Directory assistance call processing and calling customer remote signal monitoring arrangements
AssigneeAT&T Bell Laboratories
InventorAbraham N. Daudelin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and apparatus are described for automatically connecting a calling customer to the customer identified by the directory number requested by the calling customer from a directory assistance operator. The calling customer need not disconnect and reoriginate a call; instead, the directory assistance system uses the directory number information located in response to the calling customer's request to control the establishment of a connection directly. The request for such a connection is detected by the operator or by a voice processing unit used to monitor a connection for announcing the directory number to the calling customer.
Claims15
In a telecommunications switching network comprising a plurality of local switching systems connected to a switching system for providing directory assistance, a method of setting up a call connection, comprising the steps of
- dialing a number from a requesting customer station for requesting that a telephone connection be set up from said requesting customer station to a customer station identified by a directory number to be located in a subsequent locating step;
- in said switching system for providing directory assistance, responsive to said dialing, automatically locating a directory number listing comprising said directory number in response to an oral customer request from a requesting customer station;
- and
- automatically causing said switching network comprising said plurality of local switching systems to set up a connection between a customer station identified by said directory number and said requesting customer station without requiring said requesting customer station to dial further signals;
- wherein the step of automatically locating comprises the steps of:
- receiving said oral request at an operator position;
- keying data corresponding to said oral request at said operator position;
- generating directory data derived from the data keyed in said keying step;
- and
- identifying said requested directory number listing from said generated directory data.
In a telecommunications switching system for providing directory assistance, of a telecommunications network comprising a plurality of local switching systems, a method of processing an incoming call received on a communication link from one of said plurality of local switching systems to said telecommunications switching system for providing directory assistance, comprising the steps of:
- connecting said communication link to an operator position;
- receiving an oral request for directory assistance over said link from one of said plurality of local switching systems;
- keying data for identifying a directory number at said operator position and transmitting said keyed data to said data base;
- identifying said directory number in said data base in response to said keyed data;
- connecting means for announcing to said link;
- announcing said directory number from said means for announcing over said link;
- testing whether establishment of a call from a caller on said link to a station identified by said directory number is permitted;
- if said testing indicates that said call to said station is permitted and in response to said announcing, monitoring, for further processing of said call, said link to detect incoming non-supervisory signals occurring within a predetermined time interval;
- and
- causing said network to set up a connection between a customer station connected to said link and a customer station identified by said directory number if said monitoring step detects a prescribed non-supervisory signal.
A method of setting up a telecommunications call connection in a telecommunications switching system comprising the steps of:
- receiving, over a connection to a calling customer, an oral directory assistance request by an operator at an operator's position;
- entering data corresponding to the request into said operator position and transmitting the entered data to a directory number data base;
- generating directory data corresponding to the entered data at the data base for announcing a directory number;
- CHARACTERISED IN THAT the method further comprises the steps of:
- releasing the operator position from the connection;
- announcing the directory number to the calling customer over the connection;
- testing whether establishment of a call from a caller on said link to a station identified by said directory number is permitted;
- if said testing indicates that said call to said station is permitted, monitoring the connection for speech or non-supervisory multifrequency signals;
- and
- if a selected signal is detected, automatically setting up a connection to a customer station identified by the directory number without any further calling action from the calling subscriber.
Apparatus for controlling a telephone connection comprising:
- apparatus for receiving, over a connection to a calling customer, an oral directory assistance request at an operator's position;
- the operator position comprising apparatus for entering data corresponding to the request for transmission to a data base for storing directory number information;
- the data base responsive to the entered data for generating directory data comprising a requested directory number;
- the apparatus CHARACTERISED IN THAT it further comprises:
- means (13) for announcing the requested directory number;
- means for testing whether establishment of a call from a caller on said link to a station identified by said directory number is permitted;
- means for monitoring the connection for predetermined speech and non-supervisory multifrequency signals (15);
- and
- the system (10,12) responsive to said means for testing and to the predetermined speech and non-supervisory multifrequency signals for extending the connection (33) to a called customer (46) identified by the directory number.
A method of setting up a telecommunications call connection in a telecommunications switching system comprising the steps of:
- responsive to receiving, over a connection to a calling customer, an oral directory assistance request by an operator at an operator's position, entering data corresponding to the request into said operator position and transmitting the entered data to a directory number data base;
- generating a directory number corresponding to the entered data;
- CHARACTERISED IN THAT the method further comprises the steps of:
- releasing the operator position from the connection;
- testing whether establishment of a call from a caller on said link to a station identified by said directory number is permitted;
- if said testing indicates that said call to said station is permitted, monitoring the connection for speech or non-supervisory multifrequency signals;
- and
- if a selected signal is detected, automatically setting up a connection to a customer station identified by the directory number without any further calling action from the calling subscriber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.