Mobile voice mail screening method

• US 7,187,759 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2004
• Issued: 03/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Comer, Erwin P., Patel, Pramodkumar
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang; Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): ELAHEE, MD S
• Application Number:
  US10/912,855
• Publication Number:
  US 20060029189A1
• Time in Patent Office: 942 Days
• Field of Search: 455/2.01, 370/352, 370/356, 379/88.18, 379/88.22
• US Class Current: 379/88.18
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2011 Service processing based on information specified by a party before or during a call, e.g. information, tone or routing selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4563 Voicemail monitoring during recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53333 Message receiving aspects
• 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

A voice mail method screens calls made by a calling subscriber (10) to a called subscriber (20) which is unavailable (or otherwise screening calls). The screening method determines (110) whether the called subscriber (20) has a voice mail screening feature. An internet protocol multi-media system (50) receives the call from the called subscriber (114). The internet protocol multi-media system then transfers call control to a voicemail screening server which plays subscriber (20) the beginning of the voicemail message being left by subscriber (10) and offers to-route the call back to the called subscriber (20). The called subscriber then indicates via a short code whether the called subscriber will accept the call (124).

Claims

1. A voice mail screening method for a communication system comprising the steps of:

making a call by a calling subscriber to a called subscriber wherein the call is routed through one of a mobile switching center (MSC) or through an internet protocol multi-media system;

determining whether the called subscriber has a voice mail screening feature;

transferring the call if routed through the mobile switching center (MSC) to the internet protocol multi-media system;

transferring control of the call from the internet protocol multi-media system to a voice screening server (VSS);

initiating recording of a voice message from the calling subscriber to the voice screening server;

sending an offer message recorded by the voice screening server (VSS) to the called subscriber through the internet protocol multi-media system, wherein the offer message is a portion of the voice message previously recorded from the calling subscriber; and

indicating by the called subscriber whether the called subscriber will accept the call.

2. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is further included a step of determining whether the called subscriber is unavailable or busy.

3. The voice mall screening method as claimed in claim 2, wherein if the called subscriber is unavailable or busy, there is further included a step of performing the step of determining that the called subscriber has a voice mail screening feature.

4. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is further included a step of recording by the voice mail screening server a message of the calling subscriber for the called subscriber.

5. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 4, wherein there is further included a step of re-routing by the voice mail screening server the call to the called subscriber via a push-to-talk cellular function (PoC).

6. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the step of sending the offer message includes a step of requesting by the voice mail screening sewer to the called subscriber whether the called subscriber will answer the call.

7. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 6, wherein there is further included a step of sending a message by the called subscriber to the voice mail screening sewer (VSS) for indicating that the called subscriber will accept in real time the call.

8. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 7, wherein if the called subscriber does not accept the call, there is further included a step of continuing to record byte VSS the message of the calling subscriber.

9. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 8, wherein if the called subscriber accepts the call, there is further included the step of triggering by the internet protocol multi-media system to redirect the call to the called subscriber.

10. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 9, wherein in response to the internet protocol multi-media system, there is further included a step of inhibiting the step of continuing to record the message of the calling subscriber.

11. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is further included a step of forwarding by the internet protocol multi-media system the call to a multi-media messaging service center.

12. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 11, wherein there is further included a step of recording the message of the calling subscriber by the multi-media messaging service center.

13. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 12, wherein there is further included a step of transmitting a message of the multi-media messaging service center to the called subscriber through an originating mobile switching center and a radio access network.

14. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 12, wherein there is further included a step of transmitting the message of the multi-media messaging service center to the called subscriber through internet protocol multi-media system and the radio access network.

15. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication system comprises and iDen mobile communication system.

16. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication system comprises a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile communication system.

17. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication system comprises a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) mobile communication system.

18. The voice mail screening method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile communication system comprises a Global System Mobile (OSM) communication system.