US20020044632A1 - Telephone answering system that automatically calls back a caller who has left a message - Google Patents
Telephone answering system that automatically calls back a caller who has left a message Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20020044632A1 US20020044632A1 US08/937,948 US93794897A US2002044632A1 US 20020044632 A1 US20020044632 A1 US 20020044632A1 US 93794897 A US93794897 A US 93794897A US 2002044632 A1 US2002044632 A1 US 2002044632A1
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- caller
- phone number
- message recipient
- message
- answering system
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
- H04M3/50—Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers ; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
- H04M3/53—Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages, i.e. mailbox systems
- H04M3/533—Voice mail systems
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/64—Automatic arrangements for answering calls; Automatic arrangements for recording messages for absent subscribers; Arrangements for recording conversations
- H04M1/65—Recording arrangements for recording a message from the calling party
- H04M1/6505—Recording arrangements for recording a message from the calling party storing speech in digital form
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
- H04M3/42195—Arrangements for calling back a calling subscriber
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
- H04M3/50—Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers ; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
- H04M3/53—Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages, i.e. mailbox systems
- H04M3/533—Voice mail systems
- H04M3/53333—Message receiving aspects
- H04M3/53341—Message reply
Abstract
Description
- This invention relates to telephone answering systems, and more particularly, to a telephone answering system that automatically calls back a caller at a telephone number specified by the caller in conjunction with a message left by the caller.
- Typical telephone answering systems in the prior art do not automatically call back a caller at a telephone number that the caller has specified in conjunction with a message left by the caller. However, such a telephone answering system would be greatly convenient to both the caller and the message recipient.
- Prior art caller ID may store the telephone numbers of previous callers, and may give the user an option to automatically call back one of the stored telephone numbers of a previous caller. However, the caller ID number is determined automatically by the telephone central office. This feature is disadvantageous because the caller ID number determined by the telephone central office is only the billing telephone number.
- Thus, where a caller is calling from a large organization having a main number with numerous extensions, the telephone central office may only determine the main number without the specific extension of the caller. For example, many large companies have an easy to remember main number with the last four digits ending in a thousand, such as (321) 456-1000. Then each person working within such a large company has a more specific extension as the last four digits of the phone number, such as (321) 456-7891. However, the caller ID feature may only store the number (321) 456-1000 because most of the PBX (Private Branch Exchange) trunks typically use this main number as the billing telephone number. Automatically dialing back this main number may create confusion for the message recipient who later attempts to connect with the caller.
- An even more disadvantageous feature of automatically dialing back the caller ID number is that only the billing telephone number which is typically the number the to caller has called from is stored. Thus, if the caller wants to be reached at a different telephone number from that called from, then the different telephone number cannot be automatically dialed. Such a situation can easily arise with mobile callers such as businessmen and salesmen who are calling from “on the road” such as from airports. In addition, although a caller may be calling from his or her work number, the caller may desire to be called back later at home.
- Thus, a telephone answering system is desired where the phone number as specified by a caller can be automatically dialed back, in conjunction with a message left by the caller.
- Accordingly, as a primary object of the present invention, a telephone answering system automatically dials back a phone number that a caller has specified in conjunction with a message left by the caller.
- In a general aspect of the present invention, a telephone answering system includes an instruction synthesizer for instructing the caller to enter a phone number where the caller wishes to be reached by a message recipient. A memory stores this specified phone number along with a corresponding message that the caller leaves for the message recipient. A control circuit terminates the connection of the telephone answering system to the message recipient's telephone line. A control interface controls one of a PBX (Private Branch Exchange) of the message recipient or a CENTREX within the telephone central office to connect the message recipient's telephone line to the caller by automatically dialing the specified phone number.
- The present invention can be used to particular advantage when the caller is given an option of leaving a specified number. The caller may choose not to leave a number. In the case the caller chooses to leave a number, the caller can enter in the specified number using either a DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency) keypad or by voice. If the caller leaves the specified number by voice, the present invention further comprises a voice-recognition unit that converts the spoken phone number into a digital data format for storage into memory. If the caller enters DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency) tones, the present invention further comprises a DTMF recognition unit that converts the DTMF tones into a digital data format.
