WO2011101040A1

WO2011101040A1 - Method and internet platform for providing a communication connection

Info

Publication number: WO2011101040A1
Application number: PCT/EP2010/052222
Authority: WO
Inventors: Borislav Gajanovic; Zeljko Gajanovic
Original assignee: Borislav Gajanovic; Zeljko Gajanovic
Priority date: 2010-02-22
Filing date: 2010-02-22
Publication date: 2011-08-25
Also published as: WO2011101480A1

Abstract

A method is provided for providing a communication connection between a first device used by a first user and a second device used by a second user over a server device of an internet platform. The method comprises at least the following steps on the server side: transmitting a topic identification and a communication identification to the first device, for selecting a topic identification and a communication identification by the first user; receiving a connection establishment request from the first device, wherein the connection establishment request comprises at least the selected communication identification and the selected topic identification; establishing the communication connection between the first device and the second device according to a terminal identification assigned to the communication identification; and settling the communication connection between the first user and the second user depending on the topic identification and/or on the communication identification. An internet platform is also provided, which is adapted to perform the process according to the invention.

Description

Method and internet platform for providing

a communication connection

Field of the invention The invention relates to a method for providing a communication connection between a first user and a second user via a server device. The invention moreover relates to an internet platform for providing a communication connection between a first user and a second user of the internet platform via a server device of the internet platform. State of the art

A large amount of goods and services is offered on internet platforms nowadays. In the age of Web 2.0, these internet platforms supply means by which users logged into an internet platform can communicate with each other. The communication as a rule takes place by e-mail messages. Another way of communicating with a user of an internet platform is, for example, contacting the corresponding user by telephone.

The communication by e-mail messages takes place bypassing the respective internet platform, i.e. the communication between the users takes place outside the internet platform. In order to allow communication by e-mail or by telephone, a user must supply his telephone number and/or his e-mail address to each other user of the internet platform. This can result in abuse of the telephone number and/or the e-mail address. Another disadvantage is that a settlement of the communication by the operating company of the internet platforms is not possible because the communication takes place bypassing the respective internet platform.

Object of the invention

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method as well as an internet platform, which allow communication between the users of the internet platform without the contact details necessary for contacting having to be provided to other users of the internet platform, at the same time making it possible to settle the communication between users of the internet platform by the internet platform. Solution according to the invention

According to the invention, this object is solved with a method and an internet platform according to the independent claims. Thus, a method is provided for providing a communication connection between a first device used by a first user and a second device used by a second user via a server device, whereby the process comprises the following steps on the server side:

- the transmission of at least one topic identification and at least one communication identification, wherein a terminal identification is assigned to the communication identification on the server side, to the first device, for displaying on the first device and for selecting a topic identification and a communication identification by the first user;

- receiving a connection establishment request from the first device, which is initialisable by the first user after selecting a topic identification and a communication identification at the first device, wherein the connection establishment request comprises at least the selected communication identification and the selected topic identification;

- establishing the communication connection between the first device and the second device according to the terminal identification assigned to the communication identification; and

- settling the communication connection between the first user and the second user, whereby the settling comprises

- reducing a first account balance, which is assigned to the first user on the server side, by a first value, and

- increasing a second account balance, which is assigned to the second user on the server side, by a second value,

whereby the first value and the second value are selected each time depending on the received topic identification and/or on the received communication identification.

The communication identification indicates which kind of communication connection is to be established by the server device between the first user and the second user. The communication identification may be, for example, "telephone", "e-mail", "internet telephony", "internal notification service", etc.

The terminal identification is the identification necessary for establishing the communication connection, e.g. a telephone number if the communication identification is "telephone", or an e-mail address if the communication identification is "e-mail". The terminal identification may be stored on the server device. Moreover, the terminal identification is assigned to a communication identification on the server side. The terminal identification is not transmitted to the first device.

