Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02453499 2003-12-16
v
TECHNIQUE FOR EFFECTIVELY PROVIDING PERSONALIZED
COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ASSISTANCE SERVICES
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a communication system and method, and more
particularly
to a system and method for providing personalized information assistance and
communications services.
Background of the Invention
In this information age, people need to be well informed and organized to
effectively
carry out day to-day activities, especially when they are traveling and away
from their
"home" base where they normally conduct their business. As a result, use of
mobile devices
which facilitate mobile communications such as personal digital assistants
(PDAs), and
wireless phones and devices is ubiquitous. For example, FDAs of the PALM type
allow
users to store and organize their appointments, to-do lists and contacts
information. Some
PDAs also allow the users to access the Internet to upload and download
information, and
communicate with other people and information sources via ernail.
i5 Similarly, wireless phones conveniently allow users while traveling to call
and
communicate with other people. In case the users cannot remember the telephone
number of
a contact or it is not handy, or the users want to obtain directions and other
information
concerning, e.g., restaurants, theaters, etc., they can call operators for
assistance. To that end,
an expansive network of communication call centers has been established which
provides
users with nationwide assistance.
la
CA 02453499 2003-12-16
Summary of the Invention
In order to effectively utilize the prior art operator assistance service, the
service
needs to be improved and, more particularly, personalized to the extent
comparable to the
personal assistance afforded by a user's personal aide or secretary. Some
desirable
personalized information assistance service features have been described,
e.g., in copending
commonly assigned Application Serial No. 09/865,230 ("the '230 Application")
filed on May
25, 2001, hereby incorporated by reference. In particular, the '230
Application discloses an
information assistance service which as part of the service maintains, for the
user, contacts
folders (also known as private directories), appointments folders, to-do
lists, etc. The user
may access, through the information assistance service, contact information,
appointment
information or a to-do list item in the respective folders associated with the
user. In
particular, a contacts folder contains contact information, such as a
telephone number(s), an
address(es), and e-mail address(es), for people and/or organizations. A user
may have
separate contacts folders for different purposes, such as a personal contacts
folder, business
contacts folder, etc. An appointments folder contains a user's appointment
and/or calendar
information, and a user may similarly have separate appointments folders for
different
purposes.
In addition, the '230 Application discloses that the information assistance
service
maintains one or more user profiles which include information pertaining to
and about the
user. The user may specify in a profile hislher preferred types of events,
areas of interest,
food, goods, services, manufacturers, merchants and other personal
preferences, e.g.,
preferred music, fashion, sports, restaurants, seating on a plane, frequent
flyer number,
frequent stay number, sizes of jackets, etc. Such a profile may be used by a
server to tailor
the content of information delivered automatically to the user as soon as the
information
becomes available. The user may also specify in the profile the preferred
method of handling
his/her information assistance call, e.g., use of a special skilled operator,
such as a Spanish
speaking operator, to answer such a call. Thus, by using a profile, the user
is automatically
provided with a personalized service, without the need of otherwise repeating
the preferences
each time when calling an operator to obtain information and assistance.
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
The invention improves the above-described information assistance service in
many
ways. For example, the user may specify in the user profile a preferred
information
assistance service centers) or preferred operators) to handle his/her
information assistance
calls. Thus, when a current information assistance service center receives the
user's call,
whether the current service center corresponds to the preferred service center
is determined.
If the current service center does not correspond to the preferred service
center, the call is
routed to the preferred service center for handling the call.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the user may specify in the
user profile
a selected period for which the information assistance service is temporarily
disabled,
perhaps because the user is on vacation or is busy attending a meeting during
the selected
period. When a caller uses the user's telephone to make an information
assistance call, the
call is received by the information assistance service along with an
identifier associated with
the user. For example, one such identifier may be an automatic number
identification (ANI),
representing the user's telephone number, in a signal stream for establishing
the call. The
user profile is then retrieved based on the identifier. If it is determined
that the call is
received during the selected period, the caller is denied the service.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the information assistance
service
may be tailored to include service features according to the capabilities of
the user device
communicating with the service. For example, where the user device is capable
of receiving
short message service (SMS) messages, the service features may include an SMS
coupon
service feature. The user may be charged for different service features. As a
result, the
service charges may vary with the different service features offered. The user
may be
charged at a discount/premium rate depending on the actual service capability,
class of
service, and/or preferential status of the user. The service features may also
be bundled
according to the device type.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, security measures, e.g.,
a
password, PIN, mother's maiden name, voice print and/or other biometric
measure, are
instituted to ensure that only an authorized user can access select services
or groups of
services associated, e.g., with the user's telephone number. For example, a
user may specify
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
a password in the user profile that if a party other than the user tries to
access a select service
feature, e.g., restaurant reservation, using the user's telephone, the
password in the user
profile needs to be verified. The user may be identified based on his/her
voice print on file
with the information assistance service. If the voice print derived from an
utterance of the
calling party during an information assistance call does not correspond to the
user's voice
print on file, the party needs to meet a security requirement, i.e., providing
a valid password
in this instance, before the caller can make a restaurant reservation through
the service.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, in conducting an agent-
assisted
transaction, sensitive information, e.g., credit card information, may be
disclosed by the user
through a secure connection, separate from another connection with an agent
through which
nonsensitive information, e.g., order specification, is disclosed. For
example, the connection
with the agent may be a telephone connection through which the agent may
elicit the order
specification from the user, and the secure connection may be a secure uniform
resource
locator (URL) link to a web page where the user may enter the credit card
information.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, an information
management
service maintains databases containing, e.g., the aforementioned appointments
and contacts
folders for users. The database associated with a user is accessible by
multiple user devices,
e.g., a first personal information manager (PIM) device at work and a second
PIM device at
home. Through the information management service, the first device, accorded a
"master"
status, may unidirectionally synchronize with the second device, accorded a
"slave" status.
Specifically, changes in PIM data sources, e.g., calendar and contacts list,
in the master
device are incorporated into the corresponding data sources in the slave
device, but not the
other way around. To that end, master and slave devices are allowed to
download
information from the database associated with the user through the information
management
service to revise data elements in the respective data sources thereof.
However, only the
master devices are allowed to upload information to the information management
service to
update the database.
In accordance with still yet another aspect of the invention, an incoming
information
assistance call may be routed based on a past activity or trend to better
handle the call.
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Where a first service location receives multiple information assistance calls
from a first
geographic area, a subset of the calls is determined in which information is
requested
concerning a second geographic area associated with a second service location.
A trend may
be determined when the number of calls in the subset exceeds a threshold. In
that case, the
first service location automatically transfers at least one subsequent
information assistance
call from the first geographic area received thereby to the second service
location to handle
the call.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an identity of a party may
be
verified using a directory database, typically maintained by a provider of
directory assistance.
The directory database includes records, each of which contains at least a
telephone number
and a name of a party. When the directory assistance provider receives
information
concerning a selected party whose identity is to be verified, the directory
database is searched
based on the received information, which includes at least a name and a
telephone number
associated with the selected party. If a record in the search result includes
data which
corresponds to the received name and telephone number associated with the
selected party, a
verification of the identity of the selected party is declared.
Brief Description of the Drawing
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent
from
the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawing
showing an illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which:
Fig. 1 illustrates a communications system including information/call centers
in
accordance with the invention;
Figs. 2A and 2B are block diagrams of components of the communications system
of
Fig. l;
Fig. 3 illustrates an arrangement whereby an information/call center obtains a
user
profile record;
Fig. 4 is a flow chart depicting a routine for specifying user preferences
concerning
information assistance call handling;
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Fig. 5 is a flow chart depicting a routine for routing an information
assistance call
based on a user's preferred information/call center(s), in accordance with the
invention;
Fig. 6 is a table for tracking the user's rating of information/call centers
in
determining the user's preferred center(s);
Fig. 7 illustrates a user profile record in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 8 illustrates a Login graphical user interface (GUI) in accordance with
the
invention;
Fig. 9 illustrates a Home GUI in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 10 illustrates an Edit GUI in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 11 illustrates a GUI containing contact information in accordance with
the
invention;
Fig. 12 illustrates a View GUI in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 13 illustrates a first example of caller identification (CID) data to be
transmitted
to a called station in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 14 illustrates a second example of CID data to be transmitted to a called
station
in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 15 illustrates a third example of CID data to be transmitted to a called
station in
accordance with the invention;
Fig. 16 illustrates a fourth example of CID data to be transmitted to a called
station in
accordance with the invention;
Fig. 17 illustrates a GUI particularly useful for an operator to search for
directory
information concerning a desired party in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 18 illustrates a transaction web page for an entry of confidential
information, in
accordance with the invention;
Fig. 19 illustrates a computer having a programmed personal information
manager
(PIM) function, in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 20A illustrates data fields in a contacts recovery record in accordance
with the
invention;
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
Fig. 20B illustrates data fields in a calendar recovery record in accordance
with the
invention;
Fig. 21 is a flow chart depicting a routine for routing an incoming
information
assistance call by trend, in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 22 is a flow chart depicting a routine for use in an enhanced
telecommunications
service, in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 23 is a flow chart depicting a routine for pre-validation of a user's
identity, in
accordance with the invention; and
Fig. 24 illustrates an alternative information/call center configuration.
Detailed Description
The invention is directed to providing personalized information and
communications
services to users, e.g., telephone and mobile device users, especially when
they are away from
their "home" base where they normally conduct their business. An objective of
the invention
is to provide the users with personalized services comparable to those which
are offered by
the users' personal aides or secretaries. To that end, an information
assistance service in
accordance with the invention utilizes such information management tools as
contacts folders
(also known as private directories), appointments folders, to-do lists, user
profiles, etc. to
effectively communicate dynamic information to the users. The information
assistance
service in question provides not only traditional directory assistance, but
also concierge-type
services such as a restaurant guide and reservation service, event ticketing
and reservation
service, hotel reservation and availability service, travel or flight
reservation and ticketing
service, ordering specific items such as flowers or food delivery, arranging
transportation,
and accessing entertainment guides; geo/direction services such as providing
directions to
various places; sending invitations; administering appointments calendars; and
conducting
other transactions for the users.
To facilitate tailoring the information assistance service to individuals'
specifications,
one or more user profiles are maintained for a user, based on which the
service is rendered to
the user. For example, a user profile may specify the preferred method of
handling his/her
CA 02453499 2003-12-16
information assistance call, e.g., use of a special skilled operator, such as
a Spanish speaking
operator, to answer one such call. It may also define options of various
assistance service
features, e.g., the methods of delivery (e.g., e-mail, paging, SMS, etc.) of a
confirmation of a
reservation or purchase, a listing number, directions to the user, etc. In
addition, in
accordance with an aspect of the invention, the user may specify in the user
profile a favorite
information/call centers) handling his/her information assistance calls. In
that case, each
information assistance call from the user is automatically routed to his/her
favorite
information/call center which may otherwise have been routed to some other
center because
of the call origination location or the call routing algorithm employed by the
information
assistance service.
For example, a user profiles) in this instance may be maintained by the
inventive
information assistance service in association with an identifier of the user,
e.g., the user's
telephone number. When an information assistance call is received, the subject
service
locates any profiles of the caller's, e.g., based on an automatic number
identification (A1VI)
associated with the call, which in a well known manner identifies the
telephone number of
the communications device from which the call originates. In an alternative
embodiment, the
caller's profiles) may be determined by recognizing and identifying the
caller's voice, with
his/her "voice prints" stored in association with the profile(s).
It should be noted that the preferences in a profile may vary with time, and
may be
adjustable depending on different conditions. For example, preferences
applicable to the
daytime may be turned off in the evening, at which time another set of
preferences may
control. Similarly, preferences applicable to weekdays maybe turned off on
weekends in
favor of a second set of preferences selected for weekends. Thus, by using the
profile, the
user is automatically provided with a personalized service, without the need
of otherwise
repeating the preferences, e.g.; each time when calling an operator to obtain
information and
assistance. It should be pointed out that the term "operator" used herein
broadly
encompasses entities that are capable of providing assistance in a
telecommunication
environment, including without limitation human operators; voice
response/recognition
capabilities, web-enabled operator services, and other automated and
electronic access.
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a user may also specify in a
user profile
a selected period in which the telephone number associated with the user
profile is "not in
use," thereby achieving a temporary service disablement effect. In that case,
any call
originates from the telephone associated with the telephone number to the
instant information
assistance service would be turned away during the selected period. According
to a further
aspect of the invention, the selected period may correspond to an appointment
or an activity,
e.g., vacation, specified in a user appointments folder managed by the
instance information
assistance service. Thus, the inventive service disablement feature provides
the user with the
security of preventing others from using a particular telephone, e.g., a home
telephone, to
access the information assistance service, e.g., during his/her vacation.
The user profile may further specify the user's preferred types of events,
areas of
interest, food, goods, services, manufacturers, merchants and other personal
preferences, e.g.,
preferred music, fashion, sports, restaurants, seating on a plane, sizes of
jackets, etc. Based
on such user profile information, the user may be targeted to receive certain
advertising or
promotional information. For example, before or after an information
assistance call, such
targeted promotional information may be "pushed" to the user, subject to any
requirements in
the profile. Alternatively, the inventive service may leave the user a message
(e.g.,
voicemail, e-mail, etc.) containing the targeted promotional information at an
address (e.g.,
voicemail access number, e-mail address, etc.) provided in the user profile,
or may provide
the user with information concerning an access to the same (e.g., 'WAP or web
access with a
specified uniform resource locator (URL)) on, say, the user's bill for the
information
assistance service. Of course, the user is allowed to opt out one or more of
the above targeted
advertising service features.
Other information may also be uploaded to the user profile such as account
information, statuses of data synchronization between the aforementioned
information
management tools and user devices, statuses concerning orders and sales
conducted through
the instant information assistance service, etc. In addition, based on the
sales and orders
history, the user profile may keep track of the user's likes and dislikes,
which help customize
promotional information to be communicated to the user. The manner in which
the
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
information assistance service helps the user to consummate an order or sales,
and the
manner in which the user profile is revised from time to time to update the
user criteria in
selecting goods or services are described, e.g., in copending, commonly
assigned U.S.
Application Serial No. 10/318,847 ("the '847 Application") filed on December
13, 2003,
incorporated herein by reference.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, services/menus offered to
a user in
the course of providing information assistance may be a function of the
service devices)
(e.g., a wireless telephone with or without SMS or WAP capability) which the
user is
operating or has access to. The data concerning the capability of each service
device or its
service class may be specified in the user profile as well, which may be
submitted by the
carrier (e.g., AT&T Wireless) to which the user subscribes, volunteered by the
user, or
volunteered through the service device. For example, with the knowledge that
the user's
telephone is SMS enabled, an SMS coupon service may be provided to the user.
With the
knowledge that the user's telephone has graphics capability, an image of a
street map may be
transmitted thereto when the user requests directions from the information
assistance service.
As a result, the type of service offered to the user may vary with the type of
service device.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the user may be charged
for different
services or features associated with the type of the service device used to
communicate with
the information assistance service. The service charges may vary with the
different services
or features offered. The user may be charged at a discount/premium rate
depending on the
actual service capability, class of service, and/or preferential status of the
user. The services
may also be bundled according to the device type.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, security measures, e.g., a
password, PIN, mother's maiden name, voice print and/or other biometric
measure, are
instituted to ensure that only an authorized user can access select services
or groups of
services associated, e.g., with the user's telephone number. For example, a
user may specify
a password in the user profile that if someone other than the user tries to
access a select
service, e.g., restaurant reservation, using the user's telephone, the
password in the user
profile needs to be verified.
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Fig. 1 illustrates a communications system embodying the principles of the
invention
for providing, inter alia, a personalized information assistance service. This
communication
system includes wide area network (WAN) 30 covering an extensive area. WAN 30
may be
an Internet-based network such as the World Wide Web or a private intranet
based network.
WAN 30 connects operators dispersed throughout a wide coverage area in
information/call
centers 21 through 27. One or more information hubs 10 are also included in
WAN 30. An
information hub 10 includes one or more personalized information servers 28
which are
accessible by the operators in the system, and one or more databases 20 in
which subscribers'
information, and contacts, appointments, and other folders (e.g., to-do lists)
may be stored
and maintained. Such information and folders may also be stored locally at one
or more of
the information/call centers.
A user of the personalized information assistance service may want to create
multiple
contacts (appointments) folders for different purposes. For example, they may
include a
personal contacts (appointments) folder containing personal directory
(calendar) information,
and a business contacts (appointments) folder containing business directory
(calendar)
information. With the personalized information service, a contacts
(appointments) folder
may be created and maintained ( 1 ) through the Internet or other network or
communications
means directly, (2) through an operator indirectly, and/or (3) using a
personal information
manager (PIM). Well known PIMs include, e.g., hand-held devices such as
personal digital
assistants (PDAs) and wireless communicators; and computer devices such as
notebook,
laptop and desktop computers running software applications such as Microsoft
Outlook,
Outlook Express, Goldmine, Symantec Act!, Lotus Organizer and Lotus Notes.
Other PIMs
may include proprietary PIM systems and applications.
In case (3), by running a synchronization engine, the user may update any
directory
information which has been changed (added, edited or deleted) in a PIM data
source in the
corresponding contacts (appointments) folder, and vice versa. In case (2), the
user may
access a contacts (appointments) folder through communications with an
operator at an
information/call center via telecommunication media, e.g., wireless telephone,
wireline
telephone, voice over Internet protocol (VoII'), PDA, VPN, etc. The operator,
as explained in
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more detail below, is generally provided with web browsing capabilities,
telephone facilities
as well as fully-featured operator user interface applications which
facilitate the searching,
retrieval and administering of database 20 through server 28.
Referring to Figs. 2A and 2B, information/call center 200 (which generically
represents one of aforementioned information/call centers 21 through 27) is
attended by
operators, which includes information assistance service provider 205 and
servicing platform
210. It should be noted that even though both provider 205 and servicing
platform 210
appear in the same figure, they may or may not be located in the same
geographic area.
Servicing platform 210 comprises switching matrix host computer 228, and
switching matrix
platform 203 which is connected via T1 communication links 214 to, among
others, voice
server 230 and channel bank 216 in provider 205.
Channel bank 216 is used to couple multiple operator telephones 218 to
platform 203.
The operators in center 200 are further equipped with operator terminals 220;
each of which
includes a video display unit and a keyboard with associated dialing pad.
Operator terminals
220 are connected over data network 224 to one or more database servers) 226
(although
only one is shown here). Database server 226 provides access to, among others,
directory
information from multiple sources. Database server 226 enables the operator to
search
directory information not just by name and address (sometimes city or area
code) of a desired
party, but also by type of goods/services and/or geographical region of a
desired entity.
Data network 224 further connects to voice server 230, user profile gateway
231, and
switching matrix host computer 228, which in turn is connected to switching
matrix platform
203 via a data link. Data network 224 includes, but is not limited to, local
area network
(LAN) 227, best seen in Fig. 2B. LAN 227 may connect to other similar remote
LANs 229 to
form WAN 30 in Fig. 1. LANs 227 and 229 are connected to one another and to
Internet 221
via routers 225.
A user's telephone, computer, PDA or other telecommunication device 244
communicates via communications network 246 which is connected to carrier
network node
242 and carrier switching center 240. T1 voice links 212 provide connection
between the
information/call center's switching matrix platform 203 and carrier's
switching center 240,
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through which incoming information service calls are received. T 1 voice links
212 further
provide connection to the carrier switching center 240 through which outgoing
calls are
placed over communications network 246 (which network may be different than
that used for
incoming calls). Similarly, T1 data links 213 provide a signaling connection
between the
information/call center's node (not shown) and carrier network node 242,
through which
incoming and outgoing signaling messages are transported. The information/call
center node
is contained within switching matrix platform 203, but one with skill in the
art will appreciate
that the information/call center node could also be a physically distinct
component. If the
outgoing call is being placed over a different network than that on which the
incoming call
was received, a second data connection to the outgoing network will be
established.
The operation of switching matrix platform 203 is governed by computer-
readable
instructions stored and executed on switch matrix host computer 228. In this
illustrative
embodiment, platform 203 includes, inter alia, arrays of digital signal
processors (DSPs).
These DSPs can be programmed and reprogrammed to function as, among other
things, call
progress analyzers (CPAs), call progress generators (CPGs), multi-frequency
(MF) tone
generators/detectors, dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) generators/detectors,
or conference
units, depending on the demand placed on center 200 and platform 203 for each
corresponding function.
Voice server 230 is connected via data network 224 to computer 228 (to which
it acts
as a slave processor) and via one or more Tl links to switching matrix
platform 203. Each
voice server 230 when more than one is employed in information/call center
200, connects to
switching matrix platform 203 via a separate Tl link. Voice server 230
comprises a general
purpose computer incorporating one or more voice cards, which serve as the
interface
between server 230 and the Tl span to switching matrix platform 203. One such
voice card in
server 230 monitors and controls communications over the Tl span. Its
capabilities include
telephone tone (e.g., DTMF or MF) detection and generation, voice recording
and playback,
and call progress analysis. Voice server 230 in this instance also contains a
voice recognition
device for receiving verbal input from a party connected thereto. Voice server
230 is
employed to play the constantly repeated parts of an operator's speech,
namely, the various
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greetings and signoffs (or closings), the caller's desired telephone number
where requested,
and possibly other information. At appropriate stages in a call progression,
switch matrix
host computer 228 initiates a voice path connection between voice server 30
and switching
matrix platform 203 such that the user, or the user and the operator, are able
to hear whatever
pre-recorded speech is played on that connection by voice server 230. Computer
228 then
instructs voice server 230, via data network 224, what type of message to
play, and passes
data parameters that enable voice server 230 to locate the message appropriate
to the call
state.
Users of a particular telephone carrier may dial, speak or otherwise
communicate
predetermined access digits, access codes or retail numbers, or input a
predetermined address
or a URL established for information assistance by that company. The instant
example
assumes that the user dials, e.g., "41 l," "*555," "555-1212," "1-800-555-
1212," "00," or
other designated access numbers. The participating telephone company's own
snitching
system will then reroute the call to information/call center 200 (via a Tl
channel), where it
appears as an incoming call.
Automatic call distribution (ACD) logic is used to queue (if necessary) and
distribute
calls to operators in the order in which they are received, and such that the
call traffic is
distributed evenly among the operators. In other embodiments, other
distribution logic
schemes may be utilized, such as skills-based routing based on, e.g., a
preferred call handling
method specified by a user profile, or a priority scheme for preferred
callers. The queue is
maintained by switching matrix host computer 228.
As mentioned before, a user may create, maintain or access one or more
contacts
folders (or other folders such as a personal or company calendar folders) via
the Internet or
other network or communications means, or through an operator who in turn may
create,
maintain or access the folder on behalf of the user. In this illustrative
embodiment, two
contacts folders associated with the user, e.g., "My Contacts" and "Company
Contacts"
folders, are maintained and stored in database 20.
When the user uses telecommunication device 244, e.g., a wireless telephone,
to call
an operator at a designated access number for information assistance, the call
is routed to,
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say, information/call center 200. After receiving the call, center 200 checks
any user profile
record associated with the user. In general, a user profile record is
identified by a user's
telephone number and maintained by a profile manager described below.
Referring back to
Fig. 2A, an information assistance call is received by switching matrix
platform 203 in center
200. In a well known manner, platform 203 derives, from the call set-up
signals associated
with the call, an automatic number identification (ANI) indicating the
telephone number of
the communication device from which the call originates. Switching matrix host
computer
228 then requests any user profile record identified by such an ANI from
gateway 231
connected to data network 224.
Refernng also to Fig. 3, gateway 231 receives the profile record request
including the
ANI from data network 224 through interface 310. In response to such a
request; processor
315 searches memory 319 for the profile record identified by the ANI. It
should be noted at
this point that all profile data is input and updated through profile manager
305. Copies of
the profile records are distributed by manager 305 to the profile gateways in
various
information/call centers through WAN 30. In this illustrative embodiment, a
master copy of
the profile records is kept at manager 305. For example, profile gateway 231
initially
forwards requests for new profile records to manager 305, and caches copies of
the requested
profile records from manager 305 in local memory 319 for rapid, subsequent
retrieval of the
profile records. Memory 319 here generically includes disks, caches, and
volatile and
nonvolatile memories. When a particular profile record in gateway 231 is
updated at
manager 305, the latter notifies gateway 231 that the particular profile
record has expired.
