Operating a Directory Assistance Call Center Based Upon Directory Assistance Database and Caller ID Data

• US 20130090095A1
• Filed: 11/30/2012
• Published: 04/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Denenberg, Jack E.
• Granted Patent: US 9,247,045 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/354 Reverse directory service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold

Abstract

A system and method is provided to operate a directory assistance call center based upon data stored in a directory assistance database and a line information database (LIDB). A caller can access a directory assistance call center to request phone listing information about a particular party. The directory assistance call center can send a query to a directory assistance database for the requested information. Moreover, if the requested information is not found, then the directory assistance call center can send a query to a LIDB or CNAM database provider. The LIDB or CNAM database provider can forward the query to a local LIDB or CNAM database and to other remote LIDB or CNAM database providers to find the requested information.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a tangible computer-readable storage device having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving a reverse lookup request including a telephone number having an exchange;

querying a directory assistance database for directory assistance information corresponding to the telephone number;

querying, if no directory assistance information corresponding to the telephone number is found in the directory assistance database, a caller identification service database for caller identification information corresponding to the telephone number;

querying, in response to determining that no caller identification information corresponding to the telephone number is found in the caller identification service database available, an exchange lookup table for geographic information corresponding to said exchange of the telephone number; and

providing the geographic information to a user in response to receiving the geographic information.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is part of a directory assistance call center.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the telephone number of the reverse lookup request is received as a series of dual-tone multi-frequency signals.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the telephone number of the reverse lookup request is received as text transmitted from a mobile phone of the user.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the text is received in a short message service message.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the text is received in a multimedia messaging service message.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, further cause the processor to provide the caller identification information to the user.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the caller identification information is provided to the user as audio output from a speaker of a mobile communication device.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the caller identification information is provided to the user as a message sent to a mobile communication device, the message being in a non-audio format that can be stored in a memory of the mobile communication device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein at least a portion of the message is in a format that can be stored in an address book of the mobile communication device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein querying the lookup table includes querying an area code lookup table for geographic information corresponding to an area code of the telephone number if no caller identification information corresponding to the telephone number is found.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographic information provided to the user comprises a city name.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographic information provided to the user comprises a state name.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographic information provided to the user comprises a county name.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the telephone number of the reverse lookup request is received from a web browser via the Internet.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the telephone number of the reverse lookup request is received from an Internet protocol multimedia subsystem client via a session initialization protocol request message.

17. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage device having instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving a reverse lookup request including a telephone number having an exchange, and

querying an exchange lookup table for geographic information corresponding to the exchange of the telephone number.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

querying a directory assistance database for directory assistance information corresponding to the telephone number; and

querying, if no directory assistance information corresponding to the telephone number is found in the directory assistance database, a caller identification service database for caller identification information corresponding to the telephone number;

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the operation of querying the exchange lookup table is performed in response to determining that no caller identification information corresponding to the telephone number is found in the caller identification service database available.

20. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a system using a processor, a reverse lookup request including a telephone number having an exchange, and

querying, by the system, an exchange lookup table for geographic information corresponding to the exchange of the telephone number.