Predictive toll-free number search

• US 9,571,667 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2015
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Somos, Inc. (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Somos, Inc. (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kimmel, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): ADDY, THJUAN KNOWLIN
• Application Number:
  US14/984,816
• Publication Number:
  US 20160127567A1
• Time in Patent Office: 412 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.09, 379/218.01, 379/114.21, 379/114.24, 379/201.12, 379/112.01, 379/112.02, 379/111, 379/112.06, 370/352
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24573 using data annotations, e.g. user-defined metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/125 based on throughput or bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/08 Metering calls to called party , i.e. B-party charged for the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/09 Third party charged communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/47 Fraud detection or prevention means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/58 based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/72 by the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/755 Account identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8061 Selecting least cost route depending on origin or type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8214 Data or packet based
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/555 Statistics, e.g. about subscribers but not being call statistics
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2263 Network management
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/367 Traffic or load control
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 via computer interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42178 : by downloading data to substation equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42306 : Number translation services, e.g. premium-rate, freephone or vanity number services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42357 : where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 : Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0087 : Network testing or monitoring arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0091 : Congestion or overload control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 : Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 : Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing

Abstract

A method of searching for a toll-free number including identifying a previous search number history for a user; and offering a toll free number associated with the previous search number history to the user.

Claims

1. A method of searching for a toll-free number, comprising:

storing a user'"'"'s toll-free number search history, wherein the search history includes at least one search parameter entered by the user when searching for an available toll-free number;

identifying criteria of a customer-desired toll-free number based at least in part on the search parameter;

associating each of a toll-free number inventory with at least one search parameter;

searching the inventory for a toll-free number matching the criteria of the customer-desired toll-free number; and

sending an offer to the user, wherein the offer includes a notification of the available toll free number matching the criteria of the customer desired toll-free number,

wherein predictive analytics is used for searching and retrieving an available toll-free number.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying criteria of the customer-desired toll-free number includes identifying the frequency of a search for a particular toll free number.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying toll free numbers that are to become available.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising identifying a toll free number associated with the search history with at least one toll free number that is to become available.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting predictive search results at each future user login.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting predictive search results to the user on a recurring basis.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting predictive search results to the user via email on a subscription basis.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising examining toll-free numbers that are going to become available and determining if the toll-free numbers meet a pattern to which the user has expressed interest.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein searching the inventory for a toll-free number matching the criteria of the customer-desired toll-free number includes at least one of searching a current responsible organization inventory, and a list of upcoming available toll free numbers.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically reserving the toll free number associated with the previous search number history to the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein offer facilitates automatically reserving the toll-free number as a fee-based function.

12. A method of searching for a toll-free number, comprising:

storing a listing of toll-free numbers that are associated with a responsible organization, wherein the association is based at least in part on a toll-free number being managed by the responsible organization;

entering a search parameter for an available toll-free number, wherein the search parameter is associated with a characteristic of a toll-free number being managed by the responsible organization;

receiving a toll-free number search result, based at least in part on the search parameter,

wherein the toll-free number in the search result is among toll-free numbers that are available for reservation; and

sending an offer to reserve the toll-free number in the search result

wherein predictive analytics is used for searching and retrieving an available toll-free number.

13. A method of searching for a toll-free number, comprising:

entering a search parameter for an available toll-free number;

receiving a listing of toll-free numbers in a search result, based at least in part on the search parameter,

wherein the toll-free numbers in the search result are ordered according to their availability for reservation and include toll-free numbers bearing a relation to the search parameter that are currently available for reservation and numbers that are not currently available for reservation but will become available within a time frame defined a user performing the search; and

presenting the listing to the user,

wherein predictive analytics is used for searching and retrieving an available toll-free number.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising presenting an offer to reserve a toll-free number in response to the presenting the listing.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising presenting a means for the user to activate a toll-free number within the listing.