Spontaneous voice and data messaging

• US 4,932,042 A
• Filed: 03/03/1989
• Issued: 06/05/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T, Inc.), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T, Inc.
• Inventors: Nelson, Randall H., Jaeger, Richard J. Jr., Ying, Wen-Ping, Lauber, Pamela J., Baral, Elliott, LaPorta, Frank C., LeCronier, Richard E., Russell, Thomas L. Jr., Brown, Percy B., Hauptman, Reuben D.
• Primary Examiner(s): BROWN, THOMAS
• Application Number:
  US07/318,292
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67, 379/88, 379/89, 379/214, 379/213, 379/211, 379/212, 379/210, 379/94, 379/230, 379/245, 379/100
• US Class Current: 379/88.24
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/22 Automatic class or number identification arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/50 Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers H04M3/487 takes precedence; centralised dictation systems H04M11/10; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/00 Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/00 Selecting arrangements H04Q5/00 - H04Q11/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0016 Arrangements providing connection between exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/72 Finding out and indicating number of calling subscriber

Abstract

This invention relates to arrangements for providing a new spontaneous voice message service to any telephone customer at any telephone station when that customer encounters any destination that is busy or that does not answer. When a customer having a dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) station calls any destination that is busy or does not answer, the customer is invited, via an announcement identifying the new service, to record the caller'"'"'s voice message. The announcement accompanies the returned busy tone or audible ring signal. The customer keys *867(=*VMS) and is then connected to a Voice Message Operations Center (VMOC) which prompts the customer to record the message. Advantageously, customers need not redial a VMOC number, their own number, and a destination number to reach a VMOC for storing the video message; the added convenience of this arrangement should stimulate substantial additional use of voice message service. The announcement, at very low cost, makes the customers aware of the service at the time they are most likely to use the service.

Claims

1. A telephone switching office comprising:

means for detecting dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) signals; and

processor means, operative under the control of a program stored therein, and responsive to reception of a call comprising an identification of a called station, for controlling the extension of said call to a destination switching office for serving said called station, and for connecting said means for detecting to said call to detect a voice message request signal comprising a DTMF signal, and further responsive to detecting said voice message request signal, for controlling the extension of said call to and for signaling said identification to a voice message operations center (VMOC) means for recording voice messages.

2. The switching office of claim 1 further comprising announcing means for announcing availability of voice message service, wherein said processor means is further operative under the control of said program for connecting said announcing means to said call in response to reception of said call.

3. The switching office of claim 1 wherein said processor means is further operative under the control of said program for requesting an identity of a a calling station of said call and, responsive to receiving said identity, for signaling said identity to said VMOC means.

4. Voice message operations center (VMOC) means for storing voice messages for any customer station served by a plurality of serving offices, comprising:

storage means for storing voice messages;

announcing means;

processor means, operative under the control of a program stored therein, and responsive to reception of an incoming call, and to reception of an identity of a called one of said any stations served by one of said plurality of serving offices, received as a data message from a telephone switching office, for controlling storing a voice message in said storage means;

said processor means further operative under the control of said program for controlling announcement of said called station identity to a calling station, for requesting a confirmation signal from said calling station, and for rejecting said voice message if no confirmation signal is received.

5. A method of establishing a voice message connection from a calling customer station to a voice message operations center (VMCO) means, comprising the steps of:

extending a call, received in a first switching office from said calling station to a called station, to a destination switching office for serving said called station;

signaling an identity of said called station received with said call in said first switching system from said first switching office to said VMOC means using a common channel signaling (CCS) message;

announcing, to said calling station, a voice message indicating the availability of voice message service for storing a voice message for subsequent delivery to said called station;

monitoring said calling station for a disconnect signal;

monitoring said call for an answer signal from said destination switching office;

monitoring said calling station to detect a dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) signal for requesting said service;

in response to detecting an answer signal, discontinuing the step of monitoring for said DTMF signal;

in response to detecting a disconnect signal, disconnecting said call and discontinuing the step of monitoring for said DTMF signal;

responsive to detection of said DTMF signal, extending said call from said first switching office to said voice message operations center (VMOC) means for storing voice messages addressed to customer stations served by a plurality of serving offices;

identifying said calling station;

signaling an identity of said calling station from said first switching office to said VMOC means using a CCS message;

recording a message from said calling station at said VMOC means;

transmitting said voice message from said VMOC means to said called station, said called station being identified by said identity of said called station signaled from said first switching office to said VMOC means; and

transmitting a confirmation message from said VMOC means to said calling station, said calling station being identified by said identity of said calling station signaled from said first switching office.

6. A call processing method for a common carrier network arrangement including message operations center (MOC) means for serving any called stations servable by said network wherein said MOC means comprises a plurality of means for storing different types of messages, comprising:

responsive to reception in a switching office of a spontaneous message service request signal on a call, extending said call from said switching office to said MOC means for storage of a message; and

transmitting to said MOC means the identification of said any called station of said call to identify a station to which said stored message is to be subsequently delivered;

wherein said extending comprises;

responsive to reception in a switching office of a spontaneous message request signal on a call, said signal for specifying one of a plurality of requests for different types of messages, extending said call to one of said plurality of means for storing a message of the type requested by said request signal.