Patents Examined by Karen Le
  • Patent number: 6819754
    Abstract: Techniques are provided for use in generating call routing control scripts. The techniques permit call routing control scripts, initially generated for use in controlling a first communication system, to be adapted for use in controlling a second, different communication system. More specifically, in these techniques, values (e.g., numerical values) used to identify script-controlled objects (i.e., physical or logical entities in the first system) in the initially-generated script, are replaced with values identifying equivalent objects in the second system, to thereby facilitate creation of another script that is executable by the second system. The initially-generated script contains a section in which the object identification values used in the initially-generated script are grouped together, in association with respective logical handles/names and respective object classifications of the objects that they identify, in order to facilitate determination of the equivalent objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2004
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Lawrence Johnson, Alberto Velella, James P. Twitchell
  • Patent number: 6807264
    Abstract: A CTI system in which a user profile contains a call-related feature table for holding the user's chosen timeout values for the facility “Divert To Mail After Timeout”. The call-related features are Name, Area Code, Time, and Route, and there is also provision for a Default value. The call-related features are ranked, and, for a incoming call to a called user, the CTI controller accesses that called user's profile, selects the highest ranking of the entries, e.g. Bob, and, using a CLI-to-name translation table, tries to find a match, i.e. is the incoming call from Bob. If there is a match, the associated timeout value is retrieved, and if there is no match, the Default timeout is retrieved. A countdown timer is started from the retrieved timeout value, and the current countdown value is displayed at the client of the called user to enable the called user to make a more informed decision about how and whether he will answer that call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2004
    Assignee: British Telecommunications public limited company
    Inventor: Laurence J Booton
  • Patent number: 6798876
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for specifically routing a call based on the profile of the caller, the profile of the call center representative, and for updating the system based on experience to provide for more accurate call routing. The system accesses customer profile information and/or customer service representative information, and comparing the customer's need to the representative skill sets and job functions. It ranks the customer service representatives that can best meet the customer needs. The system then proceeds to route the incoming call to the service representative that is most likely to successfully meet the customer's needs. The system performs a post-call routine to determine how successfully it matched the customer with the appropriate call center representative.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2004
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventor: Srinivas Bala
  • Patent number: 6775369
    Abstract: A method is provided for establishing a roaming line number in a communication network. The method includes receiving information from a telephony device indicating a desire to program a roaming line number for the telephony device. The method also includes associating the roaming line number with a network address of the telephony device such that calls placed to the roaming line number will be directed to the telephony device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael H. McClung
  • Patent number: 6766008
    Abstract: A system and method for managing, switching, and reconfiguring physical connections of telecommunications services that provides improved cost and timeliness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2004
    Assignee: NHC Communications
    Inventor: Joe Teixeira
  • Patent number: 6754329
    Abstract: A system and method for managing, switching, and reconfiguring physical connections of telecommunications services that provides improved cost and timeliness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2004
    Assignee: NHC Communications
    Inventor: Joe Teixeira
  • Patent number: 6748064
    Abstract: A routing table enables a particular long distance carrier for a particular long distance or international destination at a particular time. Different entries in the routing table correspond to different days and times for different long distance and international destinations. If a subscriber dials a number corresponding to the information in the routing table, the carrier corresponding to that information is used to carry the call, instead of the subscriber's default carrier. If the subscriber dials a number that does not correspond to an entry in the routing table, then the default carrier is used to carry the call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2004
    Assignee: BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation
    Inventor: Oussama Zbib
  • Patent number: 6741692
    Abstract: A method of and system for providing priority call processing based upon the status of electronic mail items between a called party and a calling party receives a request to set up a call between the calling party and the called party and determines if the called party has priority call processing activated or enabled. If so, the system determines if there is a priority electronic mail item between the called party and the calling party. If so, the system provides special processing of the call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Assignee: WorldCom, Inc.
    Inventor: William J. Johnson
  • Patent number: 6738466
    Abstract: Methods and system are disclosed for redirecting caller identification in an advanced intelligent network. The system comprises a service switching point and a service control point. When a redirected call is received at the service switching point, the service switching point places the call on hold and forwards a request to the service control point. The service control point recognizes that the call has been redirected and formats the caller identification information associated with the call to identify the telephone number from which the call was redirected. The re-formatted caller identification information is returned to the service switching point. The service switching point forwards the call to the destination telephone station using a distinctive ring to identify that the call has been redirected. The reformatted caller identification information, including the number of the telephone station from which the call was redirected, is forwarded to the destination telephone station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2004
    Assignee: BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen R. LaPierre, David Scott
  • Patent number: 6735295
    Abstract: When a caller calls a call busy called station, the caller may request that a message be provided to the called station while the caller waits. In such instance, the called station receives the message while busy with the other call. The message may be speech indications provided by the caller which are received by the called station at a volume normally associated with a whisper. The speech indications may be recorded from the caller and the caller given an opportunity to edit same before they are sent. The message may also be a text message where the called station supports text or has an associated text-based telephone appliance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventors: Paul M. Brennan, John C. Myers, Robert A. Williamson, Anne Grosman, Pieter Groen
  • Patent number: 6731746
    Abstract: An automatic sorting system for an electronic telephone directory to sort telephone numbers in the electronic telephone directory prepares a calling information list which indicates an expected calling frequency in each day of the week and time period on the basis of a priority numerical value of the telephone numbers according to the calling times and function setting conditions of the telephone numbers in each day of the week and time period; and automatically sorts and indicates the telephone numbers in lowering order of the expected calling frequency with reference to the calling information list for days of the week and time periods when the electronic telephone directory is opened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2004
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Shinya Usami
  • Patent number: 6731743
    Abstract: A method of AIN query redirection is performed by a first SCP in a telecommunication network. The first SCP receives a query from an originating SSP and determines that a second SCP should service the query. The query is then populated with information from the originating SSP as well as appropriate routing information to send the query to a second SCP where a response is generated by the second SCP. The query response is sent back from the second SCP to the originating SSP without passing through the first SCP.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2004
    Assignee: SBC Properties, L.P.
    Inventors: James D. Kovarik, Duane M. Figurski
  • Patent number: 6731740
    Abstract: A method that alleviates congestion problems in prior art networks by insuring that selected classes of calls have a reserved capacity, thus insuring a capability to service at least the selected level of traffic. In an illustrated embodiment, a selected capacity is reserved for voice calls, in contrast to data calls. When a connection request is made and there is unoccupied capacity, a voice call is always serviced, but a data call is serviced only if the number of established data connections is less than capacity of the path required for establishing a connection for the request, minus the capacity reserved for voice call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2004
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: Gagan L. Choudhury, Daniel P. Heyman, Alan Edward Kaplan, Vaidyanathan Ramaswami
  • Patent number: 6724863
    Abstract: A method and system for forwarding information, such as a message waiting indicator (MWI) message, to a telephone number corresponding to a foreign network (e.g., a wireless network) and a shared NPA/NXX. The invention evaluates individual telephone numbers of shared NPA/NXXs to determine to what networks to send information. In a representative embodiment, the invention uses a pseudo NPA to deliver an MWI message from a messaging service provider to a wireless (i.e., foreign network) telephone number of a shared NPA/NXX. A voicemail platform delivers to a signal transfer point an MWI message that references a pseudo NPA. The signal transfer point translates the pseudo NPA to a point code corresponding to the foreign network, and routes the MWI message to the point code. A converter of the foreign network translates the pseudo NPA back to the associated real NPA.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Assignee: BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation
    Inventor: James C. Bedingfield
  • Patent number: 6721407
    Abstract: A method of identifying an other party associated with identifying information engaged in communication with a called party, includes the steps of: receiving a call for the called party, receiving an indication that the called party is engaged in communication with the other party, receiving a request for the identifying information; and receiving the identifying information. An apparatus for identifying a third party engaged in communication with a called party may include a node for receiving a call for the called party, receiving an indication that the called party is engaged in communication with the other party, receiving a request for the identifying information, and receiving the identifying information. The apparatus may also include a timer associated with a preselected timeout period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
    Inventor: Carlos Roberto Michelena
  • Patent number: 6700971
    Abstract: An arrangement (100) for monitoring contact-center (104-108) performance automates the monitoring process by using a database schema (250-270) that records (200-224) the contact center to be monitored, its skills, the locations where the skills are located (in the case of a distributed contact center), the objective or target value for a given skill attribute (such as average speed of answer, maximum delay, etc.), the acceptable deviation from the objective (tolerance), the maximum acceptable deviation between locations (in the case of a distributed contact center), the periodicity or frequency of the monitoring, and the comparison operator needed to determine how a given observed or actual value for the skill attribute is to be compared with its specified objective and tolerance. Monitoring is then effected (300-366) as follows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: Avaya Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Richard Alan Cohen, William Edward Gourlay, Marcus Knotts, Gokul Chander Prabhakar
  • Patent number: 6694004
    Abstract: A system and method for providing simultaneous ringing service to a plurality of customer premises equipment. The method and system utilize a centralized database of subscriber information and a service node to make multiple outbound calls from the service node to multiple telephone lines assigned to a subscriber. The subscriber's telephone lines may include one or more wireless lines. Inbound calls to the subscriber's primary wireline are intercepted by the simultaneous ringing service and forwarded to the service node for processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph Michael Knoerle, Hong Nguyen, Zeeman Zhang, Michael Griffiths
  • Patent number: 6674748
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method of transitioning messages from a Signaling System 7 Network to a data network at a Signaling System 7 Gateway. The method is accomplished by receiving one or more Signaling System 7 messages at the Signaling System 7 Gateway, determining states of accessability of one or more extended capability codes listed within the Signaling System 7 gateway, where each extended capability code corresponds to one or more signaling end points within the data network, terminating the Signaling System 7 messages at the Signaling System 7 Gateway, determining the accessability of the signaling end points associated with the Signaling System 7 messages, and routing the Signaling System 7 messages based upon the accessability of the signaling end points.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
    Inventors: David Brad Dykhuizen, Jacqueline Ann Dykhuizen
  • Patent number: 6671370
    Abstract: A telephone system includes a plurality of telephone terminals wherein a call that is placed from a calling telephone terminal to a receiving telephone terminal is announced by activating a standard ringing indication at the receiving telephone terminal. A data file is provided having a plurality of different ringing indications therein. These ringing indications include a plurality of sound information that are both different from each other and different from a standard ringing tone, and a plurality of different visual information. When a call is placed from a calling telephone terminal to a receiving telephone terminal, the user at the calling telephone terminal may optionally elect to announce the call at the receiving-telephone-terminal using ringing indication that is selected from the data-file, for example sound information that indicates the identity of the calling-users, and/or visual information that indicates the priority of the call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: Nokia Corporation
    Inventors: Eeva-Liisa Heinonen, Jaakko Itävaara, Heidi Karves, Kai Kronström, Kari Lehtinen, Jari Mononen, Petri Nykänen, Mikko Virtanen
  • Patent number: 6661885
    Abstract: A translation file containing trunk group, trunk level and other translation data is created on a translation input system in response to a circuit provisioning request. An interface between the translation input system and a trunk inventory system transfers the translation file to a translation file directory on a server. The interface logs into the trunk inventory system to generate a translation document to be used by switch technicians to translate trunk groups. Generic views are used rather than conventional structured views to simplify the generation of the translations document. The generic views also reduce the complexity of the software required to implement the interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation
    Inventors: Richard H. McCurdy, Sheila K. Moon, Deborah Baumgardner, James Pugh, Diane C. Stone