Abstract:
A method includes determining, at a processor of a computing device, whether an incoming transmission to a first destination is authorized at an electronic device of a communication network. The method includes, in response to determining that the incoming transmission is not authorized, determining whether a particular type of content is communicated via the incoming transmission. The incoming transmission is routed to the first destination when the particular type of content is not communicated via the incoming transmission, and the incoming transmission is not routed to the first destination when the particular type of content is communicated via the incoming transmission.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation of and claims priority from U.S. Patent Application No. 13/774,085, filed on February 22, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 12/636,115, filed December 11, 2009 (now U.S. Patent No. 8,406,393), which is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 11/274,364, filed November 15, 2005 (now U.S. Patent No. 7,653,184), which is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 10/967,100, filed October 15, 2004 (now U.S. Patent No. 7,006,612). Each of the above-referenced applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to systems for handling incoming facsimile transmissions. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Junk faxes and other unwanted advertisements are often transmitted to business facsimile machines. This results in wasted paper and toner and frustration for the business owner and its employees. 
         [0004]    Many residential owners of facsimile machines use their telephone line for facsimile purposes only on an occasional, outgoing basis. These facsimile machine owners do not wish to have their phone ring during inconvenient hours due to unwanted, incoming faxes, but still wish to receive incoming voice calls. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    The present disclosure is pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. However, other features are described in the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of blocking unwanted faxes in a telephone network; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system for blocking unwanted faxes in the telephone network; and 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of another embodiment of a method of blocking unwanted faxes in a telephone network. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0009]    In a particular embodiment, a system includes a switch and a control module coupled to the switch. The control module is configured to determine whether an incoming telephone call to a telephone line is a facsimile call or a voice call. The control module is also configured to determine, based on a telephone number associated with the incoming telephone call, whether facsimile calls are authorized to be routed to the telephone line. When facsimile calls are authorized, the control module is further configured to instruct the switch to route the incoming telephone call to the telephone line. When facsimile calls are not authorized and the incoming call is a voice call, the control module is configured to instruct the switch to route the incoming telephone call to the telephone line. The control module is also configured to instruct the switch to deny routing of the incoming telephone call to the telephone line when facsimile calls are not authorized and the incoming call is a facsimile call. 
         [0010]    In another particular embodiment, a method also includes detecting an incoming call at switch of a telephone network. The method includes determining whether facsimile calls are authorized to be routed to a destination. The method further includes routing the incoming call to the destination when facsimile calls are authorized. The method includes determining whether the incoming call includes a facsimile tone when facsimile calls are not authorized. The method also includes routing the incoming call to the destination when the incoming call does not include the facsimile tone. The method further includes denying routing of the incoming call to the destination and routing the incoming call to a second destination when the incoming call includes the facsimile tone. 
         [0011]    In another particular embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium includes instructions, that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to detect an incoming call and determine whether facsimile calls are authorized to be routed to a destination. The instructions also cause the computer to route the incoming call to the destination when facsimile calls are authorized. When facsimile calls are not authorized, the instructions further cause the computer to selectively route the incoming call to the destination based on whether the incoming call includes a facsimile tone. 
         [0012]    Embodiments of the present disclosure block or re-route an unwanted, incoming facsimile transmission call by sensing for a presence of a fax transmission tone within an element of a public telephone network before the telephone network completes the call to a called party. A subscriber-updateable list, table or other data structure that contains authorized calling party identifiers is stored and accessed within the telephone network. The authorized calling party identifiers indicate telephone numbers from which calls are authorized to be completed to the subscriber&#39;s location for purposes of fax transmission. The telephone network uses the list to determine whether or not to complete an incoming call as dialed, and whether or not to further analyze the call for the presence of a fax transmission tone, such as a CNG tone. If the telephone network detects the fax tone, the telephone network either blocks or re-routes the incoming call. The telephone network can use an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) architecture or alternative architecture to control the handling of calls once the presence or absence of the fax tone is determined. 