A topic identification indicates the topic of the communication of the communication connection to be established. An advantage of the method according to the invention is that the settlement of the communication between two users of the internet platform takes place directly over the internet platform, wherein the terminal identifications of other users do not have to be supplied to any user. The danger of abuse of terminal identifications (e.g. telephone numbers or e-mail addresses) can thus be decreased considerably. As the settlement between two users takes place on-topic, it can take place depending on the contents of the communication. It is also advantageous that different topics can be assigned to one communication identification, so that one and the same terminal identification can be settled differently.

When establishing a communication connection, the received topic identification may be transmitted to the second device and be displayed there. The topic of the communication is communicated to the second user even before the communication connection has been established.

Before establishing the communication connection, the first account balance may be checked, the communication connection being established when the first account balance comprises a predetermined minimum value. The first account balance and the second account balance may be reduced or increased by the respective value during the established communication connection after each end of a predetermined time lapse t.

It is advantageous if the time lapse t is selected depending on the received topic identification and/or the received communication identification.

It has proven to be advantageous if the time lapse t and/or the first value and/or the second value can be changed during the duration of the established communication connection. In this way e. g. during a telephone conversation the settlement procedures may be changed. The users may change the settlement procedures themselves during the communication as they wish.

A changed time lapse t and/or a changed first value and/or a changed second value may be received via the server device by the first device and/or by the second device while maintaining the communication connection.

Advantageously a received change of the time lapse t, of the first value, and/or of the second value may be signalled by one device to the respective other device. The other user can confirm or reject the signalled change by means of his device.

The at least one topic identification and the at least one communication identification may be transmitted to the first device as a result of a query initiated at the first device. The query may comprise a number of research criteria, with which second users are researchable, wherein the research criteria are supplied by the second users of the server device for saving on the server device.

The result may comprise a result list with found second users, wherein the result list for each found second user comprises at least one communication identification and at least one topic identification. The terminal identifications are not included in this result list.

The research criteria may be stored in catalogue form on the server device, preferably in a database, wherein the research criteria can be displayed in catalogue form at the first device for initiation of the query.

The communication connection may comprise at least one of the following: internet telephony (VoIP), e-mail, online conversation (chat), telephony and video telephony. Preferably, a fall below a predetermined minimum value of the first account balance may be signalled to the first user during the communication connection.

A connection establishment request may be initialisable by several first users together. The account balances of the respective first user may be reduced proportionally.

In one embodiment of the invention, the communication may take place encoded by the established communication connection.

The first account balance and the second account balance may be stored each in the server device, preferably in a database, wherein the account balances are indicated each as a virtual currency unit.

In one embodiment of the invention, the server device may receive the time lapse t and the value to be settled for the time lapse t from the second device of the second user. The server device may also receive a topic identification from the second device and assign the received time lapse t and the value to be settled for the time lapse t to the topic identification. The assignment may be stored in the database. The server device may provide input means, for instance a webpage, by means of which the second user can enter the time lapse t, the value to be settled for the time lapse t and the assignment to a topic identification and can transmit this to the server device after entering.

Thus, each individual user of the internet platform can determine his settlement procedures for each topic identification.

Furthermore, an internet platform is provided, comprising devices for providing communication connections between first users of the internet platform and second users of the internet platform, further comprising at least one server device connectable with devices of the user, wherein for each user an account balance may be stored in the server device, wherein the server device is adapted

- to transmit at least one topic identification and at least one communication identification to the device of a first user,

- to receive a connection establishment request from a device of the first user, wherein the connection establishment request comprises at least one communication identification and one topic identification, and wherein a terminal identification may be assigned on the server side to the communication identification,

- to establish a communication connection between the device of the first user and the device of the second user according to the terminal identification assigned to the communication identification, and

- to reduce the account balance of the first user by a first value and to increase the account balance of the second user by a second value.

The server device is preferably further adapted to transmit the topic identification received by the first device to the second device while establishing the communication connection. Preferably, the communication between two users is handled completely by the server device of the internet platform.

The server device may comprise means for storing communication identifications, terminal identifications and topic identification, wherein each communication identification and each topic identification may be assigned to at least one user of the internet platform, and wherein each terminal identification may be assigned to at least one communication identification.

Further advantages and advantageous embodiments of the invention can be gathered from the following description, the drawing and the claims. Short description of the figures

In the drawing, advantageous embodiments of the invention are shown in a simplified form and will be explained more in detail in the following description.

