Call Control Unit Spam Filtering via Server Queries
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing volume of unsolicited and unwanted telephone calls, particularly 'telemarketing' or 'spam' calls, poses a significant annoyance and privacy intrusion, with existing measures like the 'Do Not Call' registry being insufficient in effectively blocking these calls.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for controlling inbound calls using a call control unit that determines whether additional information about a caller exists, such as a spam score, to perform operations like blocking, forwarding, or terminating the call, utilizing a community blacklist and user-configurable settings, with the ability to communicate with a server for real-time data updates and security protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the Do Not Call registry is used to block telemarketing calls, then some unwanted calls are filtered, but the volume of spam calls continues to increase dramatically
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a call control unit as an intermediary device positioned between the incoming call and the telephone. This unit intercepts calls, queries a server for spam scores, and automatically performs operations (block, forward, transmit) based on the retrieved information, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of call filtering beyond what the Do Not Call registry alone can achieve
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by querying a server for real-time spam score information about incoming callers. The server provides updated data about caller reputation, and the call control unit uses this feedback to dynamically decide whether to block or allow each incoming call, creating a responsive adaptive filtering system
2Productivity
If computer dialed robocalls are used by telemarketers, then the ability to call millions of subscribers increases productivity, but the annoyance and privacy intrusion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by proactively querying spam scores for incoming callers before the call is connected to the user. The call control unit automatically retrieves caller information from the server and determines the appropriate action (block, forward, or transmit) in advance, preventing unwanted calls from reaching the user without requiring real-time user intervention
Solution Approach 2:
The call control unit operates autonomously to filter incoming calls without requiring user involvement for each call. It automatically queries the server, receives spam score information, and executes the appropriate operation (blocking, forwarding, or transmitting) based on the retrieved data, making the system self-serve the call filtering function
3Measurement precision
If a call control unit queries a server for each incoming call to determine spam scores, then call filtering accuracy improves, but the system complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The server provides a universal spam score database that serves multiple functions: it stores historical caller information, evaluates new callers, and provides real-time spam scores to multiple call control units simultaneously. This multi-functional approach allows individual call control units to rely on a centralized intelligence source, reducing their own complexity while maintaining high detection accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
An indication of an incoming call may be received at a call control unit communicatively coupled to, and/or resident within, a telephone. The indication may include identification information for the incoming call. It may be determined whether additional information regarding a caller associated with the identification information exists, and if so, a first operation may be performed on the incoming call responsively to the additional information, otherwise, a second operation may be performed on the incoming call responsively to an absence of the additional information. The additional information my include a user-configurable list of desired callers (e.g., a whitelist) and/or undesired callers (e.g., a blacklist). The additional information may also include caller identification information and/or a spam score. The first operation may be blocking the incoming call, forwarding the incoming call to a voice mailbox, transmitting the incoming call to the telephone, enabling the telephone to receive the incoming call, and/or answering the incoming call and then terminating the incoming call. In some embodiments, the first and/or second operations performed on the incoming call is/are user configurable.