Personal dial tone service with personalized call waiting

• US 6,829,332 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2002
• Issued: 12/07/2004
• 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: Farris, Robert D., McAllister, Alexander I., Strauss, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Foster, Roland G
• Application Number:
  US10/124,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20020163999A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88-1-, 379/88.12, 379/88.16, 379/164, 379/179, 379/93.35, 379/201-1-2, 379/207.02, 379/211-1-2, 379/215.01, 379/216.01, 379/373.01, 379/373.03, 379/374.01, 379/374.02
• US Class Current: 379/88.02
• 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. Specifically, when a person requests a service, the network executes a speech processing operation, to identify the person or a party that the person is calling as a known subscriber. One or more switching offices of the network utilize profile data associated with the identified subscriber to control services. The personalized service applies both to incoming and outgoing calls. The network can provide the 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 she is calling. If the line is free, the switch applies distinctive ringing. If the line is in use, the switch 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. For outgoing calls, the network utilizes a voice verification procedure to identify the actual subscriber. The subscriber'"'"'s profile controls network processing of the call, including the provision of personal subscriber identification for caller ID, both on ringing calls and with call waiting alert signals.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting a call to a predetermined destination identifier associated with a plurality of known individual subscribers;

upon detection of the call, prompting a caller and analyzing an input from the caller to identify one of the known subscribers as an individual intended as a recipient of the detected call;

loading subscriber service profile information corresponding to the intended recipient subscriber in a call processing register of a switch serving link to a destination station, wherein the subscriber service profile information corresponds to the predetermined destination identifier and contains information corresponding to at least one of service feature information, billing information, identification information, an alerting service, and a call restriction profile; and

transmitting a distinct one of a plurality of predetermined call alert signals over the link to the destination station, the distinct call alert signal identifying the intended recipient subscriber based on the subscriber service profile information.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the distinct call alert signal comprises a distinctive ringing signal.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein the distinct call alert signal comprises a distinctive call waiting signal.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein the predetermined destination identifier consists of a telephone number.

5. A method comprising:

detecting a call to a predetermined destination identifier associated with a plurality of known individual subscribers;

upon detection of the call, prompting a caller and analyzing an input from the call to identify one of the known subscribers as an individual intended as a recipient of the detected call;

determining if a link to a destination corresponding to said destination identifier is busy; and

in response to the link to the destination being busy, transmitting a distinct one of a plurality of predetermined call waiting alert signals over the link to the destination based on subscriber service profile information corresponding to the intended recipient subscriber and containing information corresponding to at least one of service feature information, billing information, identification information, an alerting service, and a call restriction profile, the distinct call waiting alert signal identifying the intended recipient subscriber.

6. A method as in claim 5, wherein the prompting comprises playing an announcement requesting the caller to speak the name of the intended recipient subscriber.

7. A method as in claim 6, wherein the analyzing comprises analyzing an audible input from the caller to recognize a spoken match to a name of one of the known subscribers.

8. A method as in claim 5, wherein the predetermined destination identifier consists of a telephone number.

9. An apparatus comprising:

a telecommunication network comprising a plurality of central office switching systems interconnected by trunk circuits, for processing calls originated over a plurality of communication links, at least one of said central office switching systems including mass storage containing subscriber service profiles, each subscriber service profile corresponding to an intended recipient subscriber and containing information corresponding to at least one of service feature information, billing information, identification information, an alerting service, and a call restriction profile; and

a platform, coupled via a communication link to one of the central office switching systems, for providing a message to a caller and receiving an input from the caller;

wherein;

in response to a call to a predetermined destination identifier associated with a plurality of known individual subscribers, the telecommunication network routes the call to the platform,

the platform prompts a caller and analyzes an input from the caller to identify one of the known subscribers as an individual intended as a recipient of the detected call and provides a code corresponding to the subscriber identified as the intended recipient to a central office switching system serving a communication link corresponding to said destination identifier, and

the central office switching system serving the communication link utilizes the subscriber service profile information from the mass storage corresponding to the intended recipient subscriber to process the call and transmit a distinct one of a plurality of predetermined call alert signals over the link to the destination station, the distinct call alert signal identifying the intended recipient subscriber.

10. An apparatus as in claim 9, wherein the central office switching system serving the communication link transmits one of a plurality of distinctive ringing signals as the distinct call alert signal.

11. An apparatus as in claim 9, wherein the central office switching system serving the communication link transmits one of a plurality of distinctive call waiting signals as the distinct call alert signal.

12. An apparatus as in claim 9, wherein the platform comprises a speech recognition module for analyzing an audible input from the caller to recognize a spoken match to a name of one of the known subscribers.

13. An apparatus as in claim 12, wherein the platform further comprises a voice authentication module for analyzing speech of a caller to identify the caller as a particular known subscriber.

14. An apparatus as in claim 9, wherein:

the telecommunication network comprises a public switched telephone network;

the central office switching systems comprise program controlled telephone switches; and

the platform comprises an intelligent peripheral coupled to at least one of the telephone switches.

15. An apparatus as in claim 14, wherein the telephone network further comprises:

an interoffice signaling network interconnecting the telephone switches; and

a service control point coupled to the interoffice signaling network and storing call processing information for control of at least some of the call processing operations of the telephone switches.

16. A telecommunication network comprising:

a telephone central office switching system for processing calls originated over a plurality of telephone links; and

a peripheral coupled via a telephone link to the switching system, said peripheral including a speech recognition module for analyzing speech of a caller from a first communication link to identify one of a plurality of subscribers as an intended recipient and provide a control code assigned to the identified subscriber to the switching system, the control code being based on subscriber service profile information corresponding to the intended recipient subscriber and containing information corresponding to at least one of service feature information, billing information, identification information, an alerting service, and a call restriction profile.

wherein in response to the control code, the switching system processes a waiting call from the first telephone link to a second telephone link associated with the identified subscriber and transmits a distinct one of a plurality of predetermined call waiting alert signals over an established call connection on the second link, the distinct call waiting alert signal corresponding to the intended recipient subscriber.

17. A network as in claim 16, further comprising:

a service control point, remote from the telephone switching system, said service control point containing a database of call processing records for providing instructions to the telephone central office switching system; and

a first signaling network separate from the telephone links for carrying signaling messages between the service control point and the telephone switching system.

18. A network as in claim 16, wherein:

the telephone central office switching system includes mass storage containing subscriber profiles, and

in response to the code, the switching retrieves a subscriber profile corresponding to the intended recipient subscriber which identifies the distinct call waiting alert signal for transmission over the second telephone link.

19. A method comprising:

detecting a request to make a call from a predetermined link through a multiple link communication network;

receiving and processing speech signals from a person via the predetermined link to identify the person as one of a plurality of subscribers to services offered through the communication network;

instructing a switching office of the communication network to utilize profile data corresponding to the identified subscriber for processing of the call from the predetermined link through the network to a destination station;

determining if a link to the destination station is busy, and if so, transmitting a call waiting alerting signal over the link to the destination station; and

transmitting subscriber service profile information representing the identity of the one subscriber to the destination station together with the alerting signal, the subscriber service profile information containing information corresponding to at least one of service feature information, billing information, identification information, an alerting service, and a call restriction profile.

20. A method as in claim 19, wherein the step of receiving and processing speech signals comprises:

receiving signals from the person over the predetermined link, and

comparing information characteristic of the received speech signals to stored speech data corresponding to a plurality of subscribers associated with the predetermined link.

21. A method as in claim 19, wherein the communication network comprises a telephone network having a plurality of central offices each of which serves a plurality of communication links.

22. A method as in claim 19, wherein the step of transmitting data comprises transmitting data representing a name of the one subscriber from the profile data through the communication network to the destination station.

23. A method as in claim 19, wherein the step of transmitting data comprises:

transmitting data representing the identity of the one subscriber to a database remote from the switching office;

accessing information in the remote 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 destination station.

24. A method comprising:

detecting a call to a predetermined destination identifier associated with a plurality of known individual subscribers;

upon detection of the call, analyzing an input from a caller to identify one of the known subscribers as an individual intended as a recipient of the detected call;

loading subscriber service profile information corresponding to the intended recipient subscriber in a call processing register of a switch serving a link to a destination station corresponding to the predetermined destination identifier, wherein the subscriber service profile information contains information corresponding to at least one of service feature information, billing information, identification information, an alerting service, and a call restriction profile, wherein the step of loading comprises;

(a) selecting an office equipment number corresponding to the intended recipient subscriber;

(b) retrieving the subscriber profile information corresponding to the office equipment of the intended recipient subscriber from mass storage; and

(c) loading the retrieved subscriber profile information into the call processing register of the switch; and

transmitting a distinct one of a plurality of predetermined call alert signals over the link to the destination station, the distinct call alert signal identifying the intended recipient subscriber.

25. A telecommunication network comprising:

a plurality of central offices interconnected by trunk circuits for processing calls originated over a plurality of communication links;

storage containing subscriber service profiles, each subscriber service profile corresponding to an intended recipient subscriber and containing information corresponding to at least one of service feature information, billing information, identification information, an alerting service, and a call restriction profile; and

a peripheral coupled to one of the central offices for receiving an input from a caller, to identify one of a plurality of subscribers as an intended recipient and provide an office equipment number assigned to the identified subscriber to the one central office, wherein;

the one central office retrieves a profile corresponding to the office equipment number assigned to the identified subscriber from storage,

wherein the one central office processes a waiting call from the first communication link to a second communication link of the network associated with the identified subscriber using the retrieved profile, and

the processing of the waiting call includes transmitting a distinct one of a plurality of predetermined call waiting alert signals over an established call connection on the second link, the distinct call waiting alert signal corresponding to the intended recipient subscriber.

26. A method comprising:

detecting a call to a predetermined destination identifier associated with a plurality of known individual subscribers;

upon detection of the call, analyzing an input from a caller to identify one of the known subscribers as an individual intended as a recipient of the detected call;

using an office equipment number assigned individually to the intended recipient subscriber to obtain a subscriber profile record associated with the intended recipient subscriber, from among records of a plurality of subscribers, the subscriber profile record containing information corresponding to at least one of service feature information, billing information, identification information, an alerting service, and a call restriction profile;

determining if a link to a destination corresponding to said destination identifier is busy; and

upon the link to the destination being busy, and based at least in part on information from the obtained subscriber profile record, transmitting a distinct one of a plurality of predetermined call waiting alert signals over the link to the destination,

wherein the distinct call waiting alert signal identifies the intended recipient subscriber.