EP1040641A1 - Procede et systeme de reponse automatique et d'enregistrement de messages dans un systeme telephonique - Google Patents

Procede et systeme de reponse automatique et d'enregistrement de messages dans un systeme telephonique

Info

Publication number
EP1040641A1
EP1040641A1 EP98961709A EP98961709A EP1040641A1 EP 1040641 A1 EP1040641 A1 EP 1040641A1 EP 98961709 A EP98961709 A EP 98961709A EP 98961709 A EP98961709 A EP 98961709A EP 1040641 A1 EP1040641 A1 EP 1040641A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
subscriber
call
message
answer
subscriber terminal
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP98961709A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Jan Svensson
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Original Assignee
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from SE9704523A external-priority patent/SE9704523D0/xx
Priority claimed from SE9704524A external-priority patent/SE9704524L/xx
Application filed by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB filed Critical Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Publication of EP1040641A1 publication Critical patent/EP1040641A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

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
    • H04M3/533—Voice mail systems
    • 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
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M3/38—Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections
    • H04M3/382—Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections using authorisation codes or passwords

Definitions

  • TITLE A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC
  • the present invention relates to a method and system for automatic answering and recording of messages in a telephone system.
  • Modern telephone systems or telecommunication networks consist of three general categories of equipment : termination equipment, transmission equipment and switching equipment. Each of these three categories, in turn, comprises a number of subcategories or technologies.
  • termination equipment includes telephone sets, wiring, and other components, as well as recording, answering, and voice mail equipment.
  • both public and private networks are available.
  • CW Call Waiting
  • An available service called "Call Waiting" (CW) permits a subscriber to be notified of an incoming call, as per basic call procedures, while the traffic channel is not available for the incoming call; the subscriber is thus already busy. Subsequently, the subscriber can either accept, reject, or ignore the incoming call .
  • This service operates when the traffic channel at a subscriber B is not available, that is B is talking to a subscriber A.
  • call subscriber C attempts to call subscriber B, the latter is given an appropriate indication of the waiting call.
  • a notification that the call is waiting will be sent back towards the calling subscriber C.
  • a maximum number of waiting calls at the same time is one. Consequently, no further calls are offered to the subscriber B while a call is waiting.
  • Subscriber B shall then be given the normal notification that there is a new call, and the network provides the subscriber C with an indication, such as a ring tone, as for a normal call.
  • B can accept the call from C before the expiry of a timeout set between 0.5 and 2 minutes.
  • subscriber B can also use another service called "Call Hold", wherein subscriber B can accept the waiting call from subscriber C before the expiry of the timeout.
  • subscriber B requests release or hold of the connection to subscriber A and accepts the waiting call from subscriber C.
  • the call hold service allows the subscriber B to interrupt a communication on an existing call and then subsequently, if desired, re-establish the communication. If a call is on hold the subscriber can retrieve the held call, set up another call, or disconnect the held call. If the subscriber is connected to an active call and has another call on hold, the subscriber can alternate from one call to the other, disconnect the held call, or disconnect both calls.
  • the present invention is directed to an new service to satisfy the subscriber in the situation described above or in similar situations. This is accomplished with a service, wherein a calling subscriber receives a suitable voice message activated by the called subscriber or the subscriber terminal itself. Another object of the invention is to provide for dedicated messages for different persons. This is accomplished by identifying the telephone number of the calling subscriber and, depending on the number, the system plays a particular voice message, a general message, or the tele- phone continues to indicate that there is an incoming call. Still another object of the invention is to provide a mode where the calling subscriber receives a voice message comprising the information that the called subscriber is busy, but that it is still possible to reach the called subscriber by entering an identification code.
  • An additional object of the invention is to provide an hierarchy of codes for pre-programmed telephone numbers. For example level 1. all subscribers may pass, 2. colleagues and family, 3. the superior, the secretary and the family, 4. the family.
  • Another alternative object of the invention is to provide two different numbers with different hierarchies, for example a private number where a first level corresponds to all friends, a second level the family as well as the superior and the secretary, and a third level only the family, and a work number as described above.
  • Still an alternative object of the invention is to provide a voice message recording function in combination with other functions of the invention.
  • An advantage of the present invention appears when the subscriber is busy in a meeting and does not have the possibility or desire to answer the incoming call and nevertheless would like to leave a message for the calling subscriber.
  • the subscriber can control who can reach him or not in a suitable and polite manner .
  • FIG 1 is a schematical view of a telecommunication network
  • FIG 2 is a flow chart of a general embodiment of the voice answering service according to the present invention.
  • FIG 3 is a flow chart of a first specific embodiment of the voice answering service according to the present invention.
  • FIG 4 is a flow chart of a second specific embodiment of the voice answering service according to the present invention.
  • FIG 5 is a flow chart of a third specific embodiment of the voice answering service according to the present invention. Detailed Description of the Invention
  • the present invention relates to a method for automatic answering in a telephone system, allowing a subscriber to answer an incoming call and recording of messages left by the calling subscriber.
  • FIG 1 is a schematical view of a telecommunication network or telephone system.
  • a conventional telecommunication network consists of three general categories of equipment: termination equipment, such as conventional telephone sets A, B, C and D and/or mobile telephones E and F, transmission equipment represented by physical links 1, 2, 3 and 4 as well as a network cloud 5, and switching equipment, such as a switch 6.
  • the mobile telecommuni- cation network or telephone system is used as an example of a network and is not intended to be a limitation of the concept. Consequently, the network can be provided with other termination equipment: computer terminals, facsimile machines, video conferencing devices etc, switching equip- ment : PBXs, and transmission equipment: radio network, such as a cellular network, satellite network, local area network, etc.
  • the system comprises means for playing a voice message, means for putting an incoming call on hold, means for detecting a telephone number of a call subscriber terminal, means for checking if the current number is entitled to pass, means for playing a certain voice message depending on the detected telephone number, means for detecting a certain key sequence entered on an answer subscriber terminal, means for detecting a code entered on a call subscriber terminal, means for establishing a connection between a call subscriber terminal and an answer subscriber terminal, means for disconnecting a connection, and/or means for recording a voice message, all of which means are included in the network or in the termination equipment. However, not all of said means have to be available in the system at the same time.
  • a subscriber A makes a phone call to a subscriber B, who is busy in a meeting and does not have the possibility or desire to answer the incoming call and nevertheless would like to leave a message for the calling subscriber.
  • the relevant steps of the method according to the invention is described by the flow chart voice answering 200 in FIG 2.
  • a first step 201 the subscriber B observes an incoming call by means of a ring signal or a light signal on the phone.
  • a voice message is played at step 202, wherein the subscriber A gets a particular message such as "please wait or leave a message after the tone" . If a message is not recorded in step 202' the call from subscriber A is put on hold in step 203.
  • the subscriber B it is possible for the subscriber B to establish a connection with the subscriber A within a predetermined time, controlled by a timeout, at step 204. Finally, the connection is disconnected in a conventional manner at step 205, and the sequence ends up at step 206. However, if a message is recorded in step 202' the phone call is completed at step 206 by an on hook action from subscriber A.
  • a first specific embodiment of the method according to the present invention is shown in FIG 3.
  • the method of this embodiment, voice answering 300 starts at step 301 by detecting an incoming call at the subscriber B.
  • the subscriber B observes the incoming call, and if he, for example, is busy in a meeting and does not want to answer the call he enters a key sequence at step 302.
  • a pre-recorded voice message such as "please wait or leave a message after the tone”
  • the call from subscriber A is put on hold in a next step 304.
  • the subscriber B leaves the meeting and retrieves the call (off hook) at step 305, and a connection is established between A and B.
  • both subscribers A and B hang up and the connection is disconnected at step 306, and the method is completed at step 307.
  • FIG 4 shows a flow chart illustrating a second specific embodiment of the voice answering service according to the present invention.
  • dedicated messages are provided for different persons. This is accomplished by identifying the telephone number of the calling subscriber and, depending on the number, the system plays a particular voice message, a general message, or the telephone continues to indicate that there is an incoming call.
  • voice answering 400 starts at step 401 by detecting an incoming call at the subscriber B.
  • the telephone number of the calling subscriber A is identified at step 402, and if the current number is entitled to pass or not is checked at step 403. If the answer is yes the telephone of subscriber B continues to indicate an incoming call at step 404.
  • the sub- scriber B leaves the meeting and retrieves the call at step 405, and a connection is established between A and B.
  • both subscribers A and B hang up and the connection is disconnected at step 406, and the method is completed at step 407, as described above.
  • step 403 the number is compared to a list of numbers at step 408, wherein each number is associated with a particular voice message. If the number exists in the list, the system plays the particular voice message associated with the current number at step 409, and if it is not represented in the list a general voice message is played at step 410. Both voice messages played at step 409 och 410 may comprise a message about leaving a message. Therefore, proceeding from step 409 or 410, a check is performed determining if the answer message is left, and if so the answer message is recorded (410') followed by a an on hook action from subscriber A. If no message is left the incoming call is put on hold in step 411. As described, the subscriber B retrieves the call at step 405, and a connection is established between A and B, the connection is disconnected at step 406, and the method is completed at step 407.
  • step 402 can be done manually by the subscriber B himself through a "number indicator" . Furhter, the check in step 403 as well as the comparison in step 408 can be performed manually. Consequently, by entering a particular key sequence an associated voice message is played.
  • a hierarchy of telephone numbers are provided: 1. all subscribers can pass, 2. colleagues and family can pass, 3. the superior, the secretary and the family can pass, and 4. the family can pass.
  • the subscriber A makes a phone call to the subscriber B, and the method proceeds according to the flow chart voice answering 500 in FIG 5.
  • a first step 501 the subscriber B observes an incoming call by means of a ring signal or a light signal on the phone, and a voice message is played at step 502, wherein the subscriber A gets a particular message such as "Please wait, I am busy at the moment, or enter your identification code".
  • step 503 the code entered by the subscriber A is de- tected. The code is compared to a list of authorized codes at step 504, and if the code is accepted a message can be left at step 504', followed by an on hook action from subscriber A, or the call can pass to step 505. The latter is followed by establishing of a connection between the subscriber B and the subscriber A within a predetermined time, controlled by a timeout, at step 506. Finally, the connection is disconnected in a conventional manner at step 507, and the sequence ends up at step 508.
  • the message recording function can be incorporated in the step 502.
  • step 509 If the code is not accepted, the call from subscriber A is put on hold at step 509. Then, the method continues with step 506, 507, and is concluded at step 508.
  • the subscriber A is not necessarily put on hold in any of the embodiments of the invention.
  • a subscriber can force termination of the method by an on hook action.
  • a hierarchy of codes for pre-programmed telephone numbers are provided: 1. all subscribers can pass, 2. colleagues and family can pass, 3. the superior, the secretary and the family can pass, and 4. the family can pass.
  • a telephone is provided with two different telephone numbers with separate hierarchies, for example a private number where a first level corresponds to all friends, a second level family as well as the superior and the secretary, and a third level only the family, and a work related telephone number as described above.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé de réponse automatique d'un système téléphonique, selon lequel un appel entrant provenant d'un terminal d'abonné appelant (A) est détecté (201; 301; 401; 501) au niveau d'un terminal d'abonné répondant (B). Ensuite, un code est détecté (302; 402, 403, 408; 503, 504) et, en fonction de ce code, un message vocal est lu (202; 303; 409, 410; 502) sur le terminal d'abonné répondant (B).
EP98961709A 1997-12-05 1998-12-07 Procede et systeme de reponse automatique et d'enregistrement de messages dans un systeme telephonique Withdrawn EP1040641A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
SE9704524 1997-12-05
SE9704523A SE9704523D0 (sv) 1997-12-05 1997-12-05 A method and system for automatic answering in a telephone system
SE9704523 1997-12-05
SE9704524A SE9704524L (sv) 1997-12-05 1997-12-05 Metod och system för automatsvar och inspelning av meddelanden i ett telefonsystem
PCT/SE1998/002229 WO1999030473A1 (fr) 1997-12-05 1998-12-07 Procede et systeme de reponse automatique et d'enregistrement de messages dans un systeme telephonique

