Method and apparatus for assembling and presenting structured voicemail messages

• US 6,240,391 B1
• Filed: 05/25/1999
• Issued: 05/29/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sound View Innovations, LLC (Sound View Innovation Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Puchol, Carlos Miguel, Rehor, Kenneth G., Tuckey, Curtis Duane, Ball, Thomas J., Benedikt, Michael Abraham, Mataga, Peter Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorvil, Richemond
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nolan, Daniel A.
• Application Number:
  US09/318,450
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: 704/260, 704/270, 379/93, 455/412, 455/413
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems

Abstract

The method for assembling and presenting a structured electronic message begins when the sender creates a voicemail message that includes a plurality of messaging elements that include embedded instructions that define a structure of the message. Other messaging elements may include textual fragments, audio fragments that refer to audio data files that are associated with the message, and/or references to textual fragments and/or audio fragments that are stored at specified locations. The instructions may define a hierarchical menu structure which, when the message is presented to the recipient by a messaging system, offers the recipient different navigational choices from which the recipient may select and thus effect the information content of what is presented. The structured message is sent by the sender to the recipient at an address on a messaging system that stores the message and is capable of interpreting and assembling the messaging elements in accordance with the embedded instruction and playing-out the message to the recipient when the recipient accesses the system and retrieves the message from storage. The structured message may also include links to a specific destination, to which the messaging system establishes a connection if the link is selected by the recipient during play-out of the message. Further, the messaging system can gather information from the recipient during play-out and forward that information to a specified destination, which may respond with another structured message. In the described embodiment, a phone markup language is used to define the structure and the inherent embedded instructions associated with the structure of the message.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving an electronic message addressed to a recipient, the message comprising a plurality of messaging elements, at least some of the messaging elements being content-related that are each associated with a portion of the content of the message, and at least one of the messaging elements comprising instructions that define a structure of the message from which at least some of the content-related messaging elements can be sequentially combined for presentation to the recipient as a unified message;

storing the received message in a mailbox associated with the recipient;

in response to a request for the message from the recipient,

retrieving the stored message,

interpreting the instructions that define the structure of the message, and

assembling and combining at least some of the content-related messaging elements in accordance with the instructions, and

sequentially presenting the assembled and combined content-related messaging elements to the recipient as a unified message.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the message is a voicemail message.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the message is a multimedia message.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the content-related messaging elements are from a group including:

textual fragments, audio fragments, and references to audio and/or textual fragments stored at specified locations.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the audio fragments comprise references to audio data files associated with the message.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the instructions define a hierarchical menu structure which, when at least some of the content-related messaging elements are assembled and combined and presented to the recipient, offers a plurality of navigational choices within the message to the recipient, the method further comprising:

receiving, after said presentation of at least one of the navigational choices, a selection of a particular choice from among the plurality of navigational choices; and

using the selection of the particular choice to determine at least one previously non-presented content-related messaging element to next present to the recipient; and

presenting the determined at least one previously non-presented content-related messaging element to the recipient.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the selection of the particular choice is determined by recipient'"'"'s audio input.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the recipient'"'"'s selection of the particular choice is determined by recipient'"'"'s keypad input.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein a link to a destination is associated with at least one of the content-related messaging elements presented to the recipient, the method further comprising offering the link together with its associated messaging element during presentation of the assembled message to the recipient.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

receiving, following presentation of the link, a selection by the recipient to accept the link;

establishing a connection to a destination associated with the link.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the connection is a data connection and the destination associated with the link is a specific email address.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

receiving a message from the recipient;

converting the message to a data message; and

sending the data message to said email address over the data connection.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the connection is a telephone call over the PSTN and the destination is a phone number on the PSTN, the method further comprising establishing a telephone connection between the recipient and the destination phone number.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the connection is a telephone call over a data network and the destination is an IP telephony number, the method further comprising establishing a telephone connection between the recipient and the destination IP telephony number.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the connection is a data connection and the destination is a server, the method further comprising:

receiving from the server a second electronic message, the second electronic message comprising a plurality of its own messaging elements, at least some of the messaging elements in the second message being content-related that are each associated with a portion of the content of the second message, and at least one of the messaging elements in the second message comprising instructions that define a structure of the second message from which at least some of the content-related messaging elements in the second message can be sequentially combined for presentation to the recipient as a unified message,

interpreting the instructions that define the structure of the second message;

assembling and combining at least some of the content-related messaging is elements in the second message in accordance with the instructions in the second message; and

sequentially presenting the assembled and combined content-related messaging elements in the second message to the recipient as a unified message.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the instructions in the second electronic message define a hierarchical menu structure which, when at least some of the content-related messaging elements in the second message are assembled and combined and presented to the recipient, offers to the recipient a plurality of navigational choices within the second message, the method further comprising:

receiving, after said presentation of at least one of the navigational choices in the second message, a selection of a particular choice from among the plurality of navigational choices; and

using the selection of the particular choice in the second message to determine at least one other of the content-related messaging elements in the second message to next present; and

presenting the determined at least one other of the content-related messaging elements in the second message to the recipient.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein a link to a destination is associated with at least one of the content-related messaging elements in the second message presented to the recipient, the method further comprising:

offering the link together with its associated messaging element in the second message during presentation of the assembled second message to the recipient;

receiving, following presentation of the link, a selection to accept the link in the second message; and

establishing a connection to a destination associated with the link in the second message.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising;

during presentation of the message to the recipient, prompting the recipient for input of information;

collecting information in response to the prompt from the recipient; and

forwarding the information collected from the recipient to a destination indicated in the message.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the information collected from the recipient is in the form of keypad entries.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the information collected from the recipient is in the form of a speech input.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising converting recipient'"'"'s speech input to textual or numerical information before forwarding the collected information to the destination indicated in the message.

22. A method comprising:

receiving an electronic message addressed to a recipient, the message comprising a plurality of message fragments, each associated with at least a portion of the content of the message, and a plurality of instructions embedded within the message that together define a structure of the message, said instructions including information indicating how at least some of the message fragments are to be sequentially combined for presentation to the recipient as a unified message;

storing the received message in a mailbox associated with the recipient;

in response to a request for the message from the recipient,

retrieving the stored message,

interpreting the instructions that define the structure of the message, and

assembling and combining at least some of the content-related message fragments in accordance with the instructions; and

sequentially presenting the assembled and combined content-related message fragments to the recipient as a unified message.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the message is a voicemail message.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the message is a multimedia message.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein the message fragments are from a group including:

textual fragments, audio fragments, and references to audio and/or textual fragments stored at specified locations.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the audio fragments comprise references to audio data files.

27. The method of claim 22 wherein the instructions define a hierarchical menu structure which, when the message is assembled and presented to the recipient, offers a plurality of navigational choices within the message to the recipient, the method further comprising:

receiving, after said presentation of at least one of the navigational choices, a selection of a particular choice from the recipient from among the plurality of navigational choices; and

using the received recipient'"'"'s selection of the particular choice to determine at least one previously non-presented message fragment to next present to the recipient; and

presenting the determined at least one previously non-presented message fragment to the recipient.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the recipient'"'"'s selection of the particular choice is determined by recipient'"'"'s audio input.

29. The method of claim 27 wherein the recipient'"'"'s selection of the particular choice is determined by recipient'"'"'s keypad input.

30. The method of claim 22 wherein a link to a destination is associated with at least one of the message fragments presented to the recipient, the method further comprising offering to the recipient the link together with its associated messaging element during presentation of the assembled message.

31. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

receiving, following presentation of the link, a selection by the recipient to accept the link;

establishing a connection to a destination associated with the link.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the connection is a data connection and the destination associated with the link is a specific email address.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising:

receiving a message from the recipient;

converting the message to a data message; and

sending the data message to said email address over the data connection.

34. The method of claim 31 wherein the connection is a telephone call over the PSTN and the destination is a phone number on the PSTN, the method further comprising establishing a telephone connection between the recipient and the destination phone number.

35. The method of claim 31 wherein the connection is a telephone call over a data network and the destination is an IP telephony number, the method further comprising establishing a telephone connection between the recipient and the destination IP telephony number.

