Patents Examined by Harry Hong
  • Patent number: 8693655
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer program products for provisioning a temporary disposable number are described. A user can be provided with a pool of available temporary disposable numbers that have a limited shelf life. The user can select one of the available temporary disposable numbers while submitting a permanent phone number associated with a communications device (e.g., mobile phone, home phone, business phone, etc.). Prior to activating the selected temporary disposable number, the temporary disposable number is linked to the permanent phone number. After activation, when an incoming call to the temporary disposable number is received, the permanent phone number is identified to be associated with the temporary disposable number being called. The incoming call is then forwarded to the communications device on which the permanent phone number is established.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: RingCentral, Inc.
    Inventors: Vi Dinh Chau, Naveen Gupta, Rituparna Mukherjee, Nisha K. Ahluwalia
  • Patent number: 8693664
    Abstract: A method and system for providing directory assistance to erroneous calls. The method and system includes an intercept system that intercepts erroneous calls and automatically routes them to a directory assistance service. The directory assistance service provides a least one advertisement and a variety of other services to the callers using current caller data and to one or more alternative numbers for the callers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Inventors: Blake Bookstaff, Robert B. Deming, William W. Fischer
  • Patent number: 8681960
    Abstract: An exemplary method provides access to call origination features contained in an internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) for a subscriber of the IMS who originates a call request from customer premises equipment (CPE) outside of the IMS. The call request is received at a public service identity (PSI) server in the IMS with a phone number to which the call request is routed. An IMS internal desk number is retrieved based on the number of the outside CPE. A first modified call request is transmitted from the PSI server to a telephony application server (TAS) identifying the IMS internal desk number as a request universal resource identity (RURI). Call origination treatment as specified by the subscriber is performed by the TAS.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: 8631654 Canada Inc.
    Inventors: Carl W. Amport, Jon R. Diener, John P. Ernst, Alan E. Frey, John A. Kerkstra, Simon S. Ou, Neenendra R. Pandya, John H. Schick, Andrew B. Struble, Norman R Tiedemann, Robert A. Trygar
  • Patent number: 8675854
    Abstract: A system and method for merging multi-modal communications are disclosed. The multi-modal communications can be synchronous, asynchronous and semi-synchronous. By way of a non-limiting example, at least two devices operating with varied modalities can be connected to a conferencing appliance. The conferencing appliance can integrate the differing modalities from the at least two devices by executing at least one of turn taking, conference identification, participant identification, ordering of interjections, modulation of meaning, expectation of shared awareness, floor domination and combination thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
    Inventors: Alain Michaud, Trung (Tim) Trinh, Tom Gray
  • Patent number: 8666038
    Abstract: There is described a method and telecommunication server for maintaining communication between at least two devices. A first incoming call for a first communication device is received at the communication server. The first incoming call for the first communication device is routed to a second communication device associated with the first communication device. A park data signal is received from the second communication device for placing a call to park. The call is placed to park and a park reminder message is sent to the first communication device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Robert J. James, Jr., Shen-Yuan Yap
  • Patent number: 8666059
    Abstract: A method and a device process data transmitted via a channel. The channel is at least partially represented by a symmetrical transfer matrix, wherein at least one off-diagonal matrix element of the transfer matrix is determined by its symmetric and/or transposed off-diagonal matrix element and its corresponding diagonal matrix elements of the transfer matrix. In addition, a communication system is provided containing such a device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: Nokia Siemens Networks OY
    Inventors: Dietmar Gernegross, Werner Kozek, Josef Mück
  • Patent number: 8660251
    Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for alerting a participant when a topic of interest is being discussed and/or a speaker of interest is speaking during a conference call. A participant to a conference call identifies the topics and/or speakers of interest which is stored for future use along with the participant's contact information. When a participant's identified topic of interest is being discussed and/or a participant's identified speaker of interest is speaking during a conference call, the participant will be alerted to that fact, such as via the means specified in the participant's contact information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Steven M. Miller, Lisa A. Seacat
  • Patent number: 8660258
    Abstract: A dialing strategy determination engine (DSDE) for selecting a dialing strategy for placing an outbound call has determination software executing on a computerized server from a machine-readable medium, access to stored dialing strategies, contact data, and a rules set, and a port for receiving a request for dialing strategy from an outbound dialer. The determination software, upon receiving a request for a dialing strategy associated with a contact identification, consults the rule set and the contact data, selects a dialing strategy based on the rules and the data, and returns the selected strategy to the outbound dialer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Vadim Zyarko, Stanislav Zgardovski, Oleksiy Kolomoyskyy
  • Patent number: 8654953
    Abstract: Managing subconference calls within a primary conference call. An approach includes establishing a primary conference call including a plurality of participants, establishing a subconference call including a subset of the plurality of participants, and providing respective output signals to each of the plurality of participants. Members of the primary conference call are provided with audio only of the primary conference call, and members of the subconference call are provided with audio of the subconference call. The approach also includes providing a visual display that shows respective groupings of members of the subconference call and members of the primary conference call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Gregory J. Boss, Andrew R. Jones, Charles S. Lingafelt, Kevin C. McConnell, John E. Moore, Jr.
