CA2059078C

CA2059078C - Mediation of transactions by a communications system

Info

Publication number: CA2059078C
Application number: CA002059078A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Alexander G. Fraser; Carlos Alberto Perea; Roy Philip Weber
Original assignee: American Telephone and Telegraph Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1991-02-27
Filing date: 1992-01-09
Publication date: 1995-10-03
Anticipated expiration: 2012-01-09
Also published as: JP2948976B2; JPH0595405A; US5329589A; MX9200763A; EP0501697A2; EP0501697B1; DE69228894D1; AU1089692A; AU640855B2; CA2059078A1; EP0501697A3; DE69228894T2

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for employing a communications system with actively connects communicating entities to mediate transactions. Disclosed are general methods and apparatus for mediating transactions, methods and apparatus permitting information from one transaction to be used in other transactions, and methods and apparatus for performing credit card transactions in which the vendee need not disclose his credit card to the vendor. An implementation of a system for performing credit card transactions in a stored program-controlled telephone switching network is also disclosed.

Description

2059~78 - - -MEDIATION OF TRANSACTIONS BY A COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

The invention concerns conll"ullications systems generally and particularly concerns the use of a communications system to mediate transactions among entities reachable by the co,~ lunications system.
The prior art will be discussed in detail hereinbelow with respect to the 5 drawings.
The invention is a method of employing a communications system to mediate different types of transactions involving entities reachable by the communications system.
Each transaction involves a plurality of entities which have information about the transaction. The method includes the following steps:
receiving a transaction type specifier specifying one of the types of transactions in the communications system;
providing the transaction type specifier to a transaction manager in the communications system;
in the transaction manager, using the transaction type specifier to select a transaction algorithm corresponding to the transaction type from a set of transaction algorithms; and in the transaction manager, employing the communications system to obtain information about the transaction from at least one entity involved in the transaction and provide the information about the transaction to at least one other entity involved in the transaction as required by the transaction algorithm.
In further aspects of the invention, a transaction record is provided for making the transaction interruptible and a system is provided for making credit card transactions via the communications system.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the arts to which the invention pertains after perusal of the following Drawing and Detailed Description of the invention.
FIG. 1 is an overview of a prior-art telephone number translation system;
FIG. 2 is an overview of a prior-art system in which the telephone system 30 mediates a transaction;

,~ j _ _ 2 2059~78 _ FIG. 3 is an overview of a system of the invention in which the col",mullications system hides information while it mediates the transaction;
FIG. 4 is an overview of a specific system which hides information while me~ tin~ a transaction;
S FIG. S is an overview of a general system for employing the co,~ unications system to mediate transactions;
FIG. 6 is an exemplary implementation of the system of FIG. 4 in the telephone system; and FIG. 7 is a diagram of transaction records used in certain embodiments of the system of FIG. 3.
Reference numbers in the Drawing have two parts. The two least-significant digits identify an item in a figure; the rem~ining digits identify the figure in which the items first appears. Thus, an item with the reference number 101 first appears in FIG. 1.
Communications systems such as the telephone system have long done more than simply connect a first entity to a second entity specified by the first entity. A number of forms of telephone service transform a first telephone number specifying an entity into a second such telephone number. FIG. 1 is a schematic overview of such telephonenumber transformation services. In the figure, a dashed line indicates a path for transmitting sign~lling information, while a solid line indicates a path for transmitting messages. In FIG. 1, entity 1 (E(1)) 105(1) is a caller wishing to communicate with entity 2 (E(2)) 105(2) via collllllunications system (CS) 103. To initiate the co~ unication, entity 1 105(1) employs a virtual dçstin~tion identifier 111 which is different from the actual destination identifier used within communications system 103 to establishcommunication with the entity. Using a sign~lling path, entity 1 105(1) provides virtual dçstin~tion identifier 111 to collllllunications system 103. Switch 107 in communications system 103 is able to recognize virtual identifiers 111 from their forms. On recognizing that the destination identifier provided by entity 105(1) is a virtual clestin~tion identifier, switch 107 provides virtual destination identifier 111 via a ~ign~llin~ path to translator 115, a facility in collllllunications system 103 which tr~n~l~tes virtual clestin~tion identifiers 111 into actual destination idPntifiers 113. In making the translation, translator 115 uses destination identifier database 117, which contains actual destination identifers 113 corresponding to virtual destination identifers 111. Once the translation is made, translator 115 provides actual destination identifier 113 to switch 107, which uses actual destination identifer 113 to connect entity 1 105(1) to entity 2 105(2) via a message path, as shown by solid arrow 109.
S One example of such a service is the toll-free 800 service. In this service, which is described in detail in Weber, U.S. Patent No. 4,191,860, Data Base Communication Call P~oce~.ng Method, issued March 4, 1980, customers throughout a given area use a telephone number which has 800 as a prefLx to reach an entity. On receiving the 800 number, the telephone company's switching system generates a control message including the 800 number. The control message is sent to a data base system via the commonchannel interoffice sign~lling facilities (CCIS) used as a ~ign~lling path by the telephone company. The data base system uses the 800 number to obtain an llnli~ted telephone number for the entity and provides the llnli~ted number via a second CCIS message to the switching system, which uses the unlisted number to connect the customer to the entity to which the 800 number belongs and charges the call to the unlisted number.
As indicated in Weber, an 800-number call can be routed based on the area in which it originates. Consequently, 800 number service can be used as locator service.
In such a service, a customer dials an 800 number de~ign~ting sources of specific goods or services and is connected by the communications system to the source of such goods or services closest to the customer or to a recipient of the goods or services. One kind of locator service is described in detail in Riskin, U.S. Patent No. 4,757,267, l'elephone System for Connecting a Customer to a Supplier of Goods, issued July 12, 1988. In Riskins locator service, a non-telephone company owned data base system operating in a computer which is connected to a telephone switch determines &om the 800 number the type of goods or services in which the customer is interested and determines from the caller's telephone number where the caller is located. The data base system then determines from a geographically-ordered list of dealers which dealer is closest to the customer and causes the switch to call the closest dealer and connect the dealer with the customer.
In one embodiment of Riskin's locator service, the caller's telephone number is provided to the data base system by the telephone company's Automatic Number Identification Service (ANI), while the 800 number is provided by the telephone company's Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS). In another embodiment, the non-telephone company-owned data base system would have access to the CCIS facility, .

