COMMUNICATION ROUTING SERVER AND METHOD
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication routing server
and communication routing method which enable communication to a
user having a plurality of different types of communication devices each
identified by a specific contact address. More particularly, the present
invention relates to a communication routing server which stores contact
information of a user thereof under a user specific code, which code
enables an individual to communicate with a communication device of
the plurality of communication devices which are at the disposal of the
user iegardless of the type of the device, the communication method
therewith or the specific contact address of the device.
Over the past decade advances in telecommunication have lead to
the development of a myriad of telecommunication modes and devices
with which one, or two-way communication between individuals can be
effected. At present, an individual wishing to contact another individual
can chose from various communication modes including, but not limited
to, standard and cellular telephony, facsimile, Internet communication
including electronic-mail (e-mail), dedicated chat programs such as ICQ
and Internet telephony including video conferencing.
As a result, communication between individuals can be effected
via several communication modes each identified by a distinct and
dedicated contact information and each effected via a different
communication method. For example, an individual can be contacted
through a telephone number, a cellular communication device number, a
facsimile number, an e-mail address or an ICQ address.
Although having several communication modes and device types
to chose from substantially increases the possibility of contacting a
specific individual, the plurality of dedicated contact means specific to
each individual generates several inherent limitations.
For example, a person wishing to contact friends, family members
or business associates must have at his/her disposal contact information
for each of the communication devices being at the disposal of these
individuals. Since information for each device contains a plurality of
characters, and since each individual typically has more than one
ice
at his/her disposal, contact information for these individuals is often
stored b\ this person in. for example, a personal organizer which is not
always at the disposal thereof.
Furthermore, contact information can oftentimes change due to.
for example, a change in address. Thus, individuals are forced to
periodically update contact information accessed thereby. Although,
telephone companies and Internet service providers often provide
individuals with rerouting in the form of notification or automatic
forwarding, such rerouting is time limited and as such, does not free
contacting individuals from updating the contact information stored
thereby.
A further limitation to present day communication devices is the
inability of one type of communication device to directly communicate
with another type of device. This limitation arises from non-unified data
formats, transmission protocols or encoding, or from a lack of
communication between the communication servers or routers servicing
such devices.
The present invention tra\ erses the limitations described above by
providing a communication routing server and method which enable
communication with a user regardless of the type or contact address of
the communication device utilized thereby. The present invention
provides a user thereof with an identifying code, which when entered by
a contacting individual enables this individual to communicate, either in
real time or by a one-way data transfer, with any selected or available
communication device which is at the disposal of the user regardless of
the specific contact address of the device. In addition, the present
invention enables the data transfer between different types of devices
regardless of data format or transfer protocols and methods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided
a communication routing server enabling communication to a user having
a plurality of communication devices, the communication routing server
comprising a data server being for storing user specific contact
information of each communication device of the plurality' of
communication dev ices being at the disposal of the user, the user being
contactable via a user specific code, wherein data communicated from a
sender to the user is routed by the data server to one of the pluralitλ' of
communication devices selected by the sender, or alternatively by the
data server according to a format of the data.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is
provided a communication routing method enabling communication to a
user having a plurality of communication devices, the method comprising
using a data server for effecting the steps of (a) storing user specific
contact information of each communication device of the pluralitλ of
communication deλϊces being at the disposal of the user, the user being
contactable via a user specific code; and (b) routing data communicated
to the user from a sender to one of the plurality of communication
devices being at the disposal of the user, wherein one of the plurality of
communication devices is selected by the sender, or alternatively by the
data server according to a format of the data.
According to further features in preferred embodiments of the
invention described below, the data server is in communication with at
least one communication server selected from the group consisting of a
telephone communication server, a cellular communication server and an
Internet communication server.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments the user specific contact information is selected from the
group consisting of a telephone number, a cellular communication device
number, a facsimile number, an e-mail address and an ICQ address.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments the user specific code includes a string of characters.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments the user specific code includes the user specific contact
information of one communication device of the plurality of
communication deλ'ice being at the disposal of the user.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments data communicable from the sender is selected from the
group consisting of digitized data and analog data.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments data received by one of the plurality of communication
devices is selected from the group consisting of digitized data or analog
data.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments the digitized data is of a format selected from the group
consisting of a textual format, an audio format and an image format.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments the data is communicable by the sender from a telephone, a
cellular communication device, a facsimile and/or a computer.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments the data is communicable from an Internet communication
client operating in the computer or the cellular communication device.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments the Internet communication client is selected from the
group consisting of an e-mail client an ICQ client, an Internet telephone
an Internet video conferencing.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments the data server is capable of converting the data from a first
format into a second format.
According to still further features in the described preferred
embodiments the first and the second formats are each independently
selected from the group consisting of a textual format, an audio format
and an image format, whereas the first and the second formats are
different.
The present invention successfully addresses the shortcomings of
the presently known configurations by providing a communication
routing server and method which enables individual to communicate with
a communication device of the plurality of communication devices which
are at the disposal of the user regardless of the device type, or contact
address or the communication method utilized thereby.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with
reference to the accompanying drawing. With specific reference now to
the drawing in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way
of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred
embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in the
cause of proλ-iding what is believed to be the most useful and readily
understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the
invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of
the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental
understanding of the invention, the description taken w ith the drawing
making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the
invention may be embodied in practice.
The sole drawing, which is referred to hereinbelow as Figure 1, is
a black box diagram depicting communication between communication
devices as effected by the communication routing server of the present
invention and the various communication servers communicating
therewith.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention is of a communication routing server and
method which can be used to enable communication with a user through
a plurality of communication devices being at his/her disposal, regardless
of the device type or the specific contact address of that device,
specifically, the present invention can be used to enable communication
between different types of communication devices, which can be. for
example, serviced by a different communication servers and/or capable
of communicating data of different formats. In addition, the present
invention enables a sender to communicate data to any of the plurality of
communication devices of a user, via a single input of a user specific
code.
The principles and operation of the present invention ma}' be
better understood with reference to the drawing and accompanying
descriptions.
Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in
detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its
application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the
drawing. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being
practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that
the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of
description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Referring now to the drawing, Figure 1 illustrates the
communication routing server according to the present invention, which
is referred to herein as server 10.
Server 10 serves for enabling communication to a user having a
pluralitλ' of communication devices. As used herein the term
"communication" refers to either one-way or two-way data transfer. One
way data transfer is exemplified by facsimile or e-mail transmissions,
while two-way data transfer is exemplified by a telephone conversation a
video conference or Internet based chat enabled, by for example, a
computer operating an ICQ client.
As used herein the term "computer" refers to a personal computer
(PC) having an operating system such as DOS. Windows™, OS/2™ or
Linux; Macintosh™ computers: computers having JAVA™-OS as the
operating system; and graphical workstations such as the computers of
Sun Microsystems™ and Silicon Graphics™, and other computers having
some version of the UNIX operating system such as AIX™ or SOLARIS
™ of Sun Microsystems™; a PalmPilot™, a PilotPC™, Nokia
Communicator™ or any other hand held device: or any other known and
available operating system. The term further includes mobile cellular
telephone devices and mobile cellular communicator devices having, in
addition to telephone properties, capabilities similar to those of a
personal computer (PC) or a personal digital assistant (PDA). Still the
term further includes what is known in the art as "Web TV".
Hereinafter, the term "Windows™" includes but is not limited to
Windows95™. Windows 3.x™ in which "x" is an integer such as " 1 ".
Windows NT™. Windows98™. Windows2000™. Windows CE™ and
any upgraded versions of these operating sy stems by Microsoft Inc.
(Seattle, Washington. USA).
Server 10 of the present invention, includes a data server 12 which
serves for storing user specific contact information. Data server 12
according to the present invention also includes data communication
capabilities proλ'ided by a communication server which is in
communication with, or preferably integrated into data server 12. It w ill
be appreciated that data ser er 12 can be a single sen er or any number of
servers, providing, for example, global coverage via any number of
dedicated data servers 12. It will be appreciated that such dedicated
servers can be geographically dedicated to, for example a city, a country,
or a state, or alternatively such servers can be dedicated to a corporate
entity or the like. In any case, such dedicated servers 12 are preferably
capable of intercommunication therebetween, such that specific
information stored by each server 12 is available to a contacting
individual.
As used herein, the phrase "contact information" refers to any
contact address information which can be utilized to contact a specific
communication device 16 of the plurality of communication devices
being at the disposal of the user. Thus, such information can include
business and/or home contact information, including, but not limited to.
standard and cellular telephone numbers, facsimile number(s). e-mail
address, ICQ address, computer IP address, Internet telephone number,
street address and the like. This information can be inputted into data
server 12 by the user, via for example a telephone, facsimile or the
Internet. Alternatively, each of device 16 of the user can automatically
forward server 12 with it's address information, either on command from
the user or, for example, when device 16 is first activated by the user. It
will be appreciated that when an address is automatically provided to
data server 12 additional information identifying the user is also provided
to data server 12, either by device 16 or the user.
