Abstract:
A method for discovering and assigning telephone numbers that have commercial, trademark or vanity significance to requesting subscribers on a worldwide scale. The method includes determining numbers that have value because they potentially will be requested for commercial, trademark or vanity purposes by companies or persons active in various locations in the world. Language translations and transliterations are also taken into account in order to obtain a telephone number that will retain its commercial, trademark or vanity value in an area that speaks a different language.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates to worldwide network telephone systems and more particularly to telephone number portability within worldwide network telephone systems and the assignment of telephone numbers therein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The public telephone system is operated by entry of a series of numbers by such means as pulse dialing a rotary telephone, pressing buttons of a push button telephone to enter dual tone multiple frequency (DTMF) or pulse codes, and initiating some automatic entry device such as a modem or facsimile machine or out-of-band customer premises equipment signals as in ISDN sets. Currently within United States local telephone calls require seven digits (YXX-XXXX) and long distance calls require the same seven digits plus a three digit area code at the beginning. A long distance code digit of “1” or some other long distance code is also added before the area code and the seven digit local number. Originally the first three digits of a local number identified the telephone switch that would process the call, and to a great extent still do. That was the switch to process the call because historically that was also the switch to which the telephone having that local number was connected. As the original regulated telephone service monopoly to break up and competition began, the idea of number portability became important and popular. A basic form of number portability for people who wanted it is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,604 issued Aug. 17, 1993 to D. Ryan. In the Telecommunications Act of 1996 local telephone service companies are required to provide local telephone number portability where possible. 
     Since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the public switched telephone network (PSTN) has continued to become more open and competitive. Many localities already have multiple mobile telephone service providers, multiple long distance service providers and multiple local service providers. For customers to receive the maximum benefit from such competition, true portability of telephone numbers must be provided. Telephone number portability allows the customer to change service providers and/or geographic locations without changing telephone numbers. For commercial enterprises that is important because it means the telephone numbers on the stationary, the business cards, the yellow page advertisements, the fax machine settings and their customers&#39; memories do not have to change to remain successful when the enterprise changes its service provider. This is especially important if a customer has a special number that takes advantage of the letter sub-sets of the alphabet that appear on numbers 2 through 9 of a rotary dial or a push button keypad to spell out some significant sequence. Examples of such numbers for toll free commercial entities are: “1-800-ABCDEFG” (also known as “1-800-222-3334”) for selling reading and spelling learning aids, or “1-800-HOLIDAY” (also known as “ 465-4329 ”) for Holiday Inn Hotel reservations and information. Holiday Inn Hotel is a trademark of Bass Hotels and Resorts Inc. Non-toll free special numbers either long distance or local are possible also. Such numbers have a goodwill value, which would be lost if the number was not portable when the customer changed service providers. 
     Because of the costs in customer goodwill, stationary, and personal contacts, many areas have mandated number portability. Number portability means that numbers not normally assigned to a local telephone switch can be transferred to customers of such a local switch. That is why number portability is sometimes referred to as personal numbering. But the very existence of number portability/personal numbering frees telephone numbers and opens the door for enlarged use of telephone numbers. Such enlarged use is possible anywhere that telephone calls can be made by dialing or keying according to alphabetic characters on the calling terminal, no matter what language or alphabet is used. Because of the value personal numbering can have worldwide it is desirable that such be extended to other countries and other languages, where possible. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly stated in accordance with one aspect of the invention, the aforementioned problems are addressed and an advance in the art achieved by providing a method of assigning a telephone number to a subscriber that has an intrinsic value. The method includes the steps of: creating a first database of valuable combinations at a first location; comparing numbers not in use at the first location to the first database of valuable combinations to create a first database of valuable combinations available for assignment; creating a second database of valuable combinations at a second location; comparing numbers&#39; not in use at the second location to the second database of valuable combinations to create a second database of valuable combinations available for assignment; searching the first database of valuable combinations available for assignment with a keyword; searching the second database of valuable combinations available for assignment with the keyword; returning results to the subscriber of the keyword search of the first database of valuable combinations available for assignment offering the subscriber a first number for the first location; returning results to the subscriber of the keyword search of the second database of valuable combinations available for assignment offering the subscriber a second number for the second location. Upon subscriber&#39;s acceptance, the first and second numbers are assigned to subscriber in their respective locations. After the numbers are assigned, they are removed from the databases containing available numbers. Because of differences in number control and allocation in the first and second locations, the first number and the second number can be and are identical. Where identical numbers are not available in the first and second locations, the first and second numbers searched out and assigned have the same terminating digits. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the aforementioned problems are addressed and an advance in the art achieved by providing a method of assigning a telephone number to a subscriber that has an intrinsic value. The method includes the steps of: creating a first database of valuable combinations at a first location; comparing numbers not in use at the first location to the first database of valuable combinations to create a first database of valuable combinations available for assignment; creating a second database of valuable combinations at a second location; comparing numbers not in use at the second location to the second database of valuable combinations to create a second database of valuable combinations available for assignment; searching the first database of valuable combinations available for assignment with a keyword; searching the second database of valuable combinations available for assignment with the keyword; returning results to the subscriber of the keyword search of the first database of valuable combinations available for assignment offering the subscriber a first number for the first location; returning results to the subscriber of the keyword search of the second database of valuable combinations available for assignment offering the subscriber a second number for the second location; searching for the keyword in a third database of numbers not in use in a third location having a different country code than the first and the second locations; and returning results to the subscriber of the keyword search of the third location and offering subscriber a third number for the third location. Upon subscriber&#39;s acceptance, the first, second and third numbers are assigned to subscriber in their respective locations. After the numbers are assigned, they are removed from the respective databases containing available numbers. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a simplified block of a workstation for finding valuable number sequences. 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for finding and using valuable number sequences. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system for matching a subscriber&#39;s inquiry for a type of valuable number sequences. 
     FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system for matching a subscriber&#39;s inquiry or its equivalent for a type of valuable number sequences that goes beyond the local switch and includes inquiries in other countries and in other languages. 
     FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method in accordance with present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating searching in accordance with FIG.  5  and actions taken based upon the searching results. 
     FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating another embodiment of searching in accordance with FIG.  5  and actions taken based upon the searching results. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1 is a simplified block of a work station  10  useful for practicing an embodiment of the invention. The work station  10  has a processor unit  12  which processes information and outputs information in various forms. Processor  12  is connected to a memory  14  for storing long-term and short term information. Memory  14  may include ROM and RAM or their equivalents, as is known in workstations. Processor  12  is also connected to a local storage device  15 , which may be a magnetic disk or similar device for long term storage of fairly large amounts of information such as application programs, files, records, and databases. Processor  12  is also connected to user input and output devices  16 ,  18  and  19 . Output device  16  is a speaker which allows the user to hear beeps and clicks that workstations sometimes output as cues to the operator that something is being processed or needs operator input. Speaker  16  is also used to audibly present tone sequences such as dual tone multiple frequency (DTMF) sequences to a user for evaluation. Processor  12  is also connected to a keyboard  19  and a display  18  in order to enable input from a user and visual output to a user, as is common with workstations. 
     Processor  12 , memory  14 , local storage device  15 , speaker  16 , display  18  and keyboard  19  enable workstation  10  to perform many reading, comparing, querying and writing tasks on integers, characters and databases quite well. Workstation  10  has considerable capabilities in those areas as a stand alone unit; however, interface  20  allows the workstation  10  to connect to the outside world. In this case, the outside world includes a telecommunications signaling network world and telecommunications network databases, such as local routing number (LRN) database  22 . LRN database  22  contains the local routings for all the exchanges for all the local switches that use the database  22 . LRN database  22  besides keeping local routing information for numbers in use, also keeps unused number information for the area served by the local switches. This group of unused numbers is used primarily for assigning telephone numbers to new applicants. 
     Interface  20  also connects workstation  10  to another database, the unused number database (UNDB)  24 . UNDB  24  is populated with unused numbers from the other databases, such as LRN  22 , and may contain numbers from other than the local routing switch area. The unused numbers in UNDB  24  may be already grouped into groups of numbers that have some intrinsic value and groups of numbers that have been found not to have intrinsic value beyond being able to complete a call. Workstation  10  or a similar station is capable of providing and might provide the testing/filtering action according to names, synonyms, alternative spellings, etc., needed to separate the numbers with intrinsic value from those not found to have intrinsic value. 