~4~ 2059078 the caller's telephone number and the 800 number via CCIS and would provide the telephone number of the closest dealer to the telephone system via CCIS. The telephone system would then connect the customer to the closest dealer. Further refinements disclosed by the Riskin reference include using digital voice to request telephone numbers from the caller if they are S not provided by the telephone co~ al,y via ANI or DNIS and using digital voice to inform the dealer of the kind of transaction being initi~ted by the customer.
As the Riskin reference shows, number translation systems can be quite complex.
However, one characteristic which they all have in common is that the communications system 103 does nothing more than establish a path by means of which entities using the 10 communications system may ~Ych~nge messages. Communications system 103 plays no role whatever in whatever transaction between the entities may be accomplished by the messages.
In some instances, the communications system plays a role in the transaction itsel One example of such a system is that disclosed in United States Patent No. 3,902,908, Con~Lalllille R. Kraus, Bllyer Credit Service for a Telepkone System, issued Nov. 18, 1975. As disclosed at col. 2, line 28 through col. 4, line 11 of the reference, the system of Kraus provides credit information for a customer ordering by telephone to a vendor. When the customer calls to place an order, he uses a special class of telephone number. The telephone system provides the special number and the number of the telephone from which the customer is calling to a TSPS office. The TSPS office in turn sets up a connection between 20 the vendor identified by the special telephone number and a credit center and provides the calling telephone number to the credit center. The credit center uses the calling telephone number to search a credit data base for credit information about the customer and Ll~nsl,liL~
the credit information to the vendor. If the vendor finds the credit information satisfactory, he signals the TSPS office to that effect and the TSPS office then connects him with the 25 customer.
Another is the system disclosed in C~n~ n Patent No. 2,013,374 which issued to J.B. Med~m~n~; et al on November 30, 1993. In the system of the reference, if an entity such as a bank or a broker wishes to restrict access to a select set of customers, the entity provides an 800 number to the customers. The 800 number serves as a tr~n~ction identifier.
30 When a switch receives the 800 number, it does not immediately set up the call to the ~mli~te~l number for the entity which collcs~onds to the 800 number; in~tea-i it indicates to a transaction manager in the telephone system that a call has arrived which it must mediate.
The transaction manager employs the switch to obtain identification information fro the , . , instead, it indicates to a transaction manager in the telephone system that a call has arrived which it must mediate. The transaction manager employs the switch to obtain identification information fro the calling party. The identification information may be the calling party's telephone number, obtained via ANI or a personal identification number S (PIN) which the customer enters using his touch tone telephone in response to digital voice prompts &om the switch. The tr~n~acti~ n manager then supplies the identification information to a third entity, which uses information in a transaction data base to determine whether the calling party is entitled to make the transaction. The third entity then provides transaction information to the transaction manager, if the calling party is entitled to make the transaction, the transaction information will contain further information about the transaction. The transaction manager informs the switch whether the transaction is permitted, and if it is, the switch makes the call to the second entity and provides it with the further information about the transaction.
A third example of the use of a communications system to mediate a transaction is found in the prior art. This reference discloses a system in which a lottery customer dials a telephone number to enter a lottery. The system determines either from the customer's phone number or a credit card number which it requests from him whether the customer is eligible to enter the lottery. If the customer is, the customer is prompted to provide information from which a number for the customer's entry in the lottery can be generated. The system then generates the number and determines whether the number is a winning number. If it is, it informs the customer that he has won, prints out a record of the transaction at the lottery office, and connects him to an operator, who records additional data supplied by the customer.
FIG. 2 presents an overview of a system 201 in which the systems just described might be implemented. In system 201, CS 202 mediates a tr~n~cti~ n between entity 1 105(1) and entity 2 105(2) using information contained in a tr~n~ction data base (TDB) 209 belonging to a third entity 105(3). When entity 1 105(1) in system 201 wishes to make a transaction with entity 2 105(2), entity 1 105(1) provides co.l.l-lu.~ications system 202 with a transaction identifier 205 identifying the transaction. Included in transaction identifier 205 may be a virtual identifier for entity 2 105(2). When switch 105 receives transaction identifier 205, it sets up a message path between entity 1 105(1) and switch 107 and employs a technique such as digital voice to request input of transaction inforrnation 1 (TI(I)) 205 from entity 105(1). An example of such transaction information might be an identifier specifying that entity 1 may carry out the transaction. Switch 107 provides transaction information 1 207 to transaction manager 203, running in a processor which has access to switch 107. Tr~n~ tion manager 203 further has access to entity 3 105(3), and provides transaction information 1 207 to entity 3. Entity 3 uses transaction information 1 207 to look up transaction information 2 207 in transaction data base 209 and provides transaction information 2 211 via a data link message path to transaction manager 203. If transaction information 2 211 indicates that entity 1 105(1) has the right to make the transaction, transaction manager 203 provides a transaction OK (TOK) 212 signal indicating that the transaction is permitted to switch 107, which establishes message path 215 between switch 107 and entity 2 105(2). Transaction manager 203 then uses the message path to provide transaction information 1 207 and transaction information 2 211 to entity 2 105(2), which then uses message paths 213 and 215 to complete the transaction with entity 1 105(1). On the other hand, if transaction information 2 211 indicates that entity 1 105(1) does not have the right to make the transaction, transaction manager 203 indicates to switch 107 via transaction OK 212 that the transaction is not permitted, and switch 107 does not establish path 215 and termin~tes path 213. In this case, transaction manager 203 may further cause switch 107 to provide a termination message via message path 213 to entity 1 105(1).
While the foregoing systems represent a significant advance over the number translation systems, these systems do not provide a general technique by means of which a communications system may mediate a transaction, nor do they take full advantage of the possibilities arising out of mediation of a transaction by the communications system. In particular, the references do not show how to make a telephone transaction interruptible or how to use a communications system to mediate an ordinary credit card transaction. It is thus an object of the present invention to provide such a general technique, and to permit the construction of improved systems for performing transactions using a communications system.
The following Detailed Description will first present certain definitions which are required for understanding of the discussion, will then disclose a general example of a 30 communications system which hides transaction information while me~ ing a 20~9078 transaction, followed by a specific example of such a commnnic~tionQ- system. Next, the netAil~d Desc~ ion will r3isclose a co"~ ln~ tionc system which is generallyadapted to m~ii~tin~ many types of trnQ-~tionQ., and finally, the Detailed Des.;li~lion will ~lisrlose an embo~liment of the specific example in the telephone S system.
Definitions The following ~efinitiQnQ of co~ niCAtionQ- systems and entities involved in a lli.nc~ ;on are i~ t for proper understAnding of the disclosure.
By '~commnnicatiQnQ- system" is meant any commllni( atiQnc system in 10 which a node of the commllnicAtionQ. system can do more than simply passivelyforward data to a locAtis)n in the system. One e~al"ple of such a commnnicAtioncsystem is a telephone system of any siæ, ranging from a system consisting of tclephones cc~nnf~ted by a PBX through telephones connccted by a world-wide ~wilching system. Other examples are data n~,lwolks in which a nelw~lk node can 15 initiate a session and video networks in which there are intel~.;lions bel~cen the nclwolk and the user.
By "entity" is meant any party to a tr~nQ~tion other than the communicationQ- system in its ca~acily as comm-lni~tions system. For example, ifthe company providing the commlmicAtionQ- system also provides identific~tiQn or20 credit services, the co"",~ is an entity involved in the I~Ans~l;on to the extent that the identifi-~atiQn or credit services are involved in the 11 ~s~ction Hidin~ Information while Mediatin~ a Transaction: FIG. 3 One reason for involving a mç-liAtor in a l~ns~c!;on is to make it possi~lc to carry out the l".n~ ;on while hiding certain informAtion necessary to the 2s tran. action rom other parties to the trnQ~ti~n For example, in a labor negotiation, the union negotiat~l~ need to know the economic cQnd;l;on of the co--,p~ny they are negotiating with; the co...p~ny, on the other hand, may not wish to make such S~.lS~ti~,e bllC;n~.C.C informAtion available to the union negodators. One way to solve this lJl~le.ll is to employ a mç~iAt )r who is trusted by both parties to evaluate the 30 busii ess inform~tion and communicate his ev ~ hon, but not the informAhon, to the union negotiAtorv. As will become clear from the following, this function of making a I~Ar.~Acl;on possible while hiding certain inform~tion can be carried out by acommnnic~hionQ- system.

