Automated voice mail/answering machine greeting system
First Claim
1. A method for providing an automated greeting for a voice mail or answering machine system, comprising the following steps:
- (a) retrievably storing greeting text, including identification of each user providing said greeting text, and relevant date and relevant time information associated with each said greeting text;
(b) upon detection of an incoming call from a telephone directed to said user, determining incoming date and incoming time of said call;
(c) comparing said incoming date and incoming time of said call with stored greeting text for said user to identify any said stored greeting text whose associated said relevant date is identical to said incoming date of said call and to further identify any said stored greeting text whose relevant date is identical to said incoming date and whose associated said relevant time defines a time window within which said incoming time of said call occurs;
(d) retrieving any said stored greeting text identified in step (c) as having identity of said relevant date and said incoming date, and having said incoming time occurring within a window defined by said relevant time, text so identified being termed as step (c) identified greeting text, and converting any said step (c) identified greeting text to voice, wherein any of a chosen list of words in said step (c) identified greeting text may be deleted; and
(e) audibly coupling to said telephone text that was converted in step (d) to voice;
wherein unless said call is answered by a human, a caller hears on said telephone text converted at step (e) as relevant to said date and time as said automated greeting.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automated voice mail/answering machine greeting system includes a computer system having a real time clock, a CPU, and persistent memory that stores data representing appointment text data for potential callees. The text data may be downloaded into the memory from PIMs associated with the callees. The stored text identifies each callee, appropriate dates, time ranges, and message text, including message text flagged as personal. The stored data can also include global data such as holidays. If a callee does not answer an incoming telephone call, the present date and time are compared against any stored appointment text data for the callee. If no such data is stored, a telephone answering machine can play a default message. But if stored data exists for the present date and time, the data is retrieved from persistent memory and preferably buffered. Absent a user-input flag marking it as personal, the buffered data is converted from text to synthesized voice. A switch mechanism then couples the now vocalized data to the answering machine, which causes the vocalized data to be heard by the caller.
87 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for providing an automated greeting for a voice mail or answering machine system, comprising the following steps:
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(a) retrievably storing greeting text, including identification of each user providing said greeting text, and relevant date and relevant time information associated with each said greeting text; (b) upon detection of an incoming call from a telephone directed to said user, determining incoming date and incoming time of said call; (c) comparing said incoming date and incoming time of said call with stored greeting text for said user to identify any said stored greeting text whose associated said relevant date is identical to said incoming date of said call and to further identify any said stored greeting text whose relevant date is identical to said incoming date and whose associated said relevant time defines a time window within which said incoming time of said call occurs; (d) retrieving any said stored greeting text identified in step (c) as having identity of said relevant date and said incoming date, and having said incoming time occurring within a window defined by said relevant time, text so identified being termed as step (c) identified greeting text, and converting any said step (c) identified greeting text to voice, wherein any of a chosen list of words in said step (c) identified greeting text may be deleted; and (e) audibly coupling to said telephone text that was converted in step (d) to voice; wherein unless said call is answered by a human, a caller hears on said telephone text converted at step (e) as relevant to said date and time as said automated greeting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system that provides an automated greeting for a voice mail or answering machine system, comprising:
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a computer system including a CPU, persistent storage, and a real time clock; said persistent storage storing greeting text, including identification of each user providing said greeting text, and storing relevant date and relevant time information associated with each said greeting text; means for detecting an incoming call from a telephone directed to said user and for determining an incoming date and incoming time of said call; said computer system being programmed to compare said incoming date and incoming time of said call with stored said greeting text for said user to identify any said greeting text whose said relevant date is identical to said incoming date of said call and to further identify any said greeting text whose said relevant time defines a time window within which said incoming time of said call occurs, wherein stored said greeting text so identified with respect to relevant data and relevant time is denoted as relevant date-time greeting text; said computer system being further programmed to retrieve any said relevant date-time greeting text and being programmable to delete any of a chosen list of words in retrieved said relevant date-time greeting text; a text-to-voice converter, coupled to receive as input retrieved said relevant date-time greeting text, and to vocalize said relevant date-time greeting text; and means for audibly coupling the vocalized said relevant date-time greeting text to said telephone unless said call is answered by a human, such that a caller hears as said automated greeting information on said telephone provided on behalf of said user relevant to said incoming date and incoming time. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification