CA2030439C - Enhanced privacy feature for telephone systems - Google Patents
Enhanced privacy feature for telephone systemsInfo
- Publication number
- CA2030439C CA2030439C CA002030439A CA2030439A CA2030439C CA 2030439 C CA2030439 C CA 2030439C CA 002030439 A CA002030439 A CA 002030439A CA 2030439 A CA2030439 A CA 2030439A CA 2030439 C CA2030439 C CA 2030439C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- caller
- call
- station
- called
- controlling
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
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- 230000011664 signaling Effects 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000012216 screening Methods 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 claims 1
- 230000001755 vocal effect Effects 0.000 claims 1
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 10
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 4
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- UEJYSALTSUZXFV-SRVKXCTJSA-N Rigin Chemical compound NCC(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(N)=O)C(=O)N1CCC[C@H]1C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCN=C(N)N)C(O)=O UEJYSALTSUZXFV-SRVKXCTJSA-N 0.000 description 1
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Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/66—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers with means for preventing unauthorised or fraudulent calling
- H04M1/663—Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
- H04M3/436—Arrangements for screening incoming calls, i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/57—Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set
- H04M1/571—Blocking transmission of caller identification to called party
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M2203/00—Aspects of automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M2203/60—Aspects of automatic or semi-automatic exchanges related to security aspects in telephonic communication systems
- H04M2203/609—Secret communication
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M2242/00—Special services or facilities
- H04M2242/22—Automatic class or number identification arrangements
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
- H04M3/42025—Calling or Called party identification service
- H04M3/42034—Calling party identification service
- H04M3/42042—Notifying the called party of information on the calling party
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
- H04M3/42025—Calling or Called party identification service
- H04M3/42034—Calling party identification service
- H04M3/42059—Making use of the calling party identifier
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
- H04M3/487—Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04Q—SELECTING
- H04Q3/00—Selecting arrangements
- H04Q3/70—Identification of class of calling subscriber
Abstract
This invention relates to apparatus and a method for use in conjunction with a service wherein a called telephone customer receives a display of the number of a calling telephone customer. In conjunction with this service, customers areoffered a class of service and/or an option to dial a privacy request wherein their telephone number will not be displayed to the called telephone customer. In accordance with this invention, the customers are offered a class of service wherein they will receive calls only from telephone customers willing to have their telephone number displayed. If a call is made from a caller who does not wish to have his number displayed to a called customer who will not accept calls from customers unwilling to identify themselves, the caller is given a special announcement; inresponse to this announcement if the caller keys a special privacy override code then the call is completed with the caller's number displayed. Law enforcement agencies may be provided with a class of service which allows them to obtain a caller's number even when the caller has invoked privacy. Advantageously, such an arrangement protects telephone customers from receiving harassing calls, protects the privacy of those customers who normally do not wish to have their telephone number identified to the called customer, and permits calls to be completed between such customers.
Description
ENHANCED PRIVACY FEATURE FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS
Technical Field This invention relates to a method and apparatus for selectively controlling the privacy of a customer's number on telephone calls.
5 Problem Telephone ~witching systems exchange information, such as the telephone number of a called customer, by sign~ling such information using a variety of sign~1ing arrangements. In modern telephone systems, much of the ~ign~ling between individual telephone switching systems is now performed over common 10 channel Signaling System 7 (SS7), a system that has been standardized by the Consultative Co..,...llt~,e on International Telephone and Telegraph (CCIIT).
Among the features that are made possible through the SS7 signaling is the forwarding of a calling telephone number to the switching system that is connected to the called telephone station. By fo~ ding the calling customer's telephone 15 number, it is possible to implement a number of features such as: selective call forwarding wherein calls from only a few sources are fc,l ~ led to an alternate estin~tion (for example, a businessman going home after work might specifically forward a call from an il~pol~lt client); distinctive ringing for calls from certain sources to encourage people to answer calls from important customers quickly;
20 selective call rejection to permit customers to reject calls from known harassing sources; individual calling line idenfifi~ ~tion wherein a called station has a display unit for displaying the number of the calling customer, bulk calling line iclentific~tion wherein a called customer may receive over a ~ lir~te~ data link the j~lentification of all cu~tQm~rs who have called recently; auto recall for automatically 25 completing calls to a ~ stin~tion that was previously called or a station that was originally busy as soon as that station becomes available; and auto c~ cl~ for automatically calling back the calling customer who most recently called, with or wilhoul receiving an answer.
A problem with such systems that fc,~ l a calling customer's number 30 is that of p~lcc~ing the privacy of telephone customers who do not wish to have their telephone numbers known. These are customers who typically use unlisted telephone numbers and who may wish to be protected from receiving unwanted calls. In some present arrangements, such customers may invoke either a permanent private service or privacy on a per-call basis; the permanent privacy feature can be 35 overridden at the caller's option for any specific call. When privacy is invoked by either of these methods, the calling number is forwarded to a terminating switching system connected to the called customer but is prevented from reaching the called customer who, in the case of a display unit, receives an indication, in this case a display of the letter P, indicating privacy instead of a telephone number. However, 5 the forwarded telephone number can still be used for features such as selective call forwarding, distinctive ringing, selective call rejection, automatic recall and automatic callback. For the first three of these features, the called customer must already have knowledge of the private number of the calling customer or have used the callingnumber delivered from a previous call; and for the case of auto callback and auto 10 recall, the calling customer who wanted privacy has already placed a call and as long as the called customer is not informed of the calling number, there should be noobjection to completing that call.
