GB2359957A

GB2359957A - Message notification device using "no ring" signal

Info

Publication number: GB2359957A
Application number: GB0016053A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Joseph Hall
Original assignee: DIXONS GROUP PLC
Current assignee: DIXONS GROUP PLC
Priority date: 2000-02-29
Filing date: 2000-06-29
Publication date: 2001-09-05
Also published as: GB0016053D0; GB0004879D0

Description

1 MESSAGE NOTIFICATION DEVICE 2359957 This invention relates to a message

notification device, and more particularly to a message notification device for signalling the presence of new E-mail or Voice-Mail messages at a remote host server. The invention also relates to a messaging device for displaying messages sent from a remote server.

E-mail and Voice Mail systems play an important role in everyday life, and increasingly in business and domestic environments. Both systems are characterised in that messages are stored temporarily in a host device, usually known as a server, whereafter a notification is sent to the intended recipient who may then access the stored message.

In the case of E-mail messages, the sent message is usually stored with a host Internet Service Provider (ISP). The intended recipient is informed that there is a message present, although only after the recipient's own computer is 'on-line', that is connected to the ISP's server by means of a chargeable telephone call over a communications network. Accordingly, stored E-mail messages can remain unread for significant periods of time, and require a chargeable telephone call to be made, simply to determine whether (or not) the user has unread E-mail.

As well as using E-mail messaging systems, many people also use telephone answering systems. Many communication service providers offer a remote messaging service which allows the storage of voice messages at an exchange server. This is commonly known as Voice-Mail. One example is the so-called "Call Minder" service of British Telecommunications PLC ("BT). In this system, callers are able to leave messages on a server, whereafter the intended recipient becomes aware of stored voice messages once the telephone handset is next lifted. Again, this could be at a significantly later time from when the message was first received. The recipient is required to distinguish between different dial tone sounds in order to determine whether or not a message is present at the server. The service is offered on a pay subscription basis.

2 In the case of E-mail, some recently developed systems have adopted a method whereby indication of unread E-mail messages is performed using an origin recognition method over a telephone line, employing the Caller Line Identification Protocol, commonly referred to as Caller-II). The Caller-ID service gives the recipient of a telephone call an indication of the caller's telephone number. Accordingly, devices located at the recipient's location are able to monitor the Caller-11) of on-line telephone calls made by the host's server, to provide an indication that an E-mail is present. There are, however, several disadvantages to this system, namely: (a) many telecommunications service providers charge a subscription to provide the caller-11) service; (b) the telephone call made from the server to the recipient can cause the recipient's telephone to ring, which is undesirable; and (c) if, during the telephone call, the recipient's telephone handset is lifted, a call charge will be incurred.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a message notification device for signalling the presence of a message at a remote server, the device comprising: an interface for receiving a telephone signal through an off-line communications path; a processing means; and a visual indicator, wherein the processing means is configured to detect an interruptable telephone signal which the server has sent or has caused to be sent through the off-line path, and wherein the visual indicator thereafter signals the detection by the processing means of the interruptable telephone signal.

It will be appreciated that a communications path is off-line provided there exists no two-way link across the path. Accordingly, if signals can be sent through a one-way path, no chargeable telephone signal may be incurred. A telephone signal is interruptable if it is dropped in the event of another call being attempted, or being received, at the destination receiver.

Preferably, the off-line call will not cause the receiving device (usually a telephone) to audibly ring. Such an interruptable-type protocol has been developed by BT for use in the UK, the protocol generally being referred to as a 'no-ring call'. This protocol allows 'off-line' signal reception in the sense that receiving equipment can receive 3 in-band signals during the one-way calling process, prior to the opening of any conventional two-way transmission path. The protocol can be configured to be interruptable so that during reception of a signal, if the telephone handset is lifted or a non-interruptable call is made to the same telephone line, the interruptable signal will be dropped. In the UK, 'in-band' signals are defined as tone frequencies in the range of about 300Hz.to 3.4kHz transmitted in either Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) or Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) modulation modes. No ringing current is generated at the receiving equipment and so signalling is inaudible.

Since the no-ring telephone signal allows the reception of in-band signals in an off-line state, message notification signals can be sent by servers to recipients without incurring call-charges. If a recipient receives an incoming call or wishes to make an outgoing call, any off- line signalling will be temporarily suspended, and the recipient may use the telephone as normal without inadvertently incurring call charges. If no audible ring occurs when signalling is performed (which may be at unsociable hours), no ring-suppression circuitry is required. A visual indication provides an immediate indication of awaiting messages at the remote server.

It is particularly preferred that the notification device will respond to telephone calls from a plurality of different remote servers. The remote servers may be E- mail servers, voice-mail servers, or indeed any type of server whereby notification of awaiting information is desirable. For example, a single notification device might provide for the detection of signals from both an E-mail server and a Voice-Mail server, there being a different visual indication for each respective server.

The processing means of the notification device may be configured to identify the server from which a call is received by monitoring the inband signals generated by the server. In the preferred embodiment, the processing means will be configured to identify (and so distinguish) between in-band signals received from one of a plurality of different servers. Identification may be effected by the processing means having a storage area which is pre-programmed with a Look-Up Table (LUT) which stores server identification data for each one of the plurality of servers. Upon receiving a call, 4 the device is able to indicate which server has actually made the call by monitoring the server identification data and comparing it with identification data already stored in the LUT. The server identification data might comprise the above mentioned 'Caller-ID' data sent by each different server, or alternatively, each server might generate its own unique signal for comparison at the notification device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of signalling the presence of a message at a remote server, the method comprising the steps of: providing a message notification device having a processing means and a visual indicator; receiving at the processing means, an interruptable telephone signal which the server has caused to be sent through an off- line communications path; and signalling, by means of the visual indicator, the reception of the interruptable telephone signal.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a message notification device for signalling the presence of a message at one or more of a plurality of remote servers of different messaging types, the device comprising: an interface for receiving a telephone signal which the or each remote server has caused to be sent; a processing means; and a visual indicator, wherein the processing means is configured to detect, from the received telephone signal, call origin data from at least one of the plurality of remote servers, and wherein the visual indicator is configured to signal the detection of the telephone signal from the or each remote server according to the to call origin data detected by the processing means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of signalling the presence of a message at one or more of a plurality of remote servers of different messaging types, the method comprising the steps of.. providing a message notification device having a processing means and a visual indicator; receiving, at the processing means, a telephone signal including call origin data which the or each remote server has caused to be sent; identifying the or each server from which the telephone signal has been received according to the call origin data; and signalling, by means of the visual indicator, the reception of the telephone signal from the or each server.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for receiving message data from a remote server, the device comprising an interface for receiving a telephone signal through an offline communications path; and a processing means configured to detect an interruptable telephone signal which the server has caused to be sent through the off-line path, the processing means being further configured to decode message data from the received telephone signal.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of receiving a message from a remote message server, the method comprising: providing a messaging device having an input port and a processing means; receiving, at the input port, an interruptable telephone signal which the server has caused to be sent through an off-line communications path; identifying, at the processing means, the source of the telephone signal; and decoding, at the processing means, encoded message data from the received telephone signal.

Preferred features of the second to sixth aspects of the present invention are described in the appended claims.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a communications network including a message notification device in accordance with first to fourth aspects of the present invention; Figure 2 shows the operation sequence in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the various components in the message notification device of Figure 1; and 6 Figure 4 is a perspective view of a message receiving device in accordance with a fifth and sixth aspect of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, a mail notification device 13 in accordance with a first and second embodiment of the present invention is connected to a local telephone exchange (local exchange) 7. The local exchange 7 is connected to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 1. Also connected to the PSTN 1 are the servers 9 and 11 respectively of the user's E-mail Service Provider and Voice-Mail Service Provider. In this case, the Email server 9 is connected to the PSTN 1 by means of a local exchange 3, whilst the Voice-mail server 11 is connected to the PSTN 1 by means of a local exchange 5.

The mail notification device 13 comprises a small stand-alone unit having circuitry within its casing, with visual indicators in the form of two light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 13a and 13b on an upper face thereof. The LED 13a is provided to indicate the presence of Voice-mail messages, whilst the LED 13b indicates the presence of E-mail messages. The device 13 is connected to the local exchange 7 by means of a conventional telephone plug (e.g. BS 6312) and socket connection (not shown). The message notification device 13 also includes a reset push button 13c which enables an internal electronic storage mechanism of the device to be reset and for the LEDs 13a 13b to be extinguished.

A first embodiment of the invention will now be described with regard to first and second aspects of the present invention. In order for the message notification device 13 to use the notification system, the user's E-mail and Voice-mail Service Providers use an interruptable telephone protocol to signal to the user that new messages have been received. In this embodiment, the two Service Providers use BT's 'no-ring' protocol. This service may be initially purchased from BT who will supply the Service Providers with the required transmitting equipment. The protocol does not cause receiving equipment to audibly ring.

7 Initially, the user will complete a registration procedure with each of the E-mail and Voice-mail Service Providers, wherein the telephone number of the user will be specified. This telephone number will be automatically linked, at both the servers 9, 11, to the user's own message storage space and E-mail address.

At the user-end of the network, the message notification device 13 will be programmed with a Look-Up Table (LUT) which stores server identification data for each one of the two servers 9, 11. This programming can be performed at the time of manufacture, or alternatively, programming can be performed after the device has been distributed, i.e.

to update new server identification data. In this second case, the LUT will be stored on an EPROM or EEPROM. Depending on the server identification data detected by the message notification device 13, one or both of the LEDs 13 a, 13b may be illuminated in response to a call from one or both of the servers 9, 11.

The sequence of events which causes the message indication device 13 to function will now be described in detail, with reference to Figure 2. Reference is also made to Figure 3, which shows the interaction of the electronic components comprising the message indication device 13. These components include a reversal detector 15, a DTMF decoder 17, a DTNT Tone 'C' Generator 19, a central processing unit (CPU) 21 and indication LEDs 13a, 13b. The DTMF decoder 17 could alternatively be an FSK decoder.

In the following example, the procedure is explained with regard to an Email being received. It will be appreciated, however, that a similar operation is performed for Voice-Mail messages.

Upon receipt of a new E-mail, the E-mail server 9 stores the message in the storage area assigned to the user's E-mail address. Since the user's telephone number information will be linked to the E-mail address (through the above-mentioned registration procedure), the server 9 will automatically send a notification signal to the user in the form of an interruptable off-line telephone signal. The server 9 will generate a call which is based on the telephone number of the message recipient, prefixed by four 8 control digits. The first two of these digits (88) indicate to the PSTN 1 that the call is a no-ring call. The third and fourth digits (NN) indicate to the PSTN 1 the type of signalling which will be used between the local exchange 7 and the message notification device 13. The protocol allows four variations for these signalling digits:

01, 02, 03 and 04. For the purposes of the present invention, only the 01 prefix is used, this prefix indicating that the signalling type is FSK preceded by a line reversal operation, that the call is answered by a DTMF Tone 'C' signal, and that the signalling is interruptable.

Having initiated the call, should the E-mail server 9 receive a number unobtainable tone (NU) or a busy tone from the PSTN 1, the call will be dropped, and a repeat call made at a later time. In order to facilitate this, a register (not shown) is provided in each server 9, 11 to keep an updated record of whether the call was successful. If not, a predetermined number of repeat calls will be performed. Once successful, this register is reset.

If a call attempt from the server 9 is successful, a line reversal will be applied to the called telephone line. The polarity change will be detected by the reversal detector 15 in the device 13, and as a result, an interrupt signal will be applied to CPU 21. Source code in the CPU 21 then configures the DTM17 decoder 17 for receipt of further in-band signals.

Following a brief time period after the interrupt, the E-mail server 9 will send a series of in-band signals (or alert tones) in the range of 300 Hz to 3.4 kHz, which signals represent the E-mail server's particular identification data. This data will be unique to the E-mail server 9, and is represented in terms of the order, frequency and timing of the in-band signals. The in-band signals are stored in a temporary location within the CPU 21 wherein a comparison is made with server identification data stored in the LUT of the message notification device 13. The LUT is pre-programmed with the server identification data for both the E-mail server 9 and the Voice-mail server 11, and so will identify that the no-ring call was made by the E-mail server 9. Accordingly, the 9 LED 13b will glow, thus indicating to the user that a new E-mail is present at the E-mail server 9.

After the no-ring call has been made, the server 9 will wait for a short time period, and 5 will then drop the call, removing the called number from its own list of stored numbers in a calling queue.

It will be appreciated that, where a message is received at the VoiceMail server 11 (as opposed to the E-mail server 9), the same operation is performed. However, the Voice-Mail server 11 will transmit its own unique server identification data, which will be recognised in the LUT of the message notification device 13 and so the LED 13a will be caused, by the CPU 2 1, to glow.

The server identification data may be in the forin of the 'Caller-ID' data, wherein the telephone number of the server making the no-ring call will be sent to the message notification device 13. However, this would require the user to subscribe to the 'Caller-ID' service which could incur some cost. Alternatively, each server 9, 11 could be arranged so as to generate its own unique identification data which could thereafter be recognised by the message notification device 13.

The message notification device 13 comprises a reset button which extinguishes the glowing LEDs 13a, 13b when pressed. Accordingly, the user will be notified of any further new messages when an LED 13a or 13b lights again.

As an optional feature, the message notification device 13 may be configured to send an acknowledgement signal back to the server 9, 11 from which the call has just been received. In this way, the server will receive a positive confirmation that the message notification device 13 has received the call. If no acknowledgement signal is received, then the server 9, 11 may retain the number in its number queue and repeat the call at a later time.

Referring to Figure 2, the operating steps shown below the dotted line indicate the stages of the optional acknowledgement signal process. After the message notification device 13 has identified the no-ring call as being from a particular server 9 or 11, the device 13 generates its own DTMF tone at the Tone 'C' Generator 19 (see Figure 3) which is sent to the PSTN 1 and causes a two-way transmission path to be set up between the device and that server. After a time period of 100 ms, an in-band acknowledgement signal is transmitted back to the respective server. The call is then dropped.

It will be understood that, if the acknowledgement signal system is used, a two way 'on-line' path will exist for a short period of time. However, the actual notification signal will still be made during an off-line state. The on-line time period will be very small compared with many conventional systems where all signals are sent in the on-line state.

Since the telephone call from the servers 11, 13 is interruptable, if a recipient receives an incoming call or wishes to make an outgoing call, the off-line signalling will be suspended, and the recipient may use the telephone as normal, without inadvertently incurring call charges. The off-line signalling will be repeated at a later time, until successful.

Although the above described first embodiment of the message notification device is in the form of a small unit having two LEDs, it will be appreciated that the invention could be incorporated into a fully featured telephone or a Personal Computer. Indeed the device could be provided as a printed circuit board product which may be installed by third parties, into their own products. As an example, cable or satellite TV service providers might wish to install the devices into their own set-top receiving boxes.

By providing a register in the device, it is possible that the number of unread messages could be displayed in accordance with the number of calls received from particular servers.

Although the above described first embodiment utilises the no-ring call, interruptable telephones signal, in a second embodiment, according to third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the message notification device 13 uses the call origin data sent with a normal (i.e. non no-ring, non-interruptable) telephone signal from either the E-mail server 9 or the voice-mail server 11 to indicate that a message is present. The circuitry and procedure used is exactly the same as that described above, with the exception that the servers will obviously make a normal telephone signal to the message notification device, which is, in turn, configured to receive such a call and to signal the receipt of such a call based on call origin data. As before, the call origin data (e. g. caller-ID data) is stored in the LUT of the device, and is monitored by the CPU 21 to determine which of the servers 9, 11 has made the call. Of course, other call origin data unique to each server 9, 11 can be transmitted.

Mlilst this second embodiment does not include some advantages associated with the first embodiment, i.e. the fact that telephones connected to the receiving system will not ring, the fact that calls from the servers will be dropped in the event of the handset being lifted, or other calls being made, this second embodiment has advantages in that a stand-alone unit, connected simply by a conventional plug-and-socket connection, may be used to signal the presence of messages at one of a plurality of remote message servers without incurring call charges. The message notification device may be configured to identify messages received at, in theory, an unlimited amount of different servers of different types, e.g. E-mail servers, voice-mail servers or other message server types.

