Apparatus and method for providing messaging services

• US 8,433,044 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2009
• Issued: 04/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Karnalkar, Anup, Wallis, R. Tyler, Robbins, William S., Dudley, David
• Primary Examiner(s): ISLAM, MOHAMMAD K
• Application Number:
  US12/559,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20110064206A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• Field of Search: 379 8811- 8823, 379/142.17, 4554122-413, 709226-228
• US Class Current: 379/88.22
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72433 for voice messaging, e.g. dictaphones for answering incoming calls H04M1/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/253 where a visual mode is used instead of a voice mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/08 home cordless telephone systems using the DECT standard
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53333 Message receiving aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a voicemail device having a controller to detect a recording of a voicemail message, generate a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message, wherein the SIP message contains visual voicemail data associated with the recorded voicemail message, and transmit the SIP message to a cordless phone system, wherein the SIP message is received by the cordless phone system over a data port of the cordless phone system, wherein the cordless phone system comprises a base station and at least one cordless communications device, wherein the visual voicemail data is retrieved by the base station, and wherein the visual voicemail data is transmitted by the based station to the at least one cordless communications device by utilizing a cordless wireless access protocol. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for communicating a voicemail message, the method comprising:

detecting a recording of the voicemail message;

generating a session initiation protocol message, wherein the session initiation protocol message contains visual voicemail data associated with the voicemail message;

transmitting the session initiation protocol message via an internet protocol network to a cordless phone system via a data port of the cordless phone system, the cordless phone system comprising a base station that communicates with a cordless telephone via a digital enhanced cordless telecommunications wireless access protocol;

receiving a request from the cordless phone system for the voicemail message;

transcoding the voicemail message to a format that can be utilized by the cordless phone system to generate a transcoded voicemail message; and

transmitting the transcoded voicemail message to the cordless phone system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the voicemail message comprises an audible recording of a caller.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

transmitting the transcoded voicemail message as a stream and a progressive download to the cordless phone system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual voicemail data comprises a caller identification number, a recording time of the voicemail message, an identity of a caller of the voicemail message, and a duration time for the voicemail message.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transcoding the voicemail message from a G.711 format to a G.726 format during a transmission of the transcoded voicemail message to the cordless phone system or prior to the transmission of the transcoded voicemail message to the cordless phone system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data port corresponds to an internet data port.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the cordless telephone comprises a touch-screen computing tablet.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the cordless phone system utilizing a web service.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a retransmitted request for the voicemail message; and

transcoding and retransmitting the voicemail message to the cordless phone system.

10. A base station comprising:

a memory storing computer program instructions; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute the computer program instructions, which, when executed on the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving, at a data port, a session initiation protocol message via an internet protocol network, wherein the session initiation protocol message comprises visual voicemail data associated with a recorded voicemail message;

retrieving the visual voicemail data from the session initiation protocol message;

transmitting the visual voicemail data to a cordless communications device using a digital enhanced cordless telecommunications wireless access protocol;

transmitting a request to a server on a communications network for the voicemail message;

receiving the voicemail message from the server; and

relaying the voicemail message to the cordless communications device via the digital enhanced cordless telecommunications wireless access protocol.

11. The base station of claim 10, wherein the cordless communications device comprises one of a cordless phone and a touch-screen computing tablet.

12. The base station of claim 10, wherein the voicemail message comprises an audible recording of a caller.

13. The base station of claim 12, wherein the voicemail message is transcoded by the server from a G.711 format to a G.726 format during transmission of the voicemail message to the base station.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer program instructions, which, when executed on a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a request for an identifier associated with a voicemail message from a cordless phone system, the cordless phone system comprising a base station that communicates with a cordless telephone via a digital enhanced cordless telecommunications wireless access protocol;

transmitting the identifier associated with the voicemail message to the cordless phone system via an internet protocol network;

receiving a request from the cordless phone system for the voicemail message, wherein the voicemail message is requested via the identifier; and

transmitting the voicemail message to the cordless phone system, wherein the voicemail message is transcoded to a format that can be utilized by the cordless phone system during transmission of the voicemail message.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the identifier is a uniform resource identifier.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, the operations further comprising transcoding the voicemail message from a G.711 format to a G.726 format.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, the operations further comprising generating a notification message based upon a triggering event, wherein the notification message is transmitted to the cordless phone system.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the triggering event comprises receiving a new voicemail message, logging out of a voicemail box associated with the cordless phone system, and receiving an indicator that a message count associated with the voicemail box is zero.