US6256515B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Call management system for wireless telephones
Assignee: Grape Technology Group Inc
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Filing: 1998-04-29
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Granted: 2001-07-03
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Expires: 2018-04-29
Abstract
Abstract A call management system is provided to manage the use of specified wireless telephones in order to limit or manage their use for unofficial calls and to report on official as well as unofficial uses. Calls originated from or directed to a controlled wireless telephone are routed to a call management center from a wireless central office. The call management center determines whether the call is approved by consulting a database of approved telephone numbers. If the call is approved it is completed normally. If the call is not approved, the caller is prompted to provide an access code. The call is completed if the access code matches a predetermined security code. Customizable exception reports are generated to reflect unofficial usage, incorrect access attempts, and other detailed information concerning the use of the specified wireless telephones.
Inventors
- 👤 Patrick M. Cox
- 👤 Christopher A. Huey
- 👤 Michael A. Kepler
- 👤 Paul W. Filliger
- 👤 A. Peter Powell
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 16:54
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04W; H04W4/00; H04W4/24; H04L; H04L63/00; H04L63/10; H04L63/101; H04M; H04M15/00; H04M15/44; H04M15/48; H04M15/70; H04M15/745; H04M15/88; H04M3/00; H04M3/22; H04M3/2218; H04M3/38; H04W12/00; H04W12/08; H04M2207/00; H04M2207/18; H04M2215/00; H04M2215/01; H04M2215/0104; H04M2215/0108; H04M2215/0116; H04M2215/0156; H04M2215/32; H04M3/382; H04W12/06; H04W12/60; H04W12/69; H04W12/72
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
300 words
A method of controlling calls from a wireless telephone having a device identifier, the method comprising the steps of receiving a call stream from the wireless telephone to a switching center in a first telephone network directed to a destination telephone having a destination telephone number in a second telephone network, wherein the call stream contains the device identifier transmitted with a telephone call made from a wireless telephone; retrieving the device identifier from the call stream; searching for the device identifier that corresponds to a control number in a database maintained at the switching center, wherein the control number identifies an approved wireless telephone; connecting the call with the device identifier across a first communication link to a call management center, if the control number is found in the first database; searching for the control number associated with the device identifier of the wireless telephone in a database containing a plurality of control numbers maintained at the call management center, wherein each control number in the first database point to a set of approved telephone numbers; comparing the destination telephone number against the set of approved telephone numbers associated with the control number in the database; requesting an approved access code from the wireless telephone, if the destination telephone number is not one of the telephone numbers associated with the control number in the database receiving the access code from the wireless telephone; comparing the access code received from the wireless telephone with the set of access codes associated with the control number residing in a second database at the call management center; if the access codes is valid, connecting the call across a second communication link to a central office in the second telephone network; and connecting the call through the second telephone network to the destination telephone.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
300 words
A method of controlling calls from a wireless telephone having a device identifier, the method comprising the steps of receiving a call stream from the wireless telephone to a switching center in a first telephone network directed to a destination telephone having a destination telephone number in a second telephone network, wherein the call stream contains the device identifier transmitted with a telephone call made from a wireless telephone; retrieving the device identifier from the call stream; searching for the device identifier that corresponds to a control number in a database maintained at the switching center, wherein the control number identifies an approved wireless telephone; connecting the call with the device identifier across a first communication link to a call management center, if the control number is found in the first database; searching for the control number associated with the device identifier of the wireless telephone in a database containing a plurality of control numbers maintained at the call management center, wherein each control number in the first database point to a set of approved telephone numbers; comparing the destination telephone number against the set of approved telephone numbers associated with the control number in the database; requesting an approved access code from the wireless telephone, if the destination telephone number is not one of the telephone numbers associated with the control number in the database receiving the access code from the wireless telephone; comparing the access code received from the wireless telephone with the set of access codes associated with the control number residing in a second database at the call management center; if the access codes is valid, connecting the call across a second communication link to a central office in the second telephone network; and connecting the call through the second telephone network to the destination telephone.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of releasing the call across the first communication link if the access code is not associated with the control number residing in the database at the call management center.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of receiving an account number from the wireless telephone.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of generating a report of the call, said report including the destination telephone number, access code, and account number.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
134 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: maintaining one or more security codes for each access code associated with the control numbers residing in the database at the call management center; and comparing the access code transmitted from the wireless telephone with the access codes associated with the control number found in the database to determine whether there are any security codes attributed to the received access code; determining that the access code received from the wireless telephone matches an access code found in the database that have any associated security codes; if the access codes has no restrictive security codes connecting the call across a second communication link to a central office in the second telephone network; and connecting the call through the second telephone network to the destination telephone.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 5 wherein the access code received from the wireless telephone matches an access code has a security code, further comprising the step of restricting the wireless telephone.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the restricting step comprises rejecting an attempted call from the wireless telephone to the destination telephone.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the restricting step comprises rejecting an attempted call from the wireless telephone to a telephone having an associated telephone number that does not match one of the telephone numbers associated with the control number in said second database.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the restricting step comprises rejecting all attempted calls from the wireless telephone.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
158 words
A method of controlling calls from wireless telephones at a call management center comprising the steps of: maintaining a first database of controlled telephone numbers, each controlled telephone number being associated with one or more pre-approved telephone numbers; maintaining a second database of controlled telephone numbers, each controlled telephone number in said second database being associated with one or more access codes; receiving a call from a caller using a wireless telephone having a controlled telephone number, the call being directed to a destination telephone having a destination telephone number; identifying said controlled telephone number of the wireless telephone; determining whether the call is pre-approved; connecting the call to the destination telephone if the call is pre-approved; alerting the caller that the call is not pre-approved if the call is not pre-approved; receiving an access code from the caller; and determining whether said received access code is associated with said identified controlled telephone number in said second database.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
158 words
A method of controlling calls from wireless telephones at a call management center comprising the steps of: maintaining a first database of controlled telephone numbers, each controlled telephone number being associated with one or more pre-approved telephone numbers; maintaining a second database of controlled telephone numbers, each controlled telephone number in said second database being associated with one or more access codes; receiving a call from a caller using a wireless telephone having a controlled telephone number, the call being directed to a destination telephone having a destination telephone number; identifying said controlled telephone number of the wireless telephone; determining whether the call is pre-approved; connecting the call to the destination telephone if the call is pre-approved; alerting the caller that the call is not pre-approved if the call is not pre-approved; receiving an access code from the caller; and determining whether said received access code is associated with said identified controlled telephone number in said second database.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of connecting the call to the destination telephone if said received access code is associated with said identified controlled telephone number in said second database.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 10 in which said first database of controlled telephone numbers comprises said second database of controlled telephone numbers.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of: determining that said received access code does not match one of said one or more access codes associated with said identified controlled telephone number in said second database of controlled telephone numbers; and disabling the wireless telephone.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 13 wherein said disabling step comprises disallowing calls from the wireless telephone to destination telephones having destination telephone numbers that do not match any of said one or more pre-approved telephone numbers associated with said identified controlled telephone number in said first database.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 13 wherein said disabling step comprises disabling the wireless telephone for a predetermined period of time.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
170 words
A method of controlling calls from wireless telephones at a call management center comprising the steps of: maintaining a first database of controlled telephone numbers, each controlled telephone number being associated with one or more pre-approved telephone numbers; maintaining a second database of controlled telephone numbers, each controlled telephone number in said second database being associated with one or more caller codes, wherein each caller code identifies one or more callers; receiving a call from a caller using a wireless telephone having a controlled telephone number, the call being directed to a destination telephone having a destination telephone number; identifying said controlled telephone number of the wireless telephone; determining whether the call is pre-approved; connecting the call to the destination telephone if the call is pre-approved; alerting the caller that the call is not pre-approved if the call is not pre-approved; receiving a caller code with which to identify the caller; and determining whether said received caller code is associated with said identified controlled telephone number in said second database.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
170 words
A method of controlling calls from wireless telephones at a call management center comprising the steps of: maintaining a first database of controlled telephone numbers, each controlled telephone number being associated with one or more pre-approved telephone numbers; maintaining a second database of controlled telephone numbers, each controlled telephone number in said second database being associated with one or more caller codes, wherein each caller code identifies one or more callers; receiving a call from a caller using a wireless telephone having a controlled telephone number, the call being directed to a destination telephone having a destination telephone number; identifying said controlled telephone number of the wireless telephone; determining whether the call is pre-approved; connecting the call to the destination telephone if the call is pre-approved; alerting the caller that the call is not pre-approved if the call is not pre-approved; receiving a caller code with which to identify the caller; and determining whether said received caller code is associated with said identified controlled telephone number in said second database.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of connecting the call to the destination telephone if said received caller code is associated with said identified controlled telephone number in said second database.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-07-02 | 2005-01-01 | 2005-07-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-07-02 | 2009-01-01 | 2009-07-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-07-02 | 2013-01-01 | 2013-07-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |