Patent Publication Number: US-2011053567-A1

Title: Click to call browser functionality

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to telephony including stationary telephony, mobile telephony and computer telephony. 
     2. State of the Art 
     A common element of web sites is a Contact link that displays contact information, often including one or more telephone numbers. Heretofore, telephone numbers have typically been displayed as passive information. To make telephone contact, the user is required to manually dial the displayed number. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention, generally speaking, provides for the display of telephone numbers within a browser window as active links that can be clicked on or otherwise activated. Telephone capabilities of the device being used are then activated to automatically dial the selected telephone number. The device may be a smartphone, a personal computer, etc. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING 
       The foregoing may be further understood from the following description in conjunction with the appended drawing. In the drawing: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an electronic device having click to call capabilities. 
         FIG. 2  is a more detailed block diagram of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating click to call functionality. 
         FIG. 4  is a further diagram illustrating click to call functionality. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a block diagram is shown of an electronic device  100  provided with a web browser  110  having click to call browser functionality  112 . The electronic device  100  may be any electronic device capable of running a web browser. For example, the electronic device  100  may be a mobile electronic device such as a smartphone, feature phone, or other cellular telephone, a mobile computer such as a notebook or netbook computer, etc. Alternatively, the electronic device  100  may be a more stationary electronic device such as a desktop computer, an IP phone, an IP TV, etc. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the electronic device  100  of  FIG. 1  may be provided with a processor  201 , memory and I/O devices  203 , and communication devices  205 . Memory and I/O devices  203  may include memory subsystems, a touchscreen such as a capacitive, resistive, or other (e.g., DuoTouch™) touchscreen, a keyboard or keypad, a speaker, a microphone, buttons, haptic actuators, etc. In some instances, the processor  201  may be combined with some (or all) of the I/O devices  203  and/or communication devices  205 . Communication devices  205  may include a wireless or wired transceiver for PAN, LAN and/or WAN communications. Software installed on the electronic device  100 , in addition to an operating system and a web browser, may include telephony software (i.e., a telephony application) such as software identified by the tradenames Skype™, Google Voice™, etc., which may be user-installable. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , the web browser  110  is provided with click to call functionality  112 , either native to the web browser  110  or in the form of an extension or plug-in. A memory subsystem (I/O devices  203 ) may include both mass storage and execution memory, with the web browser  110  and the click to call functionality being stored at least in part in execution memory during web browsing. Referring to  FIG. 3 , the click to call functionality  112  may include some or all of the following functions:
         1. Detects as necessary the presence of telephone numbers in a web page being displayed ( 301 ).   2. Depending on the telephony capabilities of the electronic device, influences the display attributes of the telephone numbers to cause them to be displayed as links ( 302 ).   3. Receives user input directed at the telephone numbers displayed as links ( 303 ).   4. Depending on the telephony capabilities of the electronic device, activates as necessary telephone functionality of the electronic device ( 304 ).   5. Depending on the telephony capabilities of the electronic device, controls the telephone functionality of the electronic device to automatically dial the selected telephone number ( 305 ). If desired, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) may be used for this purpose.       

     The operations performed by the click to call functionality  112  may vary depending on the coding or scripting of the web page, the capabilities of the electronic device  100 , etc. For example, some web pages may explicitly identify telephone numbers and cause them to be displayed as links A mechanism may be provided whereby clicking the link causes the telephone number to be dialed. The mechanism may be entirely local (and may make use of an exception handler, for example), or may involve a remote web server. Any of a variety of possible mechanisms may be employed. 
     Other web pages may simply display telephone numbers as text. In this case, the click to call functionality  112 : detects as necessary the presence of telephone numbers in a web page being displayed; depending on the telephony capabilities of the electronic device, influences the display attributes of the telephone numbers to cause them to be displayed as links; and receives user input directed at the telephone numbers displayed as links. 
     Some electronic devices  100  may be browser capabilities but not telephone capabilities. In this case, preferably, telephone numbers are not displayed as links but are displayed simply as text. 
     If the electronic device  100  is a smartphone, the telephone function is always active and available. If the electronic device  100  is a computer, then it may be necessary to activate a telephony application. Preferably, any required user interaction with the telephony application is pre-scripted to avoid the need for any live user input. 
     An example application of the described click to call functionality is shown in  FIG. 4 . A user clicks on a Contact link  401  within a web page  410  (only a portion of which is shown). A further web page  420  (only a portion of which is shown) is displayed that includes contact information including a telephone number. The telephone number is displayed as a link  403 . The user clicks on the telephone number. As a result, a telephony application is activated if necessary ( 405 ), and the telephone number is automatically dialed ( 407 ). 
     Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alternations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventions as defined by the appended claims.