Location ID Service for Telephone Calls

Abstract

A system for providing location ID services for telephone calls transfers location data describing the location of the calling device to the called device. Rather than or in addition to providing the name and telephone number as is done through the conventional caller ID service, the location of the calling device is displayed by the called device including the zip code, the longitude and latitude planar coordinates, or the street address. Existing advanced intelligent network infrastructure may be adapted to provide the location ID service, such as by providing location data queries from a signal switching point to a signal control point. The signal control point has access to a CNAM database containing location ID data fields in addition to conventional caller ID data.

1 . A method of providing location information of a calling device to a called device, comprising:
 receiving into a signal switching point a call trigger emanating from the calling device;   generating a query from the signal switching point to a signal transfer point, the query containing an identifier of the calling device;   delivering the query from the signal transfer point to a signal control point;   accessing location information associated with the identifier of the calling device from a database linked to the signal control point;   delivering the location information from the signal control point to the signal switching point through the signal transfer point; and   providing the location information from the signal switching point to the called device.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 detecting from the call trigger at the signal switching point an identifier of the called device;   detecting from the identifier of the called device whether to deliver location information of the calling device to the called device; and   when it is detected that location information of the calling device is to be delivered to the called device, then delivering the query, accessing the location information, delivering the location information to the signal switching point, and providing the location information to the called device.   
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 detecting from the call trigger at the signal switching point whether a privacy indicator is provided from the calling device; and   when a privacy indicator is not detected, then delivering the query, accessing the location information, delivering the location information to the signal switching point, and providing the location information to the called device.   
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein when a privacy indicator is not detected, the method further comprising:
 detecting from the call trigger at the signal switching point an identifier of the called device,   detecting from the identifier of the called device whether to deliver location information of the calling device to the called device, and   when it is detected that location information is to be delivered, then delivering the query, accessing the location information, delivering the location information to the signal switching point, and providing the location information to the called device.   
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the location information is a zip code where the calling device is located. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the location information is planar coordinates for a location of the calling device. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the call trigger comprises a dialed number corresponding to the called device. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the location information is encoded in binary coded decimal form. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving the call trigger from the calling device at an originating signal switching point; and   transmitting the call trigger and identifier of the calling device from the originating signal switching point to the signal switching point that generates the query.   
   
   
       10 . A system for providing location information of a calling device to a called device, comprising:
 a signal switching point configured to receive a call trigger emanating from the calling device, produce a query for location information where the query contains an identifier of the calling device, and provide the location information to the called device;   a database containing location information indexed by identifiers of calling devices;   a signal control point configured to access location information from the database upon receipt of the query for location information; and   a signal transfer point configured to deliver the query from the signal switching point to the signal control point and deliver the location information from the signal control point to the signal switching point.   
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the signal switching point is further configured to detect an identifier of the called device from the call trigger and detect from the identifier of the called device whether to deliver the query to the signal transfer point. 
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the signal switching point is further configured to detect whether a privacy indicator is provided from the calling device and generate the query when the privacy indicator has not been provided. 
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the location information of the database is a zip code where the calling device is located. 
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the location information of the database is planar coordinates for a location of the calling device. 
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the call trigger comprises a dialed number corresponding to the called device. 
   
   
       16 . A system for providing location information of a calling device to a called device, comprising:
 a first signal switching point configured to receive a call trigger emanating from the calling device and transmit the call trigger and an identifier of the calling device;   a second signal switching point configured to receive the call trigger and identifier of the calling device transmitted from the first signal switching point, produce a query for location information where the query contains the identifier of the calling device, and provide the location information to the called device;   a database containing location information indexed by identifiers of calling devices;   a signal control point configured to access location information from the database upon receipt of the query for location information; and   a signal transfer point configured to deliver the query from the signal switching point to the signal control point and deliver the location information from the signal control point to the signal switching point.   
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the second signal switching point is further configured to detect an identifier of the called device from the call trigger and detect from the identifier of the called device whether to produce the query. 
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the second signal switching point is further configured to detect whether a privacy indicator is provided from the calling device and produce the query when the privacy indicator has not been provided. 
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the location information of the database is a zip code where the calling device is located. 
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the call trigger comprises a dialed number corresponding to the called device.