WO2018081859A1

WO2018081859A1 - Phone application (contact id)

Info

Publication number: WO2018081859A1
Application number: PCT/AU2017/051204
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Wright; Kevin NAM
Original assignee: Wright Phone Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2016-11-02
Filing date: 2017-11-02
Publication date: 2018-05-11

Abstract

A caller ID interface (50) can be displayed during a call between a caller (13) and a recipient (15). The caller can configure their caller ID interface at a server (18) with one or more actions. The actions, represented on the caller ID interface by selectable icons (44, 45, 46), may include website links, application accounts and navigation actions. During a call, the caller ID interface is displayed on the recipient device (14). The recipient can select the icons of the interface to cause the associated actions to be performed.

Description

PHONE APPLICATION (CONTACT ID)

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to systems and methods for call interfaces. The present disclosure has particular relevance to mobile phone applications, but is not to be limited thereto.

2. Description of Related Art

[0002] There are various caller ID interfaces that display information regarding a caller to a recipient. Typically, the caller ID displayed to a call recipient will include only static information such as a caller number, a caller name and potentially a picture or avatar of the caller. The caller ID information is typically stored within the user's device in a contact list.

[0003] What is required is an improved system and method for conveying caller information to a recipient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In one aspect, there is provided a method for displaying a call participant identification interface on a first communications device of a first call participant. The method may include retrieving call participant identification interface information of a second call participant from a server to the first communications device, the call participant identification information including one or more actions that are configured by the second call participant. The information may be processed in the first communications device to generate a navigatable call participant identification interface including one or more selectable icons associated with the one or more actions. The interface may be displayed on the communications device during a call between the first call participant and the second call participant such that the first call participant is able to select the one or more selectable icons to invoke the one or more actions. [0005] In one aspect, there is provided a telecommunications device comprising at least one processor, at least one memory operatively associated with the at least one processor, and an executable call application stored in the at least one memory. The call application may be executable by the at least one processor such that when the call application is executed by the at least one processor, the call application may cause the at least one communications device to detect a call request to the telecommunications device to establish a call with a caller; retrieve from a server, in response to the call request, caller identification interface information of the caller, the caller identification interface information including one or more actions that are configured by the caller; process the caller identification interface information to generate a navigatable caller identification interface including one or more selectable icons associated with the one or more actions; and display the caller identification interface on the communications device during a call between the telecommunications device and the caller such that a user of the telecommunications device is able to select the one or more selectable icons to invoke the one or more actions.

[0006] In one aspect, there is provided a method for providing information to a participant of a call. The method may include determining an identity of a first call participant in an application server. The application server may retrieve information of a user configurable participant identification interface associated to the first call participant and provide the user participant identification interface information to a communications device of a second call participant.

[0007] In one aspect, there is provided a method for displaying a call participant identification interface on a first communications device of a first call participant. The method may include retrieving user configurable call participant identification interface information of a second call participant from a server to the first communications device, processing the call participant identification interface information in the first communications device to generate a navigatable call participant identification interface including one or more selectable icons having one or more associated actions, and displaying the call participant identification interface on the communications device during a call between the first call participant and the second call participant.

[0008] In one aspect, there is provided a method for providing contact information to a telecommunications device that stores contact information for at least one contact. The method may include receiving configurable contact information from the at least one contact into a server and providing the configurable contact information to the telecommunications device of a user other than the at least one contact for storage in a contact list of the telecommunications device.

[0009] The present invention also resides in one or more devices programmed to perform one or more of the methods outlined above.

