Method and system for call tracing
First Claim
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1. A method for tracing a call, the method comprising steps of:
- in a telecommunications network, receiving a telephone number to be traced;
establishing a call trace at a plurality of central offices of the telecommunications network using the telephone number to be traced; and
on a user display device, indicating that a call has been made to the telephone number to be traced.
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Abstract
The present invention is drawn to a call trace system and method that is simple to establish in a short amount of time. The call trace is implemented through a Web browser page which remotely programs central offices to trace calls to particular number. When a trace is established a message is sent back to the Web browser which displays the calling number, the called number and the central office detecting the call. Also, a page is sent to a pager which displays the traced information.
26 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for tracing a call, the method comprising steps of:
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in a telecommunications network, receiving a telephone number to be traced;
establishing a call trace at a plurality of central offices of the telecommunications network using the telephone number to be traced; and
on a user display device, indicating that a call has been made to the telephone number to be traced. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
identifying the central office of the plurality of central offices that handled the call made to the telephone number to be traced.
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3. The method of claim 1 further comprising step of:
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monitoring incoming calls at each central office of the plurality of central offices; and
when a called number associated with an incoming call matches the telephone number to be traced, producing an indication.
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4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of producing the indication comprises a step of:
transmitting a calling number associated with the incoming call to a control office.
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5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of establishing a call trace comprises steps of:
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determining a type of central office for each central office of the plurality of central offices;
creating a message for each type of central office; and
transmitting to respective central offices the message of the type created for the respective central office.
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6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of transmitting the message comprises a step of:
transmitting the telephone number to be traced in the message.
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7. A call tracing method comprising steps of:
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in a telecommunications network, receiving a number to be traced;
identifying an office type for central offices of the telecommunication network;
formatting respective call trace messages in accordance with each respective office type; and
transmitting the respective call trace messages to central offices of the telecommunications network according to respective office types to establish a call trace of the number to be traced. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
identifying a subset of central offices of the central offices of the telecommunications network for establishing the call trace; and
formatting the respective call trace messages according to the office type of only the subset of central offices.
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9. The call tracing method of claim 8 wherein identifying a subset of central offices comprises a step of:
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receiving a geographic restrictor; and
including in the subset of central offices only central offices of the telecommunications network in accordance with the geographic restrictor.
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10. The call tracing method of claim 7 further comprising steps of:
receiving from the central offices a response message indicating success in establishing the call trace.
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11. The call tracing method of claim 7 further comprising step of:
receiving an indication from a central office when an incoming call at the central office corresponds to the number to be traced.
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12. The call tracing method of claim 11 wherein receiving the indication comprises steps of:
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receiving a message from the central office; and
reading a calling number from the message.
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13. The call tracing method of claim 12 further comprising the step of:
in response to the indication, producing a user alert.
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14. The call tracing method of claim 13 wherein producing a user alert comprises a step of:
communicating a page request to a paging service provider.
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15. The call tracing method of claim 14 wherein communicating a page request comprises steps of:
communicating the calling number.
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16. Apparatus for initiating a trace of a call, the apparatus comprising:
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a user interface configured to receive and display information related to a telephone number to be traced wherein the user interface comprises;
a web page including a telephone number field for entry of the telephone number to be traced; and
a network access system cooperating with the user interface to establish a call trace at a plurality of central offices of the telecommunications network using the telephone number to be traced. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
a telephone number field for entry of information about the telephone number to be traced.
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18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the web page comprises:
a geographic location field for entry of information about a geographic area to be monitored for calls made to the telephone number to be traced.
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19. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the web page comprises:
a login field for entry of information associated with a user of the apparatus.
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20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the web page comprises:
a password entry field.
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21. Apparatus for initiating a trace of a call, the apparatus comprising:
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a user interface configured to receive and display information related to a telephone number to be traced;
a network access system cooperating with the user interface to establish a call trace at a plurality of central offices of the telecommunications network using the telephone number to be traced; and
a processor operable in conjunction with a web browser to define the user interface. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
an initial web page for entry of information related to the telephone number to be traced; and
a confirmation web page.
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23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the user interface further comprises:
a results web page to display results of the trace of the call.
Specification