Patent Application
20130010935
The invention relates generally to providing users with service providers in a field of service desired by the user. In particular, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for ensuring a real-time connection between users and selected service provider using voice mail.
Consumers interested in acquiring services must first identify a service provider who is capable of providing the required services. At present, this usually means perusing a telephone directory, which can become frustrating and time-consuming if the service providers telephoned are not immediately available. In addition, a simple telephone call does not enable the service provider to charge a fee according to the time spent with his/her customers.
Systems now exist that enable providers of services to charge fees for the time spent delivering the service. 1-900 phone numbers will charge the seeker of services according to the time spent receiving the service and will transfer this payment, or a portion of it, to the provider.
Each 1-900 number, however, has a very narrow scope—“Hear your Horoscope,” for instance. If a seeker would like to hear an entirely different service—“Your Local Weather,” for instance—he/she would have to dial a completely different 1-900 number. Similarly, each 1-900 number is quite rigid in the price, quality, and specificity of its service.
However, current systems now exist that enable seekers to locate service providers according to a wide range of price, quality and specificity of service (U.S. application Ser. No. 09/414,710). Such systems also make is possible for the service provider and buyer to be connected and communicate in real time. Unfortunately, a real-time communications connection is not always established between service seekers and service providers. Service provider unavailability is a primary cause for failure to establish the real-time communication link with the user.
Therefore, there remains a need to overcome one or more of the limitations in the above described existing art which are satisfied by the inventive structure and method described hereinafter.
The present invention overcomes the problems in the existing art described above by providing a method and apparatus for ensuring a real-time connection between users and selected service provider using voice mail. The present invention is a system through which seekers of a wide array of services can select, contact, converse, and pay for a service provider using a real-time communications device such as the telephone. The invention enables the service seeker to locate a service provider by communicating the name of a profession, such as “psychiatrist,” which is recognized by the system's software. In a similar fashion, the seeker can then specify a price range, quality rating, language, and keyword descriptors of the service provider. Within the desired parameters, the system offers service providers who have made themselves available to render services at the present time.
Once the appropriate available service provider is selected, the system automatically connects the service seeker with the service provider for a live conversation. However, in the event of service provider unavailability, the system enables a service seeker to leave a voice mail message for the selected service provider. Consequently, the system can facilitate a real-time communications link between the service seeker and service provider in response to review of the voice mail by the service provider. The system automatically bills the service seeker for the time spent conversing with the service provider and compensates the service provider accordingly.
Advantages of the invention include providing users with the capability to engage in a live conversation with a selected service provider via a telephone. Contrary to prior systems, requiring an internet connection and browser to receive such services, the equivalent is now provided by a simple voice transmission medium such as the telephone. As a result, virtually anyone can benefit from the capabilities provided by the present invention. The system also allows providers of a field of service to be compensated for supplying their expertise to a user. In addition, the system facilitates a real-time communications connection between a service seeker and a selected service provider once the service provider becomes available following an initial unavailability.
The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which:
The present invention overcomes the problems in the existing art described above by providing a method and apparatus for ensuring a real-time connection between users and selected service provider using voice mail. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In addition, the following description provides examples, and the accompanying drawings show various examples for the purposes of illustration. However, these examples should not be construed in a limiting sense as they are merely intended to provide examples of the present invention rather than to provide an exhaustive list of all possible implementations of the present invention. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the details of the present invention.
In an embodiment, the steps of the present invention are embodied in machine-executable instructions. The instructions can be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor that is programmed with the instructions to perform the steps of the present invention. Alternatively, the steps of the present invention might be performed by specific hardware components that contain hardwired logic for performing the steps, or by any combination of programmed computer components and custom hardware components.
The present invention may be provided as a computer program product which may include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process according to the present invention. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, flash memory, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. Moreover, the present invention may also be downloaded as a computer program product, wherein the program may be transferred from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a modem or network connection).
The system 100 also includes one or more service providers 200 (200-A, . . . , 200-N) each having a communications device 202 (202-1, . . . , 202-N) that is connected to a communications network 110. One or more service seekers (users) 104 (104-1, . . . , 104-N) are also included, each having a communications device 104 (104-A, . . . , 104-N) that is connected to the communications network 110. In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a user 102 can send a request 106 (106-A, . . . , 106-N) via the communications device 104 or service seeker computer 120, which is received by the service provider server computer 300. As described in further detail below, the service provider server computer 300 can then automatically connect the user 104 to a selected service provider 200 for a live conversation either via the communication devices 102 and 202 or the computers 120 and 204.
The communications network 110 generally refers to any type of wire or wireless link enabling the transmission of voice data such as, but not limited to, a public switched telephone network, a wireless communications network, a local area network, a wide area network or a combination of networks. The communications devices 104 and 200 generally refer to any type of device capable of receiving speech from a user and providing the speech to a destination via a communications network, such as the communications network 110. In an embodiment of the present invention, the communications network 110 is a public switched telephone network and the communications device 104 and 200 are telephones.
an operating system 314;
internet access procedures 316;
web server procedures 318
web creation procedures 320;
communications interface procedures 322 for receiving the voice request 106 from the user 102 via the communications interface 308 and connecting the user 102 with a selected service provider 200 for a live conversation via the communications devices 104 and 202;
service provider selection procedures 324 for providing the user 102 with a list of fields of service providers provided by the service provider system 100, as well as lists of service providers matching a field of service selected by the user 102;
database (DB) access procedures 326 for querying the database 310 in order to return records of service providers matching a field of service selected by the user 102;
billing procedures 328 for billing the user 102 following a live conversation with the service provider 200, as well as compensating the service provider 200 for the live conversation and collecting a premium fee for the service provider system 100;
provider inclusion procedures 330 for providing an on-line interface to service providers 200 requesting inclusion in the service provider database 310 in order to provide live services via the service provider system 100 to perspective users 102;
provider interface procedures 332 for providing both an on-line interface, as well as a voice interface, allowing service providers 200 to update information in the service provider database 310, including times of availability;
quality rating procedures 334 for receiving a quality rating for a service provider 200 following a live conversation with a user 102 based on the user's evaluation of the services provided by the service provider 200;
user interface procedures 336 for providing the user 102 with an online interface as well as voice interface for providing listing of fields of service available from the service provider system 100, as well as receiving various descriptors for narrowing the search of service providers, including acceptable price ranges, acceptable quality ratings and specific languages;
conversation monitoring procedures 338 for measuring the duration of the live conversation between the user 102 and the service provider 200; and
network interface procedures 340 for directing the network interface 306 is used to connect a user computer 120 to a selected service provider computer 202 for real-time communication, such as voice over Internet Protocol (IP), video over-IP, or the like; other procedures and files.
an operating system 130;
internet access procedures 132;
voice/video communication procedures 134 for enabling voice over-IP or video over-IP communication between a user 102 and a selected service provider 200; and other procedures and files.
an operating system 212;
internet access procedures 214;
voice/video communication procedures 216 for enabling voice over-IP or video over-IP communication between a user 102 and a selected service provider 200; and
as well as other procedures and files.
The embodiment depicted in
The service provider 200 then informs the service provider system 100 of the times when he/she is available to receive calls. This can be done by creating a schedule of suitable times at the web site 500 or by simply clicking on an “on call”/“off call” switch at the web site 500. Switching service provider 200 availability status can also be done through a voice transmission medium such as a telephone. The service provider 200 calls the central phone number, identifies himself/herself with a password, then presses the telephone keypad “1” or “2”, for example, to indicate “on call” or “off call” status, respectively. Once the database 310 contains the phone numbers of service providers, email address, network address, descriptions of their services, their prices, and their real-time availability status, the service provider system 100 can provide services to users 102 desiring corresponding services.