[0010] The present invention also resides in a non-transitory computable readable medium comprising instructions executable by at least one processor that, when executed, perform one or more of the methods outlined above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Further preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0012] Figure 1 schematically depicts a communications network;

[0013] Figure 2 schematically depicts a mobile device displaying an interface of a call app aggregator application;

[0014] Figure 3 schematically depicts the interface of Figure 2 during a call;

[0015] Figure 4 schematically depicts an example of a brand interface for a call participant for a personal caller;

[0016] Figure 5 schematically depicts an example of a brand interface for a business caller; and [0017] Figure 6 schematically depicts a mobile device displaying a secondary screen of the brand interface of Figure 5;

[0018] Figure 7 depicts a call method for displaying an active caller ID interface;

[0019] Figure 8 schematically depicts a brand configuration screen; [0020] Figure 9 schematically depicts a blank icon configuration screen; and

[0021] Figure 10 schematically depicts an example of a completed icon configuration screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Modern telecommunications devices and in particular mobile telephones, are able to display caller ID interfaces during a call. A caller ID may be displayed during communications between users. The present inventors have realised that the static caller ID interfaces represent a lost opportunity for the parties to exchange information about themselves with the other party, in particular since many conversations are conducted using devices that have internet capability during a voice conversation. To this end, the present inventors have developed an alternative caller ID interface that can provide additional information to a call participant during a call and/or can be customisable.

In Figure 1, there is shown a communications system that may be utilized in conducting one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The system 10 includes a first communications device 12 for a first user or call participant 13 and a second communications device 14 for a second user or call participant 15. The devices 12, 14 are able to communicate with each other through a cloud of networks 16. The networks 16 may include both conventional telephony channels, e.g. packet switched networks and mobile telephony networks. The networks 16 may also include internet communication channels including data networks. While embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to two call participants for simplicity and clarity, the person skilled in the art will recognise that multi-participant calls may be conducted with more than two call participants, e.g. conference calls, party-line calls, etc. and that the principals of the invention to be described herein apply to such multi- participant calls. That is, the invention is not to be limited to calls between only two call participants.

[0023] Each device 12, 14 will typically include at least one processor and at least one memory operatively associated with the processor. The memory will store programs, applications and instruction sets that can be executed by the processor for executing the functions of the respective communications device. The devices 12, 14 will further include a display that can display information to a user. The devices may be any suitable communications devices including, without limitation, telephones, mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, smart phones, etc. In Figure 1, each of the first device 12 and second device 14 are depicted as mobile phones.

[0024] The devices 12, 14 may include components and associated processing software necessary for operating the devices as a communication device, e.g. via a mobile telephone network, internet, LAN, peer-to-peer network,

Bluetooth™ network, etc. Such components, e.g. encoders, decoders, transmitters, receivers, etc. are considered well known and the specific form and function of such communication components are not considered to be pertinent to the present invention. Thus, no further description of the communications components of the device are considered to be required herein.

[0025] The network cloud 16 may include various gateways, servers, databases, registers and the like depending on the type and function of the

communications to be conducted. Again, the specific form of communication and communication network does not form part of the present invention and thus no further description of the specific networks are considered to be required herein.

[0026] At least one of the devices and preferably both devices execute a particular call application 19 that facilitates the placement of calls between the two or more call participants. In one embodiment, the call application may be considered as an aggregator of other calling applications or channels. A call app aggregator is described in the Applicant's copending patent application WO 2017/120638, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. The call app aggregator may facilitate the placement of a call through a conventional packet switched network, a mobile telephone network or a data network. Through a single call application interface of the call app aggregator the call participant is able to select from a multitude of call channels that are available on the user's device. For example, the call application interface may execute on a mobile telephone and present a list of options to place a call to another party using the mobile telephone network or any one of the data channels (e.g. Skype, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc. ) installed on the user's device and/or to which the user is subscribed. When a user invokes a call by selecting a call channel, the call app aggregator places a call request into the network 16 using the underlying call interface for that selected call channel. E.g. if the user selects a Skype call, a connection request is sent to the Skype servers within the network 16 and the connection is established using the Skype protocols. The particular method by which a connection is established is not considered pertinent to the present application.

[0027] The use of a call app aggregator as outlined above is not essential to the present invention. The capability of a customisable caller ID interface, to be described below, can be built into the call applications of the communications device or may be programmed into the interfaces of specific data call applications (Skype, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.).

