U.S. patent application number 09/114969 was filed with the patent office on 2001-08-09 for automated message system for a calling party.
This patent application is currently assigned to AT&T CORP.. Invention is credited to JOYCE, MICHAEL JULIAN, ONG, PING-WEN, OURMAZD, ABBAS, WARWICK, COLIN ALAN.
Application Number | 20010012336 09/114969 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24789418 |
Filed Date | 2001-08-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010012336 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
JOYCE, MICHAEL JULIAN ; et
al. |
August 9, 2001 |
AUTOMATED MESSAGE SYSTEM FOR A CALLING PARTY
Abstract
An automated message system sends a message of the calling party
to the called party in response to a control signal. The automated
message system includes a telephone network, a first telephone
station, a second telephone station used by the called party and an
automated message unit coupled to the first and second telephone
stations through the network. A controller of the automated message
unit that receives the control signal from the calling party
selects a database from a memory device and retrieves a message
from the database based on information included in the control
signal. If an answering machine answers the calling party's call,
the controller waits for the answering machine message to complete
and sends the message retrieved from the database to the second
telephone station of the called party.
Inventors: |
JOYCE, MICHAEL JULIAN;
(VICTORIA, AU) ; ONG, PING-WEN; (MIDDLETOWN,
NJ) ; OURMAZD, ABBAS; (BERLIN, DE) ; WARWICK,
COLIN ALAN; (HOLMDEL, NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Oliff & Berridge, PLC
P.O. Box 19928
Alexandria
VA
22320
US
|
Assignee: |
AT&T CORP.
|
Family ID: |
24789418 |
Appl. No.: |
09/114969 |
Filed: |
July 14, 1998 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09114969 |
Jul 14, 1998 |
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08694578 |
Aug 9, 1996 |
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5799066 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/67.1 ;
379/201.03; 379/88.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 2201/60 20130101;
H04M 3/42229 20130101; H04M 3/533 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/67.1 ;
379/88.01; 379/201.03 |
International
Class: |
H04M 001/64; H04M
003/42 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An automated message system, comprising: a telephone network; a
first telephone station and a second telephone station; and an
automated message unit coupled to the first and second telephone
stations through the telephone network, wherein during a call from
a calling party using the first telephone station to a called party
using the second telephone station, the automated message unit
sends a message to the second telephone station in response to a
control signal received from the calling party.
2. The automated message system of claim 1, wherein the automated
message unit comprises: a network interface coupled to the
telephone network; a memory device; and a controller coupled to the
network interface and the memory device, wherein the controller
receives the control signal from the calling party through the
network interface, retrieves the message from the memory device
based on the control signal and sends the message to the second
telephone station through the network interface.
3. The automated message system of claim 2, wherein the control
signal includes an identification code and control information, the
controller selecting a database in the memory device based on the
identification code and retrieving the message from the database
based on the control information.
4. The automated message system of claim 3, wherein the
identification code includes one of an equipment identification
number, caller ID and a code entered through a keypad of the first
telephone station.
5. The automated message system of claim 3, wherein the control
signal includes a password, the controller determining whether the
password is correct based on information in the selected database,
if the password is correct, then the controller retrieving the
message, connecting to the second telephone station and sending the
message to the second telephone station, if the password is
incorrect, then the controller ending further actions.
6. The automated message system of claim 2, wherein the controller
receives a call from the calling party to the automated message
unit, the calling party entering an instruction to the controller
for storing at least one message in a database in the memory device
associated with the calling party.
7. The automated message system of claim 6, wherein the at least
one message comprises at least one of a business card message and
an entry of a telephone directory.
8. The automated message system of claim 7, wherein the at least
one message is at least one of an audio print and a text
message.
9. The automated message system of claim 6, wherein the automated
message unit further comprises: a voice coder/voice decoder device,
the instruction being entered by at least one of pressing a keypad
of a telephone station and speaking an audio command, and if the
instruction is the audio command, then the voice coder/voice
decoder device converting the audio command into text and sending
the text to the controller.
10. The automated message system of claim 2, wherein the automated
message unit further comprises: a voice coder/voice decoder device,
if the message is an audio print, then the controller outputting
the message directly to the second telephone station, if the
message is a text message, then the controller sending the text
message to the voice coder/voice decoder device to convert the text
message to audio and then sending the converted audio to the second
telephone station.
11. The automated message system of claim 1, wherein the control
signal is generated by pressing at least one key of a keypad of the
first telephone station.
12. The automated message system of claim 1, wherein the first
telephone station is one of a cellular phone and a landline
telephone station.
13. The automated message system of claim 1, wherein the control
signal is one of a data signal and a DTMF signal.
14. A method for operation of a automated message system,
comprising: receiving a control signal from a calling party using a
first telephone station to call a second party using a second
telephone station, the first telephone station being coupled to the
second telephone station and an automated message unit through a
telephone network; and sending a message from the automated message
unit to the second telephone station in response to the control
signal received from the calling party.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: retrieving the
message from a memory device of the automated message unit, wherein
a controller of the automated message unit retrieves the message
based on the control signal received by the controller through a
network interface of the automated message unit, the controller
sending the message to the second telephone station through the
network interface.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: selecting a
database in the memory device, the controller selecting the
database based on an identification code included in the control
signal and retrieving the message from the database based on
control information also included in the control signal.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: determining whether
a password in the control signal is correct based on information in
the selected database, if the password is correct, then the
controller retrieving the message, connecting to the second
telephone station and sending the message to the second telephone
station, if the password is incorrect, then the controller ending
further actions.
18. The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving a call
from the calling party to the automated message unit, the
controller of the automated message unit receiving the call; and
entering an instruction to the controller to store at least one
message in a database associated with the calling party.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: converting the
instruction from voice to text using a voice recognition device if
the instruction is entered by the calling party by speaking a voice
command.
20. The method of claim 15, further comprising: converting the
message from text to voice using a text-to-voice device if the
message is a text message.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to an automated message system and
method for sending messages to a called party.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Automated message systems are often used in telephone
communications. A common example is an answering machine. Typically
in such systems, a calling party receives an automated message
after calling a called party. The automated message may contain
instructions directing the calling party to take certain actions
such as "Please leave a message after the tone."
[0005] A typical answering machine, for example, plays a
prerecorded message that may take several seconds to complete
before directing the calling party to respond. When the calling
party is very busy or is using a high cost connection such as a
cellular network, the time required to interface with an answering
machine may be expensive to the calling party both in terms of lost
productivity and telephone connection costs. Thus, technological
improvements are needed to reduce the cost to a calling party when
receiving automated messages from a called party.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] This invention provides an automated message system and
method for sending a message from a calling party to a called party
when the called party's telephone is answered by an answering
machine. The automated message system connects to the called party
in response to a control signal generated by the calling party. The
control signal may be a dual tone multiple frequency (DTMF) signal
generated by the calling party by pressing a key of a keypad. The
automated message system waits for the answering machine's message
to complete and leaves the calling party's message on the called
party's answering machine at the appropriate time. Thus, the
calling party may go on-hook and call another called party.
[0007] The automated message system also reduces the high cost of
cellular phone connections of the calling party. The calling party
stops paying for cellular phone costs after the automated message
system connects to the called party and the calling party goes
on-hook. The time that the automated message system spends waiting
for the called party's answering machine message to complete and
the time spent outputting the calling party's message is covered by
a much lower landline costs. Thus, the calling party's costs for
leaving the message on the called party's answering machine is
greatly reduced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The invention is described in detail with reference to the
following drawings, wherein like numerals represent like
elements:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an automated message system;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the automated message unit;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process for sending a message
using the automated message system; and
[0012] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process for recording a message
in the automated message unit for playback to a called party.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0013] FIG. 1 shows telephone stations 100 and 101 connected to an
automated message unit 110 through a telephone network 105.
Telephone stations 100 and 101 may be either landline telephone
stations or cellular phones wirelessly connected to a base station
(not shown). When a calling party, using the telephone station 100,
calls a called party by dialing a telephone number of the telephone
station 101 and an answering machine answers with a message, the
calling party may request the automated message unit 110 to
complete the call. The calling party may then go on-hook while the
automated message unit 110 waits to leave a message for the calling
party.
[0014] The calling party requests the automated message unit 110 to
complete the call by sending a control signal. The control signal
may be generated when the calling party presses a key of a keypad
of the telephone station 100, for example. The automated message
unit 110 responds to the control signal by connecting to the
telephone station 101 and permitting the calling party to go
on-hook. The control signal may include a DTMF signal when the
calling party uses a landline telephone. The automated message
system 110 waits for the answering machine's message to complete
and, at the appropriate time, outputs the calling party's message
to the answering machine.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the automated message unit 110.
The automated message unit 110 includes a controller 206, a memory
204, a network interface 208 and a voice coder/voice decoder device
214. Examples of voice coder/voice decoder devices include a
waveform encoder/decoder and a voice recognition/text-to-voice
device. The above components are all connected through signal line
205. The network interface 208 may be coupled to the telephone
network 105 through a device such as a public switched telephone
network (not shown). The network interface 208 interacts with the
public switched telephone network to connect or disconnect calls by
using standard features of the public switched telephone
network.
[0016] The operation of the automated message unit 110 will be
described below assuming that the calling party is using a cellular
phone and that the calling party's call is answered by the called
party's answering machine. However, the automated message unit 110
functions in other circumstances such as the calling party using a
landline telephone station or the called party answers the calling
party's call.
[0017] When the called party's answering machine answers the
calling party's call and the calling party sends the control
signal, the controller 206 receives the control signal through the
network interface 208. The controller 206 connects to the called
party through the network interface 208 and optionally disconnects
the calling party. The calling party may also disconnect by going
on-hook after sending the control signal.
[0018] After receiving the control signal from the calling party,
the controller 206 retrieves a database based on an identification
code. The control signal includes the identification code that
identifies the calling party. For example, the cellular phone may
output, in a data channel, an equipment identification number (EIN)
that uniquely identifies the cellular phone. If a landline
telephone station is used, the telephone number of the landline
telephone station may be obtained via caller ID, for example, and
the caller ID may be used to identify the calling party. The
calling party may also enter the identification code by pressing
the keys of the keypad on the landline telephone station to
identify the calling party. In any case, the controller 206
receives the identification code in the control signal and locates
the database associated with the calling party in the memory
204.
[0019] The database of the calling party contains data such as
messages saved by the calling party. The controller 206 receives
control information included in the control signal and selects one
of the messages in the database based on the control information.
The controller 206 retrieves the selected message and outputs the
selected message to the called party through the network interface
208.
[0020] If the calling party has only one message stored in the
database, then the calling party may send the control signal by
simply pressing "*" or some other preassigned key of the keypad of
the cellular phone. If the calling party has more than one message
stored in the database, the calling party may select one of the
messages by pressing "*99", for example. Alternatively, dedicated
keys of the keypad may be assigned to different messages similar to
"speed dial" keys so that pressing a single key can generate the
desired control signal to select the desired message. Special key
sequences of speed dial keys may also be assigned for selecting
messages such as entries in the calling party's telephone directory
stored in the memory 204.
[0021] If greater security is desired to prevent the automated
message unit 110 from being misused, the calling party may
establish a password. The control signal sent to the controller 206
may include the password and the controller 206 verifies the
password against a password contained in the database. If the
password is incorrect, the controller 206 ends the automated
message process without connecting to the called party.
[0022] Information from the calling party such as the password, the
messages and the telephone directories are stored in the database
of the memory 204. The calling party may enter this information
through a telephone station such as telephone station 100. The
calling party calls the automated message unit 110 by dialing an
800 number, for example, and enters data either by using the keypad
of the telephone station 100 or by speaking to the automated
message unit 110 if voice coder features are available for storing
text and audio prints for playback.
[0023] After calling the automated message unit 110, the calling
party enters instructions to the controller 206 in response to
prompts of the controller 206. The calling party may create a new
message or a new telephone directory or may enter change
instructions such as add, delete, or replace to change existing
messages or entries in an existing telephone directory.
[0024] The automated message unit 110 may include a voice
coder/voice decoder device 214 as shown in FIG. 2. The voice
coder/voice decoder device 214 receives audio data from the calling
party through the network interface 208, converts the audio data
into text and sends the text to the controller 206. The controller
206 incorporates the text into the database associated with the
calling party and stores the database in the memory 204.
[0025] When the calling party sends the control signal during a
call to a called party, the controller 206 retrieves the text from
the database stored in the memory 204. The controller 206 sends the
text to the voice coder/voice decoder device 214 to convert the
text into audio. Then the voice coder/voice decoder device 214
outputs the audio to the called party through the network interface
208.
[0026] If voice coder/voice decoder conversion is not available,
the controller 206 may receive the calling party's audio directly
as an audio print and store the audio print in the memory 204. When
the calling party sends the control signal and the selected message
or telephone directory entry contains an audio print, the
controller 206 outputs the audio print directly to the called party
through the network interface 208.
[0027] A password may be set by the calling party when creating a
database or when initially subscribing to the automated messaging
service. The controller 206 verifies that the password is entered
correctly before allowing the calling party access to a database.
The controller 206 may allow a preset number of incorrect password
entries before ending the calling party's call.
[0028] The above described automated message unit 110 enables the
calling party to leave a message for the called party without the
calling party having to wait for the called party's answering
machine to finish its message. The calling party is able to save
both valuable personal time and possibly telephone connection costs
associated with the time required for the answering machine to
finish its message.
[0029] For example, the calling party may be a traveling business
person using a cellular phone to call potential clients. When a
call is answered by an answering machine, the business person is
relieved from waiting by the automated message unit 110 and may
make a call to another client. Further, because the automated
message unit 110 leaves a message, the business person's call would
not be wasted. For example, an "electronic" business card may be
left as a message in the client's answering machine.
[0030] Moreover, because the automated message unit 110 is a land
based system, the cost associated with the automated message unit
110 waiting for the called party's answering machine to finish its
message and leaving the calling party's message is small when
compared to the calling parties cellular phone costs.
[0031] The automated message unit 110 may be used for other
convenient purposes as well. For example, the calling party may
send a telephone number of a third party to the called party from
the calling party's telephone directory stored in the automated
message unit 110.
[0032] FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a process for sending a message
from the automated message unit 110 after the calling party calls
the called party and an answering machine answers. In step S1000,
the automated message system 110 receives a control signal from the
calling party through the network interface 208. After receiving
the control signal, the controller 206 retrieves the database
associated with the calling party from the memory 204 based on the
identifying code in the control signal such as the EIN. Then the
controller goes to step S1001.
[0033] In step S1001, the controller 206 compares the password in
the control signal against a password in the retrieved database to
verify that the password in the control signal is correct. The
controller 206 then goes to step S1002. In step S1002, if the
password in the control signal is incorrect the controller 206 goes
to step S1003. Otherwise, the controller 206 goes to step
S1012.
[0034] In step S1003, the controller 206 increments a count and
checks if the count exceeds a maximum value. Then the controller
206 goes to step S1004. In step S1004, the controller 206 goes to
step S1006 if the count exceeds the maximum value. Otherwise, the
controller 206 goes to step S1005.
[0035] In step S1012, the controller 206 connects to the called
party and selects a message from the database based on the control
information in the control signal. At this point, the calling party
may either go on-hook or be disconnected by the controller 206.
Then the controller 206 goes to step S1014. In step S1014, the
controller 206 waits for the answering machine to finish its
message, if it has not already done so, and sends the calling
party's message to the called party. If the called party answers
instead of the answering machine, then the controller 206 sends the
calling party's message without waiting. The controller 206 then
goes to step S1007 and ends the message sending process.
[0036] If the message selected by the controller 206 is an audio
print, then the controller 206 directly outputs the audio print
message to the called party. If the selected message is a text
message, the controller 206 sends the text to the voice coder/voice
decoder device 214 for conversion to audio and outputs the audio to
the called party.
[0037] FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a process for entering and
changing information in the database associated with the calling
party. In step S2002, the controller 206 answers a call from the
calling party and selects a database in the memory 204 that is
associated with the calling party. The database is selected based
on an identification code entered by the calling party or an EIN if
a cellular phone is used. Then the controller 206 goes to step
S2006.
[0038] In step S2006 the controller 206 prompts the calling party
to enter a password. The controller 206 verifies if the entered
password is correct based on information in the selected database.
Then, the controller 206 goes to step S2008.
[0039] In step S2008, if the password provided by the calling party
is incorrect, the controller 206 goes to step S2009. Otherwise, the
controller 206 goes to step S2012. In step S2009, the controller
206 increments a count and checks if the count exceeds a maximum
value and goes to step S2010. In step S2010, if the count exceeds
the maximum value, the controller 206 goes to step S2030. Otherwise
the controller returns to step S2006. In step S2030, the controller
206 sends an ending message and goes to step S2040 to end the
call.
[0040] In step S2012, the controller 206 prompts the calling party
for an instruction to either create information or change the
information contained in the database associated with the calling
party. Instructions such as add, delete or replace identified
messages or entries in a telephone directory contained in the
database may be provided. Other instructions such as delete the
database or create new database are also possible. The instructions
may be entered either by pressing keys of the keypad of the
telephone station or by audio instructions if voice coding is
available. Then the controller 206 goes to step S2014.
[0041] In step S2014, the controller 206 executes the instruction
entered by the calling party and queries whether the calling party
has more instructions. Then the controller 206 goes to step S2016.
In step S2016, the controller 206 goes to step S2030 if the calling
party has no more instructions. Otherwise, the controller 206
returns to step S2012.
[0042] While this invention has been described in conjunction with
specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives,
modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in
the art. For example, the automated message unit 110 may be
implemented by one or more application specific integrated circuits
(ASICs). The automated message unit 110 may also be implemented as
programs executing in a processor such as a general purpose
computer or a microprocessor. Accordingly, preferred embodiments of
the invention as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative,
not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following
claims.
* * * * *