Patent Publication Number: US-6339644-B1

Title: Method and apparatus for intelligent data network call spawning system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     This invention relates to a method and apparatus for initiating a call to an information provider without a specific instruction by the user. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Conventionally, data network users such as Internet “surfers” may navigate through web sites to communicate or obtain information. Occasionally, a web site may offer more personal interaction through voice communication with a person via a telephone, for example. Business establishments may use such personal interactions to offer assistance regarding their products by providing operators that respond to calls from data network users. However, many times the “surfers” are unaware or too engrossed in other matters to use such features. Thus, new technology is needed assist the use of services such as described above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides an intelligent data network call setup system that spawns a call to an information provider. The system comprises a call spawning device, at least one information provider, a user device, a network, and a call assistance device. 
     After logging on to a data network, such as the Internet, a subscriber may visit various web sites hosted by any number of information providers. As the user visits the various web sites, the call spawning device monitors actions of the subscriber and initiate (or spawn) a call to appropriate parties based on a navigational history of the subscriber. The call spawning device may spawn the call without explicit request by the subscriber based on its analysis of the navigational history. The analysis may be performed using expert systems, for example. 
     In addition, the call spawning system may include a call coordination device that generates preamble information. The preamble information is provided to the called party (e.g. an operation or another appropriate party) regarding the subject matter of interest to the subscriber so that the called party may be briefed and be enabled to provide help needed by the subscriber. Thus, the preamble information primes the called party. 
     In this way, the call spawning system enables the subscriber to take advantage of personal interaction features more effectively. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The preferred embodiments of this invention will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of an intelligent data network call setup system; 
     FIG. 2 shows a second exemplary embodiment of the intelligent data network call setup system; 
     FIG. 3 shows a third exemplary embodiment of the intelligent data network call setup system; 
     FIG. 4 shows a fourth exemplary embodiment of the intelligent data network call setup system; 
     FIG. 5 shows an exemplary diagram of a user device; 
     FIG. 6 shows an exemplary diagram of a web page; 
     FIG. 7 shows a diagram of the web page in FIG. 6 showing shadow information; 
     FIG. 8 shows an exemplary block diagram of a selected item of the web page shown in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 shows an exemplary block diagram of the call coordination device; 
     FIG. 10 shows an exemplary diagram of a call coordination device database; 
     FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of the call coordination device; 
     FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a preamble information generation process; 
     FIG. 13 shows an exemplary diagram of a call assistance device; 
     FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process of the call assistance device; 
     FIG. 15 shows a block diagram of a call spawning system; 
     FIG. 16 shows an exemplary diagram of a call spawning device; 
     FIG. 17 shows an exemplary diagram of a web page of a first information provider; 
     FIG. 18 shows an exemplary diagram of a web page of a second information provider; and 
     FIG. 19 shows a flowchart of a process of the call spawning device. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an intelligent data network call set up system  10  that includes user devices  200  and  202  coupled to a call coordination device  100  via the network  300 . A call assistance device  400  may also be coupled to the call coordination device  100 . 
     The network  300  may include a data network such as the Internet and/or a switched network such as a telephone network. The user devices  200  and  202  may be devices such as personal computers that are capable of logging onto a data network and may include voice communication devices such as telephone stations that interface with a telephone network, for example. The call coordination device  100  may support a web site on the network  300  so that user devices  200  and  202  may log on to the web site and navigate through the web site to obtain information, for example. The call assistance device  400  may also include devices such as personal computers and telephone stations that permit assistance personnel to interface through the network  300  with users using the user devices  200  and  202 . 
     When a user using the user device  200 , for example, logs on through the network  300  to a web site supported by the call coordination device  100 , the user may navigate through the web site by making various selections. The web site may include features such as “click-to-dial” that permit the user to request voice communication with a web site representative such as an operator, for example. This feature offers personal interaction between the user and the operator to provide information to the user that may not be available at the web site, to answer any questions and/or to take any orders that the user may desire. Thus, when the user selects the click-to-dial option using a mouse, for example, the call coordination device  100  performs processes necessary to connect the user with the operator in a voice communication. Prior to such a connection, the call coordination device  100  provides the operator with preamble information regarding the user to “prime” the operator regarding the user so that effective user assistance may be provided. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment where the user device  200  includes a terminal  205  such as a personal computer and a telephone station  210 . The terminal  205  is coupled to the call coordination device  100  via a data network  302  and the telephone station  210  is coupled to the call assistance device  400  via a telephone network  304 . While FIG. 2 shows the terminal  205  and the telephone station  210  as separate devices, these devices may be incorporated into one unit such as a telephone station card in a personal computer. 
     When the user invokes a click-to-dial icon using the terminal  205 , the call coordination device  100  detects the user action and generates the preamble information to prime the operator of the call assistance device  400 . This preamble information may be machine instructions if the operator is actually an automated unit such as a dialog system, for example. In this case, the preamble information may explicitly identify pre-prepared dialog scenarios of the dialog system that best match the needs, desires, etc. of the user as determined by the call coordination device  100  based on action histories, for example. If the operator is a human operator, then the preamble information may include formatted information regarding the user (e.g., name, age, ethnic background, etc., as available), action history, purchase history, available products, sales, etc. 