- 8 - Z0~9~)7~3 FIG. 3 shows a system 301 in which a commnnications system 303 not o~lly me~ tes a ~ n~aelion~ as did commllnir~tion~ system 202 of the ~ m~n~
~f~,~nce, but further hides inform~tion obtained from one of the entities involved in the tr~ncaction from another entity in the transaction. As with ~A~m~n~ entity 15 105(1) begins the tr~ncartiQn by a call which iclentifies the type of Ll~lsa.;~ion, as in(li~t~i by l.~ns~lion ID 205. When switch 107 receives TID 205, it activates tr~n~ction m~n~ger (FMAN) 305. Transaction m~nager 305 provides switch control signals 307 to switch 107. These signals cause switch 107 to provide digital voice pr~),l,pl~ ~ues~lg tr~nC ~rtion information 1 207 from entity 1 105(1). Entity 0 1 105(1) provides tl~nsaclion infnrm~tion 1 207 via a signal path to switch 107, which in turn provides it to tr~nS~cti~n m~nager 305. Tr~nc~ction m~nagP,r 305 then provides tran~action inf ,....~tion 1 207 to entity 3 105(3), which uses it to query tr~ncaction data base 209 and returns tranQaction information 2 211 via a data link.
T~ c!;on m~nager 305 then signals switch 107 via switch control signals 307 to15 establish a mes~ge path 316 ~~ en I~A -c ~^!;on m~na~er 305 and entity 2 105(2) and provides transaction il.rO. ".~tion 2 211 to entity 2 105(2). As may be seen from FIG. 3, entity 2 105(2) never receives lldllSa~liOII inform~tion 1 207; transaction information 1 207 is thus erÇ~Iively hidden from entity 2 105(2). A further cll~ct~,listic of system 301 is that there may be no need for direct communication 20 ~l~een entity 1 105(1) and entity 2 105(2), or indeed ~t~n any of the entitieinvolved in the transaction. If tr~qncactinn h~c.l.l.ation 2 211 conl~il-s all of the inf~rmqtion which entity 2 l~,~Uil~S to co..lplete the ll~n~c!;on ~l~e~n it and entity 1, entity 2 105(2) need not eYchan~ messages with entity 1 105(1).
In many cases, an entity part~ pq~tinp in a ll~lsd~;lion may wish to 25 hlt~lu~l a transaction before it is complete and then compl~te the transaction later.
In order to ~ccc....pli~h this, l~i~nc~ ;on data base 209 must maintain records of transactions. Such records are shown as ll~nca~-l;on records I~) 701 in Fig. 7.Each transaction record 701 conlqin~ transaction hlfol.-.ation (TINF) 705, whoseco~t~ depend on the type of the ~ -sr~-l;on and the stage at which it was 30 hltelruyted, and may also contain a ll,.n~ac~;on number 703, by which the entities partiripqting in the trqnca~ tion can identify the ~ s~;lion. In one embolliment of such a system 301 which permits trancantionc to be h~t~,llupled and l~ l~ an entity can in-lirqte that he wishes to hlt~,.lul)l the tran~q~chon Transaction mqnq,gto,r 305 can then respond to this in-lirq,hon by providing trn~q-chion number 703 to at 35 least the entity wishing to hl~ellup~ When the entity wishes to continlle~ it dials the number originqlly used to begin the tran~qchon, and Ll~n~ar-!;on m,q~nqger 305 g Z~59~)7~3 ~i.~.-ds by causing switch 107 to prompt the entity to in-lir~tç whether it is be~,;n~ a new tr~n~aGtion or conl;nl~ing an old one. In the latter case, tr~nc~Gtion m~n~ger 305 causes switch 107 to prompt the entity to provide tr~nc~tiQn number 703,11i.nc~ ;on m~n~gçr 305 provides the transaction number to entity 105(3) which s m~nagçs ll..nc~l;on data base 209, and entity 105(3) uses transaction number 703 to locate l~n~,GI;on record 701 and to provide record 701 to l.at1sa~ion m~n~ r 305.
T-i-nc~cl;on m~n~ger 305 then uses the infnrrn~tion in IlAnc~ ;nn inforrnation 705 to resume the tr~n~ction In another embo~ ,n~ ,-nc~cl;on records 701 involving an entity can 10 be org~ni7ed such that all of the transacdon records 701 for an entity can be located in dme order. In this case, when an entity wishes to resume a transaction, tr~nc~chon m~n~ger 305 can begin with the most recent transaction for the entitywishing to resume and can use tr~nsaçtion inform~hon 705 to cause switch 107 to provide a s-lmm~ry of the ll~lsdction to the entity. The sllrnm~ry can be provided by 15 using ASCII-to-speech tr~n~l~hon terhnolngy to translate the ~ dllt portions of TINF 705 into speech. If the entity ~ te ...ines from the summary that the 1, lsactinn is the one it wishes to resume, the endty can in(lir~tç that fact via a signal to tr~nc~ction m~n~gçr 305, which can then use ll; nc --I;on record 701 which was the source of the snmm~ry to resume the tr~n~action.
The techniques described above for l~su~ Lion of a tr~ns~tion can also be used in citll~tionc in which a transaction has several sephl~le stages. In such a multict~ç transaction, there will be a transaction record 701 for the llansd~-lion.
T- ~ C! ;on record 701 will m~in~in a record of the tr~nc~( tion as it ~ cntly stands. During the first stage of the t~i~nc~ n, the enddes parti~ip~hing therein may 2s be given ll~as&~;lion number 703 for the llalISa~;liOIl. When a party begins the next stage of the ~ S~l;on, tr~n~tion m~n~ger 305 causes switch 107 to request transaction number 703 from the party and then uses the tr~ncaction number to locate transaction record 701 for the tr~nC~rtion Tl,.n~cl;- n m~n~gçr 305 can then ~nd to the recoq~d to p~,.rOl-l, the next stage of the tr~n~stion as described above, 30 llp~l~ting the record as it pl,.Çolllled the tr~n~rtion-Similarly, a given tPn~tion can give rise to other possibletransacdons. For eY~mple~ if what is involved is a purchase by one entity of goods from another entity, the plu.,hase. may want to reach the second entity if he has ~c ,~;onC about or l"obl~.lls with the goods and the second entity may want to reach 3s the pw~;h~r if he is l.,.ll~l~ily out of stock or if a recall is required. Again, tr~n~ction record 701 can be used in these other tr~nsaction~ Of course, as - 10- 20~;~07~3 inrli~t~ above, techniques other than transaction numbers can be used to associate transaction records with entides involved in a tr~nQ-~tion For example, tr~nQacti~n records may be ~Q-soei~ted with and reachable by means of a telephone number or other idf ~-l;r.c.l';on name or number which id~ ;rPs the entity. Indeed, more than S one technique may be used for a given record. Tr~nQ ~tion numbers can be used to provide access to individual records, while entity identific~tiQn numbers can be used to provide access to all of the tranQ~ction~ involving a given entity. ~ ihon~lly, the tr~n~acti~n record may contain a time of tr~nQaction and tr~nQ-~ction records for an entity may be retrieved in a time-related order.

