Telephone travel card system under the control of its
customers
ABSTRACT
A telephone system for travel card
users where the users may program a switch processor so
that it completes, re-routes, or refuses to complete calls
as predetermined by the customer. Data is captured as
it is transferred from the switching module to an internal
buffer and is fed through a digital communications path
and an analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converter
to a switching station computer. The switching station
computer is in communication with a data storage server
computer and the data storage server computer is in communication
with remote telephones and with computers and facsimile
machines in remote customers, offices. The switching station
computer is thus programmable by the customer and incoming
calls are handled as predetermined by the customer. A
voice response device provides verbal communication between
the system and its users. The system enables its users
to defeat or limit travel card fraud, to receive billing
information on a real time or other preselected basis,
and to gain miscellaneous business advantages from creative
control of the switch processor
|
Inventors: |
Marvin
E. Marshall (5109 Woodmere Ave Apt 104, Centreville,
VA 20120) |
|
Application No.: |
127220
|
| Filed: |
July 31,
1998
|
| References
Cited
[Referenced By] |
| U.S.
Patent Documents |
| Current
U.S. Class: |
379/114.14;
379/88.16; 379/88.23; 379/91.02; 379/114.17 |
| Intern'l
Class: |
H04M
015/00; 118-121; 126-128; 130; 131; 194-197 |
| Field
of Search: |
379/112,114,144,88.22,67.1,88.16,18,34,35,88.23,91.01,91.02,113,115,116 |
|
4878240 |
Oct 1989 |
Lin et al |
379/67 |
|
5003584 |
Mar 1991 |
Benyacar et al |
379/119 |
|
5068891 |
Nov 1991 |
Marshall |
379/91 |
|
5181238 |
Jan 1993 |
Medamana et al |
379/93 |
|
5187710 |
Feb 1993 |
Chau et al |
370/524 |
|
5204894 |
Apr 1993 |
Darden |
379/88 |
|
5222120 |
Jun 1993 |
McLeod et al |
379/88 |
|
5222125 |
Jun 1993 |
Creswell et al |
379/67 |
|
5241586 |
Aug 1993 |
Wilson et al |
379/88 |
|
5241588 |
Aug 1993 |
Babson III et
al |
379/201 |
|
5303297 |
Apr 1994 |
Hilis |
455/406 |
|
5440621 |
Aug 1995 |
Castro |
379/112 |
|
5790636 |
Aug 1998 |
Marshall |
379/88 |
Parent
Case Text
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a continuation application
of Ser. No. 08/0299,397, filed Sep. 1, 1994, and issued
as U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,636, which is a CPA continuation
application of Ser. No. 07/758,031, filed Sep. 12, 1991
(which was abandoned on Jan. 11, 1995), which is a continuation-in-part
application of Ser. No. 07/359,200, filed May 31, 1989,
which issued into U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,891 on Nov. 26,
1991
Primary Examiner: Tsang,
Fan.
Assistant Examiner: Foster, Roland G.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Lorusso & Loud, George
Loud
CLAIMS
What is claimed is:
1. A telephone system of a type
controllable by travel cards, comprising:
a switching station including a switch processor capable
of producing call data concerning calls from at least
one communication sources;
switching computer means capable of processing the call
data, said switching computer means controlling said switch
processor;
communication means capable of capturing the call data
including automatic numbering identification and a personal
identification number;
said communication means capturing the call data at a
front end of a call and supplying the captured call data
to the switching computer means, and capable of supplying
processed data from the switching computer means to the
switching station; and
said switching computer means capable of directing the
switching station through the communication means to prevent
completion of an attempted call using a travel card from
a location indicated by the call data of the attempted
call that a caller would not have been able to travel
to in the time between the attempted call and an immediately
preceding call using the same personal identification
number.
2. A telephone system of a type controllable by travel
cards, comprising:
a switching station including a switch processor capable
of producing call data concerning calls from at least
one communication source;
switching computer means capable of processing the call
data, said switching computer means controlling said switch
processor;
communication means capable of capturing the call data
including automatic numbering identification and a personal
identification number;
said communication means capturing the call data at a
front end of a call and supplying the captured call data
to the switching computer means, and capable of supplying
processed data from the switching computer means to the
switching station; and
said switching computer means capable of directing the
switching station through the communication means to prevent
repeated call attempts to enter the telephone system from
a particular communication source by using a series of
invalid personal identification numbers within a predetermined
period of time.
3. A telephone system of a type controllable by travel
cards, comprising:
a switching station including a switch processor capable
of producing call data concerning calls from at least
one communication source;
switching computer means capable of processing the call
data, said switching computer means controlling said switch
processor;
communication means capable of capturing the call data
including automatic numbering identification and a personal
identification number;
said communication means capturing the call data at a
front end of a call and supplying said capture call data
to the switching computer means, and capable of supplying
processed data from the switching computer means to the
switching station;
a monitoring computer means electrically connected to
said switching computer means and capable of storing call
data; and
a data storage server means electrically connected to
the monitoring computer means and capable of access by
travel card customers of the telephone system to provide
current telephone system user billing information including
amounts due.
