Method and system for routing calls to desire discount telephone services

• US 7,068,776 B1
• Filed: 04/19/2000
• Issued: 06/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Desta Resources Co.
• Original Assignee: Desta Resources Co.
• Inventors: Gamble, Oliver W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Agdeppa, Hector A.
• Application Number:
  US09/552,711
• Time in Patent Office: 2,260 Days
• Field of Search: 379/144.01, 379/88.23, 379/111, 379/130, 379/100.04, 379/205.01, 379/355.05, 379/132, 379/201, 379/100.14, 379/114.12, 379/201.01, 379/211.01, 379/142.13
• US Class Current: 379/355.05
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/007 with remote control systems remote control in general G08C

Abstract

A method and system for automatically completing long distance, international and local telephone calls using a preselected discount telephone service. A R.A.T. sensor array monitors a telephone line for activity. When the dialing of an outgoing call is detected, a central processing unit, in conjunction with a DTMF decoder, determines whether the call being made is a discount call by detecting whether predetermined positioned digit(s) is a predetermined number or set of numbers. If the number dialed is a discount call, the DTMF generator dials a predetermined prefix and/or access code resulting in completion of the call at a discounted rate.

Claims

1. A method for automatically routing calls through a discount telephone service, comprising:

initiating a dialing process on a callers dialing device;

routing an outgoing call through a discount routing device located at the site of the caller'"'"'s dialing device;

wherein said discount routing device operates by passing a first dialed digit of an outgoing call to a communication network to signal that an outgoing call is being be made;

halting all incoming calls to the dialing device by establishing a busy status between the dialing device and the communication network with the passage of the first dialed digit to said communication network;

if said first dialed digit is indicative of a non-long distance call, the discount routing device does not effect routing of the outgoing call;

if said first dialed digit is indicative of a long distance call, the discount routing device will isolate the communication network from the dialing device;

said discount routing device monitoring the dialing of the outgoing phone number to determine what course of action is to be taken by said discount dialing device with said dialed phone number;

said discount routing device determining if a dialed phone number is long distance by looking for a predetermined number of digits in a predetermined sequence;

said discount routing device monitoring the isolated communication network to determine the status and ability of said network to process the call that that is being placed by the user of the dialing device;

said discount routing device notifying the caller of any problems with the communication system while a dialed long distance call is in the process of being routed to a discount service provider;

said discount routing device utilizing a listing of area codes to exclude an outgoing phone number from being considered a discountable long distance call;

accessing a discount telephone service by merging said first dialed digit of said outgoing call with the access number for the discount telephone service provider; and

dialing the remaining digits of the outgoing call.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the determining whether a discountable call is being made is accomplished by determining whether the sequence of the leading dialed digits indicate a non local call.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the determining whether an outgoing call is discountable is accomplished by determining whether the digits encoding the area code of the dialed phone number disqualifies the outgoing call as discountable.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the determining whether a discountable call is made is accomplished by determining whether a leading dialed digits indicate a special service call or toll free call.

5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether all of the digits associated with an outgoing call have been collected within an intrinsic predetermined polling period.

6. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

using a sensor array to detect a time-out condition when the number of digits associated with an outgoing call has not been collected within a predetermined polling period.

7. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether an access code is required to utilize a discount telephone service provider; and

providing an access code to the discount telephone service provider when said access code is required.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the outgoing call is a long distance call.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the outgoing call is an international call.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the outgoing call is a local call.

11. The method according to claim 1 wherein said excluded outgoing call is a special service call, toll free call, or a local call that requires an area code.

12. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

providing a busy signal to incoming callers during said routing of said outgoing call.

13. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

selecting discount service provider access number among a plurality of discount telephone service providers; and

dialing the selected access number of the associated discount telephone service provider.

15. The method according to claim 13 further comprising:

detecting a time-out condition when the required number of digits associated with an outgoing call have not been collected within a predetermined polling period.

16. The method according to claim 13 further comprising:

isolating an outgoing call dialing device from the communication network while monitoring both the communication network status and the collection of dialed digits in the outgoing call.

