Exhibit B
USOO6345095B1 

(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,345,095 B1 

Yamartino (45) Date of Patent: Feb. 5, 2002 

(54) TELEPHONE NUMBER AREA CODE 5,859,896 A 1/1999 Rosen ........................ 379/350 

PREPROCESSOR 5,859,901 A 1/1999 Brendzel et al. ............ 379/114 

5,917,904 A 6/1999 Theiss ........................ 379/355 

(76) Inventor: Robert J. Yamartino, 36 Orchard Rd., .. A A. SC, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5. 2Y----Y/2 : CWaZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Bedford, MA (US) 01730 6,134.319 A * 10/2000 Burg et al. .......... 379/88.03 X 

6,154,535 A * 11/2000 Vel i et al. ....... 379/221 X (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 6.292,557 B1 * 9/2001 yet also 379/355.08 patent is extended or adjusted under 35 

U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days. * cited by examiner 

Primary Examiner-Creighton Smith 

(21) Appl. No.: 09/291,213 (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Covington & Burling 

Related U.S. Application Data This invention provides an apparatus and method for pro (60) Provisional application No. 60/081,735, filed on Apr. 14, cessing telephone numbers that assists telephone Subscribers 

1998. in reaching the desired destination when the area code is 

(51) Int. Cl. ................................................. A04M 1/56 unknown or has changed. The invention can be integrated 

(52) U.S. Cl. .................................................. 379,355.08 into a telephone unit, implemented as a stand-alone device 

(58) Field of Search ....................... 379,355.07, 355.08, connected to the Subscriber's telephone line (including 379/355.09, 118, 127.01, 173 wireless, cable-TV lines, and other modes of 

s s s telecommunication), implemented as a utility on a personal 

(56) References Cited computer that may or may not be connected to the Internet 

or to a telephone line, or implemented as part of the 

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS telephone Switching System. In a preferred embodiment, the 

5,157,719 A 10/1992 Waldman .................... 379/356 apparatus for processing telephone numbers includes an area 

5,272,749 A 12/1993 Masek .............. ... 379/216 code processor and a caller interface. The area code proces 

5,329,578 A 7/1994 Brennan et al. .............. 379/67 Sor has means, which are responsive to information about 

5,481,603 A 1/1996 Gutierrez et al. ........... 379/221 the called party, for producing a list of telephone numbers. 

5,515,426 A 5/1996 Yacenda et al. ............ 379/201 The caller interface communicates with the area code pro 

5,553,119 A 9/1996 McAllister et al. ........... 379/67 ceSSor and a calling party; and has means for monitoring call 

5,583.926. A 12/1996 Venier et al. ........ ... 379/207 initiation signals, means for receiving called party informa 

5,613,006 A 3/1997 Reese ........................ 379/67 tion Such as a telephone number, and means for Selecting a 

5,694,457. A 12/1997 Nixon et al.......... ... 379/100 target telephone number from the list of telephone numbers 5,706,339 A 1/1998 Eisdorfer et al. ........... 379/211 5,710,808 A 1/1998 Eaton ............... ... 370201 produced by the area code processor. 

5,719,931 A 2/1998 Johnson ..... ... 379/356 

5,732,132 A 3/1998 Hamada ..................... 379/354 30 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets 

110 AREACODE PROCESSOR 

PRODUCER 

DAABASE 

2 O 

90 

CAL GENERATOR 

INITIATOR 65 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 

NETWORK CALLERINTERFACE 

SELECTOR 55 

CALLING MONITOR 

PARTY 

RECEIVER 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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US 6,345,095 B1 

1 

TELEPHONE NUMBER AREA CODE 

PREPROCESSOR 

This application claims priority to Provisional Applica 

tion No. 60/081,735 filed Apr. 14, 1998. The specification of 

No. 60/081,735 is incorporated herein by reference. This 

invention relates to the Selection of telephone numbers, and 

more particularly to devices and methods for assisting 

telephone Subscribers in connecting to the desired destina 

tion when the area code or Service code is unknown or has 

changed. 

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 

Description of the Relevant Art 

In North America, the telecommunications numbering plan generally divides the country into geographical area 

code Service areas. Each three-digit area code is divided into 

three-digit central office exchanges that generally cover 

geographical Sub-areas of the area code Service area. In the 

early days of telephony, the geographical Sub-area Served by 

a particular exchange would not generally overlap the geo 

graphical Sub-area Served by another exchange. Further, the 

geographical Sub-areas of area codes were often established 

with Sensitivity to existing political boundaries So that 

residents of a particular community, for example, shared the 

Same area code. 

Unfortunately, the number of subscribers that can be 

Served by a particular exchange is limited by the number of 

digits that can uniquely identify a Subscriber line within the 

eXchange. The use of four-digit Subscriber numbers limits 

the number of Subscribers within an exchange to 10,000 

telephone numbers. AS particular geographical Sub-areas 

develop, however, they may eventually require more than 

10,000 subscriber numbers. This problem is typically resolved by defining new exchanges whose geographical 

Sub-areas may overlap the geographical Sub-areas of exist 

ing eXchanges. However, with the exception of wireleSS 

eXchanges, the geographical Sub-area covered by a particu lar exchange is generally completely confined to a particular 

area code Service area. This restriction ensures that duplicate three-digit central office exchange codes may be freely 

assigned in adjoining area code Service areas. 

