DE102006015057A1 - User interface for establishing communication connection, has selection field provided for selecting identification titles of users, to which communication connection is established, based on identification titles from data base - Google Patents

Abstract

The interface has a data base with identification titles of users, and a text input field (E) for selecting the users. A selection field is provided for selecting the identification titles of the users, to which a communication connection e.g. instant-messaging connection, is established, based on the titles from a data base. The database contains telephone address and/or short message service (SMS)-address and/or instant-messaging-address, and is stored on a server or in a peer-to-peer-system. An independent claim is also included for a computer readable storage medium storing a computer program on computer to provide a user interface for establishing communication connection.

Description

The The invention relates to a user interface for producing a Communication connection.

conventional Telephony was originally about independent, connection-oriented telephony network. With the Dissemination of the packet-oriented Internet is also a form of transmission from telephone conversations emerged, the so-called Voice-over-IP (VoIP). Here are phone calls not over the conventional one Telephony network but partially or completely over the Internet. The attractiveness for providers from voice-over-IP telephony results from the better utilization of already existing network resources. The attractiveness again for the users of voice-over-IP telephony is due to the fact that the telephone costs with VoIP turn out lower and under certain circumstances even completely omitted can.

Known VoIP telephony systems, which are PC-based, enable It allows a user to make phone calls over the internet from his own PC to another Voice-over-IP enabled device, such as another one PC or a voice over IP phone, to do. In the background of such VoIP telephony systems stand SIP or a peer-to-peer system.

Known PC-based VoIP telephony systems use a so-called client, that is one Software as a bridge to the actual Voice over IP service serves. A user who want to use a voice over IP telephony system, i. who wants to call or needs to be called usually register with the VoIP telephony system. This registration causes that the system knows the user and that the user as a result Phone calls and even other users known to the system can call.

The known VoIP telephony systems have the disadvantage that they are incompatible are to the namespaces, that exist in other Internet-based groups or services, such as ebay or amazon. Everyone has these services User a user ID. This serves to identify a User and is used instead of his real name, the I. A. before public Access protected shall be. Together with a secret password becomes the user ID also used to give the user access to the respective service to allow. The user IDs of the users of an internet service make up the namespace of this service. Well-known VoIP telephony systems can but not easily connect to a user, of which only the user identifier from an Internet service is known.

The The object underlying the invention is to provide a user interface to specify a communication connection that the integration existing namespaces allows and thus with reduced effort the production of a communication connection to a user with a user ID from an existing one Namespace allowed.

These Task is through a user interface to produce a Communication connection according to claim 1 solved.

The inventive user interface is designed as a plug-in for a browser. It has a database with identification titles of users, a first input option to select a User to whom the communication connection is made, based on his ID from the database and a second Input possibility to include the identification title of a user in the database on.

When Identification titles can be strings. These strings can for example, correspond to the real name of a user. It but it is also possible that one of the strings of a user ID for a network or corresponds to an internet service. The string can be any Type of characters, that is, next to letters and numbers or special characters. It is therefore also possible that as an identification title a pure sequence of numbers is used. This can be, for example, a personnel number or phone number.

The inventive method thus offers the possibility Names or other identification titles from existing ones Internet services such as ebay or Amazon or newsgroups into a communication solution too integrate. It does not matter if any user IDs or real names or both are used together. By the provided first input possibility is easily possible, one Establish communication connection.

One Another advantage of the solution according to the invention lies in its greater flexibility. After that search for known identification titles, it is not necessary that an exact or correct address, such as a telephone number is known.

As a communication connection here are preferably, for example, VoIP, SMS or instant messaging connections and other ver like compounds in question. These are referred to as connections, even if in the case of, for example, the SMS connection, this is usually one-sided and consists only of the transmission of a data packet.

In An advantageous embodiment of the invention contains the database additionally assigned to the identification titles te phone addresses and / or SMS addresses and / or instant messaging addresses.

With Phone addresses here is a phone number of a conventional Telephony network, for example. PSTN = Public Switched Telephone Network, or an alternative number-based network, an Internet address, a URI = Universal Resource Identifier or equivalent information about meant a user who is using a VOIP connection with this To create users. The terms SMS address and instant messaging address denote analog addresses that are used to make such a connection or to send a message in the appropriate way and Way is necessary.

For example can any phone address that is stored in the database be associated with one or more identification titles. hereby Is it possible, Identify a telephone address using an identification title. This is also analogous for the other types of addresses possible.

Prefers the database is stored on a server. Alternatively, the Database stored in a peer-to-peer system. A storage on a server has the advantage of easy and direct access to allow the database. A decentralized storage, eg. in a peer-to-peer system however, has the advantage of the load of storage as well as the load, which results from sending the contents of the database to several Computer or peer-to-peer node to distribute.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention contains the database additionally at least for one Part of the identification title also one or more associated with this Internet address ranges. This can advantageously a wrong Selection of an identification title can be avoided.

