GB2391750A

GB2391750A - Personal calling line identification control for mobile

Info

Publication number: GB2391750A
Application number: GB0218284A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Parker
Original assignee: NEC Technologies UK Ltd
Current assignee: NEC Technologies UK Ltd
Priority date: 2002-08-06
Filing date: 2002-08-06
Publication date: 2004-02-11
Anticipated expiration: 2022-08-06
Also published as: GB2391750B; GB0218284D0

Abstract

A directory in a mobile phone stores a calling line identification restriction (CLIR) flag associated with each number. Each contact number or group may have a single associated identifying on/off field. The CLIR code is sent to the network when a number is called by the cellular phone, so that the caller's name or number may be selectively withheld. The CLIR code may use the GSM standard prefix #31# to suppress or hide the identity, or *31# to invoke or include the caller ID.

Description

( - 1 - Mobile Communication With Personal Callino Line Identification

This invention relates to Calling Line Identification Restriction (CLIR) functionality in mobile communication networks such as mobile telephone networks.

Known mobile telephone handsets are provided with a user selectable option, usually called "Send Own Number" which enables a user to select whether or not his own telephone number will be displayed to a person whom he is lo calling prior to that person determining whether or not to take his call. This functionality of known mobile phones uses a facility known as Calling Line Identification Restriction (CLIR).

CLIR operates in known systems by attaching a flag to Is a dialled number when that number is transmitted from a mobile telephone to the network. This flag determines whether or not CLIR is invoked by the network, thereby preventing the user's number from being displayed to the person he is calling, or not invoked by the network, which so enables the user's own number to be sent to the person he is calling. This is referred to as enabling or suppressing CLIR. It is theoretically possible for a user to suppress or enable CLIR on a per call basis by attaching the appropriate 25 prefix to the number. In GSM code this is #31# to suppress or *31# to invoke CLIR. However, this adds to dialling time to the user and is not generally available via FastDial or Voice Activation, in which the facility to configure CLIR on a per call basis cannot be provided.

,. - 2 - Because of these constraints, users generally do not configure CLIR on a per call basis. It is either enabled and anybody phoned by the user is able to tell who is calling, or it is suppressed and all parties including ones 5 he would prefer not to be notified of his calling identification receive a user's identification when a call is received.

It is not possible to allocate CLIR to groups of numbers stored on a mobile phone. A user has to determine lo whether he will suppress or enable CLIR for all numbers via the send own number facility.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome this drawback with known mobile phones by providing an additional CLIR attribute in a mobile phone's internal 15 directory which may be set to indicate whether or not CLIR should be suppressed or enabled when a call is made to that number. Preferably, an attribute may be set for a phonebook group in a phone which enables numbers in its directory to so be arranged in groups.

In a further embodiment, the system may be arranged such that an explicitly dialled string automatically has CLIR suppressed or invoked.

The invention is defined with more precision in the 25 appended claims to which reference should now be made.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

( - 3 - Figure 1 shows schematically the directory structure in a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows the directory structure in a mobile phone in a second embodiment of the invention; 5 Figure 3 shows a flow diagram of operation of an embodiment of the invention.

In Figure 1, the structure of the phonebook directory in a mobile phone is shown. This comprises three columns, Name, Number, and CLIR. The Name and Number columns 10 correspond to the equivalent Name and Number columns in known mobile phones. However, the CLIR column is a new one.

This is a flag set to on or off which determines whether that number when selected from the phonebook will suppress or invoke CLIR. If CLIR is set to on, then it will be invoked when a call to that number is made and the identity of the person making the call will not be made known to the receiver. When it is off, CLIR will be suppressed and a user's number will be sent to a receiver.

The status of the flag in the CLIR column causes the so appropriate code to be transmitted to the network with the number being called. Thus, the CLIR flag actively links the table to the appropriate stored code. In GSM there are two codes, one for invoking and one for suppressing CLIR.

Similar codes will be available in other known and future 25 networks. Figure 2 shows how the directory may be structured in a phone where CLIR is attached to groups of numbers. In this, it can be seen that for each name and number entry a group is selected. This is then put to the directory where 30 names and numbers are input by a user.

l ( - 9 - In a second portion of the directory, groups have CLIR flags associated with them. Thus, for each group CLIR can be selected as on or off to either invoke or suppress CLIR.

Thus, when a user makes a call the phone is arranged such that it uses the group with which that number is associated to retrieve from the group and CLIR table the appropriate CLIR flag and thus to send the appropriate network code to invoke or suppress CLIR.

Figure 3 shows a flow diagram of the process in an lo embodiment of the invention for activating CLIR on a per call basis.

The phone is set with a default CLIR setting which can be either enabled or suppressed. When an outgoing call is made at 2, the status of personal calling line 15 identification (PCLI) for that particular call is queried at 4. If it is active, the next step is 6 where a determination is made as to whether the outgoing call is to a manual full dial string entered by the user. If it is, a determination is made at 8 as to whether personal call line 20 identity is active for manual dial strings. If it is not, then at 10 the default CLIR setting for the phone is applied to the call.

At step 4, if the determination of the PCLI is not active then the call passes straight to step 10 where the 25 default CLIR setting is applied to the call.

At 6, if the determined number called is not a manual full dial string then control passes to box 12. This step is also passed to if the determination 8 is that PCLI is active for manually dialled strings.

- 5 - At 12, a determination made as to whether or not the destination address is found in the phone book memory of the handset. If it is not, then the default CLIR setting is applied at 10. If it is, then the phonebook CLIR setting is 5 applied to the call at 14 before it is sent to the network.

Thus, a determination is made as to what CLIR code should be sent to the network.

The basic implication of the system of Figure 3 is that for all outgoing calls the status of PCLI is queried. If it lo is inactive then no automatic rules are applied and the default settings for the phone are applied to the call.

In the case of calls which are not a full dial string, such as FastDial, and Voice Activation or phone book selection, a determination as to whether or not PCLI is 15 active is still made. The phone can be set up to either invoke or suppress CLIR on such calls automatically.

Claims

!' ( - 6 - CLAIMS;

1. A method for sending a calling line identification restriction (CLIR) code with a call made from a mobile communication device in a network comprising the steps 5 of: a) storing a plurality of numbers in a directory memory in the mobile communication device; b) storing a CLIR on/off flag with each number in the directory memory; lo c) sending a CLIR code to the network when a number from the directory memory is called by the communication device, the code being selected in dependence on the status of the CLIR flag stored with the number.

s

2. Apparatus for sending a calling line identification restriction (CLIR) code with a call made from a mobile communication device operating in a network, comprising: a) a directory memory in the mobile communication so device for storing a plurality of numbers in a plurality of number fields;

b) a CLIR flag storage field associated with each

number field for storing a CLIR flag;

c) means for sending a number to the network in response to a call request; d) means for sending a CLIR code to the network with the number in dependence on the status of the CLIR flag associated with that number.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which each number 30 field has a single CLIR flag storage field associate

with it.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which groups of number fields have a single CLIR flag associated with

them.

5. A method for sending a CLIR code with a call made from 5 a mobile communication device substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 3 of the drawings.

6. Apparatus for sending a CLIR code with a call made from a mobile communication device substantially as herein described.