- In another aspect of the present invention, the message recipient is given an option of having the specified number of the caller automatically dialed. The message recipient may choose not to have the specified number of the caller automatically dialed or may choose to dial a different number.
- These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by considering the following detailed description of the invention which is presented with the attached drawings.
- FIG. 1 shows a telephone answering system subscribed to by a message recipient within a telephone network;
- FIG. 2 shows components of a telephone answering system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
- FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the steps of operation of the telephone answering system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
- FIG. 4. shows example data fields within the memory component of FIG. 2.
- Referring to FIG. 1, a
telephone network 100 includes atelephone 102 of a user who subscribes to atelephone answering system 104. Such a user is the message recipient of any messages left by a caller on the telephone answering system. The telephone includes a telephone transmitter (microphone) 106 into which the user speaks and a telephone receiver (earpiece) 108 from which the user listens. The telephone is coupled via a telephone line 110 to a CENTREX of a telephonecentral office 112 or to a PBX (Private Branch Exchange) which connects the telephone to the telephone answering system and to the rest of the public telephone network. - The typical operation of the
telephone answering system 104 such as a voice mail system are commonly known since such answering systems are now widely used. A caller can leave a message for a message recipient when the message recipient is not available to take a call on the telephone line 110. - The present invention enhances the operation of the telephone answering system by automatically dialing back a number as specified by the caller who has left a message. Referring to FIG. 2, the components that carry out this enhanced feature of the telephone answering system of the present invention are shown. Such a
telephone answering system 200 includes acontrol circuit 202 coupled to a caller's telephone transmitter. The control circuit is coupled to a voice/DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency) recognition unit 204 and to amemory 206. The control circuit is also coupled to control interface 208 and to aninstruction synthesizer 210. The control interface is coupled to a PBX (Private Branch Exchange) 212 which is coupled to a telephonecentral office 214. The telephonecentral office 214 includes a CENTREX switching network. The PBX and the telephone central office are not part of thetelephone answering system 200 of the present invention. The instruction synthesizer is coupled to the caller's telephone receiver and the message recipient's telephone receiver. - The operation of the
telephone answering system 200 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is now described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3. Referring to FIGS. 1-3, operation of the present invention begins when a caller calls a message recipient at the telephone line 110 who is not available to take the call. Thetelephone answering system 200 takes a message from the caller for the message recipient and gives an option to the caller to specify a number where the caller wishes to be reached (step 302 of FIG. 3). The caller can choose to not leave a number, and in that case, the telephone answering system takes only a message from the caller and resumes operation of a conventional telephone answering system. - In the case the caller chooses to specify a phone number where the caller wishes to be reached, the caller is instructed by the
instruction synthesizer 210 via the caller's telephone speaker to either enter such a number by a DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency) keypad or by voice. Thecontrol circuit 202 accepts such a number entered by the caller and stores this information into memory 206 (step 304 of FIG. 3). - If the caller enters the phone number by voice, the spoken number is first coupled through the voice recognition unit204 which converts the spoken number into a digital data format to be stored in
memory 206. If the caller enters the phone number via a DTMF keypad, such a DTMF signal is first coupled through the DTMF recognition unit 204 which converts the DTMF tone into a digital data format to be stored inmemory 206. Alternatively, if a caller chooses to not leave a specified phone number, a caller ID number may be stored into thememory 206 by default. - Alternatively, the telephone
central office 214 may include an ANI (Automatic Number Identification) unit that determines the billing telephone number of the caller which typically is the phone number the caller is calling from. The ANI-determined number is also the calling number that is sent by the caller ID feature. Theinstruction synthesizer 210 may inform the caller of this ANI-determined telephone number and may give the caller the option of automatically storing this billing telephone number. With this feature, the caller does not have to enter a telephone number if the billing telephone number is desired by the caller to be the specified phone number. - In this manner, when a caller leaves a message and a specified phone number for the message recipient, a
data structure 400 of FIG. 4 may be used in thememory 206. This data structure includes three fields with afirst data field 402 containing a message identification number, asecond data field 404 containing the caller's message, and athird data field 406 containing the phone number the caller has entered. - The operation of the telephone answering system of the present invention continues when the message recipient has dialed into the telephone answering system, such as a voice mail system, and is listening to the messages left for the recipient. For any particular message, the message recipient is informed by the
instruction synthesizer 210 if a caller who has left that message has also left a phone number where the caller wishes to be reached (step 306 of FIG. 3). If a phone number has been left, the message recipient is given an option to have the enhanced telephone answering system control the PBX or the CENTREX to automatically dial that number from the recipient's telephone line (step 308 of FIG. 3). - In choosing such an option, the message recipient may be notified of the phone number stored in the
third data field 406. The message recipient may be notified by a display screen that shows the specified phone number or by voice generation of the specified phone number to be automatically dialed. - After such notification of the specified phone number, if the message recipient chooses to not call back the caller, the telephone answering system resumes operation of a conventional telephone answering system. Alternatively, the message recipient may be informed of the phone number stored in the
third data field 406 in thememory 206, and the message recipient may choose to dial a number that is different from that phone number stored inmemory 206. - If the message recipient after listening to the caller's message chooses to have the specific phone number of the caller automatically dialed, the
control circuit 202 terminates connection of the telephone answering system to the message recipient's telephone line 110 (step 310 of FIG. 3). Then, the control interface 208 retrieves that number frommemory 206. The control interface 208 controls thePBX 212 or theCENTREX 214 to automatically dial that number from the recipient's telephone line 110 and to connect the message recipient's telephone line 110 to the caller's specified telephone number (step 312 of FIG. 3). The termination from the answering system allows a two party connection between the message recipient and the caller after automatic dialing of the caller's specified phone number. - In this manner, the telephone answering system of the present invention provides great convenience to the message recipient by automatically dialing the number as specified by the caller. After the message recipient has listened to the message left by a caller, the message recipient may be automatically connected with the number that the caller has indicated. Thus, in contrast to the prior art, the message recipient does not have to write down the number that a caller may leave and does not have to then dial that number.
- Moreover, the present invention provides great convenience to the caller by providing the freedom for the caller to specify the number where that caller can be reached. Thus, in contrast to automatic dial back features with caller ID, the caller has control over which number the telephone answering system automatically dials back.
- The forgoing is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting. For example, the advantageous features of the present invention may be used in conjunction with other known features of the conventional telephone answering system. Thus, the message recipient may have a caller's message and number stored and may retrieve that message and number at a later time that is convenient to the recipient. The invention is limited only as defined in the following claims and equivalents thereof.
Claims (22)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US08/937,948 US6396906B1 (en) | 1997-09-25 | 1997-09-25 | Telephone answering system that automatically calls back a caller who has left a message |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
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US08/937,948 US6396906B1 (en) | 1997-09-25 | 1997-09-25 | Telephone answering system that automatically calls back a caller who has left a message |
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US20020044632A1 true US20020044632A1 (en) | 2002-04-18 |
US6396906B1 US6396906B1 (en) | 2002-05-28 |
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US08/937,948 Expired - Lifetime US6396906B1 (en) | 1997-09-25 | 1997-09-25 | Telephone answering system that automatically calls back a caller who has left a message |
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Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US6603846B1 (en) * | 1999-04-07 | 2003-08-05 | Agere Systems, Inc. | Methods and devices for selecting preferred call back numbers using CID data |
