Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
  • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
  • H04M3/50—Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers ; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
  • H04M3/53—Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages, i.e. mailbox systems
  • H04M3/5307—Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages, i.e. mailbox systems for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M7/00—Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres
  • H04M7/0024—Services and arrangements where telephone services are combined with data services
  • H04M7/0054—Services and arrangements where telephone services are combined with data services where the data service is an electronic mail service
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M7/00—Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres
  • H04M7/12—Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
  • H04M7/1205—Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal where the types of switching equipement comprises PSTN/ISDN equipment and switching equipment of networks other than PSTN/ISDN, e.g. Internet Protocol networks
  • H04M7/129—Details of providing call progress tones or announcements

Definitions

• the present invention relates generally to communication technologies such as
• the present invention relates to systems for integrating conventional telephony-based communication management services and capabilities with
• Each server receives and stores messages for a given user. The messages can thereafter be retrieved by the user at his or her convenience, using only a telephone interface.
• the servers are
• cross media capability allows e-mail messages, for instance, to be converted to voice.
• the user is able to route messages to desired destinations; for instance, the user can access the
• WWW World Wide Web
• a user could employ any browser or Internet protocol to establish communications
• Communications delivered to a user may be multiple messages delivered over
• a user may need to respond to various senders' e-mails, voice messages and faxes. Keeping track of the e-mail address, fax
• a message may be received in one medium, such as e-mail, it
• the user may wish to deliver the message via e-mail to some, fax to others
• Mass communications such as fax broadcasting and conference calling, while
• a user may wish to attach a voice file to an e-mail message for delivery over the Internet, rather than pay the cost of
• the present invention provides network-based communication and information systems that leverage existing computer telephony information processing, storage and
• the systems make communication and access to information more efficient
• certain communications hardware and features of a computer telephony-based system are off-loaded to a separate hardware
• fax boards, voice mail boards and text to speech boards are removed from the telephony management node and placed in one or more stand alone computers, such as "hardware nodes.”
• An Internet node is then added to the system.
• telephony communication management nodes which can be conventional telnodes that
• telnodes applications on the telnodes are therefore accessible to fax boards, Tl boards, and other
• a command is sent through the Internet node to the appropriate hardware node, which handles the actual fax process; the hardware node runs the
• Such billing systems have the capacity, preferably, to
• remote credit or payment sources such as those of banks or credit card
• a user accessing the system through telephony generates a command to
• telapp which commands the hardware node to process and deliver the fax; billing and administration can be handled in conventional ways or as otherwise desired. Both the telapps and the Internet node have access to data in the billing information systems
• manager or the Internet network manager may be responsible for synchronizing the distributed databases.
• An integrated computer/telephony communications system may also be provided which does not utilize existing telephony-based communications management systems
• a single database may be used.
• nodes can be provided which use Internet protocols to communicate with applications functionality for flexibility, and a single network management system can be utilized.
• the network management system draws on a plurality of applications which in turn access hardware elements on the hardware node to provide system functionality.
• a user can access the network manager via either telephony or the Internet.
• the applications then access hardware (such as fax boards, TTS
• telephony communications provides a user with powerful tools and features for managing his or her communications needs. Because the computer and telephony networks are integrated, a user no longer need sever his or her connection with the computer network to conduct real-time communications via the telephony network - live phone calls and
• communications from a telephone are not limited to voice mail messages.
• a user can direct e-mails, faxes and other communications to a fax machine of his or her choice.
• mice creates a normal telephone conference call in seconds and for a fraction of the cost
• People centered communication is a data base structure and program which
• the on-line directory organizes personal and business contacts into logical groups to
• systems according to the present invention employ a "cross media messaging" strategy.
• Cross media messaging means that each person receives communications according to their own preferences - independent of how the message was originally sent or the
• the systems allow users to access and/or configure their personal assistant from any
• systems according to the present invention can be completely platform independent.
• a business person on the road or in an airplane can send multiple
• Systems according to the present invention can include a universal in-box which provides a single mailbox where users can retrieve, listen to, view, download, forward
• All messages can be viewed or downloaded from any PC with an Internet
• connection and can be forwarded to others by e-mail, fax, or voice regardless of whether
• system is wholly Internet, intranet or network-based, all features of the universal in-box
• Systems according to the present invention can also provide simplified conference
• Each system user may have a personal on-line directory which is fully accessible from any touch tone telephone or any PC with an Internet connection.
