MXPA96006284A - Method for providing messaging services based on a telecommunication network - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for operating a telecommunications network to provide subscribers with storage of messages and delivery services, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: the reception, in a service platform of storage and delivery of messages based on The network, from an incoming call, automatically initiated from a call handling device at a subscriber's premises, the call is associated with a telephone number from the call handling device that is initiated to determine whether new messages are stored in a subscriber's mailbox on the service platform operating independently of a central office switch serving the call handling device, and in response to the determination that one or more of the new messages are stored in the mailbox, transmits a signal to the call handling device to cause the device to ivo call handling provide an indication of one or more new messages that are stored in the buz

Description

METHOD FOR PROVIDING MESSENGER SERVICES BASED ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK Field of the invention The present invention relates in general to telecommunications and more particularly to a device proposed by the client which carries out the indication of messages in relation to services of answer based on network BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Virtually all telecommunications services, in the United States of America at least, can be obtained from a range of telecommunications providers. This includes services provided to consumers, such as basic long distance service and business-oriented services. , such as sophisticated external calling programs While there are a number of telecommunication services in the present which are only available from the urban or local carrier, it is expected that the number of such services will contract as other telephone service providers. find ways to introduce similar services A service which is currently offered as a function of the central station or telephone exchange is the telephone answering service, a pick-up capability that allows the calling party or calling party to find a non-emergency situation. answer, register or leave a message to REF: 23609 the called party in response to a pre-recorded or pre-recorded voice prompt. When such a reply service is provided by the exchange, the called party may discover that a call was received by raising the receiver to create a pick-up condition, after which the exchange provides an interrupted or disturbed dial tone to indicate that a call was received and that some message can be retrieved. ROMAR Ltd. of Colorado Springs, Colo., Has announced a voice message waiting indicator, which is a product based on customer proposals that automatically detects the presence of a dial tone disturbed in a central station, Ceptrex or PBX line and activates a message waiting light. The ROMAR device is designed to be connected between the telephone set and a modular RJ1 socket and is said to start an automatic detection process after an unanswered incoming call, after any hang-up state resulting from an i-; Incoming or outgoing call, or periodically to detect system messages left when no call was made to the user's phone. Unfortunately, telecommunication service providers, other than the urban or local carrier, seeking to offer a network-based telephone answering service, have been without a sufficiently reliable way of alerting the called party of the existence of waiting messages. . In U.S. Patent No. 5,243,642 issued to Wise et al. and entitled TELEPHONE CALI. MANAGEMENT DEVICE, for example, describes a telephone auxiliary device which uses a ring detector circuit to energize a message waiting light whenever an incoming call is received. This light is illuminated regardless of whether the call is answered or not and is manually de-energized by pressing a reset button. Unless the user subscribes to the service provided by the urban or local carrier, in which a disturbed dial tone provides an immediate indication of the waiting status of the message as it was previously deciphered, the user must have access to the storage system of messages from the network before it can detect if a message was actually left. Since many callers will frequently choose not to leave a message, a substantial number of false message waiting indications is unavoidable. As such, the system described by Wise et al. it is not reliable enough to be used in conjunction with the network service platforms used by telecommunications providers other than the local or urban carrier. There is, therefore, a need for a reliable and economically feasible system to alert a called party, subscribed to a voice or network data messaging service, that a call was received and that a message can be retrieved.

