Abstract:
A phone network in a wireless environment that does not perform CNAM queries when a number is already stored in the receiving handsets&#39; caller directory. CNAM query fees are charged only to obtain caller information on a new caller. The network does not make CNAM queries when the caller information is already available, whether in the contact information stored on the receiver&#39;s handset or through some other reliable source.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/045,204 filed Apr. 15, 2008, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Traditional caller name identification on mobile telephone networks is performed in a network architecture using a pair of service points known as a network control point (NCP) and a network termination point (NTP). Essentially the NTP manages signal traffic for terminating and connecting calls between carrier networks and to their subscribers. The NCP manages subscriber accounts and informatics for callers, including network-based caller information services. This architecture permits various carrier networks to interoperate and to evaluate and apply appropriate rules using the caller and receiver telephone numbers (such as billing and roaming rates, etc.). Caller identification services may be applied at this juncture, as well, provided that the caller identification information associated with the caller&#39;s telephone numbers can be obtained quickly so as not to delay the call flow (such as initiation, connection, and termination of the call) between the carrier networks and, ultimately, connection to the receiver&#39;s handset. One standard for such caller identification services is Caller Name (CNAM). An example of a CNAM service is offered by Verisign® (CITE VERISIGN DOCUMENTS). Other CNAM providers include products and services from Targus® and Syniverse®. 
         [0003]    CNAM provides caller name and city/state locations by querying a high speed, high volume database (DB), referred to as a line information database (LIDB). CNAM services provide information about the calling party for a fee, typically billed to the subscriber&#39;s account. The fee varies by contract but is typically $0.01 per call. CNAM traffic on a telephone carrier network is also high volume. A hypothetical carrier with twenty million subscribers making seven calls on average per day results in 140 million possible CNAM transactions on a dedicated network. As there are many carriers in telephony, and many subscribers that maintain more than one phone line, the CNAM market has grown from servicing only land-line Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN) to include other communication networks, such as mobile and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony. Thus, there is the potential for well over a billion CNAM transactions per day. In operation, a CNAM service takes an incoming call from the NTP, sends call information (including the caller&#39;s number and the dialed number) into the NCP, determines that the query can be billed to the subscriber, determines which carrier the inbound call is coming from, makes the query to a service which can query name and phone number databases (such as the Line Information Database (LIDB) of the caller&#39;s carrier), resolves a name or a city/state pair for a phone number transiting the network, and send that information along with the caller&#39;s Mobile Dialable Number (MDN) to the receiving handset for display when the call is received (typically during the incoming call ring). 
         [0004]    Typically, a CNAM query is completed in less than 2 seconds. This permits the caller to experience normal “ring tones” during the call, with no perceived delay to the calling parties, and for the calling handset to have its call connected to the receiver in a reasonable amount of time. Once terminated on the receiving carrier&#39;s network termination point (NTP), the CNAM query result is sent as a text string along with the caller&#39;s CID to the receiver&#39;s phone and placed on the display of the receiving handset. While it is possible to make CNAM queries from the receiving handset, any significant delay placed upon the recipient of the incoming call by making a CNAM query from the mobile handset may create an unacceptable calling experience to one or both of the calling parties, such as a delay in the call termination for the calling party or a delay in the display of the caller information to the receiving party. In the case of a CNAM query from the receiving handset, the perceived delay occurs because the query is commenced after the network termination point (NTP) has connected the call to the receiving handset. With such a delay, the user may thus answer the call, or may choose to ignore the call, before the caller information is transmitted to the handset. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention provides a phone network in a wireless environment that does not perform CNAM queries when a number is already stored in the receiving handsets&#39; caller directory. CNAM query fees are charged only to obtain caller information on a new caller. The network does not make CNAM queries when the caller information is already available, whether in the contact information stored on the receiver&#39;s handset or through some other reliable source. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of an example system formed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates a flow diagram of an example method performed by the system shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  illustrates an example of the system in operation. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0010]    The present invention adds some architectural (software and/or hardware) components to a carrier network in the form of a database and query logic to determine whether a CNAM query is needed in order to provide caller identification information. 
         [0011]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , an example wireless environment  20  includes a caller system  30 , a receiver system (network control point (NCP))  32 , a data network  38 , a network server  36 , a database  40 , a Line Information Database (LIDB)  34  and a mobile handset (receiving device)  42 . The caller system  30  sends a call destined for the mobile handset  42  to the NCP  32 . The NCP  32  sends the caller number (CID) included in the call to the network server  36  over the data network  38 . The network server  36  queries the database  40  to determine if the database  40  indicates that a (CNAM) query is not needed because the mobile handset  42  already includes MDN information pertaining to the CID stored locally in the mobile handset  42 . If the MDN is not stored in the mobile handset  42 , then a traditional CNAM query is performed using the CID. 