• the on-line may have a personal on-line directory which is fully accessible from any touch tone telephone or any PC with an Internet connection.
• directory can store and organize contact names, addresses, phone numbers, pager
• Each user may receive a personalized public home page on the Internet which is
• the user chooses to place on the page.
• the user can select the most convenient way for people to contact them at any time.
• Real time messages for example, can be sent to the
• Users may publish their name, address, contact information, automated street level maps and/or driving instructions, and
• direct access telecommunication and e-mail functions If selected, direct e-mail, pager, and fax links can be placed on the public page giving Internet users a simple way to find
• Systems according to the present invention can provide all users direct access to
• an object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces, functionality and processes for managing, generating, accessing and manipulating
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces, functionality and processes for managing, generating, accessing and manipulating
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces, functionality and processes for managing, generating, accessing and manipulating
• telephony networks including, but not limited to, telephony networks and the Internet.
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces, functionality and processes for managing, generating, accessing and manipulating communications and messages which manage communications over multiple media
• telephony networks including, but not limited to, telephony networks and the Internet and may intelligently
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces, functionality and processes for managing, generating, accessing and manipulating communications and messages which provide cross media messaging capability for
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces
• an individual user and a second portion of the interface may be accessible to the public
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces,
• Another object of the present invention is to provide integrated interfaces
• Another object of the present invention is to provide an Internet or other network based graphical or computer interface to existing or new computer telephony systems.
• Another object of the present invention is to provide computer network (Internet
• FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a system for managing, generating, accessing and manipulating communications and messages in accordance with the present
• FIG. 2 illustrates the universal mailbox portion of the system of FIG. 1.
• FIG. 3 illustrates the telapp of the system of FIG. 1
• FIG. 4 illustrates the interface portion of the system of FIG. 1.
• FIG. 5 illustrates the network management system file system organization of the
• FIG. 6 illustrates the object, structure, and information flow of the system of FIG.
• FIG. 7. illustrates the structure of a second embodiment of a system for managing
• FIG. 8 illustrates a process by which the system of FIG. 7 can initiate a telephone
• FIG. 9 illustrates a process by which the system of FIG. 7 can initiate an Internet
• FIG. 10 illustrates one form of communication structure and applications
• FIG. 11 illustrates a user screen interface which can be generated by the systems
• FIG. 12A illustrates an alternative embodiment of the screen of FIGS. 11.
• FIG. 12 illustrates the configuration screen of the screen interface of FIG. 11.
• FIG. 13 illustrates the personal page configuration screen of the screen interface
• FIG. 13 A illustrates the default configuration screen accessed via the screen of
• FIG. 13B illustrates a billing screen of the interface of the system of FIGS. 1 and
• FIG. 13C illustrates the configuration selection screen of the interface of the
• FIG. 14 illustrates a portion of the screen of FIG. 13 in which WWW hyperlinks may be entered.
• FIG. 15 illustrates a portion of the screen of screen 13 in which a personal memo may be entered.
• FIG. 16 illustrates the personal page generated by the interface screens illustrated
• FIG. 17 illustrates a configuration screen of a screen interface which may be
• FIG. 17A illustrates the group editing option screen of the interface of FIG. 17.
• FIG. 17B illustrates the group creation option screen of the interface of FIG. 17.
• FIG. 17C illustrates the message creation screen of the interface of FIG. 17.
• FIG. 18 shows a screen portion of the screen of FIG. 17 in which the information
• relating to addressing groups may be edited.
• FIG. 19 shows another portion of the screen of FIG. 18.
• FIG. 20 illustrates a configuration screen of a screen interface which may be
• FIG. 20A shows an "Add Name" accessed via the screen of FIG 20.
• FIG. 21 illustrates a personal inbox screen of a screen interface which may be
• FIG. 22A illustrates a screen displaying an e-mail message accessed via the personal inbox screen of FIG. 21.
• FIG. 22B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a screen displaying an e-mail message accessed via the personal inbox screen of FIG. 21.
