End-User communications device with automatic carrier selection capability for intraLATA toll calls
First Claim
1. An end-user communicating device comprising:
- a dialing apparatus for initiating a first telephone call in order to access a database in a communications carrier network;
a memory for storing data retrieved from said database, said data including a) a carrier access code that is used to establish intraLATA toll calls, and b) exchange numbers included in an intraLATA toll calling area associated with origination information obtained during said first telephone call; and
a processor for i) comparing each telephone number that is subsequently dialed via said dialing apparatus to said exchange numbers included in said intraLATA toll calling area, and ii) prepending said carrier access code to each subsequently dialed telephone number that comprises one of said exchange numbers included in said intraLATA toll calling area.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An end-user communicating device and method for enabling a user-selected communications carrier network to download data into a RAM within the end-user communicating device in response to a telephone call initiated by a user of the end-user communicating device to the carrier network to access a database within the carrier network. The data includes a carrier access code that is used to establish intraLATA toll calls and exchange numbers included in an intraLATA toll calling area associated with origination information obtained during the telephone call, such as the telephone number of the end-user communicating device. The end-user communicating device prepends the carrier access code to subsequently dialed telephone numbers that contain one of the exchange numbers included in the intraLATA toll calling area. If the data is corrupted, the telephone number of the carrier network is retrieved from a ROM within the end-user communicating device and dialed to refresh the memory of the end-user communicating device.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An end-user communicating device comprising:
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a dialing apparatus for initiating a first telephone call in order to access a database in a communications carrier network; a memory for storing data retrieved from said database, said data including a) a carrier access code that is used to establish intraLATA toll calls, and b) exchange numbers included in an intraLATA toll calling area associated with origination information obtained during said first telephone call; and a processor for i) comparing each telephone number that is subsequently dialed via said dialing apparatus to said exchange numbers included in said intraLATA toll calling area, and ii) prepending said carrier access code to each subsequently dialed telephone number that comprises one of said exchange numbers included in said intraLATA toll calling area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for downloading networking information from a database to an end-user communicating device used to initiate intraLATA telephone calls routed over a communications carrier network, said system comprising:
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means responsive to a call initiated from said end-user communicating device for determining the point of origin of said call; means for retrieving from said database network routing information associated with said point of origin, said network routing information including an access code for said communications carrier, and exchange numbers of an intraLATA toll calling area serving said originating point; and means for transmitting said network routing information for storage in a memory of said end-user communicating device to allow said access code to be prepended to subsequently dialed digits entered from said end-user communicating device to initiate intraLATA toll calls. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method of using an end-user communicating device for intraLATA toll calls, said method comprising the steps of:
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initiating a first telephone call in order to access a database in a user-selected communications carrier network; storing data retrieved from said database in a memory in said end-user communicating device, said data including a) a carrier access code that is used to establish intraLATA toll calls, and b) exchange numbers included in an intraLATA toll calling area associated with origination information obtained during said first telephone call; in response to receiving a telephone number subsequently dialed by a user of said end-user communicating device initiating an intraLATA call, determining whether said dialed telephone number comprises one of said exchange numbers included in said intraLATA toll calling area; and in response to signals indicating that said intraLATA call is a toll call, prepending said carrier access code to said subsequently dialed telephone number. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of completing an intraLATA phone call initiated from an originating point, said method comprising the steps of:
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dialing a predetermined number of digits using an end-user communicating device to initiate an intraLATA phone call; determining within said end-user communicating device whether said intraLATA call is a toll call by comparing an exchange number formed by the first three dialed digits to pre-stored exchange numbers of an intraLATA toll calling area serving said originating point, said pre-stored exchange numbers having been previously downloaded along with a carrier access code, in a storage device of said end-user communicating device by a database system of a communications carrier in response to an initialization call initiated from said end-user communicating device at said originating point; in response to signals indicating that said intraLATA call is a toll call, prepending said carrier access code to said dialed digits; and routing said access code and said dialed digits to a central office switch to complete said intraLATA call over a network of said communications carrier.
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Specification