Caller discrimination within a telephone system
US5828742A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 2, 1996 |
| Grant date | Oct 27, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 2, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04M3/436
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method is provided for a telephone subscriber to distinguish between callers. The method is accomplished by storing a pass code for a subscriber's telephone within a memory of the telephone system. Callers who have been informed of the pass code and who call the subscriber's telephone and enter the pass code receive special treatment. For example, upon the caller calling the subscriber's telephone, a normal ringing pattern is applied to the subscriber's telephone while a ring back signal is returned to the caller. Upon the caller entering the pass code, a special ringing pattern is applied to the subscriber's telephone. The special ringing pattern is different than the normal ringing pattern and thus indicates to a subscriber of the subscriber's telephone, even before the telephone is answered, that the caller is one of a select group of callers to whom the subscriber has shared the pass code.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.