System and method to enable a calling party to verify delivery and to cancel stored facsimiles

• US 6,546,085 B1
• Filed: 10/29/1999
• Issued: 04/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Brockman, Richard James, Sands, Phillip Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoosain, Allan
• Application Number:
  US09/430,510
• Time in Patent Office: 1,257 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/74, 379/88.12, 379/88.13, 379/100.01, 379/88.04, 379/88.19, 379/88.2, 379/88.21, 379/88.22, 379/88.23, 379/88.24
• US Class Current: 379/88.13
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/64 Automatic arrangements for answering calls; Automatic arrangements for recording messages for absent subscribers; Arrangements for recording conversations centralised dictation systems H04M11/10

Abstract

A system and method that enables a calling party to verify delivery and/or cancel stored facsimiles. This advance is achieved by a voice mail system that receives incoming telephone calls and compares an incoming caller ID with caller ID'"'"'s stored in conjunction with previous faxes. If a caller ID of the incoming call matches a caller ID in the database, (i.e., the calling party has previously left a fax) then the calling party is presented with a menu of options. The menu may include determining whether the called party has accessed the voice mail system but did not print or delete the fax message, and if the fax has not already been deleted, the calling party may delete the fax.

Claims

1. A method for use in a voice message system comprising the steps of:

in a voice messaging system for serving a called party, receiving an incoming call from a calling party;

comparing a received calling line identification with stored calling line identifications, corresponding to stored fax messages;

determining whether the voice messaging system is currently storing one or more fax messages previously left by the calling party for the called party based on the comparing;

presenting the calling party with a menu of actions for selectively deleting a stored fax message if the calling party previously left a fax message; and

deleting a fax message currently stored and previously left by the calling party according to instructions from the calling party.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein a calling line identification of the calling party is delivered with the call, and wherein the step of determining whether the calling party previously left one or more faxes comprises comparing the calling line identification with a data base of calling line identifications associated with stored faxes.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, further including the step of informing the calling party whether the one or more fax messages have been accessed.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the step of changing one or more messages comprises deleting one or more faxes.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1, further including the step of recording an additional fax message for the called party.

6. A voice mail apparatus comprising:

a recording device for recording and playing back faxes;

a calling line identification memory device configured to store a calling line identification associated with each recorded fax;

means connected to said recording device and said calling line identification memory device configured to receive a calling line identification for determining whether the received calling line identification is stored in the calling line identification memory device by comparing the received and stored calling line identifications;

means responsive to the determining means for determining that the received calling line identification is stored, for presenting the calling party with a menu of options for selectively deleting a previously recorded fax; and

means responsive to input from the calling party for deleting the previously recorded fax.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, further including a DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency) detector connected to the means for deleting the previously recorded message configured to interpret DTMF input from the calling party.