         [0012]    In one embodiment, the system above performs a traditional CNAM query based on an incoming number over a carrier network, which allows the carrier to supply the CID and the CNAM associated with the CID in a string for display on the mobile handset  42  when the call is received. This number and name can then be stored in the mobile handset caller directory for later reference. Alternatively, the owner of the receiving handset can enter or import contact information including names and telephone numbers into the handset. 
         [0013]    When the network termination point NTP indicates that a call is in progress, dialing information is sent to the NCP  32 . The NCP  32  checks each incoming call CID against the database  40  associated with that NCP  32  or the network server  36  accessible with the NCP  32 . A table stored in the database  40  contains a copy of the receiving handset&#39;s caller directory (i.e., Mobile Directory Number (MDN)). At a minimum the table stores telephone numbers that were previously received by the mobile handset  42 . The caller directory list may be in a database table that is co-located with the NCP  32 , distributed on the carrier network, or on a network-addressable memory or storage device. The NCP  32  queries the caller directory table to determine whether the calling MDN is already stored in the caller directory (i.e., contact list) of the mobile handset  42 . Using the query result (Yes or No), the NCP  32  performs CNAM queries for numbers (incoming call, i.e. calling MDN) which are not already contained in the caller directory table, and does not perform a CNAM query when the calling MDN is associated with an MDN stored in the caller directory table. 
         [0014]    In one embodiment, the mobile handset&#39;s caller directory table is updated via a network message (e.g. short message service (SMS) message or via the carrier&#39;s data network) sent from the mobile handset  42  each time an MDN is modified (added or subtracted) in the caller directory stored on the mobile handset  42 . A small client software component operating on the mobile handset  42  sends the phone numbers for those contacts which are stored in the mobile handset caller directory (also called the mobile user&#39;s ‘contacts’ or ‘address book’) to the network server  36 . The network server  36  stores the received information in the caller directory table in the database  40  when received. A CNAM query may be made and the result stored by the client software on the receiving handset  42  based on detected modifications to caller directory entries on the handset. Also, the information in the caller directory on the receiving handset  42  may also be refreshed periodically, by making CNAM queries either on a set period of time (e.g., every six months), or based on a certain count of incoming calls from that number (e.g., request a CNAM query to check the accuracy of the caller directory information (i.e., synchronizing the directory table with the caller directory on the mobile handset  42 ) every 15 th  time the caller&#39;s MDN is detected on an incoming call). The above techniques maintain the accuracy of the caller information on the mobile handset  42  should names and/or phone numbers change, while avoiding CNAM queries for every call and intelligently using CNAM to maintain the accuracy of caller information in the caller directory. 
         [0015]    In an alternate embodiment, privacy or network access restrictions may prevent copying the mobile handset caller directory to the caller directory table on the network server  36 . In this case, the table is updated with caller information only when an incoming call to the receiving handset  42  is made, the inbound number is recorded when the call is terminated. When a CNAM query is made, the resulting text string (containing the caller name and/or city/state information) is stored in the caller directory table. The first time a number is received (not in caller directory table), a CNAM query is made. Thereafter, no CNAM query need be made if the table contains those records. Caller identification information may be sent from the table directly to the receiving handset  42  or it may be assumed that the user previously stored the number and caller identification information that resulted from the initial call. In the latter case, the calling party is identified using the information stored locally on the mobile handset  42 . 
         [0016]    The client software on the receiving handset  42  may also include a feature that encourages subscribers to move call list entries to the contact database (caller directory) on the handset  42  and provides an indication to the software to update the contact list in the database  40 . 
         [0017]    The client software on the receiving handset  42  may also include a feature that automatically moves call list entries to the contact database on the handset  42  and provides an indication to the software to update the contact list in the database  40  with those entries. 
         [0018]    The client software on the receiving handset  42  may also include a feature that automatically moves an inbound call&#39;s MDN directly into the contact database on the handset  42  and provides an indication to the client software to update the contact list in the database  40  with those entries. 
         [0019]    On receiving the indication to update the contact list in the database  40 , the client software on the receiving handset  42  sends an indication that an MDN has been stored in the contact database on the handset  42 . This can take the form of sending any stored MDNs back to the network server  36  or sending a confirmation. 
         [0020]    The contact list in the database  40  may also store all incoming MDNs and received caller identification information regardless of whether the receiving handset  42  stores the MDN in the local contact database. Thereafter, the client software on the receiving handset  42  may cooperate with the contact list in the database  40  by providing an indication for each MDN stored in the contact database on the receiving handset  42  rather than exchanging the caller information itself. 
