Network based voice mail with call screening

A network based voice mail system without losing any of the advantages of traditional answering machines includes a small device, which looks like an answering machine and costs about the same, and three-way calling service. The small device (called a Remote Answering Device) looks just like an ordinary answering machine. Answered by a human, the Remote Answering Device will pick up after a preselected number of rings and play a prerecorded greeting that is stored locally and then prompt the caller to wait for the beep. The Remote Answering Device then uses three-way calling service to conference the user's voice mail number into the call, by sending a hook flash signal and speed dialing the user's voice mail number. When a conference call is established it plays the beep and then plays the message which is. If an extension is picked up, the Remote Answering Device drops the conference call by sending another hook flash signal and hangs up. Since the Remote Answering Device answered all calls it knows how many messages have been left and can indicate this number on its display. The Remote Answering Device will automatically call up the user's voice mail box and start playing the messages. If a call is received by the network based voice mail system that did not first pass through the Remote Answering Device, the network based voice mail system sends a page to the Remote Answering Device that identifies the correct message count in the queue. The Remote Answering Device includes a paging receiver that receives the message and sends the correct count to a processor that updates the message count indicator.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention relates generally to voice mail systems, and more
 particularly to network based voice mail systems.
 Network based voice mail systems offer a number of interesting advantages
 compared to traditional answering machine devices, for example, better
 voice quality, better reliability, the possibility of leaving messages
 without disturbing recipients by ringing their phone, notification (e.g.,
 pager) or alternative message retrieval (e.g., from a personal computer).
 Network based voice mail is furthermore a prerequisite for unified
 messaging, which requires a single point access to voice mail, electronic
 mail (e-mail) and fax. These advantages are not only interesting for
 customers but also for service providers who can sell more and provide
 better services.
 Despite these advantages and despite several attempts from the local
 telephone companies, network based voice mail to date has not had much
 success with home customers, even if the service was offered free of
 charge! According to one survey, the primary reason for this, is the
 inability to screen calls before answering them. Caller ID devices do not
 compensate for the loss in case of home usage for several reasons. For
 one, caller ID devices only show who is calling but give no indication of
 the purpose of the call. Knowing what the caller wants is important to
 decide whether or not to answer the call. Moreover, caller ID information
 is not always available and the caller ID display cannot be read from a
 distance. To view the display, one would have to walk up to the phone--an
 activity which is bothersome and which may interrupt one's dinner or other
 leisure activity.
 Other reasons for not using network based voice mail are the lack of a
 message indicator and the increased complexity for retrieving voice mail
 from a network (e.g., no simple "play" button).
 One attempt to solve this problem is a product known as Solo-Point, which
 can be found on the World Wide Web at www.solopoint.com. This device uses
 three-way calling to conference in a network based voice mail system with
 a local device that plays the incoming message to enable a user to screen
 calls. This enables a user to screen calls with a network based voice mail
 system. Unfortunately, this product is unable to stay in synchronization
 with the network based voice mail system, in that it cannot always
 correctly indicate the number of telephone messages in the network based
 voice mail system because calls that do not pass through this product are
 not logged by it. This can occur if the telephone line is busy, or the
 network based voice mail system is accessed directly by a caller. As a
 result, messages could exist in the network based voice mail system, while
 the Solo-Point device indicates there are no messages waiting to be
 played.
 The present invention is therefore directed to the problem of developing a
 network based voice mail system that enables the user to screen calls, yet
 accurately indicates the number of messages in the network based telephone
 system and is as easy to use as conventional telephone answering machines.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention solves this problem by providing a remote answering
 device that is coupled to the network based voice mail system through the
 telephone network using three-way calling, which remote answering device
 includes a speaker that enables the user to screen calls and a series of
 keys to access the network based voice mail system, and a paging device
 disposed in the network based voice mail system that contacts the remote
 answering device when the network based voice mail system receives a
 message that it identifies as not having passed through the remote
 answering device.
 According to the present invention a network based voice mail apparatus
 includes a network based voice mail system with a user voice mail box, at
 least one remote answering device coupled to a user's incoming telephone
 line, and a telephone network providing three-way calling service, wherein
 the remote answering device answers an incoming call after a predetermined
 number of rings, and conferences in the user's voice mail box in the
 network based voice mail system using the three-way calling service of the
 telephone network. In addition, the apparatus includes a paging device
 that determines that a call was received by the network based voice mail
 system without simultaneously passing through the remote answering device,
 which pages the remote answering device and updates the message counter.
