Voice mail bridging in communication systems

• US 20060262911A1
• Filed: 05/18/2005
• Published: 11/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Chin, Frances Mu-Fen, True, Sandra L., Hasan, Peggy H.
• Granted Patent: US 7,535,999 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.180
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42263 where the same subscriber uses different terminals, i.e. nomadism
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53325 Interconnection arrangements between voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53375 Message broadcasting

Abstract

Communication systems and methods are disclosed that provide a voice mail bridging service. A communication network attempts to connect a call between a calling party and a called party. The called party has a plurality of telephone numbers corresponding with a plurality of voice mail systems. Responsive to the communication network determining that the called party has not answered the call attempt, the communication network prompts the calling party to record a voice message. The communication network receives a voice message from the calling party. The communication network identifies a plurality of telephone numbers for the called party, such as a home number, a mobile number, a business number, etc. The communication network then transmits the voice message to the voice mail systems corresponding with the identified telephone numbers for the called party. The called party can thus access any of the voice mail systems to retrieve the voice message.

Claims

1. A communication system, comprising:

a communication network that attempts to connect a call between a calling party and a called party, wherein the called party has a plurality of telephone numbers; and

a plurality of voice mail systems connected to the communication network that correspond with the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party;

the communication network is operable to determine that the called party has not answered the call attempt, to prompt the calling party to record a voice message responsive to the determination, to receive the voice message from the calling party, to identify the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party, and to transmit the voice message to the plurality of voice mail systems corresponding with the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party.

2. The communication system of claim 1 wherein one of the plurality of telephone numbers comprises a home number for the called party.

3. The communication system of claim 2 wherein another one of the plurality of telephone numbers comprises a mobile number for the called party.

4. The communication system of claim 3 wherein another one of the plurality of telephone numbers comprises a business number for the called party.

5. The communication system of claim 1 wherein:

the communication network is operable to store the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party that are pre-recorded in the communication network, and to access the stored telephone numbers to identify the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party.

6. The communication system of claim 5 wherein the communication network stores the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party in a subscriber database for the called party.

7. The communication system of claim 1 wherein:

the communication network is operable to prompt the calling party for the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party.

8. The communication system of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of voice mail systems includes a voice mailbox for the called party that stores the voice message transmitted by the communication network.

9. A method of operating a communication system to provide voice mail bridging service, wherein the communication network attempts to connect a call between a calling party and a called party, wherein the called party has a plurality of telephone numbers, the method comprising:

determining in the communication network that the called party has not answered the call attempt;

prompting the calling party to record a voice message responsive to the determination;

receiving the voice message from the calling party in the communication network;

identifying the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party; and

transmitting the voice message from the communication network to a plurality of voice mail systems corresponding with the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein one of the plurality of telephone numbers comprises a home number for the called party.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein another one of the plurality of telephone numbers comprises a mobile number for the called party.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein another one of the plurality of telephone numbers comprises a business number for the called party.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

storing the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party that are pre-recorded in the communication network, and

accessing the stored telephone numbers to identify the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein storing the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party comprises:

storing the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party in a subscriber database for the called party.

15. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

prompting the calling party for the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party.

16. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

receiving the voice message in each of the plurality of voice mail systems; and

in each of the plurality of voice mail systems, storing the voice message in a voice mailbox for the called party.

17. A communication system, comprising:

a communication network that attempts to connect a call between a calling party and a called party,

wherein a terminating call control function of the communication network serves the called party,

wherein the called party has a plurality of telephone numbers; and

a plurality of voice mail systems connected to the communication network that correspond with the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party;

the terminating call control function is operable to determine that the called party has not answered the call attempt, to prompt the calling party to record a voice message responsive to the determination, to receive the voice message from the calling party, to identify the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party, and to transmit the voice message to the plurality of voice mail systems corresponding with the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party.

18. The communication system of claim 17 further comprising:

a subscriber database for the called party that stores the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party;

wherein the terminating call control function is operable to access the subscriber database to identify the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party.

19. The communication system of claim 17 wherein the communication network further comprises:

an originating call control function that serves the calling party;

the originating call control function is operable to determine that the called party has not answered the call attempt, to prompt the calling party to record a voice message responsive to the determination, to receive the voice message from the calling party, to identify the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party, and to transmit the voice message to the plurality of voice mail systems corresponding with the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party.

20. The communication system of claim 19 wherein:

the originating call control function prompts the calling party to identify the plurality of telephone numbers for the called party.