10 Usin~ Hidin~ in a Credit Card Transaction System: FIG. 4 The ability of a system such as system 303 to hide information from particirants in a transaction is particularly advantageous when the L,i~nsacl;on iS a telephone credit card tl~ cl;~n Such tr~ns~rti~nQ- are pl~sently p~.Ç~lllled as follows: First, the ~ u...~ r calls the vendor (often using an 800 number). Once15 ~-u~lO-..~ r and vendor are cQnnect~l, the c~J.lu~.~e~ d~t~ nes wl.e~ . the transaction is to be a credit card tranQ~ti~n. The vendor then tells the c~lQ-tQmP-r the price, and if it is a credit card Ll~nsa~Lion, the vendor asks the ~ sto...e for his credit card number. The cu~lulller then hangs up and the vendor uses the credit card company's verifi-~afion system to verify the ~;usLu~le.'s credit. Having done that, the vendor 20 completes the credit card transaction and mails the ~-u~lu.llP ~ the pu~;hase. There are several lJluble,--s with this mode of ca~rying out the ~ C~ ;on The most important problem from the ~;u~lQ~ 'S point of view is that he must ~ se his credit card number to so...eo. e he does not know. The problem from the vendor's point of view is dealing with the credit card system when all the vendor really wants to know is 25 whether the c..~ .r can pay.
Fig. 4 shows a system 401 which addresses and solves these problems.
To begin a t,~.c ~l;on~ customer C 403 employs co.l----uni~ation~ system 303 to call vendor 405. The number used to call vendor 405 serves both to identify a kind oftransaction and the vendor, and so functions both as a ll~nC~n~;Qn identifier 409 and a 30 vendor ide~ 410. When switch 107 l~ce;~es transaction i-lel.l;~f l 409, it respor~ by activating tr~n~ctiQn m~n~ger 407 and providing vendor ID 410 to it.
Tl~ 5~ ;on m~n~gçr 407 retains vendor ID 410 and causes switch 107 to set up meSsagç path 421 be~.~n switch 107 and c~sl~...e. 403 and to provide a digital voice message to ~ o.n~ - 403 in which c~ ,l 403 is asked for his credit card 3s number. C'~l~tomçr 403 inputs credit card number 407 using the Touch-ToneTM