The use of identical eXchange codes in adjoining area 

code Service areas, however, may create ambiguities when 

Subscribers dial numbers outside of their local eXchange. These ambiguities are resolved by requiring Subscribers to 

include area codes when dialing Such numbers. In earlier 

days, central office exchanges were known by mnemonics 

and most Subscribers making local calls were only required 

to memorize a four or five digit number and an appropriate mnemonic (e.g., POplar 55399). Now, however, subscribers 

may be frequently required to enter a three-digit area code, 

a three-digit exchange code, and a four digit Subscriber 

number plus other acceSS numbers that may be required. 

The recent rapid increases in the number of fax machines 

and cellular/mobile phones has only increased the rapid 

utilization of available phone numbers. As with Subscriber 

numbers, exchange codes have also been completely utilized 

in Some area codes in the U.S. This has made it necessary to 

add additional area codes in densely populated areas by Splitting the existing area code domain into two or more 

Separate area codes. Whereas only a few years ago (circa 

1990), an area code might apply to an entire State in the 

United States, the ensuing proliferation of area codes has 

reached the point where four different area codes might lie 

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within a radius of several miles. Further, the advent of area 

code overlay has led to a situation where multiple area codes 

can coexist at a single point, requiring 10-digit dialing even 

for local calls The result is confusion and complexity for the 

telephone user. Calls placed without the appropriate or new 

three-digit, destination area code currently result frequently 

in either an undesired connection, a phone company mes 

Sage about an area code change, or a recorded message that 

the number is simply not in Service. In any of these events, 

the user is forced to redial the call using the revised “full” 

telephone number, provided that the caller can easily find 

that revised number. The full telephone number includes all 

digits, including area code and other prefix digits Such as “0” 

or “1”, that may be needed to reach the desired destination 

in the desired manner. 

A number of aids have been developed to help Subscribers 

formulate correct telephone numbers. Auto-dialers, for 

example, are well-known devices that enable Subscribers to 

generate complete telephone numbers based on pre 

programmed hotkeys or special code Sequences; however, 

autodialers assume that the caller already knows the cur 

rently correct phone number. Autodialer data that has not 

been updated to reflect the latest area code changes will also 

yield the same frustrating results mentioned previously. A 

more Sophisticated area code aid is described in U.S. Pat. 

No. 5,859,901, entitled “Intelligent Call Connection Ser 

vice' and issued Jan. 12, 1999, to Brendzel et al. The 

Brendzel System operates on dialed Sequences that do not 

contain area codes, and attempts to provide an appropriate 

area code by analyzing the called party number relative to 

the calling party. The analysis performed by the Brendzel 

System includes consideration of the calling pattern of the 

calling Subscriber, and the distance between the calling party 

and the called party. 

Despite the conveniences provided by auto-dialers and 

devices Such as that described in the Brendzel patent, there 

remains a need for subscriber aids that will permit the 

subscriber to choose conveniently and efficiently the most 

appropriate area code by providing the Subscriber with an 

analysis of any telephone number. The Subscriber, for 

example, may desire to call a telephone number in a remote 

city (herein, “telephone number” refers to the exchange code 

and the Subscriber number combination without area code) and may know an area code for that region, State or city. If 

the Subscriber were presented with a list of valid area codes, within Some proximity to the remote city, for the telephone 

number, then the Subscriber could select the telephone 

number and area code combination that seemed most likely 

to be correct. 

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 

An object of the invention is to provide an automated 

System that would help telephone users Select the proper area code for a call. 

A further object of the invention is to provide an auto 

mated System for processing telephone numbers that 

responds to an activation Sequence. 

A further object of the invention is to provide an auto 

mated System for processing telephone numbers that utilizes 

identification information associated with the calling party in Suggesting proper area codes for a call. 

A further object of the invention is to provide an auto 

mated System for processing telephone numbers that utilizes 

a telephone number database that includes information on 

the relationship of area code Service areas. 

The present invention, as broadly described herein, pro vides an apparatus for processing telephone numbers that 
US 6,345,095 B1 

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includes an area code processor and a caller interface. The 

area code processor has means, which are responsive to 

information about the called party, for producing a list of 

telephone numbers. The caller interface is in communication 

with the area code processor and a calling party, and has 

means for monitoring call initiation Signals, means for 

receiving called party information that is responsive to the 

monitoring means, and means for Selecting a target tele 

phone number from the list of telephone numbers that is 

responsive to the means for producing a list of telephone 

numbers. 

In a preferred embodiment of an apparatus of the present 

invention, the call initiation Signals include an activation 

Sequence. 

In a preferred embodiment of an apparatus of the present 

invention, the receiving means includes means for associ 

ating identification information with the calling party. 

In a preferred embodiment of an apparatus of the present 

invention, the telephone number database comprises infor 

mation on valid area codes, information on the geographical 

areas associated with valid area codes, information on valid 

eXchanges within valid area codes, information on geo graphical areas associated with valid exchanges, and infor 

mation on the relationship of area code Service areas. 

The additional objects and advantages of the invention are 

Set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part 

are obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the 

invention may also be realized and attained by means of the 

instrumentalities and combinations particularly Set out in the 

appended claims. 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in 

and constitute part of the Specification, illustrate preferred 

embodiments of the invention, and together with the 

description, Serve to explain the principles of the invention. 

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting preferred embodiments of 

an apparatus for processing telephone numbers. 

