FI104033B - Method and arrangement and terminals for messaging - Google Patents

Description

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METHOD AND ORGANIZATION AND TERMINALS FOR MESSAGE SERVICE FÖRFARANDE OCH ARRANGEMANG OCH TERMINALMEDEL FÖR EN MEDDELAN- »DETJÄNST

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method for messaging telephone systems containing analog circuits. The invention further relates to an arrangement for performing messaging service functions in telephone systems containing analog circuits. The invention further relates to terminal means for message service functions of telephone systems containing analog circuits.

Background of the Invention

The latest telephone systems are usually equipped with an Intelligent Network (IN) system. Reference is made to these IN arrangements, for example, by Applicant WO Publication No. 96/15633, as it describes the physical architecture of the IN and the call control by the IN, and is hereby incorporated by reference. The general physical structure of IN is also described in more detail later in this specification.

IN the means provided in the telephone arrangements are also often provided with the calling party (A-subscriber or caller) A number of the receiving party (B-subscriber), for example, a telephone number display device using the possibility to report. Such a display device may be an integral part of the telephone terminal itself or an accessory functionally connected to the telephone terminal device. These known A-number display devices are also often referred to as ID devices (Engl.

Identity Display devices).

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Summary of the Invention *

Although these A-number display devices have gained increasing popularity among users, current arrangements provide only limited use in the sense that, in systems containing analog circuits, they are unable to display anything other than the preprogrammed and A-number of the A-number or caller / A-subscriber. name attached. They do not allow the A-subscriber to leave messages other than the A-number (or pre-programmed name) mentioned, that is, only a general indication that the A-subscriber has attempted to call. Thus, if Subscriber A wishes to leave a message to Subscriber B which he has attempted to reach without success, he must use voicemail or the like.

However, voice mail messages usually require some additional action from the subscriber A (such as redialing a phone number and / or quickly formatting a suitable spoken message), which he may find difficult and may not want to do. Voice messages also need a lot of memory capacity in your voice mailbox. In addition, interfaces to voice mailboxes from subscriber A when he leaves a message, and from subscriber B while listening to a message, require a certain amount of traffic capacity and call time. Subscriber B must establish a call to · listen to messages. In the event that the spoken message contains information such as a telephone number or address, the subscriber B will, in most cases, have to write them down while listening to the voice message.

The object of the present invention is thus to overcome! ¥ the disadvantages of prior art solutions and providing a novel solution for leaving a message to the receiving party in telephone systems containing analog circuits.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method and arrangement by which analog 3104033 subscriber lines can be used for transmitting short messages or announcements that provide the recipient of a call with the desired information without the need for additional calls.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method and system by which the intelligent network processes messages and displays them to a call recipient by means of an A-number display device.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method and arrangement in which a caller is provided with a selection of short messages from which he can easily select a suitable message or messages to be sent to the receiving party of the call.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and arrangement that can reduce the need to call / use voice mail services in telephone systems containing analog circuits.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the following section of the specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The objects of the invention are achieved by a method of transmitting messages in analog circuits from an A-number terminal to a B-number terminal. Said method comprises the steps of establishing a connection between the A-number terminal and the IN messaging service and subsequently providing a signal to the A-number terminal.

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from the device to the IN message service to indicate the desired message to be transmitted to the B-number terminal, transmitting the desired message in the form of an encoded signal within the A-number field to the B-number terminal from the IN message service and notifying the B-terminal user.

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According to a preferred embodiment, the message transmission order in analog circuits from the A-number terminal to the B-number comprises a communication network including at least one analog circuit and an IN message service implemented to establish connections between it and the A-number terminal and also to the B-number terminal, wherein said IN message service includes a plurality of messages from which the A-number subscriber may select the desired message or messages to be sent to the B-number subscriber. The arrangement further comprises means for transmitting the desired message in the form of a code signal within the A number field to the B terminal and means for indicating transmission of the desired message within said number field in the B number terminal.

The telephone terminal device of the invention for making and receiving calls within a telecommunications network, comprising at least one analog circuit and an IN message service for analog circuits, comprising means for receiving a code signal in a number field transmitted from said IN message service, means for converting a received is an understandable format, and means for communicating the message to the user of the terminal device.

The present invention achieves a number of advantages in that the solution provides a simple, reliable and easy way to leave messages to the recipient of a call, even in telephone systems containing analog circuits. Call the receiving party does not have to call the voice mail boxes etc. in order to receive the information, which he now can I, I 'directly read from the A-number display or similar device designed, or what is otherwise provided to the user in the form of a short message. The called party does not need to write down any telephone numbers, addresses or other short notes, as would be the case with the voice mail draw-techniques as in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the messages to be displayed in written to him form and may be 5 104033 even record display unit in the memory for later use.