[0028] The system 10 includes a call application server 18. When a call is placed between call participants, information is exchanged between any of the caller device, recipient device and the call application server that enables the call application server to push additional information to the devices. The information can then be used by the call applications executing on the devices to present a customisable caller ID interface to the call participants. The call application server may be dedicated to the particular call channel, e.g. a server of the mobile telephone network provider or a server of the data call provider (Skype server, WhatsApp server, Messenger server, etc.). Alternatively or in addition, the call application server may be an external server, such as a server of the call app aggregator. [0029] The term call participant as used herein is to be considered in a broad sense and may refer to different types of entities. A call participant may be a personal entity which will typically be a single person or user. The call participant identification interface information for a personal call participant will typically be authored and controlled by the particular person or user to which the information pertains and will be the same person that is directly involved in a conversation or call.

[0030] A call participant may be a group entity such as a business. For a group entity such as a business, the call participant identification interface information will be typically be authored by a person that is different to the particular person, e.g. employee, call agent, etc., that is involved in the call. The interface information should be considered as pertaining to the call participant entity irrespective of the particular person that directly authors and creates the content or information for a call participant's caller ID interface and irrespective of the particular employee or call agent that is directly involved in the call.

[0031] When a first call participant 13 wishes to make a call to a second call participant 15, the first participant 13 selects the particular call channel, e.g. mobile call, data channel (Skype, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc) and a call request 21 is placed into the network 16 by the underlying call application of the caller device 12. The call request is processed within the network 16 and forwarded on to the recipient device 14 in a known manner.

[0032] At the recipient device 14, the call request 21 is received and the call application invokes the caller device to display a call interface reflecting the call request. The call interface may be modified in accordance with an embodiment of the invention to display a caller ID interface that displays user customisable caller ID information including one or more actions that can be navigated and/or performed by the recipient during the call. The caller ID is provided to the recipient device from the application server 18 during placement of the call. For example, as the caller device sends the call request 21, the caller device may also send call data 22 including a caller ID and recipient ID to the application server 18. The application server 18 processes the caller ID to retrieve information for a caller ID interface associated with the caller ID. The caller ID interface data 23 is sent to the recipient device 14 from the application server 18 for use in generating the caller ID interface on the recipient device 14. As an alternative, the caller ID and recipient ID may be provided to the application server via the recipient device 14.

[0033] In one embodiment, the recipient device may execute a call aggregator application that hooks into a received call request regardless of whether the call request is received on a telephony network or a data channel. The call aggregator application may be configured to overlay a call interface of the underlying call request channel with an enhanced call interface to enable additional call functionality to be performed. Figure 2 schematically illustrates a recipient device 14 displaying an example of an initial overlay screen 30 of an incoming call request for a call aggregator application that is displayed to notify the recipient of the incoming call request. In the example of Figure 2, Margret (caller) is calling Janet (recipient) The initial screen is presented as an overlay to the incoming mobile call interface of the inbuilt call handling application on the device. The incoming call notification screen 30 displays a caller photo, avatar or other identifying symbol or text in a central icon location 31. The screen 30 also indicates in text the name of the caller 310, the number 311 and the method by which the caller is calling 312. Surrounding the central icon 31, there may be additional selectable icons that allow the user to navigate the call request. A first icon 32 may allow the recipient to reject the call. A second icon 33 may allow the recipient to answer the call on the incoming call channel. Further icons 34, 35, 36, 37 may indicate alternative call channels by which the caller may elect to answer the call. For example, if the call is received on a call telephony channel, the further icons may show data channel apps available to the recipient, the selection of any of which by the recipient may invoke the original call to be dropped or suspended and a callback placed to the caller on the selected data channel. Icons for

WhatsApp™, Skype™, Messenger™, and Viber™ are shown though other call applications will be known to the person skilled in the art. More icons and information may be accessed by selecting a "more" icon 38, e.g. if there are more data channel apps installed on the device than can fit on the initial screen 30.

