Efficient communication through networks - Issued Patent - PRIOR ART REQUEST

Question

US patent 6,188,756 (‘756) -- “Efficient communication through networks.” This patent describes routing a communication between a calling party and a called party through a central control location, selecting the “best” path based on a particular criterion.

Claim for which is

1. A method of use of a communication network, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a calling party access number and a called party access number at a control location;

(b) determininng which service providers service connections between said calling party access number and said called party access number;

(c) comparing said service providers based on criteria;

(d) selecting appropriate ones of said service providers that satisfy said criteria as a result of the step of comparing;

(e) instructing said selected service providers to provide service between said connections for establishing contact between said calling party access number and said called party access number;

(f) receiving a status signal at said control location indicating if said called party access number is available for taking an incoming communication;

(g) if said status signal indicates an available status, initiating a first communication from said control location to said called party access number and a second communication from said control location to said calling party access number;

(h) bridging said first and second communications.

Have you seen anything that was published before October 11th, 1994 that discusses claim 1.

If so, please submit evidence of that prior art as an answer below. Please submit only one piece of prior art per answer below. We welcome multiple prior art proposals from the same individual; please create separate answers for each one. This is so the community can vet each individual piece of prior art independently.

For details about what makes good prior art, please see our FAQ. Once you have submitted prior art, check back soon to see if the Ask Patents community has chosen your prior art to be submitted to the United States Patent & Trademark Office.

If you'd like to contribute in another way, please vote or comment on submissions made below. And we welcome you to post your own request for prior art if you know of another questionable patent or patent application.

Thanks for participating!

Answer 1

The Routing Informatino Protocol (RIP) [1] that is used to analyze a distribution network, cope with change and find the best routes seems close. The original specification [2] for the protocol itself is from 1988.

And I suppose the Romans already chose the faster runners over the slower runners when delivering messages, which qualifies for half the points in the claim.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Routing_Information_Protocol
[2] https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1058

Answer 2

This sounds like a TokenRing - Ethernet bridge. I used to buy them from Nortel in 1995ish, though I imagine they were some years older.

Bridging is a method of communicating between devices at OSI layer 2, the data link layer. A bridge connects two networks together and acts as a traffic director. If traffic is destined to the other network, the bridge allows the traffic to pass. If the traffic is local to a single network, the bridge does not pass the traffic unnecessarily to the other connected network.

The bridge makes this determination based on the Media Access Control (MAC) address of the workstations on the network. The bridge keeps an updated list of everyone active on the network, and uses this list to direct traffic from one network to another.

Read more: http://stason.org/TULARC/networking/lans-token-ring/3-2-What-is-used-to-convert-between-Ethernet-and-Token-Ring.html#.UfhLe2RUr4A#ixzz2aZgL4GiA

Answer 3

This also sounds like what is called "Automated Callback" in Federal Standard 1037C

Date of Publication: August 7, 1996

So it's too late, but I bet the NTIA didn't invent the idea. They don't cite any references :(

automatic callback: A service feature that permits a user, when encountering a busy condition, to instruct the system to retain the called and calling numbers and to establish the call when there is an available line. Note 1: Automatic callback may be implemented in the terminal, in the switching system, or shared between them. Note 2: Automatic callback is not the same as camp-on.

The Wikipedia page for Automated Callback lists several systems which implemented the feature, but no dates or citations.

edit: this assumes the automatic callback feature is implemented in the PBX which then satisfies the other parts of the claim regarding provider routing