Thus, continuing the above example, if processor 315 determines that the
requested profile
record cannot be found in memory 319 or the requested profile record has
expired, processor
315 forwards the profile record request to manager 305 through interface 310.
In response,
manager 305 provides to gateway 231 any latest profile record identified by
the ANI.
Otherwise, processor 315 retrieves from memory 319 any available, unexpired
profile record
identified by the ANI.
If processor 315 finds no user profile record in memory 319 and the response
to the
profile record request from manager 305 is negative, processor 315 informs
manager 305 of
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
the "profileless" status of the user. Otherwise, if processor 315 locates the
latest user profile
record, processor 315 reads the profile record to determine whether data about
selected
aspects of the user preferences in the profile record is missing or deficient,
e.g., the preferred
method of handling the instant information assistance call. If so, processor
315 informs
manager 305 of the "profile data deficient" status of the user.
Upon learning either the "profileless" or "profile data deficient" status of
the user,
manager 305 causes voice server 230 to seize the instant information
assistance call, and
elicit from the user data about his/her preferences to establish the user
profile record or to
supplement the same. For example, an important aspect of the user profile is
the preferred
method of handling an information assistance call, which is missing in this
instance. Fig. 4
illustrates a routine for eliciting from the user data concerning such a call
handling method.
before the instant call is handled by an operator: At step 403, server 230
asks the user
whether he/she prefers a personal salutation, e.g., Mr. Jay Smith, Dr. Smith,
Jay, or simply
Sir, or other nickname when an operator answers the call. If not, the routine
proceeds to step
417 described below. Otherwise, server 230 at step 406 asks the user to record
his/her
preferred salutation, and becomes receptive to the user response. The user
response is
recognized, e.g., by the aforementioned voice recognition device in server
230, and at step
409 entered by manager 305 in the user profile record, which is newly
established if no user
profile record has been established for the user. Server 230 at step 412 asks
the user whether
the personal salutation preference applies to the instant call only or all
calls, and becomes
receptive to the user response. If such a preference applies to the instant
call only, the profile
entry is marked "temporary," as indicated at step 415, which is to be erased
from the user
profile record after the termination of the instant call. In that case, server
230 may again
elicit from the user the personal salutation preference in a subsequent
information assistance
call by the user. However, in either case the routine proceeds to step 417.
Otherwise, if the
user does not have a personal salutation preference at step 406, the routine
skips to step 417
as well, where server 230 asks the user whether he/she prefers a special
skilled operator, e.g.,
a Spanish speaking operator, an operator who is local to New York City who is
familiar with
the New York lifestyle and local knowledge, etc. If not, the routine comes to
an end.
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Otherwise, server 230 at step 420 provides choices of operator skills from
which the user
may select, and becomes receptive to the user selection. At step 423, the user
selections)
recognized by server 230 is entered in the user profile record. For example,
server 230 may
announce to the user in an automated voice, "press '1' if it pertains to a
language skill; press
'2' if it pertains to geographic region; etc. You may return to the menu for
further selection
by pressing '*'." Let's say the user presses "1" in this instance. Server 230
may further
announce, "state the preferred language." In response, the user may then utter
"Spanish."
Similarly, server 230 at step 426 asks the user whether the special operator
skill preference
applies to the instant call only or all calls, and becomes receptive to the
user response. If
such a preference applies to the instant call only, the profile entry is
marked "temporary," as
indicated at step 429. Otherwise, the routine comes to an end.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a user may be able to select a
preferred
call/information center to handle his/her information assistance calls.
Typically, an
information assistance call is routed to an information/call center close to
the call origination.
In the case of a wireless communication user (e.g., a wireless telephone user)
who travels,
he/she may make an information assistance call anywhere within the service
coverage, and
thus the call origination point varies accordingly. As a result, a wireless
communication user
most likely experiences different information/call centers handling his/her
information
assistance call; which are geographically diverse. Even in the case of a
wireline telephone
user in, say, New York, NY, or a user having selected in the user profile
record
information/call centers in a preferred region, say, New York, NY, handling
his/her
information assistance call, such a call may still be routed to different
information/call
centers located in metropolitan New York, e.g., Long Island, NY; Secaucus, NJ,
etc.
Of course, before a user can identify which information/call centers) he/she
prefers,
he/she must have some experience with certain information/call centers. When a
user first
signs on with the instant information assistance service, he/she will not know
which
information call centers) he/she prefers, as he/she will not have had
experience with any of
the centers. In this event, the user can simply use the service for some
period of time without
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
the preferred information/call center feature, and can notify the instant
service provider when
he/she has identified one or more information/call centers he/she prefers.
In an embodiment of the invention, at the end of each interaction the user has
with an
information/call center (e.g., after the operator disconnects from the call
but before the caller
is either transferred to the destination party or the system disconnects from
the call), voice
server 230 is programed to ask the user to rate the center on a scale from 0
to 9, 9 being the
best. The user makes his/her selection by pressing the corresponding key on
his telephone
keypad, and the system records the center ratings. After the user has been
sufficiently
exposed to many information/call centers, the service provider can inform the
subscriber how
he/she has ranked the different centers, and, based on this information, the
user can then
select which centers) he/she would like in his/her preferred pool. Of course,
the user is free
to add or delete a center from his/her preferred pool at any time, or can
decide anytime which
centers) he/she would like in his/her preferred pool.
This aspect of the instant invention, which has the additional advantage of
allowing
the ratings given by different users to each information/call center to be
accumulated, saved
and used by the provider of the instant service for purposes of evaluating the
performance of
its centers. The subscriber first advises the service provider that he/she
wishes to begin using
the preferred call/information center feature. The user can advise the service
provider of this
fact in a number of ways, including a standard call for service to the service
provider, a call to
the service provider via a special telephone number provided by the service
provider for
account status/update calls and the like, or by mail, e-mail, fax, pager or
other
communications media, all of which are within the scope of the instant
invention. The user
profile is then updated to indicate that he/she is a new preferred
information/call center user.
Thereafter, when the user is connected to the service provider for information
assistance service (step 574 in Fig. 5), computer 228 will first check the
user profile to
determine if the user is an established preferred information/call center
user, i.e., a user
whose preferred centers have already been determined (step 576). In a
preferred
embodiment, computer 228 identifies the subscriber by his/her telephone number
which
corresponds to the ANI provided in a call stream to platform 203 in a well
known manner
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when the user's call is first routed thereto, although other ways of
identifying the user are also
within the scope of the invention.
There will be times when it will not be possible to automatically identify the
user, or
when it will otherwise be preferable for the user to provide identity
information
himself/herself (e.g., for security purposes). In this event, computer 228
will prompt the user,
e.g., via voice server 230, to provide information from which he/she can be
identified.
Identity information can be provided by the user by pressing the keys of
his/her telephone
keypad; a user 113, for example. The user may also (or alternatively) be given
the option of
speaking to provide identity information. For example, computer 228 may use
voice print or
speaker verification technologies to verify the user's identity not by what
he/she said but
rather by the characteristics of his/her voice.
If the user is an established user, computer 228 in step 578 determines
whether the
current information/call center having received the call is the user's most
preferred center as
specified in the user profile. If so, the current center processes the call
instantly, as indicated
in step 580. Otherwise, platform 203 in step 582 attempts to route the call to
the user's most
preferred center; if such an attempt fails (e.g., the calls at the most
preferred information/call
center are overflowing) and the user has more than one preferred center,
platform 203
attempts to route the call to the second most preferred center; so on and so
forth until the pool
of the preferred centers is exhausted. The current center would also process
the call if each
attempt to route the call to a preferred center fails.
If the user is not an established user, meaning a user who has expressed the
desire to
use the preferred center feature but has not yet had his/her preferred
centers) identified, the
current information/call center having received the call processes the call in
a conventional
manner, as indicated in step 584. At the end of the interaction with the
current center, the
user is prompted to enter his/her rating of the current center, as indicated
in step 586. The
user's call center utilization history, represented by Fig. 6, is then updated
in step 588.
The first column of Fig. 6 contains the identifiers (e.g., alphanumerical)
identifying
the information/call centers, e.g., NY1011, NY1023, etc., having processed the
user's calls.
The second column of Fig. 6 contains the number of times the user's call has
been processed
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by each center since the user has been a new preferred information/call center
user. The third
column contains an average of the ratings that the user has given to each
center. The history
of Fig. 6 may be stored within the user's profile, although those skilled in
the art having the
benefit of the instant disclosure will appreciate that there are a number of
ways this
information can be stored to achieve the advantages of the instant invention,
each of which is
within the scope of the instant invention.
In the example of Fig. 6, because the user rated center NY1011 as a "0" on two
previous interactions with that center, computer 228 (or the user) may decide
no further calls
from the instant user should be processed by center NY1011, even though the
user is still a
new preferred center user and has not yet selected his/her preferred centers.
In step 590,
computer 228 determines if the user has been sufficiently exposed to different
information/call centers. This decision can be made by reviewing the history
of Fig. 6 to see
if he/she has interacted with different centers for some predetermined number
of times, or by
any other criteria as determined by the service provider, the user, or both.
If the user has not been sufficiently exposed to different information/call
centers, no
preferred center is determined {step 591) until perhaps the next time the user
calls for service.
Otherwise, the user is notified in step 592 of the expiration of his/her new
preferred center
user status, as well as of the rankings that the user has given to the
different centers he/she
has interacted with. The user is then requested to select his/her preferred
centers) in step
594. This interaction between the service provider and the user can occur via
any of the
communications methods described above. Finally, in step 596, computer 228
updates the
user profile to indicate that the user is now a preferred information/call
center user, along
with the identity of the user's preferred center(s).
Fig. 7 illustrates profile record 500 associated with the user in this
instance. Record
500 contains user preferences including information concerning the user's
subscription to
enhanced services or features, e.g., preferred information/call centers
feature option 522,
personalized information management service option 512 maintaining the
aforementioned
contacts, appointments and other folders for the user. Record 500 is updated
from time to
time when one or more user preferences are changed, and in particular each
time when the
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
user subscribes to a new enhanced service or cancels an enhanced service
subscription. In
addition, record 500 in this instance indicates personal salutation preference
514 and special
operator skill preference 516 specified by way of the routine of Fig. 4, and
information/call
center preference 518 specified by way of the routine of Fig. 5.
For example, knowing from record 500 that the user is a subscriber to the
personalized information management service, computer 228 may communicate the
received
ANI to personalized information server 28 through WAN 30 (or alternatively
Internet 121).
In response, server 28 presents a Login graphical user interface (GUI) on
terminal 120, at
which an operator is currently attending to the user's information assistance
call. Fig. 8
illustrates such a GUI where the operator is prompted to enter the user's
phone number or
username to identify the user, and a password to verify that the user is
authorized to access
the personalized information management service. It will be appreciated that
other user
identifying information, e.g., a PIN, mother's maiden name, voice print, etc.
rnay be used for
verification purposes as well.
It should be noted at this point that the user identification and password are
established beforehand through a registration process. For example, to
subscribe to the
personalized information service, the user can call an operator at the
designated access
number. As part of the registration, the operator enters in a user data record
on server 28 the
user identifying information including username, password, and telephone
number of the
particular telecommunication device, e.g., a wireless telephone in this
instance, which the
user would use to call the information assistance service in the future. It is
particularly
advantageous to use such a phone number (also known as a mobile directory
number (MDN)
in the case of a wireless phone number) to identify the user since, as
described before, the
calling number would be automatically captured as an ANI at information/call
center 200
when the user calls.
Thus, the ANI of the user is automatically provided in entry 501 of the Login
GUI by
server 28, thereby obviating the need of the operator's eliciting from
theuser, and entering,
the required phone number or username. At entry 504, the operator enters the
password
provided by the user to complete the login process. In the event that the ANI
is not
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
automatically available, or where the user is accessing the subject service
from an unknown
point or the operator suspects that the user calls from a phone number other
than the
registered phone number, the operator may verify/obtain the necessary
identifying
information with/from the user. For that matter, in an alternative embodiment,
the user data
record may also contain biometric measures for user identification, e.g.,
voice prints of the
user, which may be derived from a recording of the user uttering a pre-
selected codes) (e.g.,
PIN) or words) (e.g., password) during the registration process. In that
embodiment, when
the user subsequently attempts to access the personalized information service,
the user needs
to utter the pre-selected codes) or word(s). Only when his/her utterance
corresponds to the
I O stored voice prints, should he/she be allowed the service access.