While this arrangement serves to protect the calling customers, it does not protect called customers in a satisfactory manner. A problem of the prior art is that 15 there is no convenient arrangement available today to permit called customers to accept calls only from customers who are willing to identify themselves; further, even if such an arrangement were to be made available, there would be no convenient means to permit a calling customer who has invoked permanent privacy to call a called customer who does not wish to receive calls from people unwilling to identify 20 themselves.
Solution In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided in a telecommunications switching system, a method of screening a telecommunications call from a caller station to a called station comprising the steps of: responsive to 25 receipt by said system of a call signaling message for said call, said message comprising data indicating that the caller station has requested privacy for thecall, in said telecommunications switching system, automatically selectively controlling a rejection of said call if said called station does not accept calls for which the caller station has requested privacy for the call; and controlling a completion of said call if 30 said called station accepts calls for which an identification of said caller is not provided.
- 2a -In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided in a switching system, a telephone privacy arrangement comprising: means for storing a class of service indication comprising data identifying a called station of said switching system that does not accept calls from calling stations unwilling to have their caller 5 identification provided; and processor means, operative under the control of aprogram, and responsive to receipt of a call signaling message for a call, said message comprising data indicating that a caller station has requested privacy for the call for controlling rejection of said call for said called station.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a 10 method of controlling establishment of a call from a caller station, comprising:
originating a call over a telecommunications network for which a caller station has requested privacy for said call; and responsive to receipt of a message from said network, said message received after a completion of dialing of said call and said message indicating that said call cannot be completed unless said caller station15 provides a privacy override indication, sending a privacy override indication to said network for requesting completion of said call and provision of a caller identification to said called station.
In accordance with the principles of this invention, called customers are provided with a new class of service for providing a call screening service whereby 20 such called customers will receive only calls from calling customers who are willing to haver their telephone number identified. Advantageously, such an arrangement protects such customers from harassment by callers unwilling to identify themselves.
When such a calling customer makes a call to a called customer having the new class of service, the calling customer receives an announcement 25 indicaL.ng the privacy status of the called customer. In response to this announcement, the calling customer illustratively may effect a completion of the call in a non-privacy mode either by invoking a per-call privacy override if the calling customer is in the permanently private mode, or simply reverting to the public mode if the calling customer originally placed the call in the 30 privacy mode. Thus, when the calling customer hears an announcement and dialing instructions, the calling customer may key a special digit, for example, the digit 1, to override the caller's privacy for this call and allow the calling number to 203~439 be displayed to or be recalled by the called customer and therefore allow the call to be completed. In this way, the access to the called customer is protected since the called customer is enabled to receive calls only from callers willing to identify themselves, and the privacy of the calling customer is ~ tecled since the calling S party is identified only when the calling party specifically grants permission for such itlentific~tion.
Certain public service agencies such as the police, fire department, and substance or personal abuse centers may wish to have a feature whereby the privacy request of the caller is overridden. In accordance with another feature of this 10 invention, such agencies are provided with another special class of service. For a called customer with this other special class of service, if the calling cu~.lolll.,. has placed a call with privacy, the called cnstQmer signals to have the switching system autom~ti~lly override this privacy and have the calLing customer number displayed or otherwise provided.
Illustratively, a call setup message is sent from an origin~ting switching system to a terrnin~ting switching system. The call setup meSsage includes the privacy information of the call, i.e., whether the caller n~ber, or other callerit1entific~tion such as a name, is to be provided to the called station. The privacy info~ma~ion is obtained from a special privacy code dialed from the caller station or 20 from the class of service of the caller stored in the origin~ting ~wilching system. The called cu~lon~-, 's class of service is cons~llt~A if the call setup message specifies privacy and the called station has the new class of service, as l~corded in the ;ng swhching system, then the call cannot be est~bli~heA unless the calling station signals to have the calling cu~lo~r id~ntific~*on privacy instruction 25 removed for this call. In that case, the call is completed and the calling customer iden*fi~ ~tion is providcd to the called customer station. In the illustrative emb~l~ nt both ~wi~h-ng systems are opera*ve under the control of a stored prog~am. If the called station has, as part of its class of service, the privacy override feature, then the call is completed without additional signals from the calling station, 30 and the called station can request the calling identification; ~lt~rn~*vely~ the calling identification can be autom~tic~lly provided to such a called station without a special request.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, a called station can request an annollncem~-nt or display of a calling station identifi~ation by sending a 35 request message to its connected switching system. This allows for deferred access and announcement access to the calling station identification.
Brief Description of the Drawin~
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communications network for implementing applicants' invention; and FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a program in a te~nin~ting switching system of S FIG. 1 for controlling the steps of a method for implemell~ing applicants' invention.