         [0021]    Similarly, the list of numbers associated with the subscriber in the contact list in the database  40  can be checked against the list stored in the directory on the handset  42  periodically and refreshed using CNAM services as described herein. The caller name information does not need to be requested by the carrier if it is available on the receiving handset. Only telephone numbers that are stored on the receiving handset need to be checked prior to determine if a CNAM query should be made. 
         [0022]    The present invention is described for mobile networks but works for mobile, VoIP and traditional telephone networks provided there is a source for the network caller directory information (operating in the manner of the contact directory in a mobile handset described herein), an identifier or telephone number associated with the caller, and a communications carrier that provides network access to CNAM services. 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  illustrates an example method  100  performed by the system shown in  FIG. 1 . First at a block  104  a call is received at the NCP  32  of a mobile carrier. Next, at a decision block  108 , the NCP  32  or the network server  36  determines if the MDN of the received call is stored (associated with) contact information (table) stored in the database  40 . If it is determined that the MDN is stored in the database  40 , then CID information included in the database  40  is retrieved from the database  40  and sent to the recipient with the call. When the receiving handset  42  receives the call with the CID information, the CID information is displayed/outputted to the user. Where CID information is not stored in the database  40 , then an indicator is sent with the call to the recipient. When the receiving handset  42  receives the call with the indicator, the CID information is retrieved from the local caller directory (contact list) and displays/outputs it to the user. 
         [0024]    If at the decision block  108  the NCP  32  or the network server  36  determines that the MDN of the received call is not stored (associated with) contact information (table) stored in the database  40 , then at a block  110  a CNAM query is executed using the LIDB  34 . At a block  114 , if the CNAM query finds an associated CID, then that CID is sent to the recipient with the call. At a block  116 , if the CNAM query does not find an associated CID, then the MDN of the sender is used to determine city/state information. The city/state information is then sent to the recipient with the call. 
         [0025]      FIG. 3  illustrates examples of the how the wireless environment  20  of  FIG. 1  operates. In a first example, callers from first and second MDNs (206.555.1212, 425.111.1234) are analyzed at the NCP  32  and the network server  36 . It is determined that corresponding records exist in the subscriber contacts database (the database  40 ). In this example, the mobile handset  42  displays the MDNs and associated names from the contact directory of the mobile handset  42 . 
         [0026]    In another example, the first and second MDNs (206.555.1212, 425.111.1234) do not have corresponding records in the subscriber contacts database (the database  40 ). The NCP  32  looks in the LIDB  34  for CNAM information. In this example, if CNAM information exists in the LIDB  34  for the MDNs (206.555.1212, 425.111.1234), the NCP  32  sends the MDNs and CNAM query results to the mobile handset  42  for display. For the MDN 206.555.1212, if CNAM information does not exist in the LIDB  34 , the MDN is used to determine city and/or state information that is communicated along with the MDN to the mobile handset  42  for display/output. Note that the LIDB may be that of the subscriber&#39;s carrier (for in-network calls) or a third party carrier&#39;s LIDB (containing information on subscribers on other communication networks). CNAM services typically service caller information on one or more LIDBs to provide service to subscribers; this also permits them to aggregate access to the LIDBs to relieve the burden on the independent carriers and permit them to interoperate without having to maintain their own high speed database services for CNAM. 
         [0027]    Although atypical of CNAM as traditionally offered, the present invention could also be practiced based on the caller&#39;s contact information being maintained in a contact list on database accessible by the NCP at the caller&#39;s carrier. A CNAM operation can be initiated on the caller&#39;s side, and the decision to query CNAM made using lists in caller directories associated and/or accessed over the network by the NCP of the caller&#39;s carrier. A CNAM query made in reference to the caller&#39;s contact list would then pass on the resulting caller name information without charge to the receiving party. This would be advantageous to the caller, such as a business enterprise, in that the call information and branding (e.g., corporate name) about their business can be maintained correctly by providing caller information to the caller&#39;s contacts. This would also permit private parties to share their contact information without the risk of spoofing or user error—since the information is provided in the first instance by CNAM, not the caller (assuming that the CNAM information is accurate, and properly stored in their caller directory on their handset). The present invention would permit this without undue expense to the calling party, since the caller information in the online directory would indicate that the receiving party already received the calling parties&#39; information (since the receiving party is already stored in the caller&#39;s contact list). It is also noted that while calling on voice channels is the preferred embodiment, the present invention could be used to manage the CNAM queries and place sender identification information in incoming messages to devices on mobile networks, including SMS, email, data traffic, and so forth. 
         [0028]    While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.