     Alternatively, UNDB  24  is just a database of all unused numbers that are available to a user in the user&#39;s location. In such a case, the accessing terminal initiates a search of possible number combinations using various rules, such as rules regarding synonyms, and alternative spelling. Such a system is shown in FIG. 2. A user at terminal  30  is connected to a local switch  32 . Terminal  30  must at least be a DTMF telephone, but could be more sophisticated such as an ISDN terminal or even a computer terminal. Terminal  30  calls a number selection service number for requesting commercially significant and vanity (CSV) telephone numbers on switch  32 . Upon receiving a call from terminal  30 , local switch  32  replies with a request that the user at terminal  30  enter the desired CSV number. Local switch  32  then queries databases  22  and  24  via signaling network function  34  as to the availability of the requested CSV number. LRN DB  22  and UNDB  24  respond to local switch  32  with a number available or a number not available response. If the user requested CSV number is available, then local switch  32  assigns that number to the user and makes charges according to whatever financial arrangements exist between the service provider owning local switch  32  and the user. Along with the character by character query, local switch  32  may also query LRN DB  22  and UNDB  24  for related CSV number candidates that are not character by character matches. The query for numbers related to a user CSV numbers takes some processing power, which may be at switch  32 , in the databases themselves  22 ,  24  or resort may be made to a workstation such as workstation  10 . The query for related numbers will be a limited special case of the process that searches for CSV numbers, so workstation  10  is a good choice to provide the processing power. 
     One or more CSV number candidates are returned from LRN DB  22  and UNDB  24 , they are presented to the user for selection and approval. Preferably, any price premium(s) for high intrinsic value number(s) is presented at this time for user&#39;s selection and approval, also. Thus, the user can evaluate whether the CSV number is worth the premium cost. If the CSV number is not worth the cost, but the user needs a new telephone number of some sort, one of the non-premium numbers is issued to the user. If one of the vanity numbers is worth the cost, the user accepts a premium number and the premium cost. This cost may be billed to the user&#39;s telephone bill, or charged to an account number, such as a credit card account. After selection of a number by the user, the number is removed from the data base of unused numbers in UNDB  24  so it will not be issued to someone else. 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment concerns a sale of a user&#39;s existing telephone number as a premium number. Often commercial users are assigned a block of telephone numbers for a fee. This embodiment recognizes that quite often the entire block is not used by the commercial enterprise and that there may be some premium number combinations within the block. With the flexibility of number portability, unused premium numbers could be offered and sold by the block number holder. Such a commercial user would use remote access terminal  40 , or a similar device to access MNEMONIC EVALUATION WORKSTATION  50 . MNEMONIC EVALUATION WORKSTATION  50  receives one or more numbers from remote access unit  40  that the commercial user would like to sell. Workstation  50  processes the query or queries from remote access unit  40  to evaluate the value of the number(s) provided according to programmed rules. The numbers are evaluated for context as a word, context as a string of words, context as an alphabetic string, context as an alpha-numeric string and context as a tone sequence. Workstation  50  uses a rules based program similar to the premium number finding program used by workstation  10  to come up with a premium number database in order to evaluate the value of the number submitted for sale by the user. Word contexts may be exact spellings of names or descriptive nouns. For example, for a bakery, a number containing ‘bakery’ ( 225379 ) would be a direct context. Further, telephone numbers containing words such as ‘bread’ ( 27323 ) or ‘cakes’ ( 22537 ) might also make good telephone numbers for a bakery. Workstation  50  also looks for word strings: ‘hot buns’ is an example of a possible two word string for a bakery. Alphabetic strings are inexact spellings of words such as ‘bakry’ ( 22579 ) for a bakery. Alphanumeric strings are strings that describe the user using letters and numbers somehow. Bakery 1  ( 2253791 ) is one example for bakery number one. Tonal strings are tone sequences that have some meaning to the caller and thus aid in remembering the number. The tone sequence  3334  or  33343334 , which sound like the theme of Beethoven&#39;s fifth symphony, are examples of possible numbers for a music store or a local symphony&#39;s ticket and information number. Tone sequence rules about determining dominate themes from number of times used in a work and tone translation/transposition rules to establish known tone sequences available by DTMF tones on a telephone are used. Once such tone sequence rules are set up, workstation  50  builds a database of tone sequences and associate the context of the work with the derived sequence by processing musical pieces. Alternatively, a human with knowledge of significant musical tone sequences would perform the tone sequence database. 
     Once workstation  50  has been programmed to process number queries, it may accept numbers for evaluation from remote access unit  40 . The workstation  50  can offer the commercial user a predetermined price depending on how long the number is and how good a CSV word (i.e. exact spelling vis-a-vis a phonic or approximate spelling) it is and the user can purchase the number or not. Alternatively, the number or numbers may be auctioned off. Such an auction could be held on the world wide web or some equivalent public forum. To facilitate such an auction, the offered numbers would be set out on a web page after being processed by workstation  50 . Workstation  50  or some other workstation (not shown) would operate as a web server. The web server would connect via interface  60  to the Internet  62 . Client  1  ( 64 ) and client  2  ( 66 ) using web browsers or similar interfaces would view the web page and have an opportunity to bid on the premium telephone numbers. Upon the end of the auction, the web server workstation would charge the winning party the auction price and issue the number to the winning party. 