The login information is transmitted to server 28, where it checks the
aforementioned
user data record to verify the received information. After it is verified,
server 28 identifies
from the user data record all of the folders including contacts folders and
appointments
folders associated with the login information (e.g., the ANI), and any user's
access rights
thereto. For example, for each folder, the user may have the predesignated
rights to view,
edit, administer, and/or delete the folder. Server 28 presents to terminal I20
a Home GUI,
listing all such folders associated with the AlVt and thus the user.
Fig. 9 illustrates such a Home GUI, which lists, among others, contacts
folders 607
and 609 designated "Company Contacts" and "My Contacts," respectively. The
operator can
access each contacts folder, and manage the contacts information in the folder
for the user,
subject to the user's access rights thereto. For example, the user in this
instance has the
predesignated right to view the content of Company Contacts folder 607 only.
On the other
hand, he/she has the additional right to edit the content of My Contacts
folder 609.
Fig. 10 illustrates a GUI showing the content of My Contacts folder 609 when,
say,
Edit Contacts option 61I is selected. As shown in Fig. 8, for each contact,
e.g., Bob, his/her
name, home phone number, business phone number and mobile phone number, if
any,
although additional information concerning the contact, e.g., his/her postal
and electronic
mail addresses, may be available but is not displayed for lack of room. For
that reason, a
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
More option, e.g., option 705, is provided for selection to present the
additional information
on a separate screen.
In addition, for each contact an Edit option, e.g., option 707, is provided to
edit the
contact information. For instance, when option 707 is selected, server 28
returns another
GUI, which is illustrated in Fig. 11. At this GUI, different fields concerning
the contact Bob,
e.g., his name, company name, company address, phone numbers, facsimile
numbers and
pager numbers are presented, and each field may be modified by overwriting any
existing
information therein.
It should be noted that to protect privacy of certain information about a
contact, e.g.,
his/her home phone number, an owner or administrator of folder 609 is afforded
Private
options, e.g., option 807, to designate certain contact information private.
Accordingly,
server 28 exercises censorship on contact information in a folder based on any
privacy
protection previously imposed by the owner or administrator of the folder. As
shown in Fig.
11, the privacy protection is on an element by element basis. For example,
Private option
807 in this instance is selected to keep Bob's home phone number private while
the Private
option for his business number is unseleeted, which is therefore unprotected
from the public.
Thus, in this instance, a read-only subscriber to folder 609 who is not privy
to Bob's home
phone number may learn his business number. As a result, when a read-only
subscriber
views a listing of the contacts including Bob in folder 609, his home phone
number is
replaced by a "Private" notice.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the read-only subscriber to
folder 609
may still be connected to Bob's home phone number by the operator, but will
not be provided
with the number dialed. To that end, after the read-only subscriber calls an
operator and
requests to be connected to Bob, the operator goes through the similar Login
and Home GUIs
which however pertain to the read-only subscriber. By utilizing the search
engine described
below, the operator uncovers listing 912 in a View GUI illustrated in Fig. 12.
It should be noted that this View GUI which is made available to a read-only
subscriber (represented by the operator in this instance) to folder 609 is
similar to the Edit
GUI of Fig. 10 which is made available to an owner or administrator of the
folder. However,
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
the two GUIs differ from each other in that unlike the Edit GUI, the View GUI
lacks Edit
options since a read-only subscriber to folder 609 does not possess edit
rights. In addition,
Bob's home number, designated private, is revealed on the Edit GUI to the
owner or
administrator of folder 609, but not on the View GUI. Thus, in this instance,
the operator is
faced with the same "Private" notice in lieu of Bob's home phone number on the
View GUI
as would be the case if the read-only subscriber accesses the View GUI on
his/her own. In
order to connect the read-only subscriber to Bob's home number, the operator
at terminal 220
signals switching matrix platform 203 to place the read-only subscriber's call
on hold, and
selects the "Private" notice. This selection causes an identification (ID) of
the subscriber's
connection which is on hold, and a request for Bob's home number in folder 609
to be sent to
server 28. In response to such a request, server 28 retrieves Bob's home
number in folder
609 from database 20, and transmits another request for connecting the
subscriber to the
retrieved phone number to switching matrix host computer 228 via WAN 30. This
request
includes the aforementioned subscriber's connection ID. Under control of
computer 228,
platform 203 then calls Bob's home phone number to establish a connection
thereto. Once
the new connection is established, computer 228 causes platform 203 to bridge
the
subscriber's connection identified by the received ID to the new connection,
thereby
connecting the subscriber to Bob's home number, without disclosing the number
to the
subscriber, or the operator for that matter.
In an alternative embodiment, the operator plays an active role before the
subscriber's
connection is bridged to the connection to Bob's home number. In this
embodiment, the
operator obtains from the user data record the subscriber's name as
registered. However, the
operator may also verify the subscriber's name with the subscriber verbally
before putting the
subscriber's connection on hold. As soon as platform 203 establishes the
connection to
Bob's home number, the operator is afforded an option to ask Bob over the
newly established
connection whether Bob wants to talk to the read-only subscriber. If Bob
accepts the call, the
operator signals host computer 228 to cause platform 203 to bridge Bob's
connection to the
subscriber's connection, thereby connecting the subscriber to Bob's home
number.
Otherwise, if Bob declines to talk to the read-only subscriber, the operator
informs the
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subscriber of the declination and causes platform 203 to terminate (or tear
down) both
connections with Bob and the subscriber.
In another alternative embodiment, voice server 230 takes the place of the
operator in
asking Bob whether he wants to answer the subscriber's call. That is, before
the subscriber's
connection is bridged to Bob's connection, voice server 230 seizes Bob's
connection and
announces in an automated voice, over the connection, an arrival of the call
from the
subscriber who is identified by his/her registered name. After learning the
identity of the
subscriber, Bob is afforded a choice to accept the call by pressing a first
predetermined key
on his telephone. The resulting DTMF signal causes platform 203 to bridge the
subscriber's
connection to Bob's connection. Otherwise, Bob may press a second
predetermined key to
reject the call. The resulting DTMF signal causes (a) voice server 230 to
announce to the
subscriber, through the subscriber's connection, Bob's declination to answer
the call, and (b)
platform 203 to terminate both Bob's and the subscriber's connections.
In yet another alternative embodiment, the screening of the subscriber's call
is
achieved by using an improved caller ID (CID) feature in accordance with the
invention.
Traditionally, by subscribing to a CID service and utilizing a CID receiver,
which may be
integrated into a telephone, a called party between phone rings may receive
display CID
information on the receiver which includes the originating telephone number,
name
associated with that number, date and time of the call. One such receiver for
receiving CID
information is described, e.g., in U.S. Patent No. 4,582,956 issued to Doughty
on April 15,
1986.
The CID information is transmitted from a switching office connected to the
called
party's CID receiver using frequency shift keyed (FSK) modem tones. These FSK
modem
tones are used to transmit the display message in ASCII character code form.
The
transmission of the display message takes place between the first and second
rings of the
called station. The CID data format and transmitter are described, e.g., in
U.S. Patent No.
4,55I,581 ("the '581 patent") issued to Doughty on November 5, 1985. As
described in the
'581 patent, the data format of each message to be sent to the called station
is preceded by the
specification of the type and length of the message. For example, for the
first message
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
concerning the originating number, the first character sent is the message
type which
specifies that the ensuing message is an originating number. The second
character represents
the length of the message. After the message length character are characters
which represent
the digits of the originating number. Additional messages follow the same data
format (i.e.,
type character, length character and message content in that order). The
formatted messages
are followed by a checksum or other error detection character which is used to
detect errors
which may have been introduced in the transmission.
However, we have recognized a few disadvantages of using the traditional CID
service. For example, any name which appears in the CID alongside the
originating
telephone number identifies the telephone service subscriber to that number,
and which is
registered by a telephone carrier in a directory database, also known as
"white pages."
Telephone carriers typically have directory listings of wireline telephone
service subscribers
but currently lack the listings of wireless telephone service subscribers. As
a result, when a
caller uses a wireless telephone to call a called station, the CID receiver at
the called station
typically displays the wireless telephone number, but not the name of the
associated
telephone service subscriber because of a lack of the white pages information.
As such, the
traditional CID service is ineffective in screening wireless calls by the
callers' name.
Return now to the above example where the caller, who is a read-only
subscriber to
contacts folder 609, asks an operator to connect him/her to Bob's home number
which is
indicated "Private" in the folder. Not to be confused with a telephone service
subscriber, the
folder subscriber in this example will now be referred to simply as the
"caller." When the
caller calls the operator for connecting him/her to Bob's home number, the ANI
associated
with the caller's call is communicated to center 200 which, as mentioned
before, is derived
by platform 203 from the call set-up signals. In accordance with an aspect of
the invention,
the white pages information associated with such an ANI is provided as Cm data
to Bob far
call screening purposes. To that end, host computer 228 provides the ANI to
database server
226 to look up the corresponding white pages information. It should be noted
that unlike a
typical telephone carrier, call/information center 200 in this instance has
access to directory
listings of both wireline and wireless telephone service subscribers. Thus,
based on the
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
received ANI, server 226 locates the directory listing including the name of
the telephone
service subscriber associated with the ANI. While the connection with the
caller is on hold,
and the second connection to Bob's home number is being established, host
computer 228 in
accordance with the invention communicates, as part of the call set-up
procedure, the ANI
and associated telephone service subscriber name to the called station (i.e.,
Bob's telephone)
as the CID data. Specifically, such ANI and associated telephone service
subscriber name are
formatted in the well known CID data format and communicated, pursuant to an
agreed-upon
protocol, to the aforementioned data transmitter in the switching office
connected to the
called station.
Fig. 13 illustrates the ANI and associated telephone service subscriber name
in the
CID data format. As shown in Fig. 13, type character 715 specifies that the
ensuing message
contains the telephone number of the calling station from which the caller
calls the operator.
Length character 718 specifies the length of such a telephone number. Message
field 721
contains the actual telephone number of the calling station, i.e., the ANL. In
addition, type
character 724 specifies that the ensuing message contains the telephone
service subscriber
name associated with the telephone number in field 721 according to the
directory listing.
Length character 727 specifies the length of such a name. Message field 730
contains the
actual telephone service subscriber name. Following field 730 is checksum
field 733 fox
detection of transmission errors.
In a well known manner, the data transmitter in the switching office transmits
the CID
data between rings of the called station, which is displayed on the called
station or other
connected device for receiving such CID data. As soon as the connection to the
called station
is established, host computer 128 causes platform 114 to bridge the new
connection to the
caller's connection which is on hold. Bob may then review the resulting CID
display
information at the called station before he decides to answer the call or not.
However, we have recognized that in the above example, the caller may not
always be
the same as the telephone service subscriber to the originating number because
the caller may
have borrowed another person's telephone to call. As a result, the CID message
indicating
the name of the telephone service subscriber may be misleading in identifying
whom the
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
caller is. Thus, in accordance with a second aspect of the invention, after
obtaining the white
pages information based on the ANI in the above example, the operator checks
the name
associated with the ANI in the directory listing against the caller's name as
registered on the
user data record. If they do not match, the operator may assume that the
caller's name from
S the user data record is valid as the associated password of the caller was
verified in the earlier
login process. However, the operator may also verify the caller's name with
the caller on the
phone. The operator then enters the actual caller's name on terminal 220,
which replaces the
telephone service subscriber name in the CID data to be transmitted to the
called station. Fig.
14 illustrates the resulting formatted CID data, which differs from that of
Fig. 13 in that type
character 741 and length character 743 in Fig. 14 correspond to the caller's
name, as opposed
to the telephone service subscriber name. In addition, message field 745
contains such a
caller's name.
