Abstract:
A system and method in which unpublished subscribers of telecommunications services are able to receive a notification that an individual is trying to contact them, without revealing unpublished contact information. A requestor of a telecommunication subscriber&#39;s unpublished contact information is given an opportunity to indirectly send the subscriber a notification message. This is accomplished by collecting information from the requestor regarding the desired content of the notification message and then sending the notification message to the subscriber. The unpublished subscriber receiving such a notification message has the choice of contacting the requestor or ignoring the notification message.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/461,091, filed Apr. 8, 2003. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to telecommunications and more particularly to contacting subscribers of telecommunications services without revealing unpublished contact information. 
     Conventional landline telecommunications systems have been in existence for many years. Landline telecommunications involve the physical coupling through a conductive medium, such as a copper wire or optical fiber, between locations having transceiving equipment, such as telephones. Until fairly recently, most non-military communications have occurred via landlines. More recently, radio frequency-based communications have become commercially viable for the mass market. This form of analog or digital communication requires no physical conduction medium and so is termed “wireless.” Wireless communications free the user from the obligation of remaining proximate to the base equipment associated with landline communications. Instead, signal transmission occurs via satellites, wireless booster towers, and miniaturized transceivers that form part of the mobile wireless communication equipment. 
     In order for communications to occur between two or more locations having telecommunications equipment, it has been necessary for at least one of those locations to know the contact information (telephone number, e-mail address, etc.) for the other location or locations to be contacted. This need gave rise to the development of databases or directories of contact information for specific telecommunications system-equipped locations. One obvious example of such a database or directory is the telephone book, which provides a listing of contact telephone numbers for individuals and businesses within a specified region. Additionally, local and national directory assistance providers generate and supply contact information upon telephonic request. In operation, communicators of directory assistance service providers retrieve from a series of database choices the information of interest and convey it to the interested party. 
     Some estimates indicate that as many as ten billion calls are made for directory assistance for telephone numbers per annum throughout the world, indicating the importance of such contact information. Further, as use of the Internet expands, alternative databases of telephone numbers, facsimile numbers, e-mail addresses, web site addresses, and the like are made accessible by way of computer devices, such as personal computers. Necessarily, given the scope of interest in obtaining such contact information telephonically and by computer, the value of directory assistance providers has increased. 
     However, many subscribers of telecommunications service wish to prevent widespread dissemination of their contact information for various reasons such as privacy concerns, desire to prevent unsolicited calls, etc. Telecommunications service providers accommodate these subscribers by not publishing their contact information. Unpublished or “unlisted” contact information cannot be disseminated by directory assistance providers, meaning that directory assistance requestors of unpublished information are denied access to the contact information. 
     Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a system and method in which unpublished subscribers (i.e., subscribers for whom contact information is not published) can be contacted without revealing the unpublished contact information. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The above-mentioned need is met by the present invention, which provides a system and method in which unpublished subscribers of telecommunications services are able to receive a notification that an individual is trying to contact them, via directory assistance or a web-based request. The notification can be marked as being an emergency, urgent business, personal or other. The unpublished subscriber receiving such a notification has the choice to call back or ignore the request. The system provides the notification without revealing the unpublished contact information. 
     The present invention and its advantages over the prior art will be more readily understood upon reading the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The subject matter that is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding part of the specification. The invention, however, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of a first embodiment of a subscriber notification system. 
         FIG. 2  depicts a representative notification message screen. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of a second embodiment of a subscriber notification system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings wherein identical reference numerals denote the same elements throughout the various views,  FIG. 1  shows a first embodiment of a telecommunications system  10  for sending unpublished subscribers a secure notification message (in the form of a text message) that a request has been made for their unpublished contact information. The system  10  includes a central network station  20 . The network station  20  is a computing device (or a coordinated collection of plural computing devices) having mass storage capability and means for carrying out software-based instructions. The network station  20  is preferably a minicomputer or a mainframe computer but is not limited thereto. The network station  20  is programmable to receive and store contact information including, but not limited to, the access numbers of any of a plurality of communication devices  30  (identified by the abbreviation “CD” in the drawings) used by subscribers of various service providers and contact-identifying information associated with those numbers, e.g., the subscriber&#39;s name and address. The system  10  can operate with any number of telecommunications service providers, represented in  FIG. 1  by service provider database or local exchange carrier stations  40 . Each service provider station  40  is typically associated with a multitude of the subscriber communication devices  30 . In this embodiment, the subscriber communication devices  30  can be any type of communications device (landline telephone, wireless telephone, pager, etc.) capable of receiving text messages. 