36. The method of claim 31 where the connection is a data connection and the destination is a server, the method further comprising:

receiving from the server a second electronic message, the second electronic message comprising a plurality of its own message fragments, each associated with at least a portion of the content of the second message, and a plurality of instructions embedded within the second message that together define a structure of the second message that indicates how at least some of the message fragments in the second message are to be sequentially combined for presentation to the recipient as a unified message;

interpreting the instructions that define the structure of the second message;

assembling and combining at least some of the message fragments in the second message in accordance with the arrangement in the instructions in the second message; and

sequentially presenting the assembled and combined message fragments in the second message to the recipient as a unified message.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the instruction in the second electronic message define a hierarchical menu structure which, when the second message is assembled and presented to the recipient, offers to the recipient a plurality of navigational choices within the second message, the method further comprising:

receiving, after said presentation of at least one of the navigational choices in the second message, a selection of a particular choice from the recipient from among the plurality of navigational choices; and

using the received selection of the particular choice in the second message to determine at least one previously non-presented message fragment in the second message to next present to the recipient; and

presenting the determined at least one previously non-presented message fragment in the second message to the recipient.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein a link to a destination is associated with at least one of the message fragments in the second message presented to the recipient, the method further comprising:

offering the link together with its associated message fragment in the second message during presentation of the assembled second message to the recipient;

receiving, following presentation of the link, a selection by the recipient to accept the link in the second message; and

establishing a connection to a destination associated with the link in the second message.

39. The method of claim 22 further comprising:

during presentation of the message to the recipient, prompting the recipient for input of information;

collecting information in response to the prompt from the recipient; and

forwarding the information collected from the recipient to a destination indicated in the message.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein the information collected from the recipient is in the form of keypad entries.

41. The method of claim 39 wherein the information collected from the recipient is in the form of a speech input.

42. The method of claim 41 further comprising converting recipient'"'"'s speech input to textual or numerical information before forwarding the collected information to the destination indicated in the message.

43. A method comprising:

accessing a messaging system at which is stored an electronic message addressed to a recipient, the message comprising a plurality of messaging elements, at least some of the messaging elements being content-related that are each associated with of the content of the message, and at least one of the messaging elements comprising instructions that define a structure of the message that indicates how at least some of the content-related messaging elements are to be sequentially combined for presentation as a unified message, the messaging system, upon being accessed, retrieving the stored message from storage, interpreting the instructions, and assembling and combining at least some of the content-related messaging elements in accordance with the instructions, and sequentially outputting the assembled and combined content-related messaging elements as a unified message; and

receiving a presentation of the assembled message from the messaging system.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the instructions define a hierarchical menu, the method further comprising:

receiving during the presentation of the assembled message a plurality of navigational choices within the message;

selecting a particular choice from among the plurality of navigational choices; and

receiving from the messaging system at least one previously non-presented content-related messaging element that is determined by the particular selected choice.

45. The method of claim 43 wherein a link to a destination is associated with at least one of the content-related messaging elements, the method further comprising:

receiving the link together with its associated content-related messaging element during the presentation of the assembled message;

affirmatively indicating acceptance of the link; and

establishing communication with the destination.

46. The method of claim 43 wherein during presentation of the message the method further comprises:

receiving a prompt for input of information;

inputting the prompted-for information;

sending the inputted prompted-for information to the messaging system, wherein the messaging system then forwards the information to a destination indicated in the message.

47. A method comprising:

accessing a messaging system at which is stored an electronic message addressed to a recipient, the message comprising a plurality of message fragments, each associated with at least a portion of the content of the message, and a plurality of instructions embedded within the message that together define a structure of the message, said instructions including information indicating how the at least some of the message fragments are to be sequentially combined for presentation as a unified message to a recipient, the messaging system, upon being accessed, retrieving the stored message from storage, interpreting the instructions, and assembling and combining at least some of the content-related message fragments in accordance with the instructions, and sequentially outputting the assembled and combined message fragments as a unified message; and

receiving a presentation of the assembled message from the messaging system.

48. The method of claim 47 wherein the instructions define a hierarchical menu, the method further comprising:

receiving, during the presentation of the assembled message, a plurality of navigational choices within the message;

selecting a particular choice from among the plurality of navigational choices; and

receiving, from the messaging system, at least one previously non-presented message fragment that is determined by the particular selected choice.

49. The method of claim 47 wherein a link to a destination is associated with at least one of the message fragments, the method further comprising:

receiving the link together with its associated message fragment during the presentation of the assembled message;

indicating acceptance of the link; and

establishing communication with the destination.

50. The method of claim 47 wherein during presentation of the message the method further comprises:

receiving a prompt for input of information;

inputting the prompted-for information;

sending the inputted prompted-forinformation to the messaging system, wherein the messaging system then forwards the information to a destination indicated in the message.