Systems and methods for accessing conference calls

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10158762-B2
Application number	US-201615169085-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 31, 2016
Priority date	Mar 9, 2015
Publication date	Dec 18, 2018
Grant date	Dec 18, 2018

Abstract

Systems and methods notify an individual when the start time of a scheduled conference call is approaching. The systems and methods may also automatically connect the individual to the conference call. The systems and methods may obtain information about one or more scheduled conference calls directly from the individual's electronic calendar. The systems and methods may also receive a request from an individual to be connected to a conference call, and then act to automatically connect the individual to the conference call using information obtained from the individual's electronic calendar.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for connecting a telephony device to a conference call, comprising:
obtaining, using one or more processors, information about the conference call listed in an individual's electronic calendar, wherein the information includes at least a start time of the conference call;
determining a location of the individual;
identifying a telephony device located in close proximity to the individual; and
sending a query to the individual that asks the individual whether the individual would like to use the identified telephony device to participate in the conference call;
receiving and interpreting input from the individual that is provided in response to the query; and
setting up a communications channel between the conference call and the identified telephony device so that the individual can use the identified telephony device to participate in the conference call when the input received from the individual indicates that the individual would like to use the identified telephony device to participate in the conference call.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein sending a query comprises causing the query to be played to the individual by a voice interface.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein sending a query further comprises sending a query that asks the individual to identify an alternate telephony device or to provide an identifier of an alternate device that the individual would like to use to participate in the conference call if the individual does not wish to use the identified telephony device to particitpate in the conference call, and wherein the method further comprises setting up a communications channel between the conference call and the alternate telephony device or alternate device so that the individual can use the alternate telephony device or alternate device to participate in the conference call when the input received from the individual indicates that the individual would like to use the alternate telephony device or alternate device to participate in the conference call.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a location of the individual comprises receiving location information from a telephony device used by the individual.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein setting up a communications channel between the conference call and the identified telephony device comprises:
setting up a first communications channel between a telephony system and a conference call bridge for the conference call;
setting up a second communications channel between the telephony system and the identified telephony device; and
bridging together the first and second communications channels to create the communications channel between the conference call and the identified telephony device.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the timing of the performance of the bridging step is such that if the conference call bridge plays a query asking the individual to speak their name, that query will play after the bridging step has been performed.

7. A system for connecting a telephony device to a conference call, comprising:
means for obtaining information about the conference call listed in an individual's electronic calendar, wherein the information includes at least a start time of the conference call;
means for determining a location of the individual;
means for identifying a telephony device located in close proximity to the individual;
means for sending a query to the individual that asks the individual whether the individual would like to use the identified telephony device to participate in the conference call;
means for receiving and interpreting input from the individual that is provided in response to the query; and
means for setting up a communications channel between the conference call and the identified telephony device so that the individual can use the identified telephony device to participate in the conference call when the input received from the individual indicates that the individual would like to use the identified telephony device to participate in the conference call.

8. A system for connecting a telephony device to a conference call, comprising:
an electronic calendar interface comprising at least one processor that obtains information about the conference call listed in an individual's electronic calendar, wherein the information includes at least a start time of the conference call; and
a communication channel setup unit comprising at least one processor that:
determines a location of the individual;
identifies a telephony device located in close proximity to the individual;
sends a query to the individual that asks the individual whether the individual would like to use the identified telephony device to participate in the conference call;
receives and interprets input from the individual that is provided in response to the query; and
sets up a communications channel between the conference call and the identified telephony device so that the individual can use the identified telephony device to participate in the conference call when the input received from the individual indicates that the individual would like to use the identified telephony device to participate in the conference call.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the communication channel setup unit sends a query to the individual by causing the query to be played to the individual by a voice interface.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the query sent to the individual by the communication channel setup unit also asks the individual to identify an alternate telephony device or to provide an identifier of an alternate device that the individual would like to use to participate in the conference call if the individual does not wish to use the identified telephony device to participate in the conference call, and wherein the communication channel setup unit sets up a communications channel between the conference call and the alternate telephony device or alternate device so that the individual can use the alternate telephony device to alternate device to participate in the conference call when the input received from the individual indicates that the individual would like to use the alternate telephony device or alternate device to an participate in the conference call.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the communication setup unit determines a location of the individual based on location information received from a telephony device used by the individual.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the communication channel setup unit sets up a first communications channel between a telephony system and a conference call bridge for the conference call, sets up a second communications channel between the telephony system and the identified telephony device, and then bridges together the first and second communications channels to create the communications channel between the conference call and the identified telephony device.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the timing of the performance of the bridging step is such that if the conference call bridge plays a query asking the individual to speak their name, that query will play after the bridging step has been performed.

14. A method for connecting a telephony device to a conference call, comprising:
obtaining, using one or more processors, information about the conference call listed in an individual's electronic calendar, wherein the information includes at least a start time of the conference call;
determining a location of the individual;
generating a list of at least two telephony devices that are located in close proximity to the individual and that the individual m

Assignees

• Vonage Business Inc

Inventors

• Srinivasan Sanjay
• Hung Iv Antonio
• Efrati Tzahi

Classifications

• H04W4/14

  Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD] · CPC title

• H04M2203/2072

  Schedules, e.g. personal calendars · CPC title

• H04M2201/52

  Telephonic communication in combination with fax communication · CPC title

• H04M3/42059 Primary

  Making use of the calling party identifier · CPC title

• H04M2203/6081

  Service authorization mechanisms · CPC title