     The contact information corresponding to each communication device  30  is obtained by the network station  20  through the respective service provider stations  40 . The network station  20  preferably includes telecommunications routing and switching equipment so as to be capable of operating as a telecommunications station. Therefore, the network station is assured of gaining access to the contact information of the service providers&#39; subscribers because it is a matter of legislative obligation that such service providers provide to any other telecommunications service provider the contact information of its subscribers. The system  10  includes a router/Communicator Identification Code (CIC) switch station  50  that enables the central network station  20  to interface with the service provider stations  40 . 
     The contact information received by the central network station  20  from the service provider stations  40  is formatted as necessary to enable various directory assistance service providers (collectively represented in  FIG. 1  by a single site  60 , although it should be understood that multiple directory assistance service providers can interface with the central network station  20 ) to interface with the network station  20  and query it for contact information, possibly in exchange for a fee. The manipulation of that information results in a unified database of telecommunications device users. In effect, the network station  20  is a routing, switching, data storage, and interface system. All communications with the various stations to which the central station  20  is coupled may occur through digital, analog, T1, T3, CAT5, frame-based data transport protocols, asynchronous mode transport protocols, among others. The central network station  20  periodically polls the service provider stations  40  (preferably one or more times per day) and is continuously accessible by directory assistance provider contact sites  60  worldwide so as to provide essentially real-time contact information. 
     Directory assistance providers can provide individual users access to the system  10  through a variety of means. Two primary directory assistance access means include a “call center” approach in which a user or requestor contacts the directory assistance provider contact site  60  directly by calling the site  60  with a landline or wireless telephone  70  and a “web portal” approach in which the requestor uses a web-enabled device  80  such as a personal computer, PDA, web-enabled wireless phone or the like to contact the site  60  via the Internet  90  (or other computer network). Alternatively, a requestor can directly access a web portal provided on the central network station  20  using the web-enabled device  80 . It should be noted that the directory assistance provider contact sites  60  could also connect to the central network station  20  via the Internet  90 . 
     The components of the system  10  described herein operate in conjunction such that contact information may be transmitted, stored, or retrieved, or any combination thereof. Means such as software is employed to establish the interrelationships among the network station  20 , subscriber communication devices  30 , service provider stations  40 , and directory assistance provider contact sites  60 . Those skilled in the art of software development will readily ascertain the details of programming the exchange of information based upon the following exemplar representation of the operation of the system  10 . 
     In operation, a requester contacts the directory assistance provider contact site  60  using the telephone  70  or web-enabled device  80  (or any other suitable means) to request the contact information (such as wireless number, landline number, fax number, email address, shipping address, vacation number, temporary number, emergency number, personal directory number, and pager number) of a particular telecommunications service subscriber. The directory assistance provider contact site  60  then interfaces with the central network station  20  to search the collection of subscriber contact information stored therein. If that particular subscriber&#39;s contact information is published, then the direct assistance provider simply provides the requested information in the normal manner. However, if that particular subscriber&#39;s contact information is unpublished (i.e., unlisted), then the directory assistance provider will notify the requestor that the requested information is unpublished and cannot be given out. The directory assistance provider will also provide the requester with an opportunity to indirectly send the particular subscriber a secure notification message (in the form of a text message) preferably, but not necessarily, in exchange for a fee. Through the notification message, the requestor will be able to communicate to the subscriber a request that the subscriber contact the requester. 
     Another possible feature of the present invention would be to give unpublished subscribers the option of electing not to receive any notification messages. Unpublished subscribers electing this option would be identified in the system as being “locked out.” In this case, when a request is made for the contact information of an unpublished subscriber having locked out status, the directory assistance provider will simply notify the requestor that the requested information is unpublished and cannot be given out. The requestor will be not given an opportunity to indirectly send the particular subscriber a secure notification message. 
