Method of providing voicemails to a wireless information device

• US 20090170478A1
• Filed: 11/21/2008
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SpinVox Limited (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Doulton, Daniel Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,509,825 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/413
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/253 where a visual mode is used instead of a voice mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42204 Arrangements at the exchange for service or number selection by voice at the terminal H04M1/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4228 in networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53 Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages , i.e. mailbox systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53333 Message receiving aspects
• 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: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

Voicemail is received at a voicemail server and converted to an audio file format; it is then sent or streamed over a wide area network to a voice to text transcription system comprising a network of computers. One of the networked computers plays back the voice message to an operator and the operator intelligently transcribes the actual message from the original voice message by entering the corresponding text message (actually a succinct version of the original voice message, not a verbose word-for-word conversion) into the computer to generate a transcribed text message. The transcribed text message is then sent to the wireless information device from the computer. Because human operators are used instead of machine transcription, voicemails are converted accurately, intelligently, appropriately and succinctly into text messages (SMS/MMS).

Claims

1. A method of providing a voicemail message to a device comprising the steps of

(a) storing a plurality of voicemail messages on a voicemail server;

(b) generating an i/d;

(c) associating the i/d to at least one of the stored voicemail messages;

(d) embedding the i/d in a text message;

(e) sending the text message to a device that plays voicemail messages;

(f) retrieving the voicemail message associated with the i/d; and

(g) playing the voicemail message on the device.

2. A method in claim 1 wherein the text message is a SMS message.

3. A method in claim 2 wherein the SMS message is stored on a SMS server.

4. A method in claim 3 wherein the SMS server and the voicemail server synchronize the SMS message with the embedded i/d and at least one voicemail message associated with the i/d as being sent when the SMS message is sent to the device that plays voicemail messages.

5. A method in claim 1 wherein the text message is an email message.

6. A method in claim 2 wherein the email message is stored on an email server.

7. A method in claim 3 wherein the email server and the voicemail server synchronize the email message with the embedded i/d and at least one voicemail message associated with the i/d as being sent when the email message is sent to the device that plays voicemail messages.

8. A method in claim 1 wherein the text message is a MMS message.

9. A method of providing voicemail messages to a device comprising the steps of

(a) generating a plurality of audio files from a plurality of voicemail messages;

(b) storing the plurality of audio files on a storage device;

(c) generating an i/d;

(d) associating the i/d to at least one of the stored audio files;

(e) embedding the i/d in a text message;

(f) sending the text message to a device that plays audio files;

(g) identifying the audio file associated with the i/d; and

(h) playing the audio file on the device.

10. A method in claim 9 wherein the i/d is derived from the time and date of the creation of the audio file.

11. A method in claim 9 wherein the i/d is derived from a value representing the device that originated the voicemail message.

12. A method in claim 11 wherein the value is a telephone number.

13. A method in claim 9 wherein the i/d is derived from a value representing the device that is able to play the voicemail message.

14. A method in claim 13 wherein the value is a telephone number.

15. A system for playing voicemail messages comprising a first device capable of storing a plurality of voicemail messages, a second device capable of playing voicemail messages and managing text messages, the second device receiving a text message, the text message containing an i/d, the second device transmitting the i/d to the first device, the first device identifying at least one stored voicemail message, the identified stored voicemail message being associated to the i/d, the first device transmitting the identified stored voicemail message to the second device, and the second device playing the identified stored voicemail message.

16. A system in claim 15 wherein the text message is a transcript of the identified stored voicemail message.

17. A system in claim 16 wherein the text message is a summarized transcript of the identified stored voicemail message.

18. A system in claim 17 wherein the summarized transcript is less than 160 characters in length.

19. A system in claim 18 wherein the text message is a SMS message.

20. A device for transmitting text messages and voice messages to a remote device capable of rendering text messages, playing voice messages, and sending text messages, comprising a device capable of receiving and storing a plurality of voicemail messages, the device further capable of generating an i/d and associating the i/d to at least one stored voicemail message, the device further capable of embedding the i/d in a text message and transmitting the text message to a remote device, the device further capable of receiving the i/d from the remote device and identifying at least one stored voicemail message associated to the i/d, the device further capable of transmitting the stored voicemail message associated to the i/d to the remote device.

21. A device in claim 20 wherein the text message is a SMS message.

22. A device in claim 20 wherein the text message is an e-mail message.

23. A device in claim 20 wherein the device is further capable storing a plurality of text messages and the device synchronizes the status of at least one stored voicemail message associated to the i/d and the stored text message containing the i/d upon the delivery of the text message containing the i/d to the remote device.

24. A device in claim 21 wherein the device is further capable storing a plurality of SMS messages and the device synchronizes the status of at least one stored voicemail message associated to the i/d and the stored SMS message containing the i/d upon the delivery of the SMS message containing the i/d to the remote device.

25. A device in claim 21 wherein the device is further capable storing a plurality of e-mail messages and the device synchronizes the status of at least one stored voicemail message associated to the i/d and the stored email message containing the i/d upon the delivery of the email message containing the i/d to the remote device.