Abstract:
A technique that allows an advertising supported information service to hand off a call in progress to another system, such as may be provided by a third party service provider, for all or part of the call. This permits the analysis of the results of a query, playback of an advertisement, read back of the requested telephone number, or call completion, etc. by third party system(s).

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION(S)  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/818,083, filed on Jun. 30, 2006. The entire teachings of the above application are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     There continues to be a great demand for telephone directory assistance services. Nearly all directory assistance calls that are placed by consumers are those looking for a telephone number for a specific business or individual. These services have become a very large revenue center for both wired and wireless telephony carriers, with very high profit margins. Consumers are often charged one dollar ($1 U.S.) or more for such calls.  
         [0003]     Certain alternatives to traditional pay per call (PPC) directory assistance have recently emerged. One such system is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0171520, filed as application Ser. No. 11/291,094, on Nov. 29, 2005, entitled “Telephone Search Supported by Key Word Map to Advertising,” by Scott A. Kliger, which application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Such a service is supported by dynamically targeted, and even interactive, audio advertisements that are played in response to a consumer initiated request for information.  
         [0004]     In a typical embodiment of that system, a consumer dials an information access telephone number and is connected to a information service, i.e., “411”, or other call processing system. The call processing system receives a verbal request for information from the consumer and determines a response. For example, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system or human operator can examine the request for the presence or one or more keywords. The keyword(s) are then used to determine a subject matter area associated with the request, and an advertisement categorized within the associated subject matter area is identified. The selected advertisement can then be retrieved as a stored audio file or as a text file that is converted to audible speech such as a through a Text To Speech (TTS) system, or as a text file that is displayed and read back to the consumer by human operator. As a result, this type of system can be used to provide an alternative to Pay Per Call (PPC) services that supports a “free to consumer” yellow or white pages directory search.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The present invention is an adaptation of the free to consumer directory information system described in the above-referenced patent publication. Specifically, the present invention allows the advertising supported information service to hand off a call in progress to another system, such as may be provided by a third party service provider, for all or part of the call. This permits the analysis of the results of a query, playback of an advertisement, read back of the requested telephone number, or call completion, etc. by third party system(s).  
         [0006]     Moreover, assuming that the original call placed by the consumer occurs in-band on a telephony channel, a problem exists in that the in-band channel is being used to carry audio. There is no data channel to communicate the result of the query to or from a third party, or to perform other parts of the service.  
         [0007]     The present invention resolves this problem by proceeding as follows. The information service sends an Out of Band (OOB) message over another network connection. This connection may be provided by Short Messaging Service (SMS), or in a preferred embodiment, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) over a TCP/IP connection such as via a PUT message. The OOB message contains a query string and/or other instructions for the third party. In one embodiment, the third party may be an advertising service. The advertising service receives the query and analyzes it either for example, to select an ad. The third party system then bridges the call and plays back the ad using a Text To Speech (TTS) system local to the third party service.  
         [0008]     In other aspects of the invention, since the communication between the information service and the advertising service is out of band, there must be a way of uniquely identifying the call so that the correct ad is played back (or other information associated with) to correct caller on the correct in-band channel.) Unfortunately, caller ID or ANI information is not sufficient since two callers from the same Private Branch exchange (PBX) or a carrier who sets the caller ID can in fact call at the same time.  
         [0009]     Thus, the present invention allows for setting the ANI on the bridge between the information service automation platform and the third party service to a unique ID parameter. The unique ID parameter may be between four and up to the full ten digits of the ANI. The ID uniquely identifies the call so that the match can be made when the number is returned to the advertising service.  
         [0010]     A data channel/protocol can be provided between the callers using the same approach.  
         [0011]     As an optional step, the advertising service can then also provide information back to the information service, again identified by the unique ID.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system that delivers dynamically targeted audio advertisements in response to a consumer initiated request for information.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart of steps performed by the system to select and play back an audio advertisement.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a detailed view of a message that can be sent between an information service and an advertising service.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]     A description of preferred embodiments of the invention follows.  
         [0017]     With reference to  FIG. 1 , the invention can be implemented using an automated information service (i.e., one that provides “411” directory information)  101  that uses a server  110  which can receive information originating from a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)  104 , specifically via a call originating from a consumer who is using a telephone  102 .  