     If the requestor declines the offer to indirectly send a notification message, then the process stops at that point. If the requestor accepts the offer to indirectly send a notification message, the information relating to the notification message is collected. Specifically, the content of the notification message is ascertained. This is preferably done through a notification message screen generated by the central network station  20 . If the requestor has contacted the directory assistance provider contact site  60  using the telephone  70 , then the notification message screen appears to the directory assistance operator (who has accessed the network station  20  via the Internet). The directory assistance operator obtains the pertinent message information from the requestor over the telephone connection and enters this information into the notification message screen. If the requester has contacted the directory assistance provider contact site  60  using the web-enabled device  80 , then the notification message screen appears on the display of the web-enabled device  80  and the requestor enters the pertinent message information directly into the notification message screen. The later process would be the case regardless of whether the requestor accessed the system via a web portal operated by the directory assistance provider or a web portal running on the central network station  20 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a representative notification message screen. The notification message screen has a number of text boxes in which the requestor/directory assistance operator is able to enter information about the notification message. These boxes include: a Name box  11  in which the requestor&#39;s name is entered, a Call Back Number box  12  in which an access number (e.g., for a telephone, pager or the like) at which the requestor can be reached is entered, and a Secondary Call Back Number box  13  in which an additional access number at which the requestor can be reached can be entered. The notification message screen also includes a Subject box  14  in which a brief message identifier is entered; the Subject box  14  can be set up to always display a brand identifier for the notification messaging service. A Message Type box  15  is provided for tagging the type of message. This can be in the form of a pull-down menu having numerous tag options such as Emergency, Urgent, Personal, and Business. A Message box  16  is provided in which the text message the requestor wishes to relay to the subscriber is entered. The notification message screen also includes a Count box  17  that displays a running total of the alpha-numeric characters of the message entered in the Message box  16 . This count is useful to the requestor/directory assistance operator when entering the message because text messages are generally limited to a maximum number of alpha-numeric characters (typically 150 characters). The notification message screen can include branding information  18 , as shown in the upper right corner, such as service provider logos and such. 
     The notification message screen includes a Send button  21  and a Cancel button  22 . Once all of the message information has been entered, the requestor/directory assistance operator selects or “clicks on” the Send button  21  to send the notification message. The Cancel button  22  can be clicked at anytime prior to clicking the Send button  21  to cancel the message. When the Send button  21  is clicked, the notification message screen is replaced on the directory assistance operator display or the display of the web-enabled device  80 , depending on by which means the requestor has accessed the system  10 , with a confirmation screen. The confirmation screen gives the requestor a last opportunity to cancel the message or to send the message and to accept the charges if a fee is applied. 
     To send the message, the central network station  20  identifies the subscriber&#39;s telecommunications service provider and access number from the information stored in the network station  20 . The network station  20  then sends an e-mail containing the notification message to the subscriber&#39;s access number at the telecommunications service provider&#39;s text messaging domain. Any form of text messaging, such as SMS (Short Messaging Service), can be employed. The e-mail travels over the Internet backbone to the telecommunications service provider&#39;s text messaging domain. At the telecommunications service provider&#39;s text messaging domain, the e-mail is transmitted over the appropriate communication network (e.g., CDMA, TDMA, GSM, etc.) to the subscriber&#39;s communication device  30 . The intended subscriber thus receives the notification message. Because the e-mail containing the notification message originated at the central network station  20 , the unpublished contact information is not revealed to the requestor and is thus secure. 
     In many instances, the central network station  20  will be able to obtain or have access to the subscriber&#39;s regular e-mail address. In such cases, the central network station  20  could optionally send an e-mail containing the notification message to the subscriber&#39;s regular e-mail address in addition to the text message sent to the subscriber&#39;s communication device  30 . The additional e-mail notification would thus serve as a supplement or back-up to the text message. 