Sum of the Movement In accordance with the present invention, a call handling device detects an incoming, unanswered, flame to a suscpptor of the telecommunications service and, if appropriate, provides an indication that the information intended for the susceptor has been received, stored or processed in another way by the network provider of the service Advantageously, the device is configured as a unit proposed by the small, portable and non-expensive customer which is easily connected to standard analogue telephone systems using modular connectors. The device uses a unique combination of AC peep detection (alternating current) and scrutiny or external call sampling of the network to perform multiple verification functions such as, for example, as to whether a calling party has actually left a voice or data message for the called party subscribed to the service According to the invention, the incoming calls are detected initially through an AC beep detection and ring counter If the call is not answered, (that is, the subscriber line remains in hang status), a telephone call is made automatically through the device to a network mailbox or another designated site associated with the device owner / suscpptor During this outgoing call operation i > or a counting or sampling operation, which can be delayed by a sufficient interval to allow the calling party to record a message, the device verifies whether a voice or data message was actually delivered or not to the suscpptor's mailbox to implement the operation of Sampling or scrutiny, the device illustratively includes a telephone line capture circuit 0 and a signaling circuit such as, for example, a DTMF encoder / decoder circuit (dual tone multifrequency). According to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention the network application is configured to recognize a subscriber identification signal received during the counting or sampling operation such as, for example, the automatic telephone number identification (ANI) signal and to determine if any voice message / data has been received for that subscriber. If so, a status update signal such as, for example, a sequence of DTMF tones, is sent to the device, which triggers an alert, such as a light or lamp, for example an LED (light emitting diode). ) and / or a liquid crystal display (LCD), which accommodates circuits to provide notification and / or signaling of the number of received calls. Alternatively, a similarly non-obtrusive audible notification may be provided. Illustratively, the interconnect or interface device may be configured to detect when the telephone goes to a pick-up state and to repeatedly pick up and release the line before the user uses the telephone keypad or applies an additional audible signal such as, for example , a sequence of clearly recognizable tones that will not be recognized by the PBX, to the line. Optionally, the status update signal may itself comprise a portion of signal indicative of an instruction to audibly reproduce a stored alert such such as, for example, a "message waiting" warning. After noticing the illuminated lamp or other warning indication, the user can access the network application in a conventional manner to retrieve the stored messages. The present invention provides a highly reliable warning system, which does not require the use of a disturbed dial tone or other CLASS service signal that is available only from the local carrier. As such, the call handling device of the present invention makes it possible for telecommunications service providers to implement Voice Messaging Services., Independent Answering Offices, 5 as well as other voice and data message / call notification applications such as, for example, electronic mail (E mail), electronic data interchange (EDI) and facsimile transmission (FAX) Features and benefits Further embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein only one illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown and described. As will be understood, the invention has the possibility of other and different Modes and their various details have the possibility of modifications in numerous aspects, without deviating from the invention. Therefore, the drawings and the description are to be considered as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Figure 1A is a perspective view of a telephone assistant unit constructed in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 B is a vertical elevation view of the back side of the unit illustrated in FIG. Figure 1A, Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of a telephone auxiliary network inter- face unit coupled to an application platform of the telecommunications provider, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a decoding circuit of the state signal constructed in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a flow diagram showing the operation and use of the device of the invention; and Figure 5 is a flowchart exemplifying the interaction of an application platform of the illustrative telecommunications provider with a telephone auxiliary unit constructed in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION With initial reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B, there is shown an illustrative embodiment of a telephone interface or interconnection device 10, constructed in accordance with the present invention. The device 10 comprises a housing 12 which can be formed of a base 14 and cover 16 of molded plastic. The cover can be adjusted under pressure or secured by adhesive to the base. The housing 12 is provided with a rear or rear wall 18 which is best seen in Figure 1 B. A pair of RJ11 socket 20 and 22 are mounted on the rear wall to provide connection to a telephone line and telephone equipment such as telephone instrument 23 (figure 2). In many instances, the most convenient connection can be made by separating the RJ11 male plug from the RJ11 socket on a proposed customer's existing telephone and inserting the male plug into the RJ11 20"INPUT" socket on the device. As such, these connections are called "INPUT" and "OUTPUT" in Figure 1B. A second connector that has RJ11 I plugs on both ends is then connected between the RJ1"OUTPUT" socket 22 and the RJ11 socket on the telephone. This arrangement allows the connection without having access to the RJ11 socket connection to the client's telephone proposal system which, in many cases, it is inconvenient. Of course, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the interconnect or interface device of the present invention does not require an online connection to a telephone for its operation and, if desired, the "OUTPUT" socket does not nto be used or even omitted altogether. if The cover 16 of the housing 10 in the illustrated embodiment includes a downwardly inclined operating surface 24 in which an indicator lamp 26 such as, for example, an LED is defined. An LCD screen 28 can also be provided to show, for example, a count of all messages currently awaiting delivery to the subscriber. Unit 10 is compact c and may be, for example, 2.5 cm (1 inch) high, 7.6 cm (3.5 inches) in length and 5.1 cm (2 inches) in width. The device is adapted for mounting on a table or other surface or can be mounted on the wall. The small size makes the device convenient to install and place in an almost unlimited selection of positions whether in a residential or business environment. Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown a functional block diagram of a telephone interface or interconnection device 10, configured in an illustrative manner to interact with an application platform of the telecommunications service provider. As seen in Figure 2, the device 10 is coupled via line L to the central station (CO) 30 of the local telephone company serving the subscriber and thereafter, to a network switch 32, such as example a 4ESS or 5ESS switch manufactured by AT &ampT Corp. The network service platform 34, which illustratively comprises a message storage processor and database (none of which is shown), is connected to the network switch -j2 and is configured to provide storage services and retrieval of voice messages and / or data in a manner to be described later. At this point, it will be noted only that the device 10 can be configured to interact with a variety of network-based service application platforms, in which a subscriber must be alerted to the existence of voice messages and / or stored data. . It is expected that these application platforms cover, for example, from simple voice messaging services, to the storage and retrieval of data such as electronic mail (E mail), electronic data interchange (EDI) and facsimile transmission (FAX).

In any case and with reference to Figure 2, it will be seen that the device 10 includes a microprocessor 36 having associated therewith a memory (either ROM, RAM, EEPROM or a combination thereof) for storing instructions and other information . For purposes of illustrative example only, the device 10 is shown configured with both RAM 38 and ROM 39. It will be readily understood, of course, by those skilled in the art that such memopa devices can be provided either internal to the microprocessor 36 or externally as shown. In the illustrative embodiment of Figure 2, the device 10 is configured for use with conventional tip and nape lines. Since the main function of the interconnect device or interface 10 is to receive wait messages or other service status updates from the service platform 34 and thereafter provide a visual and / or audible indication of such status to the subscriber, the device interface or interconnection 10 is provided with a circuit 40 that decodes the status signal, so that the microprocessor 36 can recognize the signal and act in accordance, such as by energizing the indicator lamp 26 (or de-energize it, as may be the case) In order to maintain strong controls over remote activities that could affect the reliable operation of the interface device 10, such as by unauthorized persons who might seek to manipulate the interface devices of certain subscribers, the circuit 40 that decodes the state signal is advantageously configured to detect a preselected signal which is not available to a ordinary telephone user As best seen in Figure 3, the circuit 40 decoding the status signal illustratively comprises a differential amplifier 42 coupled to DC (direct current) having a pair of inputs that connect to the tip lines and N and T of the telephone line L, respectively. The differential amplifier 42 transmits its output to a signal decoding circuit 44 which, by way of illustrative example, is a commercially available tone decoder circuit, such as the CD2204 chip, which chip is configured to verify its input as to one or more of the four dual tone multi-frequency ("DTMF") tones that are not provided on a normal telephone keypad. As will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, the DTMF tones used in pulse-tone telephones include sixteen (16) tones in the present. The normal telephone keypad uses only twelve of these sixteen tones. Thus, there are four unused tones, called "A", "B", "C" and "D". More specifically, the "A" tone comprises the i > simultaneous 697 Hertz and 1633 Hertz, the tone "B" includes the simultaneous 770 Hertz and 1633 Hertz, the tone "C" includes the simultaneous 852 Hertz and 1633 Hertz and the tone "D" includes the simultaneous 941 Hertz and 1633 Hertz. Unused "A-D" tones have traditionally been used and reserved to channel a call through telephone switches. In other words, these tones are normally used only by the vain telephone switching stations that cause a connection to be established between the calling and calling parties and are not used once a connection has been established. According to the present invention, one or more of these unused tones can be advantageously employed to synthesize the signal which is not available to an ordinary telephone user. It should be emphasized at this point, however, that any signal of low amplitude, in band, can be used for this purpose and that the modality described in detail herein is only considered, at present, an appropriate and economical way to carry out the objectives of transmitting and receiving the status update signals according to the present invention as such, the present invention should not be construed as limited to only unused DTMF tones, but may also use other tones which, preferably, are not available to an ordinary telephone user. For example, a modem signal (modulator / standard demodulator), a pulsating signal tone, a single single tone for a duration of time, one-step tones or any other signal which is not readily available to an ordinary telephone user may be employed. light can also be used for the transmission of state-taking signals and for establishing a communication link according to the present invention. In any case and with particular reference to Figure 2, it will be seen that the output of the tone decoder circuit 44 it is transmitted, in turn, to the microprocessor 36, in such a way that the tone codes can be recognized and action can be taken on them. The microprocessor 36 Essentially, the tone decoder circuit 44 is designed to decode the DTMF tones detected on the line 46 and to generate a corresponding binary signal on its output lines. Then, the binary signals emitted are processed by the appropriate logic circuits to signal the microprocessor to, for example, open a switch 48 between the power supply 40 and the message waiting indication lamp 26. With this method, the interface or interconnection device 10 is able to verify the audio and tone signals on the line without having to take the telephone line L, to thereby ensure that the verification operation carried out by the device 10 do not decrease the sound quality of the suscpptor telephone connection. The decoding circuit 40 of the illustrative state signal of FIG. 3 will now be explained in relation to the detection of the DTMF tone "C" mentioned above. As explained with the "C" tone, the one skilled in the art it can determine how to verify the other tones or codes. Particularly, the implementation of vanes i- »logic gates, such as Y, NY, O, OR EXCLUDING, is known in the art. This arrangement allows the signaling of the appropriate high or low binary on the output of the gates that will correspond to the numerous output signals. Additionally, there may be an array of logic gates for a combined set of DTMF tones and respective output codes to be detected. This arrangement creates a vast variety of ways to cause the microprocessor 36 to de-energize (or energize, as the case may be) the indicator lamp 26 of the device 10 Figure 3 shows the line 54 (where the tone of the signal is signaled). DTMF) connected to the analog "inlet" gate 56. A five (5) volt power supply is connected to the "V DD" gate 58, the "ENABLING gate" and the "GLASS OSCILLATOR" gate 62. A crystal is connected to the gate "CLOCK OUTPUT" 64 and the gate "CLOCK INPUT" 66. The "EARTH" is connected to the gate 68. After the circuit 44 has processed the DTMF tone on the line 54, a The digital output is provided in a hexadecimal code corresponding to this detected tone.A table is provided below to identify the output codes for the 16 DTMF tones (12 of the normal telephone keypad and 4 that are not available on the normal telephone keypad). .

Output code Digit D8 D4 D2 D1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 0 5 0 1 0 1 6 0 1 1 0 7 0 1 1 1 8 0 0 0 9 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 * 0 1 0 # 1 0 0 A 1 0 1 B 1 1 0 C 1 1 1 D 0 0 0 0 The gate "D1" 70, the gate "D2" 72, the gate "D4" 74 and the gate "D8" 76 all correspond to the table of the previous digital output code The gate "DV 78 becomes high after a valid pair of DTMF tones is detected and decoded Therefore, if the signal (the tone" C "of DTMF not used - 852 Hertz and 1633 Hertz simultaneously) is detected, its corresponding output code hexadecima! 1111 is emitted on lines 70 to 78 Consequently, the gate" DV "78 becomes high (this is a" 111 binary), gate "D1" 70 becomes high to gate Y 80, which respectively emits a high signal on line 82 with gate "D2" 72 which becomes simultaneously high with line 82 and gate Y 84 , line 86 turns to lta Gate "D4" is high with line 86 in such a way that gate Y 88 becomes high at 90 Gate "D8" 76 is high along line 90 to cause gate Y 92 to become high on line 94 The five (5) volt power supply is also connected to a Y gate 92 to energize itself and transistor 96 connected on its output line 98 With line 94 that becomes high, the current base of line 94 activates transistor 96, such that the current of the collector from line 98 of the "output to the terminal of the local security system" flows through transistor 96 and joins the current base therein. This combined current flows out of the emitter of transistor 96 to ground This drain to ground can signal, for example, to microprocessor 36 that outputs a signal to switch 48 (Fig. 2) to make or break a connection between indicator lamp 26 thereby and the supply of ene 50. With particular reference to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the device 10 further includes a commercially available ring detector circuit 100, which is connected to the telephone distribution line 102. The ring detector circuit 100 is energized from the line of the telephone distribution 102 which, in turn, is connected to the telephone line in the particular proposal involved by means of the socket 20. The ring detector circuit comprises a conventional AC detector which detects the ring signal of the central Station. The output of the ring detector circuit 100 is supplied to an input of the microprocessor 36. ic A conventional pick-up detection circuit 104 is also energized from the telephone distribution line 102. The output of the pickup detection circuit is supplied to another input of the microprocessor 36. In accordance with the present invention, the microprocessor 36 is programmed to determine whether an incoming call has been answered. 1 to the proposal of the subscriber, based on the outputs of the ring detector circuit 102 and the circuit 104 for detecting the off-hook state. If not, the telecommunication device 10 is configured to sample the platform 34 of the network service provider, to see if any message was left by the calling party. To this end, the device 10 further includes a telephone line jack 106 0 and a ring / tone generator 108 coupled to the secondary of a transformer 10 via an amplifier 120. When the microprocessor 36 detects an incoming call to the proposal of the subscriber has not been answered, the line tap developer 106 controls the operation of the contacts 124 of the line relay in order to maintain a connection over the telephone line L. The contacts 124 of the line relay are connected either with the T-tip lines or R-neck of the telephone line L. After the telephone line has been taken by the relay 106, the tone generator 108 is caused to generate a sequence of tones that will establish a communication link between the device 10 and the network application platform 34, operated by the telecommunications network service provider. That is, the ring / tone generator 108 generates chimes and / or tones for transmission through the telephone line L through the i or line amplifier 120. According to the illustrative embodiment of Figure 2, the message wait indicator lamp 52 comprises a LED of low current demand which requires an operating current of no more than about 2 mA. Therefore, the power supply 50 may comprise nothing more than a single 9 volt battery mounted in a suitable holder type in the housing to energize the lamp and the associated circuits. In that regard, a conservation