 Furthermore, the present invention also includes a remote answering device,
 for use in a network based voice mail system wherein a user voice mail box
 is accessible over a telephone network via a predetermined telephone
 number and an optional predetermined access code. This device includes a
 modem (as used herein, modem refers to any telephone/network interface
 device, either analog or digital) capable of answering an incoming call
 upon detecting a predetermined number of rings, dialing the user's voice
 mail box using a three-way calling service and conferencing the incoming
 call with the user's voice mail box, a memory for storing the
 predetermined telephone number and the optional predetermined access code,
 and a processor for controlling the modem and passing the predetermined
 telephone number and optional predetermined access code from the memory to
 the modem. In addition, the device includes a paging receiver that
 receives a page from the network based voice mail system when a message
 enters the network based voice mail system without previously having
 passed through the device. The processor then updates the message counter
 based on the page received by the paging receiver.
 According to the present invention, a method for enabling screening of
 calls by a network based voice mail system, includes the steps of: a)
 monitoring an incoming call to determine whether the call is not being
 answered by a user; b) answering the incoming call if the user does not
 answer; c) playing a greeting for the caller; d) conferencing in the
 user's network based voice mail system; e) recording a message using the
 network based voice mail system while simultaneously playing the message
 over a speaker disposed in the user's location; and f) paging a remote
 answering device if a call is received by the user's network based voice
 mail system without simultaneously passing through the remote answering
 device.
 In this method according to the present invention, one particularly useful
 embodiment includes the steps of: f) sensing with the remote answering
 device when a call is not answered and right after the incoming call has
 been forwarded to the voice mail system placing a call to the voice mail
 system itself; and g) conferencing the call from the remote answering
 device with the incoming call forwarded to the network based voice mail
 system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
 The present invention presents a solution for providing network based voice
 mail without the loss of any of the advantages of traditional answering
 machines. It does require the installation of a small device at the
 telephone site, which looks like an answering machine and costs about the
 same. In addition, the present invention uses three-way calling service,
 which is currently available in most places. There is, however, no
 requirement for changing or reprogramming the local switch, which can be a
 significant expense, other than providing a paging device at the network
 based voice mail system. Any service provider can offer the voice mail
 service without requiring intervention of the local telephone service
 provider.
 FIG. 1 depicts the system 10 of the present invention. A Remote Answering
 Device 1 is connected in parallel with the telephone(s) 2 inside one's
 home 3 to the Local Service Provider 4 via the local telephone line 5. The
 Local Service Provider 4 connects the Remote Answering Device 1 to a
 Network Based Voice Mail System 6 via the telephone network 7. The Network
 Based Voice Mail System 6 is also connected to the Internet 8, which has a
 Web Site 9 via which the user can access using a Web Browser 11 running on
 the user's Personal Computer 13 to review the messages in the user's Voice
 Mail Box 12 in the Network Based Voice Mail System 6. Each of these
 elements and interfaces will now be described in more detail.
 Remote Answering Device
 Turning to FIG. 2, shown is the Remote Answering Device 1, which looks just
 like an ordinary answering machine. It has a speaker 21, a message number
 indicator 22 and basic play back control buttons, such as "play" 23,
 "stop" 24, "delete" 25, "record" 26, "skip" 27, "fast" 28, "slow" 29,
 "save" 30, "rewind" 31, etc. The Remote Answering Device 1 may or may not
 have a normal telephone built in. The Remote Answering Device 1 plugs into
 a normal telephone jack 32, and may include a second RJ-11 jack 33 and is
 powered by a normal 120 V electrical outlet 34. In addition, the Remote
 Answering Device 1 includes a number keypad 35 for entering in the
 telephone number of the user's voice mail system, and for entering in
 security codes for accessing the network based voice mail system 6, if
 desired. For the customer, there is no visible difference from a normal
 answering machine. Throughout this document the device will be called the
 "Remote Answering Device." Turning to FIG. 3, shown therein is a block
 diagram of the Remote Answering Device 1. The telephone line 4 passes to a
 modem 36 via the RJ-11 jacks 32, 33, which modem 36 is connected to a
 processor 37, that controls the operation of the Remote Answering Device
 1. The processor 37 is also connected to a memory 38, the control keys
 23-31, the message indicator 22, the keypad 35, and a power converter 47,
 which converts the 120 V power to 5 V power, for example. The power
 converter 47 also provides 5 V power to the modem 36, an optional pager
 39, and memory 38 and is connected to the electrical outlet 34. The memory
 38 stores the local greeting and also stores the access telephone numbers
 and security codes necessary to access the network based voice mail system
 6.