     The contact information received by the central network station  120  from the service provider stations  140  is formatted as necessary to enable various directory assistance service providers (collectively represented in  FIG. 3  by a single site  160 , although it should be understood that multiple directory assistance service providers can interface with the central network station  120 ) to interface with the network station  120  and query it for contact information, possibly in exchange for a fee. The directory assistance provider contact sites  160  preferably interface with the central network station  20  via the Internet. The manipulation of that information results in a unified database of telecommunications device users. In effect, the network station  120  is a routing, switching, data storage, and interface system. All communications with the various stations to which the central station  120  is coupled may occur through digital, analog, T1, T3, CAT5, frame-based data transport protocols, asynchronous mode transport protocols, among others. The central network station  120  periodically polls the service provider stations  140  (preferably one or more times per day) and is continuously accessible by directory assistance provider contact sites  160  worldwide so as to provide essentially real-time contact information. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a second embodiment of a telecommunications system  110  for sending unpublished subscribers a secure notification message (at least partially in the form of a voice message) that a request has been made for their unpublished contact information. The system  110  includes a central network station  120 . The network station  120  is a computing device (or a coordinated collection of plural computing devices) having mass storage capability and means for carrying out software-based instructions. The network station  120  is preferably a minicomputer or a mainframe computer but is not limited thereto. The network station  120  is programmable to receive and store contact information including, but not limited to, the access numbers of any of a plurality of communication devices  130  used by subscribers of various service providers and contact-identifying information associated with those numbers, e.g., the subscriber&#39;s name and address. The system  110  can operate with any number of telecommunications service providers, represented in  FIG. 3  by service provider database or local exchange carrier stations  140 . Each service provider station  140  is associated with a multitude of the subscriber communication devices  130 . In this embodiment, the subscriber communication devices  130  can be any type of communications device (landline telephone, wireless telephone, pager, etc.) capable of receiving voice mail messages. 
     The contact information associated with the subscriber communication devices  130  is obtained by the network station  120  through the respective service provider stations  140 . The network station  120  preferably includes telecommunications routing and switching equipment so as to be capable of operating as a telecommunications station. Therefore, the network station  120  is assured of gaining access to the contact information of the service providers&#39; subscribers because it is a matter of legislative obligation that such service providers provide to any other telecommunications service provider the contact information of its subscribers. The system  110  includes a router/Communicator Identification Code (CIC) switch station  150  that enables the central network station  120  to interface with the service provider stations  140 . 
     The contact information received by the central network station  120  from the service provider stations  140  is formatted as necessary to enable various directory assistance service providers (collectively represented in  FIG. 3  by a single site  160 , although it should be understood that multiple directory assistance service providers can interface with the central network station  120 ) to interface with the network station  120  and query it for contact information, possibly in exchange for a fee. The directory assistance provider contact sites  160  preferably interface with the central network station  120  via the Internet. The manipulation of that information results in a unified database of telecommunications device users. In effect, the network station  120  is a routing, switching, data storage, and interface system. All communications with the various stations to which the central station  120  is coupled may occur through digital, analog, T1, T3, CAT5, frame-based data transport protocols, asynchronous mode transport protocols, among others. The central network station  120  periodically polls the service provider stations  140  (preferably one or more times per day) and is continuously accessible by directory assistance provider contact sites  160  worldwide so as to provide essentially real-time contact information. 
     In this embodiment, directory assistance providers provide individual users access to the system  110  through a “call center” approach in which a user or requester contacts the directory assistance provider contact site  160  directly by calling the site  160  with a landline or wireless telephone  170 . The system  110  further includes a voice recorder  175  that interfaces with the central network station  120 . The purpose of the voice recorder  175  is described below. 
     The components of the system  110  described herein operate in conjunction such that contact information may be transmitted, stored, or retrieved, or any combination thereof. Means such as software is employed to establish the interrelationships among the network station  120 , subscriber communication devices  130 , service provider stations  140 , directory assistance provider contact sites  160 , and voice recorder  175 . Those skilled in the art of software development will readily ascertain the details of programming the exchange of information based upon the following exemplar representation of the operation of the system  110 . 