[0034] The use of a call app aggregator application as described herein enables the recipient to accept an incoming call on the incoming call channel, or, alternatively, provide an alternative call channel to the caller. Further details of the call channel aggregator application are described in the Applicant's co-pending patent application WO 2017/120638, referenced above. In an alternative embodiment, the recipient device does not execute a call aggregator application and thus the incoming call request is displayed to the user on the call interface installed on the device for the particular incoming call channel.

[0035] Once the recipient accepts the incoming call request, either on the incoming call channel or an alternative channel selected by the recipient, the call channel is established. During the call request and call establishment, information may be exchanged between the caller, recipient and servers that identifies the call participants. This information can be used to provide a caller ID interface to the recipient device. In one embodiment, the caller device 12 sends the call request 21 into the network cloud 16 destined for the recipient device 14. Simultaneously, the caller device 12 sends information 22 indicating the call request to the application server 18. The application server 18 receives the information, identifies the caller and recipient, and pushes a caller ID interface 23 associated with the caller to the recipient device 14. In an alternative embodiment, the recipient device receives the call request, identifies the caller from the call request (e.g. caller handle, MSISDN, etc.) and sends a download request to the application server to download the caller ID interface associated with the caller. In a further embodiment, information may be downloaded to the recipient device in response to a user action, such as pressing a button or icon to retrieve configurable caller information from the server 18.

[0036] Once the caller ID interface is retrieved to the recipient device, the recipient device can display the caller ID interface to the recipient. The caller ID interface can be displayed on the recipient device during the establishment of the call or only after the call has been established, i.e. the recipient has elected to connect the call.

[0037] Figure 3 shows an in-call interface 40 displayed on the recipient device during the call. The in-call interface 40 displays a central photo or avatar of the recipient in a selectable icon 311. The interface 40 also displays in text the name of the caller 320 and the duration of the call 321. Surrounding the central icon 311 are additional icons 331, 341, 351, 361, 371 that represent the installed channel applications available to the user, with more icons available through the "..." icon

381. The current in-use channel 331, (the mobile call for the present example), may be highlighted differently to the other icons to reflect that the respective channel is the in- use channel.

[0038] Icons to adjust the sound 322 and terminate the call 323 may also be provided on the interface 40. A further icon 325 relates to the user configurable caller ID information, referred to herein as the user's brand. The user's brand may be selectable by the brand button 325. In an alternative embodiment, the user's brand may be selected by pressing the central avatar. As has been described herein for call participants, the brand owner may be an individual entity, i.e. a person, or a group entity such as a business.

[0039] The in-call interface 40 is displayed on both of the recipient device and the caller device. Thus, Margret, in the present example, would see a similar display of information pertaining to Janet, including the ability to select and review a brand for Janet. Figure 4 shows an example of brand interface for Janet, as displayed on Margret' s phone by selecting the respective brand icon 415.

[0040] The brand display 50 includes the central avatar 41 for the brand owner (i.e. Janet). Summary text information is also shown in the display header. Surrounding the central avatar 41 may be selectable icons that have been configured by the brand owner. Example icons include a webpage 46, Linkedln™ profile for Janet 45, and a YouTube channel 44.

[0041] The icons may be drill down buttons that navigate the caller ID display hierarchy or may be information buttons that result in a page request being sent to a server to retrieve information pertaining to the caller.

[0042] The types of information is configurable by individual users and may be dependent on user type. The example caller ID interface of 40 represents a caller ID interface for a personal user in which the user configures links to the user's social and professional networking accounts of which Youtube™, Linkedln™ and the user's personal webpage are shown. Additional links may include, without limitation, user accounts for Facebook™ 42, Instagram™ 43, Snapchat™ 45. Other types of links may be displayed. For example, the user may have special interest groups, memberships or affiliations and may configure the icons with links to respective websites of those groups. Selecting any one of these icons on the recipient device will invoke a corresponding action. In one embodiment, invoking an icon may cause a browser to open and download the information from the relevant server associated with the link. Alternatively, the action may be to open an application installed on the device corresponding to the link and to present the linked information via the application. For example, selecting a caller's Facebook icon may invoke a Facebook application installed on the recipient device to open on the caller's Facebook page using the recipient's login.

[0043] An alternative caller ID interface is displayed in Figure 5. In this example, the caller ID interface 50 is for a business entity. Instead of displaying a personal photo or avatar in the central icon 51, the central icon 51 may display a company logo or similar concept. In the icons surrounding the central logo, the business entity may configure links to company information including products 52, services 53, current offers 53, policies 54, etc.. Similar to the personal caller ID interface, selection of a link via a selectable icon invokes the recipient device to download the content from the relevant server and display the content in a browser on the recipient device.

[0044] The configurable caller ID interface may be a multi-layer (i.e. multiscreen) interface. The central icon 41, 51 may be a selectable navigation button that when selected, drills down to the next level of the interface to display additional icons with links. Additional navigation buttons 46, 47, 56, 57 representing navigation actions or functions such as back, forward and home functions may also be provided. In addition, buttons for handling the call, such as hang up or hold buttons, may also be provided.

[0045] Any one of the icons may also be configured as a navigation button for accessing a link tree. For example, the "Products" icon of the interface of Figure 5, instead of invoking a link to a Products page of the caller's website, may instead invoke a further call interface screen 60 (Figure 6) that displays different categories of products. Links to products within that category may be shown in a lower order screen.

[0046] The browser that is invoked upon selection of a link may be an inbuilt or default browser installed on the recipient device that overlays the current call screen. When the browser is invoked, the call interface may collapse into a single small icon that is displayed on an edge of the display screen to allow the user to re- access the call interface. Alternatively, the application server may provide a browser that allows the recipient to browse the content provided by the caller ID interface while still displaying information pertaining to the call.

[0047] The caller ID interface is an active interface that is displayed on the a call participant's device during a call. Unlike a conventional caller ID that displays only static information such as the caller name, number, avatar, etc., the caller ID interface of the present invention allows the brand owner to program actions into the caller ID interface so that when the brand owner participates in calls with others, those other call participants can be presented with dynamic and configurable information controlled by the brand owner, that may assist the call participant during a

conversation. An advantage is that the call participant can quickly ascertain and navigate relevant information of the brand owner while simultaneously conducting the conversation with the brand owner.

[0048] For example, two friends may conduct a conversation in which the caller wants to let the recipient know that a photo has been shared on the caller's Instagram account. By presenting a link to the caller's Instagram account in the caller ID interface, the caller can enable the recipient to quickly access the shared photo during the call.

[0049] In a business context, a company entity may wish to contact a potential client or customer. The configurable caller ID interface allows the company to quickly present pertinent information to the client that allows the client to peruse the information during the call, e.g. current offers or a video of a product

demonstration, thereby enhancing the retention of the information by the client.

[0050] A process 100 for conducting a call on a recipient device is illustrated in Figure 7. At step 101, the recipient device receives a call request into the recipient device. The call request may be received on a telephony channel or a data channel. The recipient either accepts 102 or rejects 108 the call. Accepting the call 102 can include accepting the call on the incoming call channel or providing a call back to the caller on an alternative call channel as herein described.

[0051] If the call is accepted, the call connection may be established 103 in a manner pertaining to the particular call channel. E.g. a data call will be established by executing the various APIs and procedures for the particular data call application selected by the caller or recipient. As the call is established, caller ID information is received into the recipient device (step 104). The provision of the caller ID information to the recipient device may be in response to an information request from the recipient device to the application server. The information request may identify the caller from a telephony number or subscriber handle. Alternatively, the caller device may send identifying information to the application server when initiating the call that prompts the application server to send caller ID information to the recipient device.

