IP Library Granted Patent US 8,837,710
Granted Patent B2
US 8,837,710 · App. 11/696,151 · Granted Sep 16, 2014

Systems and methods to facilitate searches

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,837,710
App. No.
11/696,151
Granted
Sep 16, 2014
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods and apparatuses to facilitate searches for information to request for real time communication connections. In one embodiment, a method includes: receiving a request, via a communication reference embedded in a web page and storing data to associate the communication reference with the web page based on the request. The communication reference is assigned to represent contact information of a callee. In one embodiment, a search is performed using the stored data that associates the communication reference with the web page; and web pages in the search result are ranked based at least in part upon the usage of the communication reference embedded in the corresponding web page.

Claims (61)

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, via a computing device, a request for a communication between a caller and a callee, wherein the request for the communication includes:

a communication reference associated with contact information for the callee, wherein the contact information includes a telephone number; and

a universal resource locator for a web page containing the communication reference;

in response to the request for the communication and using the contact information for the callee, establishing a real time communication between the caller and the callee;

determining statistical data related to the real time communication between the caller and the callee; and

storing directory data by the computing device, wherein the directory data includes the communication reference, the determined statistical data, and the uniform resource locator for the web page.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to the request for the communication, presenting a web page to collect call back information from the caller.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein establishing the real time communication comprises:

establishing a first telephone connection with the caller using the call back information;

establishing a second telephone connection with the callee using the telephonic reference; and

joining the first and second telephone connections to connect the caller and the callee.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first and second telephone connection is at least partially via voice over Internet protocol.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein establishing the real time communication between the caller and the callee comprises:

establishing a first voice over Internet protocol call with a telecommunication carrier which bridges the first voice over Internet protocol call to a public switched telephone network to the caller;

establishing a second voice over Internet protocol call with a telecommunication carrier which bridges the second voice over Internet protocol call to a public switched telephone network to the callee; and

connecting the first and second voice over Internet protocol calls.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein:

a first virtual softphone of the telecommunication carrier terminates the first voice over Internet protocol call for bridging onto a public switched telephone network;

a second virtual softphone of the telecommunication carrier terminates the second voice over Internet protocol call for bridging onto a public switched telephone network; and

connecting the first and second voice over Internet protocol calls comprises causing the first and second softphones to establish a direct media connection with each other.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the real time communication contact comprises a telephonic reference.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining the web page using the universal resource locator of the web page; and

indexing the web page in association with the communication reference.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

collecting statistic data related to the real time communication request made via a communication reference embedded in the web page.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the statistical data includes at least one of an average communication time duration for one or more communications established via the communication reference, an average fee charged by the callee for one or more communications established via the communication reference, a rate of repeated communication requests, and a rate of successful connections to the callee pursuant to the request.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein

determining statistical data includes determining a number of downloads of the web page containing the communication reference.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein

determining statistical data includes determining a rate of communication requests generated from the downloads of the web page.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein

determining statistical data includes determining a real time availability of the callee in response to the request for the communication.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a search request by the computing device; and

providing, based at least partially on the statistical data, a response to the search request that includes a list of one or more search results, wherein at least one search result includes the communication reference.

15. The method of claim 14 ,

wherein at least one search result further includes the universal resource locator of the web page together with the communication reference.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

in response to the search request, ranking, based at least partially on the statistical data, a plurality of web pages; and providing a ranked list of the plurality of web pages in the response to the search request.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the statistical data includes a number of communication requests generated from each of the plurality of web pages, and wherein the ranked list of web pages is ordered based on the number of communication requests for each respective web page.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein at least one search result further includes at least a portion of the web page.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the directory data further includes at least a portion of the web page.

20. A tangible, non-transitory machine readable media storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to:

receive a request for a communication between a caller and a callee, wherein the request for the communication includes:

a communication reference associated with contact information for the callee, wherein the contact information includes a telephone number; and

a universal resource locator for a web page containing the communication reference;

in response to the request for the communication and using the contact information for the callee, establish a real time communication between the caller and the callee;

determine statistical data related to a real time communication between the caller with the callee; and

store directory data, wherein the directory data includes the communication reference, the determined statistical data, and the uniform resource locator for the web page.

21. A data processing system, comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing instructions, that, when executed by the processor, cause the data processing system to:

receive a request for a communication between a caller and a callee, wherein the request for the communication includes:

a communication reference associated with contact information for the callee, wherein the contact information includes a telephone number; and

a universal resource locator for a web page containing the communication reference;

in response to the request for the communication and using the contact information for the callee, establish a real time communication between the caller and the callee;

determine statistical data related to the real time communication between the caller and the callee; and

store directory data, wherein the directory data includes the communication reference, the determined statistical data, and the uniform resource locator for the web page.

Assignments (36)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jan 7, 2025
From: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: UTBK LLC
Reel/Frame 069830/0339 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jan 7, 2025
From: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS AGENT
To: YELLOWPAGES.COM LLC
Reel/Frame 069830/0527 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 10, 2024
From: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: DEX MEDIA, INC.; YP LLC; YELLOWPAGES.COM LLC; YP ADVERTISING & PUBLISHING LLC; PRINT MEDIA LLC; CERBERUS YP DIGITAL BLOCKER LLC; CERBERUS YP BLOCKER LLC; YP HOLDINGS LLC; PRINT MEDIA HOLDINGS LLC; YP INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS CORP.; YP WESTERN HOLDINGS CORP.; YP SOUTHEAST HOLDINGS CORP.; YP MIDWEST HOLDINGS CORP.; YP CONNECTICUT HOLDINGS CORP.; PLUSMO HOLDINGS CORP.; INGENIO HOLDINGS CORP.
Reel/Frame 067381/0745 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 7, 2024
From: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: THRYV, INC.
Reel/Frame 067341/0434 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 3, 2024
From: THRYV, INC.
To: CITIZENS BANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 067310/0627 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 1, 2024
From: THRYV, INC.
To: CITIZENS BANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 067287/0759 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 3, 2021
From: TREE LINE DIRECT LENDING, LP, AS RETIRING AGENT
To: TREE LINE CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC, AS SUCCESSOR AGENT
Reel/Frame 057064/0788 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Recorded Mar 2, 2021
From: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: THRYV, INC. (FORMERLY KNOWN AS DEX MEDIA, INC.); THRYV HOLDINGS, INC. (FORMERLY KNOWN AS DEX MEDIA HOLDINGS, INC.)
Reel/Frame 055472/0592 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Mar 1, 2021
From: THRYV, INC.
To: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 055452/0258 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 25, 2020
From: YELLOWPAGES.COM, LLC
To: THRYV, INC.
Reel/Frame 052071/0589 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE NATURE OF CONVEYANCE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 043194 FRAME: 0505. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY INTEREST. Recorded Aug 14, 2017
From: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: YP INTERACTIVE LLC
Reel/Frame 043544/0720 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE NATURE OF CONVEYANCE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 043170 FRAME: 0318. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY INTEREST. Recorded Aug 10, 2017
From: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: UTBK LLC
Reel/Frame 043512/0799 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE NATURE OF CONVEYANCE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 043183 FRAME: 0734. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST. Recorded Aug 9, 2017
From: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: YELLOWPAGES.COM LLC
Reel/Frame 043493/0648 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 28, 2017
From: YELLOWPAGES.COM LLC
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 043363/0518 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 17, 2017
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
To: INGENIO LLC
Reel/Frame 043217/0875 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 14, 2017
From: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: YP INTERACTIVE LLC
Reel/Frame 043194/0585 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 13, 2017
From: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: YELLOWPAGES.COM LLC
Reel/Frame 043183/0734 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 12, 2017
From: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: UTBK LLC
Reel/Frame 043170/0318 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jul 3, 2017
From: YP LLC; YELLOWPAGES.COM LLC; YP ADVERTISING & PUBLISHING LLC; PRINT MEDIA LLC; DEX MEDIA HOLDINGS, INC.; CERBERUS YP DIGITAL BLOCKER LLC; CERBERUS YP BLOCKER LLC; YP HOLDINGS LLC; PRINT MEDIA HOLDINGS LLC; YP INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS CORP.; YP WESTERN HOLDINGS CORP.; YP SOUTHEAST HOLDINGS CORP.; YP MIDWEST HOLDINGS CORP.; YP CONNECTICUT HOLDINGS CORP.; PLUSMO HOLDINGS CORP.; INGENIO HOLDINGS CORP.
To: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 043074/0794 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Dec 1, 2016
From: YELLOWPAGES.COM LLC
To: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS AGENT
Reel/Frame 040540/0948 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Apr 1, 2015
From: MEDLEY CAPITAL CORPORATION
To: INGENIO, LLC (FORMERLY KNOWN AS INGENIO ACQUISITION, LLC
Reel/Frame 035353/0871 →
MERGER Recorded Jan 9, 2015
From: YP INTERACTIVE LLC
To: YELLOWPAGES.COM LLC
Reel/Frame 034747/0850 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jun 4, 2014
From: INGENIO LLC
To: YP INTERACTIVE LLC
Reel/Frame 033085/0126 →
GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST -- PATENTS Recorded Feb 28, 2014
From: YP INTERACTIVE LLC (FORMERLY KNOWN AS INGENIO LLC)
To: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 032372/0639 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jul 2, 2013
From: INGENIO LLC
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 030740/0085 →
RELEASE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST -- PATENTS Recorded Jun 5, 2013
From: CERBERUS YP ARRANGER, LLC
To: INGENIO LLC (FORMERLY KNOWN AS INGENIO, INC.)
Reel/Frame 030554/0356 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 10, 2013
From: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: INGENIO LLC
Reel/Frame 030389/0746 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 10, 2013
From: CERBERUS YP ARRANGER, LLC
To: INGENIO LLC
Reel/Frame 030389/0946 →
LICENSE Recorded May 10, 2013
From: YP HOLDINGS LLC; INGENIO LLC
To: INGENIO ACQUISITION, LLC
Reel/Frame 030390/0131 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded May 10, 2013
From: INGENIO ACQUISITION, LLC
To: MEDLEY CAPITAL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 030390/0231 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 3, 2013
From: UTBK LLC
To: INGENIO LLC
Reel/Frame 030341/0882 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 19, 2012
From: UTBK LLC
To: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 029342/0075 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 16, 2012
From: FORTRESS CREDIT CO LLC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: INGENIO, INC.
Reel/Frame 029453/0560 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 9, 2012
From: UTBK, INC.
To: UTBK LLC
Reel/Frame 029275/0129 →
GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST - PATENTS Recorded May 8, 2012
From: INGENIO, INC.
To: FORTRESS CREDIT CO LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 028177/0004 →
GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST - PATENTS Recorded May 8, 2012
From: INGENIO, INC.
To: CERBERUS YP ARRANGER, LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 028177/0081 →