Pre-paid telephone calling card having an associated pre-recorded personal greeting

• US 7,145,989 B1
• Filed: 07/27/1998
• Issued: 12/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MCI Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Gillman, Anne, Borocz, Stacy, Henderson, Karl, Bond, James Duke
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US09/123,109
• Time in Patent Office: 3,053 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/68, 379/76, 379/114.05, 379/114.18, 379/114.2, 379/57.1, 379/75, 379/80, 379/88.04, 379/88.16, 379/88.25, 379/88.26, 379/88.28, 379/114.15, 379/124.04, 379/144.04, 379/201.02, 379/207.11, 379/88.23, 379/88.24, 379/144.07, 379/144.02, 379/114.09, 379/114.16, 235/380, 273/237, 700/233, 709/206
• US Class Current: 379/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/02 Coin-freed or check-freed systems , e.g. mobile- or card-operated phones, public telephones or booths
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/026 Constructional features
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/103 using SIMs (USIMs) or calling cards
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2017/12 using calling, telephone credit/debit cards

Abstract

System and a method for recording a personal greeting associated with a pre-paid telephone calling card. The system and method include and involve a data storage system for storing data corresponding to a pre-paid telephone calling card and a personal greeting. Also included and involved is a pre-paid telephone calling card processing system that is coupled to the data storage system and which is configured to receive a request to record the personal greeting during a setup call over a telephone network and to cause the personal greeting to be recorded for subsequent playback. The pre-paid telephone calling card processing system is also configured to receive a request to make an outbound telephone call in relation to the pre-paid telephone calling card during an access call over the telephone network and to cause the personal greeting to be played back automatically during the access call.

Claims

1. A system for recording a personal greeting associated with a pre-paid telephone calling card, comprising:

a data storage system for storing data corresponding to a pre-paid telephone calling card and a personal greeting related to said pre-paid telephone calling card; and

a pre-paid telephone calling card processing system coupled to said data storage system and configured to receive a request to record said personal greeting during a calling card setup call over a telephone network and to cause said personal greeting to be recorded during said calling card setup call,

wherein said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system plays, without input by a user to request the playback, said personal greeting upon use of the pre-paid telephone calling card by the user, and maintains status of whether said personal greeting has been played.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said data storage system and said pre-paid calling card processing system are remotely located.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said data corresponding to said pre-paid telephone calling card includes a quantity corresponding to a number of service units available to be used to make at least one call in relation to said pre-paid telephone calling card.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein said at least one call is a long distance telephone call.

5. The system according to claim 3, wherein said service units correspond to telephone call service minutes.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system causes said personal greeting to be recorded within said data storage system in accordance with a card identifier corresponding to said pre-paid telephone calling card.

7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a voice data storage facility coupled to said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system and to said data storage system, and operative to store said personal greeting based on a card identifier corresponding to said pre-paid telephone calling card.

8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a voice response system coupled to said pre-paid calling card processing system and configured to prompt a caller to record said personal greeting via at least one voice prompt during said calling card setup call over said telephone network.

9. A method for recording a personal greeting associated with a pre-paid telephone calling card, comprising the steps of:

storing data corresponding to a pre-paid telephone calling card and a personal greeting to be associated with pre-paid telephone calling card;

receiving a request to record said personal greeting during a calling card setup call over a telephone network; and

causing said personal greeting to be recorded during said calling card setup call, said personal greeting to be played back during an access call related to the use of said pre-paid telephone calling card,

wherein the pre-paid telephone calling card processing system plays, without input by a user to request the playback, said personal greeting upon use of the pre-paid telephone calling card by the user, and maintains status of whether said personal greeting has been played.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said data corresponding to said pre-paid telephone calling card includes a quantity corresponding to a number of service units available to be used to make at least one call in relation to said pre-paid telephone calling card.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said at least one call is a long distance telephone call.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said service units correspond to telephone call service minutes.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein said causing step further comprises the step of recording said personal greeting in accordance with a card identifier corresponding to said prepaid telephone calling card.