In one embodiment a telephone is used as part of the delivery mechanism or communications device 104 and 202 of the service provider system 100. A user 102 seeking services dials a central telephone number and then listens to a series of options. The seeker indicates which type of service he would like to receive by speaking the name of a profession, such as “psychiatrist,” which is processed by the system's voice interface 308 using voice interface procedures 322. Alternatively, the user 102 can listens to a series of professions and press the numerical keypad to select one. This process continues until the desired field of service is selected.
Once the user 102 has indicated a field of service using the service provider selection procedures 324, the service provider system 100 searches its database 310 for service providers in that field using the DB access procedures 326. The user 102 can then further narrow down the selection of service providers by speaking keywords, such as “psychiatry—depression.” The user 102 can also indicate a known specific service provider by speaking the service provider's name or punching in the service provider's code number into a telephone keypad.
The service provider selection procedures 324 in conjunction with the user interface procedures 338 allow the user 102 to further narrow the search for a service provider 200 by speaking—or pressing into the telephone keypad—a price, such as “50 cents per minute.” The service provider server computer 300 will then narrow the search in the database 310 for service providers 200 that match the price range. The user 102 can further narrow the search for a service provider 200 by speaking—or pressing into the telephone keypad—a quality rating, such as “three stars or higher.” The server computer 300 will then narrow the search in the database 340 for service providers 200 which match the quality rating range. Finally, the user 102 can further narrow the search for a service provider by speaking—or pressing into the telephone keypad—the name of a language, such as “Spanish.” The server computer 300 will then narrow the search in the database 310 for service providers 200 who can speak this language.
Alternatively, a user 102 may select a service provider using the user interface screen 600 as depicted in
Once a service provider 200 with the desired characteristics has been chosen, the service provider system 100 will automatically connect the user 102 with the selected service provider 200. Since the service provider 200 has informed the service provider system 100 that he/she is “on call” and ready to receive calls, the service provider system 100 can reach him/her with a simple phone call via the communications interface 308. Once both the user 102 and provider 200 are on the phone line 110, the service provider system 100 conferences the two phone calls together, enabling services to be rendered in a live conversation. The system keeps track of the time spent on the phone call using the conversation monitoring procedures 340. The user 102 is then billed accordingly, and the funds are transferred to the provider 200 using the billing procedures 328.
Unfortunately, the system cannot always establish a real-time communications connection between the user 102 and the selected service provider 200. Generally, the system will attempt to contact the selected service provider via the service provider communications device 202. The system will attempt to contact the selected service provider 200 a predetermined number of times, which is, for example, two attempts. In the event that the system fails to establish a connection with the selected service provider 200, the user is presented with the user message screen 630, as depicted with reference to
Using the user message screen 630, the user can record a message for the selected service provider 200. Once the message is completed, the system 100 transmits and notifies the selected service provider 200 of the voice mail message. When the selected service provider reviews the voice mail message, the selected service provider 200 has the option of establishing a connection with the user 102 at such time. If the service provider 200 establishes a connection with the user, the service provider will be compensated an amount that is generally deducted from a service provider when they are unavailable at an indicated time of availability.
At the end of the phone call, the system prompts the user 102 to rate the quality of the received service using the quality rating procedures 338. A quality rating of one to five stars, for instance, can be spoken into the telephone 104 or pressed into the telephone keypad. The service provider system 100 records this rating, and in turn, can store the quality rating in the database 310 and use it as a quality-selection criterion the next time a user 102 calls. Procedural methods for implementing the teachings of the present invention are now described.
Referring now to
The establishment of the real-time communications connection between the user 102 and the selected service provider 200, as described in step 712, is generally automatically performed by the system 100. In one embodiment, when the user establishes an internet connection between the user computer 120 and the service provider server 300, via network interface 306, the user 102 may be given the option as to the method for establishing a connection with the selected service provider 200. As such, the service provider server 300 may connect the user telephonically via communications devices 104 and 202. Alternatively, the user may request a network connection with the selected service provider via user computer 120 and selected service provider computer 204, using the network interface procedures 340.
In one embodiment, when the user 102 selects a telephonic connection with the selected service provider 200, the service provider server computer 300 will place a telephone call to the user 102 via a connection separate from the internet connection between the user 102 and the service provider server computer 300. In addition, the server computer 300 will place a telephone call to the selected service provider 200. Once a telephone call between the server computer 300 and the selected service provider 200 is established, the server computer 300 will interface both calls via communications interface 308, such that the user 102 and the selected service provider 200 may telephonically communicate via communications devices 104 and 202. Alternatively, if the user 102 has established a telephonic connection with the server computer 300, via the communications device 104, the server computer 300 will generally connect the user with the selected service provider via communications devices 104 and 202, thereby enabling telephonic communication between the user 102 and the selected service provider 200.
At step 714, the system 100 determines whether a successful connection was established between the user 102 and the selected service provider 200. When the system 100 fails to establish a successful connection, step 716 is performed. At step 716. the system allows the user 102 to record a message for the selected service provider. At step 718, it is determined whether the service provider 200 has reviewed the voice mail message. Once the service provider 200 reviews the voice mail message, via for example, the voice mail review screen 660 as depicted in
At step 720, the system 100 automatically connects the selected service provider 200 with the user 102 via a real-time communications link, for example, the communications devices 104 and 202 when the user clicks the “OK” button (
At step 748, the server computer 300 bills the user 102 the billing amount for the live conversation with the provider 200. Generally, users 102 of the service provider system 100 will have a billing account set up with the system 100. The service provider system 100 can then either deduct from the user's account or charge the billing amount, for example, to a credit card submitted by the user 102. At step 750, the voice portal service provider system 100 compensates the provider 200 for the live conversation with the user 102. Finally, at step 752, the server computer 300 collects a premium fee for the service provider system 100 as a predetermined percentage of the billing amount, for example, ten percent.
At step 708, the server computer 300 receives a selected field of service from the user 102. Finally, at step 709, the server computer 300 provides a list of service providers within the selected field of service provided by the user. The list generally indicates whether each individual service provider is currently available to telephonically communicate with the user at the time when the user is viewing the list. The list generally further indicates individually whether a service provider is currently on a telephone call with another user when the user is viewing the list. The list also includes a compensation rate for each listed service provider.
Referring now to
Danielle, a graduate student in economics, happens to be an expert user of Microsoft Excel. To earn extra money while writing her thesis, Danielle decides to post her Excel-help service on the subject web site, an Internet based implementation of the invention. She registers at the site and lists herself under “Computer Help” and “Excel” at the rate of $1.00 per minute. During the registration process, Danielle provides her telephone number and a description of her abilities, which include regression models and statistical analysis. Whenever Danielle is at home alone studying for long stretches in the evening, she signs on to the subject web site and changes her state of availability to “On Call,” or immediately available to receive clients.
Michael is a management consultant building a regression model on Excel for a large clothing retailer. At midnight in the office, he is having trouble analyzing his spreadsheet. Looking to receive help, he dials the 1-800 number of the subject system. He is prompted by the system to indicate the area of service he desires. He speaks the words, “Computer Help,” which are recognized by the system's voice-recognition software. The system has several thousand computer-help service providers to choose from, so Michael specifies his needs by speaking the words, “regression models and analysis.” The system has about 50 service providers who are “On Call” to receive customers regarding regression models and analysis. Michael then indicates the price and quality he desires by speaking the words, “one dollar per minute or less” and “with a three-star quality rating or above.” The system uses these parameters to fine only those service providers who fit within this price and quality range and can presently receive customers regarding regression models and analysis—there are four. The system relays the descriptions of the four service providers to Michael. He selects Danielle by speaking the words, “Connect Me.”
