Method and apparatus for providing subscriber services to a telephone
First Claim
1. A method of enabling features preprogrammed into a telephony device operable to communicate with a service provider, the method comprising:
- a) receiving a subscriber services message at said telephony device, said subscriber services message including a feature controller;
b) enabling at least one feature preprogrammed into said telephony device in response to said feature controller.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for obtaining subscriber services available from a service provider, in a telephone in communication with the service provider. The method includes the step of receiving a subscriber services message at the telephone, where the subscriber services message includes a feature identifier for identifying at least one of a plurality of features available in the telephone and a feature controller for controlling whether or not the feature is to be enabled at the telephone. The method further includes the steps of displaying at the telephone a display message including an indication of features enabled at the telephone and transmitting to the service provider a feature request code associated with an enabled feature selected by a user of the telephone, the subscriber services request identifying to the service provider a request for the enabled feature selected by the user. The enabled feature is then provided to the telephone by the central office.
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Citations
77 Claims
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1. A method of enabling features preprogrammed into a telephony device operable to communicate with a service provider, the method comprising:
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a) receiving a subscriber services message at said telephony device, said subscriber services message including a feature controller; b) enabling at least one feature preprogrammed into said telephony device in response to said feature controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An apparatus for enabling features preprogrammed into a telephony device operable to communicate with a service provider, the apparatus comprising:
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a) a receiver for receiving a subscriber services message at said telephony device, said subscriber services message including a feature controller; b) a microprocessor for enabling use of at least one preprogrammed feature in said telephony device in response to said feature controller. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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67. A method of requesting features available from a service provider, in a telephone in communication with said service provider, the method comprising:
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a) receiving a subscriber services message at said telephone, said subscriber services message including; i) a feature identifier for identifying at least one of a plurality of features available in said telephone; ii) a feature controller for controlling whether or not said at least one feature is to be enabled at said telephone; b) displaying at said telephone a display message including an indication of features enabled at said telephone; c) transmitting to said service provider a feature indicator associated with an enabled feature selected by a user of said telephone, said feature indicator identifying to said service provider a request for said enabled feature selected by said user; d) receiving and displaying a sequence of user input data to be transmitted from said telephone to said service provider; and e) protecting said sequence of user input data from display by; i) comparing an initial portion of said sequence of user input data with a reference sequence; ii) if said initial portion is not equal to said reference sequence, copying said initial portion to a display buffer; iii) if said initial portion and said reference sequence are equal and a control code associated with said reference sequence is active, copying no subsequent portion of said sequence of user input data to said display buffer; iv) if said initial portion and said reference sequence are not equal or said control code associated with said reference sequence is not active, copying said subsequent portion to said display buffer; and v) displaying the contents of said display buffer. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
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73. An apparatus for requesting features available from a service provider, in a telephone in communication with said service provider, the apparatus comprising:
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a) a receiver for receiving a subscriber services message at said telephone, said subscriber services message including; i) a feature identifier for identifying at least one of a plurality of features available in said telephone; ii) a feature controller for controlling whether or not said at least one feature is to be enabled at said telephone; b) a display for displaying at said telephone a display message including an indication of features enabled at said telephone; c) a transmitter for transmitting to said service provider a feature indicator associated with an enabled feature selected by a user of said telephone, said feature indicator identifying to said service provider a request for said enabled feature selected by said user; d) a user input device for receiving and displaying a sequence of user input data to be transmitted from said telephone to said service provider; and e) a display buffer and microprocessor, said microprocessor being programmed to protect said sequence of user input data from display by; i) comparing an initial portion of said sequence of data with a reference sequence; ii) if said initial portion is not equal to said reference sequence, copying said initial portion to said display buffer; iii) if said initial portion and said reference sequence are equal and a control code associated with said reference sequence is active, copying no subsequent portion of said input sequence input sequence data to said display buffer; iv) if said initial portion and said reference sequence are not equal or said control code associated with said reference sequence is not active, copying said subsequent portion to said display buffer; and v) directing said display to display the contents of said display buffer. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75, 76, 77)
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Specification