Voice mail system and method with subscriber selection of agent personalities telephone user interface address book and time zone awareness

• US 6,546,084 B1
• Filed: 02/02/1999
• Issued: 04/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Castagna, William D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Foster, Roland G
• Application Number:
  US09/243,212
• Time in Patent Office: 1,526 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/88.11, 379/88.13, 379/88.16, 379/88.19, 379/88.2, 379/88.21, 379/88.22, 379/88.23, 379/93.01, 379/93.17, 379/142, 379/201, 379/201.01, 379/142.07, 379/142.04, 379/142.1, 379/142.11
• US Class Current: 379/88.12
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/14 Delay circuits; Timers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2011 Service processing based on information specified by a party before or during a call, e.g. information, tone or routing selection
• 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 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42093 Notifying the calling party of information on the called or connected party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/44 Additional connecting arrangements for providing access to frequently-wanted subscribers, e.g. abbreviated dialling at the subscriber's set H04M1/27; automatic redialling H04M3/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/527 Centralised call answering arrangements not requiring operator intervention
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53333 Message receiving aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53383 Message registering commands or announcements; Greetings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/548 with remote control

Abstract

A system for indicating to a message subscriber when a message has been left for that subscriber accommodates multiple time zones by providing information to the subscriber related to the subscriber'"'"'s time zone indicating that the message was left. When the caller leaves his message, the caller'"'"'s time zone is determined based the caller'"'"'s phone number'"'"'s time zone determined from a database corresponding these data. Then the subscriber'"'"'s local time zone is determined. The difference in time zones is determined and the time indicated to the subscriber is related to the subscriber'"'"'s time zone, not the caller'"'"'s, by adding or subtracting the appropriate amount of time indicated by the difference in time between the time zones to give the subscriber the time of the call in the subscriber'"'"'s local zone.

Claims

1. A method for voice messaging, comprising:

detecting a phone number of a phone from which a call is being made;

determining a time of the call;

determining a first time zone associated with the phone number of the phone and based on a database relating phone number area codes and prefixes to time zones;

determining a second time zone associated with a called party;

determining the difference in time zones between the first time zone and the second time zone; and

indicating a local time of the call, in the second time zone, to the called party, based on the time of the call and the difference in time zones.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving and storing a predefined time zone.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein indicating the local time of the call comprises:

indicating the local time of the call, in a predefined time zone.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

detecting a phone number of a second phone to which the call is directed.

5. The method of clam 4 wherein indicating the local time of the call comprises:

indicating the local time of the call, in the predefined time zone, to the second phone.

6. A telephone system comprising:

a clock;

a database relating area codes and prefixes of phone numbers with time zones; and

a processor comprising instructions, that when executed, cause the processor to perform the following;

detecting a phone number of a phone from which a call is being made;

determining, from the clock, a time of the call;

determining, from the database, a first time zone associated with the phone number of the phone;

determining a second time zone associated with a called party;

determining the difference in time zones between the first time zone and the second time zone; and

indicating a local time of the call, in the second time zone, to the called party, based on the time of the call and the difference in time zones.

7. The telephone system of claim 6 wherein the database also relates portions of phone numbers with cities and countries.

8. The telephone system of claim 6 wherein the second time zone is a predefined time zone.

9. The telephone system of claim 6 wherein the second time zone is a time zone of a phone of the called party.

10. The telephone system of claim 6 wherein the processor further performs:

indicating the local time of the call to a phone of the called party.