In the following, the present invention and other objects and advantages thereof will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like references in the various figures refer to like features. It is to be understood that the description of the following example of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to the specific forms set forth herein, but rather to encompass all modifications, similarities, and variations within the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. described.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of the general architecture of an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of a necessary B-subscriber unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of an embodiment; and

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a further embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS *. »

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a general architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2 is a more detailed view of the hardware used.

The telephone network system 2 comprises a plurality of exchanges 7, 8, 9 and 10, and A and B subscribers 3 and 4, respectively, connected to their local (or home) exchange 6104033 in a manner known per se. It should be noted that although Figure 2 shows only two subscribers (for the sake of clarity), the network arrangement may include a large number of subscribers, which in turn may have different subscriptions and interfaces and terminals. The connection & network may be, for example, a standard Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or an Integrated Digital Services Network (ISDN), which is known to the person skilled in the art and is therefore not described in more detail herein. However, the interface between subscribers 3 and 4 is such that it contains at least one analog circuit and thus it is not possible to transmit short messages in the same way as in fully digital networks.

The network also comprises an Intelligent Network Service Arrangement (IN) 5, which is operatively connected to the exchange of the network 2, which network connects the A and B subscribers. The physical architecture of the IN is not described in more detail, but the following explanation of the IN structure is provided to facilitate the understanding of the present invention.

The INS Service Switching Point (SSP) gives the user access to the IN network and makes all necessary choices. It is capable of detecting service requests for the intelligent network. Functionally, the SSP includes call management and service selection features. The Service Control Point (SCP) comprises the service logic programs used to provide intelligent network services. The Service Data Point (SDP) contains information that is used by SCP-service logic programs to provide personalized services. The SCP can access the SDP services Λ · either directly or through a signaling network using the INAP protocol. Additional services provided by IP (Intelligent Peripheral) include e.g. A possible Service Switching and Control Point (SSCP) consists of a single node 7 104033, that is, a node SCP and an SSP. The Service Management Point (SMP) controls the management, provision and implementation of services and can be linked to any other physical entity. Examples of its operation include database management, network control and testing, network traffic management, and network data storage. The Service Creation Environment Point (SCEP) is used to define, develop and test intelligent network services, and to deliver the service to SMPs. The adjunct plug-in functionally corresponds to the service control point SCP but is directly connected to the SSP. The Service Node (SN) can control the services of the intelligent network and communicates with the users. It communicates directly with one or more SSPs. A Service Management Access Point (S MAP) is a physical entity that provides SMP access to specific users.

The information related to the caller's telephone number (or A-number) is transmitted via an analog telephone circuit as a telephone number sending function to the exchange. The transmission of numeric data is usually performed by means of TMF or DTMF (Tone Multifrequency or Dual-Tone Multifrequency) signaling. The received signal is then converted on the terminal side to provide the information needed to display the A-number. According to the present invention, the numeric code indicating or corresponding to the message is included in this numeric field indicating the A-number.

The IN of Figure 1 is used in the invention in the following manner, as also described in the flow chart of Figure 3. Operation begins when an A subscriber attempts to call a B number (step 100) that is unanswered or busy, or when the A subscriber otherwise wishes to send a message to the B subscriber "without calling" (i.e. without attempting to establish a voice connection) .

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If the B-subscriber answers the call is processed as usual (step 103).

If the B-subscriber is not reached, the A-subscriber is provided with a connection to the IN services 5 (step 104) to generate a desired message for the B-subscriber to be transmitted by the IN services. The connection can be made automatically (and directly) with a busy B number. It is also possible to connect to the IN if the B-subscriber does not answer within a predetermined time limit, i.e. after a certain number of "ring tones" or by the A-subscriber directly dialing a specific number code or telephone number to access the IN services without attempting to call the B-subscriber. The IN then sends a message when the B-subscriber line becomes free.

Once the calling party (subscriber A) has accessed the IN services, he has the option of selecting a short message from the IN short message table 11, as shown in Figure 1, stored in the A number and / or the ported number field of the IN. The exemplary messages of Figure 1 are as follows: 1 = "not at home", 2 = "at home", 3 = "at work" and 4 = "wake up" (step 106).

Of these messages, message 4 = "alarm" is an additional feature of the invention used by the alarm service. Any subscriber, if he has this service, can use it to subscribe to the wake-up call and determine the time, and then to inform the subscriber of the time when the wake-up call is activated so that it can be easily verified.

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The selected message is then sent to the B-subscriber in the numeric field in the form of a numeric code indicating the message, step 108, and is displayed to him by means of a conventional A-number display device, step 110. The means for possible conversions will be described later.

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If the B-subscriber does not have an A-number ID display device, there are other ways to communicate the message to the B-subscriber. For example, the IN could generate and send a code indicating a voice message to the B subscriber to those subscribers who do not have suitable display media. The voice message could be "A called, asked to call back" or "A asked to call after 3 am" the next time the B subscriber lifted the handset. According to an alternative, the B-terminal telephone terminal is provided with suitable speech generation means or means for reproducing the selected pre-recorded message in response to the code signal of the IN message service.

Subscriber B can thus easily and quickly be informed by a code sent in the number field, for example: 1) that the A number / A subscriber has attempted to call, 2) what time he / she should call back, and even 3) the destination he / she should call Instead of an A number. Subscriber B does not have to make extra calls to voicemail boxes or the like, but he / she immediately becomes aware of the time and address he / she should call back.

Numerous other kinds of short messages in addition to those described above could also be provided by the message table 11. The arrangement may also be such that a personal message (or message table) is provided to each service user and it is even possible to easily add new messages and / or correct, modify and update existing messages, etc.

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Short messages can also be more detailed messages such as various time limits, e.g. "at 10am to 12pm" and "not at home 11am - 5pm" or "10am - 12pm at work, 12:30 pm to 5pm", etc. In addition, the message may include a phone number, to which subscriber B should call instead of A, e.g. "XXXXXX dialed, call 123456".

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In a further embodiment, in cases where the same A-number has multiple users, e.g., the A-number users are a family or several people in the office, the codes may include those that identify the actual caller. Thus, when calling from an A-number used by multiple users, the short message displayed to the B-subscriber could be, for example, "Bob, 123456 dialed."

Figure 2 shows a standard A-number ID display device 6 connected to a standard telephone interface 4 (B-subscriber in this example). Some recent phones have this display as a built-in component and thus do not require any separate displays. The ID device 6 may further be connected to a separate device (not shown in connection with interface 4) which converts the codes from the IN to an understandable format, for example the text format described above. It is, of course, possible that the ID display device 6 itself is provided with the necessary means for such conversions. A separate device may be a computer, such as one which has been shown to be adapted to terminal 4 in figure 2, arranged to interpret and even to display the messages at the called party end.

According to one embodiment, the short messages described above are transmitted in a form that can be displayed by the prior art ID display device 6 without conversion. In this case, the message can be as simple as just the same digital code as IN: lie originally sent to the A-number, which means, however, that the call to the receiving party must be aware of the different meanings of the codes. For example, he or she may have a list or table of meanings of different codes for interpretation purposes.

As can be seen in Figure 2, the public network system 2 may include a plurality of exchanges 7-10, of which the exchange 9 is the local area center of the B subscriber terminal 3 and the 10 is the local area center of the 104033 terminal 4 of the A subscriber. The various exchanges may be either directly connected to one another or the connection may be routed through additional exchanges between them. Different centers may even be operated by different operators and may be owned by different operators. In the example of Figure 2, the IN is arranged to be connected to the exchange 8 and thus is not part of either of said local exchanges 9 or 10. It should be noted that in practice the number of subscribers is substantially greater than two and the network system 2 may comprise a plurality of The number of devices, such as networks, switches and terminals, is shown in Figure 2 and is therefore merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the device used.

It is estimated that in the future it will be common for phones to be more frequently connected to various data processing devices (e.g., computer 4 in Figure 2), such as microcomputers or personal computers PCs. Because it is possible for computer devices to receive and interpret different (and larger) number of message codes, messages can be readily displayed on them, for example, either by display or as voice messages generated by a computer comprising suitable voice (speech) generating means. In this case, the message may be substantially longer than those sent to the current A-number display device, and may be significantly more volatile with the computers' overall memory and display capacity being substantially higher.

