Patent ID: 7130298
Filing Date: 2006-10-31
Classification: H04Q

Abstract:
1. A method of making a telephone call using a computer having a user interface, the computer operating upon an electronic document, comprising: receiving an electronic document that includes data representing at least one telephone number; selecting by way of the user interface a telephone number from a location in the electronic document to obtain a selected telephone number; retrieving data, associated with the location, from the electronic document, wherein the data comprises the telephone number in a format usable for setting up a call; determining if a calling party telephone number had been previously stored in local memory in the computer; prompting a user to enter the calling party telephone number into the computer if the calling party telephone number had not been previously stored in the local memory in the computer, thereby storing the calling party telephone number in the local memory within the computer to obtain a locally stored calling party telephone number; signaling, via a packet-switched network, a telecommunication system to connect a call between the selected telephone number and the calling party telephone number using the retrieved data by ringing a telephone associated with the calling party telephone number before calling the selected telephone number and, if the telephone is not answered within a specified period of time, by sending a message to the computer to request that the calling party re-enter the calling party telephone number thereby obtaining a locally stored and re-entered calling party telephone number superceding the calling party telephone number and by calling the re-entered calling party number before calling the selected telephone number; and using either the locally stored calling party telephone number or, if superceded, the locally stored and re-entered calling party telephone number to connect all calls from the calling party, subsequent to attempting the call, to any telephone number including the selected telephone number.