4. The telephone system as described in claim 3, wherein
said data storage server means further enables a travel
card customer of the telephone system to obtain a printed
copy of said customer's current billing information through
a facsimile machine or computer.
5. The telephone system as described in claim 3, further
comprising a voice response means being capable of communication
with said switching computer means and in dial-up communication
with callers to the telephone system, and capable of providing
an oral report of current account status to travel card
users.
6. The telephone system as described in claim 3, wherein
said switching computer means is capable of rerouting
calls by travel card users to the telephone system in
accordance with instructions provided by travel card customers.
7. The telephone system as described in claim 3 wherein
said data storage server means provides said current telephone
system user billing information in real time.
8. A telephone system of a type controllable by travel
cards, comprising:
a switching station including a switch processor capable
of receiving call data from at least one dial-up communication
source and a switching computer means capable of processing
call data:
said switching computer means controlling said switch
processor;
communication means capable of capturing call data received
by said switch processor, said call data including automatic
numbering identification and a personal identification
number;
said communication means capturing call data at front
side of the call data received by the switch processor
and supplying said call data to the switching computer
means, and capable of supplying processed data from switching
computer means to the switching station;
a monitoring computer means electrically connected to
said switching computer means and capable of storing call
data;
a data storage server means electrically connected to
the monitoring computer means and capable of access by
travel card customers of the telephone system to provide
current billing information; and
voice response means being capable of communication with
said switching computer means and in dial-up communication
with callers to the telephone system, and capable of providing
an oral report of current account status to travel card
users, wherein the voice response means enables an authorized
person to leave an oral message in said voice response
means to that at least one later travel card caller to
the telephone system can hear said message.
9. A telephone system of a type controllable by travel
cards, comprising:
a switching station including a switch processor capable
of producing call data concerning calls from at least
one communication source;
a switching computer means capable of processing the call
data, said switching computer means controlling said switch
processor;
communication means capable of capturing the call data
including automatic numbering identification and a personal
identification number;
said communication means capturing the call data at a
front end of a call and supplying the captured call data
to the switching computer means, and capable of supplying
processed data from the switching computer means to the
switching station;
said switching computer means capable of obtaining data
for at least one call validation parameter related to
a travel card, in addition to said call data, for the
switching computer means to act upon in processing call
data and determining, from the captured call data and
the additional call validation parameter, whether the
attempted call is placed by a caller in good standing
in accordance with parameters for the travel card; and
a voice response means connected to said switching computer
means and capable of communication with customers so that
a travel card customer can change the additional call
validation parameter supplied to the switching computer
means.
10. The telephone system as described in claim 9 wherein
said communication means captures the call data from within
said switching station.
11. A telephone system of a type controllable by travel
cards, comprising:
a switching station including a switch processor capable
of producing call data concerning calls from at least
one communication source;
switching computer means capable of processing the call
data, said switching computer means controlling said switch
processor;
communication means capable of capturing the call data
including automatic numbering identification and a personal
identification number;
said communication means capturing the call data at a
front end of a call and supplying the captured call data
to the switching computer means, and capable of supplying
processed data from the switching computer means to the
switching station;
said switching computer means capable of obtaining data
for at least one call validation parameter related to
a travel card, in addition to said call data, for the
switching computer means to act upon in processing call
data and determining, from the captured call data and
the additional call validation parameter, whether the
attempted call is placed by a caller in good standing
in accordance with parameters for the travel card; and
said switching computer means capable of determining from
the captured call data and the data of the additional
call validation parameter at least one of the following
for the switching station to act upon in processing call
data: account balance status of the travel card at the
beginning and during calls in progress, dual use of the
same personal identification number and geographically
impossible with the same personal identification number.
12. A telephone system of a type controllable by travel
cards, comprising:
a switching station including a switch processor capable
of produced call data concerning calls from at least one
communication source;
switching computer means capable of processing the call
data, said switching computer means controlling said switch
processor;
communication means capable of capturing call data including
automatic numbering identification and a personal identification
number;
said communication means capturing the call data at a
front end of a call and supplying the captured call data
to the switching computer means, and capable of supplying
processed data from the switching computer means to the
switching station;
said switching computer means capable of obtaining data
for at least one call validation parameter related to
a travel cards in addition to said call data for the switching
computer means to act upon in processing call data and
determining, from the captured call data and the additional
call validation parameters, whether the attempted call
is placed by a caller in good standing in accordance with
parameters for the travel card; and
a data storage server computer means in communication
with at least one telephone and capable of providing accessibility
to permit travel card customers to change the additional
call validation parameters in the switching computer means
to act upon in processing call data from at least one
selected travel card of the telephone system.
13. A telephone system of a type controllable by travel
cards, comprising:
a switching station including a switch processor capable
of producing call data concerning calls from at least
one communication source;
switching computer means capable of processing the call
data, said switching computer means controlling said switch
processor;
communication means capable of capturing call data including
automatic numbering identification and a personal identification
number;
said communication means capturing the call data at a
front end of a call and supplying said call data to the
switching computer means, and capable of supplying processed
data from the switching computer means to the switching
station;
said switching computer means capable of obtaining data
for at least one call validation parameter related to
a travel cards in addition to said call data, for the
switching computer means to act upon in processing the
call data and of determining, from the captured call data
and the additional call validation parameters, whether
the attempted call is placed by a caller in good standing
in accordance with parameters for the travel card; and
a monitoring computer means capable of storing customer
current telephone system user billing information including
amounts due and providing, through a data storage server
means, a travel card customer with billing information
at any time through a computer or facsimile machine of
the customer.
14. The telephone system as described in claim 13 wherein
said communication means captures the call data from within
said switching station.
15. A method of handling telephone calls by the use of
travel cards, comprising the steps of:
providing a switching station including a switch processor
capable of producing call data from at least one communication
source using a travel card;
switching computer means capable of processing the call
data produced by the switch processor and controlling
the switch processor, said call data including automatic
numbering identification and a personal identification
number;
capturing the call data at a front end of a call and supplying
the captured call data to the switching computer means,
and supplying processed data from the switching computer
means to the switching station; and
directing the switching station means to prevent completion
of an attempted call using a travel card from a location
indicated by the call data of the attempted call that
a caller would not have been able to travel to in the
time between the attempted call and an immediately preceding
call using the same personal identification number.
16. A method of handling telephone calls by the use of
travel cards, comprising the steps of:
providing a switching station including a switch processor
capable of producing call data from at least one communication
source using a travel card and providing a switching computer
means capable of processing the call data produced by
the switch processor and controlling the switch processor
said call data including automatic numbering identification
and a personal identification number;
capturing call data at a front end of a call and supplying
the captured call data to the switching computer means,
and supplying processed data from the switching computer
means to the switching station; and
directing the switching station means to prevent repeated
call attempts to enter the telephone system from a particular
communication source by using a series of invalid personal
identification numbers within a predetermined period of
time.
17. A method of handling telephone calls by the use of
travel cards, comprising the steps of:
providing a switching station including a switch processor
capable of producing call data concerning calls from at
least one communication source using a travel card and
providing a switching computer means capable of processing
the call data produced by the switch processor and controlling
the switch processor; said call data including automatic
numbering identification and a personal identification
number;
capturing the call data at a front end of a the call and
supplying the captured call data to the switching computer
means, and supplying processed data from the switching
computer means to the switching station;
providing a monitoring computer means electrically connected
to said switching computer means for storing the call
data; and
providing a data storage server means electrically connected
to the monitoring computer means and capable of access
by travel card customers of the telephone system to provide
current telephone system user billing information including
amounts due.
18. The method as described in claim 17, wherein said
data storage server means provides for a travel card customer
of the telephone system obtaining a printed copy of said
customer's current billing information through a facsimile
machine or computer.
19. The method as described in claim 17, further providing
a voice response means capable of communication with said
switching computer means and in dial-up communication
with callers to the telephone system, and providing an
oral report of current account status to travel card users.
20. The method as described in claim 17, wherein said
switching computer means is capable of rerouting calls
by travel card users to the telephone system in accordance
with instructions provided by travel card customers.
21. The method of handling telephone calls as described
in claim 17 wherein said call data is captured from within
the switching station.
22. A method of handling telephone calls by the use of
travel cards, comprising the steps of:
providing a switching station including a switch processor
capable of receiving call data from at least one dial-up
communication source using a travel card and a switching
computer means capable of processing call data received
by the switch processor and controlling the switch processor;
capturing call data received by said switch processor,
said call data including automatic numbering identification
and a personal identification number;
capturing call data at the front side of the call data
received by the switch processor and supplying said call
data to the switching computer means, and supplying processed
data from the switching computer means to the switching
station;
providing a monitoring computer means electrically connected
to said switching computer means for storing call data;
providing a data storage server means electrically connected
to the monitoring computer means and capable of access
by travel card customers of the telephone system to provide
current billing information; and
providing for voice response means to enable an authorized
person to leave an oral message in said voice response
means so that at least one later travel card caller to
the telephone system can hear said message.
23. A method of handling telephone calls by the use of
travel cards, comprising the steps of:
providing a switching station including a switch processor
capable of producing call data concerning calls from at
least one communication source using a travel card and
providing a switching computer means capable of processing
the call data and controlling said switch processor said
call data including automatic numbering identification
and a personal identification number;
capturing the call data at a front end of a call and supplying
the captured call data to the switching computer means,
and supplying processed data from the switching computer
means to the switching station;
obtaining data for at least one card validation parameter
related to a travel card, in addition to said call data,
for the switching computer means to act upon in processing
call data and determining, from the captured call data
and the additional card validation parameters, whether
the attempted call is placed by a caller in good standing
in accordance with parameters for the travel card; and
providing a voice response means connected to said switching
computer means for communication with customers so that
a travel card customer can change the additional card
validation parameters supplied to the switching computer
means.
