Voice mail notification using instant messaging

• US 7,369,647 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2004
• Issued: 05/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: At&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mullis, Karen, Gao, Xiaofeng, Adamczyk, Maria
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US10/759,165
• Publication Number:
  US 20040146144A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,568 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.12, 379/88.13, 379/88.14, 379/88.22, 709/206
• US Class Current: 379/88.12
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/537 Arrangements for indicating the presence of a recorded message , whereby the presence information might include a preview or summary of the message
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0033 Notification or handling of incoming calls by a computer

Abstract

A system and method that notifies a voice mailbox subscriber of the receipt of a message at a voicemail server using instant messaging. A preferred embodiment of the invention includes an enhanced notification server that receives a notification of the message from the voicemail server, queries the availability of an instant messaging client via an instant messaging presence server, and forwards the notification to the instant messaging client via the instant messaging presence server if the instant messaging client is available. In preferred embodiments, provisions are made to forward the message to the subscriber via instant messaging.

Claims

1. A method, at an enhanced notification server, for notification of messages comprising:

receiving a notification from a first message server, wherein the notification includes information related to an incoming message that is intended for a subscriber, wherein the notification further includes a first identification associating the subscriber with the first message server;

determining at least one user preference setting, wherein the at least one user preference setting indicates whether the subscriber desires to receive the incoming message with the notification;

mapping the first identification to a second identification, wherein the second identification associates the subscriber with a second message server;

querying the second message server using the second identification, to determine current availability of the subscriber on a communications device associated with the second message server;

in response to a determination that the subscriber is currently available on the communications device, forwarding the notification to the communications device; and

in response to a determination that the subscriber is currently not available on the communications device, queuing the notification at the enhanced notification server for later delivery.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message server is a voicemail server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information related to an incoming messages includes one or more of the following:

an identity of a sender of the incoming message, a date of the incoming message, a time of the incoming message, a size of the incoming message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second message server is an instant messaging presence server.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications device is an instant messaging client.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to a determination that the at least one user preference setting indicates that the subscriber prefers to receive the incoming message with the notification, attaching the incoming message to the notification.

7. An enhanced notification server configured to:

receive a notification from a first message server, wherein the notification includes information related to an incoming message that is intended for a subscriber, wherein the notification further includes a first identification associating the subscriber with the first message server;

determine at least one user preference setting, wherein the at least one user preference setting indicates whether the subscriber desires to receive the incoming message with the notification;

map the first identification to a second identification, wherein the second identification associates the subscriber with a second message server;

query the second message server using the second identification, to determine current availability of the subscriber on a communications device associated with the second message server;

in response to a determination that the subscriber is currently available on the communications device, forward the notification to the communications device; and

in response to a determination that the subscriber is currently not available on the communications device, queue the notification at the enhanced notification server for later delivery.

8. The server of claim 7, wherein the first message server is a voicemail server.

9. The server of claim 7, wherein the information related to an incoming messages includes at least one of the following:

an identity of a sender of the incoming message, a date of the incoming message, a time of the incoming message, a size of the incoming message.

10. The server of claim 7, wherein the second message server is an instant messaging presence server.

11. The server of claim 7, wherein the communications device is an instant messaging client.

12. The server of claim 7, further configured to, in response to a determination that the at least one user preference setting indicates that the subscriber prefers to receive the incoming message with the notification, attach the incoming message to the notification.

13. A method, at an enhanced notification server, for notification of messages comprising:

receiving a notification from a first message server, wherein the notification includes information related to an incoming message that is intended for a subscriber, wherein the notification further includes a first identification associating the subscriber with the first message server;

mapping the first identification to a second identification, wherein the second identification associates the subscriber with a second message server;

querying the second message server, using the second identification, to de current availability of the subscriber on a communications device associated with the second message server;

in response to a determination that the subscriber is currently available on the communications device, forwarding the notification to the communications device, wherein the notification includes a query of whether the subscriber desires to receive the incoming message via the second message server;

in response to a determination that the subscriber is not currently available on the communications device, queuing the notification at the enhanced notification server for later delivery; and

in response to receiving a response to the query, indicating that the subscriber desires to receive the incoming message via the second messaging server, retrieving the incoming message from the first messaging server.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first message server is a voicemail server.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising forwarding the retrieved incoming message to the second messaging server.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the second message server is an instant messaging presence server.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the communications device is an instant messaging client.