- 11 - 205~3~)78 buttons on his telephone. Switch 107 receives the touch tone signals produced when the buttons are pushed, con~ells them to digital data, and provides the number to transaction m~n~g~.r 407. T.;~nc~!;on m~n~ger 407 retains the credit card numberand causes switch 107 to set up message path 423 and colm~;l the customer with the 5 vendor via mess~e paths 421 and 423. The customer and the vendor then discuss the tr~n~çtion and come to an a~l.,e,lt on the price. Vendor 405 then uses the Touch-Tone buttons on his telephone to input the price (P413). When switch 107 l~iCe;~e,S the touch tone signals, it provides them to tr~n~ction m~nagt r 407, which in turn provides vendor identifier 410, credit card number 407 and price 413 to credit 10 m~n~ger 415. Credit m~n~ger 415 dc~ nes from inform~tion in credit card data base 417 wh.,lll~ l w~lu~e- 403 can complete the purchase. If ~ lo.~e. 403 can, credit m~n~ger 415 provides a l~nc~c!;on confirm~tion mess~e 419 to tr~n~t. on m~naVPer 407, which in turn provides the mess~ to vendor 405, who can termin~te or conl;~ e the interaction as he pleases. If the i..rO....~tion in credit card data base 15 417 intlic~tes that the ~ s -I ;on can take place, credit m~n~.r 415 debits the amount of the transaction from ~,U~I~JllICl 403's account and credits it to vendor 405's a~co~-t after sending tr~ncaction confirm~tion signal 419 to tl;~n~ ;on m~n~V~r 407. Other inf~rm~tion required for the tr~n~ction, for example the m~iling address of cnctomer 403, may be ob~ned directly from c~lctom~r 403 or from 20 inform~tion in credit card data base 417 co---~e~ g c~slu~..er 403.
Many v~ri~tionc on the above system are of course possible. For example, vendor ID 410 could be derived from the tele~honc number in the fashiondes~ibe l above for 800 numbers, or it could be derived from a geographical list of numbers for dealers, as in the Riskin lefel~llce, or the dealer could provide an25 iden~ l himself along with the amount. Similarly, credit m~n~g~.r 415 and credit card data base 417 could be entities which were totally Sepa~ t; from co~ u~ 1;onC system 303, or they could be part of a credit system offered by theco...~n~ which provides comm~lni~tionc system 303 to cu~nel:i of the cc,---pany.For eY~mple, if the purchases made by ;u~lo--~e ~ 403 from vendor 405 were 30 relatively small, the price could be added to ~;u~lon.~,r 403's telephone bill. In such a sitU~tion~ cl~stomer 403's telephone number, provided by the ANI service m~.ntioned above, might even serve as credit card number 407. C~lo...-,~ 403's telephone number could ~l~lition~lly be used to verify cuslo-n~,r 403's identity to creditm~n~ger 415. In such an embo~liment, if cu~tomer 403's telephone number as 35 provided by ANI was dir~h,nt from the one listed for him, cuslulller 403 could 'oe asked to provide his home telephone number in ~rlition to his credit card number.

- 12- 2C~5~078 litionAlly, all the techniques ~esrri~l in the ~ cu~iQn of system 301 above for i~ upling a transaction, pelr~,l"illg a trAnQaction in stages, or pelrullllillg related trAn~tion~ can be used in system 401. A ~ sa~;~ion record 701 used in system 401 might contain the date and time of the tr~n~Action, the identity, 5 address, and tc.l~hone number of cust~mer 403, the identity, address, and a telephûne number of vendor 405, the product pul~;hased, and the price, as well as other useful information. Further, the techniques described in connection with system 301 for ~ vihlg a llAns~;!;on record 701 can be used in system 401.
F~AmpleS of ~ Ation~ in which transaction recor~ls 701 can be usefully 0 employed in system 401 include hlt~,l,upl_d ~lAn~ ;on~ and collateral trAn~Action~
such as later calls by C~IS~ ,[ 503 to vendor 405 con~erning the l,An~cl;~n and vice-versa. Depending on the situAtion (as indic~te~ by the state of trAns~ctis~n 705 in the relevant trAn~ction record 701), llA,-~h.-!;on mAnAger 407 can route cn~tomer 403's call to the proper party at vendor 405 and can provide informAtion relevant to 15 the ~itllAtion from tr~ns~çtion record 701 to the proper party at vendor 405.
A General System for Mediatin~ Transactions: FIG. 5 The systems of Kraus, Fnt~nmAnn, and ~e~m~n~ flisclose~l in the fliccu~sion of the prior art and the S~t~,lllS tli~lose~ in the present patent application are species of a genus of systems in which a comm-mi~ ~tions system m~liAtes a 20 l~An~c!;o~ FIG. S ~ closes a system 501 which permits a commlmi~ations system503 to provide as many of the species as is convellient. In system 501, transaction m~n~ger 505 inclu(les a list 509 of trAn~AGti~?n Al 507(0..n). Each trAnsaction ~lg~rithm on the list specifies a dirr~ type of transaction which system 501 myli~tes 2s When one of the entities 105 which is ~achable by comm.lni.~tions system 503 wishes to initiate a trAns ~ti~n it provides a ~ sae~on i~1e~l; r..,~ 511 for the type of ~ s~ on it wishes to ~lrullll to switch 107 Here, the entity is entity 105(i). As previously in~lir~ tr~nC~tion idelll;rl . 511 might be a special telephone number. It might also be a suffix to a special tcle~hone number, and it 30 might further be elicited by transaction m~na~çr 505 in lc;,l)oll~ to a telephone number infli~tin~ that entity 105(i) wished to choose from among tr~m~ction types belonging to a class of L~ sdclion types.
As before indicated~ switch 107 provides ~ sAc!;on i~le~;rf r 511 to tr~n~cfion m~n~er 505. In the following, transaction i-lPntifier 511 is presumed to 3s identify transaction ~lgonthm 507(b). In ~ 0l~3e to tr~ns~ction i-lentifi~r 511, - 13 Z~907~3 transaction m~nagçr 505 begins to execute transaction ~lgr~rithm (TALG) 507(b).
As required by l.;.n~q~lion algorithm 507(b), L~ c ~ n m~na~r 505 provides signals to switch 107 which cause switch 107 to COI)l~l entities involved in thetr~r-- ,hr,n to each other or to lli.nC~cl;on m~na~ r 505 and to receive information 5 from and provide information to the entities as required for the transaction.
~ddition~lly, certain entities involved in the tr~q-na-~ction may be directly a~cea~sihle to t~na~tir~n m~n~ger 505 willlûul involving switch 107.
In Fig. 5, tr~na~cti~n algorithm 507(b) is taken to define a transaction involving three entities: E lO5(i) which initi~ted it, E lO5(j), and E lO5(k). As lo ~uil~,d by ~lg~ithm 507(b), tr~qnc~rtion m~nagçr 505 causes co~ tiQn;a system 503 to solicit tr~na-~Gti~n information from the entities and provide thetransaction il~fo~ ation to the entities and to transaction m~na~r 505 as required for the tr~na~ctiQn Thus, tr~nsaçtiQn inf~m~tion 519 conc~l-ls entity lO5(i), tr~m~(~tiQn information 515 concerns entity lO5(k), and tr~na-~ction information 517 15 concerna- entity lO5(j). As shown in Fig. 5, tr~naq.^ti~n m~nqgçr 505 may employ either signal paths or mçssagç paths for the tr~m~ctirJn information, and may COnnf~`
entities to each other or to itself, all as required by tr~na-~ction ~lg~rithm 507(b).
Flow of control in trAna~ction ~lgl)rithm 507(b) may of course depend on values which tr~na-~ctiQn mqnqga 505 l~ce;~,s in the transaction inform~tion obtained from 20 the çntities ~ldition~lly~ transaction alg~rithm 507(b) may employ other tr~na-action algorithms in ~l~orithm list 509 to ~lÇulll- portions of the trana~tion.
The ~l~orithma in algorithm list 509 may all be provided by the opelalor of cG,..l..u~;cqtir~na system 503. In other embo~ f nl~, the operator of commlmicntions system 503 may permit certain usas of the commnnicationa system 25 to provide lli.nC~!;Qn algQ.;Il....a for l,ar~s~,cl;on al~J.;Il,.n list 509. Indeed, one of the transactions n~ ~ by communi~tiona system 503 might be the installation of a transaction ~lg~rithm 507 in list 509. In such a llani~d~lion, t.i.nc~cl;()n m~n~ger 507 would respond to the llanc~çlion ide~ ,. idcntiryillg the lli~nca~;on by soli.~iPng the new al~r)rithm 507 from the initi~ting entity 105, would submit the 30 new algo~ ;ll..n 507 to other entities for confirm~tion of its cOll~ll~eSS, and on ~ceiving the confirmation, would install the new nlgo.ill.n~ in list 509. If thealg~rithm were found not to be correct, tr~manction manager 507 could return error mesaqgeS to the initi~tin~ entity. Any or all of the al~Qrithms can of course employ tr~na-~tiQn records 701 as described above.

