Telephone interface call processing system with call selectivity
DC CAFCFirst Claim
1. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls from a multitude of terminals in different call modes including a caller-charge call mode and at least a toll free call mode for processing to interactive interface formats of a desired application and involving digital signals including digital signals indicative of DNIS, said system comprising:
- first response unit means for receiving calls in said toll free call mode with a select called number identified by said digital signals indicative of DNIS;
qualification means for qualifying on-line said calls in said toll free call mode received by said first response unit to provide qualified calls;
second response unit means for receiving calls in said caller-charge call mode with another select called number identified by said digital signals indicative of DNIS;
means for processing calls concurrently in both call modes in accordance with preliminary operations of said toll free call mode and said caller-charge call mode; and
means for coupling said qualified calls received by said first response unit means and said calls in said caller-charge mode for concurrent processing in accordance with common operations of said interactive interface formats of said desired application.
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Accused Products
Abstract
For use with a public telephone network CO incorporating a vast number of terminals T1-Tn, a system CS limits and controls interface access to implement voice-digital communication for statistical processing. The system CS accommodates calls in different modes, e. g. "800", "900" or area code and incorporates qualifying apparatus to restrict against caller misuse. Alternative calling modes are used to reach an interface facility that also affords some control based on calling terminal identification, e. g. as by ANI equipment.
164 Citations
254 Claims
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1. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls from a multitude of terminals in different call modes including a caller-charge call mode and at least a toll free call mode for processing to interactive interface formats of a desired application and involving digital signals including digital signals indicative of DNIS, said system comprising:
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first response unit means for receiving calls in said toll free call mode with a select called number identified by said digital signals indicative of DNIS; qualification means for qualifying on-line said calls in said toll free call mode received by said first response unit to provide qualified calls; second response unit means for receiving calls in said caller-charge call mode with another select called number identified by said digital signals indicative of DNIS; means for processing calls concurrently in both call modes in accordance with preliminary operations of said toll free call mode and said caller-charge call mode; and means for coupling said qualified calls received by said first response unit means and said calls in said caller-charge mode for concurrent processing in accordance with common operations of said interactive interface formats of said desired application. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A process for receiving calls through a telephonic communication facility from a multitude of terminals in different call modes including a toll free call mode and a "900" call mode and processing said calls in accordance with respective interactive interface formats for said different call modes, wherein the process involves digital signals including digital signals provided by said multitude of terminals as for identification or data, comprising the steps of:
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receiving calls in said toll free call mode; providing a qualification number to facilitate toll free participation via said toll free call mode; qualifying on-line said calls in said toll free call mode based on said qualification number to provide qualified calls; receiving calls in said "900" call mode; and concurrently processing said qualified calls received in said toll free call mode and said calls in said "900" mode in accordance with common operations of interactive interface formats for said toll free and said "900" call modes. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls through a communication facility from a multitude of terminals in different call modes including at least a caller charge call mode for processing to respective interactive interface formats for said different call modes and involving digital signals including digital signals provided by said multitude of terminals as for identification or data, said system comprising:
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first response unit means for receiving calls in said caller charge call mode; second response unit means for receiving calls in a toll free call mode; qualification means for receiving and testing calling number identification signals automatically provided by said communication facility to indicate calling terminals numbers for certain of said multitude of terminals to qualify online said calls in said toll free call mode received by said second response unit to provide qualified calls; means for concurrently processing calls received by both response unit means to preliminary operations of said respective interactive interface formats for said different call modes; and means for coupling said calls received in said caller charge call mode and said qualified calls received in said toll free call mode for concurrent processing in accordance with common operations of said respective interactive interface formats. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls from a multitude of terminals in different call modes including a toll free call mode and a caller charge call mode, for processing to respective interactive interface formats for said different call modes and involving digital signals provided by said multitude of terminals as for identification or data, further where said system includes a communication facility which automatically provides digital DNIS signals which identify a number dialed by callers at said multitude of terminals, said digital DNIS signals indicative of the respective interactive interface formats for said different call modes selected, comprising:
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first response unit means for receiving calls in said toll free call mode, and further wherein an interactive interface format for said toll free call mode is identified by said digital DNIS signals; qualification means for qualifying on-line said calls in said toll free call mode received by said first response unit means to provide qualified calls, said qualification means comprising means for testing said digital signals provided by said multitude of terminals originating calls in said toll free call mode including caller pin-number data, said caller pin-number data to be tested for approval; and second response unit means for receiving calls in said caller charge call mode, further where another interface interactive format for said caller charge call mode is identified by said digital DNIS signals; and means for coupling said qualified calls received in said toll free call mode and said calls received by said second response unit means for concurrent processing to common operations of said interactive interface format for said toll free call mode and said interactive interface format for said caller charge call mode. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls from a multitude of terminals in different calling modes including a toll free call mode and a caller charge call mode for processing to respective interactive interface formats for said different calling modes and involving digital signals including digital signals provided by callers at said multitude of terminals as for identification or other use, said system comprising:
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first response unit means for receiving calls in said toll free call mode; qualification means for qualifying on-line said calls in said toll free call mode received by said first response unit to provide qualified calls, said qualification means comprising means for testing said digital signals provided by said multitude of terminals and originating calls in said toll free call mode; call record memory means for storing data identifying said callers, addressable by said digital signals provided by said callers at said multitude of terminals; a second response unit means for receiving calls in said caller charge call mode; means for concurrently processing calls received by both response unit means for preliminary operations of said respective interactive interface formats; and means for coupling said qualified calls received in said toll free call mode and said calls received by said second response unit means for concurrent processing to common operations of said respective interactive interface formats. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls from a multitude of terminals for processing to an interface format and involving digital signals including digital signals associated with said multitude of terminals as for identification or data, said system comprising:
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cue means for prompting responses to questions, from said multitude of terminals in the form of digital signals as data; question selection means for selecting individual questions from a plurality of questions for actuating said cue means, said question selection means including a random selection means to select said individual questions; test means for testing said individual questions as correct or incorrect; and processing means to process responses to said individual questions to isolate a subset of callers. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63)
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64. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls through a telephonic communication facility from a multitude of terminals in a caller charge call mode for processing data in accordance with any of a plurality of interactive operating process formats and involving digital signals including digital signals indicative of DNIS, said system comprising:
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first response unit means for receiving calls in a caller charge call mode wherein digital signals indicative of one of a plurality of distinct called numbers (DNIS) identifies one of said plurality of interactive operating process formats; second response unit means for receiving calls in a "900" caller charge call mode wherein digital signals indicative of one other of said plurality of called numbers (DNIS) identifies another of said plurality of interactive operating process formats; voice generator means for prompting callers with voice prompts whereby callers enter data in response to said voice prompts; qualification means for qualifying on-line at least said calls utilizing said one other of said plurality of called numbers in said "900" caller charge call mode received by said second response unit to provide qualified calls; means for processing qualified calls received by said second response unit means and said calls received by said first response unit means for concurrent processing of data in accordance with at least certain common operations of said one and said another of said plurality of interactive operating process formats; and audio control unit coupled to said voice generator for providing a distinct automated greeting under control of said digital signals (DNIS) to callers calling at least said one of said distinct called numbers identifying said one of said plurality of interactive operating process formats. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)
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81. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls through a telephonic communication facility from a multitude of terminals in a toll free call mode for processing data in accordance with any of a plurality of interactive operating process formats and involving digital signals including DNIS, said system comprising:
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first response unit means for receiving calls in said toll free call mode wherein digital signals indicative of at least one of a plurality of distinct called numbers (DNIS) identify one of said plurality of interactive operating process formats; voice generator means for prompting callers with voice prompts whereby said callers enter data in response to said voice prompts; qualification means for qualifying on-line at least said calls utilizing said one of said plurality of distinct called numbers (DNIS) in said toll free call mode received by said first response unit to provide qualified calls; second response unit means for receiving calls in said toll free call mode wherein digital signals indicative of one other of said plurality of distinct called numbers (DNIS) identify another of said plurality of interactive operating process formats; means for processing qualified calls received by said first response unit means and said calls received by said second response unit means for concurrent processing of data in accordance with at least certain common processing operations of said one and said another of said interactive operating process formats; and audio control unit coupled to said voice generator means for providing a preliminary automated voice prompt to cue callers to interactively enter data under control of said digital signals (DNIS) to callers calling said one other of said plurality of distinct called numbers prior to execution of said common processing operations of said one and said another of said interactive operating process formats. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131)