This information is stored in data server 12 in, for example, a
directory or file which is identifiable by a user specific code. Such a user
specific code can be for example, an alias of the user or any code
including a specific string of characters which identifies this user to data
server 12. For example, this code can be composed from the name of the
user or any abbreviation thereof. Alternatively or additionally the contact
information of any device 16, or any portion thereof, can also identify the
user to data server 12. In any case, this code, enables a sender utilizing
any communication device 14. to communicate data in any format to one
communication device 16 of the plurality of communication devices
λvhich are at the disposal of the user.
Data server 12 serves for receiving data from device 14 in a
textual, audio or image format, preferably in digitized form, and routing
and/or translating this data into any format receivable by device 16 of the
user. It w ill be appreciated that the type of device 16 can either be
selected by the sender, via a command, or determined by data server 12
according to the type and format of the data communicated thereto.
According to preferred embodiments of the present invention,
communication devices 14 and 16 can each be, for example, a cellular
telephone, a standard telephone, a facsimile, a computer or any devices
capable of direct (device to device) or indirect (communications server
mediated) intercommunication. Integrated device are also included.
Such devices include, for example, a computer having a modem and
which operates a facsimile software or which further includes a
microphone and speakers and operates a telephony software, a cellular
communication device having facsimile and PC capabilities, etc.
Thus, according to one embodiment of the present invention
devices 14 and 16 are capable of direct communication therebetween
(e.g. wireless). In such cases, device 14. for example, can establish direct
communication with data server 12, such that address information which
is stored therein and which pertains to a user of device 16 can be
communicated directly to the individual operating device 14. It will be
appreciated in this case, that data server 12 includes all the necessary
hardware and software such that direct communication with device 14
can be effected. It will further be appreciated, that such direct
communication can also be used by data server 12 to route any one way
data transfer between devices 14 and 16 as is further described above.
Alternatively, and as shown in Figure 1, devices 14 and/or 16
communicate via servers. Thus, according to this embodiment of the
present invention, data server 12 is in communication with various
communication servers so as to enable communication with various types
of devices 14 and 16. Examples of such communication servers include,
but are not limited to, a telephone communication server 18. a cellular
communication server 20 and/or an Internet communication server 22. It
will be appreciated, that this ability to communicate with servers 18. 20
and 22 also enables data server 12, providing proper authorization, to
automatically retrieve and/or update any contact address information of a
specific user device 16 serviced by server 18, 20 or 22.
It will be appreciated that in order to enable devices 14 and 16 to
establish communication with server 12. servers 18. 20 and 22 must
include activation codes which when activated, route incoming
communication to data server 12. This activation code would typically
be followed by a user specific code such that communication can be
routed to a specific user with which communication is desired.
Once communication is established between device 14 of the
sender and data server 12, information communicated from device 14 is
processed by data server 12 according the type of device 16 to which the
information is to be routed by data server 12. It will be appreciated that
in the case where communication is to be established between similar
devices 14 and 16 such as, for example, a telephone to telephone audio
communication, data server 12 can either establish this communication or
it can re-route device 14 to communication server 18 or 20 for
establishment of communication, in any case this communication is
preferably maintained by communication servers 18 and/or 20.
According to the present invention, data received by data server
12 can be converted into any format which is receivable by device 16.
This format is determined by data server 12 or according to the type of
device 16 selected by sender. For example, if the sender specifies the
type of device 16 to which the data is to be routed, then data server 12
will convert this data from one format to another (if necessary) and route
it to device 16 selected. Alternatively, if the sender does not specify the
type of device 16, data server 12 will route this data to a device 16 which
is most suited for receiving the format of the data communicated from
device 14, typically a device of a similar type to device 14.
It will be appreciated that since data server 12 can communicate
λvith several types of devices 16, in a case where one device, which is
either selected by data server 12 or by the sender is not on-line, data
server can route the data to another device 16 which is on-line.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present
invention, data communicated by the sender can be of any data format.
such as. but not limited to. textual (including graphical), audio, or image
format (including video). This data which is communicated via any
communication protocol, can also be encoded and/or compressed.
To enable routing of such data, data server 12 according to the
present invention is provided with the appropriate software and hardware
components so as to enable the conλ ersion of data from a first format,
such as a textual foπnat. an audio format or an image format, into a
second and different format.