• FIG. 23 A illustrates a screen showing a fax message accessed via the personal
• FIG. 23B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a screen showing a fax message
• FIG. 24A illustrates a screen showing a voicemail message accessed via the
• FIG. 24B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a screen showing a voicemail
• FIG. 25 A illustrates a contact screen of a screen interface which may be generated by the systems of FIGS. 1 and 7 and by which messages may be distributed to individual or group contacts.
• FIG. 25B illustrates a contact screen of a screen interface which may be generated
• FIG. 26 illustrates a contact screen of a screen interface which may be generated by the systems of FIGS. 1 and 7 and by which conference calls may be established.
• FIG. 27 illustrates the screen of FIG. 26 once a conference call has been
• FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a system 10 for managing, generating, accessing
• FIGS. 1-6 reflects a system configuration driven by the desire to take advantage of the hardware and capabilities of existing conventional telephony based messaging systems.
• telephony subsystem 12 of system 10 comprises many of the
• subsystem 14 of system 10 comprises the components for providing the integrated
• FIG. 2 illustrates telephony subsystem 12 of the system of FIG. 1.
• subsystem 12 comprises server 16, telephony application nodes (telapps) 18A-N, network manager 20, special purpose telephony nodes (telnodes) 22A-N and database 24.
• telapps telephony application nodes
• network manager 20
• special purpose telephony nodes telnodes
• server 16 is a Novell Server, consequently, communication
• telephony subsystem 12 among the elements of telephony subsystem 12 is via SPX, IPX or other desirable
• Server 16 in combination with database 24, stores all of the messages delivered to any users as well as all information relating to user accounts for
• Telapps 18A-N manage Internet based system functionality according to the present invention such as voicemail,
• telnodes 22A-N also continue to manage conventional computer telephony functionality
• hardware nodes 26 A-N provide standalone hardware units. For instance, all communications boards, such as digital network
• Tl text-to-speech
• conference etc.
• telapps 18 A-N are platforms for applications which access the hardware
• Telapps 18A - N communicates with hardware nodes 26A - N, for
• telapps 18 A-N to access and manipulate communications. Telapps 18A-N, upon receiving user commands, access applications which in turn access hardware on hardware nodes 26 A-N to perform the desired
• Network manager 20 coordinates the interaction
• telapps 18 A-N server 16 and, when used, specialized nodes 22 A-N.
• Hardware nodes 26 A-N of the illustrative embodiment are Pentium® based
• an SCSA bus populated with Tl, voice, conference, fax, TTS, voice recording and voice
• SCO/UNIXWARE is desirable in the illustrative embodiment because it allows compatibility between the UNIX network file system (NFS) used in Internet subsystem 14 and the Novell proprietary file system (which
• 26 A - N is to allow the platforms to become independent of the DOS environment, be supported by industry standards such as UNIX, and increase scalability.
• the functionality split also provides a method for allowing a conventional telephony subsystem to communicate with an Internet-based subsystem thereby enabling the interface according to the present invention.
• an existing system with
• FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate Internet subsystem 14 of system 10, which comprises web manager 28, DB server 30, database 32 and encoder 34. All communications within
• Internet subsystem 14 is via IP protocol.
• Web manager 28 communicates with hardware
• Web manager 28 communicates with server 16, however,
• Web manager 28 acts as the conduit for all communications between telephony subsystem 12
• DB server 30 stores all of the information required for operation of the Internet related functions of system 10.
• Server 30 holds all information necessary for the Internet interface of system 10, including messages, contact data, customer records, etc.
• manager 28 also keeps the files stored on server 30 in synch with those stored on server 16. Also, server 30 stores all of the messaging information for the messages stored on the system for a user. In other words, although the message itself is stored on server 16,
• server 30 may be generated and stored on server 30 for access via a graphical interface as described
• Database 32 is a storage system for data stored by server 30 and in the illustrative embodiment comprises an Informix database.
• Encoder 34 is responsible for
• Server 30 serves as centralized storage for subsystem 14.
