Post-page caller name identification system

Abstract

Caller Name Identification, or CNAM Caller ID, is a telecommunication end-user feature that appeared for PSTN landline customers in the late 1980s. The rapid development of cellular mobile and VOIP telephony systems lead to the frequent omission of the CNAM Caller ID feature. Described is an independent end-user system that obtains the CNAM Caller ID after the call page transmission. The system operates on the user's smartphone or on a TCP/IP connected computer. A user with multiple telephone devices (i.e. a smartphone, landline, and VOIP line) may share use of this system between all devices.

Claims

.[.1. A system, functioning independently of a called party's telephone carrier and device, provides a calling party's CNAM after entry of the calling party's telephone number CID, comprising: a) an entry field, within a HTML web or mobile phone application, permitting the called party to input a query, post-page, specifying the CID; b) an SS7 interfacing node permitting real-time access to the SS7 network; c) a function serving as a direct interface between the called party's query and the calling party carrier's respective CNAM database; d) within the HTML web or mobile phone application, a display of the successfully queried calling party CNAM..].

.[.2. The system of claim 1, wherein the web or mobile phone application provides free-of-charge CNAM resolution for any of the end-user's multiple telephony devices, thereby permitting cost-savings..].

.[.3. The system of claim 1, wherein the called party enjoys significant cost savings and free-of-charge CNAM querying through an advertising display within the user interface..].

.[.4. The system of claim 1, wherein component function (c) additionally: confirms that the CID is not subject to system opt-out privacy controls; and confirms that the CID paged a telephonic device owned or operated by the called party..].

.[.5. A method for providing a called party with the calling party's CNAM after a network page, independent of interaction with the carrier or device receiving the page, comprising the following steps: a) entering of the calling party's telephone number CID into a web HTML or mobile phone application query field; b) connecting to the PSTN via an SS7 interfacing node; c) directly querying the calling party carrier CNAM database with the CID query entry; d) displaying the successfully queried calling party CNAM on the HTML web or mobile phone application user interface..].

.[.6. The method of claim 5, further comprising a step to display advertising sponsorship on the web or mobile phone application interface, thereby achieving significant user cost savings and free-of-charge CNAM querying..].

.Iadd.7. An SS7 interfacing node connected to both a TCP/IP network and an SS7 communication network, comprising: a TCP/IP network interface configured to provide a connection to a user terminal, the connection being configurable over an application program interface (API) using an industry standard protocol; and an SS7 communication network interface configured to communicate with signal control points (SCPs) on the SS7 communication network; wherein the SS7 interfacing node is configured (a) to receive from the user terminal over the TCP/IP network interface a query of a caller name identification (CNAM) database for a CNAM based on a telephone number obtained from a paging signal of an SS7 call, (b) to transmit the telephone number in a carrier identity request over the SS7 communication network interface to one or more line information databases (LIDBs); (c) to receive a carrier identity from the LIDBs over the SS7 communication network interface; (d) based on the carrier identity, to forward the query using GR-1188 to one or more CNAM databases over the SS7 communication network interface, (e) over the SS7 communication network interface, to receive from the CNAM databases a CNAM associated with the telephone number; and (f) over the TCP/IP network interface, to provide the received CNAM as the calling party's name to the user terminal. .Iaddend.

.Iadd.8. The SS7 interfacing node of claim 7, wherein the industry standard protocol comprises JSON. .Iaddend.

.Iadd.9. A method in an SS7 interfacing node connected to both a TCP/IP network and an SS7 telecommunication network, comprising: configuring a TCP/IP network interface with a user terminal using an application program interface (API) that conforms to an industry standard protocol; and configuring an SS7 communication network interface that communicates with one or more line information databases (LIDBs) and one or more SS7 signal control points (SCPs) over the SS7 communication network; wherein the SS7 interfacing node (a) receives from the user terminal over the TCP/IP network interface a query of a caller name identification (CNAM) database for a CNAM based on a telephone number obtained from a paging signal of an SS7 call, (b) transmits the telephone number in a carrier identity request over the SS7 communication network interface to one or more line information databases (LIDBs); (c) receives a carrier identity from the LIDBs over the SS7 communication network interface; (d) based on the carrier identity, forwards the query using GR-1188 to one or more CNAM databases over the SS7 communication network interface, (e) over the SS7 communication network interface, receives from the CNAM databases a CNAM associated with the telephone number; and (f) over the TCP/IP network interface, provides the received CNAM as the calling party's name to the user terminal. .Iaddend.

