Internet caller-ID integration

• US 7,385,992 B1
• Filed: 05/13/2002
• Issued: 06/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: At&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Koch, Robert A., Holt, Scott C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu; Huy D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAN, CLEMENCE S
• Application Number:
  US10/144,556
• Time in Patent Office: 2,220 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/654 Pre, in or post-call message
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42076 where the identifier is a Uniform Resource Locator
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4211 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks

Abstract

One preferred embodiment of the present invention provides systems and methods for supplying calling party information to a receiving party having an Internet-connected device. Briefly described, in architecture, one embodiment, among others, includes an Internet caller-ID system configured to detect if a telephone call to a receiving party is designated for Internet caller-ID service. If the service is designated, the caller-ID system generates and sends an Internet caller-ID message to the receiving party. Other systems and methods are also provided.

Claims

1. A method for supplying calling party information to a receiving party having an Internet-connected device coupled to the Internet, wherein a calling party places a telephone call to the receiving party over a telephone network, comprising:

routing a telephone call from the calling party to the receiving party;

during routing of the telephone call, detecting whether the receiving party has Internet caller-ID service;

if the receiving party has Internet caller-ID service, retrieving a profile for the receiving party from a database, the profile including a resource locator specified by at least one of the receiving party, the calling party, or a third party, the profile further including a URL template for providing access to a web-based customer relationship management package; and

, if the receiving party does not have Internet caller-ID service, then retrieving a default profile from the database;

constructing an Internet caller-ID message using the retrieved profile or the retrieved default profile;

retrieving a delivery transport address for the receiving party from a database and using the delivery transport address to identify at least one of an IP address for the receiving party or an instant messaging address for the receiving party; and

sending the Internet caller-ID message to the Internet-connected device of the receiving party before completion of the telephone call by at least one of;

pushing the Internet caller-ID message to an active web browser on the Internet-connected device of the receiving party, or transmitting the Internet caller-ID message as an Instant Message to the Internet-connected device of the receiving party.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

suspending routing of the telephone call after the Internet caller-ID service is detected; and

continuing routing of the telephone call after the Internet caller-ID message is sent.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting whether the receiving party has Internet caller-ID service further comprises:

detecting the phone number of the receiving party; and

retrieving call routing instructions for the detected phone number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating an Internet caller-ID message further comprises:

retrieving information associated with the calling party to include in the Internet caller-ID message if the calling party is a subscriber to the Internet caller-ID service, the information to be added to the Internet caller-ID message sent to the receiving party.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the information further includes the phone number of the calling party.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the information further includes a resource locator designated by the calling party.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the information further includes a resource locator designated by a third party.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the information further includes the name of the calling party.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the information further includes the address of the calling party.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein generating an Internet caller-ID message further comprises:

including the information concerning the calling party in the Internet caller-ID message.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein generating an Internet caller-ID message further comprises:

retrieving information associated with the receiving party to include in the caller-ID message.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the information associated with the receiving party further includes a resource locator designated by the receiving party.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the information associated with the receiving party further includes a resource locator designated by a third party.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein generating an Internet caller-ID message further comprises:

including at least some of the information concerning the receiving party in the Internet caller-ID message.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the Internet caller-ID message to the receiving party before completion of the telephone call further comprises:

retrieving a delivery transport address of the receiving party from a profile of the receiving party stored in a central database; and

using the delivery transport address of the receiving party to transmit the Internet caller-ID message over the Internet to the Internet-connected device of the receiving party.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the delivery transport address is an IP address of the Internet-connected device of the receiving party.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the delivery transport address is an instant messaging address, and the Internet caller-ID message is an instant message.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the delivery transport address is an email address, and the Internet caller-ID message is an email.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the delivery transport address is an ISP login of the receiving party;

the Internet caller-ID message is a web page; and

the web page is pushed to an IP address associated with the ISP login.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the Internet caller-ID message at the Internet-connected device of the receiving party.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving the telephone call at the telephony device of the receiving party.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein constructing an Internet caller-ID message using the retrieved profile or the retrieved default profile further comprises:

including a resource locator in the Internet caller-ID message.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving the Internet caller-ID message at the Internet-connected device of the receiving party; and

activating the resource locator located in the Internet caller-ID message.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the resource locator is an entry of the calling party in an online phone directory.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party; and

