U.S. patent application number 12/184439 was filed with the patent office on 2009-08-27 for personalized telephone directory and calling system.
Invention is credited to Vijay Kumar Bhadriraju, Donnie Allen Smith, JR..
Application Number | 20090214005 12/184439 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39670822 |
Filed Date | 2009-08-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090214005 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bhadriraju; Vijay Kumar ; et
al. |
August 27, 2009 |
PERSONALIZED TELEPHONE DIRECTORY AND CALLING SYSTEM
Abstract
An embodiment of this invention provides a secure, integrated
and hierarchical database to store phone numbers of services, along
with personal protected information required by the service. This
hierarchical data is stored for an individual or a group of
individuals and will be made available when they place a call to
one of the service phone numbers stored in the application. One of
the solutions described in this disclosure allows a user to
register frequently-used phone numbers, and any personal data
required by the associated services, on a web site under a password
protected account associated with the user. The user(s) can access
this information by dialing a phone number. This way, the enrolled
users can place a call to any registered phone number by first
calling a predetermined number and then navigating to the desired
number.
Inventors: |
Bhadriraju; Vijay Kumar;
(Durham, NC) ; Smith, JR.; Donnie Allen; (Raleigh,
NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MAXVALUEIP CONSULTING LLC
11204 ALBERMYRTLE ROAD
POTOMAC
MD
20854
US
|
Family ID: |
39670822 |
Appl. No.: |
12/184439 |
Filed: |
August 1, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12036258 |
Feb 24, 2008 |
7409047 |
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12184439 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/88.03 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 3/4931
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/88.03 |
International
Class: |
H04M 1/64 20060101
H04M001/64 |
Claims
1. A system for storing telephone numbers in a secure, integrated,
and hierarchical database, said system comprising: a hierarchical
database; and an interactive voice response module; wherein said
telephone numbers are stored in said hierarchical database;
wherein, for a service that is associated with any of said
telephone numbers, personal information related to said service is
stored with said telephone numbers; wherein said personal
information comprises social security number, credit card number,
insurance policy number, account number, and date of birth; wherein
said hierarchical database comprises data related to individuals,
groups, and families; wherein said telephone numbers are looked up
and navigated, using said interactive voice response module's
interface; wherein a user is authenticated; wherein a first service
call is placed, using one of said telephone numbers; wherein a
voice prompt is provided for said user to access resources; wherein
for a specific service corresponding to said first service call,
said personal information related to said specific service is
automatically applied; wherein for initiation, a configurable key
combination is entered; wherein a second service call is placed;
and wherein one or more of said individuals, groups, and families
are contacted.
Description
[0001] This is a Cont. of another Accelerated Exam. application,
Ser. No. 12/036,258, filed Feb. 24, 2008, to be issued in August
2008, as a U.S. patent, with the same title, inventors, and
assignee, IBM.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Toll free phone numbers, such as ones starting with 1-800,
1-877, 1-866, etc., are used by everyone to get help or resolve
issues with various services. These services include, but are not
limited to, personal insurance, credit cards, utilities, customer
services, shopping, voice-enabled services, etc. Most services
provide a unique toll-free number that can be used to get help for
that service. Consumers struggle to keep track of these numbers and
are constantly searching for them on the Internet, on consumer
service cards (insurance, credit cards, back cards, etc.), or by
calling directory assistance. Using a manual or electronic
directory of toll free numbers involves looking up the number and
placing the call manually, through a wired or wireless phone. Prior
art, such as techniques for Personalized Telephone Directory and
Calling Service (PTDS), provides voice-enabled dialing, as a
convenience, but this requires storing all the toll free numbers on
a phone set. Voice-enabled dialing has an additional drawback in
that the voice recognition often fails to detect speech patterns
correctly, forcing the user to additional steps to place a
call.
[0003] A proper technique is needed to consolidate all the phone
numbers used by an individual. The solution should also be able to
store any private or confidential information, such as insurance
policy numbers, credit card numbers, utility bills account numbers,
etc., required by the service to complete a transaction when the
call is placed. The solution should automatically place the call
for the user using the stored phone numbers. The user should be
able to use his/her personal information stored along with the
phone number when the call is placed between the user and the
service. The solution is not limited to toll free numbers and
includes local numbers, long distance numbers, and international
phone numbers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An embodiment of this invention provides a secure,
integrated and hierarchical database to store toll free, long
distance, local, and international phone numbers for any service
that can be obtained through a phone call along with personal
protected information required by the service. This hierarchical
data is stored for an individual or a group of individuals and will
be made available to the individuals, when they place a call to one
of the numbers stored in the application. One of the solutions
described in this disclosure allows a user to register
frequently-used phone numbers and any personal data required by the
associated services on a web site under an account associated with
the user. Access to this information is password protected and is
available to the user by dialing a single toll free, long distance
or local number. Enrolled users can place a call to any registered
phone number by calling a single number and navigating to the
desired number using the application's voice response unit
interactive interface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for an embodiment of this
invention discussed in detail in the detailed description section.
It shows the authentication process and also how several services
can be accessed through telephone directory.
[0006] FIG. 2 is the continuation of the previous figure
demonstrating the process if the requested service is
Insurance.
