Telephone central office based method of and system for processing customer orders

Claim 1

Telephone central office switch based telecommunications system for forwarding customer requests to vendor sites and processing orders, comprising: voice message system (VMS) platform means including a voice response unit (VRU) at a central office of a telephone network, said VMS platform means including first data storage means for storing and for sending, to the telephone of a customer, an audible instruction message followed by audible response messages in response to customer prompts entered by telephone; a host computer storing product or service inventory information at a corresponding vendor site; an adjunct computer associated with said VMS platform means for controlling said VRU, said adjunct computer coupled to said telephone network at said central office and in communication with said host computer; switch means controlled by a central office computer and serving a plurality of lines for creating connections between said VMS platform means and customer telephone lines, a data link interconnecting said adjunct computer and vendor sites; and means for downloading, from said host computer to said adjunct computer, information on customer identification and vendor inventory, and for uploading, from said adjunct computer to said host computer, information to create and activate an order; wherein said adjunct computer is further programmed to control said VRU to send to the customer an "inventory depleted" message if remaining inventory is reduced to a predetermined target inventory and the host computer does not make available additional inventory.

Claim 25

A method of ordering products or services by a calling customer using a telephone network based interactive voice service for forwarding customer requests to vendor sites and processing orders, the network including a host computer at each vendor site storing product or service inventory information, a voice message system (VMS) platform means controlled by an adjunct computer at a central office of said network and in communication with said host computer, switch means controlled by a central office computer and serving a plurality of telephone lines; said method comprising the steps of: downloading information on customer identification and vendor inventory from a host computer at a particular vendor site to said adjunct computer; sending a machine generated audible message requesting telephone keypad entered customer responses with respect to orders for products or services from said adjunct to a customer telephone; receiving and processing said customer responses at said adjunct computer; sending, from said adjunct computer to the customer machine generated audible reply messages in response to said customer responses entered by telephone; uploading, from said adjunct computer to said host computer information to create and activate an order; updating inventory information at said host computer in accordance with said order; downloading updated inventory information from said host to said adjunct computer; maintaining at said adjunct a data base of inventory remaining available to customers; and automatically sending to the host a message requesting an increase in inventory when the inventory remaining is reduced to a predetermined threshold inventory.

Claim 26

A method of ordering products or services by a calling customer using a telephone network based interactive voice service for forwarding customer requests to vendor sites and processing orders, the network including a host computer at each vendor site storing product or service inventory information, a voice message system (VMS) platform means controlled by an adjunct computer at a central office of said network and in communication with said host computer, switch means controlled by a central office computer and serving a plurality of telephone lines; said method comprising the steps of: downloading information on customer identification and vendor inventory from a host computer at a particular vendor site to said adjunct computer; sending a machine generated audible message requesting telephone keypad entered customer responses with respect to orders for products or services from said adjunct to a customer telephone; receiving and processing said customer responses at said adjunct computer; sending, from said adjunct computer to the customer machine generated audible reply messages in response to said customer responses entered by telephone; uploading, from said adjunct computer to said host computer information to create and activate an order; updating inventory information at said host computer in accordance with said order; downloading updated inventory information from said host to said adjunct computer; maintaining at said adjunct a data base of inventory remaining available to customers; and automatically sending to the host a message requesting an increase in inventory when the inventory remaining is reduced to a predetermined threshold inventory.