• mail server 36 and encoder 34 may refer to files thereon regardless of on which platform they reside. Voice mail, fax and other customer data stored on server 16 may be mirrored
• Web manager 28 handles the transfer of files from server 16 to server 30 upon
• E-mail server 36 stores new e-mails on server 30 and inserts a
• the e-mail directory may be mapped to as a shared directory
• Telapps 18 query web manager 28 in order to query server 30 for a given
• FIGS. 1 and 6 which illustrates the object structure of the system
• system 10 comprises two primary elements - an Internet
• Internet subsystem 14 Internet subsystem 14
• telephony subsystem 12 a telephony system
• Both of these elements draw on hardware nodes 26A-N for hardware resources used in performing services required by the user.
• Web manager 28 in addition
• a message such as an e-mail message
• the message is delivered from web manager 28 to servers 16 and 30.
• the message itself is stored on server 16, while information identifying the message and
• server 16 its location on server 16 are generated by web manager 28 and stored on server 30.
• Server 30 has the drive of server 16 mounted via NFS.
• database 46 is a single
• IPX/DOS nodes such as telapp 18
• IP/UNIX nodes such as web manager 28
• the one directory is shared by two different means for different types of
• the information stored on server 30 may then be displayed to the user via a visual
• a user may request, via telephone commands to network 12 such as through
• telapps 18 that the message be converted to voice mail, in which case the telapps will retrieve the message from server 16 and direct it to hardware node 26A where it is
• the message in its new form is then delivered to the user over the telephone line.
• a fax message may be delivered to the user via a
• server 30 If the user commands the fax to be delivered via
• telapps 18 which forward it to hardware node 26, whereupon it is sent out over the telephony network to the desired address (phone
• telapps 18 If the user wishes to look at the fax via the Internet interface, telapps 18
• a user may also perform mass communications through one or more media. For example, a user, accessing the system via the Internet, may wish to deliver a text message
• the user creates the message in the interface program and addresses the message to various recipients.
• the user can indicate which medium is to be
• voicemail version one to receive an e-mail version and one to receive a fax version
• the process is implemented as follows.
• the e-mail version is sent directly through the web to the intended recipient and a marker is forwarded to NFS share database 46.
• database 46 and database 24 are synchronized by web manager 28, the transaction is
• telapps 18 which accesses hardware nodes 26 to convert the text to a bitmap (for faxing) and to speech (for voice mailing). Once the files are converted,
• telapps 18 direct hardware nodes 26 to deliver the messages via the telephony network.
• the transactions are logged in database 24 for billing purposes.
• Telapps 18 access the conference call hardware, which may be resident on hardware node 26 or on a specialized node 22.
• the hardware may be resident on hardware node 26 or on a specialized node 22.
• connection establishes the connection with each of the conferees and the connection is routed to the user's computer (which is configured to allow audio communication) and the conference
• any information routed to an Internet address or recipient will be routed appropriately. For instance, a user may wish to deliver a fax to a recipient's e-mail
• the fax is sent through the telephony system, converted to an e-mail attachment
• Conversion may be
• encoder 34 which encodes the fax to its final form, such as a GIF image, text (using optical character recognition), etc., and e-mail server 36 or web manager 28
• the same process is also used for encoding and e-mail attaching audio messages.
• telapps 18A-N all transactions are routed through telapps 18A-N, even if they are wholly Internet transactions, primarily because billing functions are
• system 10 As illustrated in FIGS 7-10, in an alternative illustrative embodiment, system 10
• System client 38 uses library 40 which resides on the local host on
• a service may be transient or permanent. Transient services
• Permanent services are services that are always running, and which respond to events. Those events invoke some sort of action.
• Examples of such services include a service which answers calls on a given range of
• This application can handle from 0 to the maximum number of channels
• the service starts up, initializes and registers itself, and waits for an event
• Another example would be a process that handles all audio file encoding/conversion for a machine. This process waits for an event, an audio file that requires encoding, and responds by encoding the file.
• Services may or may not require the telephony resources managed by server 42; they may simply perform a task for other services. And it is for this purpose that services may communicate with one another through the computer telephony interface ("CT/I")
• CT/I computer telephony interface
• CTTP Computer Telephony Transfer Protocol
• Each service 38 can have a distinct connection to server 42.
• Server 42 may have
• the client/server relationship allows for very complex and diverse computer
• the model allows for resource sharing between servers on a network. It gives the application developer an
• server 42 is highly scaleable in that it can be a complete system unto itself for small operations - it could contain a database, web services, and call flow applications, or it may be several servers 42, all performing no other function other than managing telephony resources and outsourcing the actual applications to other
• Example of Services 38 include:
• API 40 allows services 38 to communicate with one another using peer messages. This allows distributed processing which offers several advantages:
• helper service to perform a function that may block (a database call for example).
• operating systems can be accessed through peer messaging from a call flow application running on separate machines.
• API 40 may also extend API 40 to include their own functions. These functions are
• wrappers for peer messaging which allow the user to provide their own API functions
• This function may actually do nothing more than send a peer message to the delivery service and deliver the responding peer message as an event to the calling service.
• standard services may
• the CT/I Server program forks into a Communications Server and a computer
• the Communications Server binds to a port and listens for incoming connections.
• a client program a CT/T service
• the Communications Server forks off a relay process that attaches the client to the
• the CT Resource Manager process contains the main event loop. Events from the telephony hardware spur signals to the client programs, and commands from the client
• the CT/I Server serves as the glue binding these two interfaces (Communications Server and the CT Resource Manager).
• the CT/T API (ti_* functions and events) is a
• CT/I service can control call flow, fax, page, etc.
• Each distinct CT platform (Dialogic, NMS, conversant, etc.) has its own set of
• the CT/I API is a library which may be written in C or other suitable language
• CT/I server can attach to the CT/I server and handle a multitude of calls.
• CT/I API functions are designed to be easy to use, so that client application programs can
• CT/I API Some of the CT/I API functions are
• ti_initialize initiates a connection to a dispatch server running on a DialogicTM host.
• the client must also provide a string identifier name by which the dispatcher will
• host is a string which identifies the host machine, for example
• port is an integer that specifies the port number on the host machine.
• digit_event_mode is an integer which specifies how dtmf digit events are reported to the
• a value of 0 puts the connection into immediate single-digit reporting mode. If digit_event_mode is non-zero, the connection is put into digit-block request mode.
• ti_initialize returns a pointer which is the "handle" used for further communication with
• ti_wait-event waits for a duration of timeout for an event
• conn specifies the handle of a dialogic dispatch server (returned by ti_initialize). If an event is obtained, the
• event structure referenced in the return value will specify the details of the event. If no
• the event structure is composed of a major number, a minor number, and an auxiliary pointer.
• subevent_dtmf,subevent_mf,subevent_pulse aux digit string
• aux digit string
• ti_event_timeout requests notification if, after timeout, a specific event is not received. If the event is received before timeout, the event_timeout request is canceled.
• the specific event is generated with a minor event identifier of subevent timeout. conn specifies the handle of a dialogic dispatch server (returned by ti initialize).
• ti_play plays the audio file filename over a desired channel.
• audio file is automatically determined from either the filename extension, or the first few bytes of the file, conn is the connection handle of a dialogic dispatch server (returned by
• ti_stop_io() may be called to interrupt the playing process.
• event_play_done subevent_EOF event_play_done,subevent_digit void ti_record(conn,channel,filename,maxtime,maxsilence,int_by_digit);
• ti_record creates an audio file filename with data from a desired channel.
• conn is the connection handle of a dialogic dispatch server (returned by ti_initialize). Ifmaxtime is zero, then the recording time is unlimited. If
• ti_prompt plays the audio file filename over a desired channel.
• audio file is automatically determined from either the filename extension, or the first few bytes of the file, conn is the connection handle of a dialogic dispatch server (returned by
• max_digits is expected. If no digits are received after initial_timeout milliseconds, or
• ti_stop_io() may be called to interrupt the prompting process.
• event_prompt_done subevent_maxdigits event_prompt_done,subevent_finaldigit event_prompt_done,subevent_maxtime
• ti_text_to_speech_string converts the string text into a voice signal which is
• interruptable_by_digit is nonzero, then the speech can be interrupted by a digit event.
• ti_text_to_speech_file converts the text file filename into a voice signal which is
• conn is the connection handle of a dialogic dispatch server returned by ti_initialize). If interruptable_by_digit is nonzero, then the speech can be interrupted
• ti_hangup disconnects the call on channel, conn is the connection handle of a dialogic dispatch server (returned by ti_initialize).