Detailed Description FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the principles of this invention. A
call is set up from a caller station 101 to a called station 111 over a telecol-n..~.n;c~tiQns network that includes switching ~y~s 121 and 131. The 10 stations are conventional telephone subsets operating under human control or COl11~ , temnin~ls or personal compu~ , operating under program as well as human control. Called station 111 is provided with a display device 113 or receives co.. -~nications from the connected switch via an annonncçm~nt Caller station 101 is connected to an origin~sting switching system 121 in which the class of service of 15 the caller is stored (block 123). This caller class ide.ltifies Wh~ l.,[ the caller wishes to have his telephone number or other caller identification such as a name ...~inl~ined private or whether he is willing to have it displayed or otherwise provided to the called cuctomer station. If a caller name is to be provided, this is sent with the IAM
message from switch 121 to switch 123. The caller class info....~t;on stored in the 20 ~wilcl~ing system is arranged to include a class of permanent private/public and a class of optional per-call private/public. The privacy class of a call for a customer having Fermsn~nt private is chsngefl for one call by the dialing of a special privacy toggle code. The optional privacy can at the discretion of the o~ ~.ng telephonecompany, be provided to all cu~lo~ or only to cu:ilollle.15 who subscribe to that 25 service.
The orig~nsting switch 121, similar to terrnin~ting switch 131, is co...-t~l to that tt~ sl;ng switch by message sign~ling illfol.llal,on facilities 161 and voicc l~n~ ;c~ion facilides 163. In this specific e~boflhl~ent~ the origin~ting switch 121 and t~l.~;n~;n~ switch 131 are both stored program controlled switches, T~
30 specifically, lA ESS switches, whose operation is similar to that of the 1 ESS
described in The Bell System Technical Journal, September, 1964, adapted to use a lA processor ~es~ribe~l in The Bell Svstem Technical Journal, February, 1977. The description of the 1 ESS in~ es a description of tranCl~tiQ~s for storing a class of service and of metho~ls for cont~lling establichment of call connections. The 35 termin~ting switch comprises a processor 133 which includes a program 134 forcontrolling the execution of a program for implen-~-nl;ng the invention in accordance with the steps outlined in the flow diagram of FIG. 2. Processor 133 further comprises a plurality of memory blocks for storing incoming calling party directory numbers and associated privacy data and the class of service of caUed customer 111 information (block 135). In addition, terminating switching system 131 includes an 5 audio signal processing unit 140 comprising a detector 142 for detecting dual tone multifrequency (Dl~) signals keyed from customer stations and an announcement unit 144 for generating announcements.
When a caller station 101 ori in~tes a call, ori~n~ting switching system 121 checks the caller class infol.l,ation 123 to determine whether caller10 station 101 desires to have its number m~int~inecl private for this caU. After origin~ting swilcl~ g system 121 has received the dialed inÇo...-sl;Qn for the caU, it sends an initial address mçssage (IAM) 151 over mess~ge link 161 to termin~ting switch 131. The LAM mess~e is a standard SS7 m~Cs~e~ Message 151 inCl~ldcs the caUing number 153 (included whether or not the calling cust~mçr requested 15 privacy)l caller privacy data 155 which will in~iic~te privacy if the caUer has requested privacy for this caU, and the called number 157. Upon receipt of L9M
message 151, terminating switching system 131 checks the m~sc~.151 and checks the class of service 135 of the caUed number received in the IAM mess~ge If the caller had requested privacy and the called c~lctome- has a class of service whereby it 20 only accepts caUs from uu~lo~ wiUing to provide their identifi~ation, then the call is tentatively bloc~ d The caller receives a mes~?ge, such as an annollncement idell~if.ying the reason for the bloc~ing of the call. For working within ~.IO...~;C
stations such as ~.~nal cc,ml,ute~ the message would be a data mçss~ge In le~ C to this mçsc~gc, the caller can key in an override indication, in this specific 25 e.l.bo-li~nl, the number 1, which is detected by detector 142. If this 1 is detected, then the call is completcd and the called customer is provided with the caUer station elcphQ~~~ n~b~ the caller fails to provide the keyed 1, then the caU attempt is connc~t~3 If the class of service 135 of the caUed customer is such that the caUed ;us~ wiU accept caUs from stations unwiUing to identify them~elves, then 30 the call is comple~,A will~out providing the identifi~ti~n of the caUer to the caUed ~;uSLO~l station.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a program impleme~ted in the processor 133 of the te~nin~ting switching system 131. Termin~ing switching system 131 receives an LAM message (action block 201). It e~mines segment 155 of the 35 incoming IAM message to de~ ine whether the caller has requested that the caUing number be m~int~ined private (test 203). If not, then the caU is processed 2603 0~39 conventionally as in the prior art (action block 205). If the result of test 203 is positive, then the class of service of the called customer is e~mined to determine whether the called cUstom~r will accept calls from users wishing to m~int~in their privacy (test 207). If the result of test 207 is negative then an announcement is S returned to the caller (action block 209). Two types of announceLIlenls are available for two ~ltern~tive imple-..enl~l;ons of applicants' invention. Test 211 determines which impleLI~elltation is being used. If the announcement is a status only announcement (positive result of test 211) then the call is abandoned after the almounceLu~nt has been delivered (action block 213) using normal call abandonment 10 procedures as in the prior art. If the annou.~ c t not only indir~tes the status of the call but invites the cu~ to oveIride his privacy request for this call (negadve result of test 211), then a detector is att~hed to the call (action block 221) to check whether the calLing cu~ ,r keys the privacy override signal. If the caller does key the privacy override signal (positive result of test 223) then the call is completed 15 with privacy overrid~en (action block 225). If the caller fails to key the privacy override signal then the call is abandoned (action block 213). To handle origin~ting customers who do not have DTMF stations, the call would be autom~*~lly completed, inclur1ing the privacy override, if the origin~ting customer fails todisconnect within a specifiç~ interval of, perhaps, 10 seconds; for this alternative 20 sequence, the call is ~ cQnnec~ed only in response to receipt of a disconnect signal from the caller.
In an ~lt~rn~tive embo lim~nt, not shown, the almonl-cçm~nt would be provided from the ~rigin~ting switch 121, and would be l~ue~le~ by a m~ss~ge from termin~ting switch 131. If the call is then to be est~bliche~l. another message is 25 sent to switch 131.
Somc public service agencies such as the police dep~ ellt, fire department~ drug abusc centers, may be granted authority to override the callingc~ -w-'s request for ,~ ,t~ining the privacy of his number. If that service is provid~d in t~ ;n~l;ng switch 131, then following the ~etection in test 207 that the 30 called Cu~lO~ r accepts calls from users wishing privacy, a fur~er test 231 is .r~med to check whe~ the called ~;us~o-~.~r is ~uth~ i7~d to autom~tir~lly override the privacy request. If not, then the call is lJIvcessed conventionally (action block 205). If so, then the call is completed and the called c~lstomPr is authorized to access thc private data for that call (action block 233). In some cases, the called 35 customer will autom~ti~l1y be provided with the caller identification.
Information may be provided to the called customer in a number of ways. Switch 131 stores the caller idenhfication during and after the call. If the called customer has a display, the information may be simply tr~ncmitte~ and displayed. If the called customer does not have a display and perhaps may not 5 always want the identific~tion of the caller, the called customer has the option of keying a calling numberrequest to termin~ting switch 131. In response to this keyed request, t~rmin~ting switch 131 connecls announce unit 144 to the called ~;usLo and controls announce unit 144 to almounce the number of the caller of the immeAi~t~ly p.ec~lin~ call or controls a display to display the null.~r if the 10 cu~lu~lle, has a display. The keyed request can also be used to access caller identifiçations of earlier calls.
It is to be understood that the above description is only of one p~e~ ,d embof~ of the invention. Numerous other arr~ng~--..en~ may be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. The invention is 15 thus limited only as de_ned in the accompanying claims.
Technical Field This invention relates to a method and apparatus for selectively controlling the privacy of a customer's number on telephone calls.
5 Problem Telephone ~witching systems exchange information, such as the telephone number of a called customer, by sign~ling such information using a variety of sign~1ing arrangements. In modern telephone systems, much of the ~ign~ling between individual telephone switching systems is now performed over common 10 channel Signaling System 7 (SS7), a system that has been standardized by the Consultative Co..,...llt~,e on International Telephone and Telegraph (CCIIT).
Among the features that are made possible through the SS7 signaling is the forwarding of a calling telephone number to the switching system that is connected to the called telephone station. By fo~ ding the calling customer's telephone 15 number, it is possible to implement a number of features such as: selective call forwarding wherein calls from only a few sources are fc,l ~ led to an alternate estin~tion (for example, a businessman going home after work might specifically forward a call from an il~pol~lt client); distinctive ringing for calls from certain sources to encourage people to answer calls from important customers quickly;
20 selective call rejection to permit customers to reject calls from known harassing sources; individual calling line idenfifi~ ~tion wherein a called station has a display unit for displaying the number of the calling customer, bulk calling line iclentific~tion wherein a called customer may receive over a ~ lir~te~ data link the j~lentification of all cu~tQm~rs who have called recently; auto recall for automatically 25 completing calls to a ~ stin~tion that was previously called or a station that was originally busy as soon as that station becomes available; and auto c~ cl~ for automatically calling back the calling customer who most recently called, with or wilhoul receiving an answer.
A problem with such systems that fc,~ l a calling customer's number 30 is that of p~lcc~ing the privacy of telephone customers who do not wish to have their telephone numbers known. These are customers who typically use unlisted telephone numbers and who may wish to be protected from receiving unwanted calls. In some present arrangements, such customers may invoke either a permanent private service or privacy on a per-call basis; the permanent privacy feature can be 35 overridden at the caller's option for any specific call. When privacy is invoked by either of these methods, the calling number is forwarded to a terminating switching system connected to the called customer but is prevented from reaching the called customer who, in the case of a display unit, receives an indication, in this case a display of the letter P, indicating privacy instead of a telephone number. However, 5 the forwarded telephone number can still be used for features such as selective call forwarding, distinctive ringing, selective call rejection, automatic recall and automatic callback. For the first three of these features, the called customer must already have knowledge of the private number of the calling customer or have used the callingnumber delivered from a previous call; and for the case of auto callback and auto 10 recall, the calling customer who wanted privacy has already placed a call and as long as the called customer is not informed of the calling number, there should be noobjection to completing that call.
While this arrangement serves to protect the calling customers, it does not protect called customers in a satisfactory manner. A problem of the prior art is that 15 there is no convenient arrangement available today to permit called customers to accept calls only from customers who are willing to identify themselves; further, even if such an arrangement were to be made available, there would be no convenient means to permit a calling customer who has invoked permanent privacy to call a called customer who does not wish to receive calls from people unwilling to identify 20 themselves.
