CA1129054A

CA1129054A - Data base communication call processing method

Info

Publication number: CA1129054A
Application number: CA331,732A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Roy P. Weber
Original assignee: Western Electric Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1978-07-13
Filing date: 1979-07-12
Publication date: 1982-08-03
Also published as: US4191860A

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure A method is disclosed for processing call data among telephone switching offices and a remotely situated data base system for deriving call service information needed to complete special service calls, such as INward WATS (Wide Area Telephone Service) calls to a destination specified by the derived information. A network of local and toll offices compiles a special service call message including caller dialed 800 number and an originating area code for the INWATS service and then transmits that message to the data base system over CCIS (Common Channel Interoffice Signaling) facilities including signal transfer systems. At the data base, the message is translated into a directory-unlisted number identifying an INWATS customer station designated to serve the call. Before the call is switched through the toll switching network under control of the unlisted number, the open/closed and busy/idle conditions of the INWATS station are checked at the data base to determine the availability of the station to serve the call. Traffic data is accumulated at the data base by originating area code and by the unlisted INWATS number.
When the number of calls to the unlisted number per unit time exceeds a threshold, the data base instructs the telephone system to inhibit such calls from being served for a prescribed period.

Description

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DATA BASE COMMUNICATION CALL PROCESSING METHOD

Technical Field -This invention relates to communication call routing and particularly to a method for automatically processing telephone call data from a telephone system over CCIS (Common Channel Interoffice Signaling) direct signaling facilities to a remote data base for translation into a call control message which is then sent to the telephone system for controlling the further completion of call connections to a destination in accordance with the control message.
The invention specifically pertains to procedures for processing an INward WATS (Wide Area Telephone Service) call over the CCIS facilities to a data base system for obtaining the number of an available station to which the call is to be completed.
Background Art INward WATS is popularly known as INWATS and is frequently referred to as the "800" number toll-free telephone service. It allows a customer to establish an area of the country from which he can receive calls without charge to the calling parties. In the United States, the service is currently available for both intrastate and interstate calls. Tariff costs for the service are based on the number of customer lines, the band of rate states selected, the total monthly hours of usage, and the total number of calls completed.
Over the last decade, the volume of INWATS calls has increased to the extent that INWATS traffic has become a substantial percentage of all toll calls served by existing telephone switching systems. The service has proven to be especially useful for business customers in X

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Despite the commercial success of INWATS, the ever expanding customer demands for the service and the projected extension of INWAT9 for international calling has presented a number of problems for the telephone industry and its customers. Prevalent among the problems are: (1) the rigid geographic bands for INWATS, (2) the requirement for a multiplicity of INWATS numbers, (3) routing and numbering inefficiencies due to service entitlement check operations of originating and terminating screening offices, (4) ineffective attempts due to all INWATS customer lines busy conditions caused, for example, by mass calling to 800 numbers advertised, for example, on television, and (5) the absence of traffic statistics for INWATS customers on the number of calls made from each area code.
To elaborate, in the United States, a customer purchases the service on intrastate and/or interstate bases and is supplied~with one or more INWATS numbers. Such an arrangement is necessary because of province and federal tariffs. Interstate INWATS is currently offered for a maximum of seven geographic bands. Band 1 generally involves all states bordering the customer home state;
Band 2 typically includes all of Band 1 and additional states bordering Band l; Band 5 presently covers the continental United States; Band 6 adds Hawaii and Alaska;
and Band 7 includes Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In some cases, multiple bands of intrastate service are also offered. Customers purchase the various service bands on a ; 240 hours/month or a 10 hours/month basis.
The rigid band assignment heretofore has required a customer to purchase an entire band encompassing many different telephone area codes even though the customer may desire INWATS service only in a portion of that band. A
need has therefore existed for a procedure and equipment which fulfills customer requests for INWATS service .- ,, . . .

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coverlng only desired telephone area code6.
A prlnclpal INWATS problem has been the necessity for the purcha~er in many instances to be as~lgned a ~ultitude of dlfferent INWATS number~. Illustratlvely~
6everal alrline resèrvation servlces wlth multiple regionalized an6wering points presently ~re provlded with ketween 10 and 20 dlfferent I~ATS number~ to obtain reasonably economical INWATS ser~lce throughout the United States. ~he different numbers are ~equired by the customer because of geographlcal location, busine~s hDur~ and the designs and operatlons of existing s~itchin~ equipment.
Such mult~ple nu~.ber requirements have proven to result in customer and user confusion, errors in directory number listings and advertising, a6 well as compllcations in ~5 obtaining directory assi~tance for nonlocally published I~WATS nu~ber~ and in con~ormity w~th the call orlgi~ating area ccdes. ~ew call processing technlgues and facilitles are therefore needed to eliminate the plural numbers for e~ch I~ATS cus~omar.
An INWATs number presently lncludes a spec~al area code of ~00, followed by a specific NNX code for the terminatlng NPR ~U~ber Plan Area)~ followed by a four disit nulnber ~XXX. N in tne code refer6 to any diglt except 0 or 1 and X refers te any one of 10 digits. of the NNX codes, all ~N2 codes are currently reserved ~or intrastate use~ At the pre6ent time, each NPA in the United States is asslgned one N~X code wlth the exceptlon of the NPAs 212, 312 and 213 each of which have.two ~X
codes.
INWATS number usa~e is readily understood by consldering an example o~ a typlcal INWATS call. Assu~e that a party in Indlanapolis wlshes to place a call to an INWATS customer with the assigned number 800~241~2312 in the Atlanta, Georgia area. After the caller dials the 35 number, the call is routed to an origlnating screening ~.
o~fice whl~h utilizes the 800+241 to determlne both the terminating city (Atlanta) and the band of the calling 1-R. P. Weber 1 .~

party with respect to the terminating city. The screening office then sends a number 142+2312 to a terminating screening office for Atlanta. The underlined "2" indicates that Indianapolis is in Band 2 with respect to Atlanta and the "4" represents the 241 NXX code. On the basis of the received 142+2312, the terminating screening office ascertains whether or not the call originated from a permissible rate band purchased by the called customer. If the call is entitled to be completed, the terminating screening office controls the establishment of call connections to the called customer.
A disadvantage of the foregoing INWATS call processing arrangements is that INWATS call screening, routing and service entitlement checking functions are performed by costly, complex and special INWATS facilities integrated into many individual originating and terminating screening offices throughout the nation and without call rerouting capability in such offices in the event of call oyerload or equipment failure. Another disadvantage is that no procedure is available for determining the busy condition of INWATS customer lines before calls are switched through the toll network. Present day switching systems determine that all INWATS customer lines are busy only after the calls are routed through the originating and t~rminating screening offices to the local terminating office. As a consequence, the telephone network occasionally is overloaded, particularly during heavy traffic periods by mass calling to the all busy INWATS
customer lines. Such overloads obviously are undesirable and prove to be a problem for telephone companies especially because no facilities are available for dynamically identifying INWATS customer busy conditions and then precluding the toll switching of INWATS calls to that customer.
Another disadvantage is that existing telephone systems and call processing techniques have been unable to provide adequate traffic data to INWATS customers on the , . :
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number of calls received from a given geographic area.
The data would aid in the determination of the numbers of INWATS lines and stations as well as the personnel needed to serve the calls. It would also enable customers to determine whether the service is economically warranted for that area.
Disclosure of the Invention In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is provided a method of controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using call routing information from a data base system for a special service call characterized by receiving at said data base system from said switching system a special service call message including a code dialed by a caller and augmented by a code identifying the originating area of said call, translating said message into a call routing message at said data base system, and transmitting said routing message from said data base system to said switching system, transmitting said routing message from said data base system to said switching system to control the further establishment of call connections in accordance with said control message.
The foregoing problems are solved and a technical advance is achieved by a call processing method which automatically processes prescribed communication calls from a switching network to a data base system for deriving call service information and then returning the call to the network for completion in response to the information supplied by the data base. In embodiments of the method, the information provided by the data base is either a destination number, such as for a machine message announcement or a station, or a call completion authorization code.
The method is utilized for special service calls, such as INWATS calls, served by a communication system, `~

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- 5a -such as a local or toll originating screening office or a communication customer service system. It involves a process of sending a special service call data including a dialed number and a suffix code from the switching system to a data base system, translating the received message into a call control message at the data base, and returning the control message to the communication system to control the establishment of call connections in accordance with the control message. Advantageously, the control message comprises the routing message including a number identifying either a subsystem, such as a voice storage facility, which supplies machine messages to the caller, or a called party station such as an INWATS
customer reservation bureau which furnishes operator services.
For INWATS service, each INWATS customer is assigned a single ten digit "800" number which is dialed by callers on all calls to that customer regardless of their .. .
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-'6 ~ 4 place of origlnatlon. The number i8 u~ed to control the establishment of connectlons through a telephone switchlng .
sy~tem to a centrallzed data base ~ste~ for derivlng all of the call routing~ traffic measurement and network 5 management data on call6 to the IliWATS cu~tomer. .
The data ls ut~lized to screen calls for IN~`ATS
servlce entltlement and for specifylng a directory-unllsted POTS (Plain Old Telephone Servlce) DDD ~Direct Dlstance , Dlaling)'number to which entitled calls are preferably to 'oe routed to the IN~ATS customer on a toll-free basls to the caller. Data 18 included ln the data base for specifyi~.~ the busy/ldle status and open/clcsed 6tation condi~ion of the preferred number. An alternate unlisted .
numlber ls also stored ln the data base for routing calls to 15 th~t num'~er whenever the preferred number is busy or ..
closed. ' The da~a base is strategically located to serve a multltude of telephone offlces and illustratively is o~e of -~everal designed to serve a~ call distribution systems or the entire United St~tes. It is zdvantageously arrange~
for traffic ~.easurements of calls to the INWA~S customer on .
the basis of origin~ting area code. These measure~.ents, enable the custon~.er to analyze traffic patterns and ~00 ~, number usa~e by are2 code~ to o'~tain a~equate numbers of .
~5 I~WATS lines and personnel for serving the calls~ an~ to determine the economic need for the IN~,A-S ~e ~ice in that ~-area. The data base ~easures the tr~fic ~y countins each ' call by the ori~inatin~ area code and ~y accus,ulating a count or all calls to the INWATS cuEtomer~ ~hen the latter exceed~ 2 preaetermine~ t'r.reFhold per unlt time~ the data bae mana~es the number of calls routed to t~e preLerred and/or alternate numbers in such a way as to reduce the .
probabillty of ineffective call completion attempts due to ~.
~ass calling of the INh'~S customer.. It does 50 'o~ ¦
instructing the teleF'none syste~ contrGl to lnhibit calls to the It.'~'ATC number for a p~escri~ed Ferioc of time. This action relieve~ the telephone v~lce network~ data base and R. P. Weber 1 ' .; . . . . .
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CCIS facllltleF from real time lnvolvement on calls to bu~y statlon~ and makes th~m available ~or servlng other call~.
Ti~e data base comprlses a first table in memory which lncludes a file o~ origlnating area codes (NPAs).
S Each such code i5 correlated ln the file with an indlvldual PO~S number when I~WATS servlce 18 purcha6ed by the customer for that area code. In re6ponse to a roceipt of a d~aled INWATS number and the call orlginating area c~de from a telephone system, the data base examines lts NPA
flle of originatlng area codes for screening the call to check whether the IN~TS cu~tomer is entitled to receive callc from that area code on a toll-free basis to the caller. Entltlement i~ ldentified by the presence of the POTS number in the ~ame memory ~ile as the rece~ved area ccde. The NPA file also comprises a counter which is lncremented on each call attempt per originatlng area code.
A second ~emory table includes an individual flle for each POTS nu~ber that 6tores busy/ldle data and open/closed hcu~s information for that POTS n~mber. ~he busy/idle data 18 dynamically loaded under control of the call terminating offlce slgnallng the bus~ and ~dle 6tatus o~ the llne(s), or llne group, assGclated wlth the POTS
number. ~h~s aata is advantageously u6ed to reduce the probablllty of lneffective atte~pts to complete calls to all busy or closed stations and thereby reduces the unnecessary use and tie-up of toll telephone switc~ing equipment. It al60 6erved to ~ignal when the ~tation is idle hnd therefore available to ~erve calls.
Each 20TS flle ln the second memory table also includes an alternate, or seccn~ cholce, POTS number to which an ~W~TS call ls routed when the preferr~d fir6t cholce POTS number is either busy or closed. The f~le aI~o comprises a counter which iB lncremented on each call lnvolving the pre~erred POTS number to ac~umulate a count of `the t~tal number of calls generated. The 6ame file include~ threshold and call inhibit time data for mana~lng the number of calls that are directed to the POTS number .

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withi~ a given lnterval of tlm~.
The procedure for processing an INWATS call comprises a ~all~ng party dialing the 800-NXX-XXXX of th~
desired IN~A~S custcmes. ~he local teleph~ne offlce ~er~lng the calllng statlGn ls responsive to the dlaled num~er for routing the call to a toll office equipped with CCIS (Common Channel Interofflce Signaling) facilities and sending to that office the dialed number. The toll of f ice rcutlnely identifie~ the area co~e from which the call 10 originates and then sends ~t, a~ ~ ~uf f ix coae, together wlth the dlaled number over the CCIS direct signal~ng system to the data base identlfied by the CCIS system from the dialed B00-~XX.
at the data ba~e, the recelved INWATS number is 15 checked to ascerta~n that it is an active working number~
Next, the file of the originating area c~ae i8 located ~n the flrst memory table and t~ entitlement of the call to ~e made from that or~ginating area is verlfied by extractlng the POTS number of the Ih~WATS customer ~tation 20 preferably de~ignated to ~erve the call. The ~PA flle counter ls then lncremented tG lndlcate a call attempt lnvolving the orlginating area c-~e.
Therea~ter, the file of the preferred POTS number 1~ located ln the seccnd memory table and the open/closed L
25 and busy~idl~ status of the destination ~tation associated wlth that number ls examined. Upon determinlng that the 6tatlon is open and idle, a CCIS m~ssage contalnlng the preferred POTS number is ~ent from the data base over the CCIS system to the toll office for enablinq call 30 connections to be e6tabllshed frcm that office through the toll swltchlng networ~ to the statlon assoclated with the POTS number. At about the same tim~, the counter in the PO~S number flle ls lncremented to accumulate data on `t traffic to that POTS number and to ccntrol call routing to 35 lt durlng mas~ calllng perlods when the number of calls exceed a predeterm~ned threshold.

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Busy and ldle data for each INh~ATS ~tatlon i~
dynamlcally routed from an a6soc1ated terminatlng ~elephone office over CCIS ~acllitles to the data base for updating records in the ~ile of the station POTS number ln the second ~e~.ory table. The busy data control~ the proce~si~g of INh7ATS calls select~vely to ~lternate POT~ number(s~ and to audible ~u~y station messages.
The call processlng procedure is arranged to return CCIS ~e~sages from the data base to the toll offlce to ident~fy the dialing o~ a nonwork.ing ~NWATS ~u.~..ber, a call which i6 not authorlzed on a toll-free ba~is from that call originating are~, and the busy or closed status of ~he INw~TS station ~eslgnated to 6erve the call.
The method i6 advantageously use~ul for data base servlce on automated c~llect calling, toll call forwarding and other speclal 6ervice calls as hereinafter de~crlbed.
Brief DescrlPtion of,the Drawlnq FIG. 1 shows, in ~locx diagram ~on~, a configuratlon of telephone swltching of~ice6, CCI5 and ~ignal transfer faclllties together w~th one of several data bases ~llustratlvely for servlng IN~'A~S calls in the Unlted States;
FIG. 2 depicts an area c~de to POTS nu~.ber :
llstir.g of a d~ta base tran61ator and an orl~natlng area code call counter;
EIG. 3 lllustrates the data base translator lls~ing of busy/idle, closlng time, loop, alternate route number, and netucrk ~anagement data for the PO~S number;
FlG. 4 is a flow chart of data base ~ystem operatlon6 for an INh~ATS call; and - FIG. 5 is a f~ow ch~rt of network management operatlons. 1-The drawing illu~trates a number o~ local telephone switching ~f~lces, such as offices 12, 38, 41 and 43 which aerve a6soclated telephone stati~næ~ auch as Btation~ 1o~ 22, 30 and 31. Tne drawir~g alsc aisclose~ 1-toll o~flces such as offlces 15, 34 an~ 36 which form a . . .

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toll switching network serving the local offices. The structural details of such local and toll offices form no part of the present invention and are only described herein to the extent necessary for an understanding of this invention. Each of the local offices, by way of example, is suitably an electronic program controlled telephone system of the No. 1 ESS (Electronic Switching System) type known in the art. The disclosure may be consulted for a complete understanding of the construction and operations of a typical local switching office 12, 38, 41 and 43.
Each toll office is illustratively an electronic program controlled telephone system of the No. 4 ESS design with CCIS facilities as known in the art.
CCIS facilities utilized in conjunction with the local and toll offices and the data base system 11 are known in the art.
Detailed Description In FIG. 1, the processing of a call to an INWATS
customer is explained by assuming that it is originated from a calling station 10 in California. The INWATS
customer is assigned a single telephone number which is dialed by callers on all calls to that customer regardless of their place of origination. The number comprises ten digits including an 800 area code portion followed by seven digits NXX-XXXX. The NXX digits identify the data base, such as data base 11 in Texas, which stores the INWATS
customer data utilized for processing the call to the appropriate destination. The NXX-XXXX digits identify the INWATS customer within the data base. The "N" digit is any value 2-9 and each of the "X" digits is any value 0-9.
For the exemplary embodiment, call processing is -~ described by assuming that the call may be routed to any one of three destinations, namely, first, second and third choice numbers respectively identifying stations 22, 30 and 31. Each such station is depicted as an individual telephone station for the purpose of illustration. It is to be understood that in many cases INWATS call answering , .

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facilities commercially utilize automatic call distributor systems involving numerous groups of incoming telephone lines served by a local or toll telephone switching system.
The three destination stations will suffice to explain typical call situations encountering open/closed and busy/idle conditions and the likelihood of completing INWATS calls in geographic areas with different local business hours.
After station 10 initiates a call and dials the INWATS customer number, office 12 recognizes the 800 area code and routes the call illustratively over a trunk 14 to a toll office 15 equipped with CCIS facilities. Office 12 also forwards the dialed INWATS number to office 15 for assembly in office 15 with the area code for that portion of California from which the call originates. Office 15 determines the originating area code based on the serving of the call over trunk 14 in a known manner.
Office 15 routinely translates the dialed 800 digits and determines that the call is to be routed to a data base for deriving call routing data. As a consequence, office 15 formulates an INWATS CCIS message including an identification of the special service call, the office 15 and the originating area code as well as the dialed number and sends that message over the CCIS link 17 to a signal transfer point or system 18. The latter is responsive to the received message for translating the 800-NXX digits to determine that the IN~ATS customer data is stored in the data base system ll, which illustratively is located in Dallas, Texas. System 18 then forwards the CCIS message to data base ll over a CCIS link l9.
System 18 is essentially a data link, or packet, switching arrangement for CCIS applications. Structure and operations of CCIS are known in the art. Thus, the call is processed from the toll telephone switching network to a data base for deriving call service information.
Data base system ll is, by way of e~ample, a commercially available system equipped with disk storage .

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and a system of programs to establish, edit and manage information stored in memory. It is equipped via a peripheral unit bus with CCIS facilities for interface communication with the signal transfer system 18 and the toll network. Data base system 11 is responsive to the received INWATS number and originating area code for deriving all of the stored information needed for processing the call to an idle and available INWATS
customer station designed as the preferred called station to serve the call. The information includes data for the active-inactive status of the dialed INWATS number, the ; storage files associated with the active number, the in-band/out-band character of the call based on the received originating area code, and a directory-unlisted POTS number of a destination subsystem or station.
For each active INWATS number, data base system 11 is equipped with translator tables 20 and 21 of FIGS. 2 and 3. Table 20 contains a list of originating area codes and a correlated list of POTS DDD (Plain Ordinary Telephone Service Direct Distance Dialing) numbers identifying one or more called stations primarily .

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deslgnated to ~erve call6 fr~m the respe~tive origlnatlng areas~ Each listed area code ls unlquely associated with an lndividual one of the 11sted POTS number6 when the INWATS customer is entitled to recelve ~alls fro~ thaf origlnatlng area on ~ toll-~ree basis to the calling party.
A 61nqle ~uch POTS number ~ay be 6hared by a plurality of dl~ferent orlglnating area code~. Whenever ta~le 20 ~cntains a POTS number for an orlglnating area code, call~
from that area are designated as belng in-ba~d .
~therwise, in the absence of a POTS number ~or the area code, ~null entry~ call~ from that area are out-of-ban~
~or the INWATS customer and calls are not completed on a toll free ba61s to the caller.
Illustratively, on the call originat~ng from station 10, the or~ginating area c~de is ~05 and table 20 list~ a correlated PCTS number 9~g-65~-3393, whlch 18 a called 6tatlon 22 1l~ ~orth Carolina, preferably designated as a first choice to serve the TNWATS calls. Accordingly, such a call i6 in-band . If it were n~t, no POTS number 20 would be listed ln table 20 for the area code ~05.
Each orlgir.atlng area code ln table 20 ls furnlshed with a counter 27 whlch lS lncremented on each call attempt involvlng that area co~e. In this way, statlstics are d~rlved on calls by area ccdes regardles~ o~
25 whether the INWATS cu6t~mer purchases the ~ervlce for that area.
- Table 21 contains a plurallty of flles each of which ls associated with a~ lndlvidual POTS number ln table 20. Each such file, 6uch a~ file 23, contalns eight 30 indlvldual items of data for each such number. These data ltems are utlllzed, as arproprlate~ for completing calls to the a6sociated POTS number and for recording the num~er of such calls ~or network mànagement purposes. The irst ltem 49 is a loop ~lt used t~ ensure that the alternate 35 ro~tlng does not loop on lt6elf. The second $tem 24 ldentl~les the time6 and dates on whic'n the 6tation t assoclated wlth the POTS number 919-~5~-3399 is closed or ~-~.

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per~Gnnel is unavailable for serving inccming call6.
Clo~ed tlmes are, for example, nonbusine6~ hours, such as S p.m,--9 a.m., holldays, ar~d weekend ~ such as Sunday. T~he third item 25 contalns a bit lndlcating the current busy-ldle 6tatus of the POTS number 919-65~-3399. The fourth ltem 26 cGntaln~ an alternate POTS DDD number 206-582-~044 whlch ~6 u6ed when the preferred POTS number 1B busy, closea or unavallable. The flfth item 46 contalns a call counter whlch accumulate~ a count of the nu~ber of call 6 made to the POTS number 919-658-3399 for a current tlme interval, for èxample, two ~lnutes. The ~ixth ltem 47 conta$ns a thre~hold nu~.ber fcr inhlbiting c~lls to the POTS number. The seventh lte~. 50 indicates whether a netwGrk management control is currently effective based on 15 the prev~ OU8 time interval. The last item is a time .
lnterval 48 specifylng the period for inhibiting data ba~e inqulries tG the ~00 + NXX-XXXX. Entry 4& is dynamlcally updated by a prccedure ~escrlbed ~n FIG. 5.
The utlllzation of data in tables 20 and 21 and INWATS $nformatior. processlng ~pera~ions of the data bas~
system 11 are now described for the call from st~tion 10 of FIG. 1 with reference tG the flow diagram of FIG. 4. A~ter the tables 20 and 21 are loaded with the data a6 depicted ~
ln FIGS. Z and 3, sy6tem 11 i~ responsive to the re~eipt of .
the CCIS I~iWATS message for checXlng lts record~ (not shGwn) to determine whether the dialed ~WATS number ls active or inactive. If it is not validly in use and therefore lnactlve, system 11 effects a return of a CCIS .
vacant code mes~age Sc the toll offlce 15 of ~IG. 1 via llnk 19, signal transfer system 1B and llnk 17. Offlce 15 thereupon routinely causes an announcement to be returned to the caller ~or convey~ng dialing lnstructions and lndlcatlng that the dialed number is not a working number.
If the nu~ber is actlve, system 11 examines ~;
table 20 and lts file 28 for translating the dialed L~WATS
number and origlnating area code lnto a POTS DDD number .: g19-658-33gg by a look-up operation $n table 20. Next, the R. P. ~eber ,, ,,. - - :- . :