14. A method of using a pre-paid telephone calling card, comprising the steps of:

accessing a pre-paid telephone calling card processing system during a pre-paid telephone calling card setup call via a telephone network;

entering a card identifier corresponding to data addressable by said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system; and

recording a personal greeting during said setup call, said personal greeting being addressable by said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system during a subsequent telephone service access call,

wherein the pre-paid telephone calling card processing system plays, without input by a user to request the playback, said personal greeting upon use of the pre-paid telephone calling card by the user, and maintains status of whether said personal greeting has been played.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein said personal greeting is stored in a data storage system in accordance with said card identifier.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein said telephone network is the publicly switched telephone network (PSTN).

17. A system for facilitating the use of a pre-paid telephone calling card having an associated pre-recorded personal greeting, comprising:

a data storage system storing data corresponding to a prepaid telephone calling card and to a personal greeting related to said pre-paid telephone calling card, wherein said personal greeting was recorded during a calling card setup call; and

a pre-paid telephone calling card processing system coupled to said data storage system and configured to receive a request to make an outbound telephone call in relation to said pre-paid telephone calling card during an access call over a telephone network and to cause, without use of a prompt, said personal greeting to be played during said access call, the pre-paid telephone calling card processing system being further configured to maintain status of whether said personal greeting has been played.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein said data storage system and said pre-paid calling card processing system are remotely located.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein said data corresponding to said pre-paid telephone calling card includes a quantity corresponding to a number of service units available to be used to make at least one call in relation to said pre-paid telephone calling card.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein said at least one call is a long distance telephone call.

21. The system according to claim 19, wherein said service units correspond to telephone call service minutes.

22. The system according to claim 17, wherein said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system causes said personal greeting to be played back in accordance with a card identifier corresponding to said pre-paid telephone calling card.

23. The system according to claim 17, further comprising a voice data storage facility coupled to said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system and to said data storage system, and operative to allow said personal greeting to be played back in accordance with a card identifier corresponding to said prepaid telephone calling card.

24. The system according to claim 17, further comprising a voice response system coupled to said pre-paid calling card processing system and configured to prompt a caller with at least one voice prompt related to the automatic playback of said personal greeting during said access call.

25. A method for facilitating the use of a pre-paid telephone calling card having an associated pre-recorded personal greeting, comprising:

storing data corresponding to a pre-paid telephone calling card and to a personal greeting related to said pre-paid telephone calling card; and

receiving a request to make an outbound telephone call in relation to said pre-paid telephone calling card during an access call over a telephone network;

causing said personal greeting to be played without a prompt during said access call, wherein said personal greeting was recorded during a calling card setup call; and

maintaining status of whether said personal greeting has been played.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein said data corresponding to said pre-paid telephone calling card includes a quantity corresponding to a number of service units available to be used to make said outbound call in relation to said pre-paid telephone calling card.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein said service units correspond to telephone call service minutes.

28. The method according to claim 25, wherein said causing step causes said personal greeting to be played back in accordance with a card identifier corresponding to said prepaid telephone calling card.

29. A method of using a pre-paid telephone calling card, comprising the steps of:

accessing a pre-paid telephone calling card processing system during a telephone service access call via a telephone network;

entering a card identifier corresponding to data addressable by said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system;

retrieving a pre-recorded personal greeting associated with said pre-paid telephone calling card based on said card identifier entered during said entering step, wherein said personal greeting was recorded during a calling card setup call;

playing, without prompting, said pre-recorded personal greeting associated with said pre-paid telephone calling card during said telephone service access call; and

maintaining status of whether said personal greeting has been played.

30. The method according to claim 29, further comprising the step of entering a terminating telephone number to which an outbound call will be placed automatically after said prerecorded personal greeting has been played.

31. The method according to claim 29, wherein said accessing end entering steps are carried out remotely from said retrieving and playing steps.