The figures show:

Fig. 1 the method according to the invention on the basis of a communication between two users of an internet platform according to the invention;

Fig. 2 an example for settling a communication between two users of the internet platform according to the invention, wherein the communication between the two users is established by the internet platform or handled by the internet platform;

Fig. 3 a schematically simplified representation of an internet platform according to the invention with a number of first users and a number of second users, each of which can communicate with each other via the internet platform according to the invention; and

Fig. 4 a form (web page) of the internet platform according to the invention, which is displayed on a device of a user of the internet platform and by which a connection establishment to a further user to the internet platform can be initiated.

Detailed description of the invention

With regard to Fig. 1 to Fig. 3 in the following at first the technical process of the method according to the invention for providing a communication connection between two or more users of an internet platform is described. With regard to Fig. 4 then a concrete application example of an internet platform according to the invention is described, which uses the method according to the invention for providing a communication connection between two or more users of the internet platform.

With regard to Fig. 1 at first a possible basic configuration of an internet platform according to the invention is explained in more detail, with which the method according to the invention can be handled.

A server device 10 is coupled with a first device 11 and with a second device 12. The coupling can take place over the internet. The first device 11 is assigned to a first user of the internet platform. The second device 12 is assigned to a second user 2 of the internet platform. The first device 11 and the second device 12 are each a conventional computer, which have the interfaces necessary for a connection establishment to the server device 10. The devices could be, however, mobile phones. The server device 10 makes all the necessary resources for operating the internet platform according to the invention available. The internet platform can be realized, for example, in the form of an internet application. On the server device 10, an internet server can be operated for this purpose. The internet server or the server device 10 is preferably coupled with a database management system 30. In a database of the database management system 30, all the data relevant for the operation of the internet platform is stored.

To become a user of the internet platform, a user first has to log into the internet platform. During a log-in phase, a user profile is generated on the server device 10, which is preferably stored in the database 30. For further users of the internet platform according to the invention to be able to contact the new user, it is required that the new user deposits the data which is necessary for contacting (terminal identifications), during the log-in phase. This data is also stored together with the user profile in the database 30. The data (terminal identifications) which allow contacting can, for example, comprise one or more telephone numbers, one or more e-mail addresses, one or more instant messaging IDs, or the like. This data is preferably stored only for the purpose of establishing a communication connection between two users over the internet platform. The internet platform can be designed in such a way that the terminal identifications are not made available to other users of the internet platform. In this way, a high degree of security can be guaranteed.

The new user can assign the deposited terminal identifications to one or more communication identifications during the log-in phase. He can, for example, assign a telephone number to the communication identification "telephone". For contacting, only the communication identifications are provided to the other users. One user can create several communication identifications, to each of which is assigned another terminal identification, e.g.

"Telephone 1" 0039-089-1234567

"Telephone 2" 0039-089-7654321.

During the log-in phase, the new user can select one or more topics, preferably from a catalogue, and assign his profile to the selected topics. At the same time, the user can also assign one of the communication identifications created before to each selected topic. The new user can assign settlement procedures to each assignment of a communication identification to a topic. He can, for example, indicate for each topic how much is to be settled per time unit, as is described in more detail further below. All the assignments are stored in the database of the server device. The settlement procedures are described in more detail with respect to Fig. 2.

For performing these assignments, the server device provides at least one internet form which allows the users a simple input of the assignments mentioned. During the log-in phase, an account balance 21 is created for the new user of the internet platform, which is also stored in the database 30. The account balance 21 can be part of the user profile. Alternatively, the account balance 21 can also be stored in the database 30 separately from the user profile. In the latter case, only a reference to the account balance 21 is stored in the user profile. After the user profile has been completely created, the new user can log into the internet platform as user 1.

A second user 2 of the internet platform, which has also gone through the described log-in phase, is also logged into the internet platform. For the second user 2, an account balance 22 has also been created during the log-in phase, which is assigned to this second user 2.

The account balances 21 and 22 are provided for allowing a direct settlement between two users of the internet platform according to the invention, as is described in the following.

After a first user 1 has logged into the internet platform over a first device 11, he can search for other users of the internet platform. A possible type of search for further users is described in more detail with reference to Fig. 4. Preferably, the search takes place on the basis of an catalogue, wherein a number of users of the internet platform is assigned to each topic of the catalogue.

As a result of a search, the server device 10 provides to the first user 1 a result list, which is transmitted to the first device 11 and is displayed at the first device 11. The result list contains a number of second users, which correspond to the search criteria of the research. The result list can, for example, contain all users which are assigned to a certain topic. The result list also contains, for each user, indications about how the first user 1 can contact the respective user from the result list. With the result list, no terminal identifications at all (telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, instant messaging IDs, etc.) are transmitted to the first device. To each user of the result list, it is only transmitted how the respective user can be contacted (communication identification). The second user 2, for example, can have deposited in his user profile that he wishes to be contacted by telephone only. The second user 2 for this purpose has deposited one or more telephone numbers. To the first user 1, however, the telephone number is not displayed at the first device 11, but only a telephone symbol, which is representative of the possibility of contacting by telephone. If the first user 1 would now like to contact the second user 2 by telephone, the first user 1 can select or click the telephone symbol.

To the telephone symbol, an identification (user ID) of the second user 2 is assigned. The user ID is a platform internal identification, which is necessary for the identification of the users of the internet platform. The user ID contains no indication at all about terminal identifications of the corresponding user.

Additionally, an information (communication identification) is assigned to the telephone symbol, which makes it possible for the server device 10 to establish a corresponding communication connection between the first user 1 and the second user 2. The second user 2 can deposit several telephone numbers and assign each telephone number to a communication identification. For this reason, also several telephone symbols can be displayed at the indicating device of the first device 11. In order to establish a corresponding communication connection between two users, the server device determines the terminal identification assigned to the respective communication identification before establishing the communication connection.

Due to the fact that the second user 2 can be assigned to several topics of the agenda, an identification (topic identification) is additionally assigned to the telephone symbol, which identifies the topic. The second user 2 can determine by which means of communication (telephone, e- mail, instant messaging, etc.) he is currently willing to receive contact requests. If the second user is not willing to receive telephone requests, the corresponding telephone symbol at the indicating device of the first user can be faded out or deactivated. Moreover, the internet platform or the server device 10 can be designed in such a way that contacting the second user 2 via the server device 10 is only possible if the second user 2 is logged into the internet platform. It can thus be guaranteed that contacting the second user 2 only takes place if the second user 2 is also willing to receive a contact.

If the first user 1 now clicks an active telephone symbol of a second user 2, a connection establishment request 40 is transmitted to the server device 10. With the connection establishment request 40 the following data is preferably transmitted to the server device:

- an identification of the type of connection establishment (communication identification), e.g. telephone, and

- an identification of the topic (topic identification).

With the connection establishment request 40, the user ID, which is assigned to the telephone symbol, can also be transmitted.

The topic identification is not part of the communication identification because a communication identification can be assigned to different topics respectively. Additionally, an identification of the second user 2 can be transmitted. This identification can, however, also be part of the communication identification.

Subsequent to the connection establishment request 40, the server device checks the account balance 21 of the first user 1. If the account balance 21 of the first user 1 has sufficient credit, the server device 10 establishes a communication connection corresponding to the connection establishment request between the first user 1 and the second user 2. The communication connection is both established and managed by the server device 10. This means that the total exchange of information or the total communication between the first user 1 and the second user 2 is completely handled by the server device 10.

If the first account balance 21 of the first user 1, however, does not have sufficient credit, the connection establishment request 40 is rejected by the server device 10. Alternatively, the server device 10 can also offer the first user 1 the possibility to increase the first account balance 21, so that the server device 10 can establish the communication connection 50 between the first device 11 and the second device 12.

When establishing the connection, the identification of the topic (topic identification) is also transmitted to the second user 2. The transmitted topic identification can be shown at the second device. The second user thus even before answering the call knows which topic the conversation will be about.

