Caller Device Time Zone Display via Central Server Feedback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The lack of awareness about a called party's physical location and time zone makes it difficult for callers to determine appropriate call times, leading to potential inappropriate calls and increased communication costs due to roaming or long-distance charges, especially with the use of cellular and enterprise phone systems.
Innovation Solution
A communication system that retrieves and displays the local time and time zone of a called party on a caller's device, using VoIP technology to determine the called party's location through identification information, offsets, and geographic data, allowing callers to make informed decisions about when to initiate calls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If Caller ID services are used to retrieve calling party information, then the called party receives caller identification information, but the calling party receives no information about the called party's location or time zone
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by having the called party's device send time control messages or location data back to the central server, which then provides this information to the calling party. This feedback loop enables the calling party to receive information about the called party's location and time zone without requiring complex manual input from either party.
Solution Approach 2:
A central server acts as an intermediary between the calling and called parties. The server receives time control messages or GPS data from the called party's device, processes this information, and provides it to the calling party's device. This intermediary approach simplifies the overall system architecture compared to direct peer-to-peer information exchange.
2Adaptability or versatility
If call forwarding and twinning features are used, then calling flexibility is improved, but the ability to determine called party physical location is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The central server acts as an intermediary that tracks the called party's device location across different networks and routing configurations. Even when call forwarding or twinning is used, the server maintains awareness of the actual physical location by receiving continuous time control messages or GPS data from the called party's device, thereby preserving location information despite flexible call routing.
Solution Approach 2:
The called party's device automatically sends time control messages or location data to the central server without requiring manual input. This self-service mechanism ensures that location information is continuously updated and available to the calling party, regardless of how the call is routed through forwarding or twinning features.
3Loss of information
If callers use business card addresses or area code recognition, then some location awareness is achieved, but mobile called party location cannot be determined
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual methods (reading business cards, recognizing area codes) with an automated electronic system. The called party's device automatically transmits location data via time control messages or GPS, and the central server automatically processes and provides this information to the calling party's device, eliminating the need for manual location determination efforts.
Solution Approach 2:
The central server serves as an intermediary that automatically retrieves and provides mobile location information, replacing the inadequate manual methods of business cards and area code recognition. The server receives accurate real-time location data from the called party's device and makes it available to the calling party without requiring manual intervention.
4Measurement precision
If GPS location determination is implemented, then accurate called party location is obtained, but additional system complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The central server acts as an intermediary that handles the complexity of GPS data processing. The called party's device simply provides GPS coordinates to the server, which then converts these coordinates into meaningful location information (city, time zone, address) and provides it to the calling party's device. This distributes the complexity management to the server rather than requiring complex processing in the calling or called devices.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A system and phone for providing called party awareness information to a calling party. As disclosed, a communication service provider can receive identification information associated with a called device from the keypad of the phone. The communication service provider can determine whether the called device is associated with the communication service provider or not. The communication service provider can use the identification information to determine the local time when the called device is not associated with the phone system. Alternatively, the communication service provider can use offsets to determine the local time generated by the called device when the called device is associated with the communication service provider. The offsets can be provided by fixed phone locations or non-fixed phone locations. Thereafter, the communication service provider can return the local time to the phone where it can be displayed.