user
interface configured.
[0032] With regard to FIGS. 6A and 6B, electronic display 600a and
600b may be used to display user interfaces or "call dashboards"
602a and 602b, respectively. The call dashboard 602a is an
illustrative user interface for business purposes. Call dashboard
602b is an illustrative user interface for personal purposes.
[0033] In call dashboard 602a, a telephone number 604 may be
displayed, where the telephone number 604 is the telephone number
of a call party with whom a user of the user interface is speaking.
In an alternative embodiment, rather than displaying the telephone
number, an address or other address identifier may be displayed.
Contact information 606 may be displayed for the user, where the
contact information may include name of the individual, call party
with whom the user is speaking, organization that the call party
works, title of the call party, etc. In addition, personal
information 608 may be displayed, where the personal information
608 may include birthdate, number of children, spouse name, and so
forth. In addition, if a photograph is available, a photograph 610
may be displayed for the user to view. In addition, any upcoming
event, such as birthday, may be displayed in an event display
region 612. The contact information, personal information,
photograph, and events information may be stored in one or more
data repositories by one or more applications.
[0034] A set of tabs 614a-614n (collectively 614) may be available
for the user to select to display associated information with each
of the tabs. The tabs 614 may include call history, recent
documents, recent e-mails, billing etc. The call history may
include a list of calls 616 with which one or more users may have
had with the call party. As shown, different agents are shown to
communicate with the call party for different reasons (e.g., to
change a service plan and to receive a status request).
[0035] A language selector element 618 may be available for the
user to select a particular language that the call party prefers.
While the user may be bilingual, he or she may benefit from having
the translated text displayed rather than having to translate from
English to a different language or vice versa. A gift ordering
section 620 may provide a list of categories from which the user
may select. In response to a user selecting one of the categories,
a number of domain names or websites may be displayed for the user
to select. For example, in a case of a birthday, flower company
websites, jewelry store websites, or any other websites that may be
helpful for the user to order a birthday present may be presented
to the user.
[0036] As shown, the information displayed in the call dashboard
602a is collected from multiple applications, including a contact
application, such as e-mail contact list, and document management
application. By aggregating and making available for display
information from multiple applications, a user handling a telephone
call may be more efficient in remembering or locating information
about which a call party may be interested.
[0037] With regard to FIG. 6B, the call dashboard 602b may include
a telephone number 622 and contact information 624. Because the
user of the call dashboard 602b is in an individual who may call a
business, such as a pizza restaurant, the business establishment
may store information associated with the business establishment
using one or more applications located on a network, such as the
Internet. The information may include information specific to the
particular business establishment or within an industry group. For
example, the contact information of a call party may be that of a
pizza restaurant and menu information, specials, and coupons may be
stored in one or more data repositories for display to a user of
the call dashboard 602b who has called the restaurant. As shown, a
set of tabs 626a-626c may be displayed and be selectable, such that
the user may select whether to view a menu, specials, or coupons
associated with the pizza restaurant. In addition, a region 628 may
display a graphical element 630 that is selectable to cause a
notification to be communicated to the user when a special (e.g.,
pizza special) is offered to customers of the pizza restaurant. In
addition, another selectable element 632 may enable the user to
select whether to view the information displayed in the call
dashboard 602b in English or any other language.
[0038] With regard to FIG. 7, an illustrative process 700 may
include requesting information of a call party from a plurality of
applications in response to receiving data indicative of a
telecommunications device during a telephone call at step 702. At
step 704, the information of the call party received from the
applications may be displayed for a user to view during a telephone
call. The applications may include any software applications that
data associated with the user may be collected. For example, the
data may include documents, emails, calendar entries, and so
forth.
[0039] Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive
concept have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated
by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these
exemplary embodiments without departing from the principles of the
general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in the
appended claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *