Telephony service system

• US 20060046698A1
• Filed: 12/09/2003
• Published: 03/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Endmell Pty Limited
• Original Assignee: Endmell Pty Limited
• Inventors: O'Brien, John Thomas
• Application Number:
  US10/537,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20060046698A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/413
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/12 Marking faulty circuits "busy"; Enabling equipment to disengage itself from faulty circuits ; Using redundant circuits; Response of a circuit, apparatus or system to an error
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53308 Message originator indirectly connected to the message centre, e.g. after detection of busy or absent state of a called party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53325 Interconnection arrangements between voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/537 Arrangements for indicating the presence of a recorded message , whereby the presence information might include a preview or summary of the message
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal

Abstract

A method of automatically allocating a mailbox to a called party in a digital telephone network, including the steps: receiving a call to be routed to a called party; extracting one or more relevant predefined parameters from the call; using one or more of the extracted parameters to determine the existence of a mailbox associated with the called party; if an associated mailbox exists, translating the call to that mailbox address; if there is not a mailbox associated with the called party, allocating a mailbox from a pre-existing pool of mailboxes available for allocation to the called party; diverting the call to the allocated mailbox.

Claims

1. A method of automatically allocating a mailbox to a called party in a digital telephone network, including the steps:

receiving a call to be routed to a called party;

extracting one or more relevant predefined parameters from the call;

using one or more of the extracted parameters to determine the existence of a mailbox associated with the called party;

if an associated mailbox exists, translating the call to that mailbox address;

if there is not a mailbox number associated with the called party, allocating a mailbox from a pre-existing pool of mailboxes available for allocation to the called party;

diverting the call to the allocated mailbox.

2. A method according to claim 1 including the steps:

receiving a call to be routed to a called party;

extracting one or more relevant predefined parameters from the call to identify the nature of the caller and the nature of the called destination including the called party'"'"'s telephone number;

using one or more of the extracted parameters to examine a database, archive, information listing or the like to determine the existence of mailbox identifier associated with the called party;

if an associated mailbox exists, translating the called number to that mailbox address;

if the database does not contain a mailbox identifier associated with the called number, allocating a mailbox from a pre-existing pool of mailboxes available for allocation to the called party'"'"'s telephone number;

diverting the call to the allocated mailbox;

notifying the called party of the waiting message.

3. A method according to claim 1 including the step of deleting the contents of the mailbox, de-allocating the mailbox and returning it to the pool of mailboxes available for allocation on the occurrence of any one of following events:

no message deposits and message retrievals have been made within a pre-defined period;

or no message deposits have been made within a pre-defined period;

or no message retrievals have been made within a pre-defined period.

4. A method of maintaining a pool of mailboxes available for allocation, deallocation and re-allocation, and thereby minimising the amount of required storage space for the said pool, including the steps:

at a predetermined time frequency, scanning a database of mailbox allocation and usage records;

from those records, detecting an allocated mailbox and determining its last usage time;

if the last usage time exceeds a predetermined period, deleting the contents of the mailbox and marking the mailbox as free for re-allocation;

continuing until all mailbox records have been scanned at which time the process is suspended until it conducts another cycle at the said predetermined time frequency.

5. A method of dynamically allocating a mailbox to a called party in a digital telephone network, comprising the following steps:

receiving a call to be routed to a called party;

extracting relevant/predefined parameters from the message;

examining l inspecting a database as to the existence of an associated mailbox number translating the called number to a mailbox address, if available or, in the event that the called party does not have a mailbox/the database does not contain a mailbox number associated with the called number, assigning a mailbox to the called party telephone number;

diverting the call to the allocated mailbox.

6. A method according to claim 5 in which the mailbox is allocated from a preexisting pool of mailboxes.

7. A method according to claim 5 in which the called party is identified by a digital network telephone number/telephony network identifier.

8. A method according to claim 5 in which the mailbox is identified by an identification number.

9. A method according to claim 8 in which the method of automatically associating a telephony network g the steps:

at a predetermined time frequency, scanning a database of mailbox allocation and usage records;

from those records, detecting an allocated mailbox and determining its last usage time;

if the last usage time exceeds a predetermined period, deleting the contents of the mailbox and marking the mailbox as free for re-allocation;

continuing until all mailbox records have been scanned at which time the process is suspended until it conducts another cycle at the said predetermined time frequency.

10. A method according to claim 9 in which the method of the automatic association allocation process can be initiated in any one of the following events:

the called party does not answer the call;

the called mobile network subscriber/party does not have a mailbox;

the call does not originate from the called party.

11. A method according to claim 5 including the step of deleting the contents of the mailbox and de-allocating the mailbox on the occurrence of any one of following events:

no message deposits and message retrievals have been made within a pre-defined period;

or no message deposits have been made within a pre-defined period;

or no message retrievals have been made within a pre-defined period.

12. A method according to claim 11 including the step of de-associating the mailbox from the subscriber identifier on the occurrence of any one of following events:

no message deposits and message retrievals have been made within a pre-defined period;

or no message deposits have been made within a pre-defined period;

or no message retrievals have been made within a pre-defined period.

13. A method according to claim 11 including the step of returning the de-allocated mailbox to the pool of mailboxes available for re-allocation.

14. A method according to claim 13 in which the re-allocating of the mailbox can be to a new mobile network subscriber upon the occurrence of any one of following events:

no message deposits and message retrievals have been made within a pre-defined period;

or no message deposits have been made within a pre-defined period;

or no message