         [0013]    Embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to  FIG. 1 , which is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of blocking unwanted faxes in a telephone network  8 , and  FIG. 2 , which is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system for blocking unwanted faxes in the telephone network  8 . The telephone network  8  may be part of a public switched telephone network, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone network, or a non-traditional phone network. 
         [0014]    As indicated by block  10 , the method comprises storing, as data  12  in a database  14  of a service control point (SCP)  16 , one or more calling party identifiers from which fax transmission calls are authorized to be completed to a telephone line  22  at a subscriber&#39;s location  20 . Optionally, the database  14  also stores data  23  indicating one or more other calling party identifiers from which fax transmission calls are explicitly unauthorized to be completed to the telephone line  22  at the subscriber&#39;s location  20 . 
         [0015]    The calling party identifiers may comprise ten-digit calling numbers and/or portions of ten-digit calling numbers. An example of a portion of a ten-digit calling number is a six-digit NPA-NXX number, where NPA is a three-digit area code and NXX are three digits identifying a specific telephone central office in the area code. When included in the authorized data  12 , the NPA-NXX data authorizes completion of fax transmission calls from any telephone number having the NPA-NXX. Use of NPA-NXX combinations in the data  12  is useful where the subscriber has a large number of potential callers within the same NPA-NXX. For example, the subscriber may want to receive faxes from a firm whose headquarters is at a single location and has a large number of potential callers within the same NPA-NXX. In this case, the subscriber would not need to store all of the headquarters&#39; ten-digit numbers in the data  12  of the database  14 . 
         [0016]    For purposes of illustration and example, consider the data  12  indicating that the subscriber has authorized reception of fax transmission calls from a first party  24  whose ten-digit number is 512-555-0121, a second party whose ten-digit number is 512-555-0145, and any party whose NPA-NXX is 847-555. Those having ordinary skill will recognize that the data  12  generally can include any number of authorized calling party identifiers. 
         [0017]    Optionally, as indicated by block  26 , the method further comprises storing, as data  28  in the database  14  of the SCP  16 , days and/or times at which facsimile reception using the telephone line  22  is acceptable or unacceptable to the subscriber. The times may indicate times of day, and the days may indicate specific dates and/or specific days of the week, on which facsimile reception is acceptable or unacceptable. The data  28  is used to provide an additional restriction mechanism for incoming faxes. For example, the subscriber may wish to block all incoming faxes received after business hours. 
         [0018]    Subscriber data  30 , which includes the data  12 ,  23  and  28 , can be updated by the subscriber using a Web interface  32  and/or an interactive voice response (IVR) system  34 . The subscriber can view a visual display of the calling party identifiers from the data  12  or  23  using the Web interface  32 , or can hear an audible display of the calling party identifiers from the data  12  or  23  using the IVR system  34 . The subscriber can add or remove calling party identifiers (whether they be full ten-digit numbers or NPA-NXX numbers) from the data  12  or  23  by issuing commands using the Web interface  32  and/or the IVR system  34 . Further, the subscriber can add or remove days/times to the data  28 , or may choose to turn the fax blocking feature on or off by issuing commands using the Web interface  32  and/or the IVR system  34 . The IVR system  34  may be receptive to both voice commands and DTMF commands. 
         [0019]    Optionally, a telephone network element may automatically add to the data  23  a list of one or more unauthorized calling numbers whose calls to the telephone line  22  have been previously blocked by the subscriber. 
         [0020]    As indicated by block  36 , a telephone network switch such as a service switching point (SSP)  40  detects an incoming call from a calling party that is intended for the telephone line  22  of the subscriber. Based on detecting the incoming call, the SSP  40  hits a termination attempt advanced intelligent network (AIN) trigger, and sends a query message to the SCP  16  based on the AIN trigger. 
         [0021]    As indicated by block  42 , the SCP  16  receives the query message with a ten-digit triggered number of the telephone line  22  as the key. 
         [0022]    As indicated by block  44 , the SCP  16  accesses the subscriber data  30  of the database  14  based on the key. The data  12  of the subscriber data  30  is accessed to determine if the subscriber has authorized reception of incoming faxes from the calling number of the calling party. If the data  12  indicates that the subscriber has authorized reception of incoming faxes from the calling party, then optionally the SCP accesses the data  28  of the database to determine if fax reception is acceptable at the current time and/or day, as indicated by block  45 . 
         [0023]    If the calling party is authorized based on the data  12  and the time/day is acceptable based on the data  28 , then the SCP  16  sends a response message to the SSP  40  to instruct the SSP  40  to complete the call to the telephone line  22 , as indicated by block  46 . As indicated by block  47 , the call is completed to the telephone line  22  as dialed. If the call includes an incoming fax transmission, the subscriber can receive the fax transmission using a fax machine  48  coupled to the telephone line  22 . If the call is a voice call, the subscriber can answer the voice call and vocally communicate with the calling party using a telephone  49  coupled to the telephone line  22 . 
         [0024]    If the calling party is authorized based on the data  12  but the time/day is unacceptable based on the data  28 , or if the calling party is unauthorized based on the data  12  or  23 , then an act of playing an announcement to the caller is performed as indicated by block  50 . The announcement may comprise an audible phrase such as “please hold while we attempt to complete your call” or a recorded ring. Use of the recorded ring makes the call screening process inconspicuous, or ideally indiscernible, to human callers. Regardless of its audible content, the announcement may be a four-second or other duration AIN switch announcement. 
         [0025]    As indicated by block  52 , a telephone network element senses for a presence of a fax transmission tone from the calling party over the duration of the announcement and before the call has been routed to the telephone line  22 . The telephone network element may comprise a plain-old telephone system (POTS) network element or a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network element, for example. 
         [0026]    Sending facsimile machines generate an on-off cadence of fax transmission tones until a receiving facsimile machine generates a response thereto. Thus, the act indicated by block  52  is used by the telephone network to determine whether or not the calling party is sending a fax in the call. 
         [0027]    In one embodiment, the fax transmission tone comprises a CNG tone and the response comprises a CED (CallEd station iDentification) tone. An ideal CNG tone comprises a 1100-Hz signal for 0.5 seconds followed by no signal for 3 seconds. According to ITU T.30, an acceptable CNG tone is within a frequency tolerance of ±38 Hz and a timing tolerance of ±15% of the aforementioned ideal CNG tone. 
         [0028]    The telephone network comprises a CNG detector  54  to detect if an acceptable CNG tone has been generated by the calling party during the announcement. The CNG detector  54  waits to collect one digit during the announcement. If a digit has not been collected by the end of the announcement (e.g. by the end of about four seconds) or if a collected digit does not equal 1100 Hz±38 Hz, it is assumed that the call is absent an acceptable CNG tone. If the collected digit is within 1100 Hz±38 Hz, it is assumed that the call has an acceptable CNG tone. 
         [0029]    If a fax transmission tone from the calling party is present in the call (e.g. the CNG detector  54  detects an acceptable CNG tone), then the call is considered to be a fax call either from an unauthorized calling party based on the data  12  or  23 , or at an unacceptable day/time based on the data  28 . To block these fax calls from being completed to the telephone line  22 , flow of the method is directed to block  56  which indicates an act of playing a denial announcement to the calling party, and block  60  which indicates an act of terminating the call. As an alternative to blocking and terminating these unwanted fax calls, an act of re-routing these fax calls to a different fax machine location having a different telephone line may be performed. Either way, the SSP  40  is instructed by the SCP  16  to deny completion of the call to the telephone line  22 . Optionally, as indicated by block  61 , the calling party identifier (e.g. the telephone number) of the calling party is added to a list of unauthorized calling party identifiers in the data  23 . As a result, the database  14  includes a calling party identifier of the calling party to indicate that subsequent facsimile transmission calls from the calling party are unauthorized to be completed to the telephone line  22  of the subscriber. 
         [0030]    If the call is absent a fax transmission tone from the calling party (e.g. the CNG detector  54  does not detect an acceptable CNG tone), then the call is considered not to be a fax call but rather a voice call. Since non-fax calls are allowed to be completed, flow of the method is directed to block  46  which comprises the SCP  16  sending a response message to the SSP  40  to instruct the SSP  40  to complete the call to the telephone line  22 . This allows a son/daughter to call his/her parents in the middle of the night even when the telephone network is screening fax calls intended for the parents&#39; telephone line, for example. 
         [0031]    The above acts can be repeated for additional incoming calls intended for the telephone line  22 . 
         [0032]    For purposes of illustration and example, consider how the herein-described method and system process the following three hypothetical calls. 
         [0033]    Call 1 
         [0034]    The caller  24 , whose telephone number is 512-555-0121, places a call to the telephone line  22 . Since the telephone number of the caller  24  is an authorized number in a table in the data  12 , and the call has been placed during acceptable hours as indicated by the data  28 , the telephone network completes the call as dialed. The subscriber may answer the call using either the fax machine  48  or the telephone  49 . 
         [0035]    Call 2 
         [0036]    A caller  62 , whose telephone number is 512-555-0120, places a call to the telephone line  22 . Since the telephone number of the caller  62  is not in a table of authorized numbers in the data  12 , the caller  62  hears an audible announcement such as “please hold while we attempt to complete your call”. The call is analyzed, within the telephone network, for a CNG tone. If a CNG tone is present, the call is denied and an audible termination announcement is played to the caller  62 . If a CNG tone is not present, the telephone network completes the call as dialed. 
         [0037]    Call 3 
         [0038]    A caller  64 , whose telephone number is 847-555-0130, places a call to the telephone line  22 . The NPA-NXX combination of 847-555 of the caller  64  is in a table of authorized numbers in the data  12 , however the call is placed after normal business hours as indicated by the data  28 . The caller  64  hears an audible announcement such as “please hold while we attempt to complete your call”. The call is analyzed, within the telephone network, for a CNG tone. If a CNG tone is present, the call is denied and an audible termination announcement is played to the caller  64  because fax calls are not accepted after normal business hours. If a CNG tone is not present, the telephone network completes the call as dialed. 
         [0039]    The herein-disclosed method and system can be used to block and/or re-route incoming facsimile transmissions for multiple subscribers. The database  14  would include respective subscriber data for each subscriber, such as the subscriber data  30  for the example subscriber described herein. Each subscriber would be able to access and modify his/her subscriber data using the Web interface  32  and/or the IVR  34 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of another embodiment of a method of blocking unwanted faxes in a telephone network. This embodiment includes the same acts described with reference to  FIG. 1 , but with an alternative flow topology. Each act indicated by a primed reference numeral in  FIG. 3  corresponds to a respective act having the same, but non-primed reference numeral in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0041]    The alternative flow topology can be summarized as follows. If the calling party is authorized based on the data  12  or the time/day is acceptable based on the data  28 , then the SCP  16  sends a response message to the SSP  40  to instruct the SSP  40  to complete the call to the telephone line  22 , as indicated by block  46 ′. If the calling party is not authorized based on the data  12  or  23  and the time/day is unacceptable based on the data  28 , then acts of playing an announcement to the caller and sensing for the presence of a CNG tone are performed as indicated by blocks  50 ′ and  52 ′. 
         [0042]    The acts performed by each of the herein-disclosed components can be directed by respective computer program code embodied in a computer-readable form on a computer-readable medium. Each of the herein-disclosed components may comprise a respective computer processor responsive to the computer program code to perform the acts. 
         [0043]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed embodiments may be modified in numerous ways and may assume many embodiments other than the particular forms specifically set out and described herein. 
         [0044]    The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, and not restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.