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Means and method for providing local telephone number portability

  • US 5,717,749 A
  • Filed: 11/04/1996
  • Issued: 02/10/1998
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/26/1994
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. In a telecommunications system, a two tier database system recognizes a virtual service number for an intended call recipient and provides a corresponding call connection information set for the intended call recipient to the telecommunications system to connect a first telephone at which the virtual service number is dialed by a caller to a port identified by the corresponding call connection information set as a destination location of the intended call recipient, the two tier database system comprising:

  • a plurality of switches;

    a centralized database storing a plurality of call connection information sets existing in the telecommunications system and serving the plurality of switches, the centralized database including;

    means to count queries by a particular one of the plurality of switches for the corresponding call connection information set, the count representing the frequency of queries for the corresponding call connection information set, means to record the date and time of each query by the particular switch for the corresponding call connection information set, the date and time representing the recency of queries for the corresponding call connection information set;

    a plurality of dedicated database means, each dedicated database means storing a limited number of call connection information sets, and a particular one of the plurality of dedicated database means serving a particular switch of the plurality of switches, wherein the particular switch first queries the particular dedicated database means for the corresponding call connection information set for the dialed virtual service number and the particular switch queries the centralized database for the corresponding call connection information set if the corresponding call connection information set is not present in the particular dedicated database means, whereupon the centralized database provides the corresponding call connection information set to the particular dedicated database means, the particular dedicated database means comprising;

    means for dynamically maintaining in storage in the particular dedicated database means a group of call connection information sets most likely to be used by the particular switch by hierarchically ranking call connection information sets in the particular dedicated database means, as well as each call connection information set provided by the centralized database, each time a call connection information set is provided by the centralized database, the ranking based upon both the frequency of queries and the recency of queries for each call connection information set by the particular switch and the dynamically maintaining means deleting from the particular dedicated database means a call connection information set which is either ranking below a desired threshold of recency of queries and frequency of queries or, in the alternative, which is preempted by other call connection information sets having a greater hierarchical ranking.

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