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132. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls from a multitude of terminals in different call modes including a pay to dial call mode on a nationwide network for interactive communication and at least one toll free call mode for processing to respective interactive interface formats for said different call modes and involving digital signals associated with said multitude of terminals as for identification or data, said system comprising:
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first response unit means for receiving calls in said toll free call mode; qualification means for qualifying on-line said calls in said toll free call mode received by said first response unit means to provide qualified calls; second response unit means for receiving calls in said pay to dial call mode on said nationwide network; means for processing calls concurrently in both call modes in accordance with preliminary operations of said respective interactive interface formats for said different call modes; and means for coupling said qualified calls received in said toll free call mode and said calls in said pay to dial call mode on said nationwide network for concurrent processing to common operations of said respective interactive interface formats. - View Dependent Claims (133, 134)
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135. A telephone interface system for individually interfacing callers at a multitude of remote terminals for voice-digital communication through a telephone communication facility, said system comprising:
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communication means for establishing telephone communication between callers at certain of said multitude of remote terminals and select interactive operating formats through said telephone communication facility based on digital signals indicative of called numbers dialed by callers, which identify said select interactive operating formats from a plurality of operating formats (DNIS), wherein at least two called numbers identify at least two select interactive operating formats from said plurality of different formats, said communication means also receiving digital signals representing calling terminal number data associated with certain of said multitude of remote terminals automatically provided by said telephone communication facility; means for receiving identification signals relating to said callers in accordance with one of said at least two select interactive operating formats and providing said identification signals to said communication means to indicate currently active of said callers, wherein a data bank relating to said identification signals is accessed to reference data for a caller; memory means for storing one or more caller cues and use indications for said caller cues in relation to said currently active of said callers as identified by said identification signals; cue means for receiving said caller cues to provide voice signals through said communication means to prompt responses from said currently active callers in the form of digital data signals; and means for selecting a caller cue from said memory means for said currently active caller for application to said cue means under control of said identification signals and said use indications stored in said memory means for said currently active caller whereby to limit and control caller cues provided to individual callers based upon cues previously provided to and identified with said individual callers. - View Dependent Claims (136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150)
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151. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls through a telephonic communication facility from a multitude of terminals in different call modes including a toll free call mode, a pay to dial call mode, or an area code call mode for processing to respective interactive interface formats for different call modes and involving digital signals associated with said multitude of terminals as for identification or data, comprising:
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first response unit means for receiving calls in said toll free call mode or said area code call mode; second response unit means for receiving calls in a caller charge call mode; qualification means for qualifying on-line said calls in said toll free call mode or said area code call mode; audio control unit coupled to said first and second response units for answering incoming calls received for said first response unit and said second response unit and cuing certain callers subject to qualification by said qualification means; and processing means for selectively processing said calls received by said first response unit in said toll free call mode or said area code call mode with calls received by said second response unit for concurrent processing in accordance with common operations of respective interactive interface formats. - View Dependent Claims (152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177)
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178. A telephone call processing system for receiving calls through a telephonic communication facility from a multitude of terminals in a toll free call mode comprising a plurality of distinct called numbers associated with said toll free call mode for processing calls to select interactive interface operating formats from a plurality of interactive interface operating formats and involving digital signals including digital signals associated with said multitude of terminals as for identification or data, said system comprising:
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first response unit means for receiving calls in said toll free call mode wherein digital signals indicative of at least one of said plurality of called numbers (DNIS) identifies one of said select interactive interface operating formats from said plurality of interactive interface operating formats; cue means for providing cues during said calls received by said first response unit means to prompt responses from callers during said calls in the form of interactively entered data; qualification means for qualifying on-line said calls received by said first response unit means to provide qualified calls based on testing said interactively entered data against other data stored in a memory; second response unit means for receiving calls in said toll free call mode wherein digital signals indicative of at least one other of said plurality of called numbers identifies another of said select interactive interface operating formats from said plurality of interactive interface operating formats; means for processing said qualified calls received by said first response unit means and other calls in said toll free call mode received by said second response unit means in accordance with at least certain common operations of said select interactive interface operating formats; and a control unit coupled to said voice generator for providing a preliminary automated voice prompt to cue callers to interactively enter data under control of said digital signals (DNIS) to callers calling at least one of said plurality of distinct numbers prior to execution of said common operations of said select interface formats. - View Dependent Claims (179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 207, 224)