 Answering a Call
 When a telephone call comes in which is not answered by a human, the Remote
 Answering Device 1 picks up after a preselected number of rings. The
 Remote Answering Device 1 will then play a greeting, which is prerecorded
 and stored locally (in the memory 38) and will then prompt the caller to
 wait for a beep. The Remote Answering Device 1 then uses the three-way
 calling service to conference the user's voice mail number (predetermined
 by the Network Based Voice Mail System and provided to the user by the
 three-way calling service provider, which is usually the Local Service
 Provider 4) into the call, by sending a hook flash signal and speed
 dialing the user's voice mail number, which was previously entered into
 the memory 38 by the user using the keypad 35. This conference call takes
 only about three seconds. When a conference call is established, it plays
 the beep and then records the message, which is also being played live on
 the speaker 21 in the user's home. The caller can skip the greeting by
 pressing any button (or a predetermined button such as the "#" key), as
 with most traditional answering machines.
 When the User Picks Up During Recording or Greeting
 After answering a call, the Remote Answering Device 1 constantly monitors
 the impedance of the telephone line 4 to detect if any of the extension
 phones is being picked up. If an extension is picked up, the Remote
 Answering Device 1 drops the conference call by sending another hook flash
 signal and hangs up. A hook flash signal will drop the last entrant to a
 conference call, so no modification to the switch (not shown) at the local
 service provider 5 is necessary. The user can then talk normally with the
 caller.
 Message Indicator and Playback of Messages
 Since the Remote Answering Device 1 answers all incoming calls, the Remote
 Answering Device 1 knows how many messages have been left and can indicate
 this number on the message indicator display 22. The user can press a
 simple "play" button 23 to play back the messages. The Remote Answering
 Device 1 will automatically call up the user's voice mail box 12 and start
 playing the messages. Again, this takes no more than three seconds. Other
 buttons like "skip" 27, "delete" 25, "fast" 28, "slow" 29 etc. can be
 added. They act as remote controls for the voice mail box 12.
 If users wish to retrieve messages from outside home they can call their
 home number, wait till the greeting is over or skip it and, when connected
 with the network mail box 12, enter their PIN code to access their
 messages. This procedure is, again, no different than with a normal
 answering machine. The Remote Answering Device 1 monitors this session to
 know how many messages have been deleted and how many have been left. It
 may even count how many old and how many new messages are currently
 present in the voice mail box 12.
 If, in a future service, the user deletes messages from access points other
 than a telephone, e.g., a computer, then the message indicator 22 of the
 Remote Answering Device 1 might still indicate messages, which, in
 reality, have already been deleted. One touch of the "play" button 23,
 however, will synchronize the display.
 One possible embodiment for realizing this is sending data over voice,
 i.e., the Remote Answering Device 1 queries the Network Based Voice Mail
 System 6 to determine the number of messages to play, which automatically
 synchronizes the Remote Answering Device 1 with the Network Based Voice
 Mail System 6, at least with regard to the number of messages to play. The
 Network Based Voice Mail System 6 then transmits the number of messages
 remaining while simultaneously transmitting the voice messages (thus, data
 over voice). While the basic concept of the present invention requires no
 modifications to the local switch or Network Based Voice Mail System 6,
 this capability will require a modification to the existing Network Based
 Voice Mail System 6.
 Alternatively, the Network Based Voice Mail System 6 could append the data
 at the end of the voice messages, which would not require the more complex
 data over voice technology. As this data would not require more than a
 couple of bits, it could easily be sent either before or after other
 messages.
 Likewise, if messages are delivered by other ways than calling the user's
 phone number, then the message indicator 22 of the Remote Answering Device
 1 might miss calls. This is for instance the case, when a caller directly
 calls the user's voice mail box number 12 to leave a message without
 disturbing the recipient. Again, the display will be synchronized with one
 touch of the "play " button.
 The Remote Answering Device 1 can be set to periodically call in to the
 voice mail box 12 to synchronize its message indicator, for example four
 times an hour. Each such call will be less than 5 seconds in total.
