System for controlling and screening incoming calls
AssigneeGriff and Associates, L.P.
InventorAlex J. Phinn
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for screening and routing incoming phone calls or text messages that includes an interceptor device which is operatively engaged with the phone and is arranged to receive all incoming calls or texts to the phone. When an incoming call or text to the phone is received by the interceptor device, programming provided in the interceptor device compares a phone number associated with the incoming call or text with a list of stored contact phone numbers. The incoming phone call may be disconnected if the phone number associated with originating the incoming call or text fails to match any of the stored contact phone numbers. The incoming call or text is routed to a known or designated contact from the stored contact phone numbers for approval.
Claims20
A method of screening and routing incoming text messages to a phone comprising:
- providing an interceptor device that is operatively engaged with a phone;
- storing a phone number of a designated contact in the interceptor device;
- and
- receiving, with the interceptor device, an incoming text message to a phone number associated with the phone;
- comparing, with programming provided in the interceptor device, a phone number that originated the incoming text message with a list of stored contact phone numbers;
- and
- performing one of:
- (i) allowing the phone to alert the user if the phone number that originated the incoming text message matches a stored contact phone number from the list of stored contact phone numbers;
- and
- (ii) blocking the incoming text message if the phone number that originated the incoming text message fails to match any stored contact phone number from the list of the stored contact phone numbers, and forwarding the incoming text message to a third party device of a designated contact if the phone number that originated the text message fails to match any phone number of the list of stored contact phone numbers in the phone;
- and
- wherein the interceptor device comprises software executing on the phone and using automatic background processing such that the forwarding to the third party device is performed automatically and without user intervention, and wherein the designated contact is enabled to screen the incoming text message and, upon determining the message is legitimate, forward the incoming text message back to the phone by entering a passcode at the third party device, thereby causing the interceptor device to permit delivery of the incoming text message and to update the list of stored contact phone numbers to include the phone number that originated the incoming text message.
A system for screening and routing incoming phone calls comprising:
- a phone having a phone number;
- an interceptor device operatively engaged with the phone, wherein the interceptor device receives incoming phone calls directed to the phone number;
- and
- programming provided in the interceptor device that uses automatic background processing to operate on the phone to prevent the user from needing to open a second screening application as the interceptor device receives incoming phone calls;
- and
- a passcode entered at a third party device by a designated third party contact that effectuates routing a particular incoming call back to the phone that originally received the particular incoming call;
- wherein, upon receiving the particular incoming call from a phone number not present in a stored contact list, the interceptor device automatically and without user intervention routes the incoming call to the third party device for screening, and wherein, upon the designated contact entering the passcode, the interceptor device receives a forwarded call from the third party device, causes the phone to ring within the same call session.
A method of screening and routing incoming phone calls to a phone, comprising:
- receiving, with an interceptor device operatively engaged with the phone, an incoming call directed to a phone number associated with the phone;
- comparing, with programming provided in the interceptor device, a phone number associated with the incoming call to a stored contact list;
- in response to determining that the phone number is not present in the stored contact list, automatically and without user intervention routing the incoming call from the interceptor device to a third party device of a designated contact for human screening while the call is active, the interceptor device executing on the phone via automatic background processing;
- and
- in response to the designated contact entering a passcode at the third party device, forwarding the incoming call back to the interceptor device and causing the phone to ring for connection to the caller during the same call session, and updating, by the interceptor device, the stored contact list to include the phone number associated with the incoming call.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.