Call Spray Event Notification for Multiple Party Calls

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing communication systems face challenges in efficiently managing multiple party calls, leading to confusion among recipients and difficulties in quickly disseminating information, especially in urgent situations where battery life is limited.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method for multiple party call acknowledgement, which involves receiving a list of contacts, initiating simultaneous connection attempts, and configuring a call spray event notification when a live user answers, allowing remaining contacts to receive status updates and additional information.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If simultaneous connection attempts are made to multiple contacts, then information dissemination speed is improved, but battery energy consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation dissemination speedVSAvoidbattery energy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by sending notification messages to non-live contacts before they would otherwise receive repeated call attempts. This advance notification reduces the need for continuous calling and energy-consuming retry mechanisms, while still achieving rapid information dissemination to all contacts simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of information

If multiple party calls are managed with detailed tracking, then call status information accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecall status information accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the call management process into distinct components: live contact detection, non-live contact notification, and call status tracking. Each component handles a specific aspect of call management independently, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive call status information accuracy through modular design.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Loss of information

If call spray event notifications are sent to all non-live contacts, then information completeness is improved, but communication overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation completenessVSAvoidcommunication overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces an intermediary notification message that conveys essential call status information to non-live contacts without requiring extensive back-and-forth communication. This intermediary message provides complete information about the call outcome and available actions (such as callback options) in a single transmission, reducing communication overhead while maintaining information completeness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS10958785B2Multiple party call acknowledgement

Publication Date: 2021.03.23 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION

AI summary

Disclosed embodiments provide improved communication between a caller and multiple parties. A caller performs a call spray operation on a group of contacts using an electronic communication device such as a mobile telephone. The call spray operation attempts to contact an electronic device associated with each contact in the group of contacts. If one of the contacts answers and is deemed to be a live user, then the remaining contacts that did not answer each receive a message on their associated electronic device indicating which of the contacts answered the caller with a live user. In this way, a group of people can be conveniently contacted and kept up to date with the status of the communication with the caller.