Solution In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided in a telecommunications switching system, a method of screening a telecommunications call from a caller station to a called station comprising the steps of: responsive to 25 receipt by said system of a call signaling message for said call, said message comprising data indicating that the caller station has requested privacy for thecall, in said telecommunications switching system, automatically selectively controlling a rejection of said call if said called station does not accept calls for which the caller station has requested privacy for the call; and controlling a completion of said call if 30 said called station accepts calls for which an identification of said caller is not provided.
- 2a -In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided in a switching system, a telephone privacy arrangement comprising: means for storing a class of service indication comprising data identifying a called station of said switching system that does not accept calls from calling stations unwilling to have their caller 5 identification provided; and processor means, operative under the control of aprogram, and responsive to receipt of a call signaling message for a call, said message comprising data indicating that a caller station has requested privacy for the call for controlling rejection of said call for said called station.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a 10 method of controlling establishment of a call from a caller station, comprising:
originating a call over a telecommunications network for which a caller station has requested privacy for said call; and responsive to receipt of a message from said network, said message received after a completion of dialing of said call and said message indicating that said call cannot be completed unless said caller station15 provides a privacy override indication, sending a privacy override indication to said network for requesting completion of said call and provision of a caller identification to said called station.
In accordance with the principles of this invention, called customers are provided with a new class of service for providing a call screening service whereby 20 such called customers will receive only calls from calling customers who are willing to haver their telephone number identified. Advantageously, such an arrangement protects such customers from harassment by callers unwilling to identify themselves.
When such a calling customer makes a call to a called customer having the new class of service, the calling customer receives an announcement 25 indicaL.ng the privacy status of the called customer. In response to this announcement, the calling customer illustratively may effect a completion of the call in a non-privacy mode either by invoking a per-call privacy override if the calling customer is in the permanently private mode, or simply reverting to the public mode if the calling customer originally placed the call in the 30 privacy mode. Thus, when the calling customer hears an announcement and dialing instructions, the calling customer may key a special digit, for example, the digit 1, to override the caller's privacy for this call and allow the calling number to 203~439 be displayed to or be recalled by the called customer and therefore allow the call to be completed. In this way, the access to the called customer is protected since the called customer is enabled to receive calls only from callers willing to identify themselves, and the privacy of the calling customer is ~ tecled since the calling S party is identified only when the calling party specifically grants permission for such itlentific~tion.
Certain public service agencies such as the police, fire department, and substance or personal abuse centers may wish to have a feature whereby the privacy request of the caller is overridden. In accordance with another feature of this 10 invention, such agencies are provided with another special class of service. For a called customer with this other special class of service, if the calling cu~.lolll.,. has placed a call with privacy, the called cnstQmer signals to have the switching system autom~ti~lly override this privacy and have the calLing customer number displayed or otherwise provided.
Illustratively, a call setup message is sent from an origin~ting switching system to a terrnin~ting switching system. The call setup meSsage includes the privacy information of the call, i.e., whether the caller n~ber, or other callerit1entific~tion such as a name, is to be provided to the called station. The privacy info~ma~ion is obtained from a special privacy code dialed from the caller station or 20 from the class of service of the caller stored in the origin~ting ~wilching system. The called cu~lon~-, 's class of service is cons~llt~A if the call setup message specifies privacy and the called station has the new class of service, as l~corded in the ;ng swhching system, then the call cannot be est~bli~heA unless the calling station signals to have the calling cu~lo~r id~ntific~*on privacy instruction 25 removed for this call. In that case, the call is completed and the calling customer iden*fi~ ~tion is providcd to the called customer station. In the illustrative emb~l~ nt both ~wi~h-ng systems are opera*ve under the control of a stored prog~am. If the called station has, as part of its class of service, the privacy override feature, then the call is completed without additional signals from the calling station, 30 and the called station can request the calling identification; ~lt~rn~*vely~ the calling identification can be autom~tic~lly provided to such a called station without a special request.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, a called station can request an annollncem~-nt or display of a calling station identifi~ation by sending a 35 request message to its connected switching system. This allows for deferred access and announcement access to the calling station identification.
Brief Description of the Drawin~
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communications network for implementing applicants' invention; and FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a program in a te~nin~ting switching system of S FIG. 1 for controlling the steps of a method for implemell~ing applicants' invention.
Detailed Description FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the principles of this invention. A
call is set up from a caller station 101 to a called station 111 over a telecol-n..~.n;c~tiQns network that includes switching ~y~s 121 and 131. The 10 stations are conventional telephone subsets operating under human control or COl11~ , temnin~ls or personal compu~ , operating under program as well as human control. Called station 111 is provided with a display device 113 or receives co.. -~nications from the connected switch via an annonncçm~nt Caller station 101 is connected to an origin~sting switching system 121 in which the class of service of 15 the caller is stored (block 123). This caller class ide.ltifies Wh~ l.,[ the caller wishes to have his telephone number or other caller identification such as a name ...~inl~ined private or whether he is willing to have it displayed or otherwise provided to the called cuctomer station. If a caller name is to be provided, this is sent with the IAM
message from switch 121 to switch 123. The caller class info....~t;on stored in the 20 ~wilcl~ing system is arranged to include a class of permanent private/public and a class of optional per-call private/public. The privacy class of a call for a customer having Fermsn~nt private is chsngefl for one call by the dialing of a special privacy toggle code. The optional privacy can at the discretion of the o~ ~.ng telephonecompany, be provided to all cu~lo~ or only to cu:ilollle.15 who subscribe to that 25 service.
