Selectable audio and mixed background sound for voice messaging system

• US 8,204,186 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2010
• Issued: 06/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daedalus Blue LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kovales, Renee M., Stern, Edith H., Willner, Barry E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Anwah, Olisa
• Application Number:
  US12/896,888
• Publication Number:
  US 20110019804A1
• Time in Patent Office: 625 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/68, 379/88.13, 379/88.16, 379/88.19, 379/88.2, 379/88.21, 379/88.22, 379/88.23, 379/201.01
• US Class Current: 379/88.23
• 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 system for improving telephone conversations, comprising:

a computer comprising a processor;

instructions which execute, using the processor, to perform functions comprising;

selecting, by a caller, a background sound to be incorporated into a telephone conversation between the caller and a called party;

enabling the called party to choose whether the selected background sound will be suppressed instead of incorporated; and

incorporating the selected background sound into the telephone conversation only if the called party does not choose to suppress it.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the selected background sound is a theme song of the caller.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the incorporating is performed by conferencing the selected background sound into a 3-way call between the caller and the called party.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the selected background sound is a default background sound for the caller.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the selected background sound is programmatically selected based on an identification of the called party.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the enabling further comprises allowing the called party to choose to suppress all background sound from telephone conversations initiated by the caller.

7. A computer program product for improving telephone conversations, the computer program product embodied on at least one non-transitory computer-usable storage medium and comprising computer-usable program code for:

selecting, by a caller, a background sound to be incorporated into a telephone conversation between the caller and a called party;

enabling the called party to choose whether the selected background sound will be suppressed instead of incorporated; and

incorporating the selected background sound into the telephone conversation only if the called party does not choose to suppress it.

8. The computer program product according to claim 7, wherein the selected background sound is a theme song of the caller.

9. The computer program product according to claim 7, wherein the incorporating is performed by conferencing the selected background sound into a 3-way call between the caller and the called party.

10. The computer program product according to claim 7, wherein the selected background sound is a default background sound for the caller.

11. The computer program product according to claim 7, wherein the selected background sound is programmatically selected based on an identification of the called party.

12. The computer program product according to claim 7, wherein the enabling further comprises allowing the called party to choose to suppress all background sound from telephone conversations initiated by the caller.