     Until now, the description has concerned embodiments that involved the local switch. The remaining embodiments described concern embodiments that involve other switches or other public switched telephone networks. Referring now to FIG. 4, an embodiment useful for obtaining worldwide telephone numbers that have a premium value is shown. It should be noted that items with similar numbers in different figures perform similar functions. This embodiment concerns a purchase of an existing telephone number as a premium number. Often commercial companies change their names and/or trademarks and would like a new telephone number to go along with their name or trademark. Further, multinational companies would like new telephone numbers around the world that go with their name or trademark. Also, within countries where there are areas where the population speaks a language that is different from the country&#39;s dominate language, multinational companies may want their names or trademarks translated in that different language. With the flexibility of number portability and the global reach of telecommunication systems, unused premium numbers fitting a multinational company&#39;s needs could be identified, offered and issued. 
     Consider, as an example, a commercial subscriber (or a private individual who does not mind the cost) would enter a request upon terminal  30 , or a similar device to access MNEMONIC EVALUATION WORKSTATION  50  via local switch  32  and signaling network unit  34 . MNEMONIC EVALUATION WORKSTATION  50  receives one or more numbers from terminal  30  that correspond to one or more keywords which the user would like to use. Workstation  50  processes the query or queries from terminal  30  and evaluates the value of the number(s) requested. The numbers are evaluated for context as a word, context as a string of words, context as an alphabetic string, context as an alpha-numeric string and context as a tone sequence. Workstation  50  uses a rules based program similar to the premium number finding program used by workstation  10  to come up with a premium number database in order to evaluate the value of the number submitted for sale by the user. As described for the embodiment of FIG. 3, word contexts may be exact spellings of names or descriptive nouns. For example, for a bakery, a number containing ‘bakery’ ( 225379 ) would be a direct context. Further, telephone numbers containing words such as ‘bread’ ( 27323 ) or ‘cakes’ ( 22537 ) might also make good telephone numbers for a bakery. Workstation  50  also looks for word strings: ‘hot buns’ is an example of a possible two word string for a bakery. Alphabetic strings are inexact spellings of words such as ‘bakry’ ( 22579 ) for a bakery. Alphanumeric strings are strings that describe the user using letters and numbers somehow. Bakery 1  ( 2253791 ) is one example for bakery number one. Tonal strings are tone sequences that have some meaning to the caller and thus aid in remembering the number. The tone sequence  3334  or  33343334 , which sound like the theme of Beethoven&#39;s fifth symphony, are examples of possible numbers for a music store or a local symphony&#39;s ticket and information number. Tone sequence rules about determining dominate themes from number of times used in a work and tone translation/transpositions to establish known tone sequences available on a telephone are used. Once such rules are set up, workstation  50  can build a database of tone sequences and associate the context of the work with the derived sequence by processing musical pieces. 
     Workstation  50  processes the queries for numbers from terminal  30 . If the numbers are found available, workstation  50  can offer the user a predetermined price depending on how long the number is and how good a word (i.e. exact spelling vis-a-vis a phonic or approximate spelling) and the user can take it or decline. 
     For locations other than local, even worldwide locations, the request can go beyond the local switch  32  and beyond even national calling numbers. In such a case, the request goes through gateway switch  82  and signaling network  84 , to a mnemonic workstation  100  located in a different location. The workstation  100  is essentially the sane as workstation  50 , only workstation  100  queries the databases  72  and  74  for available numbers in its location that are some type of match for the subscriber&#39;s queries. Many times different locations will have the same last numbers but differ in area code, or in the case of toll free numbers, i.e.  800 ,  888 ,  887  etc., the same number can be used by different subscribers as long as they are in different locations. Without the location constraint, such numbers could not be subject to number portability, unless the subscriber would be willing to pay for both. 
     So workstation  100  queries databases  72  and  74  and returns the results to subscriber on terminal  30 . The subscriber&#39;s request can be either directly to workstation  100 , or the request may be coordinated and made through workstation  50 . The subscriber then may see what numbers, and hence keywords, are available not only on local databases  22  and  24  for the local area, but also what is available on a second location on databases  72  and  74 . 