The orig~nsting switch 121, similar to terrnin~ting switch 131, is co...-t~l to that tt~ sl;ng switch by message sign~ling illfol.llal,on facilities 161 and voicc l~n~ ;c~ion facilides 163. In this specific e~boflhl~ent~ the origin~ting switch 121 and t~l.~;n~;n~ switch 131 are both stored program controlled switches, T~
30 specifically, lA ESS switches, whose operation is similar to that of the 1 ESS
described in The Bell System Technical Journal, September, 1964, adapted to use a lA processor ~es~ribe~l in The Bell Svstem Technical Journal, February, 1977. The description of the 1 ESS in~ es a description of tranCl~tiQ~s for storing a class of service and of metho~ls for cont~lling establichment of call connections. The 35 termin~ting switch comprises a processor 133 which includes a program 134 forcontrolling the execution of a program for implen-~-nl;ng the invention in accordance with the steps outlined in the flow diagram of FIG. 2. Processor 133 further comprises a plurality of memory blocks for storing incoming calling party directory numbers and associated privacy data and the class of service of caUed customer 111 information (block 135). In addition, terminating switching system 131 includes an 5 audio signal processing unit 140 comprising a detector 142 for detecting dual tone multifrequency (Dl~) signals keyed from customer stations and an announcement unit 144 for generating announcements.
When a caller station 101 ori in~tes a call, ori~n~ting switching system 121 checks the caller class infol.l,ation 123 to determine whether caller10 station 101 desires to have its number m~int~inecl private for this caU. After origin~ting swilcl~ g system 121 has received the dialed inÇo...-sl;Qn for the caU, it sends an initial address mçssage (IAM) 151 over mess~ge link 161 to termin~ting switch 131. The LAM mess~e is a standard SS7 m~Cs~e~ Message 151 inCl~ldcs the caUing number 153 (included whether or not the calling cust~mçr requested 15 privacy)l caller privacy data 155 which will in~iic~te privacy if the caUer has requested privacy for this caU, and the called number 157. Upon receipt of L9M
message 151, terminating switching system 131 checks the m~sc~.151 and checks the class of service 135 of the caUed number received in the IAM mess~ge If the caller had requested privacy and the called c~lctome- has a class of service whereby it 20 only accepts caUs from uu~lo~ wiUing to provide their identifi~ation, then the call is tentatively bloc~ d The caller receives a mes~?ge, such as an annollncement idell~if.ying the reason for the bloc~ing of the call. For working within ~.IO...~;C
stations such as ~.~nal cc,ml,ute~ the message would be a data mçss~ge In le~ C to this mçsc~gc, the caller can key in an override indication, in this specific 25 e.l.bo-li~nl, the number 1, which is detected by detector 142. If this 1 is detected, then the call is completcd and the called customer is provided with the caUer station elcphQ~~~ n~b~ the caller fails to provide the keyed 1, then the caU attempt is connc~t~3 If the class of service 135 of the caUed customer is such that the caUed ;us~ wiU accept caUs from stations unwiUing to identify them~elves, then 30 the call is comple~,A will~out providing the identifi~ti~n of the caUer to the caUed ~;uSLO~l station.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a program impleme~ted in the processor 133 of the te~nin~ting switching system 131. Termin~ing switching system 131 receives an LAM message (action block 201). It e~mines segment 155 of the 35 incoming IAM message to de~ ine whether the caller has requested that the caUing number be m~int~ined private (test 203). If not, then the caU is processed 2603 0~39 conventionally as in the prior art (action block 205). If the result of test 203 is positive, then the class of service of the called customer is e~mined to determine whether the called cUstom~r will accept calls from users wishing to m~int~in their privacy (test 207). If the result of test 207 is negative then an announcement is S returned to the caller (action block 209). Two types of announceLIlenls are available for two ~ltern~tive imple-..enl~l;ons of applicants' invention. Test 211 determines which impleLI~elltation is being used. If the announcement is a status only announcement (positive result of test 211) then the call is abandoned after the almounceLu~nt has been delivered (action block 213) using normal call abandonment 10 procedures as in the prior art. If the annou.~ c t not only indir~tes the status of the call but invites the cu~ to oveIride his privacy request for this call (negadve result of test 211), then a detector is att~hed to the call (action block 221) to check whether the calLing cu~ ,r keys the privacy override signal. If the caller does key the privacy override signal (positive result of test 223) then the call is completed 15 with privacy overrid~en (action block 225). If the caller fails to key the privacy override signal then the call is abandoned (action block 213). To handle origin~ting customers who do not have DTMF stations, the call would be autom~*~lly completed, inclur1ing the privacy override, if the origin~ting customer fails todisconnect within a specifiç~ interval of, perhaps, 10 seconds; for this alternative 20 sequence, the call is ~ cQnnec~ed only in response to receipt of a disconnect signal from the caller.
In an ~lt~rn~tive embo lim~nt, not shown, the almonl-cçm~nt would be provided from the ~rigin~ting switch 121, and would be l~ue~le~ by a m~ss~ge from termin~ting switch 131. If the call is then to be est~bliche~l. another message is 25 sent to switch 131.