 Alternatively, the Network Based Voice Mail System 6 can page the Remote
 Answering Device 1 indicating the presence of a call that entered the mail
 box without going through the Remote Answering Device 1. This is
 accomplished by including a pager 39 in the Remote Answering Device 1.
 Simply paging the Remote Answering Device 1 when a message enters the
 Network Based Voice Mail System 6 without passing through the Remote
 Answering Device 1 would ensure that the two mail boxes remain in
 synchronization with regard to the number of messages in the voice mail
 box 12.
 Multiple Mail Boxes
 Certain answering machines offer multiple mail boxes. The greeting usually
 prompts a user to press 1 to leave a message for person A, to press 2 for
 person B, etc. The Remote Answering Device can offer the same service. It
 senses which number was pressed and then calls up that person's voice mail
 number or a default voice mail box (if no button was pressed) to record
 the message. The individual members of a household need not even be on the
 same voice mail system.
 Invention Specific Advantages
 Besides the well-known advantages of network based voice message systems
 there are a few more advantages which are specific for the use with a
 Remote Answering Device.
 Multiple Homes
 People who have multiple telephones in different locations, for instance, a
 vacation home or a private office, can use multiple Remote Answering
 Devices but need only one network based voice mail service. All messages
 will go to the same place but any of the Remote Answering Devices are able
 to access and play back all messages. So, a call to home when a user is on
 vacation will go to the user's voice mail box 12, and a call to the user's
 vacation home will also go to the same voice mail box 12 if unanswered.
 This enables the user to listen to all messages without calling the voice
 mail at home, at the office, at the cellular service, and at the vacation
 home, for example.
 Wireless Voice Mail
 Customers with mobile phones need only to subscribe to no answer/busy
 forward service instead of a full voice mail service. They can then
 forward unanswered calls to their home voice mail number. Without losing
 any of the features of a mobile voice mail service (except notification
 which could be offered by our service as well) they get the additional
 advantage of being notified of wireless messages when entering the home
 and being able to play them in an uncomplicated easy way (just press the
 "play" button on the Remote Answering Device).
 It is possible to create a mobile version of the Remote Answering Device
 that one could carry to enable one to access and play back messages to
 one's home phone or any other telephone.
 Higher Reliability
 A power outage at home will not erase any messages, because the messages
 are stored at the Network Based Voice Mail System 6. Alternatively, the
 messages could be stored in both places to ensure redundancy (or backup)
 for very important messages. In this case, the Remote Answering Device 1
 would then access the Network Based Voice Mail System 6 and indicate that
 the messages were played to the user, thereby indicating to delete the
 messages. Or, the user could simply replace a tape in the Remote Answering
 Device 1, thereby enabling archival of the messages. In this case, the
 playback would occur in the normal manner, as described above.
 Furthermore, the user can advise the local telephone company to forward the
 calls on no answer/busy directly to the voice mail number. In addition, it
 is possible for the Network Based Voice Mail System 6 to notify the caller
 that the call to the home phone did not go through because the line is
 busy or down. Because the message that is played by the Network Based
 Voice Mail System 6 is different than the message played by the Remote
 Answering Device 1, the message could indicate that the call did not go
 through. To indicate that the line was down would require some
 reprogramming at the local switch; however, it would enable a caller to
 attempt to reach the user by another means to let the user know the line
 is down or his equipment is malfunctioning. This could be an additional
 service provided by the local service provider.
 If a call arrives during a power outage, then the caller is still able to
 leave a message. To accomplish this, the number of rings set by the local
 telephone company before forwarding the call must be higher than the
 number of rings set by the Remote Answering Device.
 Record Messages When the Line is Busy
 The same no answer/busy forward feature described above can be used for
 callers to leave messages when the line is busy, so no calls are missed.
 Using the caller ID information the voice mail system can determine where
 the call is coming from and play a (greeting accordingly, e.g., "the line
 is currently busy, please leave a message." Even though users don't know
 immediately that a call came while they were on the phone, they will know
 a few minutes later, after the Remote Answering Device synchronizes with
 the voice mail system the next time.
 Compatibility with Existing Voice Mail Systems
 An important property of the Remote Answering Device is that it works with
 any existing or future voice mail system. There is no major development
 work necessary on the network side of the service.
 Synchronization of the Message Indicator
 The synchronization of the message indicator requires data to be exchanged
 between the Remote Answering Device and the Network Based Voice Mail
 Service. It can be done by sending data over voice. This is standard
 technology but currently not supported by voice mail systems. If it is not
 supported, then the message indicator might be out of synchronization when
 message traffic bypasses the Remote Answering Device, e.g., when the voice
 mail number is called directly to leave a message or retrieve and delete
 messages.
 As described above, it is possible to accomplish this using paging
 technology, as well.
 Erasing Calls which have Been Intercepted
 When an extension phone is picked up at home during the recording of a
 message, the Remote Answering Device drops the connection to the voice
 mail system and lets the user talk to the caller. A standard voice mail
 system will not know the difference between a full message and a message
 which has been intercepted and will therefore keep all intercepted
 messages. The Remote Answering Device sends a few bits of data to the
 voice mail system before disconnecting the line to indicate whether the
 call has been intercepted or not. If the voice mail system is able to read
 this data it can erase intercepted messages which is what the user expects
 to happen.
 Local and Network Stored Greetings
 Normally the Remote Answering Device plays the greeting which is stored
 locally. It could be network based but then a caller needs to wait for
 about three seconds before being connected to the network. On the other
 hand, if a call gets forwarded directly to the voice mail box (e.g., the
 line is busy), then the network needs to play the greeting. With standard
 voice mail systems this leads to two greetings being played in sequence
 for normal calls. If the voice mail system detects where the call is
 coming from, it can either play its own greeting or not play a greeting at
 all if the call comes from the Remote Answering Device. This also allows
 for different greetings for no answer or busy situations.
 Alternatively, the Remote Answering Device could disable the greeting by
 sending the appropriate signal (such as, for example, the particular
 Dialed Tone Multiple Frequency, DTMF, signal for the # key) over the line.
 This would skip the greeting and immediately play the beep to indicate to
 the caller to begin recording the message.
 Implementation
 The Network Side
 As mentioned earlier, the network side of the service requires either no
 change at all or only minor changes which can be incorporated into the
 existing software. The only consideration is adding a modem for sending
 data over voice to each telephone line.
 The Remote Answering Device
 The Remote Answering Device not only looks like but is also built very much
 like a traditional answering machine. The basic differences are:
 The capability to send and receive data over voice.
 The capability to send hook flash and touch tone signals.
 The play back buttons act as a remote control for dialing into the voice
 mail system and sending touch tone commands to it.
 The recording and playing of the greeting is local.
 The Remote Answering Device should be able to work with all voice mail
 services offered on the market. The specific touch tone sequences for
 play, delete, skip, etc. which need to be known in order to make the
 buttons on the Remote Answering Device work can be stored in a small
 memory. It is possible for the Remote Answering Device to sense which
 service it connects to (e.g., by listening for specific tones) or the user
 can select the specific service he or she is using with a dip switch
 (similar to selecting a TV product on a universal remote control).
 Furthermore, the present invention is applicable to company based voice
 mail systems, i.e., voice mail systems that operate on a customer premises
 or on customer premises equipment (CPE). In this case, the remote
 answering device connects to the telephone outlet as described above, and
 conferences in the company based voice mail system rather than the network
 based voice mail system. As dialing within a company based telephone
 system is usually simpler, this should work slightly faster than the
 network based version. All the above described procedures and embodiments
 apply in a similar manner though.
 Alternative Implementations
 Conference Call Initiated from the Network
 The user subscribes to the no answer/busy forward feature of the local
 telephone company. Unanswered calls are redirected to the voice mail
 service. When the service receives a call, it will automatically call back
 the user's home and conference it in to the call. The Remote Answering
 Device detects that the call is coming from the voice mail system by
 looking at the caller ID information and answers the call immediately and
 puts it on the speaker phone.
 The main problem with this solution is that when a user intercepts and
 picks up an extension phone, he or she will be connected to the calling
 party through the voice mail system and two of its phone lines will be
 busy for the duration of the call (which can be an hour or more, versus a
 few minutes at the most for leaving a message). This will make the
 required hardware on the network side more expensive. Furthermore, it is
 no longer compatible with standard voice mail systems.
 Conference Call Initiated from Home
 Alternatively, the Remote Answering Device could sense when a call is not
 answered and right after it has been forwarded to the voice mail system
 place a call to the voice mail system itself However, this solution has
 the same down sides as the above alternative.