As both the connection establishment, i.e. establishing a communication connection, and the communication itself are handled by the server device 10, it is possible to settle the communication between the two users 1 and 2 directly. During the communication or after the communication between the two users has been finished, the account balance 21 of the first user is reduced and the account balance 22 of the second user 2 is increased. The settlement between two users takes place depending on the information exchanged (topic). This is possible due to the fact that a user can assign the corresponding settlement procedures to the assignment of a communication identification to a topic. The second user can determine e.g., for each topic, different units of account per time unit.

If the second user 2, for example, is an expert in the field of patent law and he at the same time has a basic knowledge of rice growing in China, he can indicate in his user profile that an inquiry on the subject of patent law costs ten units of account per time unit and an inquiry on the subject of rice growing in China costs one unit of account per time unit. In this way, it is possible for the first time to settle a communication between two users of an internet platform on-topic, i.e. depending on the information to be exchanged.

A concrete example of the settlement between two users is described in more detail with respect to Fig. 2. In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, the two users 1 and 2 can also agree on a new settlement procedure during the conversation. If, for example, during a telephone call between the first user 1 and the second user 2, it turns out that the second user 2, for example, can only partially answer a question put by the first user 1, the two users can either change the number of currency units per time unit or the time unit itself during the conversation.

It is thus possible to adapt the settlement dynamically during a conversation. The settlement can also be adapted or modified several times during a conversation. If the settlement has been changed during a conversation, it can be advantageous to carry out the definitive settlement at the end of the conversation, i.e., the first account balance 21 of the first user 1 is not reduced until the end of the conversation and the second account balance 22 of the second user 2 is also not increased until the end of the conversation. After the end of the conversation, the second user 2 now disposes of an increased account balance 22, which he can use in turn in order to put questions to further users of the internet platform. The further users of the internet platform have in turn deposited units of account per time unit for their part for certain subject areas corresponding to their assigned topics, according to which a direct settlement between the second user 2 and the further users of the internet platform takes place. According to the invention, several account balances of all users are centrally managed by the internet platform or by the server device 10. As already stated, all account balances are preferably stored in the database 30. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a virtual unit of account can be provided. A unit of account can, for example, be a co inlet. 100 coinlets can make up, for example, a coin. In a preferred embodiment of the invention thus no real currency is necessary in order to settle an account between two users of an internet platform. In order to guarantee that new users logged into the internet platform can also put questions to other users of the internet platform, it is provided that an account balance is assigned to the new logged- in user, which exhibits a predetermined number of units of account.

It has been described above that a communication connection between two users is preferably established if the requested user is a logged-in user of the internet platform, or if the requested user has accepted a certain kind of communication connection even without being logged into the internet platform.

In order to, however, enable to the first user 1 e. g. to contact the second user 2 even if the second user 2 is unavailable, it is provided that it is communicated to the second user 2 that a connection establishment request has been initiated by the first user 1 , as soon as the second user 2 has logged into the internet platform again. Next time both the first user 1 and the second user 2 are logged into the internet platform at the same time, both users can be informed about this. The first user 1 can confirm this information. The confirmation can initiate a connection establishment request, which is received by the server device 10. The further course is then identical to the course described above.

The server device 10 can be designed in such a way that the communication between two users takes place encoded. An embodiment of the invention has been described above, in which the communication between two users takes place over a telephone connection, wherein both the connection establishment request and the communication itself is handled or supervised by the server device 10. Instead of a communication by telephone, a communication can also be handled, for example, by means of Voice over IP (VoIP), e-mail or other means of communication. As devices, for example, conventional computers, mobile phones, tablet PCs or the like can be provided.

With reference to Fig. 2, it is now described, how the direct settlement between two users of an internet platform according to the invention is handled.

First of all, a first user selects a second user from an catalogue. For the selected second user, the first user 1 initiates a connection establishment request. In doing so, at least the topic identification and the communication identification are transmitted to the server device, as it has been described with respect to Fig. 1. After a connection establishment request has been received by the server device, and after the connection between two users has been established, the first account balance 21 of a first user has a certain credit. The second account balance 22 of a second user also has a certain credit.