24. A method of handling telephone calls by the use of
travel cards, comprising the steps of:
providing a switching station including a switch processor
capable of producing call data concerning calls from at
least one communication source using a travel card and
providing a switching computer means capable of processing
the call data and controlling said switch processor, said
call data including automatic numbering identification
and a personal identification number;
capturing the call data at a front end of a call and supplying
the captured call data to the switching computer means;
supplying processed data from the switching computer means
to the switching station;
obtaining data for at least one card validation parameter
related to a travel card, in addition to said call data
for the switching computer means to act upon in processing
call data and determining from the captured call data
and the additional call validity parameter whether the
attempted call is placed by a caller in good standing
in accordance with parameters for the travel card; and
determining from the captured call data and the data of
the additional card validation parameter at least one
of the following for the switching station to act upon
in processing call data: account balance status of the
travel card at the beginning and during calls in progress,
dual use of the same personal identification number, and
geographically impossible calling with the same personal
identification number.
25. A method of handling telephone calls by the use of
travel cards, comprising the steps of:
providing a switching station including a switch processor
capable of producing call data from at least one communication
source and providing a switching computer means capable
of processing the call data and controlling said switch
processors said call data including automatic numbering
identification and a personal identification number;
capturing the call data at a front end of a call and supplying
the captured call data to the switching computer means;
supplying processed data from the switching computer means
to the switching station;
obtaining data for at least one call validation parameter
related to a travel card, in addition to the captured
call data, for the switching computer means to act upon
in processing the call data and determining, from the
captured call data and the additional call validation
parameters, whether the attempted call is placed by a
caller in good standing in accordance with parameters
for the travel card; and
providing a data storage server computer means in communication
with at least one telephone and capable of providing accessibility
to permit travel card customers to change the additional
call validation parameters for the switching computer
means to act upon in processing call data from at least
one selected travel card of the telephone system.
26. A method of handling telephone calls by the use of
travel cards, comprising the steps of:
providing a switching station including a switch processor
capable of providing call data concerning calls from at
least one communication source using a travel card and
providing a switching computer means capable of processing
the call data and controlling said switch processor said
call data including automatic numbering identification
and a personal identification number;
capturing call data at a front end of a call and supplying
the captured call data to the switching computer means;
supplying processed data from the switching computer means
to the switching station;
obtaining data for at least one call validation parameter
related to a travel card, in addition to the captured
call data, for the switching computer means to act upon
in processing call data and determining from the captured
call data and the additional call validation parameter
whether the attempted call is placed by a caller in good
standing in accordance with parameters for the travel
card; and
providing a monitoring computer means capable of storing
customer current telephone system user billing information
including amounts due and providing, through a data storage
server means, a travel card customer with access to the
billing information at any time through a computer or
facsimile machine of the customer.
27. A method of handling telephone calls as described
in claim 26 wherein the capturing of call data is from
within the switching station.
28. A telephone system comprising:
a switching station including a switch processor capable
of providing call data concerning calls from at least
one communication source;
switching computer means capable of processing the call
data, said switching computer means controlling said switch
processor;
communication means capable of capturing call data including
automatic numbering identification, said communication
means capturing the call data at a front end of a call
and supplying the captured call data to the switching
computer means, and capable of supplying processed data
from the switching computer means to the switching station;
a monitoring computer means electrically connected to
said switching computer means and capable of storing call
data; and
a data storage server means electrically connected to
the monitoring computer means and capable of access by
customers of the telephone system to obtain current telephone
system billing information including amounts due.
29. A telephone system as described in claim 28 wherein
said communication means captures the call data from within
said switching station.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to a telephone system
that helps users of travel cards control their costs and
limit their losses. More particularly, it relates to a
system whereby the travel card customer can control use
of the travel cards without relying upon the issuer of
the cards.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A real time telephone system having utility in reducing
losses due to travel card fraud was first introduced in
1990 by the present inventor; that system is disclosed
in U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,891.
The essence of that breakthrough invention was its capture
of data at a point between the DCO switching equipment
of the telephone system and the internal buffer that temporarily
stores data downloaded from said DCO switching equipment.
However, in that earlier system, the data is downloaded
and captured at the conclusion of a call.
Thus, the patented system interfaced with the DCO switch,
but could not interact with it during a call. Thus, if
a travel card user expended all of his or her travel card
credit during a call, no means was provided where the
call could be terminated while it was still in progress.
An overseas call of several hours duration, for example,
could result in losses to the card issuer or the customer
of the issuer (depending upon which part absorbed the
loss).
The earlier patent was a pioneering patent because it
disclosed the first real time means for limiting travel
card fraud by enabling the card customer to deactivate
a PIN associated with any travel card anytime during the
month when the credit balance on that card was exhausted.
Before the disclosure of the patent, travel card customers
were required to wait until the end of a monthly billing
cycle before abuses could be detected; thus, an entire
month of abuses could occur before such abuses were detected
and stopped.
It should be understood, then, that the patented system
was a system that interfaced with the DCO switch of an
existing phone system, thereby eliminating the need to
wait for the end of a billing cycle, but it was not a
system that interacted with the DCO switch during a call.
What is needed, then, is an interactive system so that
calls may be terminated, if desired, at the front end
of or during progress of the call. A system accessible
by those who use cellular telephones is also needed. Moreover,
there is a need for a system equipped with a voice response
means to increase the versatility of the system. A need
also exists for creative techniques for checking the validity
of PINs.
However, the prior art, when considered as a whole at
the time the present invention was made, neither taught
nor suggest that these features would be desirable nor
points the way to a system capable of providing them.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention enables the customers of the issuers
of travel cards to gain interactive access to the issuer's
DCO switching equipment.
It therefore provides card validation and account status
checking prior to the termination of a call.
It further provides means for determining whether or not
an apparently valid PIN really is valid.
Additional features of the present invention include a
voice response means and means for accessing the system
through cellular telephones.
More particularly, personal computers (PCs) under the
control of the card issuer and in communication with PCs
of the customers of the issuer are an integral part of
the DCO switching equipment so that the DCO switching
equipment may be "programmed"by the customers to perform
a variety of functions having utility to the customers
of the travel card issuer.
Accordingly, a customer desiring to deactivate one or
all of its PINs may deactivate them from its home office
by simple communication with the DCO switching equipment
through the issuer's PC. For example, most travel card
customers will want to deactivate the PIN of an employee
who is leaving the company for any reason, as mentioned
earlier. If the customer wants to reroute the calls of
certain sales people in the field, that also can be accomplished
easily, and so on.
As a further example, if a home office wanted to leave
a message with a salesperson in the field, the home office
could instruct the issuer's PC of the DCO switching equipment
and program it to activate an electronic voice response
device that would provide the message to the salesperson
when the salesperson made a call to any number with the
travel card. Alternatively, the customer could program
the issuer's PC of the switching equipment to re-route
the salesperson's next call to the home office so that
regardless of the number called by the person in the field,
that call would be directed to the home office and the
desired message could be delivered.
Moreover, the home office, i.e., the customer of the travel
card issuer, could program the issuer's PC of the switching
equipment to monitor any number of parameters and to validate
or invalidate attempted calls as desired. For example,
a company having no salespersons with authority to travel
into certain territories could program the issuer's PC
of the switching equipment to invalidate any call originating
from a state or other geographical region within which
the presence of no salesperson was authorized. This important
feature would prevent the use of purloined travel card
and PINs in those states that were screened out by the
issuer's PC of the DCO switching equipment. Similarly,
a west coast company could program the issuer's PC of
the DCO switching equipment to reject all calls attempted
before 8:00 A.M., PST and an east coast firm could cause
all calls made after 5:00 P.M. EST to be rejected. This
would curtail the use of purloined accounts by east coast
and west coast thieves, respectively, before and after
the respective times, and would provide the Company with
information concerning the capture of its confidential
numbers by hackers. Numerous other techniques could be
employed to both foil and catch telephone thieves.
To provide these and other features, a communications
port in the form of a digital communications path is added
to DCO switching equipment under the control of the travel
card issuer, and that port is connected to a personal
computer and a backup, redundant personal computer owned
by the issuer, as in the earlier patented system. Through
the use of its own PC and standard programming techniques,
each customer of the travel card user can program the
issuer's PC to cause the DCO switching equipment to activate
voice response messages, re-route calls, change the parameters
for validating attempted calls, and the like.
As mentioned earlier, the novel system includes a voice
response device that is connected to a personal computer
controlled by the issuer and to the DCO switching equipment
as well. If a home office of a travel card user decides
that certain salespersons, for example, are not authorized
to leave voice response messages, the personal computer
in the home office is used to program the issuer's PC
to instruct the DCO switching equipment to refuse access
to the voice response device if the call thereto originates
from an unauthorized travel card holder. In practice,
the DCO switching equipment notifies the issuer's computer
that a caller is attempting to activate the voice response
device. In response to this notification, the issuer's
personal computer searches its memory to determine whether
or not the particular caller holds an authorization to
activate said voice response device. The issuer's personal
computer then sends a signal to the DCO switching equipment
to either validate or invalidate the call so that the
voice response device may or may not be activated, respectively;
importantly, the issuer's computer merely follows instructions
as programmed into it by the customer's computer.