17. The method according to claim 13 wherein the potential discount call is a long distance call.

18. The method according to claim 13 wherein the potential discount call is an international call.

19. The method according to claim 13 wherein the potential discount call is a local call.

20. The method according to claim 13 wherein the potential discount call is not a special call, not a toll free call, or not a local call that require an area code.

21. The method according to claim 13 further comprising:

providing a busy signal to incoming call while processing said outgoing call.

23. The system according to claim 21 further comprising:

means for the discount routing device to detect signals from the communication network using one or more sensors in the sensor array.

24. The system according to claim 21 wherein the means for the discount routing device to detect dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones originating from either the dialing device or the communication network while in the process of routing an outgoing call.

25. The system according to claim 21 wherein the means for determining whether an outgoing call is a discountable call is accomplished by determining whether the leading digits associated with a dialed number encodes for a non local or toll free area code.

26. The system according to claim 21 further comprising:

means for determining whether the number of digits associated with the outgoing call have been collected within an intrinsic predetermined polling period defined by the communication network.

27. The system according to claim 25 further comprising:

means for detecting a time-out condition when the number of digits associated with the outgoing call has not been collected within said predetermined polling period.

29. The system according to claim 21 wherein the potential discount call is a long distance call.

30. The system according to claim 21 wherein the potential discount call is an international call.

31. The system according to claim 21 wherein the potential discount call is a local call.

32. The system according to claim 21 wherein the potential discount call is not a special service call, not a local call that requires an area code, or not a toll free call.

14. A method for automatically routing long distance calls through a discount telephone service, comprising:

using a device located inside of a caller'"'"'s dialing device, wherein said device operates by;

using an intrinsic dial tone of a communication network to signal a ready state to the call originator;

passing the first dialed digit of an outgoing call to a communication network to generate a busy signal that will halt all incoming calls to the dialing device over said network;

processing the leading digits of the dialed outgoing call to determine if the call is discountable;

routing the outgoing call normally if said first dialed digits are indicative of a non-long distance call;

isolating the communication network from the dialing process if said first dialed digits are indicative of a long distance call;

using a sensor array to monitor the state of the communication network while collecting the dialed digits of an outgoing call;

using a sensor array to determine if all of the digits associated with said outgoing call are collected within an intrinsic predetermined time period;

using a sensor array to detect when the communication network is unable to complete the routing of a discount call;

using the sequence of the leading four digits of the outgoing call to determine if the phone number is a discountable long distance call;

using the first digit passed to the communication network as part of the access coding of a discount service provider;

completing the discount routing process by combining the first passed digit to the communication network with the discount service provider access code and the digits of the outgoing call.

22. A system for automatically routing calls through a discount telephone service, comprising:

means for providing an intrinsic dial tone prior to the dialing of the first digit of an outgoing call on a dialing device;

means for the dialing device to pass the first dialed digit to the communication network signaling to occurrence of an outgoing call;

means for generating a busy signal with the first pass digit of the outgoing call to the communication network;

means for signaling to a communication network when an outgoing discount calls is about to be made from a dialing device halting all incoming calls;

means for isolating the dialing device from the communication network using a discount routing device located at the site of the caller;

means for determining if an outgoing call is a discountable call by analyzing a predetermined number of the leading digits of the out call for a predetermined sequence of digits;

means for determining whether outgoing calls process was completed within a predetermined time period using a sensor array in a discount routing device; and

means for dialing both an access number for a discount telephone service provider and the digits corresponding to the outgoing call when said call is determined to be discountable.

28. The system according to claim 22 further comprising:

means for determining whether an access code is required to effectuate said routing; and

means for providing said access code to the discount telephone service when said code is required.

33. The system according to claim 22 further comprising:

means for providing a busy signal to incoming callers during said routing of an outgoing call.

34. The system according to claim 22 further comprising:

means for selecting the access number among a plurality of access numbers for discount telephone providers; and

means for dialing the access number of a selected discount telephone provider.

36. The system according to claim 34 further comprising:

means for detecting an intrinsic time-out condition that occurs when all of the digits associated with an outgoing call are not collected within a predetermined polling period using a sensor array.

37. The system according to claim 34 further comprising:

means for determining whether an access code is required to effectuate routing of an outgoing call to a discount service provider; and

means for transmitting said access code to a discount telephone service provider when an access code is required.

38. The system according to claim 34 wherein the potential discount call is a long distance call.

39. The system according to claim 34 wherein the potential discount call is an international.

40. The system according to claim 34 wherein the potential discount call is a local call.

41. The system according to claim 34 wherein the potential discount call is not a special call or a call with a specific area code.

42. The system according to claim 34 further comprising:

means for providing a busy signal to incoming callers during the determination of outgoing call potential discounting, and routing of said call to a discount service provider.

44. The system according to claim 42 wherein the discount routing device is located inside of the caller'"'"'s dialing device.

50. The system according to claim 42 wherein the potential discount call is a long distance call.

51. The system according to claim 42 wherein the potential discount call is an international call.

52. The system according to claim 42 wherein the potential discount call is a local call.

53. The system according to claim 42 wherein the potential discount call is not a local call that requires an area code, or toll free call.

35. A system for automatically converting an outgoing call into a discounted call, comprising:

means for providing an intrinsic dial tone prior to dialing a first digit of an outgoing call;

means for detecting one or more leading digits associated with the outgoing call, wherein a predetermined number of digits of the outgoing call meets a predetermined sequence indicating a non-local call;

means for passing the first digit of the outgoing call to the communication network while using the first digit of the outgoing call as a signal not to send any inbound calls while converting an outgoing call to a discount telephone call;

means for normally routing the outgoing call if the first dialed digit and a predetermined number of digits in a predetermined order is determined to be indicative of a non-long distance call;

means for isolating the communication network from the dialing process to allow collection of all the digits corresponding to said outgoing call while monitoring the status of the communication network, if the first dialed digit is indicative of a long distance call;

means for determining whether all numbers associated with said outgoing call have been collected within an intrinsic predetermined polling period; and

means for merging and dialing remaining digits of an access number for a discount telephone service provider and the numbers associated with said outgoing call.

43. A system for automatically routing calls through a discount telephone service provider, comprising:

a discount call routing device located at the site of the caller'"'"'s dialing device, said device containing a dual tone multi frequency (DTMF) tones decoder configured for identifying dialed digits associated with an outgoing telephone call;

said discount call routing device configured to pass the first dialed digit of the outgoing call through to a communication network, wherein creating a signal that halts all inbound calls during a routing processed and initiating a busy signal;

at least one processor with memory configured to monitor the status of the communication network while capturing and analyzing the dialed digits associated with the outgoing telephone call for determining whether a potential discount call is being made, wherein said processors is further configured to determine if leading dialed digits of the outgoing telephone call encode an area of a non-discountable telephone number;

said at least one processor with memory configured to monitor the status of the communication network while capturing and analyzing the dialed digits associated with the outgoing telephone call for determining whether a potential discount call is being made, wherein said processors is further configured to determine if leading dialed digits of the outgoing telephone call encode an area of a discountable telephone number;

said at least one processor with memory configured for collecting and re-arranging the digits associated with the outgoing telephone call and the discount service provider access number, wherein said system is able to use a first dialed digit as part of an access number for a discount service provider;

said at least one processor with memory configured to dial the merged digits of the of the discount service provider access code and the outgoing discountable call with the signal to communication network that halted all incoming calls.

45. The system according to claim 43 wherein the predetermined sequence of digits in a predetermined order is associated with a non-local area code component in the outgoing call.

46. The system according to claim 43 wherein the digit associated with the number one is located in the leading position of the dialed phone number and it is passed through to the communication network.

47. The system according to claim 43 wherein the processor is further configured for determining whether the required number of digits associated with an outgoing call have been collected within an intrinsic predetermined polling period using a sensor array.

48. The system according to claim 46 further comprising:

a sensor array consisting of two or more sensors configured for detecting a time-out condition when the number of DTMF signals associated with an outgoing call has not been collected within said polling period.

49. The system according to claim 43 wherein the processor is further configured for determining whether an access code is required to effectuate said routing, and for transmitting said access code stored in memory to the discount telephone service provider when said access code is required.

54. The system according to claim 43 further comprising:

relays configured for generating a busy signal to incoming callers throughout the routing of said discount call.

55. The system according to claim 43 wherein the processor is further configured for choosing an access number from among a plurality of access numbers for discount service provider, and for dialing the selected access number is effectuated by a plurality of tones generated by the DTMF tone generator.

57. The system according to claim 55 further comprising:

an array of sensors of which one is configured for detecting a time-out condition when all of the DTMF tones associated with the outgoing call have not been collected within a predetermined polling period.

59. The system according to claim 55 wherein the discount call is a long distance call.

60. The system according to claim 55 wherein the discount call is an international call.

61. The system according to claim 55 wherein the discount call is a local.

62. The system according to claim 55 wherein the discount call is not a special type call, not a local call dialed with an area code, or not a toll free call.

63. The system according to claim 55 further comprising:

relays configuration configured for generating a busy signal to incoming callers during said routing of said outgoing call.

64. A telephone comprising the automatic call routing system of claim 62.

65. A telephone comprising the automatic call routing system of claim 55.

56. A system for automatically routing outgoing telephone calls through a discount telephone service, comprising:

a discount call routing device located at the site of a caller'"'"'s dialing device, said discount call routing device further comprising;

a sensor array configured for monitoring a telephone line for an outgoing telephone call and status of a connection to a communication network, wherein said sensor array can detect two or more different events in said communication network;

a dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) transceiver configured for detecting all DTMF tones associated with dialed digits of the outgoing telephone call, said system further configured to allow a first digit of the outgoing telephone call to pass to the communication network, and to isolate the communication network from a dialing process if said first digit of the outgoing call is determined be indicative of a long distance call or to normally route the outgoing call if said first digit of the outgoing call is determined to be indicative of a non-long distance call;

at least one processor configured for determining whether the outgoing telephone call is a discountable call by determining whether a predetermined number of dialed digits comprises a sequence of digits “

coded”

for a non-local area code, said processors further configured for determining whether all the dialed digits associated with the outgoing telephone call have been collected within a predetermined polling period;

said at least one processor further configured to detect and pass on to the call originator the communication network intrinsic dial tone indicating the ready to use status of the dialing device;

said at least one processor further configured to signal the communication network to halt incoming calls while processing a discount call; and

said discount routing device able to merge the dialed digit passed to the communication network with digits of an access number for the discount service provider and digits of the dialed outgoing telephone number.

58. The system according to claim 56 wherein the processor is further configured for detecting signal over the phone line indicating the need for supplying an access code to the discount service provider, and for transmitting said access code over the telephone line.

66. Computer executable software code stored on a computer readable medium, said computer executable software code for automatically routing calls through a discount telephone service, comprising:

code for routing calls to a discount telephone service provider being stored in a device situated at the site of a caller'"'"'s dialing device, said device further comprising;

code for using an intrinsic dial tone as a ready-to-use indicator;

code for passing a first detected dialed digit of an outgoing telephone call to a communication network as a signal instructing the communication network to halt all inbound calls during a routing process;

code for isolating the communication network from a dialing process if said first detected dialed digit of the outgoing call is determined be indicative of a long distance call;

code for normally routing the outgoing telephone call if said first detected dialed digit and analysis of the leading dialed digits coded an area code that is determined to be indicative of a non-long distance call;

code for determining whether an outgoing telephone call area code indicates it is a non-local call;

code for monitoring status of the communication network connection to the caller'"'"'s dialing device while the outgoing call is being prepared for routing to the discount service provider;

code for collecting the digits associated with outgoing call; and

code for dialing an access number for a discount telephone service provider using the halt signal to the communication network and the captured digits of the outgoing call.

