Intermediate Call Service for Caller Identity and Call Reason

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing contact center systems face challenges in verifying the identity of communicating parties, leading to security risks and inefficiencies, such as fraudulent calls and low answered rates due to uncertainty about caller identity and call purpose.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus for conveying the reason for a call, ensuring correct caller ID, and allowing users to reschedule calls, utilizing an intermediate service to coordinate with the recipient device to display the caller's identity and call reason.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional caller ID systems are used, then call setup is simple, but caller identity cannot be verified and fraud is容易发生

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecaller identity verificationVSAvoidcall setup process

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by notifying the recipient device of an incoming call before the actual call connects. This notification includes caller identity information and call reason, allowing the recipient to verify the caller's identity in advance and make an informed decision about whether to answer, thus preventing fraud before it occurs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediate service or notification mechanism that acts as a mediator between the calling device and the recipient device. This intermediary provides additional verification information (caller identity, call reason) that bridges the trust gap, allowing recipients to verify caller identity without adding complex verification steps to the actual call setup process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If MFA is implemented for security, then authentication is strengthened, but user experience becomes frustrating and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication securityVSAvoiduser experience

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of requiring full MFA for all calls, the system applies partial verification by providing caller identity information and call reason notifications. This partial action approach delivers sufficient security information to most users without imposing the full burden of multi-factor authentication, thus maintaining ease of operation while improving security.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Loss of information

If caller ID is displayed, then basic identification is provided, but the call reason is not conveyed and uncertainty remains

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecall purpose informationVSAvoidinformation transmission system

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the call information into distinct components: caller identity, call reason, and urgency level. By separating these information elements and transmitting them individually through the notification system, the patent provides comprehensive information without overwhelming the system, allowing recipients to process each piece of information separately.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent adds another dimension to caller ID by including not just the caller's identity but also the call reason and urgency information. This transforms the traditional one-dimensional caller ID into a multi-dimensional information structure that provides much richer context without significantly increasing system complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

4Reliability

If users answer all incoming calls, then no information is lost, but security risks increase from fraudulent calls

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity against fraudVSAvoidpotential legitimate calls

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by providing recipients with actionable information about incoming calls (caller identity verification, call reason, urgency) before they decide whether to answer. This feedback loop enables recipients to make informed decisions, answering legitimate calls while rejecting fraudulent ones, thus balancing security with information retention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS12438980B2Coordinating conveying a reason for a call from a user device

Publication Date: 2025.10.07 JOURNEY AI

AI summary

In one embodiment, the techniques herein are directed to coordinating conveying a reason for a call from a user device. For instance, an illustrative method herein may comprise: receiving, at an intermediate service device, a message from a user device, the message informative of a second device to participate in a call with a user of the user device and a reason for the call; and conveying, from the intermediate service device, the user device, the user, and the reason for the call to the second device, wherein the second device initiates the call to the user device and is aware of the user and the reason for the call prior to initiating the call.