Systems and methods for caller identification customization and remote management of communication devices

• US 9,148,431 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2006
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Chmaytelli, Mazen
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): YI, ALEXANDER J.
• Application Number:
  US11/609,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20080137828A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,213 Days
• Field of Search: 455/415, 455/419, 455/420, 455/410, 379/142.01, 379/201.11, 379/207.13, 379/142.04, 379/88.02, 379/88.03, 379/230
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/66 with means for preventing unauthorised or fraudulent calling verifying user identity or authority in secret or secure digital communications H04L9/32
• 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: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold

Abstract

Methods, devices, systems and computer program products are described for implementing on a communication device customized caller ID and remote functional management of a communication device via shared secret exchange between calling and called parties. Customized caller ID provides for a calling party to identify themself regardless of the device they are using to place to call. In addition, other remote functional management, such as call priority tagging, provides for the calling party to prioritize the call or otherwise customize a call ID message to the called party. By exchanging shared secrets amongst the calling and called parties, the customized caller ID method and remote functional management are secure, thereby eliminating the likelihood of unauthorized tampering by unknown parties. Shared secret exchange also provides for authorized callers to remotely access and manage the communication device, such as, for example, to remotely lock down or place the communication device in an off state.

Claims

1. A method for operating a mobile communication device, comprising:

receiving, at the mobile communication device, a wireless communication call including at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret provided from a caller in conjunction with set-up of the wireless communication call;

verifying, at the mobile communication device, the at least one shared secret by detecting whether the at least one shared secret is included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile communication device in association with the at least one notification trigger; and

performing at least one mobile communication device function at the mobile communication device based on the at least one shared secret,

wherein performing the at least one mobile communication device function includes providing, by the mobile communication device, a priority output signal to identify a priority of the wireless communication call, and

wherein the mobile communication device corresponds to a called party of the wireless communication call.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein verifying the at least one shared secret further comprises referencing a database in response to receipt of the at least one shared secret and referencing an entry in the database associated with the at least one shared secret.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the at least one mobile communication device function associated with the at least one shared secret further comprises providing a caller identifier output signal to identify the caller.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein providing the caller identifier output signal to identify the caller comprises displaying a caller identification to identify the caller.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein providing the caller identifier output signal to identify the caller comprises providing an audio signal to identify the caller.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority output signal is displayed as a priority message to identify the priority of the wireless communication call.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the at least one mobile communication device function associated with the at least one shared secret further comprises providing the caller with remote access to one or more remote management functions.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the at least one mobile communication device function associated with the at least one shared secret further comprises locking the mobile communication device in an off mode.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein verifying the at least one shared secret further comprises referencing a database associated with the at least one notification trigger and referencing an entry in the database associated with the at least one shared secret.

39. The method of claim 3,

wherein the caller identifier output signal is a customized caller identifier output signal for the caller.

40. The method of claim 1, wherein the shared secret includes visual data, audio data, biometric data and/or voice data that is configured to trigger the mobile communication device to provide the priority output signal.

41. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one shared secret includes a single shared secret from the set of multiple shared secrets and the at least one notification trigger includes a single notification trigger.

42. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one notification trigger includes a single notification trigger and the at least one shared secret includes more than one shared secret from the set of multiple shared secrets, and

wherein each of the more than one shared secrets is associated with one of a plurality of different mobile communication device functions.

43. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one notification trigger includes multiple notification triggers and the at least one shared secret includes more than one shared secret from the set of multiple shared secrets,

wherein each notification trigger from the multiple notification triggers is paired with a corresponding shared secret from the more than one shared secret, and

wherein each notification trigger and shared secret pair is associated with one of a plurality of different mobile communication device functions.

10. A non-transitory computer readable medium tangibly storing a sequence of instructions that, when executed, cause a mobile communication device to perform actions, the actions comprising:

receiving, at the mobile communication device, a wireless communication call including at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret provided from a caller in conjunction with set-up of the wireless communication call;

verifying the at least one shared secret by detecting whether the at least one shared secret is included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile communication device in association with the at least one notification trigger; and

performing at least one mobile communication device function based on the at least one shared secret,

wherein performing the at least one mobile communication device function includes providing, by the mobile communication device, a priority output signal to identify a priority of the wireless communication call,

wherein the mobile communication device corresponds to a called party of the wireless communication call.

11. At least one processor within a mobile communication device configured to perform actions, the actions comprising:

receiving a wireless communication call including at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret provided from a caller in conjunction with set-up of the wireless communication call;

verifying the at least one shared secret by detecting whether the at least one shared secret is included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile communication device in association with the at least one notification trigger; and

performing at least one mobile communication device function based on the at least one shared secret,

wherein performing the at least one mobile communication device function includes providing, by the mobile communication device, a priority output signal to identify a priority of the wireless communication call, and

wherein the mobile communication device corresponds to a called party of the wireless communication call.