• connection handle of a dialogic dispatch server (returned by ti initialize).
• ti_die prints the error message s, prints a perror message, and exits the client
• FIGS. 11-27 illustrate various aspects and functionalities of an illustrative embodiment of an Internet interface presented to a user of system 10. Because of the
• the interface may allow a user to provide information about himself or herself (including how s/he may be contacted), information about his or her communications preferences, and information about individuals and groups with whom s/he plans to
• These communication preferences may be configured by selecting certain options that define rules to be applied to inbound and outbound communications. For example,
• the user may request that inbound voice messages be forwarded to an e-mail
• e-mail messages may be requested.
• the user may also request pager
• FIG. 11 shows a screen shot of a login page which can be generated by a system 10 according to the present invention.
• the Netscape Navigator Web browser is used to access the Web site through which the features and functionality of the present invention are provided.
• the Web site is accessed by the Netscape Navigator Web browser.
• URL Uniform Resource Locator
• a login identifier such as a name
• a password 74 may be asked to provide a login identifier
• the screen of FIG. 11 may include button by which
• FIG. 12 shows a screen shot of a configuration management page.
• Information line 80 identifies the user, his or her location, the date and time, and an indicator of the current task (e.g., Configuration).
• Tab 82 also indicates the current task. From the main
• configuration management page the user may select one of several options as indicated
• buttons on page 84 The user may also select one of the buttons at the bottom of
• FIG. 13 shows a screen shot of a personal contact information page. The user
• contact information such as a telephone number, a pager number, fax number,
• the user may also provide a preferred contact method such as e-mail 92. As shown if FIG. 13 A, the user may also provide a preferred contact method such as e-mail 92. As shown if FIG. 13 A, the user may also provide a preferred contact method such as e-mail 92. As shown if FIG. 13 A, the user may also provide a preferred contact method such as e-mail 92. As shown if FIG. 13 A, the user may also
• the user also may
• a user may provide street maps and driving instructions that may be useful to other users (not shown). Referring to FIG. 15, the user may enter a short memo 110 - for
• the user may also access account information as illustrated in FIG. 13B. As illustrated in FIG. 13B.
• a user may have several different configuration for varied personal
• the user may indicate
• FIG. 16 shows an example of a "Virtual
• the page contains the same personal contact information
• buttons and links appearing on the page interact with the page through the buttons and links appearing on the page.
• a user of the present invention has a personal on-line directory in which to store and organize the names
• an individual may be contacted by
• a user may also define groups of
• the user may send the same
• FIG. 17 shows a screen shot of an on-line directory page. Initially, the user is
• the user is presented with the list of groups 120 s/he has defined previously and the list of individuals (Contacts) 122 with whom s/he communicates.
• the user is presented with options 124 for managing the Groups and Contacts. For example, the user
• FIG. 18 shows
• FIG. 20 shows a screen shot of a Contacts page for individuals. Information regarding individuals with whom the user communicates 150 may be
• FIG. 21 shows a screen shot of a message center screen or page or "personal
• the page lists in field 160 the type, time, date,
• Additional information may be accessed from this page by selecting one of the buttons 162 at the bottom of the page.
• a communication display page for the individual communication is presented. The communication display
• FIG. 21 show the message center screen of the interface. Message Center is
• Sidebar 161 - on the left of the screen is a side bar consisting of three tabs labeled
• Work Area 160 The large center section is work area 160. There is a default work area for each of the primary sections. Within the work area appears content appropriate for the section of the program that is active (i.e., messages in the Inbox, faxes).
• the Work Area can contain
• buttons such as Forward Reply, etc.
• the Function buttons call actions which effect their
• the Exit button will be common to all Function bars in all
• the Status bar could also potentially include any combination of the following: Banner Advertising, Stock Ticker, News or Sports wire, License specific content, etc.
• the Menu Bar contains link buttons 162 for various Work Areas to be displayed.