[0052] At step 105, the recipient device displays an active caller ID interface during the call. The recipient may navigate the active caller ID interface during the call by interacting with the various navigation icons of the caller ID interface. The navigation commands are received and actioned at step 106.

[0053] When the call is terminated (step 107), the call channels are dismantled in a known manner. However, the caller ID interface may remain open to allow the recipient to continue to navigate the caller information provided.

[0054] As described above with reference to Figure 2, the recipient device may execute a call app aggregator application that hooks into any call request received and presents the recipient with an interface that enables the recipient to select an alternative call channel. The icon positions throughout the multiple incoming call interface screens may be considered to have a location hierarchy, with locations on the initial screen having highest prominence or order in the hierarchy than positions on subsequent screens. Places within a single screen may also be considered to have a hierarchy.

[0055] The hierarchy of the display of the call channels can be determined based on various factors. In one embodiment, the call channels are displayed in a location hierarchy based on current login status. Thus, if both the caller and recipient are logged into a particular data call app, that app may receive a high position in the location hierarchy. In an alternative embodiment, locations may be considered commodities that can be purchased by the various data app providers so that a provider that wishes their app to be displayed more prominently on the caller interface may pay for the privilege. [0056] The application server 18 may provide a configuration interface that enables a user, i.e. brand owner, to configure their caller ID interface. To gain access to a user's own caller ID interface, the user must first identify themselves to the application server via any suitable login mechanism. Once identified, the user may select and configure the icons of their caller ID interface. Figure 8 shows a blank caller ID interface to be customised by the user. The interface 80 includes a central icon 81 surrounded by blank icons 82-86. Selection of the central icon 81 allows the user to select and configure the user's avatar or photo. Any of the blank icons 82-86 may be selected to configure an invokable command or action into the icon. Once all of the icons 82-86 have been configured, additional icons can be added through the more icon 88.

[0057] Figure 9 shows a configuration interface for configuring a particular button or icon. The configuration interface presents a drop down menu 91 that enables the user to select a brand item. The drop down menu may present a range of known and desirable brand items, including brand partners and social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, etc. The drop down menu 91 may also present other items such as generic (and configurable) website items, email accounts, etc.

Selection of the brand item may automatically configure the icon with an image pertaining to the selected brand item, e.g. a Facebook logo. The user may then enter a brand title 92 (which may also be preconfigured for specific brand items) and configure a link 93 for the brand item. Selecting the link button 93 may allow the user to manually enter the link information, e.g. by typing in or pasting a URL.

Alternatively, the link button may invoke code that performs a lookup to the user's account for the respective brand item, e.g. the user's Linkedln account. As an example, if a user wishes to add their Linkedln profile, they may choose "Linkedln" from the brand item menu. The system may then invoke a login screen, either in response to selecting Linkedln from the brand item menu or in response to selecting the Link field. The login screen may prompt the user for their Linkedln username and password and would confirm if they are sure they wish for the Caller ID application to have access to their Linkedln profile. Once the user accepts, then the two apps (i.e.

Linkedln and Caller ID) are linked and this persons Linkedln info can then be shared with other users via the person's caller ID interface. [0058] In one embodiment, for known brand partners, the configuration interface may be modified to replace the generic link field with a direct link button which would invoke an authentication screen and the underlying APIs for the relevant brand partner. The brand title would also be automatically populated for the brand partner.

[0059] Figure 10 shows an example of the icon configuration interface 90 once it has been configured by the user, John. In this example, the user has selected the brand item type to be a website and has provided the title "John's Website". This title will be displayed in the subsequent icon. The user has further configured the link 93 with a URL "http://johnsmithwebsite.com". When John's brand is displayed on the caller ID interface, e.g. in icon 56 of the interface 30 (Figure 4) and the person viewing the caller ID interface selects the icon 56, a browser will open and download the content of the URL.

[0060] The configuration interface 80 may also accept commands to add additional icons, delete icons, rearrange icons and construct or modify a caller ID interface tree that affects on what screen and in what order the icons are displayed. These actions may be performed through a range of on screen gestures including long taps, swipes, drags, etc.