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting a preferred embodiment of 

a method for processing telephone numbers. 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE 

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which 

are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 

FIG. 1 depicts preferred embodiments of an apparatus for 

processing telephone numbers. A preferred embodiment of 

the apparatus includes an area code processor and a caller 

interface. The area code processor has means, responsive to 

called party information, for producing a list of telephone 

numbers. The caller interface is in communication with the 

calling party and the area code processor, and has means for 

monitoring call initiation Signals, means that are responsive 

to the monitoring means for receiving called party 

information, and means that are responsive to the producing 

means for Selecting a target telephone number from the list 

of telephone numbers. A further preferred embodiment of 

the apparatus includes a call generator as well as the area 

code processor and the caller interface. The call generator 

has means for initiating a call to the target telephone number, 

and is responsive to the Selecting means. 

Preferred embodiments of the apparatus for processing 

telephone numbers of the present invention may be imple 

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mented in hardware, in Software on general or Special 

purpose computer Systems, or in a combination of hardware 

and software. These preferred embodiments may be inte 

grated into a Subscriber telephone unit, implemented as a 

Stand-alone device connected to the Subscriber's telephone line (including wireless, cable-TV lines, and other modes of 

telecommunication), implemented as a utility on a personal 

computer that may or may not be connected to the Internet 

or to a telephone line, or implemented as part of the 

telephone Switching System. In alternative embodiments, the 

apparatus may be implemented as is known in the art. 

The present invention may be employed with telephone 

systems using the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) 

or with other numbering schemes. The NANP scheme 

consists of a four-digit Subscriber number, a three-digit 

eXchange code, and a three-digit area code. In operation, the 

present invention attempts to Suggest appropriate area codes 

and eXchange codes when presented with a Subscriber 

number alone; and attempts to Suggest appropriate area 

codes when presented with a Subscriber number and an 

eXchange code, or with a Subscriber number, an exchange 

code and an area code. When using the present invention 

with non-NANP numbering schemes, it is necessary to 

relate, as is known in the art, appropriate portions of the 

nonNANP numbering scheme to the subscriber number, 

eXchange code, and area code elements. 

In the preferred embodiments depicted in FIG. 1, the 

caller interface is Caller Interface 140. In this preferred 

embodiment, Caller Interface 140 is in communication with 

Calling Party 180 and with Area Code Processor 110. AS is 

known in the art, Caller Interface 140 may be implemented 

in hardware, in Software, or in a combination of hardware 

and software. In a preferred embodiment, Calling Party 180 

is a Subscriber using a Subscriber telephone unit in commu 

nication with Caller Interface 140 through a standard Sub 

Scriber telephone line. In an alternative preferred embodiment, Calling Party 180 is a personal computer user, 

Caller Interface 140 is implemented on a personal computer, 

and the personal computer user communicates with Caller 

Interface 140 through the keyboard of the personal com 

puter. Calling Party 180 may access Caller Interface 140, in 

preferred embodiments, by other means as are known in the 

art. 

In the preferred embodiments depicted in FIG. 1, the 

means for monitoring call initiation Signals of the caller 

interface is Monitor 145. AS is known in the art, Monitor 145 

monitors call initiation signals emitted by Calling Party 180. 

In preferred embodiments, the call initiation signals may be 

Standard telephone Subscriber unit Signaling or may be 

Signals received from the keyboard of a personal computer, 

as is known in the art, that indicate a desire by Calling Party 

180 to utilize the apparatus of the present invention. 

In preferred embodiments, the apparatus of the present invention forms a transparent link between Calling Party 

180 and a telecommunications network until Monitor 145 

receives certain predesignated Sequences as part of the call 

initiation Signals. When one of these predesignated 

Sequences is received, Monitor 145 activates, as is known in 

the art, the other functional elements of the present inven 

tion. For example, in a preferred embodiment, a predesig 

nated Sequence is four numerals followed by a long pause. When Calling Party 180 enters this predesignated sequence 

on his subscriber unit keypad, it is interpreted by Monitor 

145 as signifying a desire to activate the present invention 

and the four numerals are interpreted as the four-digit Subscriber number of a called party. In a preferred embodiment, the predesignated Sequences are any call ini 
US 6,345,095 B1 

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tiation signals that indicate that Calling Party 180 is attempt ing to place a telephone call. In a preferred embodiment, the 

predesignated Sequences comprise call initiation Signals that 

include a full telephone number. In a further preferred embodiment, the predesignated Sequences comprise call 

initiation Signals that include a telephone number without an 

area code. In a preferred embodiment, the predesignated 

Sequences comprise call initiation signals that include a 

Subscriber number without an area code or an exchange 

code. In an alternative preferred embodiment, the call ini 

tiation signals may contain a particular activation Sequence, 

as is known in the art, and the predesignated Sequences 

include this activation Sequence. In this alternative preferred 

embodiment, the activation Sequence may include a code 

character Selected from the group consisting of if and *. 

These code characters are particularly useful when Calling 

Party 180 is using a standard subscriber telephone unit to 

communicate with the present invention. 

In the preferred embodiments depicted in FIG. 1, the 

means for receiving called party information of the caller 

interface is Receiver 150. AS described above, Receiver 150 

is responsive to Monitor 145 and remains inactive, as is 

known in the art, until Monitor 145 receives a predesignated 

sequence. In response to Monitor 145, Receiver 150 receives 

called party information from Calling Party 180. In preferred 

embodiments, the called party information may be received 

as Signaling from a Standard telephone Subscriber unit, 

Signaling received from the keyboard of a personal 

computer, or other signaling as may be known in the art for 

transmitting called party information. Additional methods of 

communicating with Calling Party 180 are described below 

in connection with Selector 155. The called party informa 

tion includes the Subscriber number, and may also include 

the eXchange code and/or the area code. AS is known in the 

art, Receiver 150 makes the called party information avail 

able for use within Caller Interface 140 and Area Code 

Processor 110. 

In a preferred embodiment, the Receiver 150 includes 

means for associating identification information with the 

calling party. For example, If the present invention is imple 

mented at a central office location, then the central office 

provides Receiver 150 with identification information on the 

calling party, as is known in the art. In an alternative 

preferred embodiment, the calling party may provide a code 

or password to Receiver 150 that, in turn, is used by the 

asSociating means to access previously Stored identification 

information for the calling party using the code or password. 

For example, in a preferred embodiment, if the present 

invention is accessed by means of a credit card call, then the 

credit card number would be used to access a “home” area 

code and exchange code associated with the owner of the 

credit card. Other means may be employed for associating 

identification information with the calling party as are 

known in the art. 

In a preferred embodiment, the calling party identification 

information includes calling party location information. In a 

preferred embodiment, this calling party location informa 

tion is a pre-designated “home” location for the calling 

party. In an alternative preferred embodiment, this calling 

party location information is derived from the telephone 

number of the telephone subscriber unit being used by Calling Party 180 to access the apparatus of the present 

invention. 

In the preferred embodiments depicted in FIG. 1, the 

means for Selecting a target telephone number from the list 

of telephone numbers is Selector 155. In this preferred 

embodiment, Selector 155 is responsive to Producer 115, 

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which is described below, and obtains the list of telephone 

numbers from Producer 115. AS is known in the art, Selector 

155 is an interactive user interface with Calling Party 180. 

Selector 155 presents Calling Party 180 with the list of 

telephone numbers and permits Calling Party 180 to select 

a target telephone number from the list of telephone num 

bers. In preferred embodiments, Selector 155 stores the 

target telephone number for future use, provides the target 

telephone number to an auto-dialer for Storage and future 

use, or provides the target telephone number to a call 

generator for initiation of a telephone call, as is known in the 

art, between Calling Party 180 and the target telephone 

number. If the list of telephone numbers contains only a 

Single telephone number, then, in a preferred embodiment, 

Selector 155 automatically designates the Single telephone 

number to be the target telephone number. In this case, 

however, in preferred embodiments, Selector 155 will still 

present the single telephone number to Calling Party 180 so 

that Calling Party 180 may note it. 

AS described below in connection with Producer 115, the 

list of telephone numbers may include valid telephone 

numbers in area code Service areas within a predetermined 

Scope responsive to calling party location information. 

When Selector 155 presents this list of telephone numbers to 

Calling Party 180, Calling Party 180 may determine that the 

predetermined Scope is too narrow. In this case, Calling 

Party 180 can signal Selector 155 to request, as is known in 

the art, a new search by Area Code Processor 110 based on 

a predetermined expanded-Scope. This request is communi 

cated by Selector 155 to Area Code Processor 110. 

As is known in the art, Selector 155 may perform other 

user interface functions related to controlling the operation 

of the apparatus of the present invention. For example, Calling Party 180 may select formats for the display of the 

list of telephone numbers through interaction with Selector 

155. 

The methods used by Selector 155 to interact with Calling 

Party 180 depend on the equipment used by Calling Party 

180 to communicate with the apparatus of the present invention. If Calling Party 180 is using a standard telephone 

Subscriber unit, then, as is known in the art, Calling Party 

180 may use the touchpad of the subscriber unit while 

Selector 155 uses a voice synthesizer. If a subscriber unit 

used by Calling Party 180 includes a display screen, then 

Selector 155 may communicate using the display Screen, or 

a voice synthesizer, or both. Similarly, if Calling Party 180 

is using a personal computer, then Calling Party 180 may use 

the computer keyboard while Selector 155 communicates 

with Calling Party 180 through the computer's display 

Screen, through a voice Synthesizer, or both. A wide variety 

of other user interface devices may also be employed as are 

known in the art. 

In the preferred embodiments depicted in FIG. 1, the area 

code processor is Area Code Processor 110. In the preferred 

embodiments, Area Code Processor 110 is in communica 

tion with Caller Interface 140. AS is known in the art, Area 

Code Processor 110 may be implemented in hardware, in 

Software, or in a combination of hardware and Software. In 

a preferred embodiment Area Code Processor 110 is imple 

mented as Software on a personal computer. 

In the preferred embodiments depicted in FIG. 1, the 

means for producing a list of telephone numbers of the area 

code processor is Producer 115. In preferred embodiments, 

Producer 115 is responsive to called party information 

obtained from Caller Interface 140 and produces a list of 

telephone numbers. The called party information is infor 
US 6,345,095 B1 

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mation provided by Calling Party 180 concerning the 

desired called party in a telephone call. The called party 

information may include a Subscriber number alone, the 

Subscriber number in combination with an exchange code, 

or a Subscriber number in combination with an exchange code and an area code. 

