Telephone call screening and routing device and related method
First Claim
1. A method for screening and routing an incoming call from a caller, comprising:
- receiving at a cellular phone an incoming telephone signal including identification information;
identifying at the cellular phone an entry in a data set that corresponds to the identification information, wherein the data set includes;
(1) a first entry for a known caller, (2) a second entry for an undisclosed caller, and (3) a third entry for all telephone numbers or names not listed in the data set;
performing an action by the cellular phone based on the entry in the data set that corresponds to the identification information, the action being;
(1) allowing a ring tone when the corresponding entry is the first entry, (2) blocking the incoming telephone signal when the corresponding entry is the second entry, or (3) sending to a voicemail without having a ring tone when the corresponding entry is the third entry; and
displaying an indication on a display of the cellular phone if the corresponding entry is the second entry, the indication including information associated with the incoming telephone signal and a message that the incoming telephone signal has been blocked.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for screening and routing incoming telephone calls includes extracting caller identification information from an incoming telephone call, providing a plurality of tables including a primary ring table, a secondary ring table, a voicemail table, a block call table, and a forward call table, and determining which one of the plurality of tables includes the caller identification information. The method further includes sending the incoming telephone call directly to voicemail without having a ring tone if the voicemail table includes the caller identification information, blocking the incoming telephone call if the block call table includes the caller identification information, and forwarding the incoming telephone call if the forward call table includes the caller identification information.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method for screening and routing an incoming call from a caller, comprising:
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receiving at a cellular phone an incoming telephone signal including identification information; identifying at the cellular phone an entry in a data set that corresponds to the identification information, wherein the data set includes;
(1) a first entry for a known caller, (2) a second entry for an undisclosed caller, and (3) a third entry for all telephone numbers or names not listed in the data set;performing an action by the cellular phone based on the entry in the data set that corresponds to the identification information, the action being;
(1) allowing a ring tone when the corresponding entry is the first entry, (2) blocking the incoming telephone signal when the corresponding entry is the second entry, or (3) sending to a voicemail without having a ring tone when the corresponding entry is the third entry; anddisplaying an indication on a display of the cellular phone if the corresponding entry is the second entry, the indication including information associated with the incoming telephone signal and a message that the incoming telephone signal has been blocked. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A cellular telephone having a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor causes the cellular telephone to perform:
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extracting caller identification information from an incoming telephone call; storing a plurality of tables including a first ring tone table, a second ring tone table, a voicemail table, a forward table and a block call table; matching the caller identification information to an entry in the plurality of tables, the plurality of tables haying entries including;
(1) a name or telephone number entry, (2) a caller-unavailable entry where a caller name or telephone number is blocked prior to extracting caller identification information, and (3) an entry for a name or telephone number not blocked and not contained in the plurality of tables, wherein the caller-unavailable entry is included in a different table than the entry for a name or telephone number not blocked and not contained in the plurality of tables;blocking the incoming telephone call if the block call table includes the matched entry; allowing the incoming telephone call to have a first ring tone if the first ring tone table includes the matched entry; sending the incoming telephone call directly to voicemail without having a ring tone if the voicemail table includes the matched entry; and displaying on a display of the cellular telephone that the incoming telephone call has been blocked when the matched entry is included in the block call table. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A cellular device for screening and routing incoming telephone calls, comprising:
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a display; a transceiver configured to receive an incoming telephone call including caller identification information; a memory coupled to the transceiver, the memory configured to store a plurality of entries, wherein the plurality of entries include at least;
(1) a name or telephone number entry, (2) a caller-unavailable entry where a caller name or telephone number is blocked prior to the incoming telephone call being received, and (3) an entry for a name or telephone number not blocked and not stored in the memory, further wherein the caller-unavailable entry is included in a different table than the entry for a name or telephone number not blocked and not stored in the memory, where each of the plurality of entries further includes an identifier selected from one of a set including (1) a primary ring, (2) a voicemail or (3) a block call; anda processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to match the caller identification information to one of the plurality of entries and for; allowing the incoming telephone call to have a primary ring tone if the identifier of the matched entry is the primary ring; sending the incoming telephone call directly to voicemail without having a ring tone if the identifier of the matched entry is the voicemail; blocking the incoming telephone call without causing a ring tone and without user interaction if the identifier of the matched entry is the block call; and displaying a message on the display if the identifier of the matched entry is the block call, the message including information associated with the incoming telephone call and indicating that the incoming telephone call has been blocked. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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Specification