Realcall message delivery system with echo cancellation

• US 7,151,821 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2001
• Issued: 12/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emergency Communications Network LLC (Onsolve, LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Broadcast Team Incorporated
• Inventors: Tuttle, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Phan, Joseph T
• Application Number:
  US09/805,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20010017913A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,107 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.22, 379/88.23, 379/67.1, 379/68, 379/69, 379/70, 379/88.18, 379/88.24, 379/88.26
• US Class Current: 379/69
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2749 Automatic dialling or redialling systems, e.g. on off-hook or redial on busy
• 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 2203/2016 Call initiation by network rather than by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2027 Live party detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/002 Applications of echo suppressors or cancellers in telephonic connections in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/08, echo suppressors or cancellers per se H04B3/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5158 in combination with automated outdialling systems devices for signalling identity of wanted subscriber H04M1/26

Abstract

Interactive system for responding to conditions after an answering machine has been detected in an automatic telephone number dialing and announcing system so that realistic sounding recorded messages can be delivered without truncation. The system starts by: placing a telephone call to an answering machine; playing a recorded message onto the answering machine; monitoring the machine for echo cancellation sounds (sounds emanating from the answering machine) while simultaneously playing the message; repeating the playing of said message onto the answering machine while monitoring for echo cancellation sounds; and continuing to play the message until there are no echo cancellation sounds whereby the recorded message is launched unto the answering machine and continues playing the message to completion. If there are greater than three occurrences of echo cancellation sounds, then the system avoids further resetting steps and proceeds to play the recorded message onto the answering machine without further interruption.

Claims

1. An automated method of delivering a recorded information message via a telephone dialing system to an automated recorder while simultaneously monitoring the recorder for echo cancellation signals, comprising the steps of:

(a)(i) placing a telephone call to a telephone number of an answering machine, the telephone number being selected from a database of telephone numbers;

(a)(ii) detecting a signal being emitted from the answering machine;

(a)(iii) under a two tiered method, determining if the detected signal is either a continuous noise signal tone over a first time period or is a period of silence over a second time period, the first time period being different from the second time period;

(b)(i) playing the recorded information message onto the answering machine after a third time period following the first time period of the continuous noise signal tone;

(b)(ii) playing the recorded information message onto the answering machine after a fourth time period following the second time period of the period of silence;

(c) monitoring the answering machine for echo cancellation break signals while simultaneously playing the recorded message;

(d) repeating steps (a)(i) (b)(i),(b)(ii) and (c) for less than three echo cancellation break signals; and

(e) continuing to play the recorded message if there are either no echo cancellation signals or there are at least three echo cancellation break signals, wherein the method overcomes problems with premature launching of the recorded message so that the recorded message is launched closer to the time when the answering machine begins recording, and the recorded message is delivered in a nontruncated form, so that the recorded message is recorded completely by the answering machine; and

(f) repeating the above steps until at least a pass through of all the telephone numbers from the database have been called.

2. The automated method of delivering the recorded information message of claim 1, wherein the echo cancellation signals includes:

sounds being emitted from the answering machine.

3. The automated method of delivering the recorded information message of claim 1, wherein step(d) further includes:

repeating step(b) for less than three sound occurrences.

4. The automated method of delivering the recorded information message of claim 1, wherein step(e) further includes:

continuing to play the recorded message if there are at least three echo cancellation signals.

5. The automated method of delivering the recorded information message of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(f) removing echo signal monitoring and continuing to play the recorded message to completion.

6. The automated system for delivering recorded information messages of claim 1, wherein the answering machine of step(a) is chosen from one of:

a tape machine, a digital machine, a pager, a telephone provider voice/memory call machine, and a cellular machine.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected time period of the solid tone emission is approximately one second.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first selected time period is approximately one second, and the second selected time period is approximately two seconds.

9. An automated method of delivering a recorded information message via a telephone dialing system to an automated recorder while simultaneously monitoring the recorder for echo cancellation signals, comprising the steps of:

(a)(i) placing a telephone call to an answering machine;

(a)(ii) under a two tier method, alternatively detecting for both a continuous solid tone being emitted from the answering machine over a first time period, or for a silence response from the answering machine over a second time period, wherein the first time period is different from the second time period;

(b)(i) playing the recorded information message onto the answering machine, following a third time period from the first time period of the continuous solid tone;

(b)(ii) playing the recorded information message onto the answering machine, following a fourth time period from the second time period of the silence response;

(c) monitoring the answering machine for echo cancellation break signals while simultaneously playing the recorded message;

(d) repeating steps (a)(i), (b)(i), (b)(ii) (c) for less than three echo cancellation break signals; and

(e) continuing to play the recorded message if there are either no echo cancellation break signals or if there are at least three echo cancellation break signals, wherein the method overcomes problems with premature launching of the recorded message so that the recorded message is launched closer to the time when the answering machine begins recording, and wherein the recorded message is delivered in a nontruncated form, so that the recorded message is recorded completely by the answering machine.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first time period of the solid tone emission is approximately one second and the second time period for the silent response is approximately two seconds.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

(a)(iii) detecting for a subsequent silence response over a subsequent time period after expiration of the first time period for the detection of the solid tone emission from the answering machine, the subsequent time period being different from the first time period.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first time period is approximately one second, and the subsequent time period is approximately two seconds.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

(a)(iii) detecting for a subsequent silence response over a subsequent time period after expiration of the second time period for the detection of the silence response from the answering machine, the subsequent time period being different from the second time period.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second time period is approximately two seconds and the subsequent time period is approximately one second.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

(a)(iii) detecting for a first subsequent silence response over a first subsequent time period after expiration of the first time period for the detection of the solid tone emission from the answering machine, the first subsequent time period being different from the first time period; and

detecting for a second subsequent silence response over a second subsequent time period after expiration of the second time period for the detection of the silence response from the answering machine, the second subsequent time period being different from the second time period.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first time period is approximately one second and the second time period is approximately two seconds.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first subsequent time period is approximately two seconds, and the second subsequent time period is approximately one second.

18. An automated system for delivering a recorded information message via a telephone dialing system to an automated recorder while simultaneously monitoring the recorder for echo cancellation signals, comprising:

means placing a telephone call to an answering machine;

two tier means for alternatively detecting for both a continuous solid tone being emitted from the answering machine over a first time period, or for detecting a silence response from the answering machine over a second time period, wherein the first time period is different from the second time period;

first tier means for playing the recorded information message onto the answering machine after a third time period following the first time period of the continuously solid tone;

second tier means for playing the recorded information message onto the answering machine after a fourth time period following the second time period of the silence response;

means for continuously monitoring the answering machine for echo cancellation break signals while simultaneously playing the recorded message from the first tier means and from the second tier means;

means for repeating said two tier means, said first tier means and said second tier means when there are less than three echo cancellation break signals; and

means for continuing to play the recorded message if there are either no echo cancellation break signals or there are at least three echo cancellation break signals, wherein the system overcomes problems with premature launching of the recorded message so that the recorded message is launched closer to the time when the answering machine begins recording, wherein the recorded message is delivered in a nontruncated form, so that the recorded message is recorded completely by the answering machine.