Telephonic communications – With usage measurement – Call charge metering or monitoring
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-06
2001-05-29
Kuntz, Curtis (Department: 2643)
Telephonic communications
With usage measurement
Call charge metering or monitoring
C379S115030, C379S121020, C379S130000, C379S140000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06240169
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to the field of least cost telephone call routing. In particular, the invention relates to methods for communicating with and controlling a device used to route telephone calls along a least cost route.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The growth and deregulation of the telephone industry over the past several years has given birth to hundreds of commercial long distance carriers. Presently, more than 450 long distance carriers operate in the United States, with an average of more than 30 of such carriers serving each state. The resulting competition has caused long distance carriers to offer specific rate plans to gain market share. These rate plans include special pricing for various calling patterns during specific time periods. Long distance subscribers (i.e., consumers and businesses) have been overwhelmed these often confusing rate plans, each promising big discounts and cost savings. Typically, most subscribers use a single major carrier (e.g., AT&T, MCI, Sprint) for long distance telephone service. For example, more than 90% of consumers presently use one of the three major long distance carriers. Few subscribers know that hundreds of smaller long distance carriers exist. Moreover, few subscribers know how to get access to the superior rates offered by these carriers, or that they can select each carrier on a call-by-call basis.
Various systems aimed at providing subscribers with access to multiple carriers on a call-by-call basis, i.e., least cost call routing systems, have been described in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,122,308, 4,585,094, 4,751,728, 5,289,536, 5,400,395, 5,420,914, 5,425,084, 5,425,085, 5,473,630, 5,519,769, 5,553,124, and 5,799,072 describe least cost call routing devices and methods. To date, however, the technology described in these patents has not resulted in a least cost call routing system of widespread commercial acceptance with household and small office/home office consumers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One disadvantage of many prior art systems is that the protocol that these systems use to communicate is often quite complicated and requires that the least call routing system have the resources (e.g., memory, network interfaces, error correction circuits, modems, and the like) to support the protocol. Moreover, some of these prior art systems require user input to perform the update. The complicated communications interfaces of such prior art devices make it difficult to update the least cost routing information stored on the least cost routing system. If the least cost routing system is not updated properly, the routing of the telephone call to a particular carrier might not reflect the optimum (i.e., least cost) route for the call.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a least cost call routing system having a communications protocol that does not require a complicated hardware interface and can perform updates to least cost routing information without user input.
Another disadvantage of many prior art systems is that the updating of the least cost routing device itself often requires significant transmission bandwidth and takes a relatively long time to accomplish the update. Because providers of least cost routing systems often pay for update calls made to their servers, lengthy update times are not cost-effective for the providers of least cost routing systems. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a least cost routing system having a communications protocol that utilizes data compression techniques to minimize the bandwidth needed for updates.
In one aspect, the present invention comprises a method for controlling the updating of a customized database stored in a device capable of routing telephone calls along a least cost route, the device comprising a memory, a dialer and a controller. This method comprises the steps of determining upon power up whether the database requires updating; preventing the device from routing calls along a least cost route if the database requires updating; connecting the device to a server over the telephone line using the dialer, within a first predetermined period, to initiate an update to the customized database, if the database requires updating; receiving a response from the server if the connection described above was successful; storing in the memory a customized database provided by the server, the database comprising least cost routing information for use in routing telephone calls along a least cost route; disconnecting the device from the server and enabling the device to route calls along a least cost route if the updating described above was successful; disconnecting the device from the server and connecting the device to the server over the telephone line using the dialer within a second predetermined second time period to initiate an update to the customized database, if the update of step described above was not successful; determining on a periodic basis whether the database requires updating, and repeating the foregoing steps if the database requires further updating.
In another aspect, the present invention comprises a method for providing an update from a server to a customized database stored in a device capable of routing telephone calls along a least cost route, the device comprising user information, a first memory, a dialer, and a controller. This method comprises the steps of receiving at the server via a telephone line, an incoming telephone call from the device; communicating with the device via the telephone line, to determine the user information; generating a customized set of commands at the server based on the user information; transmitting each command within the set of commands from the server to the device over the telephone line; processing each command at the device and transmitting a response to the server via the telephone line; and transmitting from the server to the device a command activating the device for least cost routing, if a response was received at the server for every command sent from the server to the client.
In yet another aspect, the present invention comprises a method for compressing the number of blocks of data written during an update from a server to a remote device capable of routing telephone calls along a least cost route, the remote device comprising a first memory, a dialer, and a controller. This method comprises the steps of receiving at the server an update request from the remote device; providing a first data stream at the server comprising a memory map of data currently stored in the memory of the remote device; providing a second data stream at the server comprising data that is to be written to the memory of the device, the second data stream being of the same length as the first data stream; separating the second data stream into a plurality of blocks and assigning to a first cluster all blocks having data that does not match the data at a corresponding location in the first data stream; discarding, from the blocks remaining in the second data stream, the first and last blocks and all blocks larger than a predetermined size; assigning the blocks remaining in the second data stream to the first cluster; combining the blocks of the first cluster that are adjacent to one another into an adjacent block, wherein the adjacent block comprises a plurality of blocks, that each are adjacent to at least one other block in the adjacent block; assigning all adjacent blocks and any blocks remaining in the first cluster to a second cluster; and writing the second cluster from the server to the remote device in response to the update request.
In still another aspect, the present invention provides a method for compressing the number of bytes of data that written during an update from a server to a remote device capable of routing telephone calls along a least cost route, the remote device comprising a first memory, a dialer, and a controller. This method comprises the steps of receiving at the server an update request from the remote
Bigelow Demian
Haskins Gregory M.
Kuntz Curtis
MediaCom Telesystems, Inc.
Tieu Binh K.
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