We have also recognized that with the caller's name ascertained in the above
example, the calling station number in the CID data serves no additional
identification
purpose. However, it may provide a means for the called party to return the
caller's call. For
instance, upon reviewing the CID display information, Bob may decide not to
answer the call
immediately as he is unavailable or currently on another call. Bob may try to
contact the
caller later using the display calling station number. Nevertheless, by the
time when Bob
calls, the caller may not be at that number, or the caller may want Bob to
return his/her call at
a different number or by a different method of communications altogether,
e.g., facsimile,
email or SMS. Thus, in accordance with a third aspect of the invention, the
operator may
query the caller on the phone for methods of returning his/her call in case
Bob does not
answer the call immediately. In this instance, let's say the caller wants Bob
to return his/her
call using a telephone number different from the current calling number, or
via facsimile or
email. In that case, the caller provides the operator with his/her desired ( 1
) call-back
telephone number, (2) facsimile number and (3) email address. Accordingly, the
operator
enters on terminal 220 the information concerning the call-return methods,
along with the
caller's name, to generate the CID data to be transmitted to the called
station. The resulting
formatted CID data by host computer 228 is illustrated in Fig. 15, which
includes additional
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type character 751 and length character 753 correspond to the call-back
telephone number,
which is contained in message field 755; type character 757 and length
character 759
correspond to the caller's facsimile number, which is contained in message
field 761 and may
be preceded with "F-" to be distinguished from a telephone number; type
character 763 and
length character 765 correspond to the caller's email address, which is
contained in message
field 767. Of course, the time period for which each method of communications
is the most
convenient to the caller may also be specified in the CID data.
Further, we have recognized thatthe caller's name in the CID display may not
be
sufficient information for the called party to decide to answer the call. The
purpose of the
call, or the subject of the call may be important as well. For instance, Bob
in the above
example would answer the call if it concerns a business meeting the next day
whereas he
would not if it concerns an upcoming social event, even though the caller is
the same in each
case. Thus, in accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention, the operator,
when querying
the caller for the call-return methods, may also query the caller for the
purpose or subject of
the call, or other CID message to be shown to Bob. For example, the caller may
want to
confirm the meeting with Bob at 10 a.m. tomorrow. In that case, a CID message
such as "See
you tomorrow at 10" is sufficient to confirm the meeting. In implementation,
the CID
message may be abbreviated to accommodate the limited number of characters
allowed.
Thus, upon reviewing such a CID message while the called station is ringing,
Bob may
choose not to answer the call if he is satisfied with the message, or to pick
up the call if he
wants to talk to the caller, e.g., to change the meeting schedule or for
whatever reasons.
Thus, in this illustrative embodiment, the operator also enters on terminal
120 the call-
content attribute of the call (e.g., information concerning the call purpose
or subject), or any
desired message from the caller to generate the CID data to be transmitted to
the called
station. The resulting formatted CID data is illustrated in Fig. 18, which
includes additional
type character 771 and length character 773 corresponding to the call-content
attribute and/or
desired message from the caller, which are contained in message field 775. By
reviewing the
display CID information at the called station which includes the call-content
attribute and/or
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caller's message in this instance, Bob is able to make a better informed
decision whether to
answer the call.
The user may subscribe to or opt out the above-described CID service. The
subscription to or opting out the CID service may be specified in user profile
record 500. For
example, referring to Fig. 7, caller-ID service option 520 in this instance is
unselected;
indicating its opt-out status.
Referring back to Fig: 1 l, the above-described concept of protecting privacy
of listing
information on an element-by-element basis is applicable not only to contacts
folders here,
but also generally to white pages, wireless telephone directories, enterprise
directories and
other public directories. In particular, all wireless telephone numbers
currently are
unpublished. The disclosure of a wireless telephone number may be opted in or
out, e.g., by
selecting or unselecting Private option 809.
A selection of one such Private option (associated with wireline, wireless, or
other
user telephone number) may lead to queries for desired privacy features. For
example, the
user may choose to disclose the telephone number during certain times (e.g.,
daytime,
weekdays), and no other telephone number or a second telephone number during
other times
(e.g., nighttime, weekends). In addition, the user may create a "blackout
list," listing those
entities (by their names and/or telephone numbers) which are unauthorized to
obtain the user
telephone number. In that case, for example, the blackout list may be stored
in database 20
in association with the user telephone number. When a caller calls the
information assistance
service to access the user telephone number, the service provider may retrieve
the user
telephone number, along with the associated blackout list. The service
provider may then
screen the caller to determine whether the caller is authorized to access the
user telephone
number. Such screening may be conducted manuallyby an operator where the
operator may
check the ANI associated with the call against the blackout list, or may
simply ask for the
caller's name, his/her company name, or other affiliation information, and
check the received
identity information against the blackout list. The screening may
alternatively be conducted
by computer 228 in an automated manner where upon learning the ANI associated
with the
call, computer 228 checks the ANI against the telephone numbers on the
blackout list.
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In another embodiment, the user may provide the caller a PIN beforehand, which
is
required to be produced by the caller during an information assistance call to
access the user
telephone number. Like the aforementioned blackout list, the PIN may be stored
in database
20 in association with the user telephone number. The PIN may similarly be
verified by the
information assistance service provider manually or in an automated manner
before the caller
can access the user telephone number. Further, the user may have multiple PINs
associated
with different privacy levels, respectively. Each privacy level is used to
qualify the
restriction of access to listing information. For example, a first PIN is
associated with
privacy level I, production of which by a caller during an information
assistance inquiry may
enable the caller to access the user's business telephone number; a second PIN
is associated
with privacy level 2, production of which by a caller during an information
assistance inquiry
may enable the caller to access the user's home phone number in addition to
his/her business
telephone number; a third PIN is associated with privacy level 3, production
of which by a
caller during an information assistance inquiry may enable the caller to
access the user's
wireless telephone number in addition to his/her business telephone number and
home phone
number; and so on and so forth. Thus, with the above inventive privacy
measures, the
information assistance service provider advantageously serves as a clearing
house to allow
proper parties to access appropriate portions of listing infoumation.
Referring back to Fig. 9, a search engine is provided on a Home GUI to search
for a
listing of a desired contact. For example, the operator may specify at entry
655 a search term
(e.g., Bob), and select at entry 657 the type of folder (e.g., contacts or
appointments) in which
the search term is to be found. Thus; by using such a search engine, an
informal request
without much information, such as "I need to reach Bob" and "I want to talk to
the sales
manager at ABC Corporation" is sufficient for the operator to locate the
requested contact
information. After initiating the search by clicking on the "Search" button,
any listing
satisfying the search query is highlighted. In this instance, a search on the
name "Bob" in a
contacts folder uncovers listing 712 in the Edit GUI of Fig. 10.
It is anticipated that when given more specific data about the desired
contact, e.g.,
Bob's full name, the operator may also search such other directory databases
as public
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national directory databases, enterprise directory databases (e.g.,
corporation directory
databases, and university directory databases), etc., accessible by database
server 226. To
that end, GUI 780 in Fig. 17 is designed for the operator to perform such a
combined search.
As shown in Fig. 17, section 785 of GUI 780 corresponds to the Home GUI of
Fig. 9, which
S allows the operator to manage contacts and appointments folders for the user
as described
before. In addition, section 782 provides the interface for the operator to
perform the
combined search for desired contact information.
Thus, in this example, when a user requests a listing of a desired party, say,
Bob, the
operator invokes GUI 780 on terminal 220. The operator enters at search
section 782 the
name Bob and any other information provided by the user to the best of his/her
ability such as
Bob's last name, the name of the company at which Bob works, his or his
company's
address, etc. In response to, no, or one or more search results meeting the
user's request are
returned from database server 226 accessing a public national directory
database and
enterprise directory databases in this instance, and/or from personalized
information server
1 S 28 accessing folders 607 and 609 associated with the user. Each returned
listing in this
instance includes a source indicator indicating its provider, i.e., database
server 226 or
personalized information server 28. If multiple Bob listings are returned, the
operator in a
conventional manner discusses the listings with the user to ascertain the
desired Bob listing.
When the desired Bob listing is ascertained and selected by the operator for
later possible
connection to the listed telephone number for the user, and incorporation into
one or more
contacts folders associated with the user before the process ends.
Continuing the above example, upon learning the desired Bob listing, the
operator
offers the user an option to be connected to Bob's telephone number. If the
user exercises
such an option; the operator then initiates an outgoing call for the user by
seizing an outgoing
voice channel from a T1 communication link 214 and outdialing the desired
telephone
number. Outdialing is a function of platform 203, whereby platform 203
transmits the
desired telephone number after it is entered. Host computer 228 is notified of
the outgoing
call and automatically instructs platform 203 to apply a CPA therein to the
outbound channel
and a DTMF receiver to the inbound channel after outdialing. Such a CPA is
sensitive to,
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and capable of identifying, telephone connection status conditions and signals
including ring
tone, busy, reorder, PBX intercept, system intercept (tri)tone (SIT), vacant
code, reorder-SIT,
no circuit LEC, reorder-carrier, no circuit-carrier, dial tone, continuous on
tone, and silence.
Platform 203 afterwards connects the user on the inbound channel to the
outgoing call on the
outbound channel.
The CPA monitors the outgoing call on the outbound channel for a predetermined
number of rings, a predetermined amount of time, or until a specified
connection status is
detected. A successful call, in which the destination telephone is answered,
is recognized by
platform 203. Illustratively, platform 203 identifies a successful call by
detecting, on the
outbound channel, the bit transition that occurs when the destination
telephone converts from
an on-hook status to an off hook status. The detection of a successful call is
relayed to host
computer 228 by platform 203.
When an outgoing call is successfully completed, platform 203 remains
passively
connected to the call. When the destination telephone is disconnected,
platform 203 detects
another bit transition indicating that the destination telephone changed from
off hook to on-
hook. In response, platform 203 removes the application of the CPA on the
outbound
channel. Voice server 230 then seizes the connection to user telecommunication
device 244
to provide additional information and services to the user upon closing of the
call, in
accordance with another aspect of the invention. However, such additional
information and
services may alternatively be provided by voice server 230 in the beginning,
or at other
appropriate stages, of the call. In this instance, upon the call closing, the
user is allowed to
order new services, modify user profile record or request other actions. To
that end, server
230 describes any new service feature which is made available to the user by
the information
assistance service provider. The description may be followed by a menu,
including options
selectable by pressing specified keys on device 244. Alternatively, the user's
selection is
spoken into device 244, which is received and recognized by a voice
recognition device in
voice server 230. For example, pressing the "1" key enables the user to adopt
the new
service feature; pressing the "*" key enables the user to speak to an operator
to obtain further
information about the new service feature; and pressing the "2" key enables
the user to skip
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to the next service feature description, if any. In this instance, upon
detection of a depression
of the "1" key by the user, voice server 230 invokes a submenu for the user to
enter any
necessary information to subscribe to the new service feature. User profile
record 500 may
then be updated to reflect the new service feature subscription.
After the new service feature descriptions) and menu, voice server 230 may
invoke
an action menu to allow the user to perform or request other actions. For
example, pressing
the "*" key enables the user to be re-connected to an operator for further
information
assistance; pressing the "7" key enables the user to modify user profile
record 500, e.g.,
through the agency of an operator, or a submenu to go through the profile
entries item by
item and make the necessary changes; pressing the "#" key enables the user to
hear a
recitation by voice server 230 of the desired destination telephone number
just inquired;
pressing the "8" key enables the user to incorporate the desired listing just
inquired in a
contacts folder associated with the user; etc. In this instance, the user's
pressing the "8" key
results in incorporating the desired listing into My Contacts folder 609,
stemming from the
fact that the user here has the aforementioned rights to edit My Contacts
folder 609 only but
not Company Contacts folder 607. Otherwise, if the user has the rights to edit
multiple
contacts folders, the folder involved in the incorporation needs to be
specified by the user,
e.g., in profile record 500 or upon request. In general, the incorporation is
carried out
pursuant to a predetermined protocol whereby the desired listing when
incorporated would be
properly formatted in folder 609.
We have recognized that based on information in user profile record 500, e.g.,
personal interests 540, the user may be targeted to receive certain
advertising or promotional
(e.g., schedules, coupons, discounts, etc.) information. For example, after
(or before) an
information assistance call, such targeted promotional information may be
"pushed" to the
user, subject to any opt-out provision in the profile. For example, the user
in this instance
specifies as part of personal interests 540 preferred music, e.g., Beatles,
Rolling Stones, etc.;
fashion, e.g., Versace, Donna Karen, etc.; and sports Events, e.g., Knicks
basketball games,
PGA Golf tournaments, etc., for which the user would like to receive
information from time
to time. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, based on the profile
data, server 28
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tailors the content of the promotional information delivered to the user to
suit his/her interests
as soon as the information becomes available. In particular, at the closing of
the information
assistance call, voice server 230 provides the targeted promotional
information to the user.
