Interactive call identification
First Claim
1. A method for identifying a calling party of a telephone call to a called party, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving said telephone call over a first telephone connection from said calling party, said telephone call directed to a telephone number of said called party dialed by said calling party;
determining whether said telephone number is a subscriber'"'"'s telephone number or whether said calling party has entered an activation code with the dialed telephone number;
prompting said calling party to enter a message in both of the following situations;
a) when the telephone number is a subscriber'"'"'s telephone number; and
b) when the calling party has entered an activation code with the dialed telephone number;
receiving said message over said first telephone connection from said calling party, said message containing user-user information, including an identification of said calling party;
establishing a second telephone connection to a called party in response to receiving said message;
sending said message over said second telephone connection to said called party;
receiving a call processing input over said second telephone connection from said called party; and
bridging said first telephone connection to said second telephone connection thereby establishing an end-to-end connection from said calling party to said called party, if said call processing input represents an instruction to accept the call.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for interactive call identification of a call to a called party. Identifying messages, either text and voice, can be entered on a call-by call basis by the calling party to provide information regarding the call to enable the called party to screen the incoming call. Such identifying messages can include descriptive information about the identity of the caller, the subject matter of the call or any other user-user information. The identifying message is transmitted in the form of a real-time message sent by the caller and received by the party being called in advance of their accepting the call. The identifying message is created on a call-by-call basis by the calling party. The called party receives the identifying message and, after receiving the message, the called party can accept, forward or reject the incoming call based on the information provided in the identifying message. The calling party has the option of using either real-time or pre-recorded message functions. The calling party can select, via a predetermined access code to enter a personal message (voice or text) directly from the location from which the call is being placed after dialing the desired number. Interactive call identification can be initiated either by the called or calling party.
225 Citations
48 Claims
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1. A method for identifying a calling party of a telephone call to a called party, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving said telephone call over a first telephone connection from said calling party, said telephone call directed to a telephone number of said called party dialed by said calling party; determining whether said telephone number is a subscriber'"'"'s telephone number or whether said calling party has entered an activation code with the dialed telephone number; prompting said calling party to enter a message in both of the following situations; a) when the telephone number is a subscriber'"'"'s telephone number; and b) when the calling party has entered an activation code with the dialed telephone number; receiving said message over said first telephone connection from said calling party, said message containing user-user information, including an identification of said calling party; establishing a second telephone connection to a called party in response to receiving said message; sending said message over said second telephone connection to said called party; receiving a call processing input over said second telephone connection from said called party; and bridging said first telephone connection to said second telephone connection thereby establishing an end-to-end connection from said calling party to said called party, if said call processing input represents an instruction to accept the call. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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10. A telecommunications system, comprising:
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means for receiving a telephone call over a first telephone connection from a calling party, said telephone call directed to a telephone number of said called party dialed by said calling party; means for determining whether said telephone number is a subscriber'"'"'s telephone number or whether the calling party has entered an activation code with the dialed telephone number; means for prompting said calling party to enter a message in both of the following situations; a) when the telephone number is a subscriber'"'"'s telephone number; and b) when the calling party has entered an activation code with the dialed telephone number; means for receiving a message from said calling party over said first telephone connection, said message containing user-user information, said user-user information including an identification of the calling party; means for establishing a second telephone connection to a called party in response to receiving said message; means for sending said message over said second telephone connection to said called party; means for receiving a call processing input over said second telephone connection from said called party; and means for bridging said first telephone connection to said second telephone connection based on said call processing input, thereby establishing an end-to-end connection from said calling party to said called party. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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27. A system for interactive identification of a telephone call on a telecommunications network, comprising:
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an originating switch receiving a telephone call directed to a telephone number of a called party; and a server function element receiving said telephone call forwarded from said originating switch over a first telephone connection, said server function element; 1) determining whether said telephone number is a subscriber'"'"'s telephone number or whether the calling party has entered an activation code with the dialed telephone number; 2) prompting said calling party to enter a message in both of the following situations; a) when the telephone number is a subscriber'"'"'s telephone number; and b) when the calling party has entered an activation code with the dialed telephone number; 3) establishing a second telephone connection to said called party, 4) sending said message to said called party over said second telephone connection, 5) receiving a call processing input over said second telephone connection from said called party in response to said message, and 6) bridging said first telephone connection to said second telephone connection based on said call processing input, thereby establishing an end-to-end connection from said calling party to said called party. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification