Method and apparatus for providing to a customer a promotional message between ringing signals or after a call waiting tone

• US 6,618,474 B1
• Filed: 03/08/2000
• Issued: 09/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Morris Reese
• Original Assignee: Morris Reese
• Inventors: Reese, Morris
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, CREIGHTON H
• Application Number:
  US09/520,092
• Time in Patent Office: 1,280 Days
• Field of Search: 379/93.01, 379/93.17, 379/142.02, 379/142.08, 379/142.17, 379/215.01
• US Class Current: 379/142.17
• 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 1/7385 Programmable or microprocessor-controlled
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/22 Automatic class or number identification arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/02 Calling substations, e.g. by ringing selective calling H04Q
• 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 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/428 Arrangements for placing incoming calls on hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages

Abstract

This invention relates to apparatus and method in conjunction with a service wherein a called caller identification (caller ID) customer is provided a promotional message such as “We Are Talking Chevrolet”, rather than a conventional privacy message such as “anonymous caller”, during a silent interval between intermittent ringing signals or after a call waiting (CW) tone when a calling party or a local switching office of the calling party has invoked a privacy option to prevent the delivery of the calling party'"'"'s directory telephone number with or without a corresponding name (DN) to customer premises equipment (CPE) of the caller ID customer. In accordance with this invention, when the calling party'"'"'s DN is received at a local switching office (LSO) of the caller ID customer flagged as “private” indicating that the DN may not be disclosed to the caller ID customer, the LSO sends the intermittent ringing signals or the CW tone to the caller ID customer. The LSO then accesses its associate data-base and selects the promotional message from a plurality of promotional messages stored in the database and transmits the promotional message selected from the database to the CPE of the caller ID customer during the silent interval. The CPE receives and displays to the caller ID customer the promotional message from the LSO during the silent interval and subsequently stores the received promotional message in an associate memory for later retrieval and display.

Claims

1. A method of providing to a customer already engaged in a conversation with a far-end caller via a local switching office (LSO) an advertising message from said LSO, comprising the steps of:

(a) said LSO, after receiving a private marked directory telephone number (DN) of a call-waiting caller from an originating switching office of the call waiting caller indicating that said DN is not to be disclosed to the customer, sending an alerting tone signal to the customer;

(b) the customer apparatus responding to the alerting tone signal from said LSO by muting its associated handset for a predetermined interval of time;

(c) said LSO selecting the advertising message from a plurality of advertising messages stored in an associate database and then transmitting said selected advertising message from the associate date to the customer apparatus during the predetermined interval of time;

(d) said apparatus of the customer receiving said advertising message from said LSO during the predetermined interval of time and display said received advertising message to the customer; and

(e) said apparatus of the customer subsequently storing said received advertising message in an associate memory for later retrieval and review.

4. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises the step of transmitting an acknowledge signal to said LSO after the customer apparatus mutes its associated handset for the predetermined interval of time.

5. A method as set forth in claim 4, wherein step (c) comprises the alternate step of selecting an advertising message from a plurality of advertising messages stored in an associate database and then transmitting said selected advertising message from the associate database to the customer apparatus during the predetermined interval of time in response to receiving the acknowledge signal from the customer apparatus.

6. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the customer apparatus is a cellular mobile phone.

2. A telephone switching system, comprising:

(a) means for sending an alerting tone signal to a customer already engaged in a conversation with a far-end caller to indicate an incoming call from a call waiting (CW) caller, after receiving said CW caller'"'"'s telephone number with or without a corresponding name (DN) marked as private indicating that said DN is not to be disclosed to the customer; and

(b) means for selecting an advertising message from a plurality of advertising messages stored in an associate database and then transmitting said selected advertising message from the associate database to the customer apparatus during a silent interval after the alerting tone signal while the customer is engaged in the conversation with the far-end caller, after the customer apparatus has muted its associate handset for a predetermined duration of time and transmitted an acknowledge signal to said switching system in response to the alerting tone signal, said apparatus receiving and displaying to the customer during the silent interval while the customer is engaged in the conversation with the far-end caller said selected advertising message from the associate database and subsequently storing said received advertising message in an associate memory for later retrieval and display.

3. A method of providing to a customer at a selected called station a promotional message (PM) from a local switching office (LSO), comprising the steps of:

(a) said LSO, after receiving an incoming caller'"'"'s directory telephone number (DN) marked as private from an originating switching office of the incoming caller indicating that said DN is not to be disclosed to the customer at the selected called station, sending intermittent ringing signals to the customer;

(b) said LSO selecting said PM from a plurality of promotional messages stored in an associate database and then transmitting said selected PM from the associate database to the customer'"'"'s premises equipment (CPE) during a silent interval after a first one of said ringing signals;

(c) said CPE of the customer receiving said PM from said LSO during the silent interval after the first one of said ringing signals and displaying said received PM to the customer; and

(d) said CPE of the customer subsequently storing said received PM in an associate memory for later recall and display.

7. A method as set forth in claim 3, wherein ad CPE of the customer is a cellular mobile phone.