In the preferred embodiments depicted in FIG. 1, Pro 

ducer 115 includes telephone number Database 120. In a 

preferred embodiment, telephone number Database 120 

includes information on valid area codes, information on the 

geographical areas associated with valid area codes, infor 

mation on valid exchanges within valid area codes, and 

information on geographical areas associated with valid 

eXchanges. AS used herein in reference to telephone number 

Database 120, the word “valid’ merely means that a tele 

phone company or NANP Administrator has made the 

number or area code in question available for Service. It does 

not mean that a particular number is actually in Service at a 

particular time. “Geographical areas' generally refers to 

political divisions Such cities, towns, Suburbs, and regions, but may, in preferred embodiments, refer to geographical 

coordinates or to other indicators of Spatial location as are 

known in the art. 

In a preferred embodiment, Producer 115 includes means, 

as are known in the art, for updating telephone number 

Database 120. For example, if the apparatus of the present invention is implemented on a personal computer, then 

Database 120 may be periodically updated by contacting a 

Server on the Internet. If the apparatus of the present invention is connected to a public Switched telephone 

network, then Database 120 may be updated by dialing into 

a special database update Site. In Situations where updating 

Database 120 is difficult, it may be beneficial to limit the 

amount of information included in Database 120 to 

information, Such as area codes and eXchange codes, that do 

not change as frequently as, for example, Subscriber num 

bers. 

In response to the called party information, Producer 115 

produces, with reference to telephone number Database 120, 

a list of telephone numbers. This list of telephone numbers 

contains only valid telephone numbers, as determined by 

telephone number Database 120, that are related to the called 

party information. For example, if the called party informa 

tion includes a Subscriber number, an exchange code, and an 

area code, then Producer 115 determines from Database 120, 

as is known in the art, if the given area code and exchange 

code combination is valid. If the combination is valid then 

the list of telephone numbers produced by Producer 115 

includes the given Subscriber number, exchange code, and 

area code, along with information concerning the geographi 

cal area or other available information associated with the 

eXchange code and area code combination. The list of 

telephone numbers and other information is passed by Caller 

Interface 140 to Calling Party 180. If the combination is not 

valid, then this discrepancy is passed to Caller Interface 140 

for transmission to Calling Party 180. 

In a preferred embodiment, telephone number Database 

120 additionally includes information on the valid Sub 

Scriber telephone numbers within valid exchanges. In a 

preferred embodiment, information concerning Subscribers, 

Such as their names, is Stored in Database 120 and associated 

with the valid subscriber telephone numbers. Similarly to 

the previous example, if the called party information 

includes a Subscriber number, an exchange code, and an area 

code, then Producer 115 determines from Database 120, as 

is known in the art, if the given area code, exchange code, 

and Subscriber number combination is valid and proceeds as 

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in the previous example, where, however, information con 

cerning Subscribers, associated with telephone numbers on 

the list of telephone numbers, could also be made known to Calling Party 180. 

In a preferred embodiment, telephone number Database 

120 additionally includes information on the relationship of 

area code Service areas. In preferred embodiments, this 

relationship information may indicate the geographic proX 

imity of area code Service areas to each other, or may 

indicate the likelihood that a call to a particular area code 

Service area was, in fact, intended for a different particular 

area code Service area. AS an example of the latter, a call to 

a number in the 301 area code in western Maryland, which 

includes areas close to Washington, D.C., may have been 

intended for the 202 area code in Washington, D.C., the 703 

area code in northern Virginia which also includes areas 

close to Washington, D.C., or the 240 area code that overlays 

the 301 area code. A call to a number in the 301 area code 

could, however, have been intended for other area codes in 

the region Such as area code 410 in eastern Maryland, the 

443 overlay area code of area code 410, area code 302 in 

Delaware, or area code 717 in Pennsylvania. Two predeter 

mined Standards of Scope, based on information on the 

relationships between area code Service areas, may be cre 

ated So that certain area codes are designated to be within a 

predetermined Scope of a Specific area code, while those and 

additional area codes may be designated to be within a 

predetermined expanded-Scope of that area code. Continu 

ing the 301 western Maryland area code example, the 

predetermined scope of the 301 area code could be the 301, 

703, 202, and the 240 area codes, while the predetermined 

expanded scope could be the 301, 703, 202, 240, 410, 443, 

302, and 717 area codes. Area codes assigned to wireless 

Service, in whole or in part, may be part of the predetermined 

Scope or the predetermined expanded-Scope of a specific area code. 

In a preferred embodiment, at least one predesignated area 

code Service area is considered to be within the predeter mined Scope. In a further preferred embodiment, at least one 

predesignated area code is a toll-free Service access code. In 

Some situations it may be desirable to consider at least one 

area code Service area to be within the predetermined Scope 

of all other area code Service areas. For example, if a 

particular Calling Party 180 very frequently calls a particular 

area code Service area, then it may be desirable to assume 

that any calls made by that Calling Party 180 may be 

intended for that particular area code Service area. It may 

also be beneficial to assume that tollfree Service acceSS 

codes have nationwide Service areas and are, therefore, 

within the predetermined Scope of each other. 

In preferred embodiments utilizing predetermined Scope and predetermined expanded-Scope designations, the list of 

telephone numbers produced by Producer 115 may include 

valid telephone numbers in area code Service areas within a 

predetermined Scope or an predetermined expanded-Scope 

responsive to the called party information. For example, the 

called party information may include a valid Subscriber 

number, exchange code, and area code for a telephone 

number (“the called number”) in the San Francisco area. 

