Sending urgent messages to multiple recipients via a single call
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, comprising:
- receiving a first call at an address reserved for requesting urgent messages, the first call indicating that an urgent message is to be sent to a plurality of designated addresses;
updating an alert flag stored by a service control point based on the first call to indicate the presence of an urgent message;
forwarding the first call to a voice response unit/intelligent peripheral based on the reserved address;
placing calls by the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral to at least two of the plurality of designated addresses;
for each one of the placed calls, playing the urgent message by the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral when the placed call is answered;
receiving an indication from the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral when no further designated addresses remain to be notified; and
updating the alert flag stored by the service control point to no longer indicate that the urgent message is to be sent based on the indication.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A first call is received at a reserved address and is forwarded based on the reserved address. A second call is placed to a designated address, and a message is played to the designated address.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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receiving a first call at an address reserved for requesting urgent messages, the first call indicating that an urgent message is to be sent to a plurality of designated addresses; updating an alert flag stored by a service control point based on the first call to indicate the presence of an urgent message; forwarding the first call to a voice response unit/intelligent peripheral based on the reserved address; placing calls by the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral to at least two of the plurality of designated addresses; for each one of the placed calls, playing the urgent message by the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral when the placed call is answered; receiving an indication from the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral when no further designated addresses remain to be notified; and updating the alert flag stored by the service control point to no longer indicate that the urgent message is to be sent based on the indication. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 18)
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7. A system, comprising:
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a central office configured to receive a first call to an address reserved for requesting urgent messages and to forward the first call based on the reserved address; a voice response unit/intelligent peripheral connected to the central office and configured to receive the first call, the first call indicating that an urgent message is to be sent to a plurality of designated addresses, (b) place calls to at least two of the plurality of designated addresses, and (c) for each one of the placed calls, play the urgent message when the call is answered; and a service control point connected to the central office and configured to receive the first call from the central office and to cause the first call to be forwarded to the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral, wherein the service control point stores an alert flag indicating a pending request to transmit the urgent message to the plurality of designated addresses, such that (a) when the first call is received the service control point updates the alert flag to indicate the presence of the urgent message and (b) when the service control point receives an indication from the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral that no further designated addresses of the plurality of designated addresses remain to be notified, the service control point updates the alert flag to no longer indicate that the urgent message is to be sent. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19)
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13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a set of computer-executable instructions, the instructions being executable by a processor to provide instructions comprising:
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receiving a first call indicating that an urgent message is to be sent to a plurality of designated addresses; determining that the first call was to an address reserved for requesting urgent messages; updating an alert flag stored by a service control point based on the first call to indicate the presence of an urgent message; forwarding the first call to a voice response unit/intelligent peripheral; placing calls by the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral to at least two of the plurality of designated addresses; for each one of the placed calls, playing the urgent message by the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral when the placed call is answered; receiving an indication from the voice response unit/intelligent peripheral when no further designated addresses remain to be notified; and updating the alert flag stored by the service control point to no longer indicate that the urgent message is to be sent based on the indication. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 20)
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Specification