• Menu bar is determined by the sidebar tax - each of the tree primary sections has only one related Menu bar (i.e., the Menu bar for the Inbox contains buttons for each of the content
• Menu Bar contains links to an Audio Tip (a streaming audio file giving a tip or hint for ease of use in the current section ) and Help (a
• the message center is the first primary section. It delivers inbound messages to
• E-mail - Standard E-mail - attachments will appear as download links.
• the message center is also the section which delivers customized content to the
• content may consist of any one or more of the following:
• Weather - linking to a Weather provider such as The Weather Channel.
• Menu Bar 165 for the message center contain links to any of the above content as
• Each of the content links brings it's corresponding content into the interface frameset, in the frame set aside for the Work Area.
• the Messages will be displayed in a Work Area in a table sorted by arrival time of
• Sender 166D for E-mail
• phone number for fax
• Select Box 166F- that is used to indicate if a particular message or group of messages is tagged to be acted on by a function.
• Function bar 163 is inactive when custom content is displayed. When the Messages are displayed, the following functions are available: 1. Refresh 167 A- Checks the server for any new messages and redraws the screen.
• a user may, as an option, choose to have all transferred messages, removed from the server.
• Delete 167E - Deletes all selected files from the server (the files may be expunged immediately, or as part of the Exit process).
• an e-mail message may be displayed in a scrolling text window 170.
• the user may then reply to the message, store it, or forward it by selecting
• FIGS 22A-B show screen shots of the buttons
• Menu bar 165 may call additional buttons for accessing and manipulating
• the new Work Area 170 is the E-mail viewer which contains the header and
• message may then be removed from the server or returned in fax or message.
• buttons on function bar 171 or menu bar 165 or other desirable locations on the screen may be provided as buttons on function bar 171 or menu bar 165 or other desirable locations on the screen.
• a fax message may be displayed as a graphical image
• the fax message may be any suitable fax message (e.g., TIFF image) in a scrolling window 180.
• the fax message may be
• FIGS. 23A-B show screen shots of the fax viewer portion of the interface. By clicking on the image used to indicate a Fax message in the Inbox Message Work Area
• the new Work Area 180 is the Fax
• message may then be removed from the server or returned in fax or message.
• Previous Message - jump to previous Message in chronological queue may require shifting to another type of message viewer).
• FIG. 23B or other desirable locations on the screen.
• information regarding an inbound voice mail message e.g., date, time, sender's
• FIGS. 24A-B For computers equipped
• a digitized voice message may be
• the voice mail message may then be
• FIGS. 24A-B show screen shots of the voice mail viewer portion of the interface.
• the new Work Area 191 is the Voice Mail viewer which indicates all available information about the sender:
• the work Area will feature a DialWeb link and will have a RealAudio player embedded
• message may then be removed from the server or returned in fax or message.
• FIG. 25A shows an outbound message page where the message is a reply (thus the user need not enter an address).
• FIG. 25B shows an outbound message
• the message may be sent 200.
• the user then enters the text of the message in a scrolling window 202.
• the message may then be sent to each of the selected recipients by
• the message may converted or reformatted according to the preferred communication method of the recipient, preferably upon
• the computer interface may be used to
• a user first selects a list of participants by selecting one or more of the
• conference call button 212 to establish the call. The user waits for his telephone to ring.
• the user is informed of the status of the call through a page as shown in FIG. 27.
• Another outbound messaging feature of the present invention that is available via the computer interface is fax broadcasting. To take advantage of this feature, the user
• the cross- media messaging feature of the present invention processes the fax message as an attachment to an e-mail message so that the recipient may retrieve the message according
• the fax message may be displayed as an image in a scrolling window.
• the fax message may be sent as e-mail to any recipient who happens to be logged in to the Web site of the present invention at the time the fax is sent.
• a user may access his personal on-line directory, his personal inbox, and his personal contact information
• the user may also arrange for conference calling and fax broadcasting
• the telephone thus gives the user an alternative device through which the features and functionality of the present invention may be accessed.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)
• Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

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Citations (3)

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• 1997
  • 1997-11-17 CA CA002272096A patent/CA2272096A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-11-17 EP EP97951437A patent/EP0985297A4/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1997-11-17 AU AU55079/98A patent/AU5507998A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-11-17 WO PCT/US1997/020986 patent/WO1998023058A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (3)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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