[0061] The application server may implement one or more policies that govern the types of information that a user can configure and present to others in their caller ID interface. Such policies may restrict presentation of adult content, spam, malware links, etc.

[0062] While the figures show example icon layouts and configurations, the person skilled in the art will recognize that alternative layouts are possible and can achieve equivalent functionality. Specific layouts and designs may themselves be configurable by the user within framework limits specified by the application server.

[0063] While the interface described herein is referred to as a "caller" ID interface, the interface is more appropriately considered as a "participant" ID interface in that the methods employed herein can equally be applied to present a recipient ID interface to the caller. That is, when a call is initiated by a caller, information sent to the application server may be used to identify the recipient, retrieve a participant ID interface for the recipient, and provide the recipient ID interface to the caller device for display.

[0064] Various labels may be assigned to the different icons and links during configuration of the participant ID interface by the owner and rules governing how those labels or icons are presented may be created by the owner. For example, information may be displayed or hidden depending on whether the user is the caller or the recipient. Information may be displayed or hidden depending on whether the other party identifies as a business or personal entity. Other labels and parameters will be apparent to the person skilled in the art. The labels and rules will be used to determine what information is sent to different call participants in the participant ID interface.

[0065] While the participant ID interface is described herein within a call application that facilitates call channel selection across multiple call channels, the participant ID interface may also be presented within a single call channel application. For example, Skype, Messenger, etc. may each adopt the participant ID interface and allow users to display customizable and navigatable icons that present additional information to a user. A single user may therefore have multiple caller ID interfaces across their multiple call applications.

[0066] The call application has been described and illustrated herein with particular reference to mobile devices that have the capability of conducting calls on both telephony and data channels. However, the call application may also be implemented on devices such as laptop and desktop computers that are configured only for calls on data channels.

[0067] As is known, devices will typically store contact information such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, subscriber handles or usernames, etc. in a contact list with a single contact entry able to store multiple identifiers for the multiple call channels of a single contact. The contact list may be modified to also store a link to the caller ID interface of a contact on the application server to enable the device user to retrieve and view the caller ID interface information, links, etc., from the application server even when a call to the contact is not current or active. [0068] An advantage one or more of the present embodiments include that a first party has some degree of control over the information seen by a second party. For example, in a marketing or early contact scenario, a caller may cold-call a recipient. During such a call, the recipient might typically use various search engines and the like on a nearby computer to search for information regarding the caller and/or subject matter of the call. For example, if the caller is representing a company, the recipient might conduct a search for that company as well as products/services. In the process, the recipient may discover undesirable information from the caller's point of view such as competitor information, unfavourable reviews, etc. By using the call application with a properly configured and customised caller ID, the caller is able to directly point the recipient to the relevant information that the caller wishes the recipient to see. For example, the caller may configure their caller ID menus to show products and services, current offers, profile of the caller, video demonstrations, etc.

[0069] In this specification, the word "comprising" is to be understood in its "open" sense, that is, in the sense of "including", and thus not limited to its "closed" sense, that is the sense of "consisting only of. A corresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words "comprise, comprised and comprises where they appear.

[0070] While particular embodiments of this invention have been described, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential

characteristics thereof. The present embodiments and examples are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. It will further be understood that any reference herein to known prior art does not, unless the contrary indication appears, constitute an admission that such prior art is commonly known by those skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method for displaying a call participant identification interface on a first communications device of a first call participant, the method including

(A) retrieving call participant identification interface information of a second call participant from a server to the first communications device, the call participant identification information including one or more actions that are configured by the second call participant;

(B) processing the call participant identification interface information in the first communications device to generate a navigatable call participant identification interface including one or more selectable icons associated with the one or more actions; and

(C) displaying the call participant identification interface on the

communications device during a call between the first call participant and the second call participant such that the first call participant is able to select the one or more selectable icons to invoke the one or more actions.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the second call participant is a caller of the call.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the second call participant is a recipient of the call.

