CA2247685A1 - Caller's id - Google Patents
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- CA2247685A1 CA2247685A1 CA 2247685 CA2247685A CA2247685A1 CA 2247685 A1 CA2247685 A1 CA 2247685A1 CA 2247685 CA2247685 CA 2247685 CA 2247685 A CA2247685 A CA 2247685A CA 2247685 A1 CA2247685 A1 CA 2247685A1
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Abstract
Various methods are disclosed for enabling a calling party to assist a user of a called party station equipped with a caller ID (CID) display to identify the calling party, rather than simply the phone or phone line from which the calling party is placing the call.
An exemplary method includes determining an identity of the calling party without utilizing an identifier of the calling party station, and transmitting the identity of the calling party to the called party station for display on the CID display. Another exemplary method includes determining the identity of the calling party, wherein the identity of the calling party differs from telephone directory information associated with the calling party station, and transmitting the identity of the calling party to the called party station for display on the CID
display. The identity of the calling party can be numeric, such as the home telephone number of the calling party, or alphabetic, such as the name of the calling party, and, in either case, is pre-specified by the calling party. In one embodiment, the identity of the calling party is dependent upon the called number. Furthermore, the identity of the calling party can be transmitted to the called party station on a variety of call types (e.g., intra-LATA, O+ calling card, 1 + residential, etc.).
An exemplary method includes determining an identity of the calling party without utilizing an identifier of the calling party station, and transmitting the identity of the calling party to the called party station for display on the CID display. Another exemplary method includes determining the identity of the calling party, wherein the identity of the calling party differs from telephone directory information associated with the calling party station, and transmitting the identity of the calling party to the called party station for display on the CID
display. The identity of the calling party can be numeric, such as the home telephone number of the calling party, or alphabetic, such as the name of the calling party, and, in either case, is pre-specified by the calling party. In one embodiment, the identity of the calling party is dependent upon the called number. Furthermore, the identity of the calling party can be transmitted to the called party station on a variety of call types (e.g., intra-LATA, O+ calling card, 1 + residential, etc.).
Description
CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 CALLER'S ID
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates generally to caller ID delivery service and more particularly to methods for providing the identity of the caller rather than the identity of the phone from which the call is being placed.
BACKGROUND
Various telephone companies have begun to offer "caller ID"
services. There are ~;u~lellLly two types of caller ID service. The first (oftenreferred to as "basic" seNice) delivers to the called party the calling number and the date/time of the call. The second ("enh~n~ed" caller ID) also delivers directoryinformation associated with the calling number. At a l,,i,~il,,lllll, the directory name corresponding to the calling number is delivered.
Caller ID services can provide called parties with peace of mind and convenience. A called party who subscribes to a caller ID service typically need not wonder who is at the other end of the ring, nor waste valuable time talking to someone he or she would rather not. Caller ID service nevertheless suffers from some serious shortcomings. For example, only information associated with the calling number of the phone from which the call is being placed (e.g., a directory number and/or a directory name) is delivered; the identity of the caller is not. This can be problematic when the call is being placed from a location, such as a payphone, whose directory number does not provide the called party with any m~ningful information to assist him in deciding whether or not to answer the call.
CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 SMklMARY OF INVENTION
The above~ entified problems are solved and a technical advance is achieved in the art by providing a method for enabling a calling party to assist a user of a called party station equipped with a caller ID (CID) display to identify the calling party, rather than simply the phone or phone line from which the calling party is placing the call.
An exemplary method includes d~te~ g an identity of the calling party without l1tili7ing an identifier of the calling party station, and ll~ln~ the identity of the calling party to the called party station for display on the CID
o display.
Another exemplary method includes det~ g the identity of the calling party, wherein the identity of the calling party differs from telephone directory information associated with the calling party station, and tr~n.~mitting the identity of the calling party to the called party station for display on the CID
display.
The identity of the calling party can be numeric, such as the home telephone number of the calling party, or alphabetic, such as the name of the calling party, and, in either case, is pre-specified by the calling party. In one embodiment, the number or name identifying the calling party may be dependent on the telephone number of the called party.
Other and further aspects of the present invention will become ~pal~lll during the course of the following description and by reference to the Att~rll~(l drawings.
CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAVVINGS
FIG.l is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary database used to de~ the al,plo~iate field of an SS7 Initial Address Message (IAM) in which to transmit Caller's ID information.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which a service provider can provision the Caller's ID service of the present invention.o FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary calling card database modified to include Caller's ID infolllla~ion.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which Caller's ID service is provided on calling card calls.
FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary line number/ANI database modified to include Caller's ID information.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which Caller's ID service is provided on local and/or 1 + calls placed from a residPnti~l/business telephone.
FIG. 8is a block diagram illustrating an Alt~ te embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary Caller's ID rl~t~k~e for use in providing the Caller's ID service on l+coin (pay phone) calls and 0+, 0- calls other than calling card calls.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 Caller's ID service is provided on 1 +coin calls and 0+, 0- calls other than calling card calls.
FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary Caller's ID database for use in selectively sending dirre~ellL Caller's IDs to called parties at dirr~ t called numbers.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which the proper Caller's ID is selected based on the called number.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numbers refer to like parts, FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, a calling party 100 and a called party 105 are each serviced by the same local exchange carrier (LEC) switch 110. It is to be understood that the calling party 100 may be either a public telephone (i.e., a pay phone) or a private telephone. Called party 105 subscribes to conventional caller ID
service provided by its LEC switch 110. In this regard, called party 105 has a caller ID display 115 ("CID display") coupled to his phone for displaying caller ID
information received from LECllO.
Calling party 100 is also coupled to called party 120 via inter-exch~nge carrier 125 and respective LECs(llO, 130). Called party 120 also subscribes to caller ID service provided by its LEC switch 130. As such, called party 120 also has a CID display 135 coupled to his phone for displaying caller ID
information received from LEC 130.
As~ cl~se~l above, caller ID services involve the delivery of the -CA 0224768~ l998-09-2l calling number and/or the corresponding directory name for the phone from which the call is being placed to the called party station (105, 120) and to the attached CID
display (115, 135). The calling number, in the form of the automatic number identifiration (ANI) (a number used in telephone systems to identify stations or5subscriber accounts) or the calling party number (CPN), both of which are well-known in the art, is ascertained by the calling party's LEC 110 on both intra-LATA
and inter-LATA calls. On inter-LATA calls, the ANI and/or CPN are ~ d in an Initial Address Message (IAM) from the calling party's LEC 110 to LEC 130 via inter-exchange carrier (IXC) 125. If the directory name is to be delivered to the called party's CID display (115, 135), the Le~ g LEC on the call (either LEC
110 on intra-LATA calls or LEC 130 on inter-LATA calls) will perform a reverse directory look-up to d~le~ ine the directory name associated with the received ANI
or CPN.
Unlike the conventional caller ID services discussed above, the 15Caller's ID service of the present invention allows information associated with the calling party, rather than the phone from which the call is being placed, to be Lli1ll~lllillrd to the called party's CID display. Hence the name "Caller's" ID
service. It is a service to which the calling party 100 subscribes.
The Caller's ID service of the present invention may be provided by 20the LEC 110 on calls to called party 105 (e.g., on intra-LATA or local calls) or called party 120 (e.g., on calls other than local calls such as inter-LATA or long-t~nre calls). Alternatively, it may be provided by the IXC 125 on calls to called party 120. It may also be provided by an entity located entirely outside of the CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 public switched telephone network such as a private branch exchange (PBX), as will be described in detail hereinafter in connection with FIG. 8.
In accordance with the present invention, the Caller's ID service provider ~ccesses a Caller's ID ~i~t~h~e 140, trigger table or other appro~liate 5 storage means, to determine the Caller's ID to be provided on the call, as will be described in detail hereinafter. The Caller's ID database may be a (l~t~h~ce particular to the Caller's ID service or, it may be an existing database such as a calling card database, line number/ANI database, or other d~t~b~ce, modified to contain Caller's ID information specified by each calling party subscriber. Upon 0 retrieving the applol)lidt~ Caller's ID information from the Caller's ID tl~t~h~e, the service provider substitutes the Caller's ID information for the ANI or CPN
(associated with the phone from which the calling party is placing the call) and delivers it to the called party either directly or via other switches in the network.
The Caller's ID information may be numeric, such as the home telephone number of the calling party, or alphabetic, such as the name of the calling party. Moreover, it may be a personal name or number, or a name or number associated with more than one individual, such as a family or business name/number. Furthermore, the number or name identifying the calling party may also be dependent on the telephone number of the called party, as will be described 2 o in detail below.
As cli~cl-c.sed above, in one embodiment of the present invention, the Caller's ID il~llllation is substituted for either the ANI or CPN associated with the phone from which the calling party is placing the call. On inter-LATA or long CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 ~ t~n~e calls, the Caller's ID information is placed by the Caller's ID service provider in one of the fields of the LAM. The Caller's ID service provider must select the a~plo~lidt~ IAM field (either the ANI, CPN, or other field) in view of current Common Channel Sign~ling System 7 (SS7) standards and regulations, inter-5 company agreements, etc.
An exemplary (l~t~ba~e for use in cle~ g which IAM field to select for transmission of the Caller's ID h~ll~ation is illustrated in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the d~t~h~ce includes fields for an area code 200, a central office 205, a starting telephone number 210, an ending telephone number 215, and an ANI/CPN indicator 220.
The particular field of the IAM selected for tr~n.cmi.~.~ion of the Caller's ID information is based on the called party number. For example, all calls to Area Code 234 will have the Caller's ID information placed in the CPN field. In contrast, calls to central offices 707, 717 and 727 in Area Code 235 will have the Caller's ID information placed in the ANI field; all other calls to Area Code 234 will have this hlrolllldLion placed in the CPN field. With respect to Area Code 236, only calls to telephone numbers 737-0001 through 737-4999 and 737-6000 through 737-6999 will have Caller's ID hlro~mation placed in the ANI field; all others will have it placed in the CPN field. With contin-ling reference to FIG. 2, all calls to 2c Area Code 999 will have Caller's ID h~ll.laLion delivered in the generic field "ABC" of the IAM (which may be the label for a numeric field or, alternatively, an alphabetic field that is used to carry the calling party's name, as will be described in detail hereinafter).
CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 In addition to in~lir~ting the IAM field selected for transmission of Caller's ID hlrollllalion, the d~t~b~e of FIG. 2 would also indicate (not shown)which bit(s) or indicator(s) in other fields of the IAM to set in order to inform dowl~llealll switches that Caller's ID information has been substituted for other s information, such as the ANI or CPN, in the selected field.
Although not shown in FIG. 2, this (l~t~bace may also contain entries in-lir~tin~ whether or not Caller's ID information should be delivered to a particular telephone number, such as a number corresponding to a business that ~;ullelllly relies on conventional caller ID service to determine the origin of the call (e.g., fast-food delivery services).
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which the Caller's ID service can be provisioned by a service provider. In step 300 of FIG. 3, the Caller's ID service provider receives a prospective subscription. In step 305, the service provider verifies the identity of the prospective subscriber.
In step 310, the prospective subscriber provides the service provider with a proposed Caller's ID. In step 315, the service provider verifies that theCaller's ID provided by the new subscriber is actually "owned" by the new subscriber. In the event that verification is lln~uccessful, the prospective subscriber is plo~ d for another Caller's ID. After two lln~ucces.~ful ~LIe~ to collect this 2 o information, processing of the prospective subscription ends.
In step 320, the service provider supplies the new subscriber with a Caller's ID password, which, in step 325, the subscriber accepts. In step 330, the service provider populates the a~r~liate Caller's ID database or the like with the CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 Caller's ID and corresponding password.
In step 335, the service provider plo~ L~ the subscriber for additional Caller's IDs. For example, if the particular Caller's ID account is meant to serve more than one person, then each person may need a unique Caller's ID, as will be fliccll~.se~l in detail hereinafter. If the subscriber requests additional Caller's IDs, the service provider, in step 340, supplies the new subscriber with a personal code for his Caller's ID and, in step 345 collects the additional Caller's ID from the subscriber. The additional Caller's ID is verified in step 350. In the event that verification is unsuccessful, the prospective subscriber will be prompted for another 10 Caller's ID. After two lm~ucces~ful ~LL~ to collect this il~llllalion, processing of the subscription ends. In step 355, the service provider supplies a personal code for the additional Caller's ID. If the subscriber requests additional Caller's IDs in step 360, steps 345 through 355 are repeated until no additional Caller's IDs are requested. In step 365, the service provider populates the appl~liate Caller's ID
(l~t~ba~e with the additional Caller's IDs and personal codes.
In the event a prospective subscriber wants to subscribe to Selective Caller's ID wherein different Caller's IDs are sent to dirr~lellL called numbers (as will be ~ cllssecl in detail below in connection with FIGS. 11 and 12), the service provider would also collect from the subscriber and store in the Caller's ID database 20 a plurality of called numbers and the Caller's IDs to be sent when placing a call to each of those called numbers.
FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary calling card database modified to include Caller's ID information. Each entry in the calling card database contains CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 one Record A and at least one record B.
Fields #1 and #2 of Record A are the calling card number (CCN) and four digit PIN for the CCN as in conventional calling card databases. Field #3 of Record A in(lirates whether the particular CCN subscribes to Caller's ID.
Field #4 of Record B in~lic~t~s whether a personal code is to be entered by the caller. A personal code is required if the particular subscription is meant to serve more than one person (e.g., a Caller's ID subscription associatedwith a calling card account shared by family members), since each person may require a unique Caller's ID. Field #5 is the personal code. Field #6 is the o Caller's ID information. Field #7 is a pointer from record Bx to B(x+l), if Bx is not the last B (i.e., Bn). Moreover, Record Bl may be appended to Record A to establish the first correlation between Records A and B.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating, in connection with the database of FIG. 4, an exemplary process by which Caller's ID service is provided on callingcard calls. In step 500, the service provider accec.ses the calling card ~lat~b~ce using the calling card number and the calling card PIN. In step 505, the service provider acces.~es Field #3 of Record A to determines whether the particular calling cardnumber subscribes to Caller's ID (since the caller has already entered a CCN andPIN, it is not n~cess~ry for him to enter a Caller's ID account number and 20 password, as is n~cessary on other types of calls, such as those discussed inconnection with FIGS. 9 and 10). If the calling card number does not subscribe to Caller's ID, then normal call processing resumes. However, if the calling card number does subscribe to Caller's ID, the service provider, in step 506, ~ccesses the CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 CPN/ANI database of FIG. 2 and, in step 508, determines whether Caller's ID is offered on calls to the called party number. If Caller's ID is not offered on such calls, normal call processing resumes. However, if Caller's ID is offered on such calls, the service provider, in step 510, ~ccesses Field #4 of Record B1 to determine whether a personal code is required.
If a personal code is not required, the entry in Field #6 of Record Bl is used as the Caller's ID (Step 515) and, is substituted in step 520 for the ANI or CPN (as ~ c~sed in connection with FIG. 2). The Caller's ID, which is associated with the calling party rather than the phone from which the calling party is placing the call (e.g., a pay phone), is then L~ d to the called party for display on a CID device.
If it is determined in step 510 that a personal code is required, the service provider collects the personal code from the calling party in step 525. The service provider then determines, in step 530, whether this personal code matches any of the personal codes in Field #5 of Records B1 to Bn. If the personal code m~t~ s Field #5 in Record Bx, the entry in Field #6 of Record Bx is used in step 535 as the Caller's ID and, is substituted in step 520 for the ANI or CPN, accordingly.
If the comparison in step 530 does not result in a match, the service 20 provider, in step 535, dele~ es whether the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is equal to 0. If it is, the service provider uses the entry in Field #6 of Record Bn as the Caller's ID (Step 540). If the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is not equal to 0, the service provider returns to step 525 to again collect the personal code and, steps CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 530 through 540 are repeated. If, however, the personal code entered by the calling party again yields a negative result in steps 530 and 535, caller ID service is not provided on the call (i.e., normal call processing resumes).
FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary line number/ANI ~i~t~b~e modified 5 to include Caller's ID il~olmdtion. Each entry in the line number/ANI database contains one record A and at least one record B.
Field #l of Record A is the line number or ANI as in conventional line number/ANI databases. Field #2 of Record A int1il~t~s whether the line number or ANI subscribes to "all-call" Caller's ID, as will be described in detail hereinafter. Field #3 of Record A in~lic~tes whether the line number or ANI
subscribes to "per-call" Caller's ID disable, as will also be described in detail hereinafter. Fields #4 through #7 contain the same hlrollllalion as the identically labeled fields in the database of FIG 4. As such, Fields #4 through #7 contain a personal code indicator, a personal code, a Caller's ID, and a pointer from record Bx to B(x+ l) if Bx is not Bn.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating, in connection with the database of FIG. 6, an exemplary process by which Caller's ID service is provided on local or l + residential/ business calls.
In step 700, a call originates from a residential or business customer 20 with a m~tl~.hing entry in Field #l of Record A. In step 705, the service provider ~-cesses the CPN/ANI (l~t~bace of FIG. 2 and determines, in step 710, whether Caller's ID is offered on calls to the called party number. If Caller's ID is not offered on such calls, normal call processing resumes. However, if Caller's ID is CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 offered on such calls, the service provider, in step 715, accesses Field #2 of Record A to determine whether the residential/business customer subscribes to Caller's ID
on an "all-call" basis. A customer who subscribes to Caller's ID on an "all-call"
basis automatically has Caller's ID service provided on all calls made from the customer's phone.
If the customer does not subscribe to Caller's ID on an "all-call"
basis, the service provider, in step 720, determines whether the customer entered digits requesting Caller's ID on a "per-call" basis. A customer can subscribe toCaller's ID service on a per-call basis, and thus, can have Caller's ID service 0 provided on a particular call, by entering pred~Lelmilled digits from the telephone keypad of his phone. In this regard, if the service provider is an LEC, the digits entered by the cllctcm~r may be prefix digits (e.g., dialing *68, waiting for three short tones and a dial tone, and then dialing the called party number). If the service provider is an IXC, the IXC would prompt the caller for the Caller's ID digits after the caller has been conn~cte(l to the IXC, typically after dialing the called party number. If the caller does not request "per-call" Caller's ID, normal call processing resumes. If the caller does request "per-call" Caller's ID, the service provider~ccesses Field #4 of Record B1 in step 725 to det~rmin.? whether a personal code is required.
If a personal code is not required, the entry in Field #6 of Record Bl is used in step 730 as the Caller's ID and, is substituted in step 735 for the ANI or CPN. If it is d~ milled in step 725 that a personal code is required, the service provider collects the personal code in step 740. The service provider then CA 02247685 l998-09-2l deL~ es, in step 745, whether the personal code collected from the calling partymatches any of the entries in Field #5 of Records B1 to Bn. If the personal codecollected from the calling party matches Field #5 in Record Bx, the entry in Field #6 of Record Bx is used in step 750 as the Caller's ID and, is substituted in step 735 for the ANI/CPN.
If step 745 does not result in a match, the service provider cletermin~os in step 755 whether the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is equal to 0. If it is, the service provider, in step 760, uses the entry in Field #6 of Record Bn as the Caller's ID. If the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is not equal to 0, the service 0 provider returns to step 725 to again collect the personal code and, steps 745 through 760 are repeated. However, if the personal code entered by the calling party again yields a negative result in steps 745 and 755, caller ID service is not provided on the call and normal call processing resumes.
If in step 715, it is determined that the customer does subscribe to 15 Caller's ID on an "all-call" basis, the service provider determines, in step 765, whether the customer subscribes to Caller's ID Disable (i.e., the ability to turn off the Caller's ID service on a per-call basis). If the customer subscribes to Caller's ID Disable, the service provider de~ es, in step 770, whether the caller entereddigits requesting that Caller's ID be disabled on the call. Once again, the dialed 20 digits may be either prefix digits, if the LEC is the service provider, or subsequent digits, if the IXC is the service provider. If the caller enters the ~ppropliat~ Caller's ID Disable digits, the service provider turns off Caller's ID on this call, and normal call processing resumes. If either of steps 765 or 770 are a~ ed in the negative, CA 0224768~ l998-09-2l the service provider proceeds to step 725 ("Personal Code Required?") and performs steps 740 through 760 as described above.
FIG. 8 is an alternate embodiment of the present invention wherein the Caller's ID hal.lwdle and functionality are located outside of the public switched telephone network. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the service provider, XYZ 800, which may be a PBX, is coupled to both the origin~tin~ LEC 110 and the IXC 125;
the connection to the latter is via a plilllaly rate interface (PRI). Subscribers to the Caller's ID service can reach XYZ 800 by dialing a predet~rmin~d number (e.g., 1-800-CALL XYZ). Upon receiving a call from calling party 100, XYZ 800 collects 10 the called party llulllbel from the calling party 100 and launches a new call to the called party number, providing the Caller's ID in the al,plopliate field of the call setup message on the new call. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, XYZ 800 provides Caller's ID service on calls of any type (e.g., calling card, 1 + residential/ business, etc.), including those discussed below in connection with FIGS. 9 and 10.
FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary Caller's ID d~t~b~e for use in providing the Caller's ID service on l+coin (pay phone) calls and 0+, 0- calls other than calling card calls.
Field #1 of Record A is the Caller's ID account number. Field #2 of Record A in-lic~tçs whether a password is required. Field #3 contains the 20 password. A password is required on call types where, as here, the Caller's ID
service is not associated with the number paying for the call (e.g., where the service is not associated with a calling card or a resid~nti~l/business telephone, as discussed above in connection with FIGS. 4-7).
CA 0224768~ l998-09-2l Fields #4 through #7 contain the same information as the identically labeled fields in the database of FIG 4. Accordingly, Fields #4 through #7 contain a personal code in~lir~tor, a personal code, a Caller's ID, and a pointer from record Bx to B(x+1), if Bx is not Bn.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which Caller's ID service is provided on 1 +coin calls and 0+, 0- calls other than calling card calls.
In step 1000, the service provider ~ccesses the CPN/ANI (l~tah~e of FIG. 2 and, in step 1005, d~L~ es whether Caller's ID service is offered on calls to the called party number. If Caller's ID is not offered on such calls, normal call processing resumes. However, if Caller's ID is offered, the service provider asks the caller in step 1010 if he would like to have Caller's ID service on the call. If the caller does not want Caller's ID on the call, normal call processing resumes.
If the caller does want Caller's ID on the call, the service provider collects the Caller's ID account llumbel and, if required by Field #2 of Fig. 9, the Caller's ID password from the caller in steps 1015 and 1020, respectively. The service provider then accesses the Caller's ID rl~t~ha~e (Fig. 9) in step 1025 and verifies the account number and password of Fields #1 and #3 in Record A. If theaccount number and/or password is not valid, the service provider returns to step 20 1015 and again collects both the account number and password. If either the account number or password is again invalid, normal call processing resumes.
However, if the account number and password are valid, the service provider, in step 1030, ~cesses Field #4 of Record B1 to d~Lellllille whether a personal code is CA 0224768~ l998-09-2l required.
If a personal code is not required, the entry in Field #6 of Record B1 is used in step 1035 as the Caller's ID and, is substituted in step 1040 for the ANI
or CPN. If it is detçrmin~d in step 1030 that a personal code is required, the service provider, in step 1045, collects the personal code. The service provider then deL~ es, in step 1050, whether the personal code collected from the calling party matches any of the entries in Field #5 of Records B1 to Bn. If the personal code collected from the calling party m~t~h~ Field #5 in Record Bx, the entry in Field #6 of Record Bx is used in step 1055 as the Caller's ID and, is substituted in 0 step 1040 for the ANI/CPN.
If step 1050 does not result in a match, the service provider d~L~llllilles in step 1060 whether the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is equal to 0. If it is, the service provider, in step 1065, uses the entry in Field #6 of Record Bn as the Caller's ID. If the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is not equal to 0, the service provider returns to step 1045 to again collect the personal code and repeats steps 1050 through 1065. However, if the personal code entered by the calling party again yields a negative result in steps 1050 and 1060, Caller's ID service is not provided on the call.
As in(lic~t~d at the outset, the Caller's ID information of the present 20 invention may be alphabetic, such as the name of the calling party (in addition to numeric, such as the number of the calling party). The name of the calling party could be provided in any number of ways. For example, it could be provided by the called party's CID display itself. Some CID displays permit their owners to CA 0224768~ l998-09-2l store, in an internal directory, up to twenty caller ID numbers and the names that the owner of the display associates with each of those numbers (e.g., 944-0577;
Mom). As such, on incoming calls, these displays are capable of p~lroll~ g a reverse directory look-up to display the name corresponding to the incoming caller ID number. The Caller's ID service of the present invention enhances the value of CID displays by permitting each individual served by the same phone line or calling card to have a unique Caller's ID number. The present invention thus enables a called party to display the names of each individual served by that phone line or calling card, rather than simply the directory name of the owner of the phone line or 1 c calling card (such as a family name).
The name of the calling party could alternatively be provided by the called party's LEC. As previously discussed, local telephone companies offer an enh~n~ecl caller ID service, wherein the termin~ting LEC performs a reverse directory look-up (i.e., the LEC d~le~ s the directory name associated with the incoming ANI or CPN) and Ll~lsll~i~ the name to an enh~n~ed CID display capable of receiving alphabetic as well as numeric characters. However, if the ANI or CPN
is not listed in the local telephone company's directory, such as may be the case on inter-LATA calls, the local telephone company will not have access to the directory name, and thus, not be able to deliver it to the CID display. As such, in one 20 embodiment of the present invention, the Caller's ID d~t~b~e is a universal database, rather than a local database, cont~ining each individual's Caller's ID
number and Caller's ID name, rather than merely the directory number and name associated with the line from which the individual is placing the call.
CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 Alternatively, the name of the calling party could be supplied by the provider of the Caller's ID service, such as the origin~ting LEC or the IXC, and~l~n~ d via inter-office call setup messages to the te""i~ i,-g LEC for deliveryto the called party's CID display, thereby eli",il".~ g the need for a reverse directory look-up at the termin~tin~ LEC or CID display. As such, in one embodiment of the present invention, the Caller's ID name, which is stored in the a~ropliate Caller's ID d~t~h~e (Field #6), is retrieved thelerlolll by the Caller's ID service provider and Ll~ d in a proposed 20-character alpha-numeric field of the IAM, rather than in the ANI or CPN fields of the IAM. The presence of a Caller's ID in this new field could be in(lic~t~d by a special code in the CPN field of the IAM (a code other than the CPN), which is populated by the service provider at the same time of populating the Caller's ID field.
As also inllir~ted at the outset, the Callers' ID of the present invention may be dependent upon the telephone number of the called party. For example, a subscriber to Caller's ID may wish to have her home number and/or "Mom" sent on calls to certain called numbers, but to have her office number and, perhaps, "Pat N. Turny" sent on calls to other called numbers.
FIG. 11 illustrates a modification to the d~t~b~ce of FIG. 4 to provide, on calling card calls, the "Selective Caller's ID" feature of the present 20 invention. Fields #1-#5 and #7 in FIG. 11 are identical to Fields #1-#5 and #7 of FIG. 4. Field #6 in FIG. 11, however, is modified to include either a Caller's ID
entry, as ~ cllcsed above in connection with FIG. 4, or a ~l~t~b~ce pointer. A
~l~t~h~e pointer in Field #6 of any Record Bx points to a listing of Called Numbers CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 and the corresponding Caller's IDs, as illustrated in FIG. 11 by Records Cx,, Cxj and xm -As shown in FIG. 11, Field #8 of any Record Cx is a Called Number. Field #9 is a Caller's ID to be used on calls to that Called Number. Field 5 #10 is a database pointer to the next Cx record. As shown in Record Cxm, Field #10 may alternatively be an indicator that Record Cxm is the last Cx record. If Record Cxm is the last Cx record, Field #8 may contain a code in(lir~tin~ a "default" Caller's ID, i.e., that the hlfo~ ion in Field #9 of Record Cxm is to be used as the Caller's ID in the event the subscriber calls a called number other than one of the Called Numbers in Field #8 in Records Cx.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating, in connection with the d~t~b~ce of FIG. 11 and the flowchart of FIG. 5, an exemplary process by which Selective Caller's ID service is provided on calling card calls.
~ s-lming the call processing as described above in connection with FIG. 5 has proceeded to step 520, the contents of Field #6 in Record Bx is e~minrd in step 1200. If Field #6 contains Caller's ID hlrollllalion, that information is used as the Caller's ID on the call. If, however, Field #6 in Record Bx is a pointer to a Record Cx,, then at step 1205 the service provider obtains the called number for comparison with the Called Number entries in Records Cx. Obtaining a called number may include, for example, e~r~mining the IAM for a Called Party Number.
At step 1215, the called number is m~tcllrd against the entries in Field #8 of Records C~. If a match is found at entry Cxy~ then, at step 1220, the entry from Field #9 of Record Cxy is used as the Caller's ID on the call. If no match CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 is found, the service provider, in step 1225, e~min~s Field #8 of the last C" record.
If Field #8 of the last Cx record intlic~tPs that a default Caller's ID is to be used (e.g., Field #8 = 0), then, at step 1230, the Caller's ID in Field #9 from the last Cx record is used as the Caller's ID on the call. If Field #8 does not in~ te that a default Caller's ID is to be used, then Caller's ID service is not provided on the call.
Selective Caller's ID, as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 with regard to calling card calls, may also be routinely implemented by one of ordinary skill in the art on other types of calls, such as 1+ residential/business calls and 0+, 0- calls other than calling card calls, given the present disclosure.
The many reaLules and advantages of the present invention are apl)are,l~ from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such fe~lules and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
Furthermore, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired that the present invention be limited to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described herein, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claims.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates generally to caller ID delivery service and more particularly to methods for providing the identity of the caller rather than the identity of the phone from which the call is being placed.
BACKGROUND
Various telephone companies have begun to offer "caller ID"
services. There are ~;u~lellLly two types of caller ID service. The first (oftenreferred to as "basic" seNice) delivers to the called party the calling number and the date/time of the call. The second ("enh~n~ed" caller ID) also delivers directoryinformation associated with the calling number. At a l,,i,~il,,lllll, the directory name corresponding to the calling number is delivered.
Caller ID services can provide called parties with peace of mind and convenience. A called party who subscribes to a caller ID service typically need not wonder who is at the other end of the ring, nor waste valuable time talking to someone he or she would rather not. Caller ID service nevertheless suffers from some serious shortcomings. For example, only information associated with the calling number of the phone from which the call is being placed (e.g., a directory number and/or a directory name) is delivered; the identity of the caller is not. This can be problematic when the call is being placed from a location, such as a payphone, whose directory number does not provide the called party with any m~ningful information to assist him in deciding whether or not to answer the call.
CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 SMklMARY OF INVENTION
The above~ entified problems are solved and a technical advance is achieved in the art by providing a method for enabling a calling party to assist a user of a called party station equipped with a caller ID (CID) display to identify the calling party, rather than simply the phone or phone line from which the calling party is placing the call.
An exemplary method includes d~te~ g an identity of the calling party without l1tili7ing an identifier of the calling party station, and ll~ln~ the identity of the calling party to the called party station for display on the CID
o display.
Another exemplary method includes det~ g the identity of the calling party, wherein the identity of the calling party differs from telephone directory information associated with the calling party station, and tr~n.~mitting the identity of the calling party to the called party station for display on the CID
display.
The identity of the calling party can be numeric, such as the home telephone number of the calling party, or alphabetic, such as the name of the calling party, and, in either case, is pre-specified by the calling party. In one embodiment, the number or name identifying the calling party may be dependent on the telephone number of the called party.
Other and further aspects of the present invention will become ~pal~lll during the course of the following description and by reference to the Att~rll~(l drawings.
CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAVVINGS
FIG.l is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary database used to de~ the al,plo~iate field of an SS7 Initial Address Message (IAM) in which to transmit Caller's ID information.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which a service provider can provision the Caller's ID service of the present invention.o FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary calling card database modified to include Caller's ID infolllla~ion.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which Caller's ID service is provided on calling card calls.
FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary line number/ANI database modified to include Caller's ID information.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which Caller's ID service is provided on local and/or 1 + calls placed from a residPnti~l/business telephone.
FIG. 8is a block diagram illustrating an Alt~ te embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary Caller's ID rl~t~k~e for use in providing the Caller's ID service on l+coin (pay phone) calls and 0+, 0- calls other than calling card calls.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 Caller's ID service is provided on 1 +coin calls and 0+, 0- calls other than calling card calls.
FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary Caller's ID database for use in selectively sending dirre~ellL Caller's IDs to called parties at dirr~ t called numbers.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which the proper Caller's ID is selected based on the called number.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numbers refer to like parts, FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, a calling party 100 and a called party 105 are each serviced by the same local exchange carrier (LEC) switch 110. It is to be understood that the calling party 100 may be either a public telephone (i.e., a pay phone) or a private telephone. Called party 105 subscribes to conventional caller ID
service provided by its LEC switch 110. In this regard, called party 105 has a caller ID display 115 ("CID display") coupled to his phone for displaying caller ID
information received from LECllO.
Calling party 100 is also coupled to called party 120 via inter-exch~nge carrier 125 and respective LECs(llO, 130). Called party 120 also subscribes to caller ID service provided by its LEC switch 130. As such, called party 120 also has a CID display 135 coupled to his phone for displaying caller ID
information received from LEC 130.
As~ cl~se~l above, caller ID services involve the delivery of the -CA 0224768~ l998-09-2l calling number and/or the corresponding directory name for the phone from which the call is being placed to the called party station (105, 120) and to the attached CID
display (115, 135). The calling number, in the form of the automatic number identifiration (ANI) (a number used in telephone systems to identify stations or5subscriber accounts) or the calling party number (CPN), both of which are well-known in the art, is ascertained by the calling party's LEC 110 on both intra-LATA
and inter-LATA calls. On inter-LATA calls, the ANI and/or CPN are ~ d in an Initial Address Message (IAM) from the calling party's LEC 110 to LEC 130 via inter-exchange carrier (IXC) 125. If the directory name is to be delivered to the called party's CID display (115, 135), the Le~ g LEC on the call (either LEC
110 on intra-LATA calls or LEC 130 on inter-LATA calls) will perform a reverse directory look-up to d~le~ ine the directory name associated with the received ANI
or CPN.
Unlike the conventional caller ID services discussed above, the 15Caller's ID service of the present invention allows information associated with the calling party, rather than the phone from which the call is being placed, to be Lli1ll~lllillrd to the called party's CID display. Hence the name "Caller's" ID
service. It is a service to which the calling party 100 subscribes.
The Caller's ID service of the present invention may be provided by 20the LEC 110 on calls to called party 105 (e.g., on intra-LATA or local calls) or called party 120 (e.g., on calls other than local calls such as inter-LATA or long-t~nre calls). Alternatively, it may be provided by the IXC 125 on calls to called party 120. It may also be provided by an entity located entirely outside of the CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 public switched telephone network such as a private branch exchange (PBX), as will be described in detail hereinafter in connection with FIG. 8.
In accordance with the present invention, the Caller's ID service provider ~ccesses a Caller's ID ~i~t~h~e 140, trigger table or other appro~liate 5 storage means, to determine the Caller's ID to be provided on the call, as will be described in detail hereinafter. The Caller's ID database may be a (l~t~h~ce particular to the Caller's ID service or, it may be an existing database such as a calling card database, line number/ANI database, or other d~t~b~ce, modified to contain Caller's ID information specified by each calling party subscriber. Upon 0 retrieving the applol)lidt~ Caller's ID information from the Caller's ID tl~t~h~e, the service provider substitutes the Caller's ID information for the ANI or CPN
(associated with the phone from which the calling party is placing the call) and delivers it to the called party either directly or via other switches in the network.
The Caller's ID information may be numeric, such as the home telephone number of the calling party, or alphabetic, such as the name of the calling party. Moreover, it may be a personal name or number, or a name or number associated with more than one individual, such as a family or business name/number. Furthermore, the number or name identifying the calling party may also be dependent on the telephone number of the called party, as will be described 2 o in detail below.
As cli~cl-c.sed above, in one embodiment of the present invention, the Caller's ID il~llllation is substituted for either the ANI or CPN associated with the phone from which the calling party is placing the call. On inter-LATA or long CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 ~ t~n~e calls, the Caller's ID information is placed by the Caller's ID service provider in one of the fields of the LAM. The Caller's ID service provider must select the a~plo~lidt~ IAM field (either the ANI, CPN, or other field) in view of current Common Channel Sign~ling System 7 (SS7) standards and regulations, inter-5 company agreements, etc.
An exemplary (l~t~ba~e for use in cle~ g which IAM field to select for transmission of the Caller's ID h~ll~ation is illustrated in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the d~t~h~ce includes fields for an area code 200, a central office 205, a starting telephone number 210, an ending telephone number 215, and an ANI/CPN indicator 220.
The particular field of the IAM selected for tr~n.cmi.~.~ion of the Caller's ID information is based on the called party number. For example, all calls to Area Code 234 will have the Caller's ID information placed in the CPN field. In contrast, calls to central offices 707, 717 and 727 in Area Code 235 will have the Caller's ID information placed in the ANI field; all other calls to Area Code 234 will have this hlrolllldLion placed in the CPN field. With respect to Area Code 236, only calls to telephone numbers 737-0001 through 737-4999 and 737-6000 through 737-6999 will have Caller's ID hlro~mation placed in the ANI field; all others will have it placed in the CPN field. With contin-ling reference to FIG. 2, all calls to 2c Area Code 999 will have Caller's ID h~ll.laLion delivered in the generic field "ABC" of the IAM (which may be the label for a numeric field or, alternatively, an alphabetic field that is used to carry the calling party's name, as will be described in detail hereinafter).
CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 In addition to in~lir~ting the IAM field selected for transmission of Caller's ID hlrollllalion, the d~t~b~e of FIG. 2 would also indicate (not shown)which bit(s) or indicator(s) in other fields of the IAM to set in order to inform dowl~llealll switches that Caller's ID information has been substituted for other s information, such as the ANI or CPN, in the selected field.
Although not shown in FIG. 2, this (l~t~bace may also contain entries in-lir~tin~ whether or not Caller's ID information should be delivered to a particular telephone number, such as a number corresponding to a business that ~;ullelllly relies on conventional caller ID service to determine the origin of the call (e.g., fast-food delivery services).
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which the Caller's ID service can be provisioned by a service provider. In step 300 of FIG. 3, the Caller's ID service provider receives a prospective subscription. In step 305, the service provider verifies the identity of the prospective subscriber.
In step 310, the prospective subscriber provides the service provider with a proposed Caller's ID. In step 315, the service provider verifies that theCaller's ID provided by the new subscriber is actually "owned" by the new subscriber. In the event that verification is lln~uccessful, the prospective subscriber is plo~ d for another Caller's ID. After two lln~ucces.~ful ~LIe~ to collect this 2 o information, processing of the prospective subscription ends.