For example, voice server 230 at such time may inform the user of the schedule
of upcoming
Knicks games and a sale of Knicks merchandise. Voice server 230 may then
prompt the user
to reserve tickets for any desired games and purchase any desired merchandise
through a
concierge-type service also provided by information assistance service
provider 205.
The targeted promotional information may also be provided as a message to the
user
from time to time via SMS, e-mail, voicemail, facsimile, paging, instant
messaging, etc. For
example, the actual methods) of delivery of the targeted promotional
information may be
specified by the user in user profile record 500, shown as information
delivery method
preferences 550. Such information delivery methods) may be established in the
initial
service registration by the user in response to such direct questions as "How
do you want
promotional information to be transmitted to you from an information
assistance service?"
The answers to such direct questions may make up preferences 550. The
specified delivery
methods may be prioritized in accordance with the user's preferences. Of
course, the user is
allowed to opt out one or more of the above targeted advertising service
features.
Server 28 from time to time sends to profile gateway 231 the targeted
promotional
information to be delivered to the user. Gateway 231 generates a message
containing the
promotional information, and data concerning delivery methods ranked in the
order of the
user's preferences, as specified in profile record 500. This message is sent
to profile manager
305, which in response generates an appropriate request to messaging server
307 for delivery
of the targeted promotional information.
In this instance, messaging server 307 may be situated at the same location as
profile
manager 305. Server 307 serves as a gateway for delivering information to a
user, e.g., via
voicemail, SMS, e-mail, paging, facsimile, wireless application protocol
(WAP), web, etc.
When it is determined that the promotional information needs to be delivered
via one of these
communications, profile manager 305 forwards the necessary content and
addressing
information (e.g., voicemail access number, wireless telephone number for SMS,
e-mail
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
address, pager number, facsimile number, uniform resource locator (URL) of a
WAP or web
site, etc.) to messaging server 307. Messaging server 307 attempts a delivery
of the
promotional information via the appropriate method of delivery, and feeds back
to profile
manager 305 information about the delivery status. For example, in the event
that a first
preferred delivery method is not successful, server 307 informs manager 305'of
the
unsuccessful delivery status. In response, manager 305 may cause server 307 to
attempt the
delivery via a second preferred delivery method, and so on and so forth.
For example, where the targeted promotional information is delivered to a WAP
or
web site, the access (e.g., URL) to one such site may be provided, e.g., on
the user's bill for
the information assistance service. Similar to the Internet standards, WAP
specifies use of a
wireless markup language (WML), which is a subset of an extensible markup
language
(XML), for writing WAP content. WML is designed to make optimum use of a small
display
which is typical of a mobile device, e.g., wireless telephone, PDA, etc. The
resulting WAP
content is scalable, e.g., from a two-line text display to a full graphic
screen of a larger
display. The WAP content can be read by a user using WAP microbrowser software
installed
in the mobile device. The communications between the mobile device and the
Internet is
through a WAP gateway, which serves as an interface between a wireless network
and the
Internet.
The WAP gateway provides the necessary protocol translation (e.g., between WAP
and transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP)) and
optimization, security,
activity tracking and administration. Messages communicated between a mobile
device and
the WAP gateway are in accordance with a WAP datagram protocol (WDP). For
example,
when a request from the mobile device which comprises a URL is sent via a
wireless network
to the WAP gateway, the request includes a device ID identifying the mobile
device. In
response, a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) interface in the gateway
retrieves the
requested content from the WAP site on the Internet at the URL. The retrieved
content is
converted into a compressed data format for transmission over the wireless
network to the
mobile device identified by its device ID. The WAP microbrowser software in
the mobile
device interprets the compressed data and displays the interactive WAP
content. In this
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
instance, the user's bill may provide the user with the URL of the WAP site
for accessing the
aforementioned promotional information, expressed in WML.
Similarly, the targeted promotional information may be expressed e.g., in HTML
or
XML, and placed on a website for the user to access anytime using a device
running the
necessary web browser software. The particular URL of the website may be
designated to the
user exclusively for his/her personal consumption.
Continuing with the above example, if the outgoing call to the destination
telephone
cannot be successfully completed, e.g., the call status condition of the
outgoing call identified
by the CPA as a busy signal, platform 203 terminates the outgoing call by
releasing the
outbound channel, with the inbound channel intact. In this case, like the
previous successful
call completion case, voice server 230 may similarly present the above-
described new service
feature descriptions, menus and targeted promotional information (collectively
"user
assistance and service information") to user telecommunication device 244.
However, the
user here may be afforded additional action menu options, e.g., an option to
have platform
203 attempt the same destination telephone number again by pressing the "1"
key, and
another option to record a message for later delivery to the destination party
by pressing the
"2" key.
Voice server 230 may similarly present the user assistance and service
information to
user communication device 244 in the event that the call status condition of
the outgoing call
is detected by the CPA in platform 203 as a ring-no-answer condition. Under
that condition,
it is desirable to allow sufficient time for the destination party to answer
the call, but yet also
provide the user with the user assistance and service information, other than
simply waiting
continuously for an answer. At the same time, the ring tone on the outbound
channel may be
temporarily muted or its volume is temporarily reduced. In addition, voice
server 230 may
communicate, through the inbound channel, the user assistance and service
information while
the user is waiting. If the user chooses to do nothing and wait, the ring tone
continues until
the destination telephone is answered, or the user disconnects.
In the event that the call status condition of the outgoing call is identified
as a
communication problem, e.g., reorder, PBX intercept, SIT intercept, vacant
code, reorder-
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SIT, no circuit LEC, reorder-carrier, no circuit-carrier, dial tone,
continuous on tone, or
silence, voice server 230 informs the user of the communication problem. In
addition, voice
server 230 may present to user communication device 244 the user assistance
and service
information described above.
In addition, the user when interacting with the information assistance service
may
prefer to use certain key or voice commands, over those suggested, e.g., in
the menus. This
may stem from the fact that it is easier for the user to remember those
certain key or voice
commands, and to consistently apply the same commands for the same frequently
used
functions. Thus, the user may be allowed to create his/her own "dictionary,"
denoted 560, in
user profile record 500 to customize his/her own "vocabulary" or reconfigure
commands for
interacting with the information assistance service. System components (e.g.,
platform 203,
computer 228 and voice server 230) of information/call center 200 are
programmed to look
up the dictionary to understand the user's customized commands to seamlessly
provide the
information assistance service. In this particular illustrative embodiment,
dictionary 560 is
realized as a look-up table, denoted 565, for translating customized commands
to
corresponding menu commands recognizable by the system components. In this
instance, the
menu commands which have been reconfigured include the "*" key command for
returning
to an operator during an information assistance, and the "#" key command for
providing the
desired destination telephone number. As illustrated in table 565, the "*" key
command has
been replaced by a "0" key command preferred by the user, and the "#" key
command has
been replaced by a voice command "Number Please" preferred by the user.
Temporary Service Disablement
As mentioned before, a user may also specify in a user profile record
associated with
an identifier (e.g., a telephone number) identifying the user's
telecommunication device
(e.g., a telephone) when the instant information assistance service is
temporarily halted.
Referring to Fig. 7, in this instance, the user specifies in profile record
500 that the service is
temporarily disabled between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday through Friday each
week,
shown as one of Temporary Service Disablement Periods 567. With the specified
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
disablement period in place, when an information assistance call is received
by center 200,
computer 228 retrieves the user profile associated with the ANI of the
received call.
Computer 228 first determines whether the time of the call is within one of
Periods 567. If
so, computer 228 causes voice server230 to make an announcement to the caller,
e.g.,
"Sorry. The user has chosen to disable the service at this time." Computer 228
then causes
the call connection to be torn down. Otherwise, if the time of the call is not
within one of
Periods 567, the call would be processed in the manner described before. The
user may
notify the service provider anytime when the service is to be temporarily
disabled, and the
user profile record is modified accordingly.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, Periods 567 may
reference
certain entries of a user's appointment folder, e.g., My Appointments 608
maintained in
database 20. That is, a selected service disablement period may correspond to
certain types
of appointment or activity, e.g., vacation, specified in My Appointments,
which is the case
here as the user in this instance selected option 569 in profile record 500:
The user may
notify the service provider during the service registration or anytime
subsequent thereto that a
vacation time entry to My Appointments would trigger the service disablement
for the period
corresponding to the entry. Profile manager 305 is then programed to enter any
such vacation
time entry in profile record 500 as one of Periods 567. Alternatively, in My
Appointments
the user is provided with an option, associated with each appointment or
activity entry, to
disable the instant information assistance service during the appointment or
activity. In
response to a selection of one such option, manager 305 incorporates the new
service
disablement period in Periods 567.
Information Unload
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the aforementioned
personalized
information management service is augmented to realize a personal information
center
function for the user. To that end, various information may be uploaded and
stored in user
profile record 500, which is to be delivered to the user as a routine part of
the service or upon
the user request. Such various information may include, e.g., account
information, statuses of
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data synchronization between the information management tools and user
devices, statuses
concerning orders and sales conducted through the instant information
assistance service, etc.
In addition, based on the sales and orders history, the profile record may
keep track of the
user's likes and dislikes, which help customize promotional information to be
communicated
to the user. The manner in which the information assistance service helps the
user to
consummate an order or sales, and the manner in which the user profile is
revised from time
to time to update the user criteria in selecting goods or services are
described, e.g., in the
aforementioned '847 Application.
Service Differentiation and Pricin based on Device Type
As is apparent from the foregoing discussion, services afforded by the instant
service
provider to the user depend on the type of user device, including its class of
service, used to
interact with the service provider. For example, the user device may be a
wireless telephone.
However, nowadays wireless telephones come with different classes of services,
e.g., in
accordance with "2G," "2.5G," and "3G" specifications. Even built according to
the same
general specification, one wireless telephone may vary from another in the
screen size,
support for graphics, enablement of one-way or two-way SMS, JAVA and /or WAP
communications, etc. The data concerning the capabilities of a user device may
be provided
by the Garner (e.g., AT&T Wireless) which initially turns on the operation of
the device, or
by the user to the instant service provider, or by querying the device itself
during an initial
handshake with the device. Such device data may be recorded in the user
profile record, e.g.,
device data 530 in profile record 500, which is important for both marketing
and service
customization purposes. For example, device data 530 in this instance
indicates that the user
device is a wireless telephone capable of SMS and complex graphics. With the
knowledge of
the SMS capability, the instant service provider may promote or provide, e.g.,
an SMS
coupon service and other SMS related services to the user. In addition, with
the knowledge
of the complex graphics capability, the instant service provider may promote
or provide to a
user, e.g., a travel directions service with transmission of images of street
maps displayable
on the user device screen. Thus, the types of service offered to the user may
vary with the
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type of user device, including its class of service. The service charges may
vary with the
actual services subscribed by the user. The user may be charged at a
discount/premium rate
depending on the actual service capability, class of service, and/or
preferential status of the
user. Different services may also be bundled according to the device
capabilities. For
S example, the aforementioned SMS coupon and travel directions services may be
bundled and
offered to the user at a flat rate.
In addition, device data 530 is also conducive to an effective provision of
the instant
information assistance service. Specifically, the various service menus
offered to the user in
the course of information assistance are selected according to the user device
capabilities.
For example, where it is known that the user device has the SMS capability,
which is the case
here, a service menu would include such an option as to deliver information to
the user
device via SMS. Otherwise, the SMS option would not be offered.
It is possible that the user may use different user devices to communicate
with the
instant information assistance service at different times. In that case,
device data 530
includes, for each device, a description of its capabilities and an associated
identifier
identifying the device, e.g., a telephone number, MDN, etc.. In addition,
profile record 500
may be invoked by any one of the identifiers of the user devices. For example,
based on the
ANI accompanying the communication from one such device, computer 228 invokes
profile
record 500 and retrieves the portion of data 530 corresponding to the device.