Using the predetermined Scope designations, the list of 

telephone numbers presented to Calling Party 180 by Selec 

tor 155 would then include the called number, as well as 

other valid telephone numbers within the predetermined 

scope of the called number that have the same subscriber 

number and exchange code as the called number, but dif 

ferent area codes In this Same example, but using the 

predetermined expanded-Scope designations, the list of tele 
US 6,345,095 B1 

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phone numbers presented to Calling Party 180 by Selector 

155 would include the called number, as well as other valid 

telephone numbers within the predetermined expanded 

scope of the called number that have the same subscriber 

number and eXchange code as the called number. Since the 

list of telephone numbers presented to Calling Party 180 by 

Selector 155 in both examples would include geographical 

information on the area code Service areas of each number, Calling Party 180 could determined the most likely tele 

phone number for the called party based on this geographi 

cal information. 

Continuing consideration of preferred embodiments that 

utilize the predetermined Scope and predetermined 

expanded-Scope designations, an area code and an exchange 

code provided in the called party information may not be 

found to be a valid combination. In this case, the present invention assumes that the exchange code provided is cor 

rect and that the area code provided is in the predetermined 

Scope or the predetermined expanded-Scope of the correct 

area code of the called party. Thus, continuing the example and using the predetermined Scope designations, the list of 

telephone numbers presented to the Calling Party 180 by 

Selector 155 would not include the called number but would 

include other valid telephone numbers within the predeter 

mined Scope of the called number that have the same 

Subscriber number and exchange code as the called number. 

Similarly, but using the predetermined expanded-Scope 

designations, the list of telephone numbers would not 

include the called number but would include other valid 

telephone numbers within the predetermined expanded 

scope of the called number that have the same subscriber 

number and exchange code as the called number. In a 

preferred embodiment, when the called number is not found 

to be valid, Selector 155 provides this information to Calling 

Party 180 through a separate message, as is known in the art. 

In the above examples, the apparatus of the present 

invention is able to provide useful information concerning 

the validity of telephone numbers without any reference to 

location or other information about Calling Party 180. The 

apparatus acquires additional utility, however, when infor 

mation about Calling Party 180 is known. 

AS described above in reference to Receiver 150, in 

preferred embodiments, identification information is asso 

ciated with the calling party, and this identification infor 

mation includes calling party location information. In a 

preferred embodiment, the list of telephone numbers 

includes valid telephone numbers in area code Service areas 

within a predetermined Scope responsive to calling party 

location information. In a further preferred embodiment, the 

list of telephone numbers includes valid telephone numbers 

in area code Service areas within an predetermined expanded-Scope responsive to calling party location infor 

mation. These preferred embodiments perform in a similar 

manner to the San Francisco example provided above 

where, however, the called party information does not 

include an area code. In these cases, an area code is derived 

from the calling party location information, as is known in 

the art, and is used as the area code of the called party. Thus, 

in preferred embodiments where calling party location infor 

mation is available and where the called party area code is 

not provided, the predetermined Scope or predetermined 

expanded-Scope is determined with reference to the location 

of the calling party. 

In a preferred embodiment, the called party information 

may include a Subscriber number but no exchange code or 

area code. In this situation, the area code and eXchange code 

derived from the calling party location information are 

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added to the called party information, and the called party information is then processed by Producer 115 using pre determined Scope and predetermined expanded-Scope as 

described above. In this situation, in an alternative preferred embodiment, Database 120 further comprises information 

on the relationship of central office exchanges Similar to the 

information on the relationship of area code Service areas, and the predetermined Scope and predetermined expanded 

Scope are defined for central office exchanges as well as area 

codes. In this alternative preferred embodiment, the area 

code and exchange codes derived from the calling party location information are added to the called party information, and the called party information is then pro cessed by Producer 115 using predetermined Scope or pre determined expanded-Scope applied to both area codes and 

eXchanges. 

In the preferred embodiments depicted in FIG. 1, the call 

generator is Call Generator 160. In a preferred embodiment, 

Call Generator 160 is in communication with Caller Inter 

face 140 and Telecommunications Network 190. AS is 

known in the art, Call Generator 160 may be implemented in hardware, in Software, or in a combination of hardware 

and Software. In a preferred embodiment, Telecommunica 

tions Network 190 is a public switched telephone network. 

In an alternative preferred embodiment, Telecommunica 

tions Network 190 is the Internet. In preferred embodiments, 

and as is known in the art, Telecommunications Network 

190 may be a public or private network, implemented using 

circuit Switched, packet Switched, or point-to-point commu 

nications techniques and technologies, and accessed through 

conventional wires, cable-TV lines, or wireleSS modes. 

In a preferred embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the means 

for initiating a call to the target telephone number of Call 

Generator 160 is Initiator 165. In this preferred embodiment, 

Initiator 165 is responsive to Selector 155. As described 

above, Selector 155 selects a target telephone number 

through interaction with Calling Party 180 and provides the 

target telephone number to Call Generator 160. Initiator 165 

then, as is known in the art, initiates a telephone call to the 

target telephone number. In preferred embodiments, Calling 

Party 180 may, through interaction with Selector 155, direct 

Initiator 165 to abort the telephone call or to dial the 

telephone number, provided by Calling Party 180 as part of 

the called party information, exactly as provided. In a 

preferred embodiment, whenever the list of telephone num 

bers contains only a single telephone number, Selector 155 

automatically designates the Single telephone number as the 

target telephone number and provides that number to Call 

Generator 160 for initiation of a telephone call without 

consulting Calling Party 180. 

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart of a preferred embodiment of 

a method for processing telephone numbers. This method 

includes the Steps of monitoring call initiation Signals from 

a calling party; receiving called party information in 

response to the monitoring Step; producing a list of tele 

phone numbers in response to the called party information; 

and Selecting a target telephone number from the list of 

telephone numbers in response to the producing Step. Pre 

ferred embodiments of the method for processing telephone 

numbers of the present invention may be implemented in 

hardware, in Software on general or Special-purpose com 

puter Systems, or in a combination of hardware and Soft 

ware. Integration of these preferred embodiments into Sub 

Scriber telephone units, personal computers, or other devices 

may be performed as described above in reference to FIG. 

1. 

In the preferred embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the step 

of monitoring call initiation Signals from a calling party is 
US 6,345,095 B1 

11 

accomplished by Monitor Call Initiation Signals step 210. 

As is known in the art, Monitor Call Initiation Signals step 

210 monitors call initiation Signals emitted by a calling 

party. Additional information concerning the monitoring 

function and call initiation signals is provided above in 

reference to Monitor 145 and Calling Party 180 depicted in 

FIG.1. In a preferred embodiment, the call initiation signals contain an activation Sequence. In a further preferred 

embodiment, the activation Sequence includes a code char 

acter Selected from the group consisting of if and *. Addi 

tional information concerning activation Sequences is also 

provided in reference to Monitor 145 depicted in FIG. 1. 

In the preferred embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the step 

of receiving called party information is accomplished by 

Receive Called Party Information step 220. In response to 

Monitor Call Initiation Signals step 210, Receive Called 

Party Information step 220 receives called party information 

from the calling party. Additional information concerning 

the receiving function and called party information is pro 

vided above in reference to Receiver 150 depicted in FIG.1. 

In a preferred embodiment, Receive Called Party Informa 

tion Step 220 includes the Step of associating identification 

information with the calling party. In a preferred 

embodiment, the identification information includes calling 

party location information. Additional information concern 

ing identification information and calling party location 

information is provided above in reference to Receiver 150. 

In the preferred embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the step of producing a list of telephone numbers is accomplished by 

Produce List Of Telephone Numbers step 230. In response 

to the called party information, Produce List Of Telephone Numbers step 230 produces a list of telephone numbers. 

Additional information concerning the producing function is 

provided above in reference to Producer 115 depicted in 

FIG. 1. In a preferred embodiment, Produce List Of Tele 

phone Numbers step 230 includes the use of a telephone 

number database. In a further preferred embodiment, the 

telephone number database includes information on valid 

area codes, information on the geographical areas associated 

with valid area codes, information on valid exchanges within valid area codes, and information on geographical 

areas associated with valid exchanges. In a further preferred 

embodiment, the telephone number database includes infor 

mation on valid telephone numbers within valid exchanges. 

In a preferred embodiment, Produce List Of Telephone 

Numbers step 230 includes the step of updating the tele 

phone number database. Additional information concerning 

the database updating function is provided above in refer 

ence to Producer 115 and Database 120, depicted in FIG. 1. 

In a preferred embodiment, the telephone number data 

base includes information on the relationship of area code 

Service areas. AS described above in more detail in reference 

to Database 120, depicted in FIG. 1, in preferred 

embodiments, this relationship information may indicate the 

geographic proximity of area code Service areas to each 

other, or may indicate the likelihood that a call to a particular 

area code Service area was, in fact, intended for a different 

particular area code Service area. Two predetermined Stan 

dards of Scope based on relationship information may be 

created So that certain area codes are designated to be within 

a predetermined Scope of a Specific area code, while those 

and additional area codes may be designated to be within an 

predetermined expanded-Scope of the Specific area code. 

In a preferred embodiment, the list of telephone numbers 

includes valid telephone numbers in area code Service areas 

within a predetermined Scope responsive to calling party 

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location information. In a further preferred embodiment, the 

list of telephone numbers includes valid telephone numbers 

in area code Service areas within an predetermined expanded-Scope responsive to the calling party location 

information. Additional information concerning the prede termined Scope and the predetermined expanded-Scope are 

provided above in reference to Database 120, depicted in 

FIG. 1. 

In a preferred embodiment, at least one predesignated area 

code Service area is considered to be within the predeter mined Scope. In a further preferred embodiment, at least one 

pre-designated area code is a toll-free Service acceSS code. 

Additional information concerning pre-designated area code 

Service areas and toll-free Service access codes is provided 

above in reference to Database 120 depicted in FIG. 1. 

In the preferred embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the step 

of Selecting a target telephone number from the list of 

telephone numbers is accomplished by Select Target Tele 

phone Number step 240. In response to Produce List Of 

Telephone Numbers step 230, Select Target Telephone Num 

bers step 240 obtains the list of telephone numbers, presents 

the calling party with the list of telephone numbers, and 

permits the calling party to Select the target telephone 

number from the list. Additional information concerning the 

Selection function is provided above in reference to Selector 

155, depicted in FIG. 1. 

