Systems and methods for communication notification and handling
View Patent ↗An Internet protocol (IP) telephony system provides telephony services to a mobile telephony device via data packet communications that traverse a data network. If the IP telephony system has received calls that were missed by the user of the mobile telephony device, or if the IP telephony system has received communications that have not yet been reviewed by the user of the mobile telephony device, information about those missed calls and unreviewed messages is delivered to the mobile telephony device so that the user can be alerted to their existence. The information may be delivered to the mobile telephony device in a push notification.
1. A method for updating a display on a mobile telephony device that receives telephony service from a first telephony system to indicate that unread information at a second telephony system is available, comprising:
receiving a push notification, where the second telephony system causes the push notification to be delivered to the mobile telephony device via the first telephony system, and where the push notification includes information indicative of at least one of a number of unseen missed calls, a number of unread messages or a number of new contacts available for the user of the mobile telephony device at the second telephony system; and
updating a display item on the mobile telephony device to reflect the information included in the push notification.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the updating step comprises updating the display item to indicate a number of unseen missed calls that have been received by the second telephony system for the user of the mobile telephony device and about which no information has yet been delivered to the user's mobile telephony device.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the updating step further comprises updating the display item to also indicate a number of unread messages that have been received by the second telephony system for the user of the mobile telephony device and which have not yet been displayed to or played to the user.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the updating step comprises updating the display item to indicate a number of unread messages that have been received by the second telephony system for the user of the mobile telephony device and which have not yet been displayed to or played to the user.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the updating step comprises updating the display item to indicate a total number of unseen missed calls and unread messages that have been received by the second telephony system for the user of the mobile telephony device.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the updating step comprises updating at least one number that appears on a badge displayed on the mobile telephony device.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving and updating steps are performed by an application running on the user's mobile telephony device.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the push notification announces an incoming call, wherein the method further includes causing a message to be displayed on a display screen of the mobile telephony device, and wherein the message includes user selectable buttons that the user can activate to either receive the call or decline the call.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the push notification is received from the second telephony system, wherein the step of causing the message to be displayed includes causing a message to be displayed that includes an identity of the calling party, and wherein the displayed identity information is taken from an address book maintained for the user by the second telephony system.
10. A method of sending information regarding missed calls to a mobile telephony device that receives telephony service from a first telephony system, wherein the missed calls were received by a second telephony system, comprising:
reviewing call data records (CDRs) maintained by the second telephony system to identify missed calls that were directed to a user's mobile telephony device but which were not connected to the user's mobile telephony device; and
causing a push notification service to send a push notification to the user's mobile telephony device via the first telephony system, where the push notification includes information about a total number of unseen missed calls that were directed to but not connected to the user's mobile telephony device.
11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising determining a total number of unread messages that have been received by the second telephony system for the user's mobile telephony device but which have not yet been delivered to the user's mobile telephony device, and wherein the causing step further comprises causing a push notification to be sent that includes information about the total number of unread messages.
12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising determining a total number of unread messages that have been received by the second telephony system for the user's mobile telephony device but which have not yet been displayed to or played to the user over the mobile telephony device, and wherein the causing step further comprises causing a push notification to be sent that includes information about the total number of undisplayed or unplayed messages.
13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising determining a total number of new contacts that have been added to an address book that is maintained by the second telephony system for the user and which have not yet been delivered to the user's mobile telephony device, and wherein the causing step further comprises causing a push notification to be sent that includes information about the total number of new contacts that have not yet been delivered to the user's mobile telephony device.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the causing step comprises causing a push notification announcing an incoming call to be sent.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising obtaining information about the identity of the calling party who placed the incoming call from an address book maintained for the user by the second telephony system using caller ID information associated with the incoming call, and wherein the push notification includes the obtained identity information.
16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the causing step comprises causing a push notification announcing a received message to be sent.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising obtaining information about the identity of the party who sent the received message from an address book maintained for the user by the second telephony system using sending ID information associated with the incoming message, and wherein the push notification includes the obtained identity information.
18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the reviewing and causing steps are performed periodically.
19. The method of claim 10 , wherein the reviewing and causing steps are performed each time that an incoming call directed to the user's mobile device is received by the second telephony system and the call is not connected to the user's mobile telephony device.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first telephony system is a cellular telephony system, and wherein the second telephony system is an IP telephony system.
21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the display item is a display item for an IP telephony application resident on the mobile telephony device.
22. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first telephony system is a cellular telephony system, and wherein the second telephony system is an IP telephony system.
23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the push notification allows a user to accept an incoming telephony communication, and, upon accepting the incoming telephony communication, the mobile telephony device actives an IP telephony application for registering the mobile telephony device with an IP telephony system in order to complete the accepted incoming telephony communication.