Apparatus, systems and methods for managing incoming and outgoing communication

Abstract

The present invention provides apparatus, systems and methods for managing incoming and outgoing communications for various communications methods. The invention provides control over inbound communications including definition of if, when, and who may communicate with a recipient. The invention also supports concealed identification communication in that no actual addresses, phone numbers, or other addressing IDs are required to be exchanged by the communication initiator and recipient The invention also provides the capability to initiate immediate, delayed, scheduled, or recurring outbound communications. As depicted in FIG. 1, if the database ( 45 ) contains call management settings for a call recipient, the application logic ( 40 ) will evaluate the rules to determine if a particular caller is authorized to connect with the call recipient at the current time and date. If the caller is authorized by the recipient to connect to the recipient phone number, and is furthermore authorized to do so for the current time and date, the application logic ( 40 ) will connect the call utilizing the public telephone switch ( 50 ). The computer ( 1 ) passes the caller and call recipient phone numbers as stored in the database ( 45 ) to the telephone switch ( 50 ) using an application programming interface (“API”) appropriate to the service provider or telephone switch manufacturer. The exemplary embodiment of the invention utilizes an API provided by a telephone service provider as an interface to its switching infrastructure ( 50 ). The API captures both, caller and recipient telephone numbers along with other variables useful for call setup and tracking. The telephone service provider then connects both parties' telephones ( 55 ), ( 60 ) to a phone call by dialing both numbers and connecting the call upon the parties' answer.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method using a computer for managing incoming telephone calls to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming telephone calls according to a preference of the individual to take calls according to a set of rules.    
     
     
         2 . A method using a computer for managing incoming telephone calls to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming telephone calls according to a schedule of the individual for taking calls according to a set of rules.    
     
     
         3 . A method using a computer for managing incoming telephone calls to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming telephone calls according to an identification of callers from whom the individual will accept calls.    
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , said method further comprising: 
 concealing the telephone numbers of a caller and the telephone number of the individual from each other.    
     
     
         5 . A method using a computer for managing incoming telephone calls to an individual, said method comprising: 
 automatically originating a call by an individual according to a designated time delay.    
     
     
         6 . A method using a computer for managing incoming telephone calls to an individual, said method comprising: 
 automatically originating a call by an individual according to a schedule at a specific date and time.    
     
     
         7 . A method using a computer for managing incoming voice messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming voice messages according to a preference of the individual to receive voice messages according to a set of rules.    
     
     
         8 . A method using a computer for managing incoming voice messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming voice messages according to a schedule of the individual for receiving voice messages according to a set of rules.    
     
     
         9 . A method using a computer for managing incoming voice messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming voice messages according to an identification of voice message senders from whom the individual will accept voice messages.    
     
     
         10 . A method using a computer for managing incoming instant Internet messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming instant Internet messages according to a preference of the individual to receive instant Internet messages according to a set of rules.    
     
     
         11 . A method using a computer for managing incoming instant Internet messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming instant Internet messages according to a schedule of the individual for receiving instant Internet messages according to a set of rules.    
     
     
         12 . A method using a computer for managing incoming instant Internet messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming instant Internet messages according to an identification of instant Internet message senders from whom the individual will accept instant Internet messages.    
     
     
         13 . A method using a computer for managing incoming electronic mail messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming electronic mail messages according to a preference of the individual to receive electronic mail messages according to a set of rules.    
     
     
         14 . A method using a computer for managing incoming electronic mail messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming electronic mail messages according to a schedule of the individual for receiving electronic mail messages according to a set of rules.    
     
     
         15 . A method using a computer for managing incoming electronic mail messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming electronic mail messages according to an identification of electronic mail message senders from whom the individual will accept electronic mail messages.    
     
     
         16 . A method using a computer for managing incoming paging service messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming paging service messages according to a preference of the individual to receive paging service messages according to a set of rules.    
     
     
         17 . A method using a computer for managing incoming paging service messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming paging service messages according to a schedule of the individual for receiving paging service messages according to a set of rules.    
     
     
         18 . A method using a computer for managing incoming paging service messaging to an individual, said method comprising: 
 controlling incoming paging service messages according to an identification of paging service message senders from whom the individual will accept paging service messages.    
     