     In addition to just looking in other parallel locations and databases, a query may also be made for numbers that correspond to the subscriber&#39;s name, trademark or business but are in a different language. For example, multinational companies often pick unique names so they will be available as trademarks, and such companies would then be in the market for telephone numbers that somehow correspond to their tradename or business in different countries where they do business. To provide for multilingual queries, the subscriber on terminal  30  sends a query or queries in one language to workstation  50  or workstation  100  for resending to text-and-language-converter  110 . This query preferably would contain limitations of what languages the subscriber wishes the query to be translated into. Text and language converter  110  takes the query or queries in the submitted language, translates it using commercially available first language-to-second language translation programs. If translation produces no results, as often occurs with completely made up trademarks, text-and-language converter performs transliteration including any standard character conversions for importing non-native words into the second language. A check is made in a computer dictionary of the second language at this point and the subscriber is notified of any match. This is a notice that the word has meaning in the second language. That meaning should be explored offline to prevent the accidental selection of a word with a negative denotation or connotation. Next, text and language converter  110  sends requests for those specific telephone numbers over the international public switched telephone network  120  to the designated countries to see if the numbers are available in those countries. If the numbers are available, text and language converter  110  reports to workstation  100  that the numbers are available or not, and workstation  100  reports that back to subscriber at terminal  30 . If the numbers are available in the second language, subscriber can accept them, and workstation  100  will arrange the issuance of the numbers to subscriber from the designated PSTN. 
     This is made possible and practical because of mandated number portability in some locations so numbers can migrate across more than one switch location. It is also made possible by the databases of available numbers that can be queried from another location. Databases which are maintained at the various locations. 
     FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method in accordance with the present invention. In step  202  a first database is created of valuable combinations at a first location. Numbers not in use at the first location are compared in step  204  to the first database of valuable combinations to create a first database of valuable combinations available for assignment. In step  206  a second database is created of valuable combinations at a second location. Numbers not in use at the second location are compared in step  208  to the second database of valuable combinations to create a second database of valuable combinations available for assignment. In steps  210  and  212  the first and second databases of valuable combinations available for assignment are searched, respectively, with a keyword. In step  214  the results of the keyword search of the first database of valuable combinations available for assignment are returned to the subscriber thereby offering the subscriber a first number for the first location. In step  216  the results of the keyword search of the second database of valuable combinations available for assignment are returned to the subscriber thereby offering the subscriber a second number for the second location. Upon the subscriber&#39;s acceptance in step  218 , the first and second numbers are assigned to the subscriber in their respective locations. The first number and second number may be the same number, have the same last seven digits, or have the same terminating digits. 
     Referring to FIG. 6, a search is made in step  230  for the keyword in a third database of numbers not in use in a third location having a different country code than the first and second locations. Step  232  provides for alternatives for searching if a character by character match is not successful for the first, second or third numbers. In one alternative, a search is made for a character by character match using at least one phonetic equivalent character and if phonetic equivalent matches are found, offering the phonetic equivalent matches to the subscriber. In another alternative, a search is made for a contextual equivalent and if a contextual equivalent match is found, offering the contextual equivalent match to the subscriber. In step  234  results are returned to the subscriber of the keyword search of the third location and offering the subscriber a third number for the third location. In step  236  the third number is assigned, upon the subscriber&#39;s acceptance, to subscriber in the third location. The first, second and third numbers may have the same terminating digits and may be character by character matches of the keyword. The contextual equivalent may use an alphabetic string, alphanumeric string, synonym of the keyword, or a DTMF tonal sequence. 
     Referring to FIG. 7, the keyword is translated into a second keyword in a language that is used in a third location. In accordance with step  262  a search is made for the second keyword in a third database of numbers not in use in the third location. The searching for the first and second numbers is preferably by character by character matches of the keyword and searching for the third number is by character by character matches to the second keyword. If the character by character match of each keyword is not found, a search is made for a contextual equivalent of each keyword in the language of the location and offering any contextual equivalent match that is found to the subscriber for acceptance. In step  264  results are returned to the subscriber of the second keyword search of the third location and the subscriber is offered a third number that corresponds to the second keyword for the third location. The third number is assigned to the subscriber, upon the subscriber&#39;s acceptance, in the third location. The contextual equivalents may use an alphabetic string, an alphanumeric string, or synonyms of the keywords in their respective languages. The searching may be controlled by a workstation at the first location. 
     Although this invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art may devise numerous other arrangements without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. For example, the workstation functions could be consolidated into one workstation as long as the different locations agreed to allow that one workstation access to all the databases involved and authority to issue numbers.