Remembrance-promoted number receipt for call allowance

• US 7,110,515 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2002
• Issued: 09/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Young, Claudis L., Sand, Paul Raymond, Akhteruzzaman, A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Deane, Jr., William J.
• Application Number:
  US10/128,183
• Publication Number:
  US 20030198327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,610 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201.01, 379/112, 379/114.01, 379/114.03, 379/114.15, 379/114.16, 379/114.19, 379/114.2, 379/114.22, 379/114.26, 379/118, 379/143, 37914401-14405, 379/357.01, 379/123, 379/127.04
• US Class Current: 379/201.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords

Abstract

A user is allowed to place a call to a target phone number upon receipt of one or more remembrance-promoted numbers and zero or more passwords, from the user, at an access phone number location. The one or more remembrance-promoted numbers comprise one or more of: an existing phone number employable by one or more users to place one or more direct calls to the user; and one or more numbers preselected by the user.

Claims

1. A method of allowing a user of a communication service, to place a telephone call through a communications service provider'"'"'s component of a communications network, comprising the steps of:

receiving, at a service provider'"'"'s component of a communications network from a first telephone that is coupled to the service'"'"'s provider'"'"'s component, a unique remembrance-promoted number at least partially selected by the user and provided by a communications service provider, and which is associated with an account for the user that is provided by the service provider, wherein the number of digits for the unique remembrance-promoted number is settable and resettable by the user;

receiving, at the service provider'"'"'s component of the communications network, from the first telephone, a destination phone number, not limited to the destination phone number of the user, to which a telephone call from the first telephone is to be routed via the communications network;

routing the call from the first telephone to the destination number, through the communications network; and

charging a cost of the call to the account of the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of routing the call comprises the step of:

allowing the user to place the call to the destination phone number through the communications network, upon the service provider'"'"'s component'"'"'s receipt of one or more user-selected remembrance-promoted passwords from the first telephone.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of routing the call to the destination number upon receipt of the unique remembrance-promoted number, is further comprised of the step of:

providing a user-selected remembrance-promoted password number, of the one or more user-selected remembrance-promoted password numbers, to the service provider'"'"'s component ahead.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of routing the call through the communications network is comprised of routing the call through at least part of a service provider'"'"'s component.

5. The method cf claim 3, wherein the user comprises a first user, and wherein the call comprises a first call, and wherein the user-selected remembrance-promoted password comprises one or more first password numbers, the method further comprising the step of:

allowing a second user to place a second call via the network to a second destination number upon the service provider'"'"'s component'"'"'s receipt of the unique remembrance-promoted number at least partially selected by the user and one or more user-selected remembrance-promoted second password numbers, selected by the second user, from a second telephone.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of:

billing the first call and the second call to the user'"'"'s account.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of allowing the user to place the call to the destination number upon receipt of the one or more unique remembrance-promoted numbers at least partially selected by the user and zero or more user-selected remembrance-promoted passwords, from the user, from the first telephone comprises the step of:

accessing a database to determine whether a relation exists between an account pre-associated with the user and the one or more unique remembrance-promoted numbers at least partially selected by the user to allow the user to place the call to the destination phone number.

8. An article, comprising:

a computer-readable signal-bearing medium;

said computer-readable signal-bearing medium bearing computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause a computer to;

allow a communications system user to place a call through the communications system to a phone number, not limited to the destination phone number of the user, upon the computer'"'"'s receipt of one or more unique remembrance-promoted numbers at least partially selected by the user, and the computer'"'"'s receipt of zero or more user-selected remembrance-promoted passwords, from the user, from a telephone that is coupled to a service provider'"'"'s component of the communications system, wherein the number of digits for the unique remembrance-promoted number is settable and resettable by the user,

wherein the one or more unique remembrance-promoted numbers comprise one or more of;

an existing phone number selected by the user and employable by the user to place one or more calls through the communications system; and

one or more numbers selected by the user.

9. The article of claim 8, wherein the one or more unique remembrance-promoted numbers comprise an existing phone number employable by the user to place the one or more calls, and wherein the computer-readable signal-bearing medium further includes instructions, which when executed cause the computer to:

allow the user to place the call to the phone number upon receipt of the one or more unique remembrance-promoted numbers at least partially selected by the user, that comprise an existing phone number selected by the user, employable by the one or more users to place the one or more direct calls to the user, and the zero or more user-selected remembrance-promoted passwords, from the user.

10. The article of claim 8, further comprising:

computer-readable instructions for automatically billing the call to an account pre-associated with user.

11. The article of claim 8 further comprising, computer program instructions, which when executed, cause the computer to:

access a database to determine if a relation exists between an account pre-associated with the user and the one or more unique remembrance-promoted numbers at least partially selected by the user to allow the user to place the call to the phone number.

12. A method, comprising the steps of:

receiving a unique remembrance-promoted number of one or more unique remembrance-promoted numbers, wherein the unique remembrance-promoted number is at least partially selected by the user and associated with an account for the user which is provided by a service provider, and wherein the number of digits for the unique remembrance-promoted number is settable and resettable by the user,

receiving, from a telephone, a destination number, not limited to the destination phone number of the user, to which a call from the telephone is to be routed;

routing the call from the telephone to the destination number; and

charging the call to the account of the user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of routing the call from the telephone to the destination number comprises the step of:

allowing the user to place the call to the destination number upon receipt of one or more user-selected remembrance-promoted passwords from the telephone.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of routing the call from the telephone to the destination number comprises the step of:

providing a user-selected remembrance-promoted password number, of the one or more user-selected remembrance-promoted passwords, to a service provider component.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the user comprises a first user, and wherein the telephone comprises a first telephone, and wherein the call comprises a first call, wherein the destination number comprises a first destination number, and wherein the one or more user-selected remembrance-promoted password numbers comprise one or more user-selected remembrance-promoted first password numbers, the method further comprising the step of:

allowing a second user to place a second call to a second destination number upon receipt of the unique remembrance-promoted number at least partially selected by the user and one or more user-selected remembrance-promoted second password numbers from the second user from a second telephone.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of:

billing the first call and the second call to the account for the first user.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of allowing the user to place the call to the destination number upon receipt of the one or more user-selected remembrance-promoted passwords from the telephone comprises the step of:

accessing a database to determine if a relation exists between an account pre-associated with the user and the one or more unique remembrance-promoted numbers at least partially selected by the user to allow the user to place the call to the destination number.