     The call coordination device  100  also may coordinate the communication between the user and the call assistance device  400 . For example, if the operator is a dialog system, the call coordination device  100  may initiate a call to the user&#39;s telephone station  210  and bridge the dialog system with the user when the user answers the call. Prior to initiating the call to the user the call coordination device  100  may send a message to the user through the terminal  205  to acknowledge the reception of the click-to-dial selection and provide directions how to further proceed. For example, the call coordination device  100  may have a profile of the user that provides user information such as the number of telephone lines available at the user location and the telephone numbers that may be used to call the user. 
     If the user has two telephone lines that may be used, the call coordination device  100  determines which of the lines is being used for the data network connection and initiates the call via the other telephone line. If only one telephone line is available, the call coordination device  100  may send a message to the user via the terminal  205  to instruct the user to log-off the data network  302  so that the telephone line may be made available for the requested telephone call. When the telephone line is freed, then the call coordination device  100  initiates the call and bridges the call assistance device  400  with the user. 
     Instead of initiating the call, the call coordination device  100  may also provided a telephone number for the user to initiate the requested call. For example, the user may have only one line and may take some time to log-off from the data network  302 . The user may also wish to remain logged on to the data network  302  and have an arrangement with a friend to interact with the operator. For example, the user may be navigating through the data network  302  on behalf of a friend who may not have a data network access device. Thus, the friend may initiate the call using a telephone line that is totally unrelated to the user. 
     In the above situation, the telephone call may be initiated after a long delay from when the click-to-dial icon was activated. The call coordination device  100  may prepare a save file associated with the telephone number provided to the user. The call coordination device  100  may provide a common telephone number to all the users such as an 800 number and also provide a special code to identify the specific click-to-dial action. In this case, the preamble information is associated with the special code and when the call is received, the preamble information associated with the special code is retrieved and used to prime the dialog system or the operator, for example. 
     FIGS. 3 and 4 show other possible couplings of the call assistance device  400 . In FIG. 3, the call assistance device  400  interfaces with the user through the call coordination device  100  and data network telephony is used for voice communication with users. Instead of transmitting voice signals via a telephone network, voice data is passed between the call assistance device  400  and the user via the data network  302 . Voice signals from the user and/or call assistance device  400  are packetized by known techniques such as digitizing voice prints, and transmitted via the data network  302 . The packetized data may be converted to analog voice at the destination and output to the receiving party. In this way, only one line is required for data network log-on and voice communication. Thus, when using data network telephony, the call coordination device  100  does not need to initiate or bridge a call between the user and the call assistance device  400 . Instead, the call coordination device  100  sends the preamble information together with instructions to the call assistance device  400  to communicate with the user directly via the data network  302 . 
     FIG. 4 shows the call assistance device  400  interfacing with the data network  302  independent of the call coordination device  100 . This embodiment allows the call assistance device  400  to be located at a place distant from the call coordination device  100 , such as in a different city or state. Information such as the preamble information and/or telephony data may be communicated via the data network  302 . If voice communications via the telephone network  304  is required, both the call coordination device  100  and the call assistance device  400  may have telephone network interfaces to connect and bridge calls to users. 
     FIG. 5 shows an exemplary block diagram of the user device  200 . The user device  200  includes a controller  202 , a memory  204 , a network interface  206 , a user input device  208  that may include a keyboard, a mouse and/or microphone, for example, and a data output device  210  that may include a display and speakers, for example. The above components are coupled together via signal bus  212 . The user device  200  allows a user to log on to the data network and navigate through a web site by outputting graphics (i.e., video data) to the user via the data output device  210  (e.g., a display) together with any audio data and receiving inputs from the user via the user input device  208 . 
     For example, the user device  200  may be a personal computer that is running a network browser, such as an Internet browser, for example. Other devices such as two-way television devices or voice communication devices that are enhanced with text-to-voice and voice-to-text systems that permit navigation of the data networks may also be used. 
     FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary display  1000  that may be displayed on the data output device  210  when the user is browsing a page of a web site. The display  1000  contains various items  1010 - 1040  and a click-to-dial icon  1050 , for example. When the user selects the click-to-dial icon  1050 , the call coordination device  100  responds by preparing preamble information based on the user&#39;s action and forwarding the preamble information to the call assistance device  400  along with a state of the user&#39;s log-on, for example. In this way, the operator&#39;s data network log-on may be placed in the same state as the user&#39;s data network log-on permitting the operator to view the same image as the user and to immediately engage the user in a relevant conversation. 
