Localized voice mail system
First Claim
1. In a voice mail system having a central voice message server for delivering voice messages to a first cellular telephone, a method comprising:
- storing a voice signal as a voice message on the central voice message server;
selecting, using the first cellular telephone, whether the central voice message server will transmit the stored voice message in a digital voice stream format at a playback transmission rate or in a computer file format at a file storage rate;
transmitting the stored voice message from the central voice message server to the first cellular telephone in the selected format; and
transferring the voice message wirelessly from the first cellular telephone to a second cellular telephone, either in stream format at a playback transmission rate or in a computer file format at a file storage rate, without interaction with the central voice message server.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to a system and method for using a localized voice mail system that allows voice mail messages on a cellular telephone network to be stored on a remote server or other computer. These messages can be stored on a server of the cellular network or of the cellular telephone service subscriber. The method further entails downloading copies of the stored messages into another computer or a cellular telephone'"'"'s memory. In this embodiment, a cellular telephone can retrieve voice mail messages even when the cellular telephone is roaming or cannot pick up a carrier signal. In another embodiment, a method is described for organizing voice mail messages stored in a cellular telephone'"'"'s memory into convenient groups, directories or folders formatted to be compatible with the computer and cellular telephone.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. In a voice mail system having a central voice message server for delivering voice messages to a first cellular telephone, a method comprising:
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storing a voice signal as a voice message on the central voice message server;
selecting, using the first cellular telephone, whether the central voice message server will transmit the stored voice message in a digital voice stream format at a playback transmission rate or in a computer file format at a file storage rate;
transmitting the stored voice message from the central voice message server to the first cellular telephone in the selected format; and
transferring the voice message wirelessly from the first cellular telephone to a second cellular telephone, either in stream format at a playback transmission rate or in a computer file format at a file storage rate, without interaction with the central voice message server. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
receiving the voice message in the first cellular telephone; and
storing the voice message in a computer readable medium in the first cellular telephone.
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3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
compressing the voice message before storing the voice message in the first cellular telephone.
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4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of storing the voice message further comprises:
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a caller requesting to leave a voice message on the central voice message server;
recording the voice message on the central voice message server in a computer readable format; and
storing the voice message in memory designated for the voice message.
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5. The method of claim 4, wherein the voice message is compressed before storing in memory.
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6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
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synchronizing the first cellular telephone with the central voice message server;
accessing memory designated for voice messages in the central voice message server;
downloading to the first cellular telephone any messages found in the designated memory; and
storing the voice messages in memory of the first cellular telephone.
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7. The method of claim 6, wherein the voice messages are compressed before storing in the memory of the first cellular telephone.
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8. The method of claim 6, wherein the messages are compressed before downloading any messages to the first cellular telephone.
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9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transferring the voice message further comprises:
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establishing a wireless link between the first and second cellular telephones;
selecting the voice message to transfer from the memory of the first cellular telephone;
transmitting the voice message from the first cellular telephone to a receiver of the second cellular telephone in computer readable format;
receiving the voice message by the second cellular phone; and
storing the voice message in memory of the second cellular telephone.
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10. The method of claim 9, wherein the voice message is compressed before storing in the second cellular telephone'"'"'s memory.
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11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
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synchronizing the first cellular telephone with a personal computer;
selecting the voice mail message from computer readable medium of the first cellular telephone; and
copying the selected message from the computer readable medium of the first cellular telephone to memory in the personal computer.
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12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
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organizing voice messages on the personal computer into a grouping of voice messages in a format compatible with the personal computer and the first cellular telephone; and
copying the grouping of voice mail messages from the personal computer to the first cellular telephone, whereby the grouping facilitates quick retrieval of a voice message in the grouping.
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13. A first cellular telephone comprising:
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a radio frequency unit enabling transmission and reception of voice messages between the first cellular telephone and a central voice message server;
a voice output means;
a memory for storing one or more of the voice messages received from the central voice message server;
an input/output device allowing user-selection of a first operation or a second operation, wherein the first operation requests and receives voice messages through the radio frequency unit from a voice message server as a digital voice stream for immediate playback through the voice output means and the second operation requests and receives voice messages from the voice message server as a digital computer file for storage in the memory, and wherein the input/output device allows user-selection of a third operation, wherein the third operation transmits a voice message from the memory through the radio frequency unit to a second cellular telephone as either a digital voice stream or as digital computer file for storage in a memory of the second cellular telephone, without interaction with the voice message server. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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Specification