In the example shown in Fig. 2, the second user has deposited in his profile that for a telephone inquiry about the selected topic, units of account in the value of w are to be settled per time lapse t. As soon as the first time lapse t has proceeded, the first account balance 21 is reduced by the adjusted amount w and the second account balance 22 is increased by the adjusted amount w.

During the first time lapse t or at the end of the first time lapse t, the two users can negotiate a new time lapse, according to which the further settlement is to take place, and/or a new value, which is to be settled per time unit. The settlement according to the newly negotiated price basis can thus be begun after the currently valid time lapse has proceeded, or the currently valid time lapse can be finished and the settlement according to the newly negotiated price basis can be continued directly. In the present example according to Fig. 2, the two users only negotiate a new value w', which is to be settled per time unit. The time lapse t is not newly negotiated. Moreover, the new value w' is settled, as soon as the current time lapse t has proceeded.

With the procedure of the second time lapse t', which directly follows the first time lapse t, an adjusted amount w' is deducted from the first account balance 21 and credited to the second account balance 22. The users once again negotiate a new value w" during the second time lapse t', which is used for the settlement of the third time lapse t".

The two account balances 21 and 22 can, however, also be equalized after the communication connection has finished. The compensation can take place, for example, on the basis of the most recently fixed time lapse t and/or on the basis of the most recently fixed adjusted amount w per time lapse t.

According to the invention, the communication connection does not have to be interrupted for a revision of the time lapse t and/or for a revision of the adjusted amount w per time lapse t. This means that the data relevant for the settlement can be negotiated between the users while maintaining the communication connection. The new data relevant for the settlement are determined by the requested user and preferably transmitted via the device of the requested user of the server device 10. After the transmission of the new data subject to settlement to the server device 10, the requesting user can ask for a confirmation. If the requesting user confirms the change within a predetermined time, the communication is continued. If, within the predetermined time, no confirmation is carried out by the first user, or if the requesting user refuses the confirmation, the communication connection between the first user 1 and the second user 2 ends. If, after the communication connection has finished, there are time units which have not yet been settled, they are settled in conclusion.

If using sequential settlement during a communication connection it may happen that the account balance of the requesting user falls below a predetermined value. It cannot be ensured in every case that for the further communication between the two users a corresponding credit can be added to the account balance of the requested user. In this case it is provided that the server device 10 transmits a signal to the requesting user at his device, which points out to the requesting user that his account balance has fallen below a certain value. The requesting user then obtains the possibility to stock up his account balance, for which different possibilities are made available.

One possibility to stock up the account balance is to acquire virtual units of account from the operating company of the internet platform. Another possibility is that the requesting user obtains a virtual credit from the requested user. This virtual credit can be paid back by the requesting user to the requested user in the form of an information via the internet platform according to the invention. Alternatively, the requesting user can also finish the communication connection.

For the method according to the invention, it is thus important that especially the settlement between two users of an internet platform according to the invention is handled almost in real time. In order to allow a settlement almost in real time, it is advantageous to distribute the load of the server device 10 to several server devices, as it is described in more detail in the following with respect to Fig. 3.

The users of the internet platform can, in another embodiment of the invention, also sell the credit of their account balances to other users. Fig. 3 shows a network of server devices 10, which are designed for connecting and supervising communication connections according to the process according to the invention between a large number of users. At the same time, it is required that for several active communication connections between users of the internet platform, each settlement between the users of a communication connection takes place in real time. The settlement in real time is especially required due to the fact that the settlement procedures (time lapse t and/or adjusted amount w per time lapse t) can be modified any number of times for each active communication connection during the communication connection. In order to meet this real-time requirement, it is advantageous to provide a number of server devices 10 to which the load is preferably dynamically balanced. In this respect, it is also advantageous to provide a distributed database for storing the user profiles and the account balances assigned to the user profiles, so that also the access to the databases is preferably evenly distributed.

In order to increase the performance of the system still further, it is proposed to load at least the account balances of the users for which a communication connection has been established, into a main memory of the server device 10 and to settle the account balances directly in the main memory. After finishing a communication connection, the respective account balances can be written into the database 30 again.

