Caller ID messaging

• US 8,073,121 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2008
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Urban, Blake R., White, Isaac D. M., Dickens, James E., Forsberg, Kevin, Sawyer, Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Hemant
• Application Number:
  US12/259,614
• Publication Number:
  US 20090117886A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,134 Days
• Field of Search: 370351-356, 370259-271, 37914201-14218, 379 671- 8828, 4554121-417, 709201-203, 709206-207, 709/236
• US Class Current: 379/142.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatuses for caller identification messaging are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a calling party uses a Caller ID Messaging Device that supplants the incoming calling line identification (ICLID) signal with a Caller ID Messaging Signal and transmits the Caller ID Messaging Signal to a destination communications address. An alternate embodiment provides that the calling party may use a conventional telephone to access a communications network, activate Caller ID Messaging Services, compose or retrieve a stored Caller ID Message of the Caller ID Messaging Signal, and transmit the Caller ID Messaging Signal to the destination communications address. The Caller ID Message and Caller ID Messaging Signal may include text, video, voice, and/or digital data.

Claims

1. A communications system, comprising:

a network element connected to a calling party communications device having a caller identification messaging device, the network element receiving from the caller identification messaging device a caller identification messaging signal comprising a caller identification message and a destination communications address; and

a communications network processing an incoming line identification (ICLID) signal of the calling party communications device and the received caller identification messaging signal;

the communications network providing a caller identification profile including a caller identification messaging service associated with the calling party and a type identifier associated with a type of communications device used at the destination communications address;

the communications network determining if a receiving party communications device used at the destination communications address supports enhanced caller ID messaging;

the communications network sending the caller identification messaging signal to the destination communications address when the communications device used at the destination communications address supports enhanced caller ID messaging;

the communications network supplanting the ICLID signal with the caller identification message when the communications device used at the destination communications address does not support enhanced caller ID messaging.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications network is operable to initiate delivery of the caller identification messaging signal to the destination communications address.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications network is operable to initiate delivery of the ICLID signal to the destination communications address.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the calling party communications device comprises at least one of the following:

the caller identification messaging device, a wireless communications device, a mobile phone, a wireless phone, a WAP phone, a satellite phone a computer, a modem, a pager, a digital music device, a digital recording device, a personal digital assistant, an interactive television, a digital signal processor, and a Global Positioning System device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications network comprises a world wide electronic data communications network having a user interface.

6. The system of claim 1, the destination communications address comprising an address of a receiving party communications device, wherein the receiving party communications device comprises at least one of the following:

a caller identification device, a wireless communications device, a mobile phone, a wireless phone, a WAP phone, a satellite phone a computer, a modem, a pager, a digital music device, a digital recording device, a personal digital assistant, an interactive television, a digital signal processor, and a Global Positioning System device.

7. The system of claim 1, the destination communications address comprising:

a receiving party identification telephone number; and

a billing telephone number.

8. The system of claim 1, the communications network further including an audio caller identification messaging application, the audio caller identification messaging application operable to present the caller identification message as an audio communication.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the audio presentation application includes a text-to-speech application.

10. The system of claim 1, the receiving party communications device comprising a response caller identification messaging device, the response caller identification messaging device transmitting a response caller identification messaging signal comprising a response caller identification message.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications network provides a caller identification profile associating one or more caller identification messaging services with the calling party and an originating communications address, a type identifier associated with a type of communications device used at the destination communications address, and one or more caller identification messaging default service parameters.

12. A method for caller identification messaging comprising:

receiving a caller identification messaging signal from a communications network, the caller identification messaging signal comprising a caller identification message and an identifier of a destination communications address;

associating an incoming line identification (ICLID) signal with the caller identification messaging signal;

determining if a communications device used at the destination communications address supports enhanced caller ID messaging;

sending the caller identification messaging signal to the destination communications address when the communications device used at the destination communications address supports enhanced caller ID messaging;

supplanting the ICLID signal with the caller identification message when the communications device used at the destination communications address does not support enhanced caller ID messaging.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the receiving party communications device comprises at least one of the following:

a caller identification device, a caller identification messaging device, a wireless communications device, a mobile phone, a wireless phone, a wide area protocol phone, a satellite phone a computer, a modem, a pager, a digital music device, a digital recording device, a personal digital assistant, an interactive television, a digital signal processor, and a Global Positioning System device.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising presenting the caller identification message to the receiving party communications device.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising presenting a caller identification messaging delivery failure notification to the communications device of the calling party.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving a response caller identification messaging signal from the communications network, the response caller identification messaging signal comprising a response caller identification message;

and

determining whether to format the response caller identification message for delivery to a response communications device such that a database of stored communications addresses is accessed and compared with an identifier to determine presentation capabilities associated with the response communications device, if formatting of the response caller identification message is required, then formatting the response caller identification message for presentation to a response communications address, and transmitting the response caller identification message to the response communications address, if formatting of the response caller identification message is not required, then transmitting the response caller identification message to the response communications address.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving a forwarded caller identification messaging signal to forward the caller identification message to a forwarded communications address;

determining whether to format the caller identification message for delivery to a forwarded communications device of the forwarded communications address such that a database of stored communications addresses is accessed and compared with an identifier of the forwarded communications device, to determine presentation capabilities associated with the forwarded communications device, if formatting of the forwarded caller identification message is required, then formatting the forwarded caller identification message for presentation to the forwarded communications address, and transmitting the forwarded caller identification message to the forwarded communications address, if formatting of the forwarded caller identification message is not required, then transmitting the forwarded caller identification message to the forwarded communications address.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising assigning financial allocations to bill for caller identification messaging communications of one of the caller identification messaging signal, the response caller identification messaging signal, and the forwarded caller identification signal.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising providing a caller identification profile associating one or more caller identification messaging services with the calling party and an originating communications address, a type identifier associated with a type or category of communications device used at the destination communications address, and one or more caller identification messaging default service parameters.

20. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable storage medium, the computer program including instructions for causing a processor to implement a process for caller identification messaging, the process comprising:

receiving a caller identification messaging signal from a communications network, the caller identification messaging signal comprising a caller identification message and an identifier of a destination communications address;

associating an incoming line identification (ICLID) signal with the caller identification messaging signal;

determining if a communications device used at the destination communications address supports enhanced caller ID messaging;

sending the caller identification messaging signal to the destination communications address when the communications device used at the destination communications address supports enhanced caller ID messaging;

supplanting the ICLID signal with the caller identification message when the communications device used at the destination communications address does not support enhanced caller ID messaging.