Since Michael has not used the subject phone system before, he first must enter his credit card number to pay for the call. Once the credit card number has been confirmed, the system dials Danielle's phone number, which it has on file from her registration at the web site. When Danielle picks up the phone, the automated voice of the system informs her that there is a client on the line looking for “Computer Help” and willing to pay her $1.00 price per minute. The system asks her whether she would like to accept the call. She speaks the word “yes” (or presses “1” on her telephone keypad), and the system conferences the separate phone calls to Danielle and Michael together so that they can communicate.
However, for the reasons described above, the system cannot always establish a real-time communications connection between Michael and Danielle. Generally, the failure of the system to establish a connection between Michael and Danielle results from the unavailability of Danielle during an unindicated time of unavailability. If the system fails to establish a connection between Michael and Danielle, Michael will be presented with a user interface screen and prompted to leave a message for Danielle. Once Michael has left the message for Danielle, the voice mail message will be transmitted to Danielle. Once Danielle receives the message, Danielle is presented with the option of re-establishing a real-time communications connection with Michael via a service provider voice mail review screen. In response to such a request from Danielle, the system will connect Michael and Danielle so that they may proceed with the live conversation and resolve Michael's technical difficulty.
Michael and Danielle talk until his problem is solved, which takes eight minutes. Michael's credit card is billed for eight dollars. He receives a confirming message via electronic mail notifying him of this, along with a request to evaluate Danielle's service, which he does, pressing “5” on his telephone keypad to award her five stars, which the system then averages into her overall quality rating. Danielle's web site account is credited for eight dollars minus a fee collected by the web site. Once Danielle's web site account has accumulated a surplus of $25, she receives a check from the web site in the mail. After receiving many positive reviews from online clients such as Michael, Danielle is inundated with Excel-help requests whenever she goes “On Call,” enabling her to raise her rates to $1.50 per minute.
The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. In other instances, well known components and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessary distraction from the underlying invention. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, obviously many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
Further, the method and system described hereinabove is amenable for execution on various types of executable mediums other than a memory device such as a random access memory. Other types of executable mediums can be used, such as but not limited to, a computer readable storage medium which can be any memory device, compact disc, or floppy disk.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to a service provider system, it is not limited to providing services over the telephone or between computers. The present invention can be used for other electronic commerce purposes, other commodities, other types of provider, and other types of services not explicitly listed. In addition, communications mediums within the contemplation of the present invention include systems for wireless communications or any network capable of transmitting voice data or video data for providing a live conversation over the computer. Moreover, performance, by a human operator, of the interactive voice recognition procedures of the present invention is within the contemplation of the present invention.
Advantages of the invention include providing users with the capability to engage in a live conversation with a selected service provider via a telephone. Contrary to prior systems, requiring an internet connection and browser to receive such services, the equivalent is now provided by a simple voice transmission medium such as the telephone. As a result, virtually anyone can benefit from the capabilities provided by the present invention. The system also allows providers of a field of service to be compensated for supplying their expertise to a user. In addition, the system ensures a real-time communications connection between a service seeker and a selected service provider once the service provider becomes available following an initial unavailability.
Having disclosed exemplary embodiments and the best mode, modifications and variations may be made to the disclosed embodiments while remaining within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/606,932, filed on Oct. 27, 2009, which is a continuation application of U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,013, issued on Feb. 2, 2010, which is a continuation application of U.S. Pat. No. 7,289,612, issued on Oct. 30, 2007, which is a continuation application of U.S. Pat. No. 6,704,403 issued on Mar. 9, 2004, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12606932 | Oct 2009 | US |
| Child | 13494819 | US | |
| Parent | 11927534 | Oct 2007 | US |
| Child | 12606932 | US | |
| Parent | 10611050 | Jul 2003 | US |
| Child | 11927534 | US | |
| Parent | 09947591 | Sep 2001 | US |
| Child | 10611050 | US |