     FIG. 7 shows “shadow data”  1010 ′- 1040 ′ associated each of the items  1010 - 1040  of the display  1000 . The shadow data  1010 ′- 1040 ′ may be located in a separate database that is only accessible by the call coordination device  100  or in some cases the shadow data  1010 ′- 1040 ′ may be selected for display by the user. In such cases, the user shall be allowed to change the shadow data to better reflect the user&#39;s reason for making the selection. The shadow data  1010 ′- 1040 ′ may be merely short summaries of the items  1010 - 1040  or may include additional information based on more sophisticated methods that enable the call coordination device  100  to generate appropriate preamble information to prime the operator. 
     For example, if the item  1010  reads as: “Join the club and get a free two day vacation at the Bahamas”, the shadow data  1010 ′ may be: “offer  125 , expires Dec. 15, 1998, $50 minimum purchase.” For a simple call coordination process, the preamble information sent to the call assistance device  400  may be identical to the shadow data. 
     If a more sophisticated call coordination process is used, the shadow data may include other additional information such as: “related offers  105 ,  44  and  205 ; $100 additional purchase adds first class flight plus $20 discount on dinner.” The call coordination device  100  may generate the preamble information based on the combination of all the offers  125 ,  105 ,  44  and  205  and format a display of the call assistance device  400  to efficiently display the relevant preamble information. 
     As suggested above, the shadow data may include any information that assists in generation of the preamble information, for example, hyperlinks to other information sources such as video clips, audio files for particular advertising clips, etc., may be included. The call coordination device  100  may include advanced processes such as expert systems to process the shadow data to produce appropriate preamble information to prime the operator. 
     In addition, the call coordination device  100  may maintain current information (action history) relating to the user. For example, the call coordination device  100  may maintain the following information: 
     1) the last three selections made by the user. For example, suitcases: 1,2; bathing suits:2,5; discount brokerage:4,30; the first number of each selection may represent the number of items visited within each selection and the second number may represent the time in minutes spent within each selection; 
     2) the user id; 
     3) the password used by the user; 
     4) the account number associated with the user; and 
     5) the prior month purchase amount of $200. 
     Based on the information above, the call coordination device  100  may incorporate recommendations tailored to the particular user such as specials on bathing suits and perhaps special offers on low interest loans to expand on the 2 day free vacation. 
     The shadow information may be attached to any item that may be selected by the user. Thus, after multiple consequential selections, a path of shadow data is generated that may be analyzed to produce possible motives, potential needs, etc. 
     For example, if the user selects item  1020  of display  1000  shown in FIG. 7, a new display  1002  may result, as shown in FIG.  8 . Each item in the display  1002  may also include shadow data. If the user selects item  1023 , shadow data from both item  1020  and item  1023  may be used by the call coordination device  100  to generate the preamble information. If shadow data is not found, the call coordination device  100  may generate a summary of selected items “on the fly”, for example, and use the summary as shadow data for the selected items. 
     FIG. 9 shows an exemplary block diagram of the call coordination device  100 . Specifically, the call coordination device  100  may include an I/O interface  110 , a controller  120 , a call assistance device interface  130 , a memory  140  and a database  600 . The I/O interface  110  is connected to the network  300  which may include interfaces to both the data network  302  and/or the telephone network  304 . The call assistance device interface  130  is coupled to the call assistance device  400  either directly or through the data network  302 . If the interface with the call assistance device  400  is through the data network  302 , then the call assistance device interface  130  may be combined with the I/O interface  110 . 
     When the user logs on to a web site supported by the call coordination device  100 , the controller  120  receives the log-on information such as user id, password (if applicable), user uniform resource locator (URL), etc., through the I/O interface  110 . The controller  120  then generates appropriate video and audio information and outputs this information to the user through the I/O interface  110 . When the user makes a selection, the controller  120  responds by outputting appropriate information and processing the shadow data corresponding to the items selected by the user. For example, the controller  120  may simply save the shadow data in the database  600  so that a history of selections may be provided for later preamble information generation. 
     The controller  120  may also initialize the database  600  for the particular user by searching for and retrieving any profile information that was generated for the user based on prior interactions with the user. For example, the controller  120  may keep history data on past users that have logged on to the web site. Thus, when a user logs on to the web site, the controller  120  may retrieve such historical information and initialize a user action history file in the database  600 . The action history file is updated by the actions taken by the user during a log-on of the web site. If the user selects a click-to-dial icon, the controller  120  processes the contents of the action history file to generate preamble information used to prime the operator. As discussed earlier, the action history file may be processed by any number of techniques including using expert systems. 
     When the preamble information is generated, the controller  120  may organize the preamble information in an appropriate format. For example, the controller  120  may create a summary display similar to a table of contents using predetermined standardized headings such as user name, user interest, user purchasing range, etc. In this way, the call assistance device  400  may receive the preamble information in such form that allows efficient interaction with the user. For example, an operator may be provided personal information regarding the user immediately by simply scanning the summary display and be able to greet the user personally by name, for example. Then, as the interaction progresses, the operator may immediately access information depending on the progress of the conversation by simply scanning the summary and retrieving by hyperlink, for example, only the information that is relevant based on the substance of the conversation. 