The DCC switching equipment notifies the issuer's personal
computer of each and every incoming call. That PC checks
its memory to validate the account number and the PIN,
and either instructs the DCC equipment to complete the
call as dialed, or to re-route the call to the home office,
to the voice response device, or the like, all as determined
by the computer in the customer's home office.
The system preferably includes a bank of monitoring computers
that monitor usage of the system by all callers. All of
the monitoring computers store information collected by
them in a data storage server computer that is in communication
with the issuer's personal computer and hence the DCO
switching equipment.
The customer has access to the data storage server computer
and, accordingly, can order billing information at any
time, and can cause the billing information to be printed
over a facsimile machine in the customer's home office
so that a hard copy thereof is provided.
The system is also accessible by cellular telephones.
It is therefore apparent that the primary object of this
invention is to enable the customer of a travel card system
to control use of the system by its card holders for miscellaneous
business advantages and to curtail travel card fraud and
abuse.
Another important object is to enable travel card users
to customize their travel card monitoring system to their
particular requirements.
These and other important objects, features and advantages
of the invention will become apparent as this description
proceeds.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,
combination of elements and arrangement of parts that
will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set
forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated
in the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of
the invention, reference should be made to the following
detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying
drawing, in which:
The FIGURE is a block diagram of the novel system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the FIGURE, it will there be seen that
an illustrative embodiment of the novel telephone system
is denoted as a whole by the reference numeral 10.
System 10 includes telephone booth 12 which represents
any fixed position telephone booth having Touch Tone (trademark)
capability; it also represents any out of town Touch Tone
telephone. Line 14 represents a dial-up connection between
phone 12 and switch processor 18. When the novel system
is in use, this dial-up connection will be the most commonly
used connection; when a travel card user dials the number
on his or her card, dial-up communication is established
with switch processor 18. Dial-up communication can also
be established between a remote phone 68 and voice response
device 66, as indicated by dial-up line 69, or between
a remote phone 50 and data storage server computer 42,
as indicated by line 52. It should also be understood
that phones 12, 68, and 50 represent any remote phone,
and are depicted merely to better indicate the three dial-up
connections just set forth.
The Digital Central Office (DCO) switch of the novel system
is denoted 22 as a whole. In conventional telephone system,
the DCO switch includes switch processor 18 and internal
buffer 20; in the novel system, DCO switch 22 further
includes digital communication path (DCP) 61, the function
of which is hereinafter described.
Box 36 at the top of the FIGURE denotes the Central Monitoring
Office (CMO) that houses the DCO switch 18 in an illustrated
embodiment of the invention; the CMO 36 and the switching
station 16 are shown remote from one another in the FIGURE.
It should be understood that the CMO is owned by or under
the control of the travel card issuer.
Line 19 in DCO switch 22 interconnects switch processor
18 and internal buffer 20; that buffer serves as a temporary
data storage means. Data carried by line 19 from switch
processor 18 to buffer 20 is captured from point 21 by
personal computer 32 containing capture software available
from Utility Computer Co. of Monroe, La., or Info Systems
of San Antonio, Tex., or other vendors. Any competent
programmer having knowledge of the telecommunications
industry can prepare a suitable capture program. Line
31 carries the captured data to "Y" block 64 which splits
line 31 into the two depicted lines that go to PCs 32
and 33. Significantly, the data is captured in real time,
at the front end of the call; thus, the novel system may
take action relating to a call during the duration of
the call, i.e., the system need not wait for the conclusion
of the call. Thus, the system is termed "interactive"
to distinguish it from an interface means.
Buffer 20 is connected to a more permanent data storage
device such as a nine track tape, not shown. The CMO may
further house a billing department 24 where the amounts
due are tabulated, a printing department 26 where the
bills are printed, and a billing station 28 from where
the printed bills are distributed to the travel card customers.
The billing department 24 is depicted as being remote
from the CMO in the FIGURE. Note line 72 that provides
communication between billing department 24 and the data
storage server 42 in the CMO 36.
Data is captured in real time as aforesaid and is input
into the above-mentioned two way digital communication
path (DCP) 61; the capture is transparent to the system,
i.e., the transferring of data from the switch processor
18 to the internal buffer memory means 20 is unaffected
by the capture. Note that the point of capture is upstream
of point 21 in this particular embodiment. It should be
noted that the capture of data at point 21 could also
be accomplished by the DCP 61. A DCP is an optional port
provided by manufacturers of DCO switches to bypass internal
computers. Cable 62 electrically connects the DCP to digital
conversion box (DCB) 63; that device converts digital
signals to analog and vice versa.
Accordingly, real time data is made available to PCs 32
and 33; the DCP is connected to line 19 as shown and this
connection enables the PCs to read and cross check all
information transmitted through that line for PIN validity,
voice mail, credit limits, re-routing instructions, and
other parameters that may be selected by the customer
of the travel card issuer.
