Patent EP0804010A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0804010A2
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EP
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Voice processing system
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1997-01-23
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2017-01-23
Abstract
Abstract A method of providing a voice mail service is disclosed using a voice processing system having a communications link to one or more voice mail systems. A voice message for a subscriber to said one or more voice mail systems is received at said voice processing system, which prompts a determination as to the voice mail system on which said subscriber has a voice mailbox. The voice message is the transmitted to the voice mail system on which said subscriber has a voice mailbox. In the preferred embodiment, the communications link forms part of the Internet, and received messages are processed independently by two separate voice processing systems to provide redundancy.
Inventors
- 👤 Lawrence Leon Porter
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 18:55
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04M; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/50; H04M3/53; H04M3/533; H04M3/08; H04M3/12; H04M3/53325; H04M7/00; H04M7/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
71 words
A voice processing system, having a communications link to one or more voice mail systems, including: means for receiving a voice message for a subscriber to said one or more voice mail systems; means for determining the voice mail system on which said subscriber has a voice mailbox; means, responsive to said determination, for transmitting the voice message to the voice mail system on which said subscriber has a voice mailbox.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the received voice message is stored on said voice processing system prior to transmission to the voice mail system on which said subscriber has a voice mailbox.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
20 words
The system of any preceding claim, wherein said system has a communications link to at least two voice mail systems.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
32 words
The system of any preceding claim, wherein said determining means comprises means for accessing a directory listing the subscribers who have a voice mailbox on said one or more voice mail systems.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 4, wherein said directory includes for each subscriber an identification of their voice mailbox and the voice mail system on which said voice mailbox is located.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 7, wherein said directory includes a personalised recording for at least some subscribers to said one or more voice mail systems, and said system includes means for playing said recording to the sender of said voice message.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 6, wherein said personalised recording comprises the name of said subscriber, spoken by said subscriber.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 5, wherein said directory includes for at least some subscribers the name of the subscriber, and wherein said system includes text to speech conversion means for playing said name to the sender of said voice message.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
41 words
The system of any of claims 4 to 8, wherein said directory includes for at least some subscribers the electronic mail address of the subscriber, and said system further includes means for transmitting the voice message to said electronic mail address.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 9, wherein said voice message is transmitted to said electronic mail address as an audio file.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system of claim 10, wherein said audio file is in Internet SMTP/MIME format.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 9, 10, or 11, wherein a subscriber may optionally select whether received voice messages are transmitted to his/her voice mailbox, or to his/her electronic mail address, or to both.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
23 words
The system of any of claims 4 to 12, wherein said directory is included on the same machine as said voice processing system.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
19 words
The system of any preceding claim, wherein said communications link is over a multi-node network providing robust message delivery.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
38 words
The system of claim 14, wherein said robust message delivery includes storage within the network of a voice message being transmitted from said voice processing system to a voice mail system if said voice mail system is unavailable.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
13 words
The system of any preceding claim, wherein said communications link comprises the Internet.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
17 words
The system of any of claims 1 to 15, wherein said communications link comprises a computer intranet.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
21 words
The system of any preceding claim, wherein said voice message is transmitted to said voice mail system in a digital format.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 18, wherein said transmitted voice message conforms to the Voice Profile for Internet Mail.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
17 words
The system of any preceding claim, wherein no subscriber mailboxes are stored on said voice processing system.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
54 words
The system of any of claims 1 to 19, wherein said voice processing system comprises a voice mail system including subscriber mailboxes, and wherein said voice processing system is responsive to a determination that the subscriber mailbox for the received message is located on said voice processing system for storing said voice message therein.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
119 words
A voice mail system, having a communications link to one or more other voice mail systems, including: means for receiving a voice message for a subscriber to said voice mail system or to said one or more other voice mail systems; means for determining on which voice mail system said subscriber has a voice mailbox; means, responsive to a determination that said subscriber has a voice mailbox on said voice mail system, for storing said voice message therein; and means, responsive to a determination that said party has a voice mailbox on one of said one or more other voice mail systems, for transmitting said voice message to said one of said one or more other voice mail systems.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
80 words
A method of providing a voice mail service using a voice processing system having a communications link to one or more voice mail systems, said method including the steps of: receiving a voice message for a subscriber to said one or more voice mail systems at said voice processing system; determining the voice mail system on which said subscriber has a voice mailbox; transmitting the voice message to the voice mail system on which said subscriber has a voice mailbox.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 23, wherein said determining step comprises accessing a directory listing the subscribers who have a voice mailbox on said one or more voice mail systems.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 24, wherein said directory includes for each subscriber an identification of their voice mailbox and the voice mail system on which said voice mailbox is located.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said directory includes a personalised recording for at least some subscribers to said one or more voice mail systems, and said method includes playing said recording to the sender of said voice message.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said directory includes for at least some subscribers the name of the subscriber, and wherein said method includes performing text to speech conversion for playing said name to the sender of said voice message.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
29 words
The method of any of claims 24 to 27, further comprising the step of propagating information about updates to said one or more voice mail systems to said directory.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
30 words
The method of any of claims 23 to 28, wherein said message is received from a caller who is not a subscriber to said one or more voice mail systems.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 29, wherein said message is received from a caller who is not a subscriber to said one or more voice mail systems or to said voice mail system on said voice processing system.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
34 words
The method of any of claims 23 to 30, wherein said voice processing system is located in a different country from at least one of said at least one or more voice mail systems.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
47 words
The method of any of claims 23 to 31, wherein there are at least two voice processing systems, and said voice message for a subscriber to said one or more voice mail systems may be received at either (any) of said two or more voice processing systems.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 32, wherein said at least two voice processing systems may perform said determining and transmitting steps independently of one another to provide a redundancy capability.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 33, wherein said at least two voice processing system may be reached by dialling the same telephone number.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 34, wherein calls for a particular subscriber are preferentially received by one of said at least two voice processing systems.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
92 words
The method of any of claims 23 to 35, wherein there are at least two voice processing systems, each voice processing system comprising a voice mail system including subscriber mailboxes, and said voice message for a subscriber to said one or more voice mail systems may be received at either (any) of said two or more voice processing systems, wherein calls for a particular subscriber having a mailbox on one of said at least two voice processing systems are preferentially received by the voice processing system on which the mailbox is located.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
162 words
A system for providing voice mail service comprising at least two voice processing systems, each having associated therewith a database containing a directory of subscribers to said voice mail service, and at least one voice mail system for storing voice mailboxes for subscribers to said voice mail service, said at least two voice processing systems and said at least one voice mail system being connected together by a communications link, including: means for routing an incoming call for a subscriber to a selected one of said voice processing systems; means at said selected voice processing system for receiving a voice message for a subscriber to said voice mail service; means at said selected voice processing system for using said associated directory to determine the voice mail system on which said subscriber has a voice mailbox; means, responsive to said determination, for transmitting the voice message over said communications link to the voice mail system on which said subscriber has a voice mailbox.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 37, wherein voice mailboxes in at least one of said at least one voice mail systems may be accessed over the Internet by a WorldWideWeb browser.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 37 or 38, wherein said at least two voice processing systems are attached to the public telephone network for the receipt of voice messages.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 39, wherein said at least two voice processing systems have a digital trunk connection to the public telephone network.
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