Selectable audio and mixed background sound for voice messaging system

• US 7,424,098 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2003
• Issued: 09/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Daedalus Blue LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Stern, Edith H., Willner, Barry E., Kovales, Renee M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang; Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, HEMANT SHANTILAL
• Application Number:
  US10/632,177
• Publication Number:
  US 20040022371A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,867 Days
• Field of Search: 379 76- 77, 379/84, 379/88.18, 379/88.24, 455/3.06, 455/413, 700/94
• US Class Current: 379/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/08 specially adapted for optional reception of entertainment or informative matter
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/352 In-call/conference information service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4211 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4872 Non-interactive information services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53366 Message disposing or creating aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53383 Message registering commands or announcements; Greetings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/568 audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants echo suppression in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/02; sound field processing per se H04S7/30

Abstract

Methods, systems, computer program products, and methods of doing business by selectably mixing one or more sound files with a telephone caller'"'"'s voice message, either as background for that message or embedded within the message. Or, the mixing may occur within a telephone conversation between parties. The disclosed techniques enable alleviating some of the problems that result from distance communication (as contrasted to face-to-face communication). In particular, context information (such as emotional context) can be provided through appropriate use of background sound and/or embedded audio files. The disclosed techniques may also make communication through voice mail exchange more enjoyable and/or increase its productivity.

Claims

1. A method of enhancing a voice mail message for playback to a listener, comprising steps of:

creating the voice mail message for the listener, by a caller using a telephone device, the voice mail message comprising a plurality of message segments;

identifying, by the caller using the telephone device, at least two of the message segments which are to have background sounds associated therewith;

selecting, for each of the identified message segments by the caller using the telephone device, a sound to be associated therewith as the background sound, wherein the sounds selected as the background sound for at least two of the message segments are different sounds; and

responsive to a request from the listener for playback of the voice mail message, playing back at least two of the identified message segments for which a sound was selected to be associated therewith as the background sound, while concurrently playing back the sound selected as the background sound for each of the played-backed identified message segments, and wherein the sounds selected as the background sound for at least two of the played-back identified message segments are different sounds, such that the background sound played back for the voice mail message changes at least once during the playback.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting step further comprises entering, by the caller using the telephone device, a caller-specific personal identification value, and wherein the entering of the caller-specific personal identification value causes the sounds to be associated with the identified message segments to be automatically selected, without intervention by the caller.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of creating, by the caller, a caller-specific profile prior to creating the voice mail message, wherein the caller-specific profile indicates which sounds are to be selected as background sounds on which days;

and wherein the selecting step further comprises automatically processing the caller-specific profile, responsive to the caller identifying the message segments, thereby causing the sounds to be associated with the identified message segments to be automatically selected, based on the day on which the voice mail message is created.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selected background sounds are selected randomly from a plurality of available background sounds.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of creating, by the caller, a caller-specific profile prior to creating the voice mail message;

and wherein the selecting step further comprises automatically processing the caller-specific profile, responsive to the caller identifying the message segments, thereby causing the sounds to be associated with the identified message segments to be automatically selected according to the profile, without intervention by the caller.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting step further comprises selecting each of the sounds, by the caller, from among a plurality of sounds which are configured as non-updateable sounds selectable from the telephone device.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selected sounds are selected from among a plurality of sounds that are available to, and offered to the caller by, an apparatus on which the voice mail message is being recorded.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting the selected background sounds from the telephone device to an apparatus on which the voice mail message is being recorded.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the selected background sounds are compressed prior to the transmitting.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting, for each of the selected sounds, an identifier thereof from the telephone device to an apparatus on which the voice mail message is being recorded, for use by the apparatus to obtain the played-back sounds.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting, for each of the selected sounds, an address thereof from the telephone device to an apparatus on which the voice mail message is being recorded, wherein the transmitted address for each of the selected sounds is usable for locating a file to use as the played-back sound.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the transmitted addresses is a Uniform Resource Locator.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting step further comprises the step of selecting at least one of the sounds using one of:

a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) capability of the telephone device;

a touch-sensitive display screen of the telephone device;

a key sequence operated using keys of the telephone device;

or a voice recognition capability provided by a voice messaging system which records the voice mail message.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein a telephone call placed by the caller for creating the voice mail message is transparently extended, without intervention of the caller, following the caller'"'"'s completion of the voice mail message, and wherein the transmitting occurs during the transparent extension, after which the transparently-extended telephone call is automatically ended.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of message segments are identified by the caller using the telephone device.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sound selected as the background sound for at least two of the message segments are non-spoken sounds.