4. The method of claim 1 including displaying the call participant identification interface during establishment of a call between the first call participant and the second call participant.

5. The method of claim 1 including displaying the call participant identification interface only after a call between the first call participant and the second call participant has been established.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein a first selectable icon of the one or more selectable icons represents a website and wherein selection of the first selectable icon invokes navigation by the communications device to the website.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein a first selectable icon of the one or more selectable icons represents an application and wherein selection of the first selectable icon invokes the communications device to open the application.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the first selectable icon is further associated with an application account of the second call participant, the method including navigating the application to the application account of the second call participant.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein a first selectable icon of the one or more selectable icons includes a navigation icon that navigates from a first screen display of the call participant identification interface including a first plurality of selectable icons to a second screen display of the call participant identification interface including a second plurality of selectable icons. The method of claim 1 including receiving a selection of at least one selectable icon by the first call participant during the call and performing at least one action associated with the selected at least one selectable icon.

The method of claim 1 including maintaining a display of the call participant identification interface on the communications device after termination of the call to enable the first call participant to continue to navigate the call participant identification interface of the second call participant.

The method of claim 1 including:

(A) retrieving call participant identification interface information of the first call participant from the server to a second communications device of the second call participant, the call participant identification information of the first call participant including one or more second actions that are configured by the first call participant;

(B) processing the call participant identification interface information of the first call participant in the second communications device to generate a navigatable call participant identification interface of the first call participant including one or more selectable icons associated with the one or more second actions; and

(C) displaying the call participant identification interface on the second communications device during the call such that the second call participant is able to invoke the one or more second actions.

A telecommunications device comprising at least one processor, at least one memory operatively associated with the at least one processor, and an executable call application stored in the at least one memory, the call application executable by the at least one processor such that when the call application is executed by the at least one processor, the call application may cause the at least one communications device to:

(A) detect a call request to the telecommunications device to establish a call with a caller;

(B) retrieve from a server, in response to the call request, caller

identification interface information of the caller, the caller identification interface information including one or more actions that are configured by the caller;

(C) process the caller identification interface information to generate a navigatable caller identification interface including one or more selectable icons associated with the one or more actions; and

(D) display the caller identification interface on the communications device during a call between the telecommunications device and the caller such that a user of the telecommunications device is able to select the one or more selectable icons to invoke the one or more actions.

14. The telecommunications device of claim 13 wherein the call application is programmed to display the caller identification interface over an underlying communications application that initially processes the call request.

15. The telecommunications device of claim 13 wherein the call application is programmed to store, on the telecommunications device, a link to the caller identification interface information on the server such that a user is able to retrieve and view the call identification interface after the call has been terminated. The telecommunications device of claim 13 wherein the call application is programmed to receive a user selection of at least one selectable icon during the call and perform at least one action associated with the selected at least one selectable icon, wherein the at least one action includes at least one of:

(A) navigating to a website associated with the selected icon;

(B) navigating to a caller account associated with the selected icon using an application associated with the selected icon; and

(C) navigating from a first display screen of the caller identification

interface to a second display screen of the caller identification interface.

A method for providing information to a participant of a call, the method including:

(A) determining an identity of a first call participant of the call in an

application server;

(B) retrieving by the application server, first call participant identification interface information associated to the first call participant, the first call participant identification interface information including at least one action configured by the first call participant;

(C) providing the retrieved first call participant identification interface information from the application server to a second call participant communications device of a second call participant of the call such that the second call participant is able to select and invoke the at least one action configured by the first call participant during the call.

The method of claim 17 including: (A) determining an identity of the second call participant;

(B) retrieving, by the application server, second call participant

identification interface information associated to the second call participant, the second call participant identification interface information including at least one second action configured by the second call participant;

(C) providing the retrieved second call participant identification interface information from the application server to a first call participant communications device of the first call participant such that the first call participant is able to select and invoke the at least one second action configured by the second call participant.