For example, to be able to convert audio data such as a spoken
language, into a text file or λ ce versa, data server 12 of the present
invention includes speech recognition software capable of speech to text
or text to speech conversions. Such software is well known in the art.
In addition, data server 12 can also include additional software for
translating one spoken language, provided as textual or audio data, into
another spoken language. Such software is also known in the art.
It will be appreciated that converting from one data format to
another enables data server 12 of the present invention to communicate
data between a variety of types of communication devices 14 and 16. For
example, by converting audio data provided by the sender via. for
example, a telephone, into textual data included in a text file, sender
provided audio information can be routed by data server 12, as either an
e-mail message or a facsimile to the appropriate device 16 of the user.
In another example, data server 12 can include optical character
recognition (OCR) software such that an image data of text included in a
facsimile received by data server 12 from a facsimile device 14 of the
sender, can be converted into an editable text file which can be routed as
an e-mail message to a computer device 16 of the user.
In yet another example, video information provided, for example,
from a video capable cellular communication device 14, can be converted
into a Quicktime™ movie and routed as an e-mail attachment to a
computer device 16 of the user.
It λvill be appreciated that the present invention is especially
advantageous in cases where direct two-way communication cannot be
established. In such cases routing of data into available receiving devices
is of great advantage since it enables communication between users
which cannot otherwise establish communication. For example, at
present, vocal information (audio data) from a telephone cannot be sent
to a facsimile device. By utilizing the present invention this audio data
can be converted into text and routed to a facsimile device.
Another advantage to the present invention is provided by the
user specific code. The use of such a code, which can be the users name
or an alias, enables the establishment of communication with any
communication device of the user, and as such frees the person wishing
to establish communication with the user from the burden of having to
store or memorize a plurality of contact numbers and addresses for that
user.
The use of a user specific code also enables a user of the present
invention to change contact information such as a telephone number or
an e-mail address without having to notify individuals of this change.
This feature of the present invention is particularly advantageous
to businesses which can also be users of server 10 of the present
invention. Thus, a business user of the present invention is freed from
the need to notify an often large client list, of any changes in contact
information, should such change occur.
It will be appreciated that the contact information of a user can be
provided to data server 12 via telephony, facsimile or the Internet. The
information provided can be made available in its entirety to other
individuals wishing to contact the user, or alternatively any portion of
this information can be blocked off to specific individuals. For example,
individuals defined as business associates by the user can be authorized
to only a portion of the contact information which portion enables
communication with business related communication devices of the user.
Alternatively a user may be identified by several user specific codes,
each enabling access to a portion of the contact information thereof.
Thus business associates in this case, will be proλ'ided with the user
specific code which entitles communication access to business related
communication devices.
It will be appreciated that the actual telephone numbers, e-mail
addresses and the like included in the contact information of the user
which are utilized by server 10 in order to route communication are
typically invisible to individuals wishing to contact the user. However,
users wishing to receive contact information on a specific user may
access and search through some of the data stored in data server 10.
It will be appreciated that the above described features of the
present invention are also advantageous in cases where a user is
contacted via contact information such as a telephone number. In this
case, if a telephone number dialed for a user is no longer active, server 10
can inquire as to the identity of the dialed party and re-route the call to
the user if so identified. This feature of the present invention, is also
enabled for other contact information such as an e-mail or ICQ address or
a facsimile number.
It will be appreciated that under certain circumstances, re-routing
can be performed without the need for inquiry, providing server 10 can
automaticalK obtain information as to the time and date a certain
telephone number or e-mail address was stored in a computer or a
telephone memory.
For example, since server 10 tracks and stores information
pertaining to past and present contact information, server 10 can
determine if an e-mail message sent from a specific Internet server is
intended for the user which once utilized this address. This is effected by
simply comparing the time and date of either the first time mail was sent
to the user's address from the address of the sender, or alternatively by
gaining authorized access into the senders stored address information and
determining the time and date of initial storage.
Thus, the present invention enables communication of data of
various formats between similar or different types of communication
devices. In addition, by providing a user specific code, through which
contact with the user is enabled, the present invention frees users from
the burden of having to notify contacting individuals of a change in
contact information. Finally, since the present invention can store past
contact information of a user, it enables individuals utilizing now
abandoned contact information to contact the user.
Although the invention has been described in conjunction with
specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives,
modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications
and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended
claims.