.Iadd.10. The method of claim 9, wherein the industry standard protocol comprises JSON. .Iaddend.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Features of the exemplary implementations of the invention will become apparent from the description, the claims, and the drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 identified as subparts 1A, 1B, & 1C, represents three typical variations of the caller identification prior art;

(3) FIG. 2 is a graphical depiction of the core system components and their interactions;

(4) FIG. 3 is a flow diagram enumerating each possible step the system performs to process a user query for caller name identification; and

(5) FIG. 4 depicts two additional embodiments of the user interface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) From FIG. 1, three scenarios are identified which represent the current prior art of caller identification systems. Scenario 1A represents the ideal provisioning of a call where the called party receives both the name and phone number of the calling. In this case, the CID and CNAM are 617-555-1212 and “Smith, Robert,” respectively. Scenario 1B, the middle illustration, only provides the calling party phone number. This scenario is typical of most cellular mobile carriers. In lieu of the CNAM, the cellular carrier will approximate the location of the calling party, although this is frequently subject to error. Scenario 1C, illustrated at the bottom of FIG. 1, depicts a typical VOIP caller identification presentation, which only includes the calling party number (CID).

(7) Having understood the possible combinations of CID and/or CNAM presentations possible on a caller identification system, FIG. 2 embodies the components of the present invention utilized in the context of the scenario depicted in FIG. 1B. The calling party has placed a call (1) over the PSTN, and the carrier has provisioned for the CID and estimated location to be presented on the end-user's telephone screen (2) during the network page.

(8) The end-user initiates use of the system by accessing the user terminal. The user enters the CID from (2) into the CID entry field (3) of the user terminal. After entering a valid CID, the user (4) submits the query to the system. The system then initiates the “CNAM database query” (5) via the SS7 network.

(9) There exist several methodologies to obtain a CNAM database result via SS7, and the exact implementation depends upon the calling party's carrier, the system's carrier, and any contractual relationships between the two carriers. Exemplified in FIG. 2, and most typical, the system performs a Global Title Translation (6) using various Line Information Databases (LIDBs) to determine the calling party's carrier. In some cases, the system will already know the calling party's carrier (e.g. if they are the same as the called party), and this step will be unnecessary. Once the carrier is known, the system is able to route a CNAM query using GR-1188 (7) to the appropriate SS7 signal control point (SCP). The SCP controls CNAM database access for a given phone carrier. For the purposes of this invention, the entire process is referred to as “CNAM Database Query” (5) and refers to any of the proper SS7 methods to retrieve CNAM information.

(10) Upon successful CNAM database query, the CNAM Caller ID is relayed back to the user terminal. The caller name identification is displayed on the appropriate user interface element, thereby completing the process.

(11) FIG. 3 serves as a flow diagram enumerating all possible steps for the system, as embodied, to carry out its function. The utilization of this system commences upon end-user receipt of a CID page (100). The user then activates the system by entering the page CID into the CID entry interface (101). Before the system proceeds, it first validates that the CID is not listed within the system's opt-out privacy database (102). At this stage, the system may also ask the user to confirm the CID had been transmitted to a telephone device they own or operate.

(12) The system then instructs the SS7 interfacing node to initiate an SS7 session, if one is not already active (103). The exact state or instructions relayed to the SS7 switch/node varies depending upon carrier implementation. Once the SS7 session is active, a Global Title Translation (GTT) is performed using the CID from the CID entry interface. (104). The GTT returns the calling party carrier information necessary to locate the carrier's CNAM database on the SS7 network. A query is thereafter sent, usually via the GR-1188 protocol, to the signal control point (SCP) for the calling carrier CNAM database (105). Assuming the calling party didn't opt-out from its carrier CNAM database, the calling party's CNAM is returned to the system's SS7 node (106). Then, the CNAM database query result is displayed on the user interface (107).

(13) FIG. 4 depicts additional embodiments of the system relating to its user interface. In this illustration, the system's SS7 interface (200) is physically separated from its user interface. The user interface is implemented on either another computer linked via the TCP/IP (204), or the end-user's telephone that received the initial call page (203). The SS7 interface communicates (201 or 202) with the user interface via an industry standard API protocol such as JSON.