Personal dial tone service with personalized call waiting

• US 6,704,405 B1
• Filed: 04/03/2001
• Issued: 03/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Services Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: McAllister, Alexander I., Strauss, Michael J., Farris, Robert D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Foster, Roland G
• Application Number:
  US09/823,997
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88-1-, 379/88.12, 379/88.16, 379/88.19, 379/201-1-2, 379/207.02, 379/211-1-2, 379/215.01, 379/216.01, 379/373.01, 379/373.02, 379/378.03, 379/374.01, 379/374.02, 379/93.35, 379/229, 379/230, 379/372, 379/207.16, 379/221-8-2, 379/221.14, 370/350-354
• US Class Current: 379/215.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/405 involving speaker-dependent recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/12 intelligent networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/385 using speech signals
• 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 3/42017 Customized ring-back tones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4211 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53383 Message registering commands or announcements; Greetings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/06 using auxiliary connections for control or supervision , e.g. where the auxiliary connection is a signalling system number 7 link
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems

Abstract

An intelligent telephone network provides personalized communication services based on a voice identification of the subscriber. The network executes a speech processing operation to identify the person or a party that the person is calling as a known subscriber. The network can provide personalized services to several subscribers sharing a common line. For incoming calls to such a line, the network executes an interactive procedure to determine from the caller which subscriber is being called. If the line is free, the switch applies distinctive ringing. If the line is in use, the switching office uses the profile of the identified subscriber to provide a distinctive call waiting tone or a voice message over the line. The tone or voice message indicates to the party using the line that there is a call waiting and specifically identifies the called subscriber.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

detecting a request for a communication service initiated from a first communication link through a communication network to a second communication link;

identifying a calling party as one of a plurality of subscribers associated with the first communication link;

selecting a virtual office equipment number assigned to the one subscriber to retrieve corresponding profile data from stored profile data;

formulating a signaling message containing the virtual office equipment number together with an instruction to load the virtual office equipment number in a register assigned to the caller in place of an office equipment number of a destination station;

providing the signaling message over the second communication link an attempt to complete the communication service to the second communication link; and

using a portion of the retrieved profile data to provide an identification of the one subscriber as the calling party over the second communication link.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the calling party comprises analyzing speech information from the calling party.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein a terminal coupled to said second communication link presents the identification of the one subscriber to a called party.

4. A method as in claim 3, wherein the step of using a portion of the retrieved profile data to provide the identification comprises transmitting data representing the name of one subscriber from the profile data through the communication network to the terminal coupled to the second communication link for presentation to the called party.

5. A method as in claim 3, wherein the step of using a portion of the retrieved profile data to provide the identification comprises:

transmitting data representing the identity of the one subscriber to a database;

accessing information in the database to translate the data representing the identity of the one subscriber into data representing the name of the one subscriber; and

transmitting the data representing the name of the one subscriber to the terminal coupled to the second communication link for presentation to the called party.

6. A method as in claim 1, wherein the step of signaling comprises providing a ringing signal indicating a new call at a time when the second communication link is available.

7. A method as in claim 6, wherein the ringing signal comprises a selected one of a plurality of distinctive ringing signals corresponding to an intended recipient of the new call.

8. A method as in claim 1, wherein the step of signaling comprises providing a call waiting signal indicating a new call over an established call connection to the second communication link, at a time when the second communication link is engaged in an existing call.

9. A method as in claim 8, wherein the call waiting signal comprises a selected one of a plurality of distinctive waiting signals corresponding to an intended recipient of the new call.

10. A telecommunication network comprising:

a central office for processing calls originated over a plurality of communication links, said central office including mass storage containing subscriber profiles; and

a peripheral coupled to the central office, said peripheral including a voice authentication module for analyzing speech of a caller from a first communication link to identify the caller as a subscriber and to select and provide a control code comprising a virtual office equipment number assigned to the identified subscriber to the central office by formulating a signaling message containing the control code together with an instruction to load the control code in a register assigned to the caller in place of an office equipment number of a destination station, wherein;

the central office retrieves profile information corresponding to the control code assigned to the identified subscriber and processes a waiting call from the first communication link to a second communication link of the network using the retrieved profile information, and

the retrieved profile information includes at least some data identifying the caller for transmission with a call waiting alert signal over an established call connection on the second communication link.

11. A network as in claim 10, wherein the at least some data includes an identification code corresponding to the caller.

12. A network as in claim 10 wherein the at least some data includes subscriber name data.

13. A network as in claim 10 further comprising:

a service control point, remote from the central office, said service control point containing a database of call processing records; and

a first signaling network separate from the communication links for carrying signaling messages between the service control point and the central office.

14. A network as in claim 13, further comprising an identification database remote from the central office and coupled to the first signaling network, said identification database comprising a plurality of subscriber records, each subscriber record containing name data for an associated subscriber.

15. A network as in claim 13, wherein the peripheral includes a communication server facilitating signaling communication between the peripheral and the service control point.

16. A network as in claim 13, further comprising a second signaling network, separate from the communication links and the first signaling network, coupled between the communication server and the service control point.

17. A network as in claim 16, wherein:

the first signaling network comprises a common channel interoffice signaling network coupled to the telephone switches; and

the second signaling network comprises a packet switched data network.

18. A telecommunications network comprising:

a plurality of central office switching systems interconnected by trunk circuits, for processing calls originated over a plurality of communication links, each of said central office switching systems including mass storage containing subscriber profiles; and

a peripheral coupled to at least one of the central office switching systems for interacting with a caller to identify the caller as a subscriber, said peripheral selecting a virtual office equipment number assigned to the identified subscriber to one or more of the central office switching systems,

wherein in response to receipt of the virtual office equipment number and an instruction to load the virtual office equipment number in a register assigned to the caller in place of an office equipment number of a destination station, a central office switching system retrieves corresponding profile information and processes a waiting call from a first communication link to a second communication link using the retrieved profile information, the processing of the call including transmission of data specifically identifying the subscriber and a call waiting alert signal over an established call connection on the second communication link to the destination station.

19. A network as in claim 18 wherein the retrieved profile information includes a code corresponding to the subscriber for use in retrieving name data for transmission to the destination station as the data identifying the subscriber.

20. A network as in claim 18, wherein the retrieved profile information includes subscriber name data for transmission to the destination station as the data identifying the subscriber.

21. A network as in claim 18, further comprising:

a service control point, remote from the central office switching systems, said service control point containing a database of call processing records; and

a first signaling network separate from the communication links and from the trunk circuits, said first signaling network carrying signaling messages between the service control point and the central office switching systems.

22. A network as in claim 21, further comprising an identification database remote from the central office switching systems and coupled to the first signaling network, said identification database comprising a plurality of subscriber records, each subscriber record containing name data for an associated subscriber.

23. A network as in claim 21, wherein the peripheral includes a communication server facilitating signaling communication between the peripheral and the service control point.

24. A network as in claim 23, further comprising a second signaling network, separate from the communication links, the trunk circuits and the first signaling network, said second signaling network being coupled between the communication server and the service control point.

25. A network as in claim 24, wherein:

the first signaling network comprises a common channel interoffice signaling network; and

the second signaling network comprises a packet switched data network.

26. A network as in claim 18, wherein the peripheral comprises a voice authentication module for analyzing speech received from the caller to identify the caller as an authentic subscriber.