Telephonic communications – Special services – Call diversion
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-15
2004-03-02
Matar, Ahmad F. (Department: 2642)
Telephonic communications
Special services
Call diversion
C379S202010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06700969
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to telecommunication networks and more particularly to ensuring the privacy of communications made across telecommunication networks.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Privacy is an important issue for many users of telecommunication equipment. The issue relates to ensuring that only the intended parties in a conversation carried across telecommunication networks are connected to receive the voice information. Privacy is of particular concern in corporate environments where the parties of the telephone calls are using telephones supported by different telecommunication networks and where multifunction telephone systems allow calls to be forwarded, transferred, or conferenced. For example, the privacy of a telephone call can be breached when a caller A at a calling communication terminal of a first telecommunication network believes he/she has contacted a called party B at a target communication terminal of a second telecommunication network, but the call has seamlessly been forwarded or transferred to a party C at a third communication terminal. Because caller A is unaware that he/she has contacted the wrong party, the caller may provide information to party C that is not intended for party C. In another example, caller A, located in a first telecommunication network, may not want certain sensitive information to be heard by other parties within earshot of called party B, located in a second telecommunication network. However, without caller A's knowledge, the called party B may conduct his/her end of the conversation through a hands-free speaker phone which projects the conversation to the surrounding environment, potentially breaching the privacy of the call.
Many of the same privacy concerns related to real-time telephone conversations exist with respect to voice messaging systems that are commonplace in multifunction telephone systems. For example, in most messaging systems a voicemail message intended to be heard only by a particular party may be transferred to unintended parties or may be overheard when the intended party listens to the stored message using a speaker phone. U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,540 to Greco et al. describes a privacy feature which prevents voicemail messages identified as private from being forwarded or copied when the voicemail messages originate from calls that are connected to a specific Private Branch Exchange (PBX) via the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Although the privacy feature works well for its intended purpose, the feature of Greco et al. is limited to preventing a specifically marked voicemail message from being forwarded or copied to anyone but the intended recipient. Greco et al. does not provide any other privacy options, such as protection against a message being overheard during replay via a speaker phone.
In view of the privacy concerns involved with telephone communications across telecommunication networks and in view of the limited privacy controls available in telephone systems, what is needed is a voice communications approach that offers improved privacy functions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method and an apparatus for protecting call privacy across telecommunication networks allow a caller at a calling communication terminal of a first telecommunication network to control the privacy of a telephone call to a called party at a target communication terminal of a second telecommunication network, by (1) enabling selection from among a group of privacy options that represent varying degrees of privacy, (2) assigning each of the selected privacy options to the call, and (3) enforcing the selected privacy options using the capabilities within the second telecommunication network, thereby eliminating the need for external enforcement. The privacy options selected for the call limit the ability of a called party to manipulate the call. For example, the privacy options may prevent the called party from forwarding the call, transferring the call, conferencing the call, and/or listening to the call via a hands-free speaker phone. Allowing the caller to control how freely the called party can manipulate an incoming call helps to ensure that the caller's privacy expectations are met. In an additional aspect of the invention, when a caller at the first telecommunication network calls a called party at the second telecommunication network and leaves a voicemail message, selected privacy options (e.g., preventing call transferring, preventing call conferencing, and preventing voice data from being listened to via a hands-free speaker) are transferred to any voicemail message that is generated as a result of the call. and a data server. Within the ToL network system, the communication terminals and the gatekeeper are configured to provide extended caller-initiated privacy options. Within the PBX network system, the communication terminals and the PBX are configured to provide extended caller-initiated privacy options.
In the first embodiment in which two ToLs are interconnected via a data network, one of the preferred operations of the caller-initiated privacy system is described for a caller A at a calling communication terminal which is supported by the first ToL system. Caller A intends to make a call to a target communication terminal which is supported by the second ToL system. To initiate the call, the caller accesses a call placement screen via the calling communication terminal. The caller then has the option of selecting among any combination of privacy options which are displayed on the call placement screen. Once the caller-initiated privacy options are selected, the call placement application generates and transmits a call set-up protocol message to the gatekeeper of the calling communication terminal, identifying the selected privacy options. After call set-up is complete, the call is initiated. The gatekeeper of the first telecommunication network then determines whether the second telecommunication network utilizes the same network protocol system as the first telecommunication network. If the gatekeeper of the first telecommunication network determines that the second telecommunication network utilizes the same network system, the gatekeeper, using an H.323 signaling command, sends the protocol message to the gatekeeper of the second telecommunication network. The gatekeeper of the second telecommunication network receives the call within the parameters dictated by the selected call privacy options and enforces the selected privacy options.
In the second and third embodiments in which gateways are required in order to provide protocol and addressing compatibility, after the caller-initiated privacy options are selected, the call placement application generates and transmits a call set-up protocol message to the gatekeeper of the ToL network system of the first telecommunication network, identifying the selected privacy options. The gatekeeper of the first telecommunication network then determines whether a conversion or encoding of the message is required. In the third embodiment, because the ToL and the PBX network systems utilize a different protocol scheme, the gatekeeper of the first telecommunication network sends the protocol message to the local gateway. The gateway of the first telecommunication network then translates and In a first embodiment, the call privacy systems in the first and second telecommunication networks are each embodied in a telephony-over-local area network (LAN), or ToL, communications system that enables real-time voice conversations over packet-based networks. The first ToL communications system and the second ToL communications system are interconnected through gatekeepers via a data network, such as the global communications network commonly referred to as the Internet. Preferably, each ToL system includes communication terminals, a gatekeeper, and a data server. The gatekeeper connected to the LAN provides the computer telephony functionality for the ToL system. The telephony functionality includes managing call control between co
Beyda William Joseph
Shaffer Shmuel
Matar Ahmad F.
Nguyen Quynh H.
Siemens Information & Communication Networks, Inc.
LandOfFree
Method and apparatus for protecting call privacy across... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and apparatus for protecting call privacy across..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and apparatus for protecting call privacy across... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3227241