System and method for locating subscribers using a best guess location algorithm

• US 6,678,366 B1
• Filed: 02/09/2000
• Issued: 01/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Ulysses ESD, Inc.
• Inventors: Kimball, John, Burger, Eric William, Parikh, Sanjiv, Pax, Christina, OʼConnor, Walter Joseph, Taylor, Nancy Margaret
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUI, BING Q
• Application Number:
  US09/501,105
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: 379/38, 379/207.03, 379/211.01, 379/211.03, 379/221.01, 379/221.05, 379/221.06, 379/201.06, 379/201.07, 379/207.12
• US Class Current: 379/211.03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/46 Arrangements for calling a number of substations in a predetermined sequence until an answer is obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53308 Message originator indirectly connected to the message centre, e.g. after detection of busy or absent state of a called party

Abstract

A system and method for locating the subscriber of a telephony product in which a best guess location is assigned to each subscriber of the telephony product. Under certain predetermined conditions, the telephony product directs incoming phone calls to a subscriber by first attempting to locate the subscriber at the best guess location. If the best guess location does not successfully answer or is not attempted first, an alternate search method is used.

Claims

1. A system for directing an inbound telephone call from a caller, which has been made to the system, to a subscriber, comprising:

at least one port for coupling the system to a communications network from which the inbound telephone call is received and to which outbound telephone calls are directed;

a switch fabric for coupling said inbound telephone call with a selected one of the outbound calls;

a memory for storing one or more control programs and data associated with one or more system users;

a central processing unit coupled to the memory and the switch fabric; and

nonvolatile internal data storage for storing phone messages and user data;

wherein;

said one or more control programs directs said system to (1) use a first protocol when a protocol selection condition is satisfied; and

(2) use a second protocol to direct said inbound telephone call when the protocol selection condition is not satisfied or when said first protocol is not successful; and

(a) said first protocol comprises;

(i) selecting a first telephone number, said first telephone number is determined by a most recent telephone number, in a predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, used in a prior telephone call between the subscriber and said system;

(ii) placing a first outbound telephone call to said first telephone number; and

(iii) determining success of said outbound telephone call according to a predetermined success criterion;

said first protocol is not successful if said first outbound telephone call is not successful; and

(b) said second protocol comprises;

(i) selecting at least one unselected telephone number from said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber according to a selection criterion;

(ii) placing at least one outbound telephone call to the at least one telephone number selected in (b)(i); and

(iii) repeating (b)(i) and (b)(ii) until a first occurrence of either a successful telephone call according to the predetermined success criterion or there are no unselected telephone numbers remaining in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber;

wherein, in said first protocol, said most recent telephone number is selected from the group consisting of a telephone number to which the system successfully directed a prior successful telephone call;

a telephone number to which the subscriber transferred a prior successful telephone call; and

a telephone number, in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, to which an outbound call was placed and that was answered by said subscriber and wherein said caller abandoned said inbound call before said outbound call and said inbound call were connected.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first protocol is always used.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the protocol selection condition is determined by one or more criteria selected from the group consisting of:

(a) whether said prior telephone call is made on a date prior to a date said inbound call is made;

(b) whether said prior telephone call is made before a time of day threshold and said incoming call is made after said time of day threshold;

(c) whether an amount of time threshold has elapsed between a time when said prior telephone call was made and a time when said inbound telephone call was made; and

(d) whether, at a last time the system attempted to direct an inbound telephone call to the subscriber, the system was unable to reach the subscriber at any number in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the protocol selection condition is satisfied if, at a last time the system attempted to direct an outbound telephone call to the subscriber, the system was unable to reach the subscriber, but at least one telephone number in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber was busy when said system placed an outbound telephone call in (a)(ii) or (b)(ii).

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said most recent telephone number is a most recently used telephone number, in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, used in a successfully completed telephone call that was placed either by the subscriber to the system, or by the system to the subscriber.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first telephone number is a number that was busy a last time the system attempted to telephone the number and the system was not successful in directing the prior telephone call to any number in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to rank each telephone number in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, and the selection criteria of (b)(i) comprises choosing one or more telephone numbers having the highest rank, in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, that have not previously been selected in (a)(i) or (b)(i).

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to present a menu of options if an outbound call is answered and said predetermined success criterion is determined by a response to the menu of options.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the menu is customizable and determined by a characteristic of a telephone number used by the system in placing an outbound telephone call.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein, for each time interval in a set of time intervals, a set of weights is associated with the subscriber;

each weight in each said set of weights corresponds to a telephone number in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber;

the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber is ranked by the set of weights corresponding to a time interval in the set of time intervals in which the inbound telephone call is received; and

the selection criteria in (b)(i) comprises selecting one or more of the highest ranked telephone numbers in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber that have not been previously selected in (a)(i) or (b)(i).

