FR2793635A1 - Communications cost optimisation telephone route switching mechanism having programmable unit recording tariffs/dialling code different network cost options and given time selecting optimum. - Google Patents

Abstract

The telephone switching unit has a programmable unit which records telephone tariffs (zone 2) allowing operator and location selection of the cheapest tariffs. The unit selects the cheapest network for the code dialled at the time dialled.

Description

The present innovation concerns a device, such as a telephone switch - automatic and programmable - that will allow the user of a telephone to optimize his telephone bill and reduce - as far as technically possible - the cost of his communications.

The telecommunications market has opened up to private companies.

The latter, to be able to compete with each other and take part of the market previously reserved for France TELECOM, offer, among other services, telecommunications packages with which the consumer does not pay a subscription for his line but only his communications .

These telecommunications companies, including France Telecom, also allow the user to call off-peak hours to reduce their communication costs and each of them has its own pricing criteria and its various advantages. On the other hand, France TELECOM's invoices include variable costs related to the user's communications but also fixed costs related to the subscription.

We therefore thought to design a telephone switch, subject of the request, to allow the individual to realize real savings on its communications, and thus allow him to call cheaper.

Presented in the form of a box and connected to the line, it has the ability to automatically connect to the line of the telecommunication company whose communication time slot is the most advantageous at the tariff level, which the user calls Off-peak or peak hours, weekdays or weekends, from a landline to a landline or mobile, to a local, national or international destination.

The user will have to subscribe to several telecommunications companies whose offers are the best on the market and which only charge for communications. He will receive at the end of the month several invoices but, not only the sum of all will be lower than the one which received previously, but especially it will benefit from all the advantages offered by the competition (of the companies of telecommunication).

This switch may be used by any natural or legal person who has signed a contract with the telecommunication companies he has chosen and will select himself on the switch, these data and their rates being pre-recorded in the device but also modifiable according to possible changes.

The switch has the ability to recognize whether the dialed number is a local, national, international or mobile phone number, and to replace the first digit of the number, in this case the zero by the number or numbers of the telecom company - munication which presents, on the moment and at the time of its call, the best offer and this, thanks to its means of optimization and commutation.

The user does not take care of anything. It does not change its usual numbering mode. He keeps his telephone and his numbers. It is the switch that, once connected and programmed, will direct the calls to the company whose rates are the most advantageous at the moment it wants to call. It will therefore benefit from preferential rates and advantageous prices 24 hours a day, every day of the week.

The switch is equipped with # A connection to the telephone jack upstream of the unit.

a power supply connected to the mains, with the possibility of connecting a battery and / or batteries to preserve the data stored in case of power failure.

 # A programmable controller with analog and digital outputs to switch providers according to the time, day, and destination of the call.

 # An easy-to-implement programming system to allow the consumer to add or remove a telecommunication company.

 # <U> Zone 1 </ U>: (see table 1/2 and housing drawing 2/2).

 b A fixed screen with an electronic calendar showing the time, day, date and year, compatible with Year 2000.

 # <U> Zone 2 </ U>: (see table 1/2 and housing drawing 2/2).

 b A control screen with fixed data: COMPOUND NUMBER, NETWORK and RATE / mn which allows you to see, at the time of the outgoing call, which number is dialed, the network chosen by the switch and the tariff applied. These last data can be highlighted in relation to the fixed menu of this second screen.

 # <U> Zone 3 </ U>: (see table 1/2 and housing drawing 2/2).

A programming screen that lights up when saving data. On this screen are represented the following data # ENR N ..: chronological order of the records of the telephone networks. For example, on the 2/2 case design TELE 2 is the first registered supplier.

 # <B> CODE: </ B> The code used by the switch that will automatically replace the first number of the call with the number of the selected network, in drawing 2/2, 2.

 # <B> ZONES: </ B> 01 to 05 for regional areas, 06 for mobile networks, and International to validate the country (ies) chosen (countries pre-registered in the switch and their prefixes.

 # TARIFF: The user will enter in this section the peak and off-peak rates according to the day and the destination, in front of each zone and for each telecommunications companies to which he subscribes.

 # <U> Zone 4 </ U>: (see table 1/2 and drawing of the housing 2I2).

MODE, PRICE, INSERT keys, to go from one record to another, a DELETE key in case of error or termination of a telephone contract with a telecommunication company.

 b An alphanumeric keypad to enter the information and arrows to select the area or data of interest.

<U> Operation </ U> The user, once subscribed to three companies X, Y, Z, which will provide their own tariffs, proceed as follows to record his numbers By pressing the MODE key (Zone 4) it activates the drop-down menu of the programming screen: ENRA screen display to signify that this is the first recording. He types the name of the company X on the alphanumeric keyboard and validates with the INSERT key.

Then, he taps the arrow key (Zone 3) to access the local rate recording (0.44 F / min peak or full hours), and will proceed in the same way for national, international, mobile networks tariffs (for example: SFR, ITINERIS, BOUYGUE ...).

It will then register in the same way the names and tariffs of the companies to which it subscribes.

This new way of calling is easy and allows to no longer be tied to the constraint of time bands and is placed at the level of the consumer to allow him more freedom and real savings on his telecommunication bill in the most optimal way possible .

The rates mentioned in drawing 2/2 are fictitious and serve only as an example.

Claims (6)

<U> CLAIMS </ U> 1) Telephone switch device - to optimize its communication costs - characterized by a housing for connection to one or more telephone networks. 2) telephone switch device according to claim 1 characterized by a programmable device for recording all rates charged by telephone operators and their prefixes to dial. 3) telephone switch device according to claims 1 and 2 characterized in that the controller modifies the first digit composed by the user in this case the 0 by replacing it with the prefixes or the telephone operators. 4) Telephone switch device according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the apparatus automatically selects the cheapest operator according to the place, the distance, the day, the time and the type of the call (to fixed station or to mobile). 5) Device type telephone switch according to preceding claims characterized in that it comprises a keyboard connected to the phone jack upstream of the telephone used, a power supply and a programmable controller. 6) Telephone switch type device according to the preceding claims, characterized by non-exhaustive data prerecorded in the programmable logic controller which composes it, such as the list of countries, the list of the main telecommunications companies and their telephone prefixes will be modifiable at any time. with the possibility of inserting or removing a telephone operator according to the will of the user.