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. 30, 2003
Filed:
Oct. 13, 1999
Adam J. McGrath, Durham, OR (US);
Nicholas J. Elsey, West Linn, OR (US);
A. Peter Powell, Colton, OR (US);
Paul W. Filliger, Keizer, OR (US);
Michael A. Kepler, Aloha, OR (US);
Timothy A. Timmins, Tigard, OR (US);
Patrick M. Cox, Tigard, OR (US);
Metro One Telecommunications, Inc., Beaverton, OR (US);
Abstract
A user calls a directory assistance service provider to search for a desired telephone number and be connected to a party at the desired number. In one such connection, the user is afforded enhanced directory assistance upon a user command in the form of an out-of-band signaling message, e.g., SS7 signaling message. For example, the user may be afforded further operator assistance by pushing on the user telephone a predetermined key (e.g., “*” key), which is detectable by the directory assistance service provider as an SS7 signaling message.