  • Patent number: 8654946
    Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product are provided for sending a missed call notification to a receiver based on an instruction from a caller. In use, an instruction is received from a caller to send a missed call notification to a receiver. Additionally, at least one parameter associated with the instruction is identified. Further, the missed call notification is generated utilizing the at least one parameter. Moreover, the missed call notification is sent to the receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Amdocs Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Debabrata Patro, Gerald W. Mickelson
  • Patent number: 8654963
    Abstract: In a contact center, a system for processing communication events has an interaction server for managing events waiting to be routed, a routing server for routing the events, a rules engine, and a gateway server executing rules invocation logic and interacting with the rules engine. The interaction server tracks incoming events, initiates and sends a routing request to the routing server, including a special routing object, for each event that requires conformance to business rules, the routing server, executing the routing object, sends an execution request to the gateway server, which upon receipt of the request prepares a business object model (BOM), being a set of facts upon which the rules engine executes rules appropriate to the facts, resulting in routing direction for the routing server to route the event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Nikolay Anisimov, Yevgeniy Petrovykh, Mark Scott
  • Patent number: 8649495
    Abstract: The present invention is related to telecommunications. A call processing system receives a first call from a caller intended for a first person. A notification regarding the first call is transmitted over a network to a terminal associated with the first person. A user interface is displayed on the terminal via which the first person can indicate that a callback message is to be transmitted to the caller. The callback message is transmitted to the caller, wherein the callback message includes an identification of the first person, a callback control, and text indicating that the caller is to activate the control to initiate another call to the first person. At least partly in response to the caller activating the control, A second call to be placed via which the first person and caller are connected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: Callwave Communications, LLC
    Inventors: David C. McClintock, David S. Trandal
  • Patent number: 8649491
    Abstract: In a call center, a caller's geographical position may be mapped together with a geographical position of a call agent allocated to handle the call. A map may display tags depicting the respective positions of the caller and the call agent with a visual link indicating the call connection. The call agent may be selected dependent on the relative proximity to the caller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: West Corporation
    Inventors: James K Boutcher, Michael Joseph Parmeley
  • Patent number: 8644476
    Abstract: Method and communication system for providing a value added service, such as an intelligent network (IN) service, which is available in a first network (5), to a subscriber (3) in a second network (7). The first network (5) comprises a first network node (11) for executing the value added service. The method comprises detecting in a terminating call to the subscriber (3) that the subscriber (3) desires to use the value added service, forwarding control of the call towards the first network node (11) associated with a forwarding number in the first network (5), executing the value added service by the first network node (11), and, when necessary, further directing the call towards the subscriber (3) associated with the terminating call. The present method can also be applied to originating calls from a subscriber. In this case, the call is further directed towards a destination associated with the call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ)
    Inventor: Fedor Maas
  • Patent number: 8644458
    Abstract: A method processes and conditionally routes a call. The method includes receiving a call from a caller, determining a telephone number of the caller, and determining if the telephone number of the caller is a telephone number assigned to a specific individual. The method also includes accessing an electronic database to determine a stored language preference of the specific individual when the telephone number of the caller is determined to be assigned to a specific individual, prompting the caller to select a language preference when the specific individual does not have a stored language preference, and storing the language preference selected by the caller based on the prompting in an electronic database. The method further includes routing the call to a predetermined destination based on the stored language preference of the specific individual in the electronic database.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventors: Douglas F. Reynolds, Jeffrey L. Scruggs
  • Patent number: 8644498
    Abstract: An easy to use electronic device is provided. The electronic device functions as a telephone and has a display portion, an audio input portion, an audio output portion, and operation keys. The display portion has a passive element, and the operation keys have LEDs. The direction of an image displayed by the LEDs is switchable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Jun Koyama, Yu Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 8638921
    Abstract: In a telecommunication system configured to provide a connection between a caller and a callee via a telephone network, wherein the telephone network is configured to connect the caller and the callee, a method for allowing the callee to prevent the caller from establishing the connection with the callee. The method includes receiving an instruction from the callee to prevent the caller from establishing the connection with the callee and identifying a first telephone number associated with the caller. The method also includes preventing one or more phone calls from the first telephone number from being forwarded to a second telephone number associated with the callee.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2014
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventor: Mark Kirkpatrick
  • Patent number: 8638925
    Abstract: The availability of one or more agents of an institution to communicate with a user may be determined and reported to the user. An application on a user computing device may provide an indication as to how many agents are currently available to speak with the user and/or a wait time until an agent becomes available. The user computing device may display a call icon that the user may select to place a call to an available agent. The user computing device may display a call icon that the user may select to receive a callback from an available agent. Call volume statistics may be provided to the user and may be used to determine when an agent is most likely unavailable and/or most likely available.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2014
    Assignee: United Services Automotive Association (USAA)
    Inventor: Bradly Jay Billman
  • Patent number: 8634542
    Abstract: Apparatus and methods are disclosed for routing callers to agents in a contact center. Exemplary methods and system include using one of a plurality of different computer models for matching callers to agents, the model selected based on a degree and/or type of caller data available. The models may include queue routing, performance based matching, adaptive pattern matching algorithms, or other computer models for matching callers to agents. In one example, similar adaptive models may be used for two or more different degrees/types of caller data, but are trained differently, e.g., based on the degree/type of caller data. Different models for routing callers to agents may perform differently for different degrees/types of caller data. Further, training correlation or adaptive pattern matching algorithms based on different degrees/types of caller data may improve their respective performance compared to a single algorithm for all degrees/types of caller data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2014
    Assignee: Satmap International Holdings Limited
    Inventors: S. James P. Spottiswoode, Zia Chishti
  • Patent number: 8625771
    Abstract: In one embodiment, method can include: receiving an address in a call agent, the address being associated with a call; triggering a trunk group selection algorithm in response to at least a portion of the received address, the trunk group selection algorithm providing a selection result from among a trunk group placeholder and a plurality of trunk groups; and forwarding the call to a trunk group determined by a caller-associated attribute when the selection result comprises the trunk group placeholder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Niels Brunsgaard, Christopher E. Pearce