Prefers exists the first input possibility from a text input field and / or from a selection field.

In an advantageous development of the invention is the first input option configured such that only such identification titles considered in which at least one of their assigned Internet address ranges match the Internet address range of a document displayed in the browser.

Prefers allows the first input option additionally a selection of the type of communication connection.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention is the first input option in addition or exclusively designed such that for at least one identification title contained in the database at least one input element in a browser Document is provided.

Examples for a such documents are web pages or intranet pages. in this connection it can be HTML pages or else generated by another Information pages or any other document, examples therefor are flash pages or by server-side scripting such as PHP or client-side Scripting like Javascript generated HTML pages or even PDF or pure text documents.

The Presentation and the provision of the input element can thereby take place at the same time that the input elements in the Representation are embedded.

Prefers the input element is displayed at one point in the document, where the identification title is contained in the document. In a preferred embodiment and development of the invention the input element from an icon. For example, this icon a small icon to be like a phone icon. This is preferred Icon following the known identification title, i.e. behind it. It is also possible to use the icon above, below or before that. In an alternative or additional Embodiment is it also possible that as an input element a definable representation of the known Identification title is used. For example, a known Identification titles are displayed as hyperlinks.

In a preferred embodiment and development of the invention the provision of the input element is based on the Addresses stored to the identification title in the list. For example, in the presence of an address type, a corresponding Icon to be deployed while no symbol is inserted in the information if an address type not saved. This has the advantage of being a user immediately can recognize which communication links to another User possible are.

The Computer program allocates funds to the procedure on a computer execute, if it is loaded into computer memory and executed.

On the computer-readable storage medium is stored a computer program, has the means to execute the method on a computer when the computer program is loaded into the computer's memory and executed becomes.

Further Details and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a explained in the drawing illustrated embodiment. there shows:

1 schematically a view of a user interface

2 schematically the structure of a user interface

3 schematically a procedure

1 shows an exemplary first embodiment of the user interface that works as a browser plug-in. In addition shows 1 schematizes a screen view that is filled in by a browser window. The browser shows a known from browsers address and information bar A, in which, for example, the address of a currently displayed in the document area document D is listed.

Between the address and information bar A and the document D is an input option in the form of a text input field E. In addition to the text input field E are a first and second button SF1, 2. The first button SF1 is used to establish a communication connection. The second button SF2 is used to enter a new identification title in the database DB, which in 2 is shown schematically.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user interface on three computers PC1 ... 3, which in 2 together with the database DB are shown schematically available.

Becomes the second button SF2 actuated, eg. with a mouse, an entry is made in the database DB. In this case, an identification title entered in the text input field E becomes Transfer database DB and saved there. Optionally, the Internet address range, eg the current domain of the document displayed in the browser D transferred are assigned to the identification title in the database DB get saved.

The Domain can be, for example, an IP address, for example, 192.168.0.0 or a String that corresponds to an IP address, eg "www.ebay.de".

By the operation the second button SF2 is now an entry in the database. In this game Ausführungsbei the ID title should be "soaxly" and that to him assigned stored domain "www.ebay.de". The entry is made in this example, starting from the first computer PC1.

In In this example, on the second computer PC2, the identification title "soaxly" in the text input field E entered and pressed the first button SF1. For example, the activity here by pressing reaches the return key, which in this example default to a activity the first button SF1 leads.

The User interface guides a search of the identification title in the database DB by and finds a corresponding entry. She then solves the production a communication connection, in this case a VoIP connection between the first and second computer PC1, 2 off.

A second embodiment results from the fact that when you press the first button SF1 additionally checked will, whether the domain of the momentary in the browser of the second computer PC2 displayed document to the "soaxly" associated entry in the database DB corresponds. Visits the user of the second computer PC2, for example, just the page "www.spiegel.de", so corresponds to Domain not the "soaxly" associated entry in the database DB. this leads to to that too the actuation the first button SF1 at the second computer PC2 not for establishing a communication connection leads.

switches the user of the second computer PC2 in the sequence to "toy.ebay.de", so the domain is right match the stored domain, and the communication connection becomes when the first button SF1 is pressed produced at the second computer PC2.

A third embodiment, which can be combined with the first two variants, adds entry elements SY1... 3 to a document displayed in the browser. The method for this will be described below with reference to 3 described.