US6741679B1 (en) * | 1999-11-17 | 2004-05-25 | Bell South Intellectual Property Corporation | System and method for calling name delivery to voicemail systems |
US8941707B2 (en) | 2011-12-01 | 2015-01-27 | Tangome, Inc. | Video messaging |
US11196141B2 (en) | 2014-04-01 | 2021-12-07 | Ubiquiti Inc. | Compact radio frequency antenna apparatuses |
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US7266186B1 (en) * | 1994-01-05 | 2007-09-04 | Intellect Wireless Inc. | Method and apparatus for improved paging receiver and system |
US7426264B1 (en) * | 1994-01-05 | 2008-09-16 | Henderson Daniel A | Method and apparatus for improved personal communication devices and systems |
US6456709B1 (en) * | 1997-03-13 | 2002-09-24 | Metro One Telecommunications, Inc. | Method and apparatus for monitoring telephonic members and providing directory assistance |
US20020136367A1 (en) * | 1997-03-13 | 2002-09-26 | Elsey Nicholas J. | Technique for facilitating communications with a party after initial unsuccessful communications therewith |
US6611681B2 (en) * | 1997-09-26 | 2003-08-26 | Daniel A. Henderson | Method and apparatus for an improved call interrupt feature in a cordless telephone answering device |
US6999572B1 (en) * | 1998-05-01 | 2006-02-14 | Siemens Communications, Inc. | Automated call connection system |
US6683942B1 (en) * | 1999-09-10 | 2004-01-27 | Comdial Corporation | Telephone switching system with data integration |
US6567506B1 (en) * | 1999-12-02 | 2003-05-20 | Agere Systems Inc. | Telephone number recognition of spoken telephone number in a voice message stored in a voice messaging system |
ATE275790T1 (en) * | 2000-05-15 | 2004-09-15 | Cit Alcatel | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RECOVERING NOTIFICATIONS |
US6542591B1 (en) * | 2000-07-27 | 2003-04-01 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and system for caller identification callback lists |
US6907111B1 (en) * | 2000-08-09 | 2005-06-14 | Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation | Network and method for providing a name and number delivery telecommunications services with automatic speech recognition capability |
US6721399B2 (en) * | 2000-12-15 | 2004-04-13 | Siemens Information & Communication Networks, Inc. | Apparatus and systems for utilizing caller ID data to automate return call processing |
US6788767B2 (en) * | 2000-12-28 | 2004-09-07 | Gateway, Inc. | Apparatus and method for providing call return service |
US7437148B1 (en) * | 2001-06-08 | 2008-10-14 | Vaghi Family Intellectual Properties, Llc | Personal communications system and method |
US20090098865A1 (en) * | 2001-06-08 | 2009-04-16 | Vaghi Nino R | Personal communications system and method |
US7174191B2 (en) * | 2002-09-10 | 2007-02-06 | Motorola, Inc. | Processing of telephone numbers in audio streams |
US7929670B2 (en) * | 2003-09-29 | 2011-04-19 | Aspect Software, Inc. | Contact manipulaton and retrieval system |
US20060141926A1 (en) * | 2004-12-29 | 2006-06-29 | Nokia Corporation | Call rejections and reminders in order to enhance enjoyment of media items |
TW200644592A (en) * | 2005-06-08 | 2006-12-16 | Benq Corp | Method for operating handset remote listen-in using short messages |
US7965822B2 (en) * | 2005-09-28 | 2011-06-21 | Siemens Enterprise Communications, Inc. | Telephony dialing using speech recognition |
JP5353110B2 (en) * | 2008-08-18 | 2013-11-27 | 沖電気工業株式会社 | Sender information notification system and communication network server |
US9185208B2 (en) * | 2008-12-23 | 2015-11-10 | At&T Mobility Ii Llc | Calendar-callback voicemail |
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US5289530A (en) * | 1991-07-23 | 1994-02-22 | Morris Reese | Method and apparatus for vocally communicating to a caller at a remote telephone station synthesized speech of stored special service information |
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US5504805A (en) * | 1993-04-05 | 1996-04-02 | At&T Corp. | Calling number identification using speech recognition |
CA2119086C (en) * | 1994-03-15 | 1998-06-16 | Thomas A. Gray | Help desk improvement |
US5502761A (en) * | 1994-03-24 | 1996-03-26 | Rolm Company | Apparatus and method for relaying calling information to a pager or alternate telephone |
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US5740229A (en) * | 1996-03-15 | 1998-04-14 | At&T Corp | Method and apparatus for a pre-paid return call |
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Cited By (5)
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---|---|---|---|---|
US6603846B1 (en) * | 1999-04-07 | 2003-08-05 | Agere Systems, Inc. | Methods and devices for selecting preferred call back numbers using CID data |
US6741679B1 (en) * | 1999-11-17 | 2004-05-25 | Bell South Intellectual Property Corporation | System and method for calling name delivery to voicemail systems |
US8941707B2 (en) | 2011-12-01 | 2015-01-27 | Tangome, Inc. | Video messaging |
US9262753B2 (en) | 2011-12-01 | 2016-02-16 | Tangome, Inc. | Video messaging |
US11196141B2 (en) | 2014-04-01 | 2021-12-07 | Ubiquiti Inc. | Compact radio frequency antenna apparatuses |
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US6396906B1 (en) | 2002-05-28 |
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