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:
Feb. 15, 2005
Filed:
Dec. 23, 2002
Nicholas D DE Trana, Addison, IL (US);
Craig L Decaluwe, Naperville, IL (US);
Hossein Eslambolchi, Los Altos Hills, CA (US);
Paul Greendyk, Prospect Park, NJ (US);
David Caswell Mcchristian, Naperville, IL (US);
Nicholas D De Trana, Addison, IL (US);
Craig L DeCaluwe, Naperville, IL (US);
Hossein Eslambolchi, Los Altos Hills, CA (US);
Paul Greendyk, Prospect Park, NJ (US);
David Caswell McChristian, Naperville, IL (US);
AT&T Corp., New York, NY (US);
Abstract
The present invention is a method and apparatus for providing prepaid card service to customers for placing telephone calls without relying on a post-service billing model. A service management computer having access to a card database is connected to the network only by out-of-band connections. A voice response unit or a tone receiver and announcement player in the network are the voice interface with the customer and are provided at the originating switch in the network to eliminate multiple switches from the call path.