storing the profile, wherein the profile includes information that is included in the Internet caller-ID message.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party further comprises:

providing in the profile a resource locator, wherein the resource locator is a URL designated by the receiving party.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party further comprises:

providing in the profile of the receiving party a resource locator, wherein the resource locator is a URL designated by a third party.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the calling party; and

storing the profile, wherein constructing an Internet caller-ID message using the retrieved profile or the retrieved default profile includes information from the profile in the Internet caller-ID message.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party further comprises:

providing in the profile a resource locator, wherein the resource locator is a URL designated by the calling party.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party further comprises:

providing in the profile a resource locator, wherein the resource locator is a URL designated by a third party.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party further comprises:

providing in the profile a resource locator, wherein the resource locator is a URL of a web page that is created for the calling party.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party further comprises:

providing in the profile a phone number of the calling party.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party further comprises:

providing in the profile an address of the calling party.

34. A system for supplying calling party information to a receiving party having an Internet-connected device coupled to the Internet, wherein a calling party places a telephone call to the receiving party over a telephone network, comprising:

an Internet caller-ID service detection system for detecting whether the receiving party has Internet caller-ID service during routing of the telephone call;

an Internet caller-ID message construction system connected to the Internet caller-ID service detection system wherein, if the receiving party has Internet caller-ID service, an Internet caller-ID message is constructed by retrieving a profile for the receiving party from a database, the profile including a resource locator specified by at least one of the receiving party, the calling party, or a third party, the profile further including a URL template for providing access to a web-based customer relationship management package; and

, if the receiving party does not have Internet caller-ID service, then the Internet caller-ID message is constructed by retrieving a default profile from the database; and

an Internet caller-ID message transmission system connected to the Internet caller-ID message generation system for transmitting the Internet caller-ID messages to the receiving party before completion of the telephone call by retrieving a delivery transport address for the receiving party from a database and using the delivery transport address to identify at least one of an IP address for the receiving party or an instant messaging address for the receiving party; and

by at least one of;

(a) pushing the Internet caller-ID message to an active web browser on the Internet-connected device of the receiving party, or (b) transmitting the Internet caller-ID message as an Instant Message to the Internet-connected device of the receiving party.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the system further comprises a system for routing the telephone call from the calling party to the receiving party.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the Internet caller-ID service detection system routes the call from the calling party to the receiving party, detecting if the receiving party has designated the Internet caller-ID service, the system configured to authorize an Internet caller-ID message to be generated after Internet caller-ID service is detected;

and authorize an Internet caller-ID message to be sent after the message is generated.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the Internet caller-ID message generation system includes an Internet caller-ID server configured to generate the Internet caller-ID message.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the system suspends routing of the telephone call after the system detects that the receiving party has Internet caller-ID service.

39. The system of claim 34, further comprising:

a communication station of the receiving party, wherein the communication station includes;

a telephone coupled to the telephone network; and

an Internet-connected device coupled to the Internet.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the Internet-connected device is coupled to the Internet using DSL technology.

41. The system of claim 39, wherein the Internet-connected device is coupled to the Internet using cable modem technology.

42. The system of claim 39, wherein the Internet-connected device is coupled to the Internet using satellite communication technology.

43. The system of claim 39, wherein the Internet-connected device is coupled to the Internet using a dial-up service.

44. The system of claim 39, wherein the Internet-connected device is always on.

45. The system of claim 39, wherein the Internet-connected device is a computer.

46. The system of claim 34, wherein the telephone network is a VoIP network.

47. The system of claim 37, the Internet caller-ID server further configured to:

retrieve information associated with the calling party if the calling party is detected to have Internet caller-ID service; and

include the information in the caller-ID message.

48. The system of claim 37, the Internet caller-ID server further configured to:

retrieve information designated by the receiving party; and

include the information designated by the receiving party in the Internet caller-ID message.

49. The system of claim 48, the Internet caller-ID server further configured to:

retrieve a delivery transport address of the receiving party.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein the delivery transport address is an IP address of the Internet-connected device of the receiving party.

51. The system of claim 49, wherein the delivery transport address is an instant messaging address, and the Internet caller-ID message is an instant message.

52. The system of claim 49, wherein the address is an email address, and the Internet caller-ID message is an email.

53. The system of claim 50, wherein the Internet caller-ID message is a web page pushed to the Internet-connected device at the IP address.