     In addition to sending the preamble information to the call assistance device  400  through the call assistance device interface  130 , the controller  120  may also retrieve a user profile from the database  600  to determine how to connect the call assistance device  400  with the user in a voice communication connection. For example, as discussed earlier, if the user profile indicates that the user has two telephone lines and that one of the telephone lines is used for the data network connection while the other telephone line is used for voice communication, the controller  120  may initiate a telephone call to the user using the designated line. 
     If, for example, the user profile indicates that the user has data network telephony capability, the controller  120  may instruct the call assistance device  400  to communicate directly with the user through the data network via voice telephony. If the controller  120  determines that the user has only a single telephone line and that telephone line must be used for either the data network communication or voice communication via the telephone network  304 , for example, the controller  120  may send a message to a user via the I/O interface  110  and the data network  302  for the user to log-off from the data network and to wait for a telephone call to voice communicate with the call assistance device  400 . 
     FIG. 10 shows an exemplary block diagram of the database  600 . The database  600  may include user profiles  602 , long term user web site access histories  604 , action histories  606 , and latest offers  608 . Each of the user profiles  602  may include personal information of a user such as user log-on ID a number of telephone lines available to the user, user preferences, account number, sex, age, etc., for example. Each of the long term user web site access histories  604  may include information such as the type of items selected by a user over a predetermined period of time such as the prior three months, for example. Also, information such as number of purchases made and total dollar amount of business obtained from a user over the last twelve months. 
     Each of the action histories  606  may include the item selections of a current log-on session of a user with the web site. As discussed earlier, the action histories  606  may include shadow data of all the selections in logical and/or chronological order. The latest offers  608  include items that are on sale or are attractive “deals” that have particular interest to users. The latest offers  608  may be generated during background processes by the controller  120  based on analysis of the other fields  602 ,  604  and  606  as well as current conditions regarding items that are on sale, special offers or items that are determined to be of particular interest to users at a particular time. The controller  120  may perform other background processing to perform analysis of the data for better response to the user and to collect business forecast information, for example. The database  600  includes all information that may be useful for generating preamble information to prime the operator for interactive communication with the user. 
     FIG. 11 shows an exemplary process of the data network call setup system  10  after a user logs onto the web site supported by the data network call setup system  10 . In step  5000 , the controller  120  detects that a user logged on to the web site and goes to step  5002 . In step  5002 , the controller  120  updates the user profile  602  in the database  600  with the user information and goes to step  5004 . In step  5004 , the controller  120  monitors the user&#39;s interactions with the web site and detects if the user has made a selection. If the user made a selection using a mouse, for example, the controller  120  goes to step  5006 ; otherwise the controller  120  returns to step  5004 . 
     In step  5006 , the controller  120  saves the selection in the action history  606  and goes to step  5008 . In step  5008 , the controller  120  determines whether the user selected a “click-to-dial” icon. If the user selected the click-to-dial icon, the controller  120  goes to step  5010 ; otherwise, the controller  120  returns to step  5004 . 
     In step  5010 , the controller  120  generates preamble information based on the contents of the database  600  and goes to step  5012 . In step  5012 , the controller  120  forwards the preamble information and the data network state of the user to the call assistance device  400  and goes to step  5014 . In step  5014 , the controller  120  connects the call assistance device  400  to the user device  200  in a voice communication and assists in setting up the operator&#39;s data network log-on to the same state as the user&#39;s data network log-on, for example, and goes to step  5016  and ends the process. 
     FIG. 12 shows in greater detail an exemplary process for generating the preamble information in step  5010  of FIG.  11 . In step  6000 , the controller  120  retrieves user information such as the user profile  602  and the long term user web site access history  604 , for example, and goes to step  6002 . In step  6002 , the controller  120  may determine a customer priority based on the number and dollar amount of purchase made by the user, for example, and goes to step  6004 . In step  6004 , the controller  120  determines whether the user is a high priority customer based on predetermined criterion. The predetermined criterion may be at least  10  purchases or more in the last three months, for example. If the user is a high priority customer, the controller  120  goes to step  6006 ; otherwise, the controller  120  goes to step  6008 . In step  6008 , the controller  120  retrieves the preamble information for the last selection as the preamble information and goes to step  6020  to return to step  5012  of the calling process. 
     In step  6006 , the controller  120  retrieves a history of the user such as the action history  606  and the long term user web site access history  604  and goes to step  6010 . In step  6010 , the controller  120  retrieves additional information such as the latest offers  608  or other information via hyperlink, for example, and goes to step  6012 . The latest offer  608  may contain hyperlinks to other databases that may be a general repository of all the offers, etc., of a business. In step  6012 , the controller  120  determines the current interest of the user based on the data in the history and goes to step  6014 . In step  6014 , the controller  120  correlates the current interest with past interest that may be in the user information and goes to step  6016 . 
