Smart notification system for voice calls

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11706332-B2
Application number	US-202117314996-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 7, 2021
Priority date	Dec 27, 2019
Publication date	Jul 18, 2023
Grant date	Jul 18, 2023

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for providing smart notifications during voice call transitions from hold status to active status are described. An example method can include establishing a call between an endpoint and a remote device; after a determination that the call was placed on hold by the remote device, monitoring, by the endpoint, the call for an indication of a call resume transition, the indication of the call resume transition including at least one of a particular keyword transmitted by the remote device, an active speaker at the remote device, and a dual-tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) input from the remote device; detecting, by the endpoint, the indication of the call resume transition; and in response to detecting the indication of the call resume transition, generating, by the endpoint, a notification indicating that the hold has ended and the call has resumed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
establishing a call between an endpoint and a remote device;
determining the call is placed on hold by the remote device;
monitoring, by the endpoint based on the call being placed on hold, the call for an indication of a call resume transition;
sending, by the endpoint to the remote device, one or more messages comprising instructions prompting a call participant at the remote device to utter a particular keyword when resuming the call from a hold state, wherein the one or more messages are sent after the call is placed on hold by the remote device;
detecting, by the endpoint, the indication of the call resume transition based on at least one utterance of the particular keyword by the call participant; and
in response to detecting the indication of the call resume transition, generating, by the endpoint, a notification indicating that the hold has ended and the call has resumed.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the endpoint, an input requesting to initiate a hold monitoring mode at the endpoint;
initiating, by the endpoint, the hold monitoring mode in response to the input; and
monitoring, by the endpoint, the call during the hold monitoring mode for the indication of the call resume transition.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the hold monitoring mode triggers the endpoint to monitor the call and generate the notification based on the detecting of the indication of the call resume transition.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the endpoint, a communication from the remote device, the communication comprising one or more utterances, wherein the communication is received after the call being placed on hold by the remote device;
recognizing, by the endpoint using automatic speech processing, speech corresponding to the one or more utterances, the speech comprising one or more words; and
detecting, by the endpoint, the particular keyword based on the recognized speech.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the particular keyword comprises a predefined word identified as a call resume transition keyword, and wherein detecting the at least one of the particular keyword comprises determining that at least one of the one or more words matches the predefined word.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting, by the endpoint, that the remote device has placed the call on hold based on at least one of an additional recognized keyword uttered by a first speaker at the remote device, a lack of communications received from the remote device for a period of time, or one or more utterances associated with a second speaker at the endpoint.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the endpoint, that a user associated with the endpoint has moved away from the endpoint;
determining, by the endpoint, that the user is within a proximity of a wireless device having at least one of audio capabilities or display capabilities; and
sending, by the endpoint to the wireless device, an instruction to output, via the at least one of the audio capabilities or the display capabilities, the notification indicating that the hold has ended and the call has resumed.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification comprises at least one of an audio notification or a visual notification, and wherein generating the notification comprises outputting the at least one of the audio notification or the visual notification.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first speaker is the call participant.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the user is the call participant.

11. An apparatus comprising:
one or more processors; and
at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
establish a call with a remote device;
determine the call is placed on hold by the remote device;
monitor, based on the call being placed on hold, the call for an indication of a call resume transition;
send, to the remote device, one or more messages comprising instructions prompting a call participant at the remote device to utter a particular keyword when resuming the call from a hold state, wherein the one or more messages are sent after the call is placed on hold by the remote device;
detect the indication of the call resume transition based on at least one utterance of the particular keyword by the call participant; and
in response to detecting the indication of the call resume transition, generate a notification indicating that the hold has ended and the call has resumed.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
receive an input requesting to initiate a hold monitoring mode at the apparatus;
initiate the hold monitoring mode in response to the input; and
monitor the call during the hold monitoring mode for the indication of the call resume transition.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the hold monitoring mode triggers the apparatus to monitor the call and generate the notification based on the detecting of the indication of the call resume transition.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
receive a communication from the remote device, the communication comprising one or more utterances, wherein the communication is received after the call being placed on hold by the remote device;
recognize, using automatic speech processing, speech corresponding to the one or more utterances, the speech comprising one or more words; and
detect the particular keyword based on the recognized speech.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the particular keyword comprises a predefined word identified as a call resume transition keyword, and wherein detecting the at least one of the particular keyword comprises determining that at least one of the one or more words matches the predefined word.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 , the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
detect that the remote device has placed the call on hold based on at least one of an additional recognized keyword uttered by a first speaker at the remote device, a lack of communications received from the remote device for a period of time, or one or more utterances associated with a second speaker at the apparatus.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 , the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
determine that a user associated with the apparatus has moved away from the apparatus;
determine that the user is within a proximity of a wireless device having at least one of audio capabilities or display capabilities; and
send, to the wireless device, an instruction to output, via the at least one of the audio capabilities or the display capabilities, the notification indicating that the hold has ended and the call has resumed.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the notification comprises at least one of an audio notification or a visual notification, and wherein generating the notification comprises outputting the at least one of the audio notification or the visual notificatio

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Patakokila Satish Babu
• Katkam Ramprasad
• Dommaraju Dinesh Kumar
• Darisi Venkata Leela Kiran

Classifications

• H04M1/82 Primary

  Line monitoring circuits for call progress or status discrimination {(for detecting caller identity H04M1/573)} · CPC title

• H04M3/4286 Primary

  Notifying a held subscriber when his held call is removed from hold · CPC title

• H04M7/1295

  Details of dual tone multiple frequency signalling · CPC title

• H04M2250/74

  with voice recognition means · CPC title

• H04M1/724

  User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones · CPC title