Adaptive telephone number selection method and system
First Claim
1. A method for directing an outbound telephone call originating from a caller system associated with a caller to an intended call recipient, comprising the steps of:
- (a) generating a call signal with the caller system, the call signal associated with the intended call recipient;
(b) translating the call signal to an identifier for a predetermined set of telephone numbers associated with the intended call recipient;
(c) selecting at least one telephone number to call from the predetermined set of telephone numbers according to at least one parameter;
(d) placing at least one outbound telephone call with the system, the at least one outbound telephone call originating from the caller system by using the at least one telephone number to call;
(e) determining the success of the outbound telephone call according to at least one predetermined criterion;
(f) selecting at least one previously unselected telephone number from the predetermined set of telephone numbers in the event of each of said at least one outbound telephone calls generating an unsuccessful call; and
(g) repeating steps (d), (e), and (f) until the first occurrence of either a successful telephone call or the condition that the predetermined set of telephone numbers contains no previously unselected telephone numbers.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for directing a telephone call to an intended call recipient. The method and system may be used to place both inbound calls to and outbound calls from a user. The method and system includes the steps and functions of generating a call signal associated with the intended call recipient. The call signal is translated to an identifier for a set of telephone numbers, such as a telephone number selection matrix, associated with the intended call recipient. At least one telephone number is then selected to call from the set of telephone numbers according to a plurality of continually changing parameters. The system then places a telephone call using the selected telephone number. The success of the telephone call is determined according to at least one predetermined criterion. In the event of an unsuccessful call, the system then selects at least one previously unselected telephone number from the set of telephone numbers and repeats the above steps until the first occurrence of either a successful telephone call or the condition that the set of telephone numbers contains no previously unselected telephone numbers. The previous successes in using a given telephone number determine its likelihood of being used in subsequent calls when the continuously changing parameters have similar values.
116 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for directing an outbound telephone call originating from a caller system associated with a caller to an intended call recipient, comprising the steps of:
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(a) generating a call signal with the caller system, the call signal associated with the intended call recipient; (b) translating the call signal to an identifier for a predetermined set of telephone numbers associated with the intended call recipient; (c) selecting at least one telephone number to call from the predetermined set of telephone numbers according to at least one parameter; (d) placing at least one outbound telephone call with the system, the at least one outbound telephone call originating from the caller system by using the at least one telephone number to call; (e) determining the success of the outbound telephone call according to at least one predetermined criterion; (f) selecting at least one previously unselected telephone number from the predetermined set of telephone numbers in the event of each of said at least one outbound telephone calls generating an unsuccessful call; and (g) repeating steps (d), (e), and (f) until the first occurrence of either a successful telephone call or the condition that the predetermined set of telephone numbers contains no previously unselected telephone numbers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for directing an outbound telephone call from a caller associated with the system to an intended call recipient, comprising:
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call signal generating means for generating a call signal associated with the intended call recipient; translating means for translating said call signal to an identifier for predetermined set of telephone numbers associated with the intended call recipient; telephone number selecting means for selecting at least one telephone number to call from said predetermined set of telephone numbers according to at least one parameter; telephone call placing means for (a) placing at least one outbound telephone calls using said at least one telephone number to call; (b) determining the success of completing said at least one outbound telephone call according to at least one predetermined criterion; (c) selecting at least one previously unselected telephone number from said predetermined set of telephone numbers in the event of each of said at least one outbound telephone calls generating an unsuccessful call; and (d) repeating steps (a), (b), and (c) until the first occurrence of either a successful telephone call or the condition that said predetermined set of telephone numbers contains no previously unselected telephone numbers; wherein the caller originates the outbound call from the system and wherein the telephone call placing means is associated with the caller. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification