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AssigneeTime Warner Cable, a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P.
InventorRichard Higgins
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The present invention is drawn to a method and apparatus for taking advantage of the always-on nature of a broadband VoIP network connection to provide enhanced services triggered by the off-hook event, bypassing a dial tone. In use, a caller triggers a network based greeting upon the off-hook event of picking up the phone. The greeting can be used for unique branding purposes by speaking a greeting to the caller. After the greeting, the caller can be immediately connected to an array of network-based services. A voice recognition system is employed to permit the caller to use voice dialing. A network interactive voice response unit (VRU) is used with the voice recognition system to allow the user to access services from a menu. The VRU can respond to an affirmative statement from the caller by using a table to lookup the phone number of requested services closest to the caller based on the caller's phone number (i.e., ANI). The VRU can additionally collect purchase and/or billing information from the caller and electronically place an order with the vendor, such as via facsimile, e-mail, web form, or other electronic means. The product or service is then delivered directly to the caller with minimal or no human intervention.
A method of providing Voice-over IP (VoIP) services triggered by an off-hook event, comprising:
The method of claim [c1], wherein said VRU further detects the off-hook event and generates the VoIP spoken greeting.
The method of claim [c1], further comprising said VRU connecting the caller to a number on a PSTN in response to a VoIP caller voice dial request.
The method of claim [c3], further comprising said VRU looking up the phone number in response to the VoIP caller voice dial request.
The method of claim [c1], further comprising:
The method of claim [c1], wherein electronically implementing the service includes the VRU using stored caller data to complete transactions.
The method of claim [c6], wherein said stored caller data includes payment information and delivery information.
A system for providing Voice-over IP (VoIP) services triggered by an off-hook event, comprising:
The system of claim [c8], further comprising the VRU obtaining the marketing offer from a database of marketing offers.
The system of claim [c8], wherein said VRU further comprises means to detect the off-hook event and generate the VoIP spoken greeting.
The system of claim [c8], wherein said VRU further comprises instructions adapted to connect the caller to a number on a PSTN in response to a VoIP caller voice dial request.
The system of claim [c11], wherein said VRU further comprises instructions adapted to look up the phone number in response to the VoIP caller voice dial request.
The system of claim [c8], wherein:
The system of claim [c8], wherein the means to electronically implement the service includes a database of caller data to complete transactions.
The system of claim [c14], wherein said database of caller data includes payment information and delivery information.
A method of providing Voice-over IP (VoIP) services triggered by an off-hook event, comprising:
The method of claim [c16], wherein said VRU further detects the off-hook event and generates the VoIP spoken greeting.
The method of claim [c16], wherein said VoIP caller voice dial request comprises a spoken telephone number and said VRU uses voice recognition to determine the telephone number.
The method of claim [c16], wherein said VoIP call voice dial request includes a spoken name and said VRU uses voice recognition to identify the name and looks up a phone number associated with the name in a database to determine the telephone number.
A system for providing Voice-over IP (VoIP) services triggered by an off-hook event, comprising:
The system of claim [c20], wherein said VRU further comprises means to detect the off-hook event and generate the VoIP spoken greeting.
The system of claim [c20], wherein said VRU further comprises instructions adapted to recognize a telephone number in the VoIP caller voice dial request.
The system of claim [c20], further comprising a database of telephone numbers associated with names, and wherein said VRU further comprises instructions adapted to recognize a name in the VoIP caller voice dial request and look up the phone number associated with the name in the database.
The method of claim [c5], wherein electronically implementing the service includes the VRU using stored caller data to complete transactions.
The method of claim [c24], wherein said stored caller data includes payment information and delivery information.
The system of claim [c13], wherein the means to electronically implement the service includes a database of caller data to complete transactions.
The system of claim [c26], wherein said database of caller data includes payment information and delivery information.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.