Interactive voice personal and live connection telephone messaging system

• US 6,421,433 B1
• Filed: 04/11/2001
• Issued: 07/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SA Interactive Information Technology, Inc. (Edatenow.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SA Interactive Information Technology, Inc. (Edatenow.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Arsenault, Steven J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc
• Assistant Examiner(s): Taylor, Barry W
• Application Number:
  US09/743,252
• Time in Patent Office: 461 Days
• Field of Search: 379/114.19, 379/114.13, 379/121.05, 705/14, 455/414
• US Class Current: 379/114.19
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42008 Systems for anonymous communication between parties, e.g. by use of disposal contact identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/58 Arrangements for transferring received calls from one subscriber to another; Arrangements affording interim conversations between either the calling or the called party and a third party substation line holding circuits H04M1/80

Abstract

In existing “voice personal” ads, users are not charged for “browsing” the voice mail messages on the system. Consequently, a large percentage of users of the telephone lines required for such a system are using the system free of charge by merely browsing, which causes an uneconomic use of the majority of the lines. “Live connection systems” can charge for time on the system but require more expensive equipment and monitoring than a basic “voice personals” system, and so most newspapers utilize only the standard “voice personals” arrangement. There is therefore a need to increase the revenue of such voice personals systems by encouraging users to switch to a “live connection system”. The present invention provides a method of inter-connecting a “voice personal system” and a “live connection system” which would alert the voice personals “browser” of the presence of potential live connections and transfer the browser to the live connection system.

Claims

1. A method of inter-connecting a telephone voice personals system and a telephone live connection system, comprising:

a) providing a voice personals telephone system having a number of users, some of whom are male and some of whom are female, actively browsing voice mail messages;

b) identifying whether a given user is male or female;

c) providing a live connection system operating with a number of male and female users making live anonymous connections;

d) periodically alerting a browser of the existence and status of the live connection system and inviting the browser to elect to switch to the live connection system;

e) if the browser elects to switch and the browser is female, transferring the call to the live connection system;

f) if the browser elects to switch and the browser is male, prompting the browser to provide his account number for the live connection system, and if he has no account, obtaining his credit card information and then transferring the call to the live connection system, or conferencing the call to the live connection system if the browser has called on a time charging telephone line.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the status information provided to the browser is the number of users currently on the live connection system.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the status information provided to the browser is, for female browsers, the number of male users on the live connection system.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the status information provided to the browser is, for male browsers, the number of female users on the live connection system.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said election is made by touching a particular telephone numeric key.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step that a browser is alerted by a recorded message when browsing an ad of a person on the voice personals system that that person is currently on the live connection system, if that is the case, and inviting the browser to elect to switch to the live connection system.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein a call is transferred by the voice personals system picking up an outside line, dialling the live connection system and enabling a call transfer through the Centrex system.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step that the voice personals system provides information over modem to the live connection system to identify the source and sex of the transferring browser.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step that the live connection system provides information over modem to the voice personals system concerning the number of users and identity of the users on the live connection system to update the voice personals system of the status of the live connection system.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step that users of the live connection system are prompted to set up a temporary mail box on the voice personals system to increase their chances of attracting an appropriate live connection, and the user is transferred to the voice personal system to complete a temporary voice mail message, following which the caller is prompted to transfer back to the live connection system.