Patents Assigned to MCI Communication
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Patent number: 5550899Abstract: A long distance telephone switching system is adapted to provide various enhanced subscriber services, such as an audio news and information service, conference calling, voice messaging, message storage and forwarding, and speed dialing, in addition to conventional long distance calling. Additional improvements include the use of pre-recorded opening and closing scripts to facilitate the handling of operator-assisted calls, the retrieval of stored subscriber billing data prior to each call reorigination in order to detect instances of possible abuse, and the concatenation of subscriber-input authorization codes with access number data to allow the use of shorter authorization codes by the subscribers.Type: GrantFiled: March 17, 1993Date of Patent: August 27, 1996Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: Clark E. McLeod, Steven J. Hogan, Kristi T. Feltz, Douglas R. Murdock, Van E. Hanson
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Patent number: 5537611Abstract: In a telecommunication network, a DATA ACCESS POINT (DAP) database is used to route traffic between originating calling stations and terminating called stations for special service processing calls. The traffic or routing data are collected and converted by a traffic statistics processor into statistics data. The statistics data are provided to the management of the network. Some of the statistics data are converted by an INTEGRATED NETWORK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (INMS) compiler processor into reports which may be provided to subscribers of the special call processing service in real time or on a delay basis. If a subscriber has subscribed to the special call processing service on a real time basis, he can update certain parameters of the database to reallocate the percentage of calls to be directed to the different called station staffed by his operators.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 1993Date of Patent: July 16, 1996Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: Narayanasamy Rajagopal, Elaine E. Reed, Leo Mack, Jim Finucane, Louis G. Gottlieb
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Patent number: 5521362Abstract: An electronic purse card includes a housing, a plurality of electrical contacts thereon for communication with a foreign transaction device, a memory, and a processor operatively joined to the memory and contacts. The memory includes first and second registers for storing a main amount of currency and a withdrawable amount of currency, respectively. The processor allows downloading of a selected portion of the currency from the first register into the second register, and withdrawal of currency by the transaction device solely from the second register to limit currency withdrawals. In a method of use, the card is inserted into the transaction device for withdrawing a transaction amount from solely the second register. The second register may be replenished by selectively downloading currency amounts from the first to second registers.Type: GrantFiled: June 8, 1994Date of Patent: May 28, 1996Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventor: Robert S. Powers
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Patent number: 5495471Abstract: A fast distributed network restoration system and method therefor for restoring disrupted traffic, due to a cut link, in a digital cross-connect system (DCS) network utilizes a two-prong approach whereby both disrupted ends of the cut link simultaneously send out restore messages. To this end, upon detection of a cut link, the end nodes are respectively designated as a Gray Origin node and a Black Origin node. The Gray Origin node begins to broadcast Gray restoration request messages while the Black Origin node begins to broadcast Black restoration request messages to their respective neighbor nodes. As soon as an intermediate node receives one of the restoration request messages, depending on the color attribute of the message, that intermediate node is identified as either a Gray or Black node.Type: GrantFiled: March 9, 1994Date of Patent: February 27, 1996Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: Ching-Hua Chow, Sami A. Syed, John D. Bicknell, Stephen C. McCaughey
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Patent number: 5479473Abstract: A remote test site is connected to a maintenance port of a long distance carrier switch. The remote test site is capable of placing calls through the maintenance port of the long distance carrier switch, testing from the switch forward to the called party for any trouble occurring in the elected call path. A test site terminal connected via an X.25 network, permits remote access to the test site. Segments of a calling path are identified via the test site terminal to the remote test site. Calls are placed through various long distance carrier switches involved in a call path to isolate the trouble occurring in a path reported by a dissatisfied customer. Calls may be placed through selected output ports of each switch identifying to the maintenance port of the switch the output port number and the destination digits for the call.Type: GrantFiled: June 25, 1993Date of Patent: December 26, 1995Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventor: David A. Zey
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Patent number: 5459716Abstract: A method for rapidly restoring disrupted communications services between nodes of a network following a loss of service due to a circuit outage such as may occur, for example, as a result of an optical fiber cable break. The method is operable, however, irrespective of the transmission technology. Treating the telecommunications traffic as a commodity, a multicommodity model is developed using a measure of the commodities desired to be restored between network nodes and the capacity available for restoral in spare and impacted edges of the network. Action variables are established by use of representational "dummy nodes pairs" interconnected by "action edges." A multicommodity algorithm is applied to the model and to the decision variables to determine reroutes and actions to be taken within nodes of the network to effect the restoral reroutes.Type: GrantFiled: April 15, 1994Date of Patent: October 17, 1995Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: Furrukh Fahim, Hsueh-Mei Chiu, Darrell B. Piatt, Maude A. deLaski
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Patent number: 5448624Abstract: The present invention automatically initiates a telephone call to a given destination. At the same time, the progress of the call is monitored. The time of a ring back and voice answer received from the destination are recorded to an output file. At the end of the voice answer, a pre-recorded voice message is sent by the system to the person answering at the destination. Thereafter, the recorded data is used to determine the response time for that particular telephone destination. A plurality of destinations can be tested. A second embodiment of the present invention provides for the interactive correspondence between a remote evaluation unit and a called destination and the measurement of the performance characteristics of the telephone network.Type: GrantFiled: January 14, 1993Date of Patent: September 5, 1995Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: William C. Hardy, Thomas H. Johnson, Jr.
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Patent number: 5410586Abstract: A method for simulating an IDNX (integrated digital network exchange) network. Trunk and call information is downloaded from a network controller connected to the IDNX network to a personal computer. Call data is obtained defining each call placed over the network. Link data is also obtained describing the links over which the call is placed. The link data is arranged in two arrays, one defining a pointer based on the identity of connected nodes. The pointers point to a table which describes the link interconnecting the nodes. A call circuit table identifies each of the calls over the network. The call is placed on the model by debiting the in use bandwidth field of the table describing each link used in the call. Once calls are placed, an analysis of network performance is possible. Calls may be rerouted over the simulated model to evaluate different network configurations.Type: GrantFiled: April 10, 1992Date of Patent: April 25, 1995Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventor: Stephen W. Davies
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Patent number: 5335268Abstract: A method and apparatus for dynamically balancing special service telephone calling traffic among a plurality of automatic call distributors and servicing agents as a function of supply and demand for such services. Data is gathered from originating and terminating switches of the telephone network, from each automatic call distributor, and from a call routing data base. The collected data is analyzed to characterize the supply and demand. A routing plan through the network is formulated so that the number of calls to each automatic call distributor is alloted as a function thereof and of the relative costs in routing to one point or another. The formulated plan is implemented for control by effecting changes in the routing data base. In the routing plan formulation, cognizance may also be taken of manpower availability for agent staffing.Type: GrantFiled: October 22, 1992Date of Patent: August 2, 1994Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: John F. Kelly, Jr., Robert G. Laird, Thomas E. Baker, Cristobal A. Torres
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Patent number: 5241584Abstract: The present invention automatically initiates a telephone call to a given destination. At the same time, the progress of the call is monitored. The time of a ring back and voice answer received from the destination are recorded to an output file. At the end of the voice answer, a pre-recorded voice message is sent by the system to the person answering at the destination. Thereafter, the recorded data is used to determine the response time for that particular telephone destination. A plurality of destinations can be tested.Type: GrantFiled: August 22, 1990Date of Patent: August 31, 1993Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: William C. Hardy, Thomas H. Johnson, Jr.
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Patent number: 5222120Abstract: A long distance telephone switching system is adapted to provide various enhanced subscriber services, such as an audio news and information service, conference calling, voice messaging, message storage and forwarding, and speed dialing, in addition to conventional long distance calling. Additional improvements include the use of prerecorded opening and closing scripts to facilitate the handling of operator-assisted calls, the retrieval of stored subscriber billing data prior to each call reorigination in order to detect instances of possible abuse, and the concatenation of subscriber-input authorization codes with access number data to allow the use of shorter authorization codes by the subscribers.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 1990Date of Patent: June 22, 1993Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: Clark E. McLeod, Steven J. Hogan, Kristi T. Feltz, Douglas R. Murdock, Van E. Hanson
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Patent number: 5187740Abstract: The invention is an adaptive method and apparatus for telephone call reorigination (i.e., the placement of successive calls without extended re-dialing). It allows shorter, uniform DTMF reorigination requests or commands to be recognized and responded to during certain stages of a call while preserving a filtering effect to avoid "talk off" reorigination during the call's talking stage. In the initial stage of a call, prior to verifying the caller's authority to place the call, a first mode of request detection, responsive to short duration tones is used. During call setup and prior to answer by a called party, a second mode of detection is used which is also responsive to short duration tones. In the talking stage, another mode of detection is used to avoid inadvertent reoriginations due to spurious tones. In one aspect, a dial tone is automatically returned to the caller upon called party disconnect.Type: GrantFiled: October 1, 1991Date of Patent: February 16, 1993Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: Joe T. Swaim, Donald C. Heckman, Kenneth J. O'Grady, Guido M. Eastep
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Patent number: 5095505Abstract: Special service call processing, such as 800 processing, is improved in accordance with the present invention. A data base includes a customer subscription record segment which stores call processing data keyed at least in part on a dialed 800 number. The subscription record for a customer is hierarchical in that it includes a head entry (for customers using basic or immediate service). The head entry for customers using advanced service, when accessed, produces Originating Area ID identification (OAID). Subsequent accesses to the data base use the OAID in order to access additional records for chronological time processing. Those additional records may include time band or day band arrays. Accessing a day band array will produce a Day Band ID identification (DBID). The DBID can be used on a subsequent access to identify a time band array. In some embodiments, the head entry may include a plan identification.Type: GrantFiled: May 17, 1991Date of Patent: March 10, 1992Assignee: MCI Communications Corp.Inventors: James J. Finucane, David Weimer
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Patent number: D346789Type: GrantFiled: October 21, 1992Date of Patent: May 10, 1994Assignees: MCI Communications Corp., Krone, Inc.Inventors: Gene O. Sanchez, Joseph C. Coffey