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199. A telephone interface system for individually interfacing callers at a multitude of remote terminals for voice-digital communication through a telephone communication facility, said system comprising:
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communication means for establishing telephone communication between callers at certain of said multitude of remote terminals and a select interactive operating format through said telephone communication facility based on digital signals indicative of at least one of a plurality of distinct numbers dialed by callers (DNIS) to select said select interactive operating format from a plurality of operating formats; means for providing identification signals received relating to said callers in accordance with said select interactive operating format to said communication means indicative of currently active of said identification signals relating to said callers; memory means for storing one or more caller cues and use indications for said caller cues in relation to said currently active of said callers as identified by said identification signals; cue means for receiving said caller cues to provide responses from said currently active callers in the form of digital data signals; means for selecting a caller cue from said memory means for said currently active caller for application to said cue means under control of said identification signals and said use indications stored in said memory means for said currently active caller whereby to limit and control caller cues provided to individual callers based upon cues previously provided to and identified with said identification signals relating to said individual callers; and connection means for selectively connecting calls using two select distinct numbers of said plurality of distinct numbers to common operations of said select interactive operating format and another select interactive operating format, wherein digital signals (DNIS) indicative of said two select distinct numbers identify said select interactive operating format and said another select operating format. - View Dependent Claims (200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 246)
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230. A telephone call processing system for individually interfacing callers at a multitude of remote terminals for voice-digital communication through a telephone communication facility, said system comprising:
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communication means for establishing telephone communication between callers at certain of said multitude of remote terminals and select interactive operating formats through said telephone communication facility based on digital signals indicative of select called numbers dialed by callers (DNIS) to identify said select interactive operating formats from a plurality of interactive operating formats, wherein at least two select called numbers are associated with a pay to dial call mode and a second call mode for accessing said select interactive interface formats; audio control unit coupled to said communication means for providing preliminary automated greetings to callers calling in both said pay to dial and said second call modes, each of said preliminary automated greetings distinct from the other and controlled at least in part by said DNIS signals;
qualification means for qualifying on-line calls received in at least one of said pay to dial call mode and said second call mode; andconnection means for connecting substantially all of said callers calling in said two call modes including qualified calls received in at least one of said pay to dial call mode and said second call mode and other calls received in said two call modes to common processing operations of said select interactive operating formats. - View Dependent Claims (231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243)
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244. A process for receiving calls from a multitude of terminals in different call modes including a toll free call mode and a "900" caller charge call mode and processing to respective interactive interface formats for said different call modes, wherein the process involves digital signals provided by said multitude of terminals as for identification or data, comprising the steps of:
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receiving calls in said toll free call mode; providing a limited-use pin number by mail to facilitate toll free participation via said toll free call mode; qualifying said calls on-line in said toll free call mode based on said limited-use pin number to provide qualified calls; receiving calls in said "900" caller charge call mode; and coupling said qualified calls and said calls in said caller charge mode for concurrent processing to common operations of said respective interactive interface formats. - View Dependent Claims (245, 247, 248)
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249. A process for receiving calls from a multitude of terminals in different call modes including a toll free call mode and a "900" caller charge call mode and processing to respective interactive interface formats for said different call modes, wherein the process involves digital signals provided by said multitude of terminals as for identification in the form of a pin number or other data, comprising the steps of:
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receiving calls in said toll free call mode; providing said pin number to facilitate toll free participation via said toll free call mode during a limited period of time; qualifying said calls on-line in said toll free call mode based on said pin number to provide qualified calls; receiving calls in said "900" caller charge call mode; and coupling said qualified calls and said calls in said caller charge mode for concurrent processing to common operations of said respective interactive interface formats. - View Dependent Claims (250, 251, 252, 253, 254)
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Specification