System for accessing and paying for amenities using a telephone
US5475740A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 22, 1993 |
| Grant date | Dec 12, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 22, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04M15/00
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
System for enabling user access to and payment for amenities using a telephone is disclosed, The system includes a telephone for entering billing and amenity identification information connected to a central distribution computer for storing and processing entered billing and amenity selection information to facilitate payment for and presentation of the selected amenity, A pay-per-view system is connected to the central distribution computer for displaying the amenity, The central distribution computer comprises a store-and-forward switch connectable to the telephone for storing and processing the entered information and for issuing audio user prompts via the phone and a graphics circuit for generating graphic user prompts and/or amenity promotional information via the pay-per-view system. The user prompts are generated in response to the processing and are used to assist the user in selecting and paying for an amenity, A billing data base is connected to the central distribution computer for validating entered billing information entered and returning an authorization signal to the central distribution computer, The central distribution computer may also be connected to a compute…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.