(12) United States Patent ao) Patent No.: us 6,445,778 Bi
Stevens (45) Date of Patent: Sep. 3,2002
(54) TELEPHONE TAG ENTERTAINMENT
(75) Inventor: Oilman R. Stevens, Fairview, TX (US)
(73) Assignee: Alcatel USA Sourcing, L.P., Piano, TX (US)
( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
(21) Appl. No.: 09/455,089
(22) Filed: Dec. 6, 1999
(51) Int. CI.7 H04M 11/00
(52) U.S. CI 379/93.13; 379/90.01;
379/93.12; 379/88.18
(58) Field of Search 379/93.13, 90.01,
379/93.12, 102.01, 102.02, 102.03, 265, 266, 88.13, 88.17, 88.18, 88.23, 88.24, 88.25, 88.26
(56) References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
5,340,119 A * 8/1994 Goldfarb 379/93.13
To alleviate the frustration of telephone tag, if the called party is unavailable (32), the calling party is offered the chance to participate in a game (36). The user can accept or reject the offer (38). If the offer is accepted, a game is played (40), if the offer is rejected, the calling party is connected to the called party's voice mail (42). The game could involve purchase of a lottery, participation in a guessing game, or participation in a knowledge43ased game. After the game is played, the calling party is connected to the called party's voice mail (42).
20 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