67. A computer readable medium having computer executable software code stored thereon, the code for automatically routing calls through a discount telephone service, comprising:

code for routing calls to discount service providers being stored in a caller'"'"'s dialing device;

code for providing an intrinsic dial tone to the caller as a ready indicator;

code for passing a first dialed digit associated with an outgoing telephone call to a communication network signaling to the communication network to halt all inbound calls, and generating a busy signal;

code for isolating the communication network from a dialing process if said first dialed digit associated with the outgoing telephone call is determined to be indicative of a long distance call;

code for normally routing the outgoing telephone call if outgoing call is determined to by non-discountable by analysis of leading dialed digits;

code for determining whether an outgoing call is a discount call based on the area code of the outgoing call;

code for collecting all digits corresponding to the outgoing call;

code for merging an access code of a discount service provider and the first dialed digit that is passed to the communication network;

code for routing the outgoing call by dialing the access number of a discount service provider using the digit passed to the communication network and the digits corresponding to the outgoing call.

68. A programmed computer for automatically routing calls through a discount telephone service, comprising

said programmed computer being situated at the site of a caller'"'"'s dialing device;

a memory having at least one region for storing a computer executable program code;

at least one processor for executing said computer executable program code, wherein the computer executable program code includes;

code for providing an the intrinsic dial tone of the communication network to the caller;

code for passing a first dialed digit associated with an outgoing telephone call to a communication network signaling to the communication network to halt all inbound calls, and generating a busy signal;

code for isolating the communication network from a dialing process if said first dialed digit is determined to be indicative of a long distance call;

code for normally routing the outgoing telephone call if said first detected dialed digit and analysis of the leading dialed digits that coded the area code is determined to be indicative of a non-long distance call;

code for determining whether the outgoing call is a discount call;

code for collecting all digits corresponding to the outgoing call;

code for intermixing remaining digits of an access code of a discount service provider, and the digits corresponding to the outgoing call; and

code for dialing the intermixed remaining digits of the access code of the discount service provider and the digits corresponding to the outgoing call.

69. Computer executable software code stored on a computer readable medium, the code for automatically routing calls through a discount telephone service, comprising:

said computer executable software code being stored in a discount routing device located in a caller'"'"'s dialing device;

code for providing an intrinsic dial tone to indicate a ready state;

code for monitoring telephone circuitry for an outgoing call;

code for passing a first dialed digit to a communication network signaling the communication network not to pass any inbound calls to the caller'"'"'s dialing device while a dialed outgoing telephone number is being evaluated;

code for isolating the communication network from a dialing process if said first dialed digit is indicative of a long distance call;

code for normally routing the outgoing telephone call if a predetermined number of the first dialed digits are determined to be indicative of a non-long distance call;

code for determining whether an outgoing call is a potential discount call;

code for detecting DTMF tones corresponding to the leading digits of an outgoing call, wherein determining whether the outgoing call is a potential discount call is accomplished by determining whether the first predetermined number of digits meet a predetermined sequence of digits;

code for collecting a plurality of digits corresponding to the potential discount call;

code for determining whether all of the numbers associated with the potential discount call have been collected within an intrinsic predetermined polling period;

code for dialing remaining numbers of an access number for a discount telephone service provider and the digits corresponding to the potential discount call; and

code for notifying the caller if a time-out event occurs.

70. A computer readable medium having computer executable software code stored thereon, the code for automatically routing calls through a discount telephone service, comprising:

computer executable software code for routing calls to discount service providers being stored in a discount routing device located at the site of a caller'"'"'s dialing device;

code for passing a first predetermined number of dialed digits through to a communication network when an outgoing call is made;

code for normally routing the outgoing telephone call if said first dialed digits are determined to be indicative of a non-long distance call;

code for isolating and monitoring the state of the communication network to determine whether a time-out event has occurred while the process of routing of an outgoing call to a discount service provider;

code for signaling to the communication network that an outgoing call is about to be placed and not to forward any inbound calls;

code for detecting a predetermined number of digits in a predetermined sequence to determine whether the outgoing call is a potential discount call;

code for determining whether the outgoing call is a discountable call;

code for collecting digits associated with the outgoing call;

code for determining whether all of the digits corresponding to the outgoing call have been collected within a predetermined polling period;

code for incorporating the signaling to the communication network into the dialing process for accessing the discount telephone service provider;

code for dialing digits of the outgoing call; and

code for notifying the caller if a time-out event is detected during the process of routing the outgoing call.

