Personalized voice mail identification system

A personalized voice mail identification system is enclosed. In a preferred embodiment, the system of the present invention resides on a personal computer (PC) connected to a phone line via a TAPI-compliant or other appropriate device for enabling telephone functions to be performed by the PC. In one aspect of the invention, when a caller calls a system subscriber, a callerID code, if present, is detected and a determination is next made whether there is an ID recording comprising the spoken caller's name associated with the callerID code already stored in a database of the system. If there is an ID recording for the caller in the database, the recording is accessed and played to the subscriber as part of a call screening function. Alternatively, if no callerID code was detected or if there is not an ID recording associated with the caller in the database, the caller is prompted to speak his or her name into the phone, at which point the caller's name is announced to the subscriber and the ID recording is stored in the database in association with the callerID code, if one was detected. In another aspect of the invention, the accessed ID recording is incorporated into an audio message header of a message left by the caller when the subscriber is unavailable.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The invention relates generally to voice mail systems and, more 
particularly, to method and apparatus for providing personalized 
identification for messages recorded using such voice mail systems. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A voice mail system is a record and playback system that allows a caller to 
record a message for a designated recipient, or subscriber, who is not 
available to take the call at the time the call is received in the system. 
The caller's message is typically digitized and stored in a central memory 
device and associated with the designated recipient's "mailbox address." 
Only the designated subscriber can subsequently retrieve the messages 
associated with his or her mailbox address. The set of messages designated 
as being for a single subscriber is commonly referred to as the 
subscriber's "voice mailbox," although the messages for a single 
subscriber may be stored throughout the memory device, rather than being 
stored together in one area of the device. 
In some voice mail systems, such as systems commercially available from 
Octel Communications Corporation, VMX, Inc., and IBM Corporation, if the 
caller calls from a telephone from within a PBX with which the system is 
associated, the system will identify the caller by name, by matching the 
extension from which the caller is calling with an audio file, such that 
the name of the caller recorded in the caller's own voice may be played, 
e.g., as a part of a message header, to the subscriber when the subscriber 
retrieves his or her messages from the mailbox. However, if a caller calls 
from a telephone that is not within the PBX, the system will only be able 
to determine, and perhaps indicate, that the caller is "an outside caller" 
and will not be able to provide to the subscriber the spoken name of the 
caller. 
Another deficiency of current voice mail systems is that they do not 
support a user-friendly call screening function. For example, if a 
subscriber is desirous of receiving or avoiding only calls from a 
particular caller, it would be helpful for the subscriber to be informed, 
before he or she must decide whether to answer the phone, the name of the 
person who is calling. "CallerID" systems are available to indicate to the 
subscriber the name and/or telephone number of the caller; however, 
because this information is presented on a display associated with the 
telephone, rather than announced to the subscriber, the subscriber must be 
standing near enough to the telephone to read the display and determine 
whether to answer the call. This feature, therefore, has little benefit 
when the subscriber is in another room. 
Therefore, what is needed is a system for identifying callers into a voice 
mail system by name, and using such identification for performing 
personalized caller identification and screening. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention, accordingly, provides a personalized voice mail 
identification system enhancement that overcomes or reduces disadvantages 
and limitations associated with prior methods and systems. In a preferred 
embodiment, the system of the present invention resides on a personal 
computer (PC) connected to a phone line via a TAPI-compliant or other 
appropriate device for enabling telephone functions to be performed by the 
PC. 
In one aspect of the invention, when a caller calls a system subscriber, a 
callerID code, if present, is detected and a determination is next made 
whether there is an ID recording comprising the caller's name associated 
with the callerID code, and hence the caller, already stored in a database 
of the system. If there is an ID recording for the caller already stored 
in the database, the recording is accessed and played to the subscriber as 
part of a call screening function, if that function has been activated. 
Alternatively, if no callerID code was detected or if there is not an ID 
recording associated with the caller already stored in the database, the 
caller is asked to speak his or her name into the phone, at which point 
the caller is announced to the subscriber, if the call screening function 
has been activated, and the ID recording is stored in the database in 
association with the callerID code, if one was detected. 
In another aspect of the invention, the accessed ID recording is 
incorporated into an audio message header of a message left by the caller 
when the subscriber is unavailable. Such a header could be, for example, 
"Message from ID recording! sent date!, at time!" where "ID 
recording!" represents the content of the ID recording from the database, 
i.e., the caller's spoken name. In this manner, regardless of whether the 
name of the caller was "known" to the system prior to the call, the 
caller's name can be announced to the subscriber when he or she retrieves 
the messages left in his or her mailbox. 