In step 320, the service provider supplies the new subscriber with a Caller's ID password, which, in step 325, the subscriber accepts. In step 330, the service provider populates the a~r~liate Caller's ID database or the like with the CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 Caller's ID and corresponding password.
In step 335, the service provider plo~ L~ the subscriber for additional Caller's IDs. For example, if the particular Caller's ID account is meant to serve more than one person, then each person may need a unique Caller's ID, as will be fliccll~.se~l in detail hereinafter. If the subscriber requests additional Caller's IDs, the service provider, in step 340, supplies the new subscriber with a personal code for his Caller's ID and, in step 345 collects the additional Caller's ID from the subscriber. The additional Caller's ID is verified in step 350. In the event that verification is unsuccessful, the prospective subscriber will be prompted for another 10 Caller's ID. After two lm~ucces~ful ~LL~ to collect this il~llllalion, processing of the subscription ends. In step 355, the service provider supplies a personal code for the additional Caller's ID. If the subscriber requests additional Caller's IDs in step 360, steps 345 through 355 are repeated until no additional Caller's IDs are requested. In step 365, the service provider populates the appl~liate Caller's ID
(l~t~ba~e with the additional Caller's IDs and personal codes.
In the event a prospective subscriber wants to subscribe to Selective Caller's ID wherein different Caller's IDs are sent to dirr~lellL called numbers (as will be ~ cllssecl in detail below in connection with FIGS. 11 and 12), the service provider would also collect from the subscriber and store in the Caller's ID database 20 a plurality of called numbers and the Caller's IDs to be sent when placing a call to each of those called numbers.
FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary calling card database modified to include Caller's ID information. Each entry in the calling card database contains CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 one Record A and at least one record B.
Fields #1 and #2 of Record A are the calling card number (CCN) and four digit PIN for the CCN as in conventional calling card databases. Field #3 of Record A in(lirates whether the particular CCN subscribes to Caller's ID.
Field #4 of Record B in~lic~t~s whether a personal code is to be entered by the caller. A personal code is required if the particular subscription is meant to serve more than one person (e.g., a Caller's ID subscription associatedwith a calling card account shared by family members), since each person may require a unique Caller's ID. Field #5 is the personal code. Field #6 is the o Caller's ID information. Field #7 is a pointer from record Bx to B(x+l), if Bx is not the last B (i.e., Bn). Moreover, Record Bl may be appended to Record A to establish the first correlation between Records A and B.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating, in connection with the database of FIG. 4, an exemplary process by which Caller's ID service is provided on callingcard calls. In step 500, the service provider accec.ses the calling card ~lat~b~ce using the calling card number and the calling card PIN. In step 505, the service provider acces.~es Field #3 of Record A to determines whether the particular calling cardnumber subscribes to Caller's ID (since the caller has already entered a CCN andPIN, it is not n~cess~ry for him to enter a Caller's ID account number and 20 password, as is n~cessary on other types of calls, such as those discussed inconnection with FIGS. 9 and 10). If the calling card number does not subscribe to Caller's ID, then normal call processing resumes. However, if the calling card number does subscribe to Caller's ID, the service provider, in step 506, ~ccesses the CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 CPN/ANI database of FIG. 2 and, in step 508, determines whether Caller's ID is offered on calls to the called party number. If Caller's ID is not offered on such calls, normal call processing resumes. However, if Caller's ID is offered on such calls, the service provider, in step 510, ~ccesses Field #4 of Record B1 to determine whether a personal code is required.
If a personal code is not required, the entry in Field #6 of Record Bl is used as the Caller's ID (Step 515) and, is substituted in step 520 for the ANI or CPN (as ~ c~sed in connection with FIG. 2). The Caller's ID, which is associated with the calling party rather than the phone from which the calling party is placing the call (e.g., a pay phone), is then L~ d to the called party for display on a CID device.
If it is determined in step 510 that a personal code is required, the service provider collects the personal code from the calling party in step 525. The service provider then determines, in step 530, whether this personal code matches any of the personal codes in Field #5 of Records B1 to Bn. If the personal code m~t~ s Field #5 in Record Bx, the entry in Field #6 of Record Bx is used in step 535 as the Caller's ID and, is substituted in step 520 for the ANI or CPN, accordingly.
If the comparison in step 530 does not result in a match, the service 20 provider, in step 535, dele~ es whether the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is equal to 0. If it is, the service provider uses the entry in Field #6 of Record Bn as the Caller's ID (Step 540). If the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is not equal to 0, the service provider returns to step 525 to again collect the personal code and, steps CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 530 through 540 are repeated. If, however, the personal code entered by the calling party again yields a negative result in steps 530 and 535, caller ID service is not provided on the call (i.e., normal call processing resumes).
FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary line number/ANI ~i~t~b~e modified 5 to include Caller's ID il~olmdtion. Each entry in the line number/ANI database contains one record A and at least one record B.
Field #l of Record A is the line number or ANI as in conventional line number/ANI databases. Field #2 of Record A int1il~t~s whether the line number or ANI subscribes to "all-call" Caller's ID, as will be described in detail hereinafter. Field #3 of Record A in~lic~tes whether the line number or ANI
subscribes to "per-call" Caller's ID disable, as will also be described in detail hereinafter. Fields #4 through #7 contain the same hlrollllalion as the identically labeled fields in the database of FIG 4. As such, Fields #4 through #7 contain a personal code indicator, a personal code, a Caller's ID, and a pointer from record Bx to B(x+ l) if Bx is not Bn.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating, in connection with the database of FIG. 6, an exemplary process by which Caller's ID service is provided on local or l + residential/ business calls.
In step 700, a call originates from a residential or business customer 20 with a m~tl~.hing entry in Field #l of Record A. In step 705, the service provider ~-cesses the CPN/ANI (l~t~bace of FIG. 2 and determines, in step 710, whether Caller's ID is offered on calls to the called party number. If Caller's ID is not offered on such calls, normal call processing resumes. However, if Caller's ID is CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 offered on such calls, the service provider, in step 715, accesses Field #2 of Record A to determine whether the residential/business customer subscribes to Caller's ID
on an "all-call" basis. A customer who subscribes to Caller's ID on an "all-call"
basis automatically has Caller's ID service provided on all calls made from the customer's phone.
If the customer does not subscribe to Caller's ID on an "all-call"
basis, the service provider, in step 720, determines whether the customer entered digits requesting Caller's ID on a "per-call" basis. A customer can subscribe toCaller's ID service on a per-call basis, and thus, can have Caller's ID service 0 provided on a particular call, by entering pred~Lelmilled digits from the telephone keypad of his phone. In this regard, if the service provider is an LEC, the digits entered by the cllctcm~r may be prefix digits (e.g., dialing *68, waiting for three short tones and a dial tone, and then dialing the called party number). If the service provider is an IXC, the IXC would prompt the caller for the Caller's ID digits after the caller has been conn~cte(l to the IXC, typically after dialing the called party number. If the caller does not request "per-call" Caller's ID, normal call processing resumes. If the caller does request "per-call" Caller's ID, the service provider~ccesses Field #4 of Record B1 in step 725 to det~rmin.? whether a personal code is required.
If a personal code is not required, the entry in Field #6 of Record Bl is used in step 730 as the Caller's ID and, is substituted in step 735 for the ANI or CPN. If it is d~ milled in step 725 that a personal code is required, the service provider collects the personal code in step 740. The service provider then CA 02247685 l998-09-2l deL~ es, in step 745, whether the personal code collected from the calling partymatches any of the entries in Field #5 of Records B1 to Bn. If the personal codecollected from the calling party matches Field #5 in Record Bx, the entry in Field #6 of Record Bx is used in step 750 as the Caller's ID and, is substituted in step 735 for the ANI/CPN.