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area code counter 27 18 incremented to 1nd~cate a call from a ~tation ln area code 805. ~ad the look-up failed to find ~uch a PO~S number (null entry) cGrrelated with the orlginating area code ln flle 28, the dialed INWATS number would be out - of - band to that call origlnatlng area.
Re~ultlngly~ 6ystem 11 then ef fect~ an incrementing of a counter 27 and a return of an out-of-band CCIS message to toll offlce 15 of FIG. 1 via the CCIS links 19 and 17 and the ~lgnal transfer 6ystem 1B. Office 15 then routinely effects the tran~mtssion of a reorder message to the caller.
System 11 ~etermines that the INWATS call iB
in-band when its ~ook-up operation extracts a POTS DDD
nu~ber 919-65~-3399 from file 2&. ~hat nu~ber is then used to locate the file, such as flle 23, in table 21 whlch contalns the eight data items needed for further call prcce~sing an~ tra~flc management. System 11 initlally chec~s file 23 to ascertain whether the ~tation assoclated with the POTS number i~ lndicated to be open. This 18 done by examlnlng item 24 of file 23. If the station l~ open, 6ystem 11 next examlnes the busyJldle data, ltem 25. If the station 18 ldle, then the POTS number, 919-65~-33gg wlll be returned to office 15 for n~rmal call setup. If the station ls clooed or busy, then 6ystem 11 examlnes ltem 26 of flle 23 to obtaln an alternate PO~S number. The loop blt, ltem 49, ls set to prevent looping between POTS
numbers. If ~n alter~ate POTS nu~ber exi~ts, such as -206-582-2044, and lts loop bit 18 not set, then the process continues untll either an oper. and ldle statlon i8 found,

3~ nD alternate POTS number is found, or transfer ls ma~e to a POTS number wh~se loop blt 18 set. The last tw~ sltuations wlll cause system 11 to send a CCIS message to offlce 15~ 1 vla the CCIS facilities, lndicating an lne~fective atte~pt. ~-If the call results ln an lneffective attempt and ln the process of plcklng alternate POTS number6 a busy condltlon ls er.~ountered, then the CCIS message includes an lndlcator telllng offlce 15 to return elther a bu~y tone or audible R. P. Weber 1 -.. . , ~ : .; :

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. ~ ~ ,. ,, . : ~ .

message to the caller. ~f all encountered POTS numbers had been closed, then the CCIS me~sage lncludes an lndlcator tell$ng offlce 15 to transmlt an audible mes~age to the caller lndlcat$ng the 6tatu~ Gf the called 6tatlon.
Upon flndlng that the ~NI~ATS call is $n-band ~nd that a station, ~uch as Btatlon 22, 30 or 31 assoclated with a pre~erred or ~lternate POTS n~mber ls opened a~d ncnbusy~ system 11 effect6 a transmlssion of a CCIS message lncluaing that number to toll offlce 15 vla the CCIS
lC fac~lities 16. Office 15 then controls the establlshment of call connections to the respectl~e statlon 22, 30 or 31 lllustratively, over trunk 33, toll o~flce 34, trunk 35~ ¦
toll offlce 36, trunk 37, local office 38, and llne 39 to ~tation 22 or from offlce 34, trunk 40, local offlce 41, to statlon 30. Connections to 6tation 31 ~lmilarly are -extenda~le from offlce 3~ vla trunk 42 and offlce 43. The called statlon 1~ then alerted to the lncoming call and conversation ensues.
Each ~ile ln ta~le 21 1~ equlpped with a network management counter wh~ch retains a current count of the number of calls dlrected to the POTS number. ~or example, 11e ~2 has the counter 51 for counting calls directed to the number 212-525-3333. The last flle examine~ ln the L
sequence of first cholce or alternate POTS numbers lncrement6 lts current counter item 46. Thl~ counter wlll be reinitiallzed perlodically, for example, eve~y two mlnutes. Ater the CCIS message ls returned to offlce 15 wlth either a POTS num~er or an lneffective atte~pt~ then ltem 50 o~ the last file i8 chec~ed. This ls an lndlcatlon 3G of whether a control 1~ presently $n progress ~or that ~O~S
number. If the control is on~ then the lnhlblt tlme, ltem 48~ i6 returned in another CCIS me~sage to office 15.
Off~ce 15 then inhl~lts all new data base attempts to that ~OO-NXX-XXXX for the prescrlbed time period. Call~ to th~s L-number, arrlvlng at of1ce 15 during such an lnterval of ~, tlme, are glven an audlble me~sage lndicatlng the sltuatlon. Periodlcally, for example every two mlnutes, ~_ R. ~. Weber 1 . . . .

' - all counters, ltem ~6, are ccmpared against thl~ threshold, item 47. The threshold per unlt tlme ~s set on the ba~ifi of the num~er of llnes of the IN~A~S station, call holdlng tlmes and similar factor6. If the control 1~ currently o~f and the counter is less than the threshold, then the counter i~ merely ~et to zero. If the contr~l 15 currently off and the counter exceed~ the threshold, then the ~ontrol ls turned on, item 50, lnhl~t time is set to an lnltlal state, for example ~ seconds, and the c~u~ter is set to zero. If the control is on an~ th~ counter is }es6 than th~ threshold, the lnh~ bit t~me 18 decreased by three 6econds~ for example, whlle if the counter ls over the threshold the i~hlbit time ~s ~creased by> for example, three secGnd~. Again the ccunter i5 &et to zero. If the lnhibit time goes to zero, then the control i8 taken off, item 50.
The result of the network management action ls that mass calling attempt6 that are not ll~ely to be completed are not routed to data base 11 or bey~nd toll ~ffice 15. Thl6 frees data ba6e 1t, CCIS facilitle~ 17~ 18 and 19 and the toll networ~ to serve other call6 and reduces the probabil~ty of call blockage oue to mass calllng of an INWATS custo~er.
Busy data for an INWATS station is written lnto~ ¦
the data ba~e 11 under control of the terminatlng offlce utllizlng the CCIS system. Illustratively, 6uch data 1~
gathered for the llne(s) of ~tatior 22 by the termlnatlng office 3~ and busy/~dle records for the one or more lines~
6uch as line 39, servlng that station. The busy/$dle data i~ sent by CCIS me6sage over CCIS facilities ~4 and ~ignal transfer syste~ 45 the response to the approprlate busy or idle condltion. When an all lines busy condition exi6t8 .
for fitation 22, termlnating Gffice 3a ~end~ a CCIS mes~age to transfer 6yst~ 45 whlch translates lt and det~rmines that the busy data ~s tc be routed to data base 11 for entering a busy status 1 in the busy record 25 of the ~lle of table 21 for station 2~, Resultlngly, INWA~S calls .~ I
r R. P. Weber 1 :, :

