Printing caller ID

Details Printing caller ID Printing caller ID

2001-11-15

2003-03-18

Barnie, Rexford (Department: 2643)

Telephonic communications

Reception of calling information at substation in wireline...

C379S130000, C379S131000, C379S142170

Reexamination Certificate

active

06535594

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telephonic communications systems, and more particularly to an integrated device for receiving and recording incoming calls and also serving as a caller ID (caller identification) device. The present invention records the phone numbers of the recorded incoming calls, and also prints a list of the incoming call phone numbers and other caller information on demand by the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern technology has led to the development of a number of enhancements to the basic telephone system. The invention and development of relatively simple recording systems (audio tape, etc.) resulted in the development of the answering machine, with its capability for recording unanswered calls when the receiving person was unavailable to take the call. More recently, certain developments have provided greater defenses for the call recipient, in the form of caller identification (caller ID) systems, in which at least the telephone number of the caller is provided in a display at the receiving phone, so the recipient of the call can determine whether he or she should answer the call.
The caller ID system has proven to be of great value in assisting people to sort out so-called “junk” calls, i. e., telemarketing calls and the like, from calls which are important to them. The answering machine also provides similar benefits, in that a person may skip through recorded audio messages which are not of interest to them. However, the problem with the answering machine system is that it requires the call recipient to scan through the recorded audio messages, with the recipient being required to note the phone numbers of any calls he or she wishes to return. If there has been a period of some few days, and/or the recipient tends to receive many calls, this process can require an inordinate amount of time. Another problem with such systems, is that oftentimes the answering machine reaches its full recording capacity, with the result that subsequent calls, and their phone numbers, are not recorded.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for a printing caller ID system which is capable of providing a printed list of at least the telephone numbers of calls received by the associated answering machine. Sufficient independence is provided between the audio answering machine and the caller ID printout, to provide a printout copy of all incoming telephone numbers, even though the audio recording capacity of the answering machine may be exceeded. The present invention may also be programmed to receive and print out such caller ID numbers only over a specific time period, if desired, and provides the above features and others in a single, compact unit for household and/or office use.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventors are aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,490 issued on Sep. 8, 1992 to Alfred J. Beckman, titled “Passive Telephone Line Monitoring System,” describes a system requiring a personal computer and computer printer for its operation. The computer and printer are separate units from the actual monitoring system, rather than having the recording and printout means combined within a single, unitary device, as in the present invention. Moreover, the Beckman system does not provide for the recording of the actual telephone conversation, as does the answering machine portion of the present invention. The Beckman device records only the time, date, and number of the call, and its duration, with none of the call content being recorded.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,676 issued on Apr. 29, 1997 to Robert C. Greco et al., titled “Method And Apparatus For Monitoring A Caller's Name While Using A Telephone,” describes a complex system requiring at least two incoming telephone lines. the Greco et al. system includes a video display for displaying the name, phone number, brief status message, and duration of an incoming call to the call recipient while the recipient is on another phone line to another caller. The Greco et al. system does not provide any means of printing out the information, as it is intended for use as a real time system for displaying telephone call status as it occurs, rather than recording information for later use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,769 issued on Oct. 20, 1998 to Dan O'Reilly et al., titled “System And Method Therefor Of Viewing In Real Time Call Traffic Of A Telecommunications Network,” describes a very complex system intended for use in a large business which has a large telephone system or network for receiving incoming calls from customers. The O'Reilly et al. system utilizes a number of personal computers for displaying the date, time, phone number of the caller, call duration, and perhaps other information. This information may also be printed out in hard copy form. However, the O'Reilly et al. system does not provide any means of recording the actual conversation in an audio format nor of selecting a specific time period for review, as provided by the present invention. Moreover, the present system is a compact, integrated system incorporating both answering machine and printer for the caller ID information, in a single unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,009 issued on Nov. 10, 1998 to Robert Diamond et al., titled “Caller ID Telephone With Signal Attenuation,” describes a system essentially combining elements of caller ID and call waiting services. The Diamond et al. system requires at least two incoming lines, and alerts a call recipient to a second call by attenuating the audio of the first call and audibly presenting the second caller's name and number over the first caller's call. The Diamond et al. system is more closely related to the system of the Greco et al. '676 U.S. Patent discussed further above, with its video display of the same information, than to the present printing caller ID system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,239 issued on Feb. 23, 1999 to Karen Koralewski et al., titled “Telephone Call Screening System,” describes a caller ID system interconnected with computer display of information about callers associated with a predetermined series of phone numbers. The Koralewski et al. system receives a phone number from the caller ID system and attempts to match that number with stored information. If a match is found, the stored information (picture of the caller, etc.) is displayed on a monitor screen. However, the Koralewski et al. system does not record calls for later screening and/or response, nor does it provide a hard copy printout of telephone numbers from a caller ID system, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,000 issued on Jun. 22, 1999 to Vinh H. Nguyen et al., titled “Text Teletype Writer With Caller Identification Function,” describes a system directed primarily to the hearing impaired. No audio operation is disclosed. Rather, a TTY (text teletype) machine is provided, with a video display of the caller ID number and caller's name, where applicable. The Nguyen et al. system provides for the user to review previous incoming caller IDs, but does not actually record the content of the call, either for audio playback or visual display, in any way. In contrast, the present printing caller ID system provides an audio playback of all incoming calls in a given period (to the limit of recording capability), and also provides a printed hard copy of all caller ID information over a given prior period, as selected by the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,118,859 issued on Sep. 12, 2000 to Harmen Giethoorn, titled “Telecommunications System And A Subscriber Device,” describes a telephone call recording system which prioritizes incoming calls according to the frequency of calls from a given caller ID number. The phone number of a caller who calls several times would be retained by the system, and advanced in the recording system, over a single caller. This provides some sorting of more urgent calls from those having less urgency, and assures

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