     In step  6016 , the controller  120  selects, from the retrieved information, the information most relevant to a user&#39;s interests and goes to step  6018 . For example, based on the current interest, the controller  120  selects from the latest offers  608 , those offers that best correlate with the current interest determined in step  6014 . In step  6018 , the controller  120  generates an indexed multimedia file as preamble information to be forwarded to the call assistance device  400  and goes to step  6020  and returns to step  5012  of FIG.  11 . 
     In the above described process, the user initiates a request for a call by selecting the click-to-dial icon. However, situations occur where the user is unaware that additional information or help may be available through the call assistance device  400  because either the click-to-dial icon is not readily identifiable or not provided by the web site visited by the user. Moreover, the user may have visited many different web sites supported by parties that are not associated with each other so that a complete understanding of the user&#39;s circumstances is not observable from the view point of any one of the web sites. Thus, the invention provides a data network call spawning system that assists the user independent of particular web sites that the user may be visiting. 
     FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of the call assistance device  400 . The call assistance device  400  includes a controller  402 , a memory  404 , a network interface  406  and a database interface  408 . The above components are coupled by a single bus  422 . 
     Also coupled to the data bus  422  are an operator interface  410  that interfaces with operator terminals  414 - 418 , and optionally a dialog system  412 . Both the operator terminals  414 - 418  and the dialog system  412  may be also coupled to a telephone network interface  420 . 
     While FIG. 13 shows a bus architecture, other architectures are possible as are well known in the art. In addition, the operator terminals  414 - 418  and the dialog system  412  may have individual connections to the telephone network without going through a telephone network interface  420 . The telephone network interface  420  may be a private branch exchange (PBX), for example. Also, the network interface  406  may include both interfaces for the data network  302  and the telephone network  304 . 
     When the call coordination device  100  sends preamble information to the call assistance device  400 , the controller  402  receives the preamble information through the call coordination device interface  409 . The preamble information may be identified with a header, for example, that indicates a user ID so that the controller  402  may correlate the receipt preamble information with a particular user that requested a call. In addition, the call coordination device  100  may indicate whether the user has telephony capability over the data network  302  or requires a telephone network connection. If a telephone network connection is required, the call coordination device  100  may initiate a call to the user and initiate a second call to the call assistance device  400  to the telephone network interface  420 , for example, and then bridge the two calls. Alternatively, the call coordination device  100  may provide all the needed information to the call assistance device  400  to complete the voice communication process. 
     For example, the controller  402  may receive the preamble information together with additional instructions required to initiate a call through the telephone network interface  420  to the user or to have sufficient identification between the preamble information and a special code, for example, so that when a call is received from the user through the telephone network interface  420 , the preamble information may be provided to the correct one of the operator terminals  414 - 418  to assist the user. As discussed earlier, the call coordination device  100  may elect to answer the user request to answer the dialog system  412 . In such a case, the preamble information may be commands to the dialog system  412  and data to specify a particular predetermined dialog scheme to accomplish the voice communication with the user. Determination whether to use an operator or the dialog system  412  may be determined by the controller  402 . In such a case, the call coordination device  100  sends instructions to the controller  402  and the controller  402  may make the decision whether to connect the user to one of the operators or to the dialog system  412 . 
     If the dialog system  412  is selected, the controller  402  may retrieve different dialog schemes from a database through the database interface  408  and provide them to the dialog system  412 . If the controller  402  is instructed by the call coordination device  100  to call the user, the controller  402  may instruct the dialog system  412  to initiate a call through the telephone network interface  420  to complete the voice communication. Otherwise, if the user was instructed to call the call assistance device  400 , the dialog system  412  may be prepared to answer the call if the dialog system  412  is the destination for the number provided to the user. 
     If either the call coordination device  100  or the controller  402  decided to communicate with the user via operators, the controller  402  selects one of the operator terminals  414 - 418  based on well known operator assignment schemes and provides the instruction to the operator interface  410  together with the preamble information so that the selected operator terminal  414 - 418  may be “primed” with the appropriate preamble information and the operator terminals may be logged on to the data network through the network interface  420 , for example, and be initialized into the same state on the data network as the state of the user terminal  200 , for example. 
     After the voice communication with the user is completed, the controller  402  collects the results of the voice communication from either the operator terminals  414 - 418  or the dialog system  412  and takes any subsequent action that may be required. For example, if the user purchased items that were offered, the controller  402  may send the purchase information to other appropriate units through the network interface  406 , for example, to complete the order. The controller  402  may also process the results of the voice communication and send those results to the call coordination device through the call coordination device interface  409  so that the database  600  may be properly updated to prepare for future voice communication with the user. 
     FIG. 14 shows a flowchart for a call assistance device process. In step  8000 , the controller  402  receives pre-information and other instructions from the call coordination device through the call coordination device interface  409  and goes to step  8002 . In step  8002 , the controller  402  determines whether voice communication with the user should be engaged with one of the operator terminals  414 - 418  or with the dialog system  412 . If one of the operator terminals  414 - 418  is selected, the controller  402  goes to step  8004 ; otherwise the controller goes to step  8010 . 