         [0018]     The server  110  can receive information requests and respond in many ways. In one preferred arrangement, the information is provided as audio signals to an Interactive Voice Response (IVR)/Automated Voice Recognition (AVR) system  106 . The IVR portion of  106  has some type of interface to obtain a search request from the user, and provide the request as data output. For example, the information request can be provided in data form via a keypad (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) digits), by providing it via a text message (such as via a Short Message Service (SMS)) by voice recognition software that recognizes speech, and/or via a live operator who speaks to the consumer live and then keys in the request as text. The AVR portion of system  106  provided automatic recognition of the voice signals provided by the consumer.  
         [0019]     The server  110  for information service  101  is connected through the Internet (and/or local networks) to various other databases and/or information servers. These include, for example, databases that are local to the application server  110  such as a listings database  120 , keyword database  160  and for a reverse Automatic Number Identifier (ANI) database  170 . Other databases and/or services may be remotely located and accessible through a third party service, such as an ad server  103 , a consumer profile database  140 , a business listings database  190 . Other paid-subscription or free services or databases can also be available through another application server  115  associated with an advertising service  103 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  should be considered as but one possible logical view of the various databases; that is, although the drawings illustrates these databases as individual discrete entities each having their own server, it should be understood that one, several, or all of the databases may be consolidated in one physical machine, or that one or more of the databases may be so large as to be distributed among multiple servers and physical processors and/or disk drives. It should also be understood that listing database  120 , keywords database  16 , and/or reverse ANI database  170  may be resident on ad service  103  or elsewhere in an accessible network  105 .  
         [0021]     In general, the application server  110  crafts a search query from the information supplied by the consumer via the telephone  102 . The results of the search query are then submitted to the ad service  103 . More particular, in one embodiment, the server  110  takes the consumer request, such as for a directory listing, and submits it to private listings database  120 . The listings database  120  contains information concerning advertisers who have paid a fee to be listed in the system or agreed to pay for each call which is directed to them as the result of a consumer inquiry.  
         [0022]     For example, if the search request comes in on a particular telephone number, that telephone number can then be used to obtain a location of the calling telephone  102 . This location can then be combined with the category of the search request as a submission to the listings  120  database.  
         [0023]     Also note that the listings database  120  is not necessarily limited to just having a list of businesses as grouped into categories by a local telephone exchange service provider. For example, custom groupings may be determined by the system provider, such as by grouping businesses by their telephone number, or other combinations without regard to specific, predefined business or services categories.  
         [0024]     Another database that may be kept is a keywords database  160 . As will be understood below, the keywords database is used to further refine selection of an advertisement when the consumer&#39;s initial request does not map directly to a listing and/or category in the listings database  120 . The keywords database  160  may be located several different places, such as a separate database  160 , or it may be part of the listings  120  or business database  190 , or part of the server  110  or  115  itself.  
         [0025]     A successful query in the listings database  120  or keyword  160  identifies information that is sent to ad service  103  to select one or more telephone numbers associated with one or more requests by the consumer  102 . Typically, the requested number correlates to a selected ad to be played, based on a number of criteria such as which advertiser bid the most for the ad, or which advertiser provides the best offer to the consumer, etc.  
         [0026]     The identified ad is then played back from ad service  103 . The consumer then hears the advertising message(s) in response to her search request. The ads may be stored as digitally encoded audio files (MP3, WAV, etc.) or as text files. In the case of digitally encoded audio file, they are played back to the consumer  102  as an audio signal. However, if stored as a text file, they may first be processed through Text to Speech (TTS) equipment  180 , or alternatively, displayed on the users device (e.g., from a reply SMS message).  
         [0027]     The application server  115  (in ad service  103 ) can also access a business database  190  which may be hosted by another service provider, for example as a paid service, to locate information that is not in the listings database  120 . The business database query  190  can be used, for example, to provide general information listings responsive to the user&#39;s request, as further means to select an ad or information to play back.  
         [0028]     As for the case of the listings database  120 , the location of the caller can be determined by making a query to the reverse ANI database  170  prior to querying the listings database  120 . (Please note that the standard ANI service provides information concerning the calling parties&#39; telephone number, such as might also be determined from the phone number portion of a “caller ID” determination, although ANI is not the same service as caller ID in the United States.)  
         [0029]     Further information may be maintained in a consumer profile database  140  that is kept on a per telephone number basis. Such information may include, but is not limited to, data indicating past queries and responses to those inquires. It should be understood that other identifiers may be used to specify a particular individual consumer. For example, the system may keep data on a home phone number, a mobile phone number, and an office phone number together with a unique identifier for the individual. This may also be beneficial as many people now use more than one number.  