circuit such as that described in U.S. Patent No. 5,243,642 issued to Wise et al., Can be used to provide a moderate duty cycle connection between the power supply 50 and the lamp 52 for minimize the loss of energy. In such a circuit, the voltage of the battery source is pulsed one second in activation and a second deactivated and the pulses are differentiated in an RC circuit to provide only enough in time for the LED 52 to effect its observable illumination. This arrangement provides a satisfactory life of the conventional 9 volt dry cell battery for not less than six months under average residential telephone use conditions. It will also be noted that the battery power is used only after the status update signal activates the lamp connection and that the device does not take battery current into a standby condition. An adapter interface of the 9 volt battery is also provided (Figure 1 B). For even greater energy consumption, the conservation circuit can also be configured to intermittently light the lamp 52, which additionally has the effect of providing a more noticeable indication. It should be noted that in addition to, or in lieu of, a message waiting indicator, visual, such as the indicator lamp 52, an audible notification similarly not disturbing can be provided from the telephone handset of any telephone at the proposal of the suscpptor. Illustratively, the interface device 10 can be configured to be i: >; responsive to pick-up condition detection circuit 104, to repeatedly pick up and release the line before the user uses the telephone keypad, to provide a discernible click sound. By way of further example, the signaling circuit such as the ring / tone generator 108 can be configured to apply an additional audible signal such as, for example, a sequence of clearly recognizable tones, which will not be recognized by the central station , to the suscpptor line. With reference to Figures 1A and 2 and as indicated above, it will be recalled that the device 10 can also be provided with an alphanumeric screen such as, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) 28. According to the portions of signal of additional status updates received from the network services platform 34, the liquid crystal display (LCD 120) can be instructed to display selected information to one or more subscribers, such as the number of messages stored for each suscpptor, the time of day of each call and even the 30 telephone numbers of an incoming call. As will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, some or all of this information can be downloaded by the network to RAM 38 (Figure 2) and made accessible by pressing a key (not shown) for the upward movement of the information in the screen, located on the surface 24 of the housing 12. If desired, the device 10 can also be configured with an amplifier 130 and audio speaker 132 to audibly reproduce the previously stored warnings, such as, for example, a warning Message waiting periodically played. Further, as shown in the illustrative embodiment of Figure 2, the device 10 may further be equipped with a message recording or recording mechanism 140, which is also connected to and controlled by the microprocessor 36 according to the voice signals received from the network services platform 34, the recording or recording mechanism 140 records or records incoming messages on tape, in digital memory or by other recording devices The registration mechanism 140 has an input 142 for recording messages and an output 144 to reproduce the messages This arrangement makes it possible, for example, to download the specific messages from the suscpptor in cases where more than one subscriber shares the same telephone line and proposal Illustratively, if there are currently four messages available to subscriber A and no message available for the subscriber. suscpptor B, an appropriate notice may be downloaded to the registration mechanism 140 via the communication link ion established by the ring / tone generator 108 and the line tap relay 106. It will be noted from FIG. 2 that both the INPUT and OUTPUT female plugs 20 and 22 are connected to the distribution line 102 of the telephone line and thus are directly connected to each other. In an alternative way to the above, it is possible to connect the device 10. interface to the telephone wiring in the proposal via an existing connection which is usually in the form of an RJ1 socket. As an additional alternative, an additional socket can be installed and connected to the proposal system in a desired location. It will also be appreciated. that the unit does not need to be on the site of a telephone and thus can be used to provide a far indication of a message waiting status of the subscriber. Indeed, the low cost of the unit makes it feasible to use multiple units in the multi proposals. -phones to provide even more convenience Assuming that the interface device 10 is connected to the telephone system e proposal, an illustrative sequence of interaction with a network-based provider, storage services and delivery of voice and / or data messages will now be described in conjunction with the flow diagrams of Figures 4 and 5 with reference to the figure 4, it will be seen that the process is entered into decision block 200, where a determination is made as to whether any telephone device to the suscpptor proposal is currently in use. Optionally, the process may proceed to the decision block 202, after which by means of the operation of the ring detection circuit and the microprocessor as described above, the device 10 determines whether an incoming call has been answered after n ringing, in where n is a number greater than or equal to one It should be noted that the ring counting operation of block 202 is not necessary for the operation of the invention and is shown only for purposes of illustration Indeed, in certain circumstances, as in the where the suscpptor uses the CLASS call forwarding service, the number may only ring once at the location of the suscpptor proposal As such, the peep count step 202 and the associated counting circuits of the device 10 are omitted completely, in such a way that immediately after the detection of a peal through the ring detector circuit, the process proceeds to the decision block n 204, after which if a hang-up condition is not detected, a determination is made that the telephone has not been answered by the suscpptor In that case, the process proceeds to decision block 206, after which the device interface evaluates in an illustrative manner, based on its current message waiting indication status, if it calls the service platform for an update. For example, if the message indicator of device 10 is simply a light that is already energized or otherwise activated, such as by receiving a pre-status update signal, the reception of a second status update signal would be only redundant If the message indicator has not yet been activated, then the message wait state of the suscpptor is verified when establishing a communication link *. with the service platform. Specifically, the device 10 uses the line pick-up relay 106 and ring / tone generator 108 to perform an external call operation (block 208) in order to verify whether a voice and / or data message was actually delivered or not to the suscepptor's mailbox. If no message has yet been received in the suscpptor's mailbox, no update needs to be transmitted (block 212) and the process is reset to initial values upon return to block 200. Therefore, the message wait lamp 26 remains de-energized If any telephone equipment at the proposal of the subscriber, such as the telephone 23 is in use when entering the process (block 200), if the call is i • >; answered after n repiques have been detected (block 204) or if the mailbox responds (block 210) to the sampling operation of block 206, the operation of device 10 proceeds to a line check operation (block 214) brought to performed by the state updating signal decoding circuit 40 In response to the sampling operation of the block 0 206, for example, a message status update signal, developed in the manner described above, will be transmitted (block 218) to the device 10 if any message is received for the suscpptor In this regard, it will be noted that the network services platform must know the identity of the suscpptor in order to access the appropriate mailbox. Although it is possible to configure the device 10 to transmit a single tone sequence or other identification signal to the network service platform, it is contemplated that the ANI signal commonly provided by the central station installation may be used for this purpose. In any case and as discussed in detail above, the message update signal transmitted from the platform of the network service provider is recognized by the decoder circuit 40, thereby causing the microprocessor 36 to energize the lamp 26 and if is applicable, update an associated LCD screen. Preferably, the external call or sampling operation mentioned above is delayed by a sufficient interval to allow the calling party to register a message and / or cancel the message registration procedure. If the telephone was in use in block 200, it is possible that the subscriber is already making a call to the network services platform (for example to check his mailbox for messages). Therefore, the status update decoding circuit 40 checks the line for the presence of a status update signal (decision block 216). Illustratively, if the message waiting light 26 was previously illuminated, it is appropriate for the light to be de-energized if the subscriber is now in the process of obtaining his messages. In that case, the status update signal may be transmitted immediately to the device 10 after the subscriber establishes a communication link with the service platform. Of course, if the subscriber is not in the process of accessing the service provider's platform, no status update signal will be received (block 212) during the call and the process will be reset to initial values upon returning to block 200 when the call ends. Therefore, the state of the message waiting lamp 26 remains unchanged. Similarly, if the subscriber answers the telephone in block 204, it is possible for the incoming call to be made by the service platform in an effort to update the interface device 10, for example, to provide a message waiting indication. In that case, a status update signal may or may not be desirable. For example, in addition to, or instead of, transmitting a status update signal that will cause the device 10 to provide an alert to the subscriber, the network services platform can be configured, in a conventional manner, to audibly reproduce an alert waiting for messages on the communication link. After hearing this notice, the subscriber will be instructed to access their mailbox. Referring now to Figure 5, there is shown a sequence of operation of a telecommunications network to provide a storage and delivery of messages to a subscriber, where the subscriber's line was busy or in call delivery at