When the validity of the call has been checked, PC 32
or its backup sends proper analog instructions back to
the DCB 63, through its RS232 port (provided as standard
equipment on IBM and IBM-compatible PCs) and the DCB 63
converts said analog instructions into digital form so
that it can be read into the DCP. These analog instructions
to the PC 32 are provided by the travel card customer
and may originate from computer 46 in the customer's office
44 or from any Touch Tone phone 68. Based upon the content
of the information thereby supplied to the DCO switching
equipment, the DCO switching equipment may: 1) allow the
call to proceed and terminate in the usual course, 2)
pick up a voice response intercept over line 67 prior
to call termination, or 3) re-route the call in the manner
directed by said customer. The X.25 board employed in
the earlier patented system is no longer needed with modern
DCO switching equipment that is capable of supporting
RS-232 asynchronous communications.
Digital information from switch processor 18 may be converted
into analog information when it flows from said switch
processor 18 to the PCs 32 and 33 and from analog to digital
when it flows from the PCs 32 and 33 to the switch processor.
Significantly, the DCP 61 provides access to the DCO switch
22 by the travel card customer, as will be more fully
set forth hereinafter.
The boxes denoted 64, of which there are four in this
embodiment, are "Y" blocks; they are used to split signals
to the primary computer 32 and the redundant computer
33 from DCB 63, and to split the signals to said PCs 32
and 33 from all peripheral equipment as well. More particularly,
as shown in the switching station box 16, the "Y" block
on the left splits the signals from voice response unit
66 to said PCs 32 and 33, the central "Y" block splits
the signal from the DCB 63 as already mentioned, and the
"Y" block on the right splits the signal from point 21
where the transferred data is captured by the capture
software in the PCs 32 and 33 in a manner that is transparent
to the switch processor 18 and the internal buffer 20,
as mentioned above. The fourth "Y" block is in CMO 36
and splits the signal from data storage server 42 to PCs
32, 33.
Lines 34 and 35 interconnect computers 32 and 33, respectively,
to a bank of monitoring computers in the CMO, said monitoring
computers being collectively denoted 38. Each monitoring
computer 38 is connected to the other monitoring computers
as shown and to data storage server computer 42 over line
39. Line 40 interconnects the monitoring computers 38
and switching station 16.
Monitoring computers 38 continuously analyze all data
in the system; the card issuer or the customer may order
reports of interest at any time. For example, if management
desires a print out of an individual salesperson's activities
on Mondays only, the monitoring computers perform the
task of analyzing all data and providing the requested
report. The variety of management reports available are
unlimited as long as appropriate instructions are provided.
Note that remote Touch Tone phone 68 accesses voice response
unit 66 through dial-up line 69, that line 65 interconnects
voice response unit 66 and line 19, and that line 67 connects
voice response unit 66 to "Y" box 64 and hence to the
PCs 32 and 33. This allows any person having the proper
clearance to broadcast messages to travel card holders
over the voice response unit. Connection 67 between the
voice response unit 66 and the PCs 32 and 33 allows the
PCs 32 and 33 to verify whether or not the individual
attempting to gain access to the voice response unit 66
from any Touch Tone phone 68 is authorized to have such
access; if the attempted access is authorized, the caller
may leave any message for broadcast.
PC 32 checks all parameters on the front side of each
call, including instructions to give a voice response
message to a predetermined caller. Thus, where an individual
accesses the voice response unit 66 via dial-up line 69,
the PC 32 also checks to see if a message is to be delivered
to that caller and if so, the message is delivered to
the caller over line 69 through the voice response unit
66. The time required to deliver the message is measured
by PC 32, and said PC deletes the message from the voice
response unit 66 when said message has been delivered,
unless the customer has programmed it to deliver the message
to more than one caller. The PC 32 then sends information
concerning the message to data storage server computer
42 in the CMO; the information includes the date and time
the message was delivered and to whom it was delivered.
PC 32 then communicates with the DCO switch 22 over line
62 and either validates the call as originally dialed,
re-routes the call as provided by customer override instructions,
or disallows the call if the caller has an insufficient
credit balance, if the call is made from an area where
no valid phone calls can be made, and the like.
As mentioned earlier, the parameters which may invalidate
a call are infinite, limited only by the imagination and
requirements of the customer. For example, if no 900 calls
are authorized, the customer, using standard programming,
may instruct the issuer's PC 32 to instruct the DCO switch
22 to disallow all 900 calls. Of course, all customers
will program PC 32 to reject all calls using a PIN that
is know to have been purloined. Other customers can program
PC 32 to disallow all international calls, to only allow
calls from or to a certain area code or prefix, or to
allow calls only to certain numbers, and so on as aforesaid.
Where a card has been programmed to allow only calls from
a given travel card to certain numbers, the computer could
detect an unauthorized use of such a card easily if the
card user attempts to call an unauthorized number.