     In step  8004 , the controller  402  selects one of the operator terminals  414 - 418  and goes to step  8006 . In step  8006 , the controller  402  primes the selected operator terminal and goes to step  8008 . In step  8008 , the controller  402  sets a state of a data network logon of the selected operator terminal to the user data network logon state and goes to step  8012 . In step  8010 , the controller  402  initializes the dialog system  412  and goes to step  8012 . 
     In step  8012  the controller  402  initiates voice communication with the user by either sending instructions to the operator terminal  414 - 418  or the dialog system  412  and makes the necessary arrangements for either a telephone network communication or a data network telephony communication. After the voice communication with the user is completed in step  8012 , the controller  402  goes to step  8014 . In step  8014 , the controller  402  determines whether the user had ordered any information such as making purchases or requesting materials. If such order information was obtained, the controller  402  goes to step  8016 , otherwise, the controller goes to step  8018 . In step  8016 , the controller  402  forwards the order information to the appropriate devices and goes to step  8018 . In step  8018 , the controller  402  sends update information for the database  600  to the call coordination device and goes to step  8020  and ends the process. 
     FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary diagram of an intelligent data network call setup system  20  that also provides call spawning. The system  20  comprises a call spawning device  800 , and at least one information provider such as information providers  900 ,  910  and  920 , the user device  200 , the network  300 , and the call assistance device  400 . 
     As before, the network  300  may include the data network  302  and the telephone network  304 . The user device  200  may include a terminal  205  and a telephone station  210  as shown in FIG.  2 . While FIG. 15 shows the call assistance device  400  coupled to the network  300 , other configurations are possible such as shown in FIGS. 2-4 with the call coordination device  100  replaced by the call spawning device  800 . Also the call spawning device  800  and the call coordination device  400  may be incorporated together into one device or be embodied as separable devices but both connected to the call assistance device  400  based on implementation details. For the ease of discussion, the call coordination device  100  and call spawning device  800  are assumed to be separate and independent. Thus, to perform both call coordination and call spawning, the call assistant device  400  is coupled to both the call coordination device  100  and the call spawning device  800 . 
     After logging on to a data network, such as the Internet, a subscriber to the call spawning system  20  may visit web sites hosted by any number of information providers  900 - 920 . The call spawning device  800  monitors actions of the user device  200  and generates a navigational history for the subscriber. The call spawning device  800  processes this navigational history by using an expert system, for example. Depending on the results of this analysis, the call spawning device  800  may spawn (or initiate) a call automatically without explicit request by the subscriber to either the call assistance device  400  or another appropriate assistance party, as discussed below. The call spawning device  800  may also function in conjunction with the call coordination device  100  so that the preamble information may be provided to prime the call assistance device  400  or the appropriate assistance party. 
     For example, when the subscriber browses a home improvement web site, selects a plumbing section, and then selects a “how to” guide for repairing a particular plumbing fixture, the call spawning device  800  analyzes the selected subject matter via associated shadow data, for example, and determines that the subscriber is interested in repairing or purchasing a particular type of plumbing fixture. The call spawning device  800  may locate a participating supplier in a telephone call (i.e., spawn a call) and if available, bridge the supplier with another call to the subscriber. The supplier may be primed with appropriate preamble information received from the call coordination device  100 . 
     The call spawning device  800  is independent of the information providers  900 - 920  and thus may track the subscriber&#39;s data network “surfing” across independent web sites. For example, the subscriber may first log on to a web site supported by the information provider  900  and make several selections relating to bathroom fixtures. Then, the subscriber may log on to a web site supported by the information provider  910  and select plumbing tools and related supplies. Finally, the subscriber may log on to the information provider  920  and select items related to home improvement information, how to books, etc. Based on the above action history, the call spawning device  800  may immediately spawn a connection between a local plumber and the subscriber. 
     Instead of immediately spawning a call, the call spawning device  800  may first review a history of the subscriber to better determine the subscriber&#39;s need before spawning a call. For example, the call spawning device  800  may retrieve the subscriber&#39;s profile to determine an income level. If the subscriber&#39;s income is in a low income bracket, then a call to a local hardware store may be more appropriate than a call to a high priced plumbing service corporation. On the other hand, if the subscriber is in the high income bracket, then a call to the plumbing service corporation may be more appropriate. Thus, the call spawning device  800  may provide assistance based on a “global” view of the subscriber&#39;s data network activities and information regarding the subscriber. 
     The call spawning device  800  may interact with the subscriber before spawning calls. For example, after detecting that the subscriber has visited five web sites making selections relating to plumbing fixtures, the call spawning device  800  may open a window on a user device display and query the subscriber whether help is needed or provide a bit of advice that may be available. The call spawning device  800  may output a message such as “want to talk to Joe plumber who is available now to help you with plumbing fixtures?”. If the subscriber indicates “no” either by explicit command or simply ignoring the message, then the call spawning device  800  may save this fact and change call spawning parameters for the subscriber to refrain from offering additional advice unless other overriding reasons arise. 
