Systems and methods for providing a multi-channel communication service
View Patent ↗A multi-channel communication service uses an object-oriented approach to processing communications. The multi-channel communication service is capable of receiving, at a conversation object generator, inbound communications sent from a communication service and subsequently managing the status of participants engaged in a conversation via the various inbound communications. The management process is achieved by associating the inbound communications to corresponding client applications and executing an invitation process from the client applications to a conversation created by the conversation object generator.
1. A method performed by a client application for handling an inbound communication, comprising:
receiving a notification that there is an inbound communication directed to the client application, where the notification is received from a conversation service;
generating a call control object for the inbound communication, where the call control object specifies how the inbound communication is to be handled;
sending to the conversation service the call control object and a request to invite the user associated with the inbound communication to join a conversation created by the conversation service; and
receiving information about the conversation state of the user associated with the inbound communication from the conversation service.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request to invite the user associated with the inbound communication to join the conversation causes the conversation service to send the call control object to a voice application programming interface that uses the call control object to join the user to the conversation created by the conversation service.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inbound communication is on a channel selected from the group consisting of SMS, POTS based telephony, VoIP based telephony, WebRTC, SIP and an over-the-top service.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the conversation created by the conversation service is represented by a conversation object that comprises at least two members communicating via one or more of the channels.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the at least two members correspond to at least two users of the client application that sent the request to invite.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the status of a member of a conversation object is selected from the group consisting of invited, joined and left.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein an “invited” member has been invited to join a conversation but has not yet joined, a “joined” member is currently joined to a conversation and a “left” member is a member that has left a conversation.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein sending the request to invite the user associated with the inbound communication to join the conversation comprises sending a request to invite multiple users to join the conversation over multiple communication protocols.
9. A system for handling an inbound communication directed to a client application comprising one or more processors that are configured to:
receive a notification that there is an inbound communication directed to the client application, where the notification is received from a conversation service;
generate a call control object for the inbound communication, where the call control object specifies how the inbound communication is to be handled;
send to the conversation service the call control object and a request to invite the user associated with the inbound communication to join a conversation created by the conversation service; and
receive information about the conversation state of the user associated with the inbound communication from the conversation service.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the request to invite the user associated with the inbound communication to join the conversation causes the conversation service to send the call control object to a voice application programming interface that uses the call control object to join the user to the conversation created by the conversation service.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the inbound communication is on a channel selected from the group consisting of SMS, POTS based telephony, VoIP based telephony, WebRTC, SIP and an over-the-top service.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the conversation created by the conversation service is represented by a conversation object that comprises at least two members communicating via one or more of the channels.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the at least two members correspond to at least two users of the client application that sent the request to invite.
14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the status of a member of a conversation object is selected from the group consisting of invited, joined and left.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein an “invited” member has been invited to join a conversation but has not yet joined, a “joined” member is currently joined to a conversation and a “left” member is a member that has left a conversation.
16. The system of claim 9 , wherein sending the request to invite the user associated with the inbound communication to join the conversation comprises sending a request to invite multiple users to join the conversation over multiple communication protocols.
17. A system for handling an inbound communication directed to a client application, comprising:
means for receiving a notification that there is an inbound communication directed to the client application, where the notification is received from a conversation service;
means for generating a call control object for the inbound communication, where the call control object specifies how the inbound communication is to be handled;
means for sending to the conversation service the call control object and a request to invite the user associated with the inbound communication to join a conversation created by the conversation service; and
means for receiving information about the conversation state of the user associated with the inbound communication from the conversation service.