System and method for internet call management with text-to-speech messaging

• US 6,404,860 B1
• Filed: 02/09/2000
• Issued: 06/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: SS8 Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Casellini, Theodore E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Escalante, Ovidio
• Application Number:
  US09/501,059
• Time in Patent Office: 853 Days
• Field of Search: 379/93.23, 379/142, 379/210, 379/211, 379/212, 379/88.19, 379/88.17, 379/88.13, 379/88.12, 379/88.11, 379/88.21, 379/204, 379/215.01, 379/93.35, 379/88.2, 379/88.16, 379/93.15, 379/93.17, 370/352
• US Class Current: 379/88.17
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/575 Means for retrieving and displaying personal data about calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4281 when the called subscriber is connected to a data network using his telephone line, e.g. dial-up connection, Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0033 Notification or handling of incoming calls by a computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network

Abstract

A call management system provides an Internet call management service that permits a subscriber to receive information about incoming calls, and provides a personal message to the caller over a voice channel. The caller may be given a personal notification, as a spoken audio message that includes the callers'"'"'s name, advising the caller that a personal message is forthcoming and requesting that the caller stand by to receive the personal message. The subscriber enters the personal message as text, which is transmitted over a data channel to the call management system. The call management system converts the text message into speech, and then “reads” the message as a spoken, audio message to the caller, using the voice channel over which the call was received by the call management system.

Claims

1. A system for managing telephone calls, comprising:

a data channel;

a voice channel;

a call management system, coupled to the data channel and voice channel, the call management system including a central processing unit, and one or more call management applications, executable by the central processing unit, for handling an incoming call placed by a caller to a subscriber;

the one or more call management applications including instructions for;

collecting information about the incoming call placed by the caller to the subscriber, the collected information including the callers'"'"'s name;

transmitting over a data channel notification of the incoming call to a computer associated with the subscriber;

receiving a subscriber entered command transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer over the data channel;

in response to receiving the transmitted command, transmitting a first message, to the caller over the voice channel to inform the caller that a second message from the subscriber is forthcoming; and

transmitting a personal audio message to the caller over the voice channel, the personal audio message including the determined callers'"'"'s name.

2. The system of claim 1, the one or more call management applications further including instructions for:

receiving a subscriber-originated message transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer over the data channel; and

transmitting the subscriber-originated message to the caller over the voice channel.

3. The system of claim 2, where the subscriber-originated message transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer is a text message;

the one or more call management applications further including a procedure for converting the subscriber-originated message into speech prior to transmitting the message to the caller.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the data channel includes a data connection through the Internet.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the data channel includes a data connection through the Internet.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first message includes the callers'"'"'s name.

7. A method for managing telephone calls, comprising the steps of:

with respect to an incoming call by a caller to a subscriber, determining the callers'"'"'s name;

transmitting over a data channel notification of the incoming call to a computer associated with the subscriber, the notification including the determined callers'"'"'s name;

receiving a subscriber entered command transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer over the data channel;

in response to receiving the transmitted command, transmitting a first message to the caller over a voice channel to inform the caller that a second message from the subscriber is forthcoming; and

transmitting to the caller over the voice channel a personal audio message specified by transmitted command, the personal audio message including the determined callers'"'"'s name.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first message includes the callers'"'"'s name.

9. A method for managing telephone calls, comprising the steps of:

transmitting, over a data channel to a computer associated with a subscriber, notification of an incoming call placed by a caller to the subscriber;

receiving subscriber entered commands transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer over the data channel;

in response to receiving at least one of the transmitted commands, transmitting a first message to the caller over a voice channel to inform the caller that a second message from the subscriber is forthcoming;

receiving a message, comprising the second message, transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer over the data channel; and

transmitting the second message as a spoken, audio message to the caller over the voice channel.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the message transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer is a text message;

the method including converting the message into speech prior to transmitting the message to the caller.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the data channel includes a data connection through the Internet.

12. A method for managing telephone calls, comprising the steps of:

transmitting, over a data channel to a computer associated with a subscriber, notification of an incoming call placed by a caller to the subscriber;

receiving a subscriber entered command transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer over the data channel;

in response to receiving the transmitted command, transmitting a first message to the caller over a voice channel to inform the caller that a second message from the subscriber is forthcoming;

receiving a text message transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer over the data channel;

translating the text message to speech; and

transmitting the translated text message as a spoken, audio message to the caller over the voice channel.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the data channel includes a data connection through the Internet.

14. A method for managing telephone calls, comprising the steps of:

transmitting notification to a subscriber'"'"'s computer over a data channel of an incoming call placed by a caller to the subscriber;

receiving a subscriber entered command transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer over the data channel;

determining the callers'"'"'s name;

in response to receiving the transmitted command, transmitting a first message, including the callers'"'"'s name, to the caller over the voice channel to inform the caller that a second message from the subscriber is forthcoming;

receiving a text message transmitted from the subscriber'"'"'s computer over the data channel;

translating the text message to speech; and

transmitting the translated text message as a spoken, audio message to the caller over the voice channel.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the data channel includes a data connection through the Internet.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the spoken, audio message includes the callers'"'"'s name.