Instant video and voicemail messaging method and means

• US 8,611,863 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2011
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S Aqua Semiconductor LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Dot Assets No 14 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Vnnen, Mikko Kalervo
• Primary Examiner(s): TIEU, BINH KIEN
• Application Number:
  US13/161,887
• Publication Number:
  US 20110294469A1
• Time in Patent Office: 915 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.13, 379/88.24, 379/93.28, 455/412.1, 455/413, 455/550.1, 455/466, 709/201, 709/203, 709/206
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/59 based on real time
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53 Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages , i.e. mailbox systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5315 where the non-audio components are still images or video still image mailbox systems H04N1/324, intermediate storage of video signals for videophones H04N7/147
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of instant messaging. More specifically the invention relates to a server centric method and unit for instant voice and video mail messaging. Even more particularly the invention relates to voicemail messaging with mobile terminals. The inventive methods and units under study allow faster voice messaging and enable similar, but not identical audio/video message “ping ball”. The sending of voicemail in accordance with the invention is instantaneous and involves no different telephone numbers for the sender to remember. The reception of messages is always instantaneous, provided the recipient is available, and only if not available, may the delivery of the messages be delayed.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a server, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, at the server, at least one contact directory corresponding to a selected message recipient, wherein the at least one contact directory includes primary contact information of the selected message recipient and alternative contact information of the selected message recipient, and wherein the at least one contact directory is received from a mobile subscriber terminal via a packet switched wireless communications connection between the server and the mobile subscriber terminal;

recording at least one voice/video message to at least one data file, wherein the at least one voice/video message is received from the mobile subscriber terminal;

disconnecting the packet switched wireless connection;

communicating the data file to one of a telephony network or an Internet to be relayed to at least one recipient terminal associated with the at least one contact directory; and

providing a notification to the mobile subscriber terminal, wherein the notification indicates whether the at least one data file was delivered to the at least one recipient terminal.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein said at least one contact directory is any one of a telephone number, ISDN number, URL-address, email, or an IP-address, and wherein recipient contact information in the recipient contact directory is readily and transparently converted from one directory to the next in accordance with message delivery requirements.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein billing for message delivery is realized during any one of before, in between or after any of the steps, and is any one of fixed price, cost per connection minute, or cost per transmitted bit based.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein during, before, in between or after any of the steps, at least one of a sender or the selected message recipient may reply, save or forward messages.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the mobile subscriber terminal and the server form a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein undelivered messages are stored at a store and forward server network (SFSN) and wherein any one of attempts to resend at least one message to the selected message recipient or attempts to resend to alternative contact directories of the selected message recipient are made.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein undelivered messages are stored at a store and forward server network (SFSN) for a given time, after which they are deleted.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a server, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, at the server, at least one contact directory corresponding to a selected message recipient, wherein the at least one contact directory includes primary contact information of the selected message recipient and alternative contact information of the selected message recipient, and wherein the at least one contact directory is received from a mobile subscriber terminal via at least one packet switched wireless communications connection between the server and the mobile subscriber terminal;

recording at least one voice/video message to at least one data file on said server, wherein the at least one voice/video message is received from the mobile subscriber terminal via said at least one packet switched wireless communications connection;

communicating the at least one data file to a Store and Forward Server Network (SFSN) for relaying of said at least one data file to at least one recipient terminal device associated with the at least one contact directory; and

providing a notification to the mobile subscriber terminal, wherein the notification indicates whether the at least one data file was delivered to the at least one recipient terminal device.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein communications connections used between said mobile subscriber terminal and the SFSN are any one of dial connections, data connections or packet switched connections, compliant with:

SS7-, GSM-, H323-, HTTP-, GSM-data, IP-RAN-, UMTS-, WAP-, Teldesic-, Inmarsat-, Iridium-, GPRS-, CDMA-data-, WCDMA-data-, SMS-, MMS-, USSD-, email-LAN-, TCP/IP-, UDP-, POTS-, NDC-, PDC-, imode-, Globalstar- or WLAN-connections.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein undelivered messages are stored at the SFSN, and any one of attempts to resend said at least one data file to said selected message recipient or attempts to resend to alternative contact directories of said selected message recipient are made.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein undelivered messages are stored at the SFSN for a given time, after which they are deleted.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the at least one contact directory is any one of a telephone number, ISDN number, URL-address, email, or IP-address, and wherein the at least one contact directory is readily and transparently converted from one directory to the next in accordance with message delivery requirements.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein billing for message delivery is realized during any one of before, in between or after any of the steps, and is fixed price, cost per connection minute, or cost per transmitted bit based.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein during, before, in between or after any of the steps, any one of a sender or the selected message recipient may reply, save or forward messages.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein communications connections used between the mobile subscriber terminal, the server, and the SFSN are any one of dial connections, data connections or packet switched connections, compliant with any one of:

SS7-, GSM-, H323, HTTP-, GSM-data, IP-RAN-, UMTS-, WAP-, Teldesic-, Inmarsat-, Iridium, GPRS-, CDMA-data-, WCDMA-data-, SMS-, MMS-, USSD-, email-LAN-, TCP/IP-, UDP-, POTS-, NDC-, PDC-, imode-, Globalstar- or WLAN-connections.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the mobile subscriber terminal and the server form a Virtual Private Network (VPN).