11. The system of claim 10, wherein each weight in each set of weights is independently assigned an initial value.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein each weight in each said set of weights is determined by a scoring function.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said scoring function is a function of a number of successfully completed telephone calls between the system and said telephone number associated with said weight during the time interval associated with said weight.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said scoring function is a number of successfully completed telephone calls between the system and said telephone number associated with said weight that overlap with the time interval associated with said weight.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein only telephone calls made within a cutoff threshold amount of time are used by said scoring function.

16. A method for directing an inbound telephone call from a caller, which has been made to a system, to a subscriber, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) using a first protocol to direct said inbound telephone call when a protocol selection condition is satisfied; and

(2) using a second protocol to direct said inbound telephone call when the protocol selection condition is not satisfied or when said first protocol is not successful in directing said inbound telephone call;

wherein;

(a) said first protocol comprises;

(i) selecting a first telephone number, said first telephone number is determined by a most recent telephone number, in a predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, used in a prior telephone call between the subscriber and said system;

(ii) placing a first outbound telephone call to said first telephone number; and

(iii) determining success of said outbound telephone call according to a predetermined success criterion;

said first protocol is not successful in directing said inbound telephone call if said first outbound telephone is not successful; and

(b) said second protocol comprises;

(i) selecting at least one unselected telephone number from said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber according to a selection criterion;

(ii) placing at least one outbound telephone call using the at least one telephone number selected in (b)(i); and

(iii) repeating (b)(i) and (b)(ii) until a first occurrence of either a successful telephone call according to said predetermined success criterion or there are no unselected telephone numbers remaining in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber;

wherein, in said first protocol, said most recent telephone number is selected from the group consisting of a telephone number to which the system successfully directed a prior successful telephone call;

a telephone number to which the subscriber transferred a prior successful telephone call; and

a telephone number, in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, to which an outbound call was placed and that was answered by said subscriber and wherein said caller abandoned said inbound call before said outbound call and said inbound call were connected.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first protocol is always used.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the protocol selection condition is determined by one or more criteria selected from the group consisting of:

(a) whether said prior telephone call is made on a date prior to a date said inbound call is made;

(b) whether said prior telephone call is made before a time of day threshold and said incoming call is made after said time of day threshold;

(c) whether an amount of time threshold has elapsed between a time when said prior telephone call was made and a time when said inbound telephone call was made; and

(d) whether, at a last time the system attempted to direct an inbound telephone call to the subscriber, the system was unable to reach the subscriber at any number in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the protocol selection condition is satisfied if, at a last time the system attempted to direct an outbound telephone call to the subscriber, the system was unable to reach the subscriber, but at least one telephone number in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber was busy when said system placed an outbound telephone call in (a)(ii) or (b)(ii).

20. The method of claim 16, wherein said most recent telephone number is a most recently used telephone number, in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, used in a successfully completed telephone call that was placed either by the subscriber to the system, or by the system to the subscriber.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein said first telephone number is a number that was busy a last time the system attempted to telephone said number and the system was not successful in directing said prior telephone call to any number in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the system is further configured to rank each telephone number in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, and said selection criteria of (b)(i) comprises choosing one or more telephone numbers having the highest rank, in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, that have not previously been selected in (a)(i) or (b)(i).

23. The method of claim 16, wherein the system is further configured to present a menu of options if an outbound call is answered and said predetermined success criterion is determined by a response to the menu of options.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said menu of options is customizable and determined by a characteristic of a telephone number used by the system in placing an outbound telephone call.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein, for each time interval in a set of time intervals, a set of weights is associated with the subscriber;

each weight in each said set of weights corresponds to a telephone number in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber;

the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber is ranked by the set of weights corresponding to a time interval in the set of time intervals in which the inbound telephone call is received; and

the selection criteria in (b)(i) comprises selecting one or more of the highest ranked telephone numbers in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber that have not been previously selected in (a)(i) or (b)(i).

26. The method of claim 25, wherein each weight in each set of weights is independently assigned an initial value.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein each weight in each said set of weights is determined by a scoring function.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein said scoring function is a function of a number of successfully completed telephone calls between the system and said telephone number associated with said weight during the time interval associated with said weight.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein said scoring function is a number of successfully completed telephone calls between the system and said telephone number associated with said weight that overlap with the time interval associated with said weight.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein only telephone calls made within a cutoff threshold amount of time are used by said scoring function.

31. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer controlled service platform, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising a telephone call manager configured to direct an inbound telephone call from a caller, which has been made to a computer controlled service platform, to a subscriber (1) using a first protocol when a protocol selection condition is satisfied, and (2) using a second protocol to direct said inbound telephone call when the protocol selection condition is not satisfied or when said first protocol is not successful, wherein:

(a) said first protocol comprises;

(i) selecting a first telephone number, said first telephone number is determined by a most recent telephone number, in a predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, used in a prior telephone call between the subscriber and the service platform;

(ii) placing a first outbound telephone call to said first telephone number; and

(iii) determining success of said outbound telephone call according to a predetermined success criterion;

said first protocol is unsuccessful in directing said inbound telephone call if said first outbound telephone is unsuccessful; and

(b) said second protocol comprises;

(i) selecting at least one unselected telephone number from said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber according to a selection criterion;

(ii) placing at least one outbound telephone call from the service platform by using the at least one telephone number selected in (b)(i); and

(iii) repeating (b)(i) and (b)(ii) until a first occurrence of either a successful telephone call according to said predetermined success criterion or there are no unselected telephone numbers remaining in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber;

wherein, in said first protocol, said most recent telephone number is selected from the group consisting of a telephone number to which the system successfully directed a prior successful telephone call;

a telephone number to which the subscriber transferred a prior successful telephone call; and

a telephone number, in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, to which an outbound call was placed and that was answered by said subscriber and wherein said caller abandoned said inbound call before said outbound call and said inbound call were connected.

32. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the first protocol is always used.

33. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the protocol selection condition is determined by one or more criteria selected from the group consisting of:

(a) whether said prior telephone call is made on a date prior to a date said inbound call is made;

(b) whether said prior telephone call is made before a time of day threshold and said incoming call is made after said time of day threshold;

(c) whether an amount of time threshold has elapsed between a time when said prior telephone call was made and a time when said inbound telephone call was made; and

(d) whether, at a last time the service platform attempted to direct an inbound telephone call to the subscriber, the service platform was unable to reach the subscriber at any number in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber.

34. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the protocol selection condition is satisfied if, at a last time the service platform attempted to direct an outbound telephone call to the subscriber, the service platform was unable to reach the subscriber, but at least one telephone number in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber was busy when the service platform placed an outbound telephone call in (a)(ii) or (b)(ii).

35. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein said most recent telephone number is a most recently used telephone number, in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, used in a successfully completed telephone call that was placed either by the subscriber to the service platform, or by the service platform to the subscriber.

36. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein said first telephone number is a number that was busy a last time the service platform attempted to telephone said number and the service platform was not successful in directing said prior telephone call to any number in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber.

37. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the service platform is further configured to rank each telephone number in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, and said selection criteria of (b)(i) comprises choosing one or more telephone numbers having the highest rank, in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber, that have not previously been selected in (a)(i) or (b)(i).

38. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein a menu of options is presented if an outbound call is answered, and said predetermined success criterion is determined by a response to the menu of options.

39. The computer program product of claim 38, wherein the menu of options is customizable and determined by a characteristic of a telephone number used by the service platform in placing an outbound telephone call.

40. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein, for each time interval in a set of time intervals, a set of weights is associated with the subscriber;

each weight in each said set of weights corresponds to a telephone number in said predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber;

the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber is ranked by the set of weights corresponding to a time interval in the set of time intervals in which the inbound telephone call is received; and

the selection criteria in (b)(i) comprises selecting one or more of the highest ranked telephone numbers in the predetermined set of telephone numbers designated by the subscriber that have not been previously selected in (a)(i) or (b)(i).

41. The computer program product of claim 40, wherein each weight in each set of weights is independently assigned an initial value.

42. The computer program product of claim 40, wherein each weight in each said set of weights is determined by a scoring function.

43. The computer program product of claim 42, wherein said scoring function is a function of a number of successfully completed telephone calls between the service platform and said telephone number associated with said weight during the time interval associated with said weight.

44. The computer program product of claim 42, wherein said scoring function is a number of successfully completed telephone calls between the service platform and said telephone number associated with said weight that overlap with the time interval associated with said weight.

45. The computer program product of claim 42, wherein only telephone calls made within a cutoff threshold amount of time are used by said scoring function.