     In operation, a requestor contacts the directory assistance provider contact site  160  using the telephone  170  to request the contact information (such as wireless number, landline number, fax number, email address, shipping address, vacation number, temporary number, emergency number, personal directory number, and pager number) of a particular telecommunications service subscriber. The directory assistance provider contact site  160  then interfaces with the central network station  120  to search the collection of subscriber contact information stored therein. If that particular subscriber&#39;s contact information is published, then the direct assistance provider simply provides the requested information in the normal manner. However, if that particular subscriber&#39;s contact information is unpublished (i.e., unlisted), then the directory assistance provider will notify the requester that the requested information is unpublished and cannot be given out. The directory assistance provider will also provide the requestor with an opportunity to indirectly send the particular subscriber a secure notification message (at least partially in the form of a voice message) preferably, but not necessarily, in exchange for a fee. Through the notification message, the requestor will be able to communicate to the subscriber a request that the subscriber contact the requestor. 
     If the requestor declines the offer to indirectly send a notification message, then the process stops at that point. If the requestor accepts the offer to indirectly send a notification message, the directory assistance provider connects the requestor to the voice recorder  175 , as represented by the dashed line in  FIG. 3 . The requestor is then prompted to record a notification message for the subscriber, including one or more call back numbers that the requestor can be reached at, and then press a certain key on the telephone  170  when finished with the message. When the requestor presses the predetermined key, he or she will be able to use various other keys on the telephone  170  to select options such as save and send the message, rerecord the message, enter a reply phone number, and delete the message. When the requestor opts to send the notification message, he or she can be given a last opportunity to confirm the choice to send the message and to accept the charges if a fee is applied. 
     To send the message, the central network station  120  identifies the subscriber&#39;s telecommunications service provider and access number from the information stored in the network station  120 . The network station  120  then sends an e-mail indicating that the subscriber has a notification message to the subscriber&#39;s access number at the telecommunications service provider&#39;s text messaging domain. Any form of text messaging, such as SMS (Short Messaging Service), can be employed. The e-mail travels over the Internet backbone to the telecommunications service provider&#39;s text messaging domain. At the telecommunications service provider&#39;s text messaging domain, the e-mail is transmitted over the appropriate communication network (e.g., CDMA, TDMA, GSM, etc.) to the subscriber&#39;s communication device  130 . The intended subscriber thus receives a text message indicating that he or she has a voice-recorded notification message. Because the e-mail originated at the central network station  120 , the unpublished contact information is not revealed to the requester and is thus secure. 
     When the subscriber receives the text message on the communication device  130 , he or she has the option of ignoring the message, listening to the voice message or connecting to the reply number. If the subscriber elects to listen to the voice message, the communication device  130  is connected to the network station  120 . The network station  120  verifies the subscriber by recognizing the communication device  130  through Caller ID or by requesting the subscriber to enter the access number of the communication device  130 . After verification, the network station  120  connects the subscriber to the voice message on the voice recorder  175  and instructs the subscriber to press a particular key on the communication device  130 . When the subscriber presses the particular key, he or she will be able to use various other keys on the communication device  130  to select options such as repeat the message, save the message, and connect to the requestor without disclosing the contact information. 
     Generally, the subscriber receiving a notification message is not charged a fee. However, the subscriber could be charged a fee for being connected to the requestor without disclosing the subscriber&#39;s contact information. 
     The second embodiment can also be used as an alternative voice mail system for subscribers of telecommunications services, particularly telephone service. This usage is applicable to subscribers having published contact information as well as unpublished subscribers. As is well known, voice mail service allows a subscriber to receive voice recorded messages when his or her telephone is turned off, busy, or not answered. Typically, subscribers are charged an additional monthly fee for voice mail service. The system  110  can be implemented such that subscribers, both published and unpublished, can receive voice recorded messages while avoiding additional monthly fees. Specifically, when an incoming call to a communication device  130  is not answered for whatever reason (e.g., the number is busy, the telephone is turned off, etc.), the caller would be connected to the voice recorder  175 . The caller is then prompted to record a message for the subscriber (typically for a fee), in the same manner as that described above with respect to a directory assistance requester. When the caller finishes the message recording process, the system  110  operates in the same manner described above to send the subscriber a text message that he or she has a voice-recorded message. The subscriber can then retrieve the message, if desired, in the same manner described above. This alternative usage of system  110  can also be employed by having directory assistance providers provide directory assistance requestors of published with an opportunity to indirectly send the subscriber a voice-recorded message, preferably in exchange for a fee. 
     While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications thereto can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.