Method and apparatus for automatically setting “out of office” greetings

• US 8,554,845 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2004
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unify Patente GmbH & Co. KG (Atos SE)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Enterprise Communications, Inc. (Atos SE)
• Inventors: Mason, Andrew, Sharland, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): TAYLOR, NICHOLAS R
• Application Number:
  US10/952,305
• Publication Number:
  US 20060075038A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,298 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/50 Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers H04M3/487 takes precedence; centralised dictation systems H04M11/10; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53 Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages , i.e. mailbox systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53383 Message registering commands or announcements; Greetings

Abstract

A telecommunications method includes setting a media server greeting automatically responsive to detection of a change in setting of an e-mail system default message. The e-mail system default message may be an “out of office” outgoing message. The media server greeting may be a voice greeting.

Claims

1. A telecommunications apparatus, comprising:

a first messaging service;

a second messaging service; and

a synchronization agent automatically querying said second messaging service for a current outgoing message for second messaging service users and monitoring for changes in whether a default outgoing message is set and configured to selectively synchronize an outgoing message on said first messaging service with said current default outgoing message on said second messaging service, synchronization being selected responsive to changes in said current default outgoing message.

2. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second messaging service is an e-mail service.

3. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein the first messaging service is a multimedia service.

4. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 3, further including a presence service, wherein the synchronization agent further automatically queries and monitors presence context from the presence service and is configured to select and make a synchronization determination based thereon.

5. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 3, further including a presence service, wherein the synchronization agent further automatically queries and monitors presence context from the presence service and is configured to select and make a synchronization query based thereon, the synchronization query including determining whether said default outgoing message on the second messaging service has been set.

6. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 5, wherein the default outgoing message on the second messaging service comprises a default outgoing e-mail;

and, wherein other than said default outgoing e-mail being set indicates that the second messaging service has been reset.

7. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 6, wherein the outgoing message on the first messaging service comprises a voice greeting.

8. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 7, further including a text-to-speech service configured to convert said default outgoing e-mail to said voice greeting.

9. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the default outgoing message on the second messaging service comprises a default outgoing e-mail;

and, wherein other than said default outgoing e-mail being set indicates that the second messaging service has been reset.

10. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 9, wherein the outgoing message on the first messaging service comprises a voice greeting and wherein upon determining that the second messaging service has been reset, the synchronization agent resets synchronization of outgoing messages on said first messaging service.

11. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 10, further including a text-to-speech service configured to convert said default outgoing e-mail to said voice greeting.

12. A telecommunications apparatus, comprising:

a presence service;

a media service; and

a synchronization agent automatically querying said presence service for a current presence state for presence service users, monitoring for presence state changes and configured to selectively perform a synchronization of an outgoing message on said media service responsive to presence state changes, synchronization being selected responsive to changes in said current default outgoing message.

13. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 12, wherein the synchronization agent periodically queries current presence state and determines if a predetermined outgoing message has been set on a messaging service and synchronizes an outgoing message on said media service in response thereto.

14. A telecommunications apparatus in accordance with claim 13, wherein the predetermined outgoing message is a default e-mail message and the synchronized outgoing message is a voice message.

15. A telecommunications system, comprising:

a network;

a plurality of network devices each associated with a network user;

a first messaging service associated with the network;

a second messaging service associated with the network; and

a synchronization agent associated with said network and communicating with said first messaging service and said second messaging service over said network, said synchronization agent automatically sending outgoing message queries over said network to said second messaging service, said synchronization agent monitoring response to said queries from said second messaging service for changes in whether a default outgoing message for each network user is set and configured to selectively synchronize corresponding outgoing user messages on said first messaging service with corresponding outgoing user messages on said second messaging service when a respective said default outgoing message is set, other than said default outgoing message being set indicating that the second messaging service has been reset, synchronization being selected responsive to changes in said current default outgoing message.

16. A telecommunications system in accordance with claim 15, wherein the second messaging service is an e-mail service.

17. A telecommunications system in accordance with claim 16, wherein the first messaging service is a multimedia service.

18. A telecommunications system in accordance with claim 16, further including a presence service, wherein the synchronization agent further automatically queries and monitors presence context from the presence service and makes a synchronization determination based thereon.

19. A telecommunications system in accordance with claim 16, further including a presence service, wherein the synchronization agent further automatically queries and monitors presence context from the presence service and makes a synchronization query based thereon, the synchronization query including determining whether said default outgoing message on the second messaging service has been set.

20. A telecommunications system in accordance with claim 19, wherein said synchronization agent periodically sends outgoing message queries over said network and the default outgoing message on the second messaging service comprises a default outgoing e-mail indicating absence of a respective user.

21. A telecommunications system in accordance with claim 20, wherein the outgoing message on the first messaging service comprises a voice greeting.

22. A telecommunications system in accordance with claim 21, further including a text-to-speech service configured to convert said default outgoing e-mail to said voice greeting.

23. A telecommunications system in accordance with claim 15, wherein the default outgoing message on the second messaging service comprises a default outgoing e-mail and wherein upon determining that the second messaging service has been reset, the synchronization agent resets synchronization of outgoing messages on said first messaging service.

24. A telecommunications system in accordance with claim 23, wherein the outgoing message on the first messaging service comprises a voice greeting.

25. A telecommunications system in accordance with claim 24, further including a text-to-speech service configured to convert said default outgoing e-mail to said voice greeting.

26. A telecommunications method, comprising:

automatically querying each of a plurality of messaging services about changes in an outgoing message and monitoring each for changes in whether a respective default outgoing message is set for each network user, said plurality of messaging services including an e-mail system;

selectively setting a media server greeting for a respective network user automatically, setting said media server greeting being selected responsive to detection of a change in setting of an e-mail system default message for said respective network user; and

selectively resetting said media server greeting for said respective network user, setting said media server greeting being selected automatically responsive to detection of resetting of said e-mail system default message for said respective network user.

27. A telecommunications method in accordance with claim 26, wherein automatically querying comprises periodically querying and said e-mail system default message comprises an “

out of office”

outgoing message.

28. A telecommunications method in accordance with claim 27, wherein said media server greeting is a voice greeting.