Lawrence Welk, the bandleader who entertained millions of Americans over a generation of broadcasting his TV show, once received a patent: for a music-themed design of an ashtray.
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AbstractA telephone call connection architecture is disclosed which establishes a call connection between two parties. A caller at a caller location initiates a call request to an intermediate location over a first communication network requesting a call be connected to a callee at a callee location over a second communication network. The caller location is connected to the callee location over the second communication network in response to the call request being made over the first communication network. In both a call back and call collect scenario, the caller initiates the call request to the intermediate location. However, in a call back situation, the caller is ultimately charged for the call, while in a call collect situation, the callee authorizes charges for the call.Other References
| InventorsAssigneeApplicationNo. 350851 filed on 07/09/1999US Classes:379/210.01, Reserved call (e.g., return call, call back, scheduled call, reestablished call)370/352, Combined circuit switching and packet switching379/221.01Alternate routingField of Search379/201.01, SPECIAL SERVICES379/210.01, Reserved call (e.g., return call, call back, scheduled call, reestablished call)379/219, PLURAL EXCHANGE NETWORK OR INTERCONNECTION379/220.01, With interexchange network routing379/221.01, Alternate routing379/223, With operator assistance370/352, Combined circuit switching and packet switching370/353, Switching network having common elements to handle both circuit switched traffic and packet switched traffic370/354Switching network having separate elements to handle circuit switched traffic and packet switched trafficExaminersPrimary: Smith, CreightonAttorney, Agent or FirmUS Patent References4166929, Interoffice callback arrangementIssued on: 09/04/1979 Inventor: Sheinbein4933966, Method and apparatus for performing an automated collect call Issued on: 06/12/1990 Inventor: Hird, et al.5012510, Dynamic callback technique Issued on: 04/30/1991 Inventor: Schaubs, et al.5093858, Method and apparatus for performing an automated collect call Issued on: 03/03/1992 Inventor: Hird, et al.5113433, Method and apparatus for altering the access format of telephone calls Issued on: 05/12/1992 Inventor: Hird, et al.5155761, Automatic call back system and method of operation Issued on: 10/13/1992 Inventor: Hammond5157716, Dynamic callback technique Issued on: 10/20/1992 Inventor: Naddor, et al.5311583, International priority calling system with callback features Issued on: 05/10/1994 Inventor: Friedes, et al.5406616, Method of completing a telephone call in a telephone system Issued on: 04/11/1995 Inventor: Bjorndahl5425091, Method and system for providing an automatic customer callback service Issued on: 06/13/1995 Inventor: Josephs5430790, Call delivery service within a radiotelephone communication system Issued on: 07/04/1995 Inventor: Williams5483581, Method and apparatus for performing an automated collect call Issued on: 01/09/1996 Inventor: Hird, et al.5517564, Communication apparatus and method Issued on: 05/14/1996 Inventor: Slater, et al.5740229, Method and apparatus for a pre-paid return call Issued on: 04/14/1998 Inventor: Hanson, et al.5761289, 800 number callback Issued on: 06/02/1998 Inventor: Keshav5784438, Automatic callback system and method Issued on: 07/21/1998 Inventor: Martinez5815669, Method of routing a data transmission Issued on: 09/29/1998 Inventor: Lee, et al.6169796, Call rerouter method and apparatus Issued on: 01/02/2001 Inventor: Bauer, et al.6205216Apparatus and method for inter-network communication Issued on: 03/20/2001 Inventor: Slater, et al. International ClassH04M 007/00 |