[0007] FIG. 3 is the continuation of the previous figure
demonstrating the process after the toll free number of the
requested service (Auto) in the subcategory is dialed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0008] One embodiment can be implemented as a software telecom
application that is hosted by a phone company (e.g. AT&T.RTM.,
Sprint.RTM., Verizon.RTM., etc). The phone company deploys this
application and provides it as a service. Any individual or a group
of individuals (e.g. a family) can sign up for this service.
[0009] In one embodiment, when the user calls the phone company to
sign up for this service, the user is given a unique password. This
password is required when the user calls in to use this service.
The application includes a directory component accessible via the
Internet. The directory application allows users to enter
frequently called toll free, long distance and local phone numbers
associated with services (e.g. insurance service--auto, health,
home) or contacts (e.g. family, friends). The user can also enter
personal data that may be required by the service associated with a
number entered in the directory. Users can modify their directory
entries at any time by accessing the directory application via the
Internet.
[0010] One embodiment of a telecom application provides a secure,
integrated and hierarchical database to store toll free, long
distance, local and international phone numbers for any service
that can be obtained through a phone call (e.g. insurance
companies, credit card companies, utility companies, company
customer services, etc.) along with personal protected information
(e.g. social security numbers, credit card numbers, insurance
policy numbers, account numbers, date of births, etc.) required by
a service. This hierarchical data is stored for an individual or a
group of individuals (e.g. for a family) and will be available to
the individual, when the individual places a call to one of the
numbers stored in the application. Prior art requires that a user
register each phone number in a manual or electronic phone book,
which can be used to look up and place a service call. One of the
solutions described in this disclosure allows a user to register
frequently-used phone numbers and any personal data required by the
associated services on a web site under an account associated with
the user. Access to this information is password protected and is
available to the user by dialing a single toll free, long distance
or local number. Enrolled users can place a call to any registered
phone number by first calling a predetermined number and then
navigating to the desired registered number using the application's
voice response unit interactive interface. As in FIG. 3 and
discussed later, personal information registered by the user (e.g.
305) for a particular service (107) can be sent (307) to the
service (or customer representative) using the application's voice
response unit interactive interface.
[0011] In one embodiment, the user dials a toll free, long distance
or local number to access the telecom application. The application
prompts the user to enter its password. The password authorizes the
user to use the telecom application (101). If password is incorrect
the user is asked to re-authenticate or exit the system. After a
user is authorized, he/she enters his/her personalized telephone
directory (103) created using the directory application. The
application provides voice prompts in the hierarchy (105, 201, 203
and 207) for the user to access a specific category or group (205),
for which the user has registered phone numbers. After selecting a
category (205) as shown in FIG. 2, a user is prompted to select a
specific number to call (209). The application then places and
hosts a third party call (301) on behalf of the user. In one
embodiment, the third party call connects the user, the insurance
company, and the PTDS in the form of a 3-way call.
[0012] As in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, if the call is
placed to a service (e.g. insurance, etc.) which requires the user
to provide some type of personal information (pin number, account
number, etc.), the user has the option of providing that
information from his/her personal directory by entering a
configurable key combination (303) that will place the requested
information in his/her personal directory (305) where he/she can
select and send (307) to the called party.
[0013] In this example, after the user completes a call, the user
has the option of either ending the call or selecting another
number in the current category or by navigating to the home
directory to select another category to place a call from that
category. This way the user can place multiple calls just by
authenticating once into the telecom application.
[0014] As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, this application can
be used not only to reach services that an individual uses in his
or her day to day life, but also to reach his/her contacts (e.g.
friends and family). This application frees the user from looking
up for any kind of phone numbers he/she uses to make calls. It is
done by storing them in a hierarchical database, provided by the
telecom application, along with any personal data associated with
the phone numbers that the user can push to a voice response unit
or a customer representative of the service.
[0015] In one embodiment, a method for storing telephone numbers in
a secure, integrated, and hierarchical database is disclosed. One
example of hierarchical database comprises data related to
individuals, groups, and families. The method comprises receiving
and storing the telephone numbers and personal information related
to the service that is associated with any of the telephone
numbers, looking up a specific telephone number, navigating through
the telephone numbers (e.g. steps 105, 201, 203, 207), using an
interactive voice response interface (e.g. 105), authenticating a
user (101), placing a first service call using the specific
telephone number (209), providing a voice prompt for the user to
access resources, automatically applying the personal information
(307) related to the specific service corresponding to the first
service call, placing a second service call, and contacting one or
more of the individuals, groups, and families. In one embodiment,
the personal information (305) comprises social security number,
credit card number, insurance policy number, account number, and
date of birth.
[0016] A system, apparatus, or device comprising one of the
following items is an example of the invention: telephone
directory, calling system, directory assistance, voice-enabled
dialing, speech recognition, biometrics, storage for the numbers
and data, server, client device, PDA, mobile device, cell phone,
storage to store the messages, router, switches, network,
communication media, cables, fiber optics, physical layer, buffer,
nodes, packet switches, computer monitor, or any display device,
applying the method mentioned above, for purpose of tel. directory
and calling management.
[0017] Any variations of the above teaching are also intended to be
covered by this patent application.
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