12. A mobile communication device, comprising:

means for receiving a wireless communication call including at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret provided from a caller in conjunction with set-up of the wireless communication call;

means for verifying the at least one shared secret by detecting whether the at least one shared secret is included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile communication device in association with the at least one notification trigger; and

means for performing at least one mobile communication device function based on the at least one shared secret,

wherein performing the at least one mobile communication device function includes providing, by the mobile communication device, a priority output signal to identify a priority of the wireless communication call, and

wherein the mobile communication device corresponds to a called party of the wireless communication call.

13. A method for caller identification on a mobile communication device, comprising:

receiving, at the mobile communication device, a wireless communication call including at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret provided from a caller in conjunction with set-up of the wireless communication call;

accessing, at the mobile communication device, one or more databases to determine a contact associated with the at least one shared secret and a communication priority associated with the at least one shared secret, wherein the communication priority is determined by detecting whether the at least one shared secret is included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile communication device in association with the at least one notification trigger; and

providing, at the mobile communication device, one or more output signals based on the at least one shared secret that identify the contact associated with the shared secret and the communication priority associated with the at least one shared secret,

wherein the mobile communication device corresponds to a called party of the wireless communication call.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein providing the one or more output signals further comprises displaying a caller identification associated with the contact associated with the at least one shared secret.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein providing the one or more output signals further comprises providing an audio signal associated with the contact associated with the at least one shared secret.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the accessing accesses a given database associated with the at least one notification trigger to determine the contact.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more output signals identify the communication priority associated with the at least one shared secret by displaying a communication priority identifying message associated with the at least one shared secret.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more output signals identify the communication priority associated with the at least one shared secret by providing an audio signal that identifies the communication priority associated with the at least one shared secret.

19. A mobile communication device, comprising:

a personal information manager that includes one or more databases that associate shared secrets with shared secret information;

a call manager module including shared secret recognition logic operable to recognize at least one shared secret in a wireless communication call including at least one notification trigger provided from a caller in conjunction with set-up of the wireless communication call and the at least one shared secret by detecting whether the at least one shared secret is included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile communication device in association with the at least one notification trigger and shared secret function logic operable for performing at least one mobile communication device function based on the at least one shared secret, wherein performing the at least one mobile communication device function includes providing a priority output signal to identify a priority of the wireless communication call,

wherein the mobile communication device corresponds to a called party of the wireless communication call.

20. The mobile communication device of claim 19, wherein the shared secret function logic further comprises caller identification logic operable to identify the caller and to provide an output signal to identify the caller.

21. The mobile communication device of claim 20, wherein the caller identification logic is further operable to display a caller identification to identify the caller.

22. The mobile communication device of claim 20, wherein the caller identification logic is further operable to provide an audio signal to identify the caller.

23. The mobile communication device of claim 19, wherein the shared secret function logic further comprises call priority logic operable to identify the priority of the wireless communication call based on the at least one shared secret and display the priority output signal as a priority message.

24. The mobile communication device of claim 19, wherein the shared secret function logic further comprises call priority logic operable to identify the priority of the wireless communication call based on the at least one shared secret and provide the priority output signal as an audio signal associated with the identified priority.

25. The mobile communication device of claim 19, wherein the shared secret function logic further comprises communication device management logic operable to provide the caller access to communication device functionality based on the at least one shared secret.

26. The mobile communication device of claim 19, wherein the shared secret function logic comprises communication device lock-down logic operable to lock down the mobile communication device based on the at least one shared secret.

27. A mobile communication device, comprising:

one or more databases that associate a contact with at least one shared secret; and

a call manager module including shared secret recognition logic operable to recognize at least one notification trigger and the at least one shared secret in a wireless communication call provided from a caller in conjunction with set-up of the wireless communication call and access the one or more databases to determine the contact associated with the at least one shared secret and a communication priority associated with the at least one shared secret by detecting whether the at least one shared secret is included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile communication device in association with the at least one notification trigger, and caller identification logic operable to provide one or more output signals based on the at least one shared secret that identify the contact associated with the at least one shared secret as the calling party and the communication priority associated with the at least one shared secret,

wherein the mobile communication device corresponds to a called party of the wireless communication call.

28. The mobile communication device of claim 27, wherein the caller identification logic is further operable to display a caller identification associated with the contact associated with the at least one shared secret.

29. The mobile communication device of claim 28, wherein the caller identification logic is further operable to provide an audio signal that identifies the contact associated with the at least one shared secret.

30. A method for providing mobile communication device management at a network device, comprising:

receiving, at the network device, a wireless communication call request from a mobile calling party including a calling device identification number, at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret; and

communicating a wireless call request to a mobile called party that includes the calling device identification number, the at least one notification trigger and the at least one shared secret,

wherein the at least one shared secret is configured to trigger the mobile called party to provide a priority output signal to identify a priority of the wireless communication call request based on the at least one shared secret being included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile called party in association with the at least one notification trigger.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the mobile called party receives the call request, verifies the at least one shared secret and provides the priority output signal based on the at least one shared secret.

32. A non-transitory computer readable medium tangibly storing a sequence of instructions that, when executed, cause a network device to perform actions, the actions comprising:

receiving, at the network device, a wireless communication call request from a mobile calling party including a calling device identification number, at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret; and

communicating a call request to a mobile called party that includes the calling device identification number, the at least one notification trigger and the at least one shared secret,

wherein the at least one shared secret is configured to trigger the mobile called party to provide a priority output signal to identify a priority of the wireless communication call request based on the at least one shared secret being included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile called party in association with the at least one notification trigger.

33. At least one processor configured to perform actions, the actions comprising:

receiving, at a network device, a wireless communication call request from a mobile calling party including a calling device identification number and a shared secret; and

communicating a call request to a mobile called party that includes the calling device identification number, at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret,

wherein the at least one shared secret is configured to trigger the mobile called party to provide a priority output signal to identify a priority of the wireless communication call request based on the at least one shared secret being included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile called party in association with the at least one notification trigger.

34. A method for identifying a caller identification in a communication network, comprising:

receiving, at a network server of the communication network that is remote from a mobile calling party and a mobile called party, a wireless communication call request from the mobile calling party to the mobile called party including at least one notification trigger, a calling device identification number, and at least one shared secret;

referencing, by the network server, a client database to determine a caller identification associated with the at least one shared secret;

referencing, by the network server, a database to determine a call priority to be outputted by the mobile called party and associated with the at least one shared secret by detecting whether the at least one shared secret is included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each associated with different types of information associated with the wireless communication call request; and

communicating, by the network server, a call request to the mobile called party that includes the call priority and the caller identification associated with the at least one shared secret,

wherein the call request is configured by the network server to cause the mobile called party, in response to the call request being received at the mobile called party, to launch at least one of a plurality of different mobile communication device functions that is associated with the at least one shared secret.

44. The method of claim 34, wherein the plurality of different mobile communication device functions includes outputting the call priority.

35. A network device comprising a shared secret forwarding module that includes shared secret recognition logic operable for receiving a wireless communication call request from a mobile calling party including a calling device identification number, at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret and shared secret forwarding logic operable to communicate a call request to a mobile called party that includes the calling device identification number, the at least one notification trigger and the at least one shared secret,

wherein the at least one shared secret is configured to trigger the mobile called party to provide a priority output signal to identify a priority of the wireless communication call request based on the at least one shared secret being included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile called party in association with the at least one notification trigger.

36. A network server of a communication network that is remote from a mobile calling party and a mobile called party, comprising:

a client database that associates shared secrets with caller identification;

a shared secret module that is configured to receive a wireless communication call request from the calling party to the mobile called party including at least one notification trigger, a calling device identification number, and at least one shared secret and reference the client database to determine a caller identification associated with the at least one shared secret and further operable to reference a database to determine a call priority to be outputted by the mobile called party and associated with the at least one shared secret by detecting whether the at least one shared secret is included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each associated with different types of information associated with the communication call request; and

a communications module operable to communicate to the mobile called party the call request that includes the call priority and the caller identification associated with the at least one shared secret,

wherein the call request is configured by the network server to cause the mobile called party, in response to the call request being received at the mobile called party, to launch at least one of a plurality of different mobile communication device functions that is associated with the at least one shared secret.

37. A network device, comprising:

means for receiving a wireless communication call request from a mobile calling party including a calling device identification number, at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret; and

means for communicating a call request to a mobile called party that includes the calling device identification number, the at least one notification trigger and the at least one shared secret,

wherein the at least one shared secret is configured to trigger the mobile called party to provide a priority output signal to identify a priority of the wireless communication call request based on the at least one shared secret being included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile called party in association with the at least one notification trigger.

38. A non-transitory computer readable medium tangibly storing a sequence of instructions that, when executed, cause a mobile communication device to perform actions, the actions comprising:

receiving, at the mobile communication device, a wireless communication call including at least one notification trigger and at least one shared secret provided from a caller in conjunction with set-up of the wireless communication call;

accessing one or more databases to determine a contact associated with the at least one shared secret and a communication priority associated with the at least one shared secret, wherein the communication priority is determined by detecting whether the at least one shared secret is included among a set of multiple shared secrets that are each configured to launch a different mobile communication device function when received at the mobile communication device in association with the at least one notification trigger; and

providing one or more output signals based on the at least one shared secret that identify the contact associated with the shared secret and the communication priority associated with the at least one shared secret,

wherein the mobile communication device corresponds to a called party of the wireless communication call.