Method and apparatus for providing personalized telephone subscriber features at remote locations

US4899373A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• American Telephone and Telegraph Company, AT&T Bell Laboratories · US

Inventors

• Chinmei Chen Lee · Woodridge, US
• Stephen A. McGaw · Schaumburg, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 28, 1986
• Grant date: Feb 6, 1990
• Expiry date: Nov 28, 2006

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S379/903
• WIPO field: Telecommunications
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Personalized telephone features are made available to subscribers away from their home base. A nationally accessible data base system stores feature data in association with personal identification numbers. A subscriber wishing to use personalized features while away from the home base dials a special code from a station connected to any exchange which has access to the data base and presents the personal identification number. The corresponding feature data is retrieved from the data base and stored in the exchange in association with the station from which the request was initiated and telephone service will be rendered in that exchange with the subscriber's personalized telephone features. A temporary office arrangement may be established in which the personalized features will be immediately available on incoming and outgoing calls for a period of time specified by the subscriber. In one embodiment the feature data is stored on a credit card and transmitted to the exchange by a card reader. The feature data is stored in the exchange and the features are made available to the subscriber without having to access a data base.