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1040641A1 true EP1040641A1 (fr) 2000-10-04

Family

ID=26663147

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP98961709A Withdrawn EP1040641A1 (fr) 1997-12-05 1998-12-07 Procede et systeme de reponse automatique et d'enregistrement de messages dans un systeme telephonique

Country Status (8)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1040641A1 (fr)
JP (1) JP2001526497A (fr)
KR (1) KR20010040284A (fr)
CN (1) CN1280736A (fr)
AU (1) AU753285B2 (fr)
BR (1) BR9813367A (fr)
EE (1) EE200000326A (fr)
WO (1) WO1999030473A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2002054743A2 (fr) * 2000-12-29 2002-07-11 Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation Systeme de messagerie base sur le web emettant des messages personnalise specifiques a l'utilisateur
KR20030000637A (ko) * 2001-06-26 2003-01-06 에스케이텔레텍주식회사 이동통신 단말기에서 발신자 별로 다양한 응답 메시지제공을 위한 자동응답 메시지 설정 방법 및 그 메시지의제공 방법
GB2468338A (en) * 2009-03-05 2010-09-08 Marcus Lewis A headset outputting audio messages comprising menu options to a user who inputs commands via a joggle wheel on the headset based on the options

Family Cites Families (9)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4277649A (en) * 1980-01-18 1981-07-07 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated Method and apparatus for screening telephone calls
US4369339A (en) * 1980-10-06 1983-01-18 Marcelo Castro Method for completing the connection between a telephone exchange and the phone subscriber's line in response to the reception, at the exchange, of a pre-established code
US4782508A (en) * 1986-03-03 1988-11-01 American Telephone And Telegraph Company, At&T Bell Laboratories Method of discouraging the completion of wrong-number calls
US5034975A (en) * 1989-12-21 1991-07-23 At&T Bell Laboratories Voice announcement device for improving functionality of multi-line telephones
US5276731A (en) * 1991-04-26 1994-01-04 Rolm Company Method and apparatus for handling incoming telephone calls
US5278894A (en) * 1991-10-25 1994-01-11 At&T Bell Laboratories Use of incoming caller line identification
US5434906A (en) * 1993-09-13 1995-07-18 Robinson; Michael J. Method and apparatus for processing an incoming call in a communication system
US5511111A (en) * 1993-11-01 1996-04-23 Engineering And Business Systems, Inc. Caller name and identification communication system with caller screening option
WO1997008881A2 (fr) * 1995-08-31 1997-03-06 Philips Electronics N.V. Systeme de telecommunications

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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Title
See references of WO9930473A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU1697299A (en) 1999-06-28
AU753285B2 (en) 2002-10-17
WO1999030473A1 (fr) 1999-06-17
KR20010040284A (ko) 2001-05-15
BR9813367A (pt) 2000-10-03
EE200000326A (et) 2001-08-15
CN1280736A (zh) 2001-01-17
JP2001526497A (ja) 2001-12-18

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