Control of transmission of electronic mail in voice message form

• US 5,999,594 A
• Filed: 12/14/1995
• Issued: 12/07/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Fukagawa, Hiroshi, Mizoguchi, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan S.
• Application Number:
  US08/572,715
• Time in Patent Office: 1,454 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67, 379/88, 379/89, 379/100, 379/88.13, 379/88.14, 379/88.17, 379/88.18, 379/88.25, 379/88.26
• US Class Current: 379/88.14
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/65 Recording arrangements for recording a message from the calling party in the exchange H04M3/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4509 Unified messaging with single point of access to voicemail and other mail or messaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53366 Message disposing or creating aspects

Abstract

An electronic mail system for transmitting a voice message from a telephone to a mail terminal equipment using an electronic mail, a destination identifier and a voice message are inputted from the telephone. A voice signal is generated in correspondence to the voice message and the destination identifier and the voice signal are transmitted from the telephone to a transceiver apparatus via a telephone line network. In the transceiver apparatus, a voice file is produced from the voice signal received from the telephone via the telephone line network and then the electronic mail is produced from the voice file and the destination identifier. The electronic mail is transmitted to the mail terminal equipment having a voice output function via a local area network (LAN). The mail terminal equipment reproduces the voice message from the voice file of the electronic mail using the voice output function.

Claims

1. An electronic mail system for a voice message, comprising:

a telephone connected to a telephone line network, for inputting a destination identifier and inputting a voice signal for a voice message;

a mail terminal equipment having a voice output function to output said voice message from a voice file, and connected to a local area network (LAN); and

an electronic mail transmitting apparatus connected to the telephone line network and the LAN, for receiving the voice signal and the destination identifier from said telephone via the telephone line network, for performing a first conversion of the voice signal into the voice file to produce an electronic mail from the voice file and the destination identifier, and for transmitting said electronic mail to said mail terminal equipment via the LAN,

wherein said mail terminal equipment reproduces the voice message from the voice file of the electronic mail using the voice output function without sending the voice file to said electronic mail transmitting apparatus,

wherein said mail terminal equipment is capable of inputting another voice signal and performing a second conversion of said another voice signal into another voice file, and

wherein said second conversion is the same as said first conversion.

2. An electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic mail transmitting apparatus includes:

a conversion table for storing identifiers and LAN addresses respectively corresponding to the identifiers;

receiving means for receiving the destination identifier and the voice signal;

address converting means for referring to said conversion table to read out the LAN address based on the destination identifier when the destination identifier is received by said receiving means;

voice signal converting means for converting the voice signal into said voice file when the voice signal is received by said receiving means; and

mail producing means for producing the electronic mail from the LAN address and the voice file to transmit the electronic mail to said mail terminal equipment.

3. An electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein said electronic mail transmitting apparatus further includes voice guidance means responsive to a call from said telephone, for generating and transmitting voice guidance to said telephone.

4. An electronic mail system according to claim 3, wherein said voice guidance means generates and transmits a different type of voice guidance in response to the reception of the destination identifier.

5. An electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein said telephone is a push button phone and the destination identifier is transmitted from said telephone to said electronic mail transmitting apparatus as a push button (PB) signal.

6. A method of transmitting a voice message from a telephone to a mail terminal equipment using an electronic mail, comprising the steps of:

inputting a destination identifier and a voice signal for a voice message from said telephone;

transmitting the destination identifier and the voice signal from said telephone via a telephone line network;

producing, in an interface, a voice file from the voice signal received from said telephone via said telephone line network to produce the electronic mail from the voice file and the destination identifier;

transmitting, using an electronic mail transmitting apparatus, said electronic mail to a mail terminal equipment having a voice output function via a local area network (LAN); and

reproducing the voice message from the voice file of the electronic mail using the voice output function in said mail terminal equipment without sending the voice file to said electronic mail transmitting apparatus,

wherein said step of producing includes converting said voice signal into said voice file in a first converson,

wherein said mail terminal equipment is capable of inputting another voice signal and performing a second conversion of said another voice signal into another voice file, and

wherein said second conversion is the same as said first conversion.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein said producing step comprises the steps of:

receiving the destination identifier and the voice signal from said telephone via said telephone line network;

referring to a conversion table storing identifiers and LAN addresses respectively corresponding to the identifiers to read out the LAN address based on the destination identifier;

performing said first conversion of converting said voice signal into said voice file; and

producing the electronic mail from the LAN address and the voice file to transmit the electronic mail to said mail terminal equipment.

8. A method according to claim 6, wherein said inputting step comprises the steps of:

issuing a call to said mail terminal equipment;

generating a first voice guidance in response to said call such that said first voice guidance is outputted from said telephone;

inputting the destination identifier in response to said first voice guidance;

generating, a second voice guidance in response to said destination identifier such that said second voice guidance is outputted from said telephone;

inputting the voice message in response to said second voice guidance.

