The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 24, 2002
Filed:
Dec. 12, 2000
Eric Cheung, New York, NY (US);
Mark Jeffrey Foladare, East Brunswick, NJ (US);
Shelley B. Goldman, East Brunswick, NJ (US);
Gerald Michael Karam, Morristown, NJ (US);
James Christopher Ramming, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Roy Philip Weber, Bridgewater, NJ (US);
AT&T Corp., New York, NY (US);
Abstract
A method for placing a call intended for an enhanced network user on hold is disclosed. A calling party is enabled to select the type of information which is provided to the calling party while the calling party is on hold by using a Distributed Feature Network (DFN) architecture. The DFN includes a plurality of feature boxes with each feature box being created for the purpose of enabling a particular communication feature. A call intended for one of a group of ENUs is received by the DFN and an estimated hold time is determined for the call. The hold time is communicated to a caller associated with the call and the caller is provided with a list of options for information to be received by the caller while the caller is on hold. The caller's selection of a hold option is received by the DFN. A feature box is created for providing the caller with the selected information option, and the call is connected to the created feature box. When the DFN determines that one of the group of ENUs is available, the call is rerouted from the created feature box to the available ENU.