System and apparatus for transmitting caller identification information
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus for use on customer premises, the apparatus comprising:
- a first communication interface that directly and communicatively couples to a telephone line at the customer premises to receive a phone call intended for the customer, wherein the telephone line provides POTS (plain old telephone service) to the customer'"'"'s premises;
a second communication interface that communicatively couples to a local area network at the customer premises to communicate with a device, wherein the device is separate from the apparatus but is located at the customer premises and is operable to communicate with the apparatus via the local area network; and
control logic communicatively coupled to the first and second communication interfaces, the control logic operable to;
prior to receiving the phone call, broadcast a first message over the communication network, the first message identifying a communication service offered by the apparatus that provides caller identification information for incoming telephone calls via the local area network;
receive, in response to the first message, a reply message from the device, the reply message requesting the communication service from the apparatus;
subsequent to receiving the reply message from the device, process the phone call received on the telephone line to extract the caller identification information;
generate a second message that includes the caller identification information identifying a caller who initiated the phone call; and
transmit the second message including the caller information to the device via the local area network, wherein the device processes the second message to output the caller identification information to the customer on a display.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Described herein are techniques for extracting caller identification information during a phone call and transmitting the caller identification information over a network to another device that presents the caller identification information to a user. An apparatus includes a first communication interface communicatively coupled to a telephone network and a second communication interface communicatively coupled to a communication network. The apparatus receives a phone call, extracts caller identification data, and transmits the caller identification data to another device over the communication network.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. An apparatus for use on customer premises, the apparatus comprising:
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a first communication interface that directly and communicatively couples to a telephone line at the customer premises to receive a phone call intended for the customer, wherein the telephone line provides POTS (plain old telephone service) to the customer'"'"'s premises; a second communication interface that communicatively couples to a local area network at the customer premises to communicate with a device, wherein the device is separate from the apparatus but is located at the customer premises and is operable to communicate with the apparatus via the local area network; and control logic communicatively coupled to the first and second communication interfaces, the control logic operable to; prior to receiving the phone call, broadcast a first message over the communication network, the first message identifying a communication service offered by the apparatus that provides caller identification information for incoming telephone calls via the local area network; receive, in response to the first message, a reply message from the device, the reply message requesting the communication service from the apparatus; subsequent to receiving the reply message from the device, process the phone call received on the telephone line to extract the caller identification information; generate a second message that includes the caller identification information identifying a caller who initiated the phone call; and transmit the second message including the caller information to the device via the local area network, wherein the device processes the second message to output the caller identification information to the customer on a display. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A router for use at customer premises, the router comprising:
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a first communication interface that directly and communicatively couples to a telephone line at the customer premises to receive a phone call intended for the customer, wherein the telephone line provides POTS service to the customer'"'"'s premises; a second communication interface that communicatively couples to first and second communication devices via a local area network, wherein the first and second communication devices also operate at the customer premises; control logic, comprising a caller identification decoder operable to extract caller identification information directly from the POTS service, and configured to communicate with the first and second communication devices via the second communication interface, the control logic operable to; route traffic to the first and second communication devices on the local area network; prior to receiving the telephone call, identify whether the first communication device is configured to output caller identification information; subsequent to identifying process the phone call to extract the caller identification information; generate a first message in response to the phone call that includes the caller identification information if the first communication device is configured to output the caller identification information; and transmit the first message to the first communication device if the first communication device is configured to output the caller identification information, wherein the first communication device receives the first message and outputs the caller identification information to the customer. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for notifying a customer who is watching television programming of an incoming phone call, the system comprising:
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a television receiver located at the customer premises, the television receiver including; a first communication interface operable to receive the television programming from a broadcast source; a second communication interface communicatively coupled to a local area network that operates within the customer premises; and first control logic communicatively coupled to the first and second communication interfaces and to a presentation device, the first control logic operable to output the television programming to the presentation device; and an apparatus also located at the customer premises, the apparatus comprising; a third communication interface that directly and communicatively couples to a telephone line that is separate from the broadcast source to receive a phone call intended for the customer, wherein the telephone line provides POTS service to the customer'"'"'s premises, and wherein the telephone line is a medium that is separate from the broadcast source; a fourth communication interface that communicates with to the television receiver through the local area network; second control logic communicatively coupled to the third and fourth communication interfaces, the control logic operable to; prior to receiving the phone call, broadcast a first message to on the local area network, the first message identifying a communication service offered by the apparatus that provides caller identification information for incoming telephone calls via the local area network; receive, in response to the first message, a reply message from the television receiver via the local area network, the reply message requesting the communication service from the apparatus; subsequent to receiving the replay message from the device, process the phone call to extract caller identification information; in response to the phone call, generate a second message that includes the extracted caller identification information; and transmit the second message including the caller identification information to the television receiver via the local area network; wherein the second communication interface is operable to receive the second message including the caller identification information from the apparatus, wherein the first control logic is operable to output the caller identification information with the television programming for presentation by the presentation device responsive to the second message to thereby notify the customer who is watching the television programming of the incoming phone call, and wherein the second control logic extracts the caller identification information from the POTS service. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification