Call Control Unit for Inbound and Outbound Call Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing volume of unsolicited and unwanted telephone calls, including telemarketing and scam calls, poses a significant intrusion into privacy, with existing solutions like the Do Not Call registry being insufficient in effectively blocking these calls.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for controlling inbound and outbound calls using a call control unit that receives identification information, determines call legitimacy, and communicates with a server to block or manage calls through a community blacklist and user-configurable settings, employing a spam score algorithm to identify and prevent unwanted calls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a Do Not Call registry is used to block telemarketing calls, then some unwanted calls are filtered, but the volume of unsolicited and scam calls continues to increase dramatically
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments call filtering into multiple independent components: a community blacklist for shared spam numbers, user-specific blacklists, and whitelist mechanisms. This segmentation allows the system to handle different types of unwanted calls through specialized filters, improving overall blocking effectiveness while maintaining system manageability.
Solution Approach 2:
The call control unit is designed with multi-functionality, serving as both a local filter using user-configured blacklists/whitelists and a participant in the broader community blacklist system. It can operate independently with user settings while also leveraging network-wide spam data, making the solution universally applicable to various call blocking needs.
2Productivity
If computer-dialed robocalls are used by telemarketers, then the volume of calls placed increases dramatically at minimum expense, but privacy intrusion and annoyance increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary filtering actions before calls reach the user. The call control unit proactively checks incoming calls against community and user blacklists, and can automatically block or forward suspicious calls to spam folders, preventing privacy intrusion before it occurs rather than reacting after the fact.
Solution Approach 2:
The call control unit acts as an intermediary between the telephone network and the user's device. It intercepts incoming calls, evaluates them against multiple filtering criteria including community blacklist data and user preferences, and makes intelligent routing decisions to block unwanted calls while allowing legitimate ones through.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If call control units with community blacklist and user-configurable settings are implemented, then unwanted calls are effectively blocked, but device complexity and system requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple filtering approaches into a single integrated call control unit. It combines community blacklist data, user-configured blacklists, whitelists, and spam detection algorithms into one unified device, eliminating the need for separate systems and reducing overall complexity while maintaining comprehensive blocking capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The call control unit incorporates self-service capabilities allowing users to independently configure their own blacklists and whitelists without requiring complex system administration. Users can manually add numbers or automatically learn from their call patterns, making the system adaptable to individual needs while simplifying deployment.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, devices, and systems can include, for example, receiving an incoming call and identification information and determining whether the identification information indicates that the incoming call is legitimate. The identification information is associated with the incoming call. The incoming call is received at a call control unit. The call control unit is associated with a telephone, and the incoming call is directed to the telephone. In response to a determination that the identification information indicates that the incoming call is legitimate, generating an indication that the incoming call is legitimate (where the indication is generated by the call control unit) and communicating the indication that the incoming call is legitimate to the telephone. In response to a determination that the identification information indicates that the incoming call is not legitimate, determining a telephone number of the incoming call and communicating the telephone number and the identification information to a server.