Telephonic communications – Special services – Conferencing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-08
2001-01-16
Smith, Creighton (Department: 2742)
Telephonic communications
Special services
Conferencing
C379S093210, C379S900000, C348S014160, C370S261000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06175619
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing telephone communications using on-line communication links to select and setup telephone connections while maintaining anonymity of calling and called parties.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Current computer network communications permit users to communicate with one another anonymously over dialed-up or other access lines. For example, on-line service providers allow users to connect their personal computers (PCs) together for purposes of anonymously communicating with one another. On-line service users can elect to participate in on-line text discussions using channels or “virtual rooms” devoted to discussions on general or specific topics. In such virtual or “chat” rooms (or a number of similar constructs) text “chats” take place in which users send text to one another or just observe (“listen”). Once a chat session is in place, on-line service users may elect to enter or exit a session at will. Generally, a list of users taking part in a chat are listed or otherwise indicated on each session user's computer screen. User identities in these lists usually take the form of “nicknames” or “handles” to preserve user anonymity, a hallmark of chat and many other forms of on-line communications.
Chat rooms are devoted to myriad subject areas selected by a service or system operator, or by the participants themselves. Procedures are in place in many of these on-line venues to request the establishment of a particular subject chat room for a fixed time or indefinitely. More recently, features such as “sub-chats” or “private chats” have been provided in some on-line contexts by which a subset (self-selected or upon request by others) of the on line chatters are moved to a separate chat (virtual) venue.
Another feature available in some chat sessions is “Instant Messaging” or similar-named facility by which one user in a chat session is able to send direct messages to one or more other users taking part in the chat. Thus, if side comments not appropriate for general observation are desired between two users, selection (usually by a screen message button) of the instant messaging feature results in a window on the selecting user's computer screen along with prompts for the intended message recipient and the content of the message. When the message originator completes these fields and a Send (or similar) screen button is pressed (clicked on), the message is sent privately to the intended recipient using the hosting message functionalities. Typical uses of these instant messages include setting up private chat rooms and inviting others to join.
While the chat sessions described above are all text chat rooms, i.e., all communication is via text messages between the chat session users, provision has been made of late for Voice Chat rooms. In typical voice chat rooms a number of users participate in a manner similar to a discussion by way of a telephone conference call. Often, in a voice chat room, there is no single host user—so voice inputs are often made simultaneously by more than one user. The result is sometimes that voice input, or some of it, is lost. Overall, however, modest sized conferences can proceed without untoward confusion or congestion.
The mechanism by which such voice chat sessions operate is usually the same or very closely related to those used in text chats. Thus, a functional voice chat “layer” can be added over what is basically a text chat session control mechanism. This is desirable because the chat server requires minimum changes to effectuate the voice capabilities. Moreover, such voice chats proceed entirely within the chat server (or servers for distributed chat networks). No connection to the telephone network (other than a datalink via modem or the like if no other connection to a data network access point is available) is required. While such voice chat conversations typically prove satisfactory for many purposes, private voice chat room functionality has not emerged. Among the factors contributing to this condition are the not-always-satisfactory quality of data network voice transmission, network host capacity and complexity of changes at such network chat hosts.
One approach to introducing voice communications between chat session users or in other communications settings is described in a co-pending patent application entitled “Anonymous Voice Communications” by R. B. Leipow, Ser. No. 08/573865, filed Jul. 2, 1996 and assigned to the assignee of the present application. In that application, which is hereby incorporated by reference in the present application as if set forth in its entirety herein, a trusted agent is used to establish voice communications between on-line parties while maintaining anonymity of the parties. The trusted agent is illustratively implemented as an adjunct to processor functions at a network server, such as an on-line chat server.
While efforts to achieve anonymous telephone communications between users in contexts like on-line chat sessions have proven possible, such efforts have generally required significant modifications at an on-line server that are applicable only to voice chat participants. Thus, in such contexts telephone functionality not otherwise used at a chat server is required to effect the desired anonymous voice communications between chat users or others similarly situated in other communications contexts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes limitations of the prior art and achieves a technical advance in providing anonymous voice communications using the telephone network under the direction of a call broker.
In a first illustrative embodiment, a user (the call initiator) present in a chat room session establishes a data connection to a telephone company site using, e.g., an Internet web browser. After using the browser to provide appropriate billing qualification (e.g., using credit card information) and to provide a callback number, the initiator receives a call-control applet from the telephone company site, thus establishing a Call Broker session. As is known, credit card information is advantageously captured in the browser to allow transfer over the Internet in encrypted form without requiring additional security measures in the applet. In this first illustrative implementation, the session is to be billed to the initiator.
The information received from the Call Broker includes session information (such as the telephone company URL) and a Participant Authorization Code (PAC). Using an instant messaging or similar selection button on the screen image for the received applet, the initiator causes a telephone company URL and participant code to be passed to a selected chat participant in the current chat room. When the chosen participant uses the received URL to go to the telephone company site, and enters the received participant code and a call-back number, the telephone company completes voice links to the initiator and the selected participant, typically in that order. The telephone call is thereby completed between the initiator and selected chat session participant without sharing telephone numbers.
If the initiator wishes to add another participant in the chat room to the voice session, the button on the applet again provides the same URL and a new participant code to the second selected chat session participant. Each participant code is typically different and allows at most one participant to join the voice session. This prevents promulgation of valid participant codes by anyone other than the initiator. As an alternative, multiple participants can use the same code, but this option is less secure since the possibility exists for abuse, where a participant may propagate a valid code without the knowledge of the initiator.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention there is no initiator in the sense of above described embodiment, but interaction with a call broker is accomplished on behalf of the would-be telephone call participants by the chat server(s). The chat server the
AT&T Corp.
Smith Creighton
LandOfFree
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