With respect to Fig. 4, a concrete example of an internet platform is now described. The internet platform can, for example, make available the possibility to bring together persons who are searching for an answer from a certain area with experts in the respective area. A device, for example, can display the website shown in Fig. 4 to a requesting person 61. The person 61, who, as described earlier, has logged into the internet platform, disposes of a first account balance of twenty-two units of account 62. The requesting person 61 would like to acquire a car of the make Fiat Cinquecento. Before, however, acquiring this car, he would like to consult an expert. The person 61 can thus navigate through a tree structure on the website until he arrives at the entry of Fiat Cinquecento. To each entry in the tree structure corresponding experts are assigned. The assignment to a node of the tree structure can be carried out by the experts themselves. The person 61 now selects the node Cinquecento. Due to this selection, a result list is displayed in the right hand area 65 of the web page, in which experts for the topic „Fiat Cinquecento" are listed. The expertise deposited by each expert is also displayed for each expert. For each expert it is also displayed which type of communication (communication identification) is possible with the expert and how many currency units per time unit are settled for this purpose.

The user Joe Sixpack, for example, possesses a Fiat Cinquecento and has extensive experience in repairing and restoring vehicles. The user Joe Sixpack moreover only accepts requests by telephone. For this purpose, Joe Sixpack requires twelve coins per minute.

The user John Dow, on the other hand, is the owner of seven Fiat Cinquecento and has extensive experience in repairing and restoring vehicles. Moreover, John Dow has been a vehicle mechanic since 1985. A question can be put to John Dow both by e- mail and by telephone. For a request by telephone, John Dow charges 18 coins per minute. For a request by e-mail, John Dow charges 25 coins for each e-mail.

As the requesting person 61 disposes of a cost balance of 22 coins only, he can only contact John Dow by telephone. Alternatively, he could also contact Joe Sixpack by telephone, as his account balance would also be sufficient for this purpose.

If the person 61 now contacts the user John Dow by telephone and the advice or the conversation takes one minute, the account balance of the person 61 reduces to four coins, whereas the account balance of the user John Dow is increased by 18 coins. Of course, it is also possible to formulate a query in another way than with the tree structure shown here. Especially a full-text search can also be provided, with the help of which corresponding experts can be researched. It is, however, advantageous if the users of the internet platform assign their expertise to corresponding topics or catalogue their expertise in the internet platform, so that a seeking person will find a corresponding expert quickly and easily.

According to the invention, a topic-driven exchange of information is possible, wherein the balance of interests is realized by the direct settlement between the users. Call statistics and/or user statistics can also be provided, from which arises how and about which topics a user has provided information.

According to the invention it is also possible that several persons together put a question to a user of the internet platform. The settlement substantially takes place analogously to the settlement between two persons. However, it can be provided that the units of account determined by the requested user per time unit are divided among the individual requesting users, i.e., the account balances of the requesting users are reduced proportionally.

Claims

Patent claims

1. A method for providing a communication connection between a first device (11) used by a first user (1) and a second device (12) used by a second user (2) over a server device (10), wherein the method comprises the following steps on the server side:

- transmitting at least one topic identification and one communication identification, wherein a terminal identification is assigned to the communication identification on the server side, to the first device (11), for displaying on the first device (11) and for the selection of a topic identification and a communication identification by the first user (1);

- receiving a connection establishment request (40) from the first device (1 1), which can be initialised by the first user (1) after selecting a topic identification and a communication identification at the first device (11), wherein the connection establishment request (40) comprises at least the selected communication identification and the selected topic identification;

- establishing the communication connection (50) between the first device (11) and the second device (12) according to the terminal identification assigned to the communication identification; and

- settling the communication connection (50) between the first user (1) and the second user (2), comprising

- reducing a first account balance (21), which is assigned to the first user (1) on the server side, by a first value, and

- increasing a second account balance (22), which is assigned to the second user (2) on the server side, by a second value, wherein the first value and the second value are each selected depending on the received topic identification and/or on the received communication identification.

The method according to claim 1, wherein during the establishment of the communication connection (50), the received topic identification is transmitted to the second device (12) for displaying at the second device (12).

