System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail
First Claim
1. A system for providing presence information of a calling party to a called party, said presence information indicating that said calling party is currently present at a telephone, said system comprising:
- a private branch exchange (PBX) serving telephones of the calling and called parties;
a presence server connected to an information device of the calling party and detecting presence of the calling party;
a communications path between said PBX and said presence server, allowing presence information to be sent from said presence server to said PBX; and
a memory associating said presence information with a voice mail message.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system, method, and computer program product are provided for conveying availability information of a calling party to a called party. A PBX serving the telephones of the calling and called parties is connected to a presence server. In an embodiment of the invention, the presence server is also connected to a computer and/or other information device (such as a personal data assistant or telephone) of the calling party. After the calling party has left a voice mail message for the called party, the called party will subsequently retrieve the message. In an embodiment of the invention, the PBX then queries the presence server as to the availability of the calling party. The presence server senses whether the calling party has indicated his or her presence; if so, it is inferred that the calling party is probably present and available for a return call. If the presence server detects no such indication by the calling party, it is inferred that the calling party is likely to be absent. The presence server responds to the query of the PBX by indicating the calling party'"'"'s likely availability (or absence) to the PBX. Based on this information, the PBX modifies the voice mail message to include a statement that the calling party is either available or unavailable.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for providing presence information of a calling party to a called party, said presence information indicating that said calling party is currently present at a telephone, said system comprising:
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a private branch exchange (PBX) serving telephones of the calling and called parties; a presence server connected to an information device of the calling party and detecting presence of the calling party; a communications path between said PBX and said presence server, allowing presence information to be sent from said presence server to said PBX; and a memory associating said presence information with a voice mail message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A voice messaging system, comprising:
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means for receiving presence information about a calling party from an information device associated with said calling party, said presence information indicating that said calling party is currently present at a telephone of the calling party; means for associating said presence information with a voice message left by said calling party; and means for providing said presence information to a called party in connection with playback of said voice message.
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8. A method of using a voice mail message to provide availability information of a calling party to a called party, said availability information indicating whether (i) said calling party is currently present at a telephone and (ii) said telephone'"'"'s status is available, said method comprising the following steps performed after the calling party has left a voice mail message for the called party:
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(a) receiving availability information regarding the calling party from a presence server; and (b) including the availability information in the voice mail message. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for conveying presence information via voice mail, said presence information indicating that said calling party is currently present at a telephone of the calling party, said method comprising:
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(a) receiving presence information about a calling party from an information device associated with the calling party; and (b) associating the presence information with a voice mail message left by the calling party. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for causing an application program to execute on a computer that provides availability information of a calling party to a called party through a voice mail message, said availability information indicating whether (i) said calling party is currently present at a telephone and (ii) said telephone'"'"'s status is available, said computer readable program code means comprising:
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first computer readable program code means for causing a private branch exchange (PBX) to receive availability information from, a presence server; and second computer readable program code means for causing the PBX to include the received availability information in the voice mail message.
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21. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for causing an application program td execute on a computer that provides availability information of a calling party to a called party through a voice mail message, said computer readable means comprising:
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first computer readable program code means for causing a private branch exchange (PBX) to receive availability information from a presence server; second computer readable program code means for causing the PBX to include the received availability information in the voice mail message; and third computer readable program code means for causing the PBX to query the presence server regarding the availability of the calling party.
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22. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied in said medium for causing an application program to execute on a computer that provides availability information of a calling party to a called party through a voice mail message, said computer readable program code comprising:
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first computer readable program code adapted to cause a private branch exchange (PBX) to receive availability information from a presence server; second computer readable program code adapted to cause the PBX to include the received availability information in the voice mail message; and third computer readable program code means adapted to cause the PBX to query the presence server regarding the availability of the calling party.
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23. A method for conveying presence information via a voice mail message, said presence information indicating that a calling party is currently present at a telephone of the calling party, said method comprising:
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(a) querying an information device associated with the calling party for presence information in response to a called party requesting playback of the voice mail message; (b) receiving presence information about the calling party from said information device associated with the calling party; and (c) associating the presence information with the calling party.
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Specification