Intelligent remote caller ID

• US 6,970,546 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2004
• Issued: 11/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2004
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Daniell, W. Todd, Kent, Larry G. Jr., Arnoff, Mary S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui, Bing Q.
• Application Number:
  US10/755,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20050152525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 687 Days
• Field of Search: 370/259, 370/352, 379/88.13, 379/88.17, 379/88.19, 379/93.24, 379/142.01, 379/142.08, 379/211.01, 379/215.01, 379/221.08, 379/230
• US Class Current: 379/207.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/20 hybrid systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/72 Finding out and indicating number of calling subscriber

Abstract

An intelligent remote caller identification system is provided that typically includes a central office, a service control point, and an internet call routing system. The central office typically triggers a query responsive to receiving a call request. The service control point is coupled to the central office, receives the query, and triggers an internet call routing query. The internet call routing system is coupled to the service control point and typically receives the internet call routing query, determines the presence of the called party with respect to a registered communication device, and sends an internet-based message to the called party at the registered communication device in response to the presence determination. Methods and other systems are also provided.

Claims

1. An intelligent remote caller identification system, comprising:

a telephone routing device operable to receive a query responsive to a call request to a telephone number of a called party and trigger an internet call routing query; and

an internet call routing system coupled to the telephone routing device, the internet call routing system operable to receive the internet call routing query, dispose of the call request based upon rules set up by the called party, and send internet-based messages to the called party at a plurality of registered communication devices.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a certificate authority coupled to the internet call routing system, the certificate authority being operable to authenticate the called party by searching a customer database for current subscription and payment information.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a presence engine coupled to the internet call routing system, the presence engine being operable to determine a presence of any of the registered communication devices.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the internet call routing query comprises an account number associated with the called party, a phone number associated with the called party, a registration identification associated with the called party, and a certificate associated with the called party.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a gateway coupled between the telephone routing device and the internet call routing system, the gateway being operable to translate protocols between a SS7 protocol and the internet protocol.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a short message service server, an electronic mail server, an instant messaging server and a simple object access protocol server, said server(s) being coupled to the internet call routing system, and being operable to forward an internet-based message to a registered communication device responsive to instructions from the internet call routing system.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the registered communication devices include a cellular telephone.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the rules include calling party restrictions that cause call requests to be handled in a different manner depending upon the calling party making the call request.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the rules include the option of handling the call request by connecting the calling party to the telephone number and contemporaneously sending the internet-based messages to the plurality of registered communication devices to inform the called party of the telephone call to the telephone number.

10. An internet call routing system, comprising:

receive logic operable to receive a call query from a telephone routing device via a gateway;

presence logic coupled to the receive logic, the presence logic being operable to determine whether a called party associated with the call query is present with respect to at least one registered communication device associated with the called party; and

messaging logic coupled to the presence logic, the messaging logic being operable to send a plurality of messages to the called party via a plurality of registered communication devices responsive to the presence determination.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a database operable to store a profile associated with the called party including a list comprising the plurality of registered communication devices, the database being operable to provide the list associated with the called party to the presence logic.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the messaging logic is at least one of a short message server, an electronic mail server, a simple object access protocol server, and an instant messaging server.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the call query comprises an account number associated with the called party, a phone number associated with the called party, a registration identification associated with the called party, and a certificate associated with the called party.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

authentication logic coupled to the receive logic, the authentication logic operable to employ the certificate associated with the called party to authenticate the called party associated with the call query.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the authentication logic authenticates the called party, and assures that the called party continues to subscribe to a service provided by the internet call routing system.

16. The system of claim 10, further comprising a rules engine, the rules engine being coupled between the receive logic and the presence logic, the rules engine being operable to parse at least one rule associated with the called party, and send instructions to a service control point to connect the call as dialed responsive to the rule parsing.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of registered communication devices comprise at least one of an internet connected computer, a cellular phone, an internet protocol phone, and a television set-top box.

18. A method of providing caller identification at a remote location, comprising the steps of:

receiving a call query from a telephone routing device via a gateway;

determining whether the called party is present with respect to a plurality of registered communication devices associated with the called party; and

sending a plurality of messages to the called party via the registered communication devices responsive to the presence determination.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:

storing a profile associated with the called party including a list comprising the plurality of registered communication devices, the database being operable to provide the list associated with the called party to the presence logic.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises:

storing a profile associated with the called party, the profile also including at least one rule for sending the message to the called party.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

parsing said at least one rule prior to sending the message to the called party; and

sending a message to the called party via at least one registered communication device responsive to the parsing and the presence determination.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the message is an internet-based message.

23. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

using at least one of a short message server, an electronic mail server, a simple object access protocol server, and an instant messaging server, to send the message to the called party via said at least one registered communication device responsive to the presence determination.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of registered communication devices includes at least one of a computer with internet connectivity, a cellular phone, an internet protocol phone, and a television set-top box.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein the call query comprises an account number associated with the called party, a phone number associated with the called party, a registration identification associated with the called party, and a certificate associated with the called party.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising using the certificate associated with the called party to authenticate the called party.

27. A computer readable medium having a program for providing caller identification at a remote location, the program comprising the steps of:

receiving a call query from a telephone routing device via a gateway;

determining whether the called party is present with respect to a plurality of registered communication devices associated with the called party; and

sending a plurality of messages to the called party via the registered communication devices responsive to the presence determination.

28. The program of claim 27, wherein the method further comprises:

storing a profile associated with the called party including a list comprising the plurality of registered communication devices, the database being operable to provide the list associated with the called party to the presence logic.

29. The program of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises:

storing a profile associated with the called party, the profile also including at least one rule for sending the message to the called party.

30. The program of claim 29, further comprising:

parsing said at least one rule prior to sending the message to the called party; and

sending a message to the called party via said at least one registered communication device responsive to the parsing and the presence determination.

31. The program of claim 30, wherein the message is an internet-based message.

32. The program of claim 27, further comprising:

using at least one of a short message server, an electronic mail server, a simple object access protocol server, and an instant messaging server, to send the message to the called party via said at least one registered communication device responsive to the presence determination.

33. The program of claim 32, wherein the plurality of registered communication devices includes at least one of a computer with internet connectivity, a cellular phone, an internet protocol phone, and a television set-top box.

34. The program of claim 27, wherein the call query comprises an account number associated with the called party, a phone number associated with the called party, a registration identification associated with the called party, and a certificate associated with the called party.

35. The program of claim 34, further comprising using the certificate associated with the called party to authenticate the called party.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein the rules include time restrictions that cause call requests to be handled in a different manner depending upon the time that the call request is received.