Somc public service agencies such as the police dep~ ellt, fire department~ drug abusc centers, may be granted authority to override the callingc~ -w-'s request for ,~ ,t~ining the privacy of his number. If that service is provid~d in t~ ;n~l;ng switch 131, then following the ~etection in test 207 that the 30 called Cu~lO~ r accepts calls from users wishing privacy, a fur~er test 231 is .r~med to check whe~ the called ~;us~o-~.~r is ~uth~ i7~d to autom~tir~lly override the privacy request. If not, then the call is lJIvcessed conventionally (action block 205). If so, then the call is completed and the called c~lstomPr is authorized to access thc private data for that call (action block 233). In some cases, the called 35 customer will autom~ti~l1y be provided with the caller identification.
Information may be provided to the called customer in a number of ways. Switch 131 stores the caller idenhfication during and after the call. If the called customer has a display, the information may be simply tr~ncmitte~ and displayed. If the called customer does not have a display and perhaps may not 5 always want the identific~tion of the caller, the called customer has the option of keying a calling numberrequest to termin~ting switch 131. In response to this keyed request, t~rmin~ting switch 131 connecls announce unit 144 to the called ~;usLo and controls announce unit 144 to almounce the number of the caller of the immeAi~t~ly p.ec~lin~ call or controls a display to display the null.~r if the 10 cu~lu~lle, has a display. The keyed request can also be used to access caller identifiçations of earlier calls.
It is to be understood that the above description is only of one p~e~ ,d embof~ of the invention. Numerous other arr~ng~--..en~ may be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. The invention is 15 thus limited only as de_ned in the accompanying claims.
Claims (16)
1. In a telecommunications switching system, a method of screening a telecommunications call from a caller station to a called station comprising the steps of:
responsive to receipt by said system of a call signaling message for said call, said message comprising data indicating that the caller station has requested privacy for the call, in said telecommunications switching system, automaticallyselectively controlling a rejection of said call if said called station does not accept calls for which the caller station has requested privacy for the call; and controlling a completion of said call if said called station accepts calls for which an identification of said caller is not provided.
responsive to receipt by said system of a call signaling message for said call, said message comprising data indicating that the caller station has requested privacy for the call, in said telecommunications switching system, automaticallyselectively controlling a rejection of said call if said called station does not accept calls for which the caller station has requested privacy for the call; and controlling a completion of said call if said called station accepts calls for which an identification of said caller is not provided.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said data is derived from a class of service of said caller station.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said selectively controlling a rejection and controlling a completion of said call is based on a class of service of said called station.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein said selectively controlling a rejection comprises the steps of:
providing toward said caller station an information message inviting a response signal;
responsive to a prespecified signal receivable from said caller station, controlling completion of said call and controlling providing of an identification of said caller to said called station; and in the absence of receipt of said prespecified receivable signal, controlling disconnection of said call.
providing toward said caller station an information message inviting a response signal;
responsive to a prespecified signal receivable from said caller station, controlling completion of said call and controlling providing of an identification of said caller to said called station; and in the absence of receipt of said prespecified receivable signal, controlling disconnection of said call.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein said selectively controlling a rejection comprises the steps of:
providing toward said caller station an information message inviting a response signal;
responsive to a prespecified signal receivable from said caller station, controlling completion of said call and controlling providing of an identification of said caller to said called station; and responsive to a disconnect signal receivable from said caller station, controlling disconnection of said call.
providing toward said caller station an information message inviting a response signal;
responsive to a prespecified signal receivable from said caller station, controlling completion of said call and controlling providing of an identification of said caller to said called station; and responsive to a disconnect signal receivable from said caller station, controlling disconnection of said call.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein said selectively controlling a rejection comprises the steps of:
providing toward said caller station an information message inviting a response signal;
responsive to a prespecified signal receivable from said caller station, controlling completion of said call and controlling providing of an identification of said caller to said called station; and in the absence of receipt of said prespecified signal for a predetermined period of time, controlling completion of said call and controlling providing of said identification of said caller.
providing toward said caller station an information message inviting a response signal;
responsive to a prespecified signal receivable from said caller station, controlling completion of said call and controlling providing of an identification of said caller to said called station; and in the absence of receipt of said prespecified signal for a predetermined period of time, controlling completion of said call and controlling providing of said identification of said caller.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein said selectively controlling a rejection comprises:
controlling the providing to said caller station of a verbal call status announcement indicating that said called station does not accept unidentified calls.
controlling the providing to said caller station of a verbal call status announcement indicating that said called station does not accept unidentified calls.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising controlling a completion of said call and providing the caller identification to a called station authorized to receive a caller identification even when said caller station has requested privacy for the call.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein said called station is authorized by a class of service.
10. In a switching system, a telephone privacy arrangement comprising:
means for storing a class of service indication comprising data identifying a called station of said switching system that does not accept calls from calling stations unwilling to have their caller identification provided; and processor means, operative under the control of a program, and responsive to receipt of a call signaling message for a call, said message comprising data indicating that a caller station has requested privacy for the call for controlling rejection of said call for said called station.
means for storing a class of service indication comprising data identifying a called station of said switching system that does not accept calls from calling stations unwilling to have their caller identification provided; and processor means, operative under the control of a program, and responsive to receipt of a call signaling message for a call, said message comprising data indicating that a caller station has requested privacy for the call for controlling rejection of said call for said called station.