Figure 4 shows a flowchart of an alternative operation for an A-subscriber using the IN message services of this invention. When subscriber A starts a call, for example by picking up the handset, he is first asked if he wants to use any IN services or not, step 112. If yes, the user is connected to the IN and asked to define the service (step 114). He may now select the message service, step 116. Otherwise, i.e., if the user does not wish to use the 12 104033, the dial tone will be issued and the user may select the desired telephone number. In step 118, the user is asked to select a suitable message from the message table, and in next step 120, he selects the message he wants by selecting the number indicating this message (this corresponds essentially to step 106 of Figure 3). The user may then be asked in step 122 for additional options, such as the time at which the message should be sent. In the example, in step 124, the user can select from the following options: Immediately (which means as soon as possible), today (later today), or tomorrow. The user confirms that the message has been transmitted, a message code corresponding to the desired signal is transmitted in step 126 at the called party's terminal number field to be displayed or otherwise announced to the subscriber.

According to a further embodiment, the exchange sends a different alert tone for ordinary calls and message transmissions from the IN (i.e., codes indicating the messages), so that the B-subscriber will immediately know what the call is, i.e. whether it is a regular call or a message transmission. Thus, this improves the B-subscriber's convenience when he or she does not have to rush to the phone, but can continue with his current activities and read the message (s) later.

The message can also be sent to several other subscribers at the same time, for example to all or some of the meeting participants, who can then read it without making a voice connection.

"Alternatively, the network itself, for example, the operator, sends messages to users via the IN messaging service of this invention. These may include various notifications to the network user, such as general network status information, current prices, or special night time offers, etc. 13 104033 for subscribers, including reminders for those with unpaid phone bills.

Thus, the invention provides an apparatus and method for achieving a significant improvement in the transmission and reception of messages in telephone systems containing analog circuits. The arrangement of the present invention is easy and inexpensive to implement with known components and is reliable in use. It should be noted that the above examples of embodiments of the invention are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. All additional embodiments, modifications, and applications that will be apparent to those skilled in the art are thus included within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

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Claims (16)

1. A method for transmitting messages in analog circuits from an A number terminal to a B number terminal, including the steps of establishing communication between the A number terminal and an IN message terminal, gives a signal from the A number terminal to IN message service to indicate the desired message to be sent to the B number terminal, from the IN message service sending the desired message in the form of a code signal in the A number field to the B number terminal, and to notify the message at the B number terminal to its users. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the method further comprises a step of converting the transmitted and received code signal into understandable form at the terminal of the B subscriber. 3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the desired message is selected from short messages stored in a table formed in the IN message service. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the method further comprises a step of processing, correcting or updating the message before it is sent to the B number terminal. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the notification of the message is effected at the B-number terminal by means of a reading device for the A-number. 19 104033 6. A method according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the notification of the message at the B-number terminal is accomplished by means of a data processing apparatus. 7. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the notification of the message at the B-number terminal comprises a step of generating a voice message on the base of the received code signal. 8. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connection from the A number terminal to the IN message service is established automatically when the B number is busy or when it does not respond within a predefined time. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is possible for the user of the IN message service to use certain additional services, such as an opportunity to order a wake-up call and then receive the wake-up time in the form of a message notified at the user's terminal means. An arrangement for transmitting messages in analog circuits from an A-number terminal to a B-number terminal, comprising a telecommunications network containing at least one analog circuit, an IN-messaging service realized so that a traffic connection can be established between the service and '. The A number terminal and likewise to the B number terminal, and said IN message service contains a selection of messages from which the A number subscriber can select a desired message or messages to be sent to the B number terminal, means for sending the desired message in the form of a code signal within the A number field to the B terminal, and means for notifying the desired message transmitted within said number field at the B number terminal. 11. Arrangement according to claim 10, characterized in that the arrangement further comprises means for converting the code signal from the IN message service into understandable form, which can be displayed at the B-number terminal. 12. Arrangement according to claim 10, characterized in that said means for reporting the message comprises a reading device for the A number and to the functionally connected conversion means for converting the code signal from the IN message to understandable form, which can is shown on the means for reading. 13. Arrangement according to claim 10, characterized in that said means for reporting the message comprises a data processing apparatus adapted to convert the code signal into understandable form and to subsequently display said converted message. Arrangement according to any of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the IN message service contains a table of available messages among which means: at the A number terminal can select the desired message by appropriate signaling. 15. Telephone terminal means for establishing and receiving calls within a telecommunications network containing at least one analog circuit and an IN message service for analog circuits, comprising; means for receiving a code signal within a number field sent from said IN message service, means for converting the code signal received in said number field into a message having understandable form, and means for reporting the message to the users of the terminal means. 21 104033 Telephone terminal means according to claim 15, characterized in that said means for notifying the message comprises a reading device for the A-number or an apparatus for data processing or a speech generator. A