Appeal No. 96-2121
Application 08/252,984
The obviousness rejection over
Kahn, Billinger, and Srinivasan
This combination of references still lacks a reasonable
suggestion for using the incoming direct inward dial number
provided by the telephone network or exchange to identify the
caller and to ascertain the caller’s number by searching a
database of preassigned direct inward dial numbers. Srinivasan,
apparently relied on by the examiner for this feature, discloses
a system which collects both the automatic number identification
information (ANI) and direct inward dial number (DID) provided by
the telephone network or exchange, but uses only ANI which
indicates the calling number to search a database to determine if
the caller is a valid account-holder. See Srinivasan in column
6, lines 5-17. The examiner cites Srinivasan only for teaching
use of ANI and DID in telecommunication services (answer at 10).
However, the appellant’s claimed invention is much more specific.
In the appellant’s claimed invention, it is the direct inward
dial number received from the exchange that is used for looking
up a database of preassigned direct inward dial numbers, for
finding out the telephone number of the caller. It has not been
shown that this is not suggested by any reasonable combination of
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