In a first step S1, the browser receives a document D from the Internet, in this example a page of a newsgroup. The plug-in Now searches in a second step S2 of the received Internet page for identification titles, such as user IDs I1 ... 3. To do this, it compares strings appearing in document D with identification titles stored in database DB. The database DB contains not only the identification titles but also telephone addresses.

there each telephone address is assigned at least one identification title, so that from an identification title in the newsgroup, for example, on a phone address can be closed. In this example the database DB is stored in an external, dedicated server. In an alternative embodiment However, the database DB can also be stored locally in a peer-to-peer system be.

In a third step S3, the plug-in for user IDs I1 ... 3, which are found in the database DB, an input element SY1 ... 3 to. This should be an example of a telephone icon here. Schematically, the result is in 3 represented by the modified document DE, which is now displayed by the browser. Here are the inserted input elements SY1 ... 3 directly behind the respective user IDs I1 ... 3.

In alternative embodiments If the website is searched for user IDs I1 ... 3, where any address can be assigned, including one SMS address or instant messaging address. Is such an identification title found, an input element SY1 ... 3 provided when the Address is a phone address, an SMS icon if the address is an SMS address is and an instant messaging icon if the address is an instant messaging address is.

A activity the input element SY1 ... 3, for example, a click or double-click on the input element SY1 ... 3 now causes the user interface the phone number associated with the respective known identification title and establishes a VoIP connection to the appropriate user. An operation another symbol, for example an SMS symbol causes a connection of the corresponding type.

Instead of or in addition to the telephone symbol SY1... 3 used in an alternative embodiment, the input element can also be generated by changing the known identification title in its representation. For example, the identification title, ie in the example according to FIG 2 the respective user ID I1 ... 3, are displayed as a hyperlink. In order to allow a differentiation from other hyperlinks, it is expedient here additionally to display the input element SY1... 3 or, for example, to color the hyperlink in a special color.

In an alternative embodiment it is also possible that the input elements are local not associated with the identification titles. So could, for example. create a separate window in which all found identification titles be displayed as a hyperlink, with a click on the hyperlink the production of the VoIP connection causes.

It is appropriate that the creation of the list is carried out by the respective users. Thus, each user may need, in addition to his telephone number, to connect through Voice-over-IP is, enter the user ID (s) under which he is logged in various internet services or newsgroups or similar Groups is registered.

In another alternative embodiment the software is realized as an http proxy, the requested internet pages searched for known identification elements and corresponding Adds input elements, before passing the website to the client.

In Another embodiment may additionally or alternatively to the input elements Sy1 ... 3, a presence symbol be displayed in a known identification title. This Presence icon indicates if the corresponding user currently available, so online.

In each of the described embodiments Each user of one of the computers PC1 ... 3 can use different identification titles Add database DB. He can also set the domain, so that to each the identification title is also stored the correct associated domain. For example, could a user of the first computer PC1 enter the identification titles "eosguy" for www.dpreview.com "," soaxly "for" www.ebay.de "and" iknowlots "for" www.ciao.de ".

This would do it to lead, that, for example, an input element SY1... 3 only next to one of the identification titles is displayed when the domain of the currently displayed document D matches the domain stored for the identification title.

Claims (14)

User interface for establishing a communication connection designed as a plug-in for a browser, with a database of identification titles from Be -users; - With a first input option for selecting a user to whom the communication link is established, based on its identification title from the database; - With a second input option for recording the identification of a user in the database. A user interface according to claim 1, wherein the Communication connection a VoIP connection, an SMS connection or a Instant messaging connection is. A user interface according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the database in addition Telephone addresses and / or SMS addresses assigned to the identification titles and / or instant messaging addresses. User interface according to one of the preceding Claims, the database being on a server or in a peer-to-peer system is stored. User interface according to one of the preceding Claims, being the first input option consists of a text input field and / or a selection field. User interface according to one of the preceding Claims, the database additionally being at least for one Part of the identification title also one or more associated with this Contains Internet address ranges. A user interface according to claim 6, wherein the first input option is designed such that only considers such identification titles in which at least one of their assigned Internet address ranges with match the Internet address range of a document displayed in the browser. User interface according to one of the preceding Claims, being the first input option additionally a selection of the type of communication connection allowed. User interface according to one of the preceding Claims, being the first input option additionally or exclusively is designed such that for at least one identification title contained in the database at least one input element in a browser Document is provided. A user interface according to claim 9, wherein the Input element substantially represented at one point in the document where the identification title is contained in the document. User interface according to one of the preceding Claims, wherein the input element consists of an icon. User interface according to one of the preceding Claims, the input element following the known identification title is pictured. User interface according to one of the preceding Claims, wherein the input element is selected based on the addresses, which are stored to the identification title in the list. Computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program which has means for retrieving a user interface one of the claims 1 to 12 on a computer to cause the computer program is loaded into the memory of a computer and executed.