54. The system of claim 37, further comprising:

a profile database storing a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party, wherein at least some information from the profile is used to determine the address for the Internet-connected device of the receiving party.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein at least some information from the profile is included in the Internet caller-ID message.

56. The system of claim 55, wherein a resource locator is contained in the profile and included in the Internet caller-ID message.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the resource locator is designated by the receiving party.

58. The system of claim 56, wherein the resource locator is designated by a third party.

59. The system of claim 56, wherein the resource locator is a URL.

60. The system of claim 37, further comprising:

a profile database storing a profile of retrievable information concerning the calling party, wherein at least some information from the profile is included in the Internet caller-ID message.

61. The system of claim 60, wherein a resource locator is contained in the profile and included in the Internet caller-ID message.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the resource locator is designated by the calling party.

63. The system of claim 61, wherein the resource locator is designated by a third party.

64. The system of claim 61, wherein the resource locator is a URL.

65. The system of claim 61, wherein the resource locator is a URL of an internet web page that is created for the calling party by a provider of the Internet caller-ID service.

66. The system of claim 65, further comprising a communication station of the calling party having an Internet-connected device coupled to the Internet.

67. The system of claim 37, wherein the Internet caller-ID server is further configured to:

include in the Internet caller-ID message an entry of the calling party from an online phone directory.

68. The system of claim 37, further comprising:

an instant messaging server connected to the Internet and capable of communicating with the Internet caller-ID server.

69. The system of claim 37, further comprising:

an Internet service provider connected to the Internet and capable of communicating with the Internet caller-ID server.

70. A computer readable medium having a program for supplying calling party information to a receiving party having an Internet-connected device coupled to the Internet, wherein a calling party places a telephone call to the receiving party over a telephone network, the program having instructions for performing:

routing a telephone call from the calling party to the receiving party;

during routing of the telephone call, detecting whether the receiving party has internet caller-ID service;

if the receiving party has Internet caller-ID service, retrieving a profile for the receiving party from a database, the profile including a resource locator specified by at least one of the receiving party, the calling party, or a third party, the profile further including a URL template for providing access to a web-based customer relationship management package; and

, if the receiving party does not have Internet caller-ID service, then retrieving a default profile from the database;

constructing an Internet caller-ID message using the retrieved profile or the retrieved default profile;

retrieving a delivery transport address for the receiving party from a database and using the delivery transport address to identify at least one of an IP address for the receiving party or an instant messaging address for the receiving party; and

sending the Internet caller-ID message to the Internet-connected device of the receiving party before completion of the telephone call by at least one of;

pushing the Internet caller-ID message to an active web browser on the Internet-connected device of the receiving party, or transmitting the Internet caller-ID message as an Instant Message to the Internet-connected device of the receiving party.

71. The computer readable medium of claim 70, the program further performing:

retrieving information associated with the calling party if the calling party is a subscriber to the Internet caller-ID service, the information to be added to the Internet caller-ID message sent to the receiving party.

72. The computer readable medium of claim 70, wherein sending the Internet caller-ID message to the receiving party before completion of the telephone call further comprises:

retrieving a delivery transport address of the receiving party from a profile of the receiving party stored in a central database; and

using the delivery transport address of the receiving party to transmit the Internet caller-ID message over the Internet to the Internet-connected device of the receiving party.

74. The computer readable medium of claim 72, wherein:

the delivery transport address is an ISP login of the receiving party;

the Internet caller-ID message is a web page; and

the web page is pushed to an IP address associated with the ISP login.

75. The computer readable medium of claim 70, the program further performing:

creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party; and

storing the profile, wherein the profile includes information that is included in the Internet caller-ID message.

76. The computer readable medium of claim 75, wherein creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the receiving party further comprises:

providing in the profile of the receiving party a resource locator, wherein the resource locator is a URL designated by a third party.

77. The computer readable medium of claim 70, the program further performing:

creating a profile of retrievable information concerning the calling party; and

storing the profile, wherein the constructing includes information from the profile in the Internet caller-ID message.

78. The computer readable medium of claim 77, the program further performing:

providing in the profile of the calling party a resource locator, wherein the resource locator of the calling party is a URL designated by a third party.

73. The computer readable medium of 72, wherein the delivery transport address is an IP address of the Internet-connected device of the receiving party.