     
         19 . A computer system for initiating communications between two devices, said system comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 generating a unique communication initiation system code corresponding to a first communications address; and    identifying a data relationship between the generated unique communication initiation system code and a designated identifier.    
     
     
         20 . The computer system of  claim 19 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 storing the data relationship on a database.    
     
     
         21 . The computer system of  claim 20 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 retrieving the stored data relationship in response to a user input of the designated identifier.    
     
     
         22 . The computer system of  claim 21 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 displaying for user selection a selection mechanism for initiating a communications session between the first communications address and a second communications address corresponding to the user.    
     
     
         23 . The computer system of  claim 22 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 initiating a communications session between the first communications address and the second communications address corresponding to the user in response to a user selection of the displayed selection mechanism.    
     
     
         24 . The computer system of  claim 19  wherein the first communications address is a telephone number.  
     
     
         25 . The computer system of  claim 19  wherein the first communications address is an electronic document address  
     
     
         26 . The computer system of  claim 19  wherein the unique communication initiation system code is a globally unique identifier.  
     
     
         27 . The computer system of  claim 19  wherein the designated identifier is a keyword.  
     
     
         28 . The computer system of  claim 19  wherein the designated identifier is a Domain Name Service (DNS) host entry name.  
     
     
         29 . The computer system of  claim 23  wherein the communications session comprises an electronic download of an electronic document stored at the first communications address.  
     
     
         30 . The computer system of  claim 19 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 evaluating a search result set returned in response to a user search request.    
     
     
         31 . The computer system of  claim 30 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 identifying an occurrence of the designated identifier; and    retrieving the stored data relationship in response to a user input of the designated identifier.    
     
     
         32 . The computer system of  claim 31 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 displaying for user selection a selection mechanism for initiating a communications session between the first communications address and a second communications address corresponding to the user.    
     
     
         33 . The computer system of  claim 32 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 initiating a communications session between the first communications address and the second communications address corresponding to the user in response to a user selection of the displayed selection mechanism.    
     
     
         34 . The computer system of  claim 32 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 inserting a selectable online display of said selection mechanism into an online display of the search result set.    
     
     
         35 . A computer system for automatically inserting selectable online communications initiation displays into search result displays, said system comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 extracting a first communications address from a web page with a meta tag that identifies the first communications address as a communications address.    
     
     
         36 . The computer system of  claim 36 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 generating a unique communication initiation system code corresponding to the first communications address.    
     
     
         37 . The computer system of  claim 36 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 identifying a data relationship between the generated unique communication initiation system code and the web page.    
     
     
         38 . The computer system of  claim 37 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 displaying in response to a user search request a search result set comprising a search result entry corresponding to the web page as a member of the search result set; and    inserting in the search result set entry for the web page a selection mechanism corresponding to the generated unique communication initiation system code for initiating a communications session between the first communications address corresponding to the search result set member and a second communications address corresponding to the user.    
     
     
         39 . The computer system of  claim 38 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 initiating a communications session between the first communications address and the second communications address corresponding to the user in response to a user selection of the displayed selection mechanism.    
     
     
         40 . The computer system of  claim 35  wherein the first communications address is a uniform resource locator address.  
     
     
         41 . A computer system for automatically inserting selectable online communications initiation displays into search result displays, said system comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 generating a unique communication initiation system code corresponding to a first communications address; and    inserting the generated communications initiation system code into a web page with a meta tag that identifies the generated communications initiation system code as a communications initiation system code.    
     
     
         42 . The computer system of  claim 41 , said computer system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 extracting the generated communications initiation system code from the web page.    
     
     
         43 . The computer system of  claim 42 , said computer system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 identifying a data relationship associating the extracted communication initiation system code with the web page; and    storing the data relationship in a database.    
     
     
         44 . The computer system of  claim 42 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 displaying in response to a user search request a search result set comprising a search result entry corresponding to the web page as a member of the search result set; and    inserting in the search result set entry for the web page a selection mechanism corresponding to the extracted communication initiation system code for initiating a communications session between the first communications address and a second communications address corresponding to the user.    
     
     
         45 . The computer system of  claim 44 , said system further comprising a set of computer instructions for: 
 initiating a communications session between the first communications address and the second communications address corresponding to the user in response to a user selection of the displayed selection mechanism.