The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein before connecting the communication connection (50) the first account balance (21) is checked, and wherein the communication connection (50) is established if the first account balance (21) exhibits a predetermined minimum value.

The method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first account balance (21) and the second account balance (22) during the communication connection (50) after each predetermined time lapse (t) are reduced or increased by the respective value.

The method according to claim 4, wherein the time lapse (t) is selected depending on the received topic identification and/or on the received communication identification.

The method according to one of the claims 4 or 5, wherein the time lapse (t) and/or the first value and/or the second value are changeable during the duration of the communication connection (50).

The method according to claim 6, wherein a changed time lapse (t) and/or the changed first value and/or the changed second value are received by the server device (10) of the first device (11) and/or of the second device (12) while maintaining the communication connection (50).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein a received change of the time lapse (t), of the first value and/or of the second value of a device is signalled to the respective other device.

9. The method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one topic identification and the at least one communication identification as a result of a query initiated at the first device (11) is transmitted to the first device (11).

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the query comprises a number of search criteria with which second users (2) are searchable, and wherein the search criteria are provided by the second users (2) of the server device (10) for storing on the server device (10).

11. The method according to one of the claims 9 or 10, wherein the result comprises a result list (65) with the found second users (2), wherein the result list (65) for each found second user comprises at least one communication identification and at least one topic identification.

12. The method according to one of the claims 9 to 11, wherein the search criteria are stored in catalogue form on the server device (10), preferably in a database

(30), and wherein the search criteria can be displayed (60) in catalogue form at the first device (11) for initiating the query.

13. The method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the communication connection (50) comprises at least one of internet telephony

(VoIP), e-mail, online conversation (chat), telephony, video telephony, and internal notification service.

14. The method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a fall below a predetermined minimum value of the first account balance (21) is signalled to the first user (1) during the communication connection.

15. The method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a connection establishment request (40) of several first users (1) together can be initialised.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the account balances (21) of the respective first users (11) are reduced proportionally.

17. The method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the communication via the communication connection takes place encoded.

18. The method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first account balance (21) and the second account balance (22) are each stored on the server device (10), preferably in a database (30), and wherein the account balances (21, 22) are each indicated as a virtual currency unit.

19. An internet platform comprising equipment for providing communication connections between first users (1) of the internet platform and second users (2) of the internet platform, comprising at least one server device (10), which is connectable with the devices (11, 12) of the users (1, 2), wherein for each user (l, 2) an account balance (21, 22) is storable in the server device (20), wherein the server device (10) is designed

- for transmitting at least one topic identification and at least one communication identification to the device (11) of a first user (1),

- to receive a connection establishment request from a device (11) of the first user (1), wherein the connection establishment request (40) comprises at least one communication identification and one topic identification, and wherein a terminal identification can be assigned to the communication identification on the server side,

- to connect a communication connection (50) between the device (11) of the first user (1) and the device (12) of the second user (2) according to the terminal identification assigned to the communication identification, and to reduce the account balance (21) of the first user (1) by a first value and to increase the account balance (22) of the second user (12) by a second value.

20. The internet platform according to claim 19, wherein the server device (10) is further designed to transmit the topic identification received by the first device (11) to the second device (12) while establishing the communication connection (50).

21. The internet platform according to one of the claims 19 to 20, wherein the communication connection (50) comprises at least one of internet telephony

(VoIP), e-mail, online conversation (chat), telephony, and video telephony.

22. The internet platform according to one of the claims 19 to 21, wherein the communication between two users (1, 2) is completely handled by the server device (10) of the internet platform.

23. The internet platform according to one of the claims 19 to 21, wherein the server device (10) comprises means for storing communication identifications, terminal identifications and topic identifications, wherein each communication identification and each topic identification is assigned to at least one user of the internet platform, and wherein each terminal identification is assigned to at least one communication identification.

24. The internet platform according to one of the claims 19 to 23, the internet platform being designed for carrying out a method according to one of claims 1 to 18.

25. A computer program product with a program code, which, when loaded into a computer system, causes the method according one of the claims 1 to 18 to be performed.