Personal Profile Security
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, security measures are
instituted to
ensure that only an authorized users) can access select services or groups of
services, which
may be associated, e.g., with the user's telephone number, MDN, voice print,
etc. At the
same time, the user who is responsible for the service charges or service
account may
controllably allow other parties (e.g., household members), associated with
the service
account, to access certain services by selectively providing them with, say,
the requisite
passwords meeting the security requirements. For example, the user in this
instance institutes
a security measure for use of a concierge-type service, whereby upon the user
request, the
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instant service provider may make restaurant reservations, purchase tickets,
order goods or
services, and conduct other businesses for the user. As shown in Fig. 7, the
concierge-type
service in question is assigned security codes) 535, which may be a password,
PIN, mother's
maiden name, voice print and/or other biometric measure. Where, e.g., a voice
print is used,
security codes) S3S contains voice prints of the authorized users (e.g.,
husband and wife),
which may be derived from earlier recordings of speeches by the husband and
wife,
respectively. In furtherance of the example, when the husband or wife using
the same
telephone to access the instant information assistance service, profile record
500 may be
retrieved based on the ANI accompanying the telephone call. As the husband
(wife) requests
the concierge-type service in question, computer 228 determines based on
profile record 500
that such a service requires verification of a security code. In this example,
a voice print of
the husband (wife) is derived by voice server 230 or a voice print gateway
(not shown) from a
sample of his (her) speech currently received thereby. Computer 228 determines
whether the
newly derived voice print corresponds to one of codes) 535. If so, the husband
(wife) can
access the concierge-type service. Otherwise, if the security code cannot be
verified, the
husband (wife) is denied such a service. It should be noted that the content
of codes) 535
may be encrypted to bolster its security.
Confidential Information Disclosure
As mentioned before; ordering or purchasing products or services for a user is
part of
the concierge-type service provided by the instant service provider.
Oftentimes, sales
assisted by an operator involve disclosure by the user of credit card or
similar billing
information. However, the user may feel uncomfortable to disclose such
confidential
information to the operator for fear of any subsequent, fraudulent use of such
information, or
for fear of eavesdropping by others at the current user location. Thus, in
accordance with yet
another aspect of the invention, an operator assisted order, purchase or
reservation may be
realized by the user communicating with the instant service provider the
details of the order,
purchase or reservation except confidential information (e.g., the credit card
or billing
information), which may then be communicated to the instant service provider
through a
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separate secure connection (e.g., a secure Internet connection), which does
not involve an
operator, to complete the transaction.
In an illustrative embodiment, the user is afforded an option to transmit
billing
information through a secure Internet connection separate from the initial
information
assistance call connection. A selection by the user of the secure transmission
option may be
indicated in profile record 500 (not shown) or on a call-by-call basis. For
example, with such
an option selected beforehand, the user may conduct a purchase with an
operator's assistance
during the initial information assistance call. Based on the phone
conversation with the user,
the operator may fill out on terminal 220 an order template containing
information
concerning the product name, its provider, price, delivery time, etc., all
information, except
billing information, necessary to complete the transaction. The operator may
then inform the
user that he/she needs to provide the remaining billing information via a
secure Internet
connection, e.g., an encrypted secure sockets layer (SSL) connection. The user
may be asked
to provide an e-mail address to which a URL of a transaction web page for the
user to input
the remaining confidential billing information is to be sent. In this
illustrative embodiment,
such a user e-mail address, denoted 537, is specified in profile record 500,
thus obviating a
query therefor.
With the user e-mail address, the operator causes terminal 220 to send to the
user,
through Internet 221, an e-mail containing the URL of the aforementioned
transaction web
page. Upon opening one such e-mail, e.g., using a personal computer, the user
may point and
click at the URL link therein to access the transaction web page. Such a
transaction web page
(denoted 1900) is illustrated in Fig. 18, which may be provided by a concierge-
type service
server (not shown) connected to Internet 221. Page 1900 make take the form of
the order
template previously used by the operator to fill out the order information. In
fact, except for
the confidential credit card information, all of the transaction information
including, e.g.,
product name 1903, price 1905, etc. is pre-filled by the operator. The user in
this instance is
prompted to fill in box 1907 the credit card information only. Security
indicator 1909
indicates that the communication of the information on page 1900, including
the credit card
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information, to the concierge-type service server through Internet 221 is
secure. Once the
server receives the information on page 1900, the order is processed thereby.
It should be noted that in a second embodiment, the user is pre-assigned a URL
where
he/she can access to enter confidential information to complete each
transaction, thereby
obviating the need of sending an e-mail containing URL information to the
user. In fact, in
the second embodiment, the transaction web page is customized for the user,
where a list of
his/her applicable credit cards may be displayed for selection, thereby
obviating the need of
the user's entering the actual credit card information, i.e., the credit card
number, expiration
date, etc. In that case, the actual credit card information may be stored in
the concierge-type
service server, which was previously provided by the user, e.g., through a
secure Internet
connection. Only a token representing the selected credit card for use in the
current
transaction is sent to the server, and the latter looks up the corresponding
credit card
information in its storage based on the received token.
It should be noted that the above-described inventive concept is generally
applicable
to any transaction assisted by an agent, especially a human, which requires a
user to disclose
confidential information to complete the transaction. Such confidential
information, e.g. a
Social Security number, demographic information, etc., may be communicated
through a
secure communication connection separate from in an initial connection to the
agent.
S'mchronizatian and Backup
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a first PIM, e.g., a user
computer
at work, may synchronize its data, e.g., contacts and appointment data, with a
second PIM(s),
e.g., a user computer at home, through the aforementioned information
management service.
The first PIM may be designated a "master" and the second PIM(s) may be
designated
"slave(s)" in that changes in the master are registered in the slaves) after
their
synchronization through the information management service, but not the other
way around.
In this example, work computer 803 in Fig. 19 incorporating conventional PIM
application 819, e.g., a Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Goldmine,
Symantec Act!,
Lotus Organizer and Lotus Notes application, may be the master PIM in
accordance with the
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invention. Synchronization engine 815, also installed in computer 803, is used
to perform the
desirable synchronization function. In the event that the user wants to use
engine 815 to
synchronize with, say, a Palm-type device, one such device may be connected to
computer
803 through external interface 821. In this illustrative embodiment, engine
815 is designed
based on a commercially available Intellisync Connector SDK kit provided by
Puma
Technology, San Jose, California. Engine 815 may be downloaded from server 28
via the
Internet and is configured according to PIM application 819 used. In
configuring engine 815,
all of the contacts and appointment folders in database 20 associated with the
user are
identified. However, only those contacts and appointments folders of which the
user is either
an owner or administrator can be selected to be synchronized with data sources
in PIM
application 819, stemming from the requirement that a folder can only be
modified by its
owner or administrator, but not its read-only subscriber. Thus, in this
instance, since the user
is the owner of My Contacts folder 609 and My Appointments folder 608, the
user is afforded
options to synchronize folder 609 andlor folder 608 with the corresponding PIM
data sources
(e.g., PIM contacts list and/or PIM calendar) specified by the user.
In this instance, when engine 815 is first downloaded from server 28, it is a
"master"
version, which is provided to the user only once as the user can have only one
master PIM,
i.e., work computer 803 in this example. To that end, server 28 records the
master version
download event in association with the user's login (e.g., phone
number/username and
password) to prevent a second download of the master version of the
synchronization engine.
Barring any manual intervention, server 28 upon subsequent user request will
provide a
"slave" version of the synchronization engine for a second PIM of the user's,
presumably a
slave PIM. Master synchronization engine 815 differs from a slave
synchronization engine in
that the former allows a bidirectional synchronization of the data sources in
work computer
803 with the corresponding folders maintained by server 2$. On the other hand,
a slave
synchronization engine only allows a unidirectional synchronization, wherein
data in the
folders is allowed to be downloaded to a slave PIM to revise those in the
corresponding data
sources, but not the other way around. That is; any changes in the data
sources of the slave
PIM have no effect on the folders maintained by server 28. Except for
synchronization
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engine 815, a user home computer which is a slave PIM in this instance, may
have similar
PIM-related software to user work computer 803.
Information concerning the association of a folder with the PIM data source to
be
synchronized with the folder is stored in configuration file 827. After the
initial set-up of
engine 815 and file 827, each time when the user creates a folder or becomes
an administrator
of a folder, the user is afforded the option to associate the folder with the
corresponding PIlVI
data source.
The bidirectional synchronization may be initiated by the user or automated by
synchronization engine 815 to synchronize the specified folders with the
corresponding PIM
data sources from time to time through a communications connection with server
28. For
example, engine 815 may be programmed to perform unattended synchronizations
at
specif ed times, after computer 803 has been idle for a specified period, or
when the user logs
on/off computer 803. In addition, engine 815 may be programmed to suspend any
automated
synchronization while computer 803 is running on battery power. Similarly, the
unidirectional synchronization in a slave PIM may be performed under the
control of a slave
synchronization engine. Thus, with the above-described arrangement, any
revised data in
data sources in the master PIM, given time, will flow to the corresponding
data sources in
the slave PIM(s) through server 28, thereby synchronizing the master PIM data
sources with
those of slave PIM(s).
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, synchronization engine 815
provides for recovery records in case the user makes a mistake in a
synchronization with
server 28. The recovery records may be in an ASCII format, delimited (such as
pipe
delimited) and stored in computer 803 in a packed file (e.g., pkzip) to
efficiently utilize the
capacity of memory 812. The recovery records contain essential fields. For
example, as
shown in Fig. 20A, a contacts recovery record in this instance contains First
Name field 2203,
Last Name field 2205, Job Title field 2207, Company field 2209, Business
Address field
2211, Business Phone Number field 2213, Mobile Phone Number field 2215, Home
Phone
Number field 2217, E-Mail Address field 2219, and Web Address field 2221. As
shown in
Fig. 20B, a calendar (or appointments) recovery record in this instance
contains Subject field
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2251, Location field 2253, Attendees field 2255, Start Time and Date field
2257, End Time
and Date field 2259, and Note field 2261 which may contain first 100
characters of a
message. Recovery records are generated each time when a synchronization takes
place to
record the last version of the PIM data in their respective fields before the
synchronization.
The user may specify to synchronization engine 81 S how many days' worth of
recovery records are stored. Utility on computer 803 deletes unwanted or
expired recovery
records. Engine 815 also provides a "recovery" option, which allows the user
to select
desired recovery records from storage. In recovery mode, the user may select
to replace the
current calendar and/or contacts list, add new data or update the differences,
or both add and
update.
Dynamic Call Routing by Trend
The inventive routing of an information assistance call to the user's
preferred
information/call center is fully described before. Another inventive routing
strategy, barring
any user's preference, is premised upon the statistics of the originations and
content of
previous information assistance calls received. For example, for international
information
assistance calls originating from Asia, the entry to the instant service is
via a Los Angeles
(LA) information/call center. That is, the LA center initially receives all of
the calls from
Asia. The caller of one such call may ask for directory assistance concerning
a Chicago area.
In response, the LA center may search for the Chicago information and handles
the call even
though Chicago is not its service area. In an alternative embodiment, upon
learning the
content of the call, the LA center may immediately re-route the call to a
Chicago call center,
assuming that the operators there may better help the caller because of their
familiarity with
Chicago.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, based on the recent
history or
trend of the calls originating from the same area requesting information
concerning a second
area, such calls may be automatically re-routed to a different
information/call center normally
serving the second area. For example, if p of the last q calls originating
from Taiwan, which
were initially received by the LA center, request information concerning
Chicago, the
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
subsequent calls from Taiwan will automatically be re-routed by the LA center
to the
Chicago center whose operators are more knowledgeable about Chicago, thereby
better
assisting the caller, where p and q represent predetermined integers, q > p.
In practice,
computer 228 in the LA center keeps track of a running sum of calls (S) from
each region,
e.g., Taiwan, requesting information concerning an area normally not served by
the LA
center, e.g., Chicago. Thus, in this example, computer 228 determines whether
an incoming
call satisfies certain criteria before the running sum S associated with
Taiwan is incremented,
as indicated in step 1803 in Fig. 21, where S is initially set to zero. The
criteria are satisfied
when computer 228 determines that the ANI of the incoming call corresponds to
a Taiwan
origination, and (1) that a database concerning the Chicago area has been
invoked and
searched via server 226, which is in communication with computer 228, or (2)
that the
incoming call has been re-routed from the LA center to a Chicago center
through platform
203, which is also in communication with computer 228. If it is determined
that such
criteria are not satisfied, the subject routine returns to step 1803.
Otherwise, computer 228 at
step 1805 increments S by one. Computer 228 at step 1807 determines whether S
= p. If not,
the routine again returns to step 1803. Otherwise, the routine proceeds to
step 1809 where
computer 228 determines whether the p calls are included in the last q calls
originating from
the same region, i.e., Taiwan in this instance. If not, the routine proceeds
to step 1811 where
computer 228 resets S to zero and returns to step 1803 to restart the process.