In a preferred embodiment not depicted in FIG. 2, the 

method for processing telephone numbers of the present 

invention includes the Steps of monitoring call initiation 

Signals from a calling party; receiving called party informa 

tion in response to the monitoring Step, producing a list of 

telephone numbers in response to the called party informa 

tion; Selecting a target telephone number from the list of 

telephone numbers in response to the producing Step; and 

initiating a call to the target telephone number through a 

telecommunications network in response to the Selecting 

Step. In a preferred embodiment, the monitoring Step, the 

receiving Step, the producing step, and the Selecting Step are 

performed as described above in reference to FIG. 2. In a 

preferred embodiment, the Step of initiating a call to the 

target telephone number through a telecommunications net 

work is performed by initiating a telephone call, as is known 

in the art and in response to the Selecting Step, to the target 

telephone number. Additional information concerning the 

initiating function and the telecommunications network is 

provided above in reference to Call Generator 160, depicted 

in FIG. 1. 

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various 

modifications can be made to this invention of an apparatus and method for processing telephone numbers, without 

departing from the Scope or Spirit of the invention or of the 

claims. It is also intended that the present invention and 

appended claims cover modifications, variations, and 

equivalents of the apparatus and method for processing 

telephone numbers of the present invention. 

I claim: 

1. An apparatus for processing telephone numbers, com 

prising: 

an area code processor having 

means, responsive to called party information, for 

producing a list of telephone numbers, and 

a caller interface, in communication with a calling party and the area code processor, having 

means for monitoring call initiation Signals, 

means, responsive to the monitoring means, for receiv 

ing called party information, and 
US 6,345,095 B1 

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means, responsive to the producing means, for Select 

ing a target telephone number from the list of tele 

phone numbers. 

2. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 1, wherein the call initiation Signals contain an acti 

Vation Sequence. 

3. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 2, wherein the activation Sequence comprises a code 

character Selected from the group consisting of it and *. 

4. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 1, wherein the receiving means comprises means for 

asSociating identification information with the calling party. 

5. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 4, wherein calling party identification information 

includes calling party location information. 

6. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 5, wherein the list of telephone numbers comprises 

valid telephone numbers in area code Service areas within a 

predetermined Scope responsive to calling party location 

information. 

7. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 6, wherein the list of telephone numbers comprises 

valid telephone numbers in area code Service areas within a 

predetermined expanded-Scope responsive to calling party 

location information. 

8. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 6, wherein at least one pre-designated area code 

Service area is considered to be within the predetermined 

Scope. 

9. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 8, wherein at least one pre-designated area code is a 

toll-free Service access code. 

10. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 1, wherein the producing means comprises a tele 

phone number database. 

11. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 10, wherein the telephone number database comprises 

information on valid area codes, information on the geo graphical areas associated with valid area codes, information 

on Valid exchanges within valid area codes, and information 

on geographical areas associated with valid exchanges. 12. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 11, wherein the telephone number database further 

comprises information on valid telephone numbers within 

valid exchanges. 

13. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 11, wherein the telephone number database further 

comprises information on the relationship of area code 

Service areas. 

14. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 10 wherein the producing means further comprises 

means for updating the telephone number database. 

15. The apparatus for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 1, further comprising a call generator, in communi 

cation with the caller interface and a telecommunications 

network, having means, responsive to the Selecting means, 

for initiating a call to the target telephone number. 

16. A method for processing telephone numbers, com 

prising the Steps of 

monitoring call initiation signals from a calling party; 

5 

15 

25 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

14 

receiving, responsive to the monitoring Step, called party 

information; 

producing, responsive to the called party information, a 

list of telephone numbers, and 

Selecting, responsive to the producing Step, a target tele 

phone number from the list of telephone numbers. 

17. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 16, wherein the call initiation signals contain an 

activation Sequence. 

18. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 17, wherein the activation Sequence comprises a code 

character Selected from the group consisting of it and *. 

19. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 16, wherein the receiving Step comprises the Step of 

asSociating identification information with the calling party. 

20. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 19, wherein identification information includes calling 

party location information. 

21. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 20, wherein list of telephone numbers comprises valid 

telephone numbers in area code Service areas within a 

predetermined Scope responsive to calling party location 

information. 

22. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 21, wherein the list of telephone numbers comprises 

valid telephone numbers in area code Service areas within a 

predetermined expanded-Scope responsive to the calling 

party location information. 

23. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 21, wherein at least one pre-designated area code 

Service area is considered to be within the predetermined 

Scope. 

24. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 23, wherein at least one pre-designated area code is a 

toll-free Service access code. 

25. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 16, wherein the producing Step comprises the use of 

a telephone number database. 

26. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 25, wherein the telephone number database comprises 

information on valid area codes, information on the geo graphical areas associated with valid area codes, information 

on valid exchanges within valid area codes, and information 

on geographical areas associated with valid exchanges. 

27. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 26, wherein the telephone number database further 

comprises information on valid telephone numbers within 

valid exchanges. 

28. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 26, wherein the telephone number database further 

comprises information on the relationship of area code 

Services areas. 

29. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 25, wherein the producing Step further comprises the 

Step of updating the telephone number database. 

30. The method for processing telephone numbers of 

claim 16, further comprising the Step of initiating, respon Sive to the Selecting Step, a call to the target telephone 

number through a telecommunications network. 

k k k k k