71. A programmed computer for automatically routing calls through a discount telephone service, comprising;

a programmed computer in the caller'"'"'s dialing device;

a sensory array able to detect the status of the connection between a caller'"'"'s dialing device and the communication network;

a memory having at least one region for storing a computer executable program code;

one or more processors for executing the program code stored in the memory, wherein the program includes;

code for passing the dial tone from the communication network to user of the dialing device;

code for determining whether an outgoing call is a discount call while monitoring the status of the communication network;

code for determining whether the leading digits of the outgoing call correspond to a predetermined sequence of numbers that encode the area code of an outgoing call, wherein determining whether said call is a discountable call is accomplished by determining whether the area code is for a non-local call;

code for passing a first predetermined number of dialed digits through to a communication network when an outgoing call is made;

code for normally routing the outgoing telephone call if said first dialed digit is determined to be indicative of a non-long distance call;

code for isolating the communication network from a dialing process if said first dialed digit is indicative of a long distance call;

code for normally routing the outgoing telephone call if said first dialed digits are determined to be indicative of a local call that requires an area code or a toll free number;

code for determining whether all of the digits associated with the outgoing call have been dialed within a predetermined polling period;

code for notifying said device user if a time-out is detected while the call is being routed to a discount service provider; and

code for inserting remaining digits of an access number for a discount telephone service provider between the first digit passed to the communication network and the digits corresponding to the outgoing call.

72. A method for automatically routing calls by a discount telephone service, comprising:

a discount telephone service provider receiving a telephone call from a location where a dialing device is attached to a discount routing device, said discount routing device containing a dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) decoder/encoder configured for identifying and generating DTMF tones that travel between a telephone and a communication network, said DTMF tones embody an outgoing telephone number and incoming signals from a communication network, passing a first dialed digit associated with the outgoing telephone number as a signal to prevent inbound calls from being connected to the telephone while routing is in progress, normally routing a call when the first dialed digit is indicative of a non-long distance call, isolating the communication network from the telephone if the first dialed digit is indicative of a long distance call, a processor configured for analyzing one or more of the leading DTMF tones to determining whether a potential discount call is being made, the processor configured to monitor the status of the communication network, the processor configured to determine whether all of the DTMF tones associated with the discount call have been entered by the caller within a predetermined time period, a memory configured for collecting the telephone number corresponding to the potential discount call, and a processor configured for dialing the access number for a discount service provider using the signal previously passed to the communication network as part of the access number; and

a processor configured to dial the outgoing telephone number.

73. A system for automatically routing calls by a discount telephone service, comprising:

a means for passing a first dialed digit to the communication network as a signal to the communication network to prevent inbound calls from being connected to the phone by establishing a busy signal, a means for normally routing a call if the first dialed digit is indicative of a non-long distance call, a means for isolating the communication network from the telephone if the first dialed digit is indicative of a long distance call, a means for notifying a communication network when a phone is busy preparing to route a call to a discount server provider, a means for monitoring the communication network while determining whether an outgoing call should be routed to a discount service provider, a means for determining if all of the digits of an outgoing call have been dialed within an intrinsic predetermined time period, a means for configuring memory to store signals from the communication network, a means for using the dial tone of a telephone to indicate when the phone is ready to accept an outgoing discount call, a means for configuring memory to store the outgoing phone number, a means for configuring a processor to evaluate the status of the communication network and the collection of digits associated with the outgoing call, a means for generating the dialed digits of an outgoing call; and

a means for merging the first dialed digit with the remaining numbers of a discount service provider access number and the dialed digits of the outgoing call.