To provide a still fuller understanding of the invention,
the course of a single call will be followed. When a call
is received by the DCO switch 22, the long distance carrier
provides the novel system with an Automatic Numbering
Identification (ANI) that includes the area code, the
three number prefix and the four numbers that follow the
prefix of the number of the telephone from which the call
was placed. The caller then enters a pre-assigned PIN;
these two numbers (the ANI and the PIN) constitute two
items of information. These two items are immediately
passed through the DCP 61 and thence to the DCB 63 through
cable 62. The DCB converts the digital signals to analog
for compatibility with PCs 32 and 33.
PC 32 or its backup PC 33 has an internal clock; accordingly,
it adds the exact time of call origination to the two
items of information already received, thereby making
a total of three items of information now in the novel
system. Call validity and processing is based upon these
three items of data. First, PC 32 checks to see if the
caller's PIN matches a valid PIN. If it does not, a signal
instructing the DCO switch 22 to not complete the call
is sent back to the DCO switch 22 along the same path
from where the three items of data were received, and
the DCO switch 22 generates a message to the caller through
the voice response device that announces that the call
will not be completed. The PC 32 records in its memory
that the call was attempted, i.e., all three items of
data are stored. If two additional invalid calls are attempted
from the same telephone (as indicated by the ANI) within
a predetermined period of time, then the switching station
personal computer 32 instructs the DCO switch 22 to permanently
block all future call attempts made from that number.
Three attempts to make invalid calls thus creates a presumption
that the card user is not an authorized user. Of course,
the permanent block could be applied after a second invalid
call, or even after the first, fourth, or some other number
as selected by the user of then novel system.
If the attempted call passes this preliminary test, i.e.,
it is from an authorized location and the PIN appears
to be valid, the novel system takes still further precautions
before processing the call. More particularly, the PC
32 checks to see if the PIN entered by the caller is already
in use on another call. Since there is only one valid
PIN per card, if a dual usage is detected, the system
knows the confidentiality of the PIN has been breached,
and the voice response device 66 is activated to tell
the caller that the call will not be completed.
If the dual use test is passed, the PC 32 then reads its
memory to determine when and from where the same caller
placed his or her previous call. The time and location
of the previous call is compared to the time and location
of the attempted call, and a decision is made based on
that information as to whether or not the previous call
and the attempted call were made by the same individual.
For example, if the PC 32 determines that the preceding
call was placed from Boston and the attempted call is
originating in St. Louis only an hour later, the attempted
call is deemed fraudulent and the caller is advised that
the call will not be completed. Further usage of that
card can then be permanently blocked.
If all of these validity tests are passed, a signal is
then sent to the DCO switch 22 to complete the call if
no customer-imposed limitations are in place. Of course,
if customer-imposed limitations are present, such as call
re-routing and the like, the DCO switch 22 completes the
call in accordance with the customer's requirements. Where
a customer has programmed a card so that it can only call
certain numbers, the PC 32, through digital voice response
device 66, will prompt the caller to enter the number
to be called before validating the call; of course, if
the caller then enters an invalid number, the call is
not completed and further attempts to use that card may
be blocked.
Still another feature of the present invention is its
ability to provide billing information to its customers
at any time; thus, no user of the novel system is compelled
to wait for the completion of a thirty day billing cycle.
Either computer 46 in the customer's office 44 or the
customer's facsimile machine 70 may access data storage
server 42 over dial-up lines 48 and 71, respectively;
the server 42 is connected through "Y" connection 64 to
PC 32. Thus, a customer wanting to know the current billings
attributed to a certain salesperson in the field, or all
salespeople, or the like, may access computer 32 and be
provided with a current bill. A hard copy thereof may
be obtained through facsimile machine 70 via dial-up line
71. In this way, the novel system may keep track of its
telephone charges on a weekly basis or even on a real
time basis, or any other basis selected. Similarly, remote
callers may dial up data storage server computer 42 over
line 52 and receive verbal billing reports from voice
response device 66.
Similarly, a customer having a cellular phone 56 may access,
via dial-up line 57, the data storage server computer
42 through any cellular network entity 58 and computer
60 dedicated thereto and thereby receive all of the benefits
and safeguards provided to other system users.
The novel system also provides to the customer full information
concerning the results of the controls imposed on the
system by the customer such as calls attempted and completed
or rejected pursuant to said controls. This information
is available to the customer on a real time basis or as
otherwise demanded by the customer. Moreover, the information
may be delivered in any format and may include any data
of interest to the customer or the travel card issuer.
The software that controls the operation of the novel
system, known as Long Distance Service Software II, is
commercially available from the present inventor.
This invention is clearly new and useful. Moreover, it
was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in this art
at the time it was made, in view of the prior art considered
as a whole as required by law.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above,
and those made apparent from the foregoing description,
are efficiently attained and since certain changes may
be made in the above construction without departing from
the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters
contained in the foregoing construction or shown in the
accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative
and not in a limiting sense.
It is also to be understood that the following claims
are intended to cover all of the generic and specific
features of the invention herein described, and all statements
of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language,
might be said to fall there between