         [0030]     More particularly now, note that if the ad service  103  is used to look up and play back the advertisement, this is done through the expedient of setting up a conference bridge through network  104  such that TTS  180  in ad service  103  can play back an audio signal on the same connection as the original voice call between consumer telephone  102  and information service  101 . The original voice call  114  was set up through network  104  by creating a connection through switches  107 - 1 ,  107 - 2 ,  107 - n  such as through a Signaling System 7 (SS7) controller  108 .  
         [0031]     However, in order for ad service  103  to locate an ad by analyzing the request, it must first somehow receive the request. iAssuming that the original request is made via a telephone calls through network  104  and made in band on a voice telephony channel, there is no data channel to communicate the result of the search by information service  101 . In accordance with the present invention, the information service  101  sends an Out of Band (OOB) message over some means such as a Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) connection, or as an HTTP PUT message with a query string, to the ad service  103  through a separate network  105 .  
         [0032]     The ad service  103  then receives the request and analyzes it for whatever purpose. For example, after lookup in a listings database  120 , the request may be used to select an ad from ad database  130 . The lookup for an ad can also possibly use profiles database  140  and/or businesses database  190 .  
         [0033]     The ad is then played back to the consumer  102  using the TTS  180  or read by a live operator associated with ad service  103  over a bridged connection  116 .  
         [0034]     However since the OOB connection to pass data  150  is not on network  104 , there needs to be a way of uniquely identifying the original call  114  such that the correct number is played back and the correct ad is played back to the correct caller and in-band on the bridged voice connection  116 . Since two callers  102  may originate from the same (PBX or carrier who sets the caller ID), then caller ID and/or ANI alone are insufficient. Thus, the present invention sets the ANI on the conference bridge a unique ID which may be for example between four and ten digits of the ANI. This ID then identifies the call so that a match can be made to connect original call  114  and bridged connection  116  when needed.  
         [0035]      FIG. 2  is a more detailed flow chart of the process involved.  
         [0036]     In a first step  200 , a call is made from consumer  102  telephone to the information service  101 . The information service, as on example, can prompt the caller:  
         [0037]     “Good afternoon, how may I help you?” 
         [0000]     In a next step  220 , a consumer replies:  
         [0038]     “I need a number for Bob the Plumber” 
         [0039]     At this point, the information service  101  can optionally find a current location of the caller. It does so by doing a lookup of the caller&#39;s ANI. For example, in the reverse ANI database  170 . The reverse ANI database  170  returns Boulder, Colorado for the caller&#39;s location. This location is used by information service  101  to perform a look up in listings database  120  to obtain “Bob the Plumber&#39;s” telephone number. This information can then be forwarded from the information service  101  to the advertising service  103  providing the information request (i.e., “Bob the Plumber”), the location (i.e., “Boulder, Colorado”), and a unique user ID assigned to the call, all on the OOB data connection  150 .  
         [0040]     The format of this message may be as illustrated in  FIG. 3  or other formats.  
         [0041]     Upon receipt of this information at advertising service  103 , if a listing has not been provided by the information service  101 , then a next step  260  is to locate an advertisement relevant to the requested listing such as by performing a lookup in listings database  120 , or keyword database  160  (if not provided by information service  101 ). It should be understood that the listings lookup can be performed by the advertising service  103  or may be local to the information service  101 . In any event, an advertisement is located by step  275 . This advertisement must then be played back. Since the advertising service  103  has been provided with a unique ID, then the unique ID can be presented with a request to bridge both the information service  101  and caller  102  telephony connection  114  and  116 . In this manner, the network  104  can identify the trunk to which the call from TTS  180  is to be bridged. Thus by step  284 , a conference bridge has been established between the TTS  180  in ad service  103 , the IVR  106  in information services  101 , and the original consumer  102 . The advertisement can then be played back in step  290 , in this instance:  
         [0042]     “Have you tried Waterworks Plumbing? We have twenty five experience in solving customer problems.” 
         [0043]     In step  295 , the requested number can be played back, also by ad service  103 :  
         [0044]     “The number you requested, for Bob the Plumber, is (303)-572-4410.” 
         [0045]     Further prompting can be provided by the TTS  180  at this point, to further process the call. It can prompt with, for example:  
         [0046]     “Press 1 for Bob the Plumber or 2 for Waterworks.” 
         [0047]     In step  298 , call completion can take place between the original caller  102  and the requested contact (Bob or Waterworks), as selected by the user.  
         [0048]     While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.