A technical advantage achieved with the invention is that it enables calls 
to be screened by a subscriber using the caller's name as spoken by the 
caller. 
Another technical advantage achieved with the invention is that it enables 
call screening to be performed without the knowledge of the caller. 
Another technical advantage achieved with the invention is that it 
automatically provides the caller's spoken name in the message header, 
regardless of whether the caller is an "internal" or "external" caller.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 illustrates a personal computer ("PC") 10 embodying features of the 
present invention. In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, the PC 10 comprises 
a central processing unit ("CPU") 12, a mass storage device 14, a display 
16, a speaker 18, a microphone 19 and other I/0 devices, collectively 
designated by a reference numeral 20, interconnected via one or more 
computer buses, shown in FIG. 1 as a bus 22. At least one Telephony 
Application Programming Interface ("TAPI") compliant device 24 is provided 
on the bus 22 for connecting the components of the PC 10 to a telephone 
line (not shown) and for providing the PC 10 with standard telephone 
capabilities. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that 
"TAPI," which was jointly developed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, 
Washington, and Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., defines an 
interface between Microsoft Windows applications and telephone devices for 
providing a standard way to build telephone capabilities into Windows 
software. Alternatively, the device 24 may be a voice modem or other 
appropriate device for performing the above-described functions. 
Instructions for implementing a personalized voice mail identification 
system embodying features of the present invention, designated by a 
reference numeral 26, are stored in mass storage device 14 for execution 
by the CPU 12. Also stored in mass storage device 14 is a database 28 for 
storing ID recordings containing the spoken name of callers associated 
with particular callerID codes, as will be described. 
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the operation of the personalized voice mail 
system 26. Operation begins in step 200 in response to an incoming call. 
In step 202, a determination is made whether callerID data is present. If 
so, execution proceeds to step 204, in which a determination is made 
whether there is an ID recording in the database corresponding to the 
detected callerID data. If not, execution proceeds to step 206, in which 
the caller is prompted to record an ID recording by speaking his or her 
name into the caller's telephone (not shown) and the recording is stored 
in the database in step 208. 
If in step 202 callerID data is not detected, execution proceeds to step 
210, in which the caller is prompted to record an ID recording, again, by 
speaking his or her name into the caller's telephone. If in step 204 it is 
determined that there is an ID recording in the database corresponding to 
the detected callerID data, execution proceeds to step 212. Similarly, 
upon completion of step 208 or 210, execution proceeds directly to step 
212. 
In step 212, a determination is made whether the call screening function 
has been activated, it being understood that such activation could occur 
in a variety of ways, such as setting a flag or the like. If the call 
screening function has been enabled, execution proceeds to step 214, in 
which the caller's ID recording accessed in step 204 or recorded in step 
206 or 210 is played to the subscriber, at which point execution proceeds 
to step 216. If in step 212 it is determined that the call screening 
function is not activated, execution proceeds directly to step 216. In 
step 216, a determination is made whether the subscriber has answered the 
call. If not, execution proceeds to step 224, in which the caller's 
message is recorded and stored in the appropriate mailbox. Execution of 
the personalized voice mail system terminates in step 226. Similarly, if 
in step 216 the subscriber answers the call, execution proceeds directly 
to step 226. 
In this manner, the system of the present invention provides several 
enhanced features to a basic voice mail system. First, it provides a means 
by which the spoken name, rather than simply the phone number, of the 
caller is automatically provided to the subscriber, thereby enabling the 
subscriber to determine whether or not he or she wishes to take the call. 
In addition, it provides a means by which the name of a caller outside a 
PBX may be determined and incorporated into a message header such that the 
caller's name is automatically announced to the subscriber when he or she 
retrieves his or her messages. 
It is understood that the present invention can take many forms and 
embodiments, the embodiments shown herein are intended to illustrate 
rather than limit, the invention, it being understood that variations may 
be made without departing from the spirit of the scope of the invention. 
For example, a number of ID recordings could be prerecorded by the 
subscriber and stored in the database associated with the appropriate 
callerID data. This might be advantageous, for example, where a subscriber 
expects to receive a number of calls from particular persons, such as 
family members, business associates and personal friends, and would spare 
the caller from the relatively minor inconvenience of having to record his 
or her name. 
Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been shown and 
described, a wide range of modification, change and substitution is 
intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features 
of the present invention may be employed without a corresponding use of 
the other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended 
claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of 
the invention.