If step 745 does not result in a match, the service provider cletermin~os in step 755 whether the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is equal to 0. If it is, the service provider, in step 760, uses the entry in Field #6 of Record Bn as the Caller's ID. If the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is not equal to 0, the service 0 provider returns to step 725 to again collect the personal code and, steps 745 through 760 are repeated. However, if the personal code entered by the calling party again yields a negative result in steps 745 and 755, caller ID service is not provided on the call and normal call processing resumes.
If in step 715, it is determined that the customer does subscribe to 15 Caller's ID on an "all-call" basis, the service provider determines, in step 765, whether the customer subscribes to Caller's ID Disable (i.e., the ability to turn off the Caller's ID service on a per-call basis). If the customer subscribes to Caller's ID Disable, the service provider de~ es, in step 770, whether the caller entereddigits requesting that Caller's ID be disabled on the call. Once again, the dialed 20 digits may be either prefix digits, if the LEC is the service provider, or subsequent digits, if the IXC is the service provider. If the caller enters the ~ppropliat~ Caller's ID Disable digits, the service provider turns off Caller's ID on this call, and normal call processing resumes. If either of steps 765 or 770 are a~ ed in the negative, CA 0224768~ l998-09-2l the service provider proceeds to step 725 ("Personal Code Required?") and performs steps 740 through 760 as described above.
FIG. 8 is an alternate embodiment of the present invention wherein the Caller's ID hal.lwdle and functionality are located outside of the public switched telephone network. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the service provider, XYZ 800, which may be a PBX, is coupled to both the origin~tin~ LEC 110 and the IXC 125;
the connection to the latter is via a plilllaly rate interface (PRI). Subscribers to the Caller's ID service can reach XYZ 800 by dialing a predet~rmin~d number (e.g., 1-800-CALL XYZ). Upon receiving a call from calling party 100, XYZ 800 collects 10 the called party llulllbel from the calling party 100 and launches a new call to the called party number, providing the Caller's ID in the al,plopliate field of the call setup message on the new call. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, XYZ 800 provides Caller's ID service on calls of any type (e.g., calling card, 1 + residential/ business, etc.), including those discussed below in connection with FIGS. 9 and 10.
FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary Caller's ID d~t~b~e for use in providing the Caller's ID service on l+coin (pay phone) calls and 0+, 0- calls other than calling card calls.
Field #1 of Record A is the Caller's ID account number. Field #2 of Record A in-lic~tçs whether a password is required. Field #3 contains the 20 password. A password is required on call types where, as here, the Caller's ID
service is not associated with the number paying for the call (e.g., where the service is not associated with a calling card or a resid~nti~l/business telephone, as discussed above in connection with FIGS. 4-7).
CA 0224768~ l998-09-2l Fields #4 through #7 contain the same information as the identically labeled fields in the database of FIG 4. Accordingly, Fields #4 through #7 contain a personal code in~lir~tor, a personal code, a Caller's ID, and a pointer from record Bx to B(x+1), if Bx is not Bn.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which Caller's ID service is provided on 1 +coin calls and 0+, 0- calls other than calling card calls.
In step 1000, the service provider ~ccesses the CPN/ANI (l~tah~e of FIG. 2 and, in step 1005, d~L~ es whether Caller's ID service is offered on calls to the called party number. If Caller's ID is not offered on such calls, normal call processing resumes. However, if Caller's ID is offered, the service provider asks the caller in step 1010 if he would like to have Caller's ID service on the call. If the caller does not want Caller's ID on the call, normal call processing resumes.
If the caller does want Caller's ID on the call, the service provider collects the Caller's ID account llumbel and, if required by Field #2 of Fig. 9, the Caller's ID password from the caller in steps 1015 and 1020, respectively. The service provider then accesses the Caller's ID rl~t~ha~e (Fig. 9) in step 1025 and verifies the account number and password of Fields #1 and #3 in Record A. If theaccount number and/or password is not valid, the service provider returns to step 20 1015 and again collects both the account number and password. If either the account number or password is again invalid, normal call processing resumes.
However, if the account number and password are valid, the service provider, in step 1030, ~cesses Field #4 of Record B1 to d~Lellllille whether a personal code is CA 0224768~ l998-09-2l required.
If a personal code is not required, the entry in Field #6 of Record B1 is used in step 1035 as the Caller's ID and, is substituted in step 1040 for the ANI
or CPN. If it is detçrmin~d in step 1030 that a personal code is required, the service provider, in step 1045, collects the personal code. The service provider then deL~ es, in step 1050, whether the personal code collected from the calling party matches any of the entries in Field #5 of Records B1 to Bn. If the personal code collected from the calling party m~t~h~ Field #5 in Record Bx, the entry in Field #6 of Record Bx is used in step 1055 as the Caller's ID and, is substituted in 0 step 1040 for the ANI/CPN.
If step 1050 does not result in a match, the service provider d~L~llllilles in step 1060 whether the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is equal to 0. If it is, the service provider, in step 1065, uses the entry in Field #6 of Record Bn as the Caller's ID. If the entry in Field #4 of Record Bn is not equal to 0, the service provider returns to step 1045 to again collect the personal code and repeats steps 1050 through 1065. However, if the personal code entered by the calling party again yields a negative result in steps 1050 and 1060, Caller's ID service is not provided on the call.
As in(lic~t~d at the outset, the Caller's ID information of the present 20 invention may be alphabetic, such as the name of the calling party (in addition to numeric, such as the number of the calling party). The name of the calling party could be provided in any number of ways. For example, it could be provided by the called party's CID display itself. Some CID displays permit their owners to CA 0224768~ l998-09-2l store, in an internal directory, up to twenty caller ID numbers and the names that the owner of the display associates with each of those numbers (e.g., 944-0577;
Mom). As such, on incoming calls, these displays are capable of p~lroll~ g a reverse directory look-up to display the name corresponding to the incoming caller ID number. The Caller's ID service of the present invention enhances the value of CID displays by permitting each individual served by the same phone line or calling card to have a unique Caller's ID number. The present invention thus enables a called party to display the names of each individual served by that phone line or calling card, rather than simply the directory name of the owner of the phone line or 1 c calling card (such as a family name).
The name of the calling party could alternatively be provided by the called party's LEC. As previously discussed, local telephone companies offer an enh~n~ecl caller ID service, wherein the termin~ting LEC performs a reverse directory look-up (i.e., the LEC d~le~ s the directory name associated with the incoming ANI or CPN) and Ll~lsll~i~ the name to an enh~n~ed CID display capable of receiving alphabetic as well as numeric characters. However, if the ANI or CPN
is not listed in the local telephone company's directory, such as may be the case on inter-LATA calls, the local telephone company will not have access to the directory name, and thus, not be able to deliver it to the CID display. As such, in one 20 embodiment of the present invention, the Caller's ID d~t~b~e is a universal database, rather than a local database, cont~ining each individual's Caller's ID
number and Caller's ID name, rather than merely the directory number and name associated with the line from which the individual is placing the call.
CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 Alternatively, the name of the calling party could be supplied by the provider of the Caller's ID service, such as the origin~ting LEC or the IXC, and~l~n~ d via inter-office call setup messages to the te""i~ i,-g LEC for deliveryto the called party's CID display, thereby eli",il".~ g the need for a reverse directory look-up at the termin~tin~ LEC or CID display. As such, in one embodiment of the present invention, the Caller's ID name, which is stored in the a~ropliate Caller's ID d~t~h~e (Field #6), is retrieved thelerlolll by the Caller's ID service provider and Ll~ d in a proposed 20-character alpha-numeric field of the IAM, rather than in the ANI or CPN fields of the IAM. The presence of a Caller's ID in this new field could be in(lic~t~d by a special code in the CPN field of the IAM (a code other than the CPN), which is populated by the service provider at the same time of populating the Caller's ID field.
As also inllir~ted at the outset, the Callers' ID of the present invention may be dependent upon the telephone number of the called party. For example, a subscriber to Caller's ID may wish to have her home number and/or "Mom" sent on calls to certain called numbers, but to have her office number and, perhaps, "Pat N. Turny" sent on calls to other called numbers.