In both the first and second embodiments described above, the method by which the LUT of the message notification device 13 is configured to hold call origin data corresponding to particular servers may be performed by providing a keypad (not shown) on the casing of the device. Accordingly, the call origin data (conventionally, the telephone number of the server) may be keyed-in and assigned to a particular LED.

More sophisticated methods of configuration can also be used. For example, configuration of the message notification device 13 can be performed by means of 12 assigning an Internet protocol (IP) address to the device and then programming the LUT by means of a browser interface on a local or remote computer terminal.

Referring to Figure 4, a messaging device 23 according to a fifth and sixth aspect of the present invention is shown. The messaging device 23 comprises a small self-contained unit having circuitry within its casing, with a visual alert indicator 25 in the form of an LED on an upper face of the casing. Also provided on the upper face of the casing is a liquid-crystal display (LCD) 27. Within the messaging device 23, the circuitry is almost the same as that shown in Figure 3. However, in this case, the CPU 21 is configured to detect and decode message data which a remote server (not shown) has caused to be sent. This configuration of the CPU 21 is performed simply by means of conventional software stored on a memory IC (not shown) within the casing of the messaging device.

In use, the messaging device 23 is connected to a PSTN in the same way as the message notification device of Figure 1, i.e. by means of conventional telephone plug (e.g. BS 6312) and socket connection (not shown). In order to receive message data for decoding, the user will subscribe to a particular message service provider and will store identification data corresponding to the service provider's server in a LUT (not shown) of the messaging device 23. This server identification method is performed in the same way as for the above described message notification device in accordance with the first and second aspects of the present invention. However, in this case, the remote server will also send message data via the communications path for decoding and displaying at the messaging device 23. This message data, once decoded, might display news information, for example, share prices, sports event updates, or other requested information depending on the remote server subscribed to. In practice, the user will select the priority with which messages are sent by the service provider's server. Such a setting operation could be made manually, i.e. by means of a telephone call to the service provider, or by means of the Intemet. For example, the priority might be set in three levels: (1) All messages sent, (2) messages from particular addresses, or (3) messages from a particular service, i.e. stocks/shares, weather information, sports events. It will be appreciated that more than one remote message service provider may 13 be subscribed to. Indeed, the messaging device may be programmed with identification data for two or even more servers, with further LED's being provided on the casing.

The signalling method for sending the message data from the remote server to the messaging device 23 is the same as for the message notification device 13 according to the first and seconds aspects of the present invention. Referring again to Figure 2, the message service provider's server (which, in practice, will contain a list of subscribers telephone numbers to be called in accordance with a predetermined event, i.e. a change in score at a requested sports event) will automatically call the subscriber's telephone number in the form of an interruptable off-line telephone signal. As before, the message service provider's server will generate a call which is based on the telephone number of the message recipient, prefixed by four control digits. The first two of these digits (88) indicate to the PSTN 1 that the call is a no-ring call. The third and fourth digits (NN) indicate to the PSTN 1 the type of signalling which will be used between the local exchange 7 and the message notification device 13. For this embodiment, only the 01 prefix is used, this prefix indicating that the signalling type is FSK preceded by a line reversal operation, and that the signalling is interruptable.

Having initiated the call, should the message service provider receive a number unobtainable tone (NU) or a busy tone from the PSTN, the call will be dropped, and a repeat call made at a later time. In order to facilitate this, a register (not shown) is provided in the message service provider's server to keep an updated record of whether the call was successful. If not, a predetermined number of repeat calls will be performed. Once successful, this register is reset.

If a call attempt is successful, a line reversal will be applied to the called telephone line. The polarity change will be detected by the reversal detector 15 in the device 13, and as a result, an interrupt signal will be applied to CPU 21. Source code in the CPU 21 then configures the DTMF decoder 17 for receipt of further in-band signals.