Otherwise, if it
is determined that the p calls are included in the last q calls originating
from the same region,
computer 228 causes platform 203 automatically reroute the subsequent calls
from the same
region, i.e., Taiwan, to the Chicago center, as indicated in step 1813. After
the automatic
rerouting performed for a predetermined period or number of subsequent calls
from Taiwan,
the routine may return to step 1811 to re-assess the call trend.
Enhanced Telecommunications Service
In prior art, information assistance including, e.g., searching for a desired
destination
party's telephone number, is considered a special service. Information
assistance service
charges typically are tagged onto telecommunication charges for utilizing a
carrier's network
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facility to complete the user's call to the destination party. The information
assistance
service and the telecommunication service typically are priced on different
bases. For
example, the information assistance service charges typically are determined
on a per call
basis whereas the telecommunication charges are determined based on the
connection time,
although the two different charges for an information assistance call may be
consolidated in
the same bill to the user.
A new "enhanced" telecommunication (telecom) service concept has been
developed,
which stems from a recognition of the multifarious service features affordable
by an
information assistance service, which have been developed over time and
include, e.g.; the
personalized service features, private directory and calendar service
features, and concierge-
type service features described above. The enhanced telecom service is born
out of an
anticipation of a user's or a destination party's taking advantage of the
various information
assistance service features, even though the user when initially making a call
to the
destination party may have no intent to use any of the service features. In a
preferred
embodiment, the provider of the enhanced telecom service has both information
assistance
capability and network capacity for connecting a user to a destination party.
For example, an
enhanced telecom service provider may be an improved information assistance
service
provider having network capacity (e.g:, PSTN, wireless, and/or private network
capacity) at
its disposal, e.g., by leasing capacity and equipment from a carrier. Thus,
the enhanced
telecom service provider has end-to-end connectivity, readily providing
information
assistance to a user at his/her initiative during a call. With connectivity
costs within its
control, the enhanced telecom service provider may charge for the enhanced
telecom service
according to a single fee schedule, notwithstanding the fact that the user may
have utilized
both information assistance and telecom services during the same call, for
which in prior art
are charged according to the respective fee schedules. For example, the
provider may charge
the enhanced telecom service strictly on a connection time basis, e.g., 9
cents per minute of
the call, regardless of the number of invocations of information assistance
and connections to
different destination parties during the same call. Another time-based
arrangement may be a
flat fee for an initial block of minutes (e.g. $1.00 for the first 15 minutes)
of call time, after
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which there would be a fixed charge per minute. A flat fee for each call
regardless of the call
duration may also be practical under the present enhanced telecom service
model. A
"cafeteria" style plan which may involve separate charges for each service
provided may be
practical as well.
Advantageously, the enhanced telecom service model is conducive to saving such
administrative costs as would otherwise be incurred in prior art where the
information
assistance and telecommunication service charges are determined separately.
Especially
where the information assistance service provider and the carrier are
independent in prior art,
the administrative needs of collecting off line information concerning
assistance service
charges due the service provider, associating such charges with the
corresponding
telecommunication charges due the carrier, and combining both charges for
billing a user is
advantageously obviated by implementing the present enhanced telecom service
model.
However, it will be appreciated that even under the present enhanced telecom
service
model, a provider may still levy extra charges on a user for specific service
features.
The enhanced telecom service may be accessed via a designated telephone
number,
e.g., 1010-XXX-XXXX, 800-XXX-XXXX number, etc. Such a designated number may be
publicized in many ways. For instance, the number may be imprinted on a credit
card
(especially when services are charged to the credit card), prepaid calling
card, telephone
charge card, etc. When a user accesses the enhanced telecom service via the
designated
telephone number, in accordance with another aspect of the invention, the user
is afforded an
option to begin the call with an information assistance service, as indicated
at step 1003 in
Fig. 22. If the user selects such an option, the call is routed at step 1006
to an operator to
provide information assistance in a manner described below. (The term
"operator" used
herein broadly encompasses entities that are capable of providing information
assistance in a
telecommunication environment, including without limitation human operators,
voice
response/recognition capabilities, web-/WAP-enabled operator services, and
other automated
and electronic access.) Otherwise, if the aforementioned option is not
selected, the user is
prompted at step 1009 to enter the destination number which the user wants to
call, with the
understanding that he/she is able to invoke information assistance any time
during the call. In
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
fact, a technique for invoking information assistance and services during a
call by a caller or a
called party is described, e.g., in copending, commonly assigned Application
No. 10/313,712
filed on December 6, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference. For
example, using
the disclosed technique; a enhanced telecom service provider may monitor for a
predetermined signal such as a DTMF tone or SS7 out-of band signal initiated
by either
party's depressing a predetermined key on a telephone. Once one such signal is
detected, an
operator is conferenced into the call to provide information assistance to the
party(ies). At
step 1012 the user's call is routed to the destination party through a
telecommunication
network, wherein a device, e.g., in platform 203, is used to monitor on the
call connection for
the predetermined signal invoking information assistance, as indicated at step
1015. Thus,
depending on a detection of the predetermined signal, step 1015 may be
followed by step
1006 for providing information assistance (indicated by a dashed line
connection). It should
also be pointed out that step 1006 may be followed by step 1009 (indicated by
a dashed line
connection) when, for example, the information assistance provided at step
1006 includes
searching for a desired destination number, and connecting the user to the
desired destination
number.
In an alternative embodiment, the user may be provided with two enhanced
telecom
service access numbers, one of which corresponds to starting the user's call
with an
information assistance service, and the other corresponds to allowing the user
to call the
destination number directly, with the ability to invoke information assistance
anytime during
the call. In addition, different access numbers may be provided for different
branding.
A user when making a call through the enhanced telecom service may be
identified,
e.g., by an ANI, by an entry of a user identification (ID), password, PIN,
mother's maiden
name, etc., or by voice recognition, voice print, speaker verification or
other identification
techniques. As described before, the user may be afforded service features
specified in a user
profile record, e.g., identified by the ANI. The user profile record may
contain personal
preferences which may be selected by the user during an initial registration
with the enhanced
telecom service provider, and which may be modified subsequently.
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For example, the user may be an employee of a company, which subscribes to the
enhanced telecom service. The user profile record may specify the information
assistance
service features selected by the company, and identify access to the company's
corporate
directory and other company-specific services. In addition, if the user
utilizes the company's
facility to make an outside call, the user may be prompted for an entry of a
charge number
authorized by the company to fully take advantage of the enhanced telecom
service.
Billing for the enhanced telecom service may be by credit card, prepaid
calling card,
debit card, direct billing to subscribers, or billing through a third party
which may already
have a billing relationship with the subscribers for other services, e.g.,
utilities.
In an illustrative embodiment, the user calls the aforementioned designated
number to
access the enhanced telecom service. The call is routed through a
telecommunication
network to an information assistance center and terminated at switching matrix
platform 203
in information/call center 200. Referring to Figs. 2A and 22, once a call is
received, host
computer 228, in cooperation with voice server 230, carries out step 1003. If
the caller opts
to begin the call with information assistance, the call is routed to, or
queued for, an operator.
Otherwise, host computer 228 causes voice server 230 to prompt the caller to
enter a
destination number. In response to an entry of the destination number,
platform 203 routes
the call through an outgoing Tl span 214 to a destination party at the
destination number.
After the connection is made, either the caller or the destination party may
invoke an
information assistance service, and the operator would join the call through
platform 203 as a
conferenced party in a 3-way conference call. Either party could then request
the operator to
render information assistance, e.g., directory assistance, a concierge-type
service described
above, etc. Invocation of an information assistance service may be realized by
either party's
pressing a key (such as "0," "#," or "*") or voicing a command (e.g., uttering
"operator")
while a digital signal processing device in platform 203 is programmed to
monitor the call
connection for the resulting DTMF tone or voice command (i.e., a predetermined
signal).
It should be noted at this point that after the operator joins the call, the
caller may
exercise different options by voice commands or by pressing predetermined keys
on his/her
telephone (DTMF tones), respectively. For example, a first option may be
allowing the
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
caller to control the destination party's ability to hear any conversation
between the caller and
the operator. A second option may be allowing the caller to disconnect the
destination party
from the call so that the caller can have an exclusive conversation with the
operator.
User Identity Pre-Validation
When a user calls the instant service provider to subscribe, e.g., to the
enhanced
telecom service, he/she may provide his/her name, address, telephone number
(e.g., A1~TI) and '
credit card information for registration purposes, and authorize the
subsequent calls to be
charged to the credit card identified. In accordance with an aspect of the
invention, the
instant service provider, having access to a telephone directory database(s),
pre-validates the
credit card user by conducting a search of the directory database through
server 226 based on
the user information. Specifically, the service provider in this instance
verifies whether the
user's name, address and telephone number provided by the user correspond
according to the
directory database, as indicated at step 2003 in Fig. 23. In other words, the
directory database
is searched to verify whether the user in question is actually listed as
having the telephone
number and/or the address currently claimed by the user. If the user
information is verified,
the user's credit card is pre-validated, and the subject process may proceed
to step 2005
where a conventional credit card validation may be conducted. It should be
noted that a
conventional credit card validation each time incurs a fee, e.g., 22 cents, to
the instant service '
provider, regardless of whether the credit card is validated. The pre-
validation process of
Fig. 23 improves the success rate of conventional validation of a credit card,
thereby saving
unnecessary credit card validation costs.
If the user information cannot be verified at step 2003, the subject process
proceeds to
step 2007 where an operator may ask the user to explain the discrepancy,
especially when the
user information is similar to that in the directory database. At step 2009,
the operator
determines whether the user's explanation is satisfactory. If not, the user
may be denied the
service subscription, as indicated at step 2013. Otherwise, if the user's
explanation is
satisfactory, at step 2016 the operator may, with the user's approval, correct
the user's listing
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
in the directory database to adopt the information supplied by the user,
thereby updating the
directory database. The subject process then return to step 2005 described
before.
It should be noted that the above-described pre-validation process not only is
applicable to credit cards, but also debit cards, prepaid cards, and other
financially or legally
related instruments or transactions. In addition; for a modest fee other
entities may be
allowed, to access the directory database maintained by the instant service
provider to take
advantage of the pre-validation process.
The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. It will thus
be
appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous
other arrangements
which embody the principles of the invention and are thus within its spirit
and scope.
For example, the invention equally applies regardless of whether feature group
D
(FGD) type signaling, SS7 out-of band signaling or other signaling is used for
communications between carrier switches and switching matrix platform 203 of
Fig. 2A.
In addition, information/call center 200 may be configured differently from
the above-
described configuration. Fig. 24 illustrates an alternative information/call
center
configuration. As shown in Fig. 24, the alternative system has call interface
1405 in
information assistance service provider, which is no longer connected to
servicing platform
210. The functionality of platform 210 principally is carried out in carrier
network 1410 in
the alternative system. In fact, control device 1413 in network 1410 performs
similar
functions to host computer 228, and carrier switch 1415 performs not only its
conventional
carrier switching functions, but also those of switching matrix platform 203
described before,
under control of device 1413. In this alternative system, an information
assistance call is
recognized by control device 1413 when it is routed through carrier switch
1415. Device
1413 causes the information assistance call to be connected through one of pre-
designated
direct inward dial (DID) connections 1421 to provider 1403, which is received
by call
interface 1405 therein. Interface 1405, connected to operator telephones 218,
includes the
aforementioned ACD logic for distributing the call to an operator at one of
telephones 218 in
a conventional manner. In the event that the information assistance call needs
to be
connected to a desired destination number, the operator causes the destination
number and a
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CA 02453499 2003-12-16
"call completion" command to be transmitted to control device 1413 via
Internet connection
1423. In response, control device 1413 instructs switch 1415 to connect the
instant
information assistance call to the received destination number. As per the
instructions,
switch 1415 completes the call to the destination number.
Finally, information/call center 200 is disclosed herein in a form in which
various
functions are performed by discrete functional blocks. However, any one or
more of these
functions could equally well be embodied in an arrangement in which the
functions of any
one or more of those blocks or indeed, all of the functions thereof, are
realized, for example,
by one or more appropriately programmed processors.
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