     The call spawning device  800  may also offer advice/assistance to the subscriber for other circumstances than those described above. For example, if the subscriber searches for a specific article using one of the available search engines, and the author of the article is available for conversation, the call spawning device  800  may spawn a connection between the subscriber and the author for a real time “live” discussion. If the call spawning device  800  detects that the subscriber is having difficulty in using the browser, for example, the call spawning device  800  may either offer immediate assistance via a message or spawn a call between the subscriber and a call assistant familiar with the browser to help resolve the difficulty. Thus, the call spawning device  800  may serve as a help enabler for any subject matter for which there is an available expert. 
     FIG. 16 shows a block diagram of the call spawning device  800 . The call spawning device  800  may include a controller  802 , a memory  804 , a database  806 , an expert system  808 , and an I/O interface  810  that interfaces with the network  300 . The above components are coupled together via signal bus  812 . The controller  802  may also perform all the functions of the expert system  808  in which case the expert system  808  is not needed. 
     When the subscriber logs on to the data network  302 , the user device  200  may send a message to the call spawning device  800  to indicate that call spawning support processes should be started for the subscriber. The controller  802  may retrieve from the database  806  the subscriber profile and history information similar to the information stored in the database  600  as shown in FIG.  10 . However, the information stored in the database  806  is not restricted to a single web site. The controller  802  opens an action history file for the subscriber and tracks the subscriber&#39;s actions on the data network  302  by storing shadow data of each selected item. 
     While the controller  802  is maintaining the action history file, the expert system  808  analyzes the information in the action history file to determine whether call spawning is appropriate or whether a query should be sent to the subscriber, for example. The expert system  808  may contain rules that essentially reduce the action history to interest, motivation, need, etc. of the subscriber. 
     Additionally, the call spawning device  800  may prompt the subscriber whether or not to initiate a call after it has been determined that the call spawning criteria have been met. For example, the call spawning device could open a window on the display device of the subscriber. The window could, for example, prompt the subscriber whether the determined call should be initiated. If the subscriber affirms that a call should be initiated, then the call spawning device  800  could initiate the call. Alternatively, if the subscriber responds in the negative, or ,for example, fails to answer within a predetermined time, the call is not initiated. 
     For example, if the shadow data are encoded with keywords that distill the essence of each selection, then combinations of keywords may indicate interest, motivation, and etc. If the subscriber logs on to a home improvement web site having initial keywords of: new, high price and ornamental; and selects light fixtures having keywords of high skill and special equipment; and then selects chandeliers, having keywords of fragile, heavy, 10′ ceiling minimum, the expert system  808  may recommend a local electrical contractor that specializes in complex fixture installments as a first choice and a do-it-yourself hardware store as a second choice. The controller  802  may select one of these recommendations by retrieving the subscriber&#39;s data network purchase and account history to discriminate between a wealthy subscriber purchasing a chandelier for a mansion versus a middle class subscriber building a dream house on a shoestring budget, for example. If the latter, the controller  802  may select the do-it-yourself hardware store second choice recommended by the expert system  808 , for example. 
     Alternatively, for example, the expert system  808  could group a list of potential called parties indexed to a list of keywords. For example, the expert system  808  could evaluate the action history file to generate a list of relevant keywords based on a predefined criteria. The relevant keywords could then be compared with the indices of the list to generate a list of potential parties to initiate calls to. 
     FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate an exemplary display  2000  and  2100  of web pages for two information providers  900  and  910 , respectively, enhanced with shadow tracking codes. While the tracking codes are shown to be on the displays  2000  and  2100 , they most likely are not actually displayed but are associated with each respective selection via hidden information such as a hyperlink accessible to the controller  802 . For example, FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate web pages having selections  2010 - 2060  and corresponding shadow tracking codes  2010 ′- 2060 ′ and selections  2110 - 2160  with tracking codes  2110 ′- 2160 ′. The tracking codes may include preamble information, which may include for example, a brief description of the subject matter of the selection, as well as the identification of the information providers  900  and  910  and web page identification such as the URL of the web page. The tracking code could further include, for example, the identification of a potential call destination. As the subscriber navigates throughout the data network  302 , the tracking codes corresponding to each of the selections are stored in the database  806  to create the action history for the current data network log on of the subscriber. As shown in the FIGS. 17 and 18, even the click-to-dial icons  1050  and  1055  may have shadow tracking codes  1050 ′ and  1055 ′ so that the controller  802  may record subscriber requested calling events. 
     The tracking codes may be created by hypertext markup languages when creating a web page, for example. Keywords may be inserted at the time of web page generation based on standardized meanings. For example, a standard list of keywords and their meanings may be established so that web page builders may connote correct meanings of selection. For example, Extensible Mark-Up Language (XML) could be used in the web page design which allows developers of web pages to define application specific tags. For web pages without tracking codes, the call spawning device  800  may generate such codes “on the fly” using standard techniques. A scheme of meaning extraction may be used to create keywords. For example, combinations of words may be used as flags to select keywords such as ornamental-exclusive may be associated with high price as a keyword. 
     FIG. 19 shows a flowchart of a process of the call spawning device  800 . In step  7000 , the controller  802  receives a message indicating that the subscriber has logged on to the data network and goes to step  7002 . In step  7002 , the controller  802  retrieves subscriber profile information from the database  806  and other information related to the subscriber and goes to step  7004 . In step  7004 , the controller  802  initializes an action history file for the subscriber and goes to step  7006 . 
     In step  7006 , the controller  802  determines whether a selection has been made by the subscriber. If a selection was made, the controller  802  goes to step  7008 ; otherwise the controller  802  goes to step  7010 . In step  7010 , the controller  802  determines whether the subscriber has ended the log on. If ended, the controller  802  goes to step  7016 ; otherwise, the controller returns to step  7006 . In step  7016 , the controller  802  updates the subscriber&#39;s history file in the database  806  and goes to step  7034  to end the process. 
     In step  7008 , the controller records the URL of the web site in which the subscriber made the selection and goes to step  7014 . In step  7014 , the controller  802  determines whether the selection contains tracking code. If the selection contains tracking code, the controller  802  goes to step  7018 ; otherwise, the controller  802  goes to step  7012 . In step  7012 , the controller  802  generates the tracking code by using various schemes such as identifying combinations of words to select standardized keywords and records other information such as a web page location within the web site as well as the selection within the web page and then goes to step  7018 . 
     In step  7018 , the controller  802  records the tracking code and goes to step  7020 . In step  7020 , the controller  802  determines whether recommendations for spawning a call have been received from the expert system  808 . In implementations where the controller  802  performs the functions of the expert system  808 , the controller  802  generates the recommendations in step  7020 . If recommendations are received (or generated), the controller  802  goes to step  7022 ; otherwise the controller returns to step  7006 . In step  7022 , the controller processes the recommendations in view of subscriber history that was retrieved from the subscriber profile in step  7002  to select one of the recommendations and goes to step  7024 . 
     In step  7024 , the controller  802  determines whether to output a message to the subscriber or to automatically spawn a call. The controller  802  may make this determination based on past subscriber preferences and strength of the recommendations. The strength of a recommendation may be determined based on a probability that the recommendation is relevant multiplied by a probability that the subscriber desires to spawn a call, for example. Thus, if this product exceeds 0.8, for example, then a call may be spawned but a message is sent otherwise. If a message is to be outputted to the subscriber, the controller  802  goes to step  7026 ; otherwise the controller  802  goes to step  7032 . 
     In step  7026 , the controller  802  outputs the message and goes to step  7030 . In step  7030 , the controller  802  determines whether the subscriber elected to spawn a call. If call spawning is elected, the controller  802  goes to step  7032 ; otherwise, the controller goes to step  7028 . In step  7028 , the controller  802  updates the expert system&#39;s parameters in view of the subscriber&#39;s rejection of the prior recommendation as well as update the subscriber&#39;s history and returns to step  7006 . In step  7032 , the controller  802  spawns the call by initiating the call to the subscriber and bridging the call assistance device  400  with the subscriber in a voice communication. The controller  802  may also coordinate with the call coordination device  100  so that preamble information may be sent to the call assistance device  400  to prime the operator or assisting party prior to bridging the call. After step  7032 , the controller  802  returns to step  7006 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 9 and 15 the call coordination device  100  and the call spawning device  800  may preferably be implemented either on a general purpose computer. Also, a dedicated expert system processor may be included. However, other hardware/software implementations such as special purpose computer, programmed microprocessor microcontroller, and peripheral integrated circuit elements, and ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard wired electronic or logic circuit such as a discrete circuit, a programmable logic such as a PLD, PLA, PGA, FPGA, PAL or the like are possible. In general, any device capable of implementing a finite state machine is in turn capable of implementing the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 11,  12  and  19  could be used to implement the data network call setup system. 
     Finally, all the connections that couple system components together can be any wired or wireless link capable of connecting the devices described herein. Furthermore, network  300  can be any of or a combination of a LAN, WAN, intranet, Internet, telecommunication, or specialty network. 
     While the invention has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     For example, the call coordination device  100  and the call spawning device  800  may be implemented as separate units as shown in FIGS. 1 and 15 or as a single unit. Also, while the call coordination device  100  and the call spawning device  800  are shown and discussed as units separate from the user device  200  and  202 , these devices  100  and  800  may be incorporated as part of the user devices  200  and  202 . For example, programs may be created or an add-in card may be inserted to perform all the functions of the devices  100  and  800 . Further, the devices  100  and  800  may be partially implemented in the user devices  200  and  202  and partially in an independent unit so that the portions in the user devices  200  and  202  may communicate with the independent unit to receive global information related to sales, deals, etc., for example, of subscribing businesses. Accordingly, all alternatives, modifications and variations which fall within the spirit and scope of this invention are included.