the time it is received. an incoming message In this case, interface 10 has not had the opportunity to detect an unanswered telephone call. The process begins when a message is stored in a conventional manner in the database of the service platform while the subscriber line is busy (block 300). After an interval for example, one selected by the owner, of 15 minutes for example (block 310), the network services platform evaluates (block 315) if there is a previous message stored for the suscpptor for which a status update signal has already been transmitted to the suscpptor interface device If so, it can be assumed that there is no need to update the suscpptor device and the process can be adjusted to initial values. If not, the network switch attempts to establish a communication link to the device 10 (block 320) If the line is busy (block 25), the process returns to block 310 If not, the process then proceeds to the decision block 330 If the suscpptor answers in decision block 330, a message waiting message is transmitted over telephone line L (block 340) In this time, the status update signal can also be transmitted to cause the microprocessor 36 to illuminate the message waiting lamp 26, although such a visual indication may be omitted if considered redundant by the service provider If the device 10 is optionally configured to provide an LCD screen presenting multiple status updates, one or more representative tones of a status update, associated with one of these suscppors can also be transmitted during the stage represented by the blo 340, so that the suscpptor that answers can determine if the message is for him or her before contacting the service platform If in decision block 330, the suscpptor does not answer, the process enters the block decision 350, after which a determination is made as to whether the line is busy. If so, the process returns to block 300 and attempts to repeat the sequence described above later. If not, the subscriber L line is allowed to ring n times (block 360), to thereby indicate to the interface device 10 that it initiates contact with the service platform and receives the status update data such as, for example , in the illustrated process described in relation to Figure 4. From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that as an auxiliary to a network based answering service, the interface device of the present invention has the ability to provide an alert visual that a call has been received and stored in the network messaging service platform. Such alert can be provided remotely or remotely from any telephone involved and can be provided in multiple locations. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following

Claims (7)

1. Claims 1. A method for putting into operation a telecommunications network to provide subscribers with message storage and delivery services, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: establishing, when using the telecommunications network, a communication link between a device of call handling, connectable to a telephone network termination node in a subscriber proposal, the call handling device is operable to provide an indication of the message waiting status for a corresponding subscriber and a remote storage service platform and provision of network-based messages; and cause, if there are messages stored for the corresponding subscriber, that the call handling device provides the indication.
2. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the step of establishing the interface or interconnection comprises: detecting whether an incoming call to the subscriber is not answered and, if so; placing the call handling device in a hang-up condition and making a call to a telephone number associated with the service platform with the call handling device, thereby establishing the communication link.
3. 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the step of causing the visual indication includes transmitting a message waiting state signal to the call handling device, via the communication link.
4. 4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the message wait state signal comprises a dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) tone.
5. 5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the step of establishing the interconnection or interface includes: receiving on the platform for storage and delivery of messages, a message for the corresponding subscriber insofar as the subscriber is in a state to pick up with another call; Y ? > make a call to the corresponding subscriber after a selected time delay to establish by this the communication link.
6. 6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the step of causing the visual indication includes: reproducing audibly, if the corresponding subscriber answers the call made during the call making step, within a predetermined number of ringing, An indication of the waiting status of messages on the communication link.
7. 7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the step of causing the visual indication includes: terminating, if the corresponding subscriber answers the call made during the call making step, after a predetermined number of ringing; detect, with the call handling device, that the call made during the execution of the call was not answered; place the call handling device in a hang-up condition; and making, with the call handling device, a call to a telephone number associated with the service platform, thereby obtaining an updated message waiting status.