Automated toll-free telecommunications information service and apparatus

• US 6,681,008 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2001
• Issued: 01/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bolduc, Raymond L., Salimando, Steven Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoosain, Allan
• Application Number:
  US09/870,692
• Publication Number:
  US 20010024496A1
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/72, 379/76, 379/80, 379/88.01, 379/88.04, 379/88.07, 379/88.12, 379/88.16, 379/88.17, 379/88.19, 379/88.22, 379/88.25, 379/114.24, 379/114.25, 379/114.28, 379/219, 379/22.08, 379/222, 379/227, 379/218.01
• US Class Current: 379/222
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42306 Number translation services, e.g. premium-rate, freephone or vanity number services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0036 where the data service is an information service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0054 where the data service is an electronic mail service

Abstract

An automated toll-free telecommunications information service may be provided responsive to a user sending an E-Mail request via the Internet or by a caller dialing a toll-free telephone number and announcing a voice request. A service node interprets the request and collects matches to the request from a database. A match to a request may comprise the identity of an entity corresponding to the match, a toll-free number for the match and a brief information sketch describing the entity. The matches are announced and played for the caller. The caller may barge in with a predetermined voice announcement such as “please dial” when they wish to select an item of the list. In response, the service node initiates the launch of a call to the selected entity.

Claims

1. A method for providing automated toll-free telecommunications information comprising the steps of

receiving E-Mail data representing a request for toll-free telecommunications information,

routing the E-Mail to a service node for providing the toll-free telecommunications information service,

collecting a number of data matches to the request,

initiating a call to a user corresponding to said request for toll-free information,

announcing a voice synthesized announcement corresponding to data representing the data matches,

receiving a user selection of at least one of the data matches,

launching a toll-free call to a business entity corresponding to the user selection.

2. A method for providing automated toll-free telecommunications information as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of forwarding automatic number identification data to said service node.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said step of collecting data matches to the request comprises the step of querying a database for matches to the request.

4. A method as recited in claim 3 wherein said database comprises a plurality of databases.

5. A method as recited in claim 3 wherein said database is queried via an Internet link.

6. A method as recited in claim 3 wherein said step of collecting data matches further comprises the step of the database returning a match to said query via an Internet link.

7. A method as recited in claim 6 wherein said match is returned in the form of audio clip data.

8. A method as recited in claim 6 wherein said match is returned in the form of binary data and said data is processed to form said voice synthesized announcement.

9. A method as recited in claim 3 wherein said step of collecting data matches comprises the step of receiving match data including the identity of a match, a toll-free telephone number representing the match, and business information describing the match.

10. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said step of receiving a user selection comprises the step of receiving a predetermined caller announcement.