, $~

designated for routing to that station are blocked and alternate routing is effected as priorly explained. A
similar CCIS signaling operation occurs to enter an idle bit "0" in record 25 when station 22 has at least one idle line.
The foregoing method, in addition to being utilized for INWATS service, is useful for automated collect calls, toll call forwarding and other special service calls of a type served for example by a Traffic Service Position System. For the collect call service, the entitled customer is given a single multi-digit number, such as a 700-NXX-XXXX, number or a ~-700-NXX-XXXX + PIN (Personal Identification Number) code where the PIN code is a multidigit security code, which is given to anyone that the customer wishes to give a standing authorization to call him collect. In the data base, the customer telephone number is stored in a first memory table, such as table 20 of FIG. 2 in correlation with the number. When a caller dials the number, the data base receives from the communication system a special service call message including that number and selectively a SuL'ix code, such as an originating area code; verifies the in-band nature of the call plus the security code if supplied; translates the received message into a call completion control message, such as a routing message including the customer telephone station number; and sends the control message to the tele-phone machine for controlling the establishment of call connections from the calling station to the customer station authorizing the automatic collect calling. Charges are then billed to that customer. Busy/idle and open/closed station data, alternate station routing data, and network management data including call counting such as are stored in the table 21 of FIG. 3, are usable for automated collect calling.
Toll call forwarding is essentially the same as described for INWATS and automated collect calling except ,~ ' .

,, , ~. . . -that the forwarding is illustratively effected by allowing the called party to change the POTS number in FIG. 2 by contacting, for instance, an operator having access to the CCIS system for sending a message to the data base to update the number..

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Claims

Claims:

1. A method of controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using call routing information from a data base system for a special service call CHARACTERIZED BY
receiving at said data base system from said switching system a special service call message including a code dialed by a caller and augmented by a code identifying the originating area of said call, translating said message into a call routing message at said data base system, and transmitting said routing message from said data base system to said switching system, transmitting said routing message from said data base system to said switching system to control the further establishment of call connections in accordance with said control message.

2. A method of controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using call routing information from a data base system for a special service call CHARACTERIZED BY
receiving at said data base system a special service call message from said switching system, translating said message into a call routing message at said data base system, and transmitting said routing message from said data base system to said switching system, and further CHARACTERIZED BY said call routing message comprising a station number designating a destination station, and checking at said data base system the availability of said station to serve said call during said translating of said special service call message into said routing message.

3. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 2 further CHARACTERIZED BY
controlling the sending of said station number from said data base system to said switching system only when said checking indicates that said station is available to serve said call.

4. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 2 further CHARACTERIZED BY
obtaining at said data base system another station number designating an alternate station to receive said call when said checking indicates that said destination station is unavailable to serve said call, and sending said other station number from said data base system to said switching system.

5. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 1 further CHARACTERIZED BY said routing message comprising a station number designating a destination station, storing at said data base system data signals indicating the busy/idle status of said destination station, supplying at said data base system another number designating an alternate station to receive said call when the stored data signals indicate that said destination station is busy, and sending the supplied other number from said data base system to said communication switching system.

6. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call CHARACTERIZED BY
receiving at said data base system a special service call message from said switching system, translating said message into a call routing message at said data base system, and transmitting said routing message from said data base system to said switching system, and further CHARACTERIZED BY said special service call message comprising a code indicating the area in which said special service call originates, and accumulating a count at said data base system of each said special service call and in response to a receipt of the said area code therefor.

7. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call CHARACTERIZED BY
receiving at said data base system a special service call message from said switching system, translating said message into a call routing message at said data base system, and transmitting said routing message from said data base system to said switching system, and further CHARACTERIZED BY said routing message comprising a station number designating a destination station, and counting at said data base system the number of calls attempted to said destination station, comparing at said data base system the counted number with a prescribed threshold number, and sending a message from said data base system to said switching system for controlling the subsequent inhibiting of the transmitting of said special service call message from said communication switching system to said data base system for a predetermined time period.

8. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call CHARACTERIZED BY
receiving at said data base system a special service call message from said switching system, translating said message into a call routing message at said data base system, and transmitting said routing message from said data base system to said switching system, wherein said special service call comprises an INWATS call, said special service call message comprises a dialed INWATS
number and a code identifying the area in which said INWATS call originates, said translating at said data base system is CHARACTERIZED BY
converting said INWATS number and area code into a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) DDD (Direct Distance Dialing) number identifying a preferred INWATS station to serve said call.

9. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 8 wherein said converting is CHARACTERIZED BY locating an originating area code file of data identified by the INWATS number, examining said file to locate said originating area code, and extracting said POTS DDD number correlated in said file with the located originating area code.

10. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 9 wherein said converting is further CHARACTERIZED BY
locating a POTS file for said POTS DDD number, examining said POTS DDD number file to check the availability of said preferred INWATS station for serving said call, and controlling the sending of said POTS DDD number from said data base system to said communication switching system.

11. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 10 wherein said examining of said POTS DDD number file is CHARACTERIZED BY
checking busy/idle and closed/open data stored in said number file for said INWATS station.

12. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 11 wherein said examining of said POTS DDD number file is CHARACTERIZED BY
extracting another POTS DDD number designating an alternate station for serving said call, locating a POTS file for said other POTS DDD number, and examining said other POTS DDD number file to check the availability of said alternate station to serve said call.

13. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 12 wherein said examining of said other POTS DDD number file for said preferred station is CHARACTERIZED BY
checking busy/idle and closed/open data stored in said other number file for said alternate INWATS station to serve said INWATS
call, and then controlling the sending of said other POTS DDD number from said data base system to said communication switching system when said alternate station is checked to be open and idle.

14. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call CHARACTERIZED BY
receiving at said data base system a special service call message from said switching system, translating said message into a call routing message at said data base system, and transmitting said routing message from said data base system to said switching system, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT said communication switching system is equipped with CCIS (Common Channel Interoffice Signaling) facilities including a signal transfer system for signaling communication with CCIS facilities of said data base system and further CHARACTERIZED BY
receiving at said switching system a special service code dialed by a caller, generating at said switching system a code identifying the area in which said call originates, transmitting said special service call message including said dialed code and originating area code in CCIS message format to said signal transfer system, and routing said CCIS message from said signal transfer system to said data base system.

15. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 14 in which said translating at said data base system is CHARACTERIZED BY
converting the dialed code and originating area code into said call routing number, and said number sending comprises transmitting a CCIS message including said routing number to said signal transfer system and switching system for controlling the completion of said call connections.

16. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 15 in which said converting is CHARACTERIZED BY
locating a special service code memory identified by said dialed code, examining an area code file of the located memory to determine the entitlement of said caller to said special service, and transmitting a CCIS message from said data base system through said signal transfer system to said communication switching system identifying a nonentitlement of said caller to said special services.

17. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 16 in which said examining of said area code file determines the entitlement of said caller to said special services by locating said call routing number therein, said routing number designates a communication station, and said converting further is CHARACTERIZED BY checking a routing number file to determine the availability of said station to serve said special service call.

18. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 17 in which said file checking is CHARACTERIZED BY determining the open/
closed status of said communication station, and transmitting a CCIS message from said data base system through said signal transfer system to said communication switching system for specifying that said special service call cannot presently be completed due to a closed status of said station.

19. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 17 in which said file checking is CHARACTERIZED BY determining the open/
closed status of said communication station, and reading from said routing number file another routing number designating an alternate communication station for serving said special service call when said designated communication. station is determined to be closed.

20. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 19 further CHARACTERIZED BY

checking a file in said memory for said other routing number to determine the availability of said alternate station to serve said service call, and transmitting a CCIS message including said other routing number from said data base system through said signal transfer system to said switching system to control the establishment of call connections to said available alternate station.

21. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 17 in which said converting further is CHARACTERIZED BY ascertaining from said routing number file the idle/busy condition of said communication station when said checking determines an open status of said station, and said number sending comprises transmitting said CCIS message including said routing number to said signal transfer system and switching system for controlling the completion of said call connections to said communication station when said station is ascertained to be idle.

22. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call in accordance with claim 21 further CHARACTERIZED BY
counting at said data base system the number of calls attempted to said communication station, comparing the counted number with a prescribed threshold number, and transmitting a CCIS message from said data base system through said signal transfer system to said switching system for controlling the inhibiting said transmitting of the CCIS special service call message to said signal transfer system for a predetermined time period.

23. A method for controlling a switching system for the establishment of call connections using routing information from a data base system for a special service call CHARACTERIZED BY
receiving at said data base system a special service call message from said switching system, translating said message into a call routing message at said data base system, and transmitting said routing message from said data base system to said switching system, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT
said communication switching system is equipped with CCIS
(Common Channel Interoffice Signaling) facilities including a signal transfer system for signaling communication with CCIS facilities of said data base system, and further CHARACTERIZED BY
receiving at said switching system a special service code dialed by a caller, transmitting said special service call message including said dialed code in CCIS message format to said signal transfer system, routing said CCIS message from said signal transfer system to said data base system, and translating the CCIS message received at said data base system into said routing message including a code identifying a destination for said call.