11. The arrangement of claim 10 further comprising:
means for providing an announcement;
wherein said processor means is further operative under the control of said program for controlling said means for providing an announcement for providing a call status announcement toward said caller station.
means for providing an announcement;
wherein said processor means is further operative under the control of said program for controlling said means for providing an announcement for providing a call status announcement toward said caller station.
12. The arrangement of claim 10 further comprising:
means for providing an announcement to said caller station; and means for detecting a signal receivable from said caller station;
wherein said processor means is further operative under the control of a program for controlling the connection of said means for providing an announcement to said caller station, said announcement indicating that said call cannot be completed unless a privacy override indication is received and connection of said means for detecting to said call and, responsive to the detection of a prespecified signal receivable from said caller station, for controlling the completion of said call and for providing said caller identification to said called station.
means for providing an announcement to said caller station; and means for detecting a signal receivable from said caller station;
wherein said processor means is further operative under the control of a program for controlling the connection of said means for providing an announcement to said caller station, said announcement indicating that said call cannot be completed unless a privacy override indication is received and connection of said means for detecting to said call and, responsive to the detection of a prespecified signal receivable from said caller station, for controlling the completion of said call and for providing said caller identification to said called station.
13. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
if said called station does not accept calls for which an identification of said caller is not provided, sending a message from said network, said message received after a completion of dialing of said call and said message indicating that said call cannot be completed unless said caller station provides a privacy override indication;
responsive to receipt of said message, sending a privacy override indication to said network for requesting completion of said call and provision of a caller identification to said called station.
if said called station does not accept calls for which an identification of said caller is not provided, sending a message from said network, said message received after a completion of dialing of said call and said message indicating that said call cannot be completed unless said caller station provides a privacy override indication;
responsive to receipt of said message, sending a privacy override indication to said network for requesting completion of said call and provision of a caller identification to said called station.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein said caller station has a class of service indicating a caller station request that said caller identification should not be provided to called stations.
15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
storing a caller privacy class of service for said caller station in a first switching system, said caller class of service indicating that said caller identification should not normally be provided on calls originated by said caller station;
storing a called privacy class of service for said called station in a second switching system, said called privacy class of service indicating that said called station does not accept calls for which a caller identification is not provided;
requesting in said first switching system a call connection from said caller station toward said called station;
transmitting a call setup message from said first switching system to said second switching system comprising said caller identification, a request toestablish a connection to said called station and an indication that said caller station has requested privacy for the call;
responsive to receipt of said call setup message, and to said stored called privacy class of service of said called station, returning an announcement to said calling station, requesting a privacy override request signal from said caller station for allowing completion of said call; and responsive to receipt of said override request signal from said caller station, completing said call and providing said caller identification to said called station.
storing a caller privacy class of service for said caller station in a first switching system, said caller class of service indicating that said caller identification should not normally be provided on calls originated by said caller station;
storing a called privacy class of service for said called station in a second switching system, said called privacy class of service indicating that said called station does not accept calls for which a caller identification is not provided;
requesting in said first switching system a call connection from said caller station toward said called station;
transmitting a call setup message from said first switching system to said second switching system comprising said caller identification, a request toestablish a connection to said called station and an indication that said caller station has requested privacy for the call;
responsive to receipt of said call setup message, and to said stored called privacy class of service of said called station, returning an announcement to said calling station, requesting a privacy override request signal from said caller station for allowing completion of said call; and responsive to receipt of said override request signal from said caller station, completing said call and providing said caller identification to said called station.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein said transmitting comprises:
transmitting one of a set of standard SS7 messages.
transmitting one of a set of standard SS7 messages.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US07/473,003 US5033076A (en) | 1990-01-31 | 1990-01-31 | Enhanced privacy feature for telephone systems |
| US473,003 | 1990-01-31 |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2030439A1 CA2030439A1 (en) | 1991-08-01 |
| CA2030439C true CA2030439C (en) | 1994-09-13 |
Family
ID=23877784
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002030439A Expired - Lifetime CA2030439C (en) | 1990-01-31 | 1990-11-21 | Enhanced privacy feature for telephone systems |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5033076A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0439927B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JP2872416B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2030439C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE69027417T2 (en) |
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1990
- 1990-01-31 US US07/473,003 patent/US5033076A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1990-11-21 CA CA002030439A patent/CA2030439C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1990-12-05 DE DE69027417T patent/DE69027417T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1990-12-05 EP EP90313210A patent/EP0439927B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
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1991
- 1991-01-29 JP JP3026736A patent/JP2872416B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
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|---|---|
| US5033076A (en) | 1991-07-16 |
| JP2872416B2 (en) | 1999-03-17 |
| EP0439927B1 (en) | 1996-06-12 |
| JPH04330898A (en) | 1992-11-18 |
| EP0439927A3 (en) | 1993-01-27 |
| DE69027417D1 (en) | 1996-07-18 |
| EP0439927A2 (en) | 1991-08-07 |
| CA2030439A1 (en) | 1991-08-01 |
| DE69027417T2 (en) | 1996-11-28 |
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