9. A method according to claim 6, wherein said telephone is a push button phone and the destination identifier is transmitted from said telephone to said interface as a push button (PB) signal.

10. An electronic mail system for a voice message, comprising:

a first telephone connected to a telephone line network, for inputting a first destination identifier and inputting a first voice signal for a first voice message;

a second telephone connected to the telephone line network, for receiving a second voice signal via the telephone line network to reproduce a second voice message from the second voice signal;

an electronic mail transceiver apparatus connected to the telephone line network and a local area network (LAN), for receiving the first voice signal and the first destination identifier from said first telephone via the telephone line network, for performing a first conversion of the first voice signal into a first voice file to produce a first electronic mail from the first voice file and the first destination identifier such that the first electronic mail is transmitted on the LAN, and for receiving a second voice file with a second destination identifier as a second electronic mail via the LAN, for performing a second conversion to produce the second voice signal from the second voice file, to transmit the second voice signal to said second telephone in accordance with the second destination identifier; and

a mail terminal equipment connected to the LAN and having a voice output function and voice input function, for reproducing the first voice message from the first electronic mail transmitted from said electronic mail transceiver apparatus using the voice output function without transmitting the first electronic mail to said electronic mail transceiver apparatus, and for inputting the second voice message and the second destination identifier using the voice input function without being called by said electronic mail transceiver apparatus to convert the second voice message into the second voice file such that the second voice file with the second destination identifier is transmitted to said electronic mail transceiver apparatus,

wherein said mail terminal equipment is capable of inputting a third voice signal and performing a third conversion of said third voice signal into a third voice file, and

wherein said third conversion is the same as said first conversion.

11. An electronic mail system according to claim 10, wherein said electronic mail transceiver apparatus includes:

a conversion table for storing identifiers, LAN addresses respectively corresponding to the identifiers, and telephone numbers respectively corresponding to the identifiers;

transceiver means for receiving the first destination identifier and the first voice signal from said first telephone via the telephone network and for receiving a telephone number and the second voice signal to call said second telephone based on the telephone number to transmit the second voice signal via the telephone line network;

referring means for referring to said conversion table to read out the LAN address based on the first destination identifier when the first destination identifier is received by said transceiver means and to read out the telephone number based on the second destination identifier;

voice signal converting means for converting the first voice signal received by said transceiver means into the first voice file and for converting the second voice file into the second voice signal to supply to said transceiver means; and

mail producing means for producing an electronic mail from the LAN address and the first voice file to transmit the electronic mail to said mail terminal equipment.

12. An electronic mail system according to claim 11, wherein said electronic mail transceiver apparatus further includes voice guidance means responsive to a call and inputs from said first telephone, for generating and transmitting different types of voice guidance to said first telephone.

13. An electronic mail system according to claim 10, wherein said first telephone is a push button phone and the first destination identifier is transmitted from said first telephone to said electronic mail transmitting apparatus as a push button (PB) signal.

18. An electronic mail system according to claim 10, wherein the first destination identifier is transmitted to said transceiver apparatus as a push button (PB) signal.

14. An electronic mail system for a voice message, including an interface apparatus between a telephone line and a local area network (LAN) and a mail terminal equipment, comprising:

a conversion table for storing identifiers and LAN addresses respectively corresponding to the identifiers;

transceiver means for receiving a first destination identifier and a first voice signal from the telephone line;

referring means for referring to said conversion table to read out the LAN address based on the first destination identifier;

voice signal converting means for performing a first conversion of the first voice signal received by said transceiver means into the first voice file; and

mail producing means for producing a first electronic mail from the LAN address and the first voice file to transmit the electronic mail onto said LAN for forwarding to the mail terminal equipment,

wherein the mail terminal equipment is capable of inputting another voice signal and performing a second conversion of said another voice signal into another voice file, and

wherein said second conversion is the same as said first conversion.

15. An electronic mail system according to claim 14, wherein said electronic mail transceiver apparatus further includes voice guidance means responsive to an incoming call via said telephone line, for generating different types of voice guidance.

16. A transceiver apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said conversion table further stores telephone numbers respectively corresponding to the identifiers, and

wherein said transceiver means further includes means for receiving a telephone number and a third voice signal to issue a call based on the telephone number for transmitting the third voice signal onto the telephone line, and

wherein said referring means further includes means for referring to said conversion table to read out the telephone number based on a second destination identifier for supplying the telephone number to said transceiver means, and

wherein said voice signal converting means further includes means for receiving a second electronic mail to convert a third voice file of the second electronic mail into the third voice signal for supplying the third voice signal to said transceiver means.

17. An electronic mail system according to claim 16, wherein said electronic mail transceiver apparatus further includes voice guidance means responsive to a call from said first telephone, for generating and transmitting different types of voice guidance onto said telephone line.