Caller controlled network-based timed ring suppression

Abstract

After a communications device receives an incoming communication and an alert is activated to produce an initial incoming communications alert, the alert of the communications device may selectively be deactivated for subsequent alerts until the initiating party terminates the incoming communication or until the incoming communication is further processed. Further, a caller control override feature enables an originating party to override the deactivation and consequently activate subsequent alerts.

1 . A method, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving an incoming communications signal in a communications network, the incoming communications signal including an interrupt code to disable timed ring suppression of a receiving party's communications device;    verifying the interrupt code; and    if the interrupt code is verified, disabling the timed ring suppression, wherein the timed ring suppression suppresses a incoming communications alert of the receiving party's communications device after the receiving party's communications device activates the incoming communications alert to produce an initial alert of the incoming communications signal such that subsequent alerts of the incoming communications signal are silenced according to a timing parameter and wherein the timed ring suppression further reactivates the alert to produce subsequent unsuppressed audible alerts according to the timing parameter,    wherein the interrupt code is communicated by the communications network to the receiving party's communications device such that the timed ring suppression is disabled.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 communicating the incoming communications signal to a called telephone number of the receiving party's communications device.    
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 communicating the incoming communications signal to a data communications address of the receiving party's communications device.    
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 sending a disable notification message to the receiving party's communications device, the disable notification message comprising (i) an identifier of a calling party, (ii) a communications address, and (iii) an identifier of a calling party's communications device.    
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 presenting the disable notification message via the receiving party's communications device.    
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the step of presenting the disable notification message includes audibly presenting the disable notification message.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the step of presenting the disable notification message includes visually presenting the disable notification message.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of verifying the interrupt code comprises accessing a database to determine whether the interrupt code corresponds to a caller control parameter of a timed ring suppression profile.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the timed ring suppression profile comprises at least one of (i) a communications address associated with the incoming line identification signal, (ii) a directory name associated with the incoming line identification signal, (iii) a date/time identifier associated with the incoming line identification signal, (iv) a geographical identifier associated with the incoming line identification signal, (v) the caller control parameter associated with the incoming line identification signal, (vi) an outgoing communications address, and (vii) the timing parameter for suppressing a incoming communications alert of a communications device after the communications device receives an incoming call and after the communications device activates the incoming communications alert to produce an initial alert, the timing parameter ranging from approximately one second to greater than one second.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the timed ring suppression profile comprises (i) an identifier of a calling party, (ii) a communications address, (iii) an identifier of a calling party's communications device, (iv) a timing parameter for suppressing a incoming communications alert of a communications device after the communications device receives an incoming communication and after the communications device activates the incoming communications alert to produce an initial alert.  
   
   
       11 . A method, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving an incoming communications signal in a communications network, the incoming communications signal including an interrupt code to interrupt timed ring suppression of a receiving party's communications device;    verifying the interrupt code by accessing a database of timed ring suppression profiles to determine whether the interrupt code corresponds to a caller control parameter of a timed ring suppression profile associated with the incoming communications signal; and    if the interrupt code is verified, interrupting timed ring suppression such that when the incoming communications signal is communicated to the receiving party's communications device, the receiving party's communications device presents a continuous indicator of the incoming communications signal while the receiving party's communications device is in an on-hook state,    wherein the timed ring suppression suppresses a communications indicator of the receiving party's communications device after the receiving party's communications device activates the indicator to produce an initial alert of the incoming communications signal such that subsequent alerts of the incoming communications signal are suppressed according to a timing parameter and    wherein the interrupt code is communicated by the communications network to the receiving party's communications device such that the timed ring suppression is disabled.    
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the timed ring suppression further reactivates the communications indicator to produce subsequent unsuppressed alerts according to the timing parameter.  
   
   
       13 . A system, comprising: 
 a timed ring suppression application communicating with a receiving party's communications device via a communications network, the timed ring suppression application accessing a timed ring suppression profile comprising (i) a telephone number, (ii) a directory name, (iii) a date/time identifier, (iv) a geographical identifier, (v) a caller control interrupt code, and (vi) a timing parameter for suppressing a communications indicator of the receiving party's communications device after the receiving party's communications device activates the communications indicator to produce an initial alert of the incoming communications signal, the timed ring suppression application further generating a timed ring suppression signal, the timed ring suppression signal for silencing subsequent alerts of the incoming communications signal according to the timed ring suppression profile, and the timed ring suppression application further generating an interrupt timed ring suppression signal in response to receiving the caller control interrupt code, the interrupt timed ring suppression signal for temporarily disabling the timed ring suppression signal such that the communications indicator maintains a continuous, uninterrupted alert of the uninterrupted, on-hook incoming communications signal,    wherein the interrupt timed ring signal is communicated by the communications network to a communications address associated with the receiving party's communications device s the communications indicator maintains a continuous, uninterrupted alert of the uninterrupted, on-hook incoming communications signal.    
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the communications indicator comprises a incoming communications alert.  
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the communications indicator comprises a vibrating indicator.  
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the communications indicator comprises at least one of a visual indicator, an audible indicator, a temperate indicator, and a sensory indicator.  
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the communications network comprises at least one of a public switched telephone network, a mobile switching telephone communications network, and a satellite communications network.  
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the receiving party's communications device comprises at least one of the following: 
 a timed ring suppression device,    a POTS phone,    a wireless communications device,    a mobile phone,    a wireless phone,    a WAP phone,    a satellite phone    a computer,    a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone,    a pager, and    an interactive television.    
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 13 , the communications network further comprising a world wide electronic data communications network having a timed ring suppression interface via at least one of an internet, an intranet, or an extranet.