Following a brief time period after the interrupt, the E-mail server 9 will send a series of in-band signals (or alert tones) in the range of 300 Hz to 3.4 kHz, which signals 14 represent the message service provider'sserver's particular identification data. This data will be unique to this particular server. The in-band signals are stored in a temporary location within the CPU 21 wherein a comparison is made with server identification data stored in the LUT of the messaging device 23. The LUT is pre-programmed with the server identification data and so will identify that the no-ring call was made from a particular message service provider. Accordingly, the LED 25 will glow, thus indicating to the user that a new message is being sent to the messaging device 23. Following this, the actual message data is sent to the messaging device 23, where it is decoded by the CPU 21 and then displayed on the LCD 27 in alphanumeric 10 format.

Although the message data is received by the messaging device via an offline path, the device could be used to send messages back to the server via a two-way path.

In this embodiment, the format of the messaging used is the Short Message Service (SMS) data type. However, other messaging protocols could be used provided there is compatibility between the messaging service provider and the decoding software of the messaging device 23.

Although the messaging device 23 is shown here as a small stand-alone unit, the device could be provided as part of a computer system, i.e. a PC (not shown). In this case, the circuitry of the device could be included as part of the PC, or both the stand-alone unit and the PC could be used (the PC being connected to the stand-alone unit by means of a connecting lead). In this way, the decoded message could be displayed both on the LCD 25 of the unit and also on a monitor connected to the PC.

The messaging device 23 has the ability to store a predetermined number of messages, e.g. ten, for reading at a later time, i.e. by scrolling down the list of stored messages. Data such as the time and date of the call could also be provided. A reset button 29 is 30 provided on the messaging device for erasing one or all of the stored messages.

Claims

Claims

1. A message notification device for signalling the presence of a message at a remote server, the device comprising: an interface for receiving a telephone signal 5 through an off-line communications path; a processing means; and a visual indicator, wherein the processing means is configured to detect an interruptable telephone signal which the server has caused to be sent through the off-line path, and wherein the visual indicator thereafter signals the detection by the processing means of the interruptable telephone signal.

2. A message notification device device according to claim 1, wherein the processing means is configured to detect a no-ring telephone signal.

3. A message notification device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the 15 processing means is further configured to detect and distinguish between telephone signals received from a plurality of different servers.

4. A message notification device according to claim 3, wherein the processing means is further configured to identify the server from which the telephone signal is 20 received, and to cause a different visual indication to be given in response to signals received from the different servers.

5. A message notification device according to claim 4, wherein the processing means is configured to monitor server identification data contained in the in-band 25 signals received from the different servers.

6. A message notification device according to claim 5, wherein the processing means includes a storage area pre-programmed with a Look-up Table (LUT) which stores the server identification data for each of the plurality of servers.

16 7. A message notification device according to any preceding claim, further comprising visual indication resetting means.

8. A message notification device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device further includes means arranged to generate an in-band acknowledgement signal for sending back to the or each server.

9. A message notification device constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A method of signalling the presence of a message at a remote server, the method comprising the steps of: providing a message notification device having a processing means and a visual indicator; receiving at the processing means, an interruptable telephone signal which the server has caused to be sent through an 15 off-line communications path; and signalling, by means of the visual indicator, the reception of the interruptable telephone signal.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the processing means detects a no-ring telephone signal which the server has sent, or has caused to be sent.

12. A method according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the processing means detects telephone signals from a plurality of different servers, and signals the detection of signals sent from each of the plurality of different servers.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the processing means identifies the server from which the detected telephone signal is received, and thereafter provides a different visual indication in response to signals received from the different servers.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the processing means monitors 30 server identification data contained in the telephone signals received from the servers, the server identification data being unique to each different server.

17 15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the processing means performs a comparison between the monitored server identification data and a further set of server identification data which is pr-programmed in a Look-up Table (LUT) for the plurality of servers.

16. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein, subsequent to receiving the telephone signal from the or each server, the message notification device sends an acknowledgement signal back to the server from which the or each telephone signal was received.

17. A method according to any of claims 3 to 7, wherein plurality of different servers include an E-mail server and a voice mail server.

18. A server arranged to send interruptable telephone signals for use in the method 15 according to any of claims 10 to 17.

19. A method of signalling the presence of a message at a remote server, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

20. A message notification device for signalling the presence of a message at one or more of a plurality of remote servers of different messaging types, the device comprising: an interface for receiving a telephone signal which the or each remote server has caused to be sent; a processing means; and a visual indicator, wherein the processing means is configured to detect, from the received telephone signal, call origin data from at least one of the plurality of remote servers, and wherein the visual indicator is configured to signal the detection of the telephone signal from the or each remote server according to the to call origin data detected by the processing means.

21. A message notification device according to claim 20, wherein the processing 30 means is configured to detect call origin data from an Email server and a voice-mail server.

is 22. A message notification device according to claim 20 or claim 21, wherein the processing means is further configured to cause a different visual indication to be given in response to the detected call origin data received from each of the plurality of remote servers.

23. A message notification device according to any of claims 20 to 22, wherein the processing means includes a storage area programmed with a Look-up Table (LUT) which stores call origin data for each of the plurality of remote servers.

24. A message notification device according to claim 23, wherein the device further comprises means for programming the LUT with call origin data and for assigning the call origin data to a particular visual indication.

25. A message notification device according to any of claims 20 to 24, wherein the 15 processing means is configured to detect call origin data in the form of the Caller Line Identification Protocol.

26. A method of signalling the presence of a message at one or more of a plurality of remote servers of different messaging types, the method comprising the steps of. 20 providing a message notification device having a processing means and a visual indicator; receiving, at the processing means, a telephone signal including call origin data which the or each remote server has caused to be sent; identifying the or each server from which the telephone signal has been received according to the call origin data; and signalling, by means of the visual indicator, the reception of the telephone 25 signal from the or each server.

27. A method according to claim 26, wherein the processing means receives telephone signals from an E-mail server and a voice-mail server.

28. A method according to claim 26 or claim 27, wherein the visual indicator gives a different visual output in response to the different detected call origin data received from each of the plurality of remote servers.

19 29. A method according to any of claims 26 to 28, wherein the processing means performs a comparison between the detected call origin data received from a particular server, and a further set of data corresponding to call origin data for each of the 5 plurality of remote servers which is programmed in a Look-up Table (LUTT).

30. A method of signalling the presence of a message at one or more of a plurality of remote servers of different messaging types, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.

31. A device for receiving message data from a remote server, the device comprising an interface for receiving a telephone signal through an offline communications path; and a processing means configured to detect an interruptable telephone signal which the server has cause to be sent through the off- line path, the processing means being flirther configured to decode message data from the received telephone signal.

32. A device according to claim 3 1, wherein the processing means is configured to detect a no-ring telephone signal.

33. A device according to claim 31 or claim 32, wherein the processing means is configured to decode short message service (SMS) data.

34. A device according to any of claims 31 to 33, further comprising a visual display for displaying an alphanumeric message decoded from the message data.

35. A device according to claim 34, wherein the visual display is a liquid crystal display.

36. A device according to any of claims 31 to 35, further comprising an output port for connection to a computer monitor.

43. A method according to any of claims 37 to 42, wherein the messaging device detects and decodes message data encoded using the short message service (SMS) format.

37. A method of receiving a message from a remote message server, the method comprising: providing a messaging device having an input port and a processing means; receiving, at the input port, an intenuptable telephone signal which the server has caused to be sent through an off- line communications path; identifying, at the processing means, the source of the telephone signal; and decoding, at the processing means, encoded message data from the received telephone signal.

38. A method according to claim 37, wherein the processing means detects a no-ring telephone signal which the server has caused to be sent.

39. A method according to claim 37 or claim 38, wherein the processing means identifies the source of the telephone signal by means of detecting call origin data from the telephone signal.

40. A method according to any of claims 37 to 39, the method further comprising outputting an alphanumeric message, decoded from the message data, to a visual display.

41. A method according to claim 40, wherein the visual display is a liquid crystal display associated with the messaging device.

42. A method according to any of claims 37 to 41, the method further comprising outputting the decoded message data to a computer monitor.

44. A server arranged to send message data for being decoded at a remote 30 messaging device according to the method of any of claims 37 to 43.

21 45. A device for receiving message data from a remote server, substantially as hereinbefore shown and described with reference to the accompanying drawings.