FIG. 11 illustrates a modification to the d~t~b~ce of FIG. 4 to provide, on calling card calls, the "Selective Caller's ID" feature of the present 20 invention. Fields #1-#5 and #7 in FIG. 11 are identical to Fields #1-#5 and #7 of FIG. 4. Field #6 in FIG. 11, however, is modified to include either a Caller's ID
entry, as ~ cllcsed above in connection with FIG. 4, or a ~l~t~b~ce pointer. A
~l~t~h~e pointer in Field #6 of any Record Bx points to a listing of Called Numbers CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 and the corresponding Caller's IDs, as illustrated in FIG. 11 by Records Cx,, Cxj and xm -As shown in FIG. 11, Field #8 of any Record Cx is a Called Number. Field #9 is a Caller's ID to be used on calls to that Called Number. Field 5 #10 is a database pointer to the next Cx record. As shown in Record Cxm, Field #10 may alternatively be an indicator that Record Cxm is the last Cx record. If Record Cxm is the last Cx record, Field #8 may contain a code in(lir~tin~ a "default" Caller's ID, i.e., that the hlfo~ ion in Field #9 of Record Cxm is to be used as the Caller's ID in the event the subscriber calls a called number other than one of the Called Numbers in Field #8 in Records Cx.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating, in connection with the d~t~b~ce of FIG. 11 and the flowchart of FIG. 5, an exemplary process by which Selective Caller's ID service is provided on calling card calls.
~ s-lming the call processing as described above in connection with FIG. 5 has proceeded to step 520, the contents of Field #6 in Record Bx is e~minrd in step 1200. If Field #6 contains Caller's ID hlrollllalion, that information is used as the Caller's ID on the call. If, however, Field #6 in Record Bx is a pointer to a Record Cx,, then at step 1205 the service provider obtains the called number for comparison with the Called Number entries in Records Cx. Obtaining a called number may include, for example, e~r~mining the IAM for a Called Party Number.
At step 1215, the called number is m~tcllrd against the entries in Field #8 of Records C~. If a match is found at entry Cxy~ then, at step 1220, the entry from Field #9 of Record Cxy is used as the Caller's ID on the call. If no match CA 0224768~ 1998-09-21 is found, the service provider, in step 1225, e~min~s Field #8 of the last C" record.
If Field #8 of the last Cx record intlic~tPs that a default Caller's ID is to be used (e.g., Field #8 = 0), then, at step 1230, the Caller's ID in Field #9 from the last Cx record is used as the Caller's ID on the call. If Field #8 does not in~ te that a default Caller's ID is to be used, then Caller's ID service is not provided on the call.
Selective Caller's ID, as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 with regard to calling card calls, may also be routinely implemented by one of ordinary skill in the art on other types of calls, such as 1+ residential/business calls and 0+, 0- calls other than calling card calls, given the present disclosure.
The many reaLules and advantages of the present invention are apl)are,l~ from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such fe~lules and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
Furthermore, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired that the present invention be limited to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described herein, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claims.
Claims (32)
1. A method for enabling a calling party to assist a user of a called party station equipped with a caller ID (CID) display to identify said calling party, comprising the steps of:
determining an identity of said calling party without utilizing an identifier of said calling party station; and transmitting said identity of said calling party to said called party station for display on said CID display.
determining an identity of said calling party without utilizing an identifier of said calling party station; and transmitting said identity of said calling party to said called party station for display on said CID display.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said identity of said calling party is a number.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said identity of said calling party is a name.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein said identifier of said calling party station is an automatic number identification (ANI).
5. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of determining an identity of said calling party includes the step of accessing a calling card database.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein said calling party station is a public telephone.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein said CID display is selected from the group consisting of ISDN telephones, cellular telephones, PCS devices, pagers and computer terminals.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of determining includes the steps of:
determining whether a personal code is required;
collecting said personal code from said calling party; and utilizing said personal code to determine said identity of said calling party.
determining whether a personal code is required;
collecting said personal code from said calling party; and utilizing said personal code to determine said identity of said calling party.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein said identity of said calling party is transmitted to said called party station via a plurality of switches.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said identity of said calling party is transmitted in a field of a telecommunications system signaling message.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of:
determining a particular field of said signaling message in which to transmit said identity of said calling party.
determining a particular field of said signaling message in which to transmit said identity of said calling party.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
receiving said identifier of said calling party station; and substituting said identity of said calling party for said identifier of said calling party station.
receiving said identifier of said calling party station; and substituting said identity of said calling party for said identifier of said calling party station.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein said steps of determining and transmitting are performed outside the public switched telephone network.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein said steps of receiving, determining, substituting and transmitting are performed outside the public switched telephone network.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein said identity of said calling party is dependent upon the telephone number of said called party station.
16. A method for enabling a caller to assist a user of a called party station equipped with a caller ID (CID) display to identify said caller, comprising the steps of:
determining an identity of said caller, wherein said identity of said caller differs from telephone directory information associated with said calling party station;
and transmitting said identity of said caller to said called party station for display on said CID display.
determining an identity of said caller, wherein said identity of said caller differs from telephone directory information associated with said calling party station;
and transmitting said identity of said caller to said called party station for display on said CID display.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein said identity of said caller is a number.
18. The method of claim 16 wherein said identity of said caller is a name.
19. The method of claim 16 wherein said telephone directory information associated with said calling party station is a name and/or address of an entity for whom an account for telephone service has been established.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein said calling party station is a residential/business phone.
21. The method of claim 16 wherein said CID display is selected from the group consisting of ISDN telephones, cellular telephones, PCS devices, pagers and computer terminals.
22. The method of claim 16 wherein said step of determining includes the steps of:
determining whether a personal code is required;
collecting said personal code from said caller; and utilizing said personal code to determine said identity of said caller.
determining whether a personal code is required;
collecting said personal code from said caller; and utilizing said personal code to determine said identity of said caller.
23. The method of claim 16, wherein said identity of said caller is transmitted to said called party station via a plurality of switches.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein said identity of said caller is transmitted in a field of a telecommunications system signaling message.
25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of:
determining a particular field of said signaling message in which to said identity of said caller.
determining a particular field of said signaling message in which to said identity of said caller.
26. The method of claim 16, wherein said steps of determining and transmitting are performed outside the public switched telephone network.
27. The method of claim 16, wherein said identity of said caller is dependent upon the telephone number of said called party station.
28. A method for enabling a calling party to assist a user of a called party station equipped with a caller ID (CID) display to identify said calling party, comprising the steps of:
collecting a Caller's ID account number from said calling party;
using said Caller's ID account number to determine an identity of said calling party; and transmitting said identity of said calling party to said called party station for display on said CID display.
collecting a Caller's ID account number from said calling party;
using said Caller's ID account number to determine an identity of said calling party; and transmitting said identity of said calling party to said called party station for display on said CID display.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein said identity of said calling party is dependent upon the telephone number of said called party station.
30. A method for enabling a calling party to assist a user of a called party station equipped with a caller ID (CID) display to identify said calling party, comprising the steps of:
selecting an identity of said calling party based upon the called number corresponding to said called party station; and transmitting said identity of said calling party to said called party station for display on said CID display.
selecting an identity of said calling party based upon the called number corresponding to said called party station; and transmitting said identity of said calling party to said called party station for display on said CID display.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein said step of selecting an identity of said calling party includes selecting a name of said calling party.
32. The method of claim 30, wherein said step of selecting an identity of said calling party includes selecting a number of said calling party.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US93921397A | 1997-09-29 | 1997-09-29 | |
| US08/939,213 | 1997-09-29 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2247685A1 true CA2247685A1 (en) | 1999-03-29 |
Family
ID=25472753
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2247685 Abandoned CA2247685A1 (en) | 1997-09-29 | 1998-09-21 | Caller's id |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2247685A1 (en) |
-
1998
- 1998-09-21 CA CA 2247685 patent/CA2247685A1/en not_active Abandoned
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