Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Special service
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-02
2003-06-17
Cumming, William (Department: 2684)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Special service
C340S905000, C340S995190, C701S201000, C701S208000, C701S209000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06580904
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications and more specifically to directory assistance services. In particular, methods are provided for furnishing travel information to travelling telephone subscribers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Telephone directory assistance services have been available for the past century. While improvements have been made over the decades, such systems are still poorly suited for use by telephone subscribers, particularly subscribers of mobile telephone services.
In prior art directory assistance services, a customer dials an operator and identifies the name and address of a party whose telephone number is desired. The operator then locates the number, using printed directories or a computer database, and provides the number to the customer. (The provision of the number is sometimes done by a live operator, but more typically is done with a computerized voice response unit that provides a synthesized voicing of the number.) After the customer's inquiry has been satisfied, the connection to the operator is terminated.
While satisfactory for some customers, this arrangement is ill-suited for many wireless or mobile telephone customers. For one, such customers are usually away from their general work environments (e.g. in a vehicle), and thus may not have ready access to a pencil and paper in order to make a note of the desired number or other information provided by the directory assistance operator. Even if such materials are available, the customer may not find it convenient to interrupt other activities (e.g. driving), in order to make a note. In addition, the process of initiating a second call—whether to the same or a different desired party—entails multiple additional manual operations (e.g. hanging up, waiting for another dial tone, and dialing) which may be a hindrance to the customer's other activities.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present assignee has redressed certain of these difficulties by providing a directory assistance service that eliminates the need to make a note of the desired number or undertake a redialing exercise. Rather than voicing a customer's desired telephone number to the customer after looking it up, a directory assistance agent (e.g., an operator) continues the call and connects the calling customer to the desired party. (The directory assistance agent may stay on the line as a conferenced party so as to provide further assistance, or may withdraw from the connection, depending on the particular implementation.) This arrangement obviates the need for the customer to make a note of the voiced number or to undertake a redialing exercise. However, if the initiated call is not completed (e.g., a “busy” tone is received), or if the customer desires further directory assistance, then the customer must again connect to the directory assistance operator to obtain additional help.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a directory assistance service is provided which alleviates many of these drawbacks of the prior art. For example, a customer who wishes directory assistance services is connected to a directory assistance agent, perhaps an operator, who determines the destination telephone number desired by the customer. The operator then connects the customer to the destination telephone number. However, rather than dropping all further involvement with the call, in this embodiment of the present invention the connection is continually monitored for several predetermined signals issued by the customer (e.g., those which are obtained by pressing the “*” or “#” buttons).
If the signal corresponding to the “*” key is detected, the tone triggered return transfer feature of the invention is invoked and the customer is transferred back to a directory assistance agent who can then provide whatever further assistance is needed (e.g., redialing a busy number, providing further directory assistance). By this arrangement, the press of a single button by the customer summons further directory assistance, rather than the redialing procedure required by the prior art.
The problems associated with providing directory assistance services to wireless and mobile (collectively termed “wireless” in this application) customers are not limited to hardships on the customers; the directory assistance service and the wireless carrier also confront unique issues. In some systems, for example, the wireless carrier (which is typically responsible for billing of the customer) knows only that the customer has dialed a directory assistance agent, but does not know the number to which the customer is ultimately connected by the agent. Billing is thereby complicated. In such systems, the toll charges (assuming toll calls are permitted; often they are not) for the connection between the customer and the desired number are simply absorbed by the directory assistance service, and recouped by billing the wireless carrier a sufficiently large flat rate charge for each directory assistance call so as to cover these costs. The wireless carrier then bills the subscriber a fixed amount for each directory assistance. inquiry, regardless of the toll charges of any further connection established for the customer by the directory assistance operator. This arrangement, however, has a number of disadvantages. In addition to increased cost, it also fails to provide the wireless carrier useful information about its customers' calling patterns, which may affect decisions relating to system expansion, etc.
Present embodiments of the invention described herein address the billing difficulties associated with completion of customer calls by directory assistance agents. According to these embodiments, the directory assistance service logs in a billing database information identifying the customer (i.e. the customer identification number accompanying the call from the wireless provider), the destination number to which the customer is connected, and the date, time and duration of the customer/destination number connection. This information is periodically provided to the wireless carrier, allowing it to bill the customer for the call connected by the directory assistance operator and recoup the associated expense. This permits the flat rate charged by the directory assistance agent to be reduced correspondingly, and provides the wireless service with more detailed information about its customers' usage requirements.
In other embodiments of the invention, directional assistance is provided to a telephone user. In one embodiment, a caller using a wireless telephone connects through a wireless switching office to a directory assistance center and a directory assistance agent, (e.g., an operator or a voice response unit (“VRU”)) and specifies a desired destination. The caller's present location or the origination of the caller's desired travel is determined and the user identifies any special criteria for the trip, such as an aspiration to visit an historical landmark en route to the specified destination, a desire to take the most direct or most expeditious route, a desire to travel via railway or boat, etc. A routing algorithm determines an appropriate route from the caller's present position to the destination location, illustratively by referencing a database containing maps, transportation routes, construction information, etc. Before and during the travel, the route may be modified as necessary by a directory assistance agent or the routing algorithm to meet other travel criteria of the caller or to avoid traffic delays, construction, hazards, etc.
Depending on the length or complexity of the chosen route, it may be divided into multiple segments, with directions being provided for each segment as the caller proceeds along the route. The selected route is saved on a data server for later retrieval. The caller's travel route and criteria could, of course, be stored in another location that is equally accessible (e.g., a switch host computer or communication se
Cox Patrick M.
Filliger Paul W.
Huey Christopher A.
Kepler Michael A.
Powell A. Peter
Cumming William
Kaye Scholer LLP
Metro One Telecommunications, Inc.
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