- 14- ZOS907~3 Implemenhtion of System 401 in a Telephone System: FIG. 6 FIG. 6 shows an r'ementAtion of system 401 in a con~lpulal~
t~kphol-e system. As will be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art, the techniques used to implement system 401 in the telephone system may also be employed to s im~lem~nt systems 301 and 501.
Modern tele~hone ~wilcl ing nelwolLs are stored program controlled n~ lwwL~, that is, the behavior of elements of the l~lwolk is go.e,llcd by stored plU~Y~s. The stored plU~ll controlled n~.lwolL provided by AT&T is described in detail in the Bell System Technical Journal, vol. 61, No. 7, part 3, September, 10 1982, pp. 1573-1816. System 601 of FIG. 6 employs con~pone.ll~ of the AT&T
stored program controlled nelwulL.
An hllpol~ill characteristic of the AT&T stored program controlled n~,lwol~ is that there are se~ paths for control signals and for mess~ges.
~ess~gçs travel by ~wil~hed circuits, in~licAted in FIG. 6 by the solid lines 607, 615, 15 619, 637, and 641; the control signals travel by the common ch~nnel inle,~rfice ~i Pn~lling f~Acilities (CCIS), which is a packet nelwulk for carrying control messAges between the COIll~X)ne,n~S of the nelwolL. All of the swilcl1es and telephone co...pA~-~-provided data bases in the stored program controlled l~lwolL are connecte~l to each other by CCIS, which appears in FIG. 6 as dashed line 613.
The following conll)o,-el t~ of the AT&T stored program cûntrolled nc lwolk are employed in system 601:
. CCIS-controlled ~wilches 609, 617, and 639:
--Switch 609 is an Ori in~tinP Screening Office (OSO), a switch which detects special classes of calls.
2s --Switch 617 is an Action Control Point (ACP), a switch which has access to f~ilitieS for h~ndling certain kinds of calls.
--Switch 639 is a ~estinAtion Service Of fice, a switch which conn~;l~ special classes of calls to their destinAtion~.
. MclwûlL control points (NCP) 611 and 633. A nelwûlL control point provides meScA~gçs to other CQlllpOne~ i of the n~ lwolL as required to cause the network to ~,Çwlll a given function.
--IND NCP 611 con~ins a data base of special numbers such as 800 numbers and provides messa~s in~ Ating how the special numbers are to be hAn-ll~

- 15- 2059(~78 by the ~wil~,hing system.
- --DSD NCP 633 conl~in~ a data base of special telephone services and provides mçssqges which cause the switching system to carry out the special service. In system 601, DSD NCP 633 ~lrOlll,s the function of tr.qn~rtion S mqn~ger 407.
. Network Services Compltox (NSC) 621 implc...enls certain plilllilive function~(PRS) 631 in l~;s~l se to mes~qges on CCIS 613. P~ilnilive functions used in system 601 include provision of voice qnno...-ce...enl~ 623, decoding of DTMF
signals 625, establishment of data links 627, and call routing 629.

10 ~d-lifiQnq-l colllpone.~ls of system 601 include Touch-Tone tclephone 603, belonging to cu~lolller 403 of FIG. 4, Touch-Tone tele,phol e 643, belonging to vendor 405 of FIG. 4, local switch 605, which connects telephol~ 603 to the stored lJI~ ~lll ~wilching nelwolk, credit mqnq-ger 415, which ~1~ t~u .llines the credit status of a customer, and credit card data base 417, which contqins the credit infnrmqfion 15 Credit m~nqger 415 is conl-e~ l~d via data link 416 to NSC 621. It should be pointed out that conceplually, ~wil~hes 609, 617, 639, NSC 621, and IND NCP 611 togetherpe.rwlll the functions of switch 107 in FIG. 4.
System 601 o~.a~es as follows to pe.rollll the mçfliqt~ credit trqn~q-ction described with reference to system 401. ('~ o...e 403 uses telephone 20 603 to dial a special number, perhaps beginning with a prefix such as 990. The special number identifiçs at least the kind of lli nc~l;~n The dialed number goes to local switch 605, which provides it via circuit 607 to OSO 609. OSO 609 det~,....i~rs that the number is special, and sends a mçssage via CCIS 613 to IND
NCP 611. The mess~q~ge contqin~ at least the special tckphol-e number.
2s IND NCP 611 dete.. h~es from the special number that the call must be hqn-ll~ by ACP 617, becdu~ that switch has a N~:w~ Services Complex 621 tf'd with it. Con~u~,lltly, IND NCP 611 sends a CCIS messa~e to OSO 609 which specifiçs the number of tel~hone 643, the type of special service required and DSD NCP 633, and which further ide~l~;r~es access control point 617. OSO 609 30 responds to the meSsqge by f~lwalding the call to action control point 617, as in-iirqte~ by circuit 615, and Sçn(ling a CCIS mrss?ge to ACP 617 which includesthe the telephone number of telephone 643, the type of special service required, and a ~c; rrAt;on of DSD NCP 633, as well as the tel~hone number of telephone 603, as provided by ANI.

ZO~i9078 On receipt of the mess~ge from OSO 609, ACP 617 sends a CCIS
message to DSD NCP 633 which incl~lfles the type of special service required andthe t~,l~hone numbers of tcl~hones 643 and 603. DSD NCP 633 then locates llAnc~Gl;on algo ;11"" 636 co~ ling to the type of special service required and 5 begins e~ecul;~-g the ~lgs)rithm As DSD NCP 633 executes the algolillllll, it sends CCIS mess~g~s to the collll)onenls of the stored plu~l~n~ n~,lwulL which cause the stored plu~un nelwolL to me liAte the tr~ncaction The first step in the t a-~s~lion is to obtain the credit card number of C'l`lU~f,~ 403. NCP 633 sends a CCIS messAge to NSC 621 which instructs it to use 10 call routing primitive 629 to COl l C~;l itself to telephone 603. The routing primitive does so, as shown by circuit 619, and NCP 633 then sends a CCIS message to NSC
621 to use announcement ~ ive 623 to request that the user of telephone 603 input his credit card number using the Touch-Tone buttons on the telephone and to use DTMV deco-lin~ plilllitiVe 625 to decode the inputs received from the Touch-15 Tone buttons and send them via CCIS to NCP 633. Cont;n~ing to execute TALG636, NCP 633 detn .. inçs whether the proper number of digits have been sent. if not, it sends a CCIS mess~gç to NSC 621 to use primitive 623 to inform the user of tele~hone 603 of his error and plilllili~r~ 625 to collect new input. Once NCP 633 has the proper number of digits, it stores them and sends a CCIS messA~e to NSC 621 20 ~ue,~g it to route the call from ACP 617 to tclephone 643, thereby conn~rting~lO ~c 403 and vendor 405 and to listen for DT~F tones from tclel)hone 643.
FyecutiQn of transacdon alg~ithm 636 con~ es after cnstom~o,r 403 and vendor 405 have agreed to the ~lAnc~l;on and vendor 403 uses his Touch-Tone buttons to input the price on telephone 643. Colll~l~el t 625 of NSC 621 decodes2s the DTMF tones and provides the price via a CCIS mçs~ge to DSD NCP 633, whichthen sends a CCIS message to NSC 621 I~UG~Iing it to use collll~onel t 627 to set up a data link with credit mAnAger 415, and when the link is set up, another CCIS
.. e~- ~ge asking it to provide the c~edit card number, the tcle~hone number of ~l~ph-u~e 643, and the price to credit mAn~ger 415 and to return credit m~nager 30 415's ~sponse. Credit m~nAger 415 then concllltc data base 417, and if cllctomçr 403 has the ~U~cessA~ ~ balance, debits c uslolll~,l 403's accounl and credits vendor 405's ~co~mt (idenl;~;yl by the vendor's telephone number). Credit m~nAger 415 returns a value inf1i~ting the success or failure of the transaction to NSC 621, which in turn provides it to NCP 633; dcpending on the value, NCP 633 requests ~nnounrin 35 facility 623 in NSC 621 to intlic~te to the vendor at telephone 643 whether the trAn~Action ~ccee~3~1, completing tr~n~ction ~lgorithm 636.

- 17- '~059~)~8 Many variations in system 601 and ~ saclions algorithm 636 are po~s;b!e. For example, vendor 405, ~ to..~c~ 403, or both may have int~ted services digital n~Lwolk (ISDN) service, and in that case, tcl~hone 603 or 643 may be replaced by a display t~rminql and keyboard. In such an embo lim~nt, NSC 621 s would provide plUlllpl~i to the terminal instead of voice pl~lllp~S. Further, NSC 621 may include voice l~cognilion plh~ es; in that case cu~lol.. ,~ 403 could input his credit card number orally, and vendor 405 could do the same with the price. Credit mq~ager 415 may have several difftl~llt relqti~n~hips with the remqinfler of system 601. It can itself be imple,llell~ed as a netwolk control point, it can be connected by 0 a data link, as in FIG. 6, or it can be connected by a ~ ;hed circuit, as are tclel)holles 603 and 643.
As regards lln,lc ~I;on ~lg~rithm 636, the hl~l~lions bel-.~n system - 601 and ~ IQl-~e- 403 and vendor 405 can be e~q~-d~l For example, customer 403 might be asked to provide n~-litionql id~.llifying h~. ".,~tion and vendor 405 might 15 be asked to provide a vendor identific~tiQn number along with the price. The vendor id number would then be used to identify the vendor's !Iccollnt in data base 417.
Further, the credit v~rifirqfion could be done in two stages. In the first stage, .fo""cd on receipt of the credit card number, the e~ t.,nce of the ~ o...-,l's account could be verified; in the second stage, the account could be debited.
20 Moreover, any of the telephone number trqn~l~qfion services described in the cll~cion of the prior art could be used in conjw~ ion with system 601.
~d-lifiQnqlly, credit card data base 417 can include trqn~ction records 701, and these records can be used as desc-~ ;l~d above with regard to system 401 to resume an hlt~,llupted ~ cliQn or to provide infQrm~tion for collateral ~ l;on~.

2s Conclusion The f~l~,L~Jing Detailed D~ ,lion has disclosed to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention ~l~ins how one may make and use a c~ -;r~tionC system which mefli~qt~s transactions between entities reachable by the conl"l~ qtiQn~ system. However, as is al)pd~ from the nature of the 30 invention and the Detailed Des~ )tion, the number of particular embofl;...e~lt~ of the invention is cssenl;~qlly Imlimite~l For example, systems of the type disclosed herein may be used for ~lephol-e vodng. In such a system, the ~lnnsq~sl;rJn mqn~qger would d~ t~ ...i--e the eligibility of the voter to vote, and if he is eligible, would provide the vote to the entity in charge of counting.

- 18- Z0~9~78 Another use for such a system is a gift or donation registration service.
An entity seeking gifts or don~fiQnc would provide a list of what it needed to the re~ halion service. F.ntiti& s wishing to make gifts or don~tionc would call theregistration service and the service would mediate a træn~actiQn between the donor S and the source of the item to be given or ~on~te l Still other uses involve acsigning available resources of a given type to clients who call for aCcict~nce One example of such a system is a lawyer referral service. The referral service would mPint~in a (~t~bace of lawyers and would assign lawyers to clients on a basis which assured that each lawyer would get a fair share of lo the referrals. The system would d~ t~-.. . . i ,-e from the d~tPba~e which lawyer was to get the referral and would c~nnfrl the lawyer with the-calling client.
~ d-lifi~nqlly, a commnnir~tionC system may be advantageously used to myliPte a trP~nc~ction such as an allction C~ on,& ~ could make bids. The commllnirp~tionc system would validate the bids and provide them to the æ/~lction~
15 who would know only the amounts, and not the identities of the bidders. The commlmi~tiQnc system could then indic~te to each participant the current highestbid and solicit new bids until a single highest bid rem~in&Yl In some embodi",ents, the communicæti~ns system itself might play the role of ~uctiQneer. In such an embo lim&nt, the tr~ncPction m~nP~ger would keep track of the current highest bid, 20 would inform the parti~ir~nt~ of that bid, and when bidding had ceased, would cc~...pl&-~, the ~ nc~c~ n with the highest bidder.
Further, as previously pointed out, the invention may be employed in any c~mmllnication~ system which actively conl~&~ a sender of a message with a l~ip ent of a mes~age Since the details of a particular embo~lilllp n~ of the invention 2s are strongly dep~nll&nt on the kind of co...n~ tiQnC system being used and the kind of lli.n~P -I;on being meAi~t&~ the emborl;~&-~ s~ in the Detailed D~ ;pl;on aTe to be conQidered in all ~ s as being merely illus~aLive and e~&...~l5-,~, but not l~,sllicli~,~" and the scope of the invention is not to be ~tel",ined from the lisclos~ embo~ enl~ but rather from the ~1l l-ed claims as read in light 30 of the Specifi~PJfion and int~l~,le~d according to the Doctrine of Equivalents.
What is cl~im&~l is:

Claims

1. A method of employing a communications system to mediate a credit transaction between a customer, a vendor, and a credit-giving entity, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving a transaction specifier from the customer in the communications system; and responding to the transaction specifier by performing steps in the communications system including obtaining at least a credit identification number from the customer, obtaining at least a debit amount from the vendor, providing the credit identification number and the debit amount to the credit-giving entity, receiving an indication from the credit-giving entity whether the credit transaction is permissible, and providing the indication to the vendor.

2. The method set forth in claim 1 wherein:
the step of responding to the transaction specifier includes the step of employing the communications system to connect the cutomer and the vendor with each other.

3. The method set forth in claim 2 wherein the step of employing the communications system to connect the customer and the vendor occurs before the step of obtaining a debit amount from the vendor.

4. The method set forth in claim 1 wherein:
the method does not include any step in which the credit identification number is disclosed to the vendor.

5. The method set forth in claim 1 wherein:
the communications system is a telephone system; and the step of receiving a transaction specifier includes the steps of:
receiving a special telephone number in the telephone system; and using the special telephone number to derive the transaction specifier.

6. The method set forth in claim 5 wherein:
the step of receiving a transaction specifier further includes the step of using the special telephone number to derive a telephone number of the vendor and the step of responding to the transaction specifier includes the step of using the telephone number to obtain transaction information concerning the credit transaction from or provide transaction information to the vendor.

7. The method set forth in claim 5 wherein:
the telephone system retains the telephone number from which the special telephone number was called; and the step of responding to the transaction specifier includes obtaining the telephone number from which the special telephone number was called from the telephone system as part of the transaction information.

8. The method set forth in any of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 wherein:
the steps performed in response to the transaction specifier include entering information concerning the credit transaction in a transaction record.

9. The method set forth in claim 8 wherein:
the method further includes the steps of receiving a further transaction specifier in the communications system;
and responding to the further transaction specifier by performing a further transaction as specified by the further transaction specifier and the transaction record.

10. A method of employing a communications system to mediate a plurality of types of transactions involving a plurality of entities which are accessible via the communications system and which have between them transaction information other than the communications between the entities, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving a transaction type specifier specifying one of the types of transactions in the communications system;

in the communications system, responding to the transaction type specifier by activating a transaction manager; and in the transaction manager, selecting a transaction algorithm corresponding to the transaction type specified by the transaction type specifier from a set of transaction algorithms; and in the transaction manager, performing as required by the transaction algorithm the steps of employing the communications system to obtain first transaction information from at least one of the entities involved in the transaction and employing the communications system to provide second transaction information to at least one of the entities involved in the transaction.