Patent ID: 9473631
Filing Date: 2016-10-18
CPC Classification: H04M

Claim Text:
1. A method for placing a telephone call, comprising: compiling and storing a plurality of contact information files and a set of one or more dialing rules in a non-volatile memory associated with a communication device operative to place the telephone call on a public telephone network, each one of the plurality of the contact information files comprising name information and at least one phone number; receiving a dialing string comprised of a plurality of dialed keys entered into the communication device until the dialing string forms a complete phone number or includes a delimiter without receiving any information prior to entry of the dialing string indicating that the dialing string corresponds to a dial-by-name process; if the dialing string contains a number of digits corresponding to a complete phone number without a delimiter, processing the dialing string as a dial-by-number entry by placing the telephone call on the public telephone network using the dialing string; and if the dialing string includes a delimiter prior to receipt of the number of digits corresponding to a complete phone number, processing the dialing string as a dial-by-name entry by identifying a corresponding contact information file having name information corresponding to the dialing string up to the delimiter, and placing the telephone call on the public telephone network using the phone number stored as part of the corresponding contact information file.