Set-Top Box Caller ID Alias Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional caller ID systems often fail to accurately identify callers, as they rely on billing names that may not reflect the caller's preferred name or nickname, and do not account for calls from business phones, leading to a need for enhanced identification methods.
Innovation Solution
The system uses a set-top box or analog telephony adapter to retrieve and display an alias from a personal address book associated with the caller's number, allowing for accurate identification of callers by matching phone numbers with stored aliases, and synchronizing address books to ensure up-to-date information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If billing name information is retrieved from Line Information Databases (LIDBs), then caller ID information is provided to subscribers, but the name identifier may not accurately identify the caller (e.g., legal name vs. nickname, business name vs. individual caller)
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by storing multiple name variations (legal names, nicknames, preferred names) in the personal address book before the call arrives. When a call is received, the system checks the personal address book first to find the caller's preferred name before falling back to the billing name from LIDBs, thus ensuring accurate identification without losing preferred name information.
Solution Approach 2:
The personal address book acts as an intermediary between the LIDBs and the caller ID display system. It contains mapping information that translates billing names or phone numbers into the caller's preferred name or nickname, thereby resolving the contradiction between having official billing information and displaying accurate personal identification.
2Reliability
If personal address book is stored in called telephone or carrier equipment, then caller ID substitution is enabled, but system complexity increases and synchronization becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a universal personal address book that can be stored in multiple locations (called telephone, set-top box, or carrier equipment) and accessed by different devices. This multi-functional approach allows any device in the system to serve as the storage location, reducing the need for complex synchronization protocols while maintaining reliable caller ID substitution across different platforms and devices.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving, at a multifunction unit configured to provide television programming to a media device for display to a display device, a call signal including a caller identifier. The call identifier includes a calling number and a first name associated with the calling number. The method includes retrieving, via the multifunction unit, a second name associated with the calling number from a personal address book. The method also includes sending a modified caller identifier including the calling number and the second name from the multifunction unit to the media device for display.