Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9203961B2/en
Timestamp: 2019-11-22 09:00:10
Document Index: 417410212

Matched Legal Cases: ['arty 102', 'arty 104', 'arty 102', 'arty 104', 'arty 104', 'arty 102', 'arty 104', 'arty 104']

US9203961B2 - System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail - Google Patents
System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail Download PDF
US9203961B2
US9203961B2 US14/444,001 US201414444001A US9203961B2 US 9203961 B2 US9203961 B2 US 9203961B2 US 201414444001 A US201414444001 A US 201414444001A US 9203961 B2 US9203961 B2 US 9203961B2
US14/444,001
US20140334615A1 (en
2000-12-18 Priority to US09/737,583 priority Critical patent/US7957514B2/en
2011-06-07 Priority to US13/155,214 priority patent/US8824643B2/en
2014-07-28 Application filed by Paltalk Holdings Inc filed Critical Paltalk Holdings Inc
2014-07-28 Assigned to HEARME reassignment HEARME ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: SAHAI, SHANKAR
2014-07-28 Priority to US14/444,001 priority patent/US9203961B2/en
2014-07-28 Assigned to PALTALK HOLDINGS, INC. reassignment PALTALK HOLDINGS, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: HEARME
2014-11-13 Publication of US20140334615A1 publication Critical patent/US20140334615A1/en
2015-12-01 Publication of US9203961B2 publication Critical patent/US9203961B2/en
This application is a continuation application of Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 13/155,214, filed Jun. 7, 2011, which is a continuation of Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 09/737,583, filed Dec. 18, 2000, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,957,514 on Jun. 7, 2011, the entire contents of the entire chain of applications is herein incorporated by reference.
At this point, direct communication can be further delayed if the called party returns the call, only to find that the original caller is not present. What sometimes follows is the modern day phenomenon of “telephone tag”: a series of calls between the parties, in which messages are left by each party for the other. Eventually, after what may be considerable time and frustration, a fortuitous call occurs in which both parties happen to be present and available. Then, at last, the desired conversation can take place.
The invention described herein is a system, method, and computer program product that allows the availability of a party to be conveyed through voice mail. With this invention, a called party can retrieve a voice mail message, and receive not only the message left by a calling party, but also an indication as to whether the calling party is currently available to take a return call. The invention uses a presence server to detect the presence or absence of the calling party. In an embodiment of the invention, every party in a community of users has a desk top computer or other information device (such as a telephone or PDA). A network, such as a local area network (LAN), connects the information devices throughout the community. The presence server is also connected to the network. Using the network, the presence server can detect whether the calling party has indicated his or her presence via the information device. If so, then the inference is made that the calling party is present, i.e., at his desk. This availability information can then be conveyed to a private branch exchange (PBX). When the called party accesses his voice mail, the PBX can incorporate availability information regarding the calling party into the voice mail message. Alternatively, the presence server is connected, via the network, to one or more other information devices of the calling party, in addition to (or instead of) the calling party's computer. In this case, the presence server detects whether the calling party has indicated his or her presence via the information device. The presence server then conveys availability information to the PBX on the basis of the indication.
An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated generally in FIG. 1, as system 100. In an exemplary scenario, a calling party 102 attempts to reach a called party 104. To do this, calling party 102 uses telephone 106A to ring telephone 106B of called party 104. A PBX 110 services telephones 106A, 106B, and 106C. If called party 104 is unable to answer his telephone 106B, then calling party 102 leaves a voice mail message for called party 104. The message is stored physically at PBX 110 at a memory location allocated to called party 104.
As discussed above, in an alternative embodiment of the invention, a calling party can indicate his presence by setting a logical flag in a computer or other information device. In such an embodiment, step 414 can be performed as illustrated in FIG. 7. The method begins with step 702. In step 704, the calling party is initially assumed to be unavailable. In step 706, a determination is made as to whether or not there is activity on the part of the calling party. In an embodiment of the invention, the presence server waits passively for a presence indication; in an alternative embodiment, the presence server actively queries the information device of the calling party for a presence indication. In either case, if no activity is detected, then processing returns to step 704. If, however, activity on the part of the calling party is detected in step 706, then processing proceeds to step 708. In step 708, the calling party is identified as being available. Presence is then polled again in step 706.
Computer system 1000 may also include a communications interface 1024. Communications interface 1024 allows software and data to be transferred between computer system 1000 and external devices. Examples of communications interface 1024 may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, etc. Software and data transferred via communications interface 1024 are in the form of signals 1028 which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being received by communications interface 1024. These signals 1028 are provided to communications interface 1024 via a communications path (i.e., channel) 1026. This channel 1026 carries signals 1028 and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone link, an RF link and other communications channels. In an embodiment of the invention, signals 1028 entering the presence server can include queries from the PBX regarding the availability of a calling party. Incoming signals 1028 can also include presence indications from an information device of a called party. Outgoing signals 1028 can include availability information regarding the calling party.
The above description of the invention is presented in the context of a traditional telephone voice network. However, voice signals in digital form can be conveyed over data networks, such as wide-area networks (WANs) and/or the internet. The invention can be applied in such an environment as well.
Application in this environment permits variations in implementation. For example, when a calling party leaves a message in the mailbox of a called party, the identity of the calling party can be obtained by querying the calling party. The identity information can then be associated with the message.
1. A system for providing presence information of a first party to a second party, said system comprising:
a first communications device used by the first party, the first communications device is in communication with a communications network;
a second communications device used by the second party, the second communications device is in communication with the communications network;
a server connected to the first communications device and the second communications device, the server comprising:
a presence detection module that detects periodically presence of the first party by receiving presence information of the first party from the first communications device; and
a memory that receives a voicemail message from the first communications device left by the first party for retrieval by the second party at the second communications device after a communication attempt between the first communications device and the second communications device was unsuccessful, wherein the memory periodically modifies the voicemail message to include in the voicemail message the presence information; and
a communications path between the server and the second communications device that transmits the modified voicemail message to the second communications device upon the voicemail message retrieval by the second communications device.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the server comprises a database that maintains availability information regarding the first party, wherein the availability information is updated by the presence detection module.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the presence detection module receives a presence indication from the first communications device.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the server further comprises a database that maintains availability information regarding the first party, wherein the availability information is updated by the presence detection module.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the server further comprises a timing module that measures the time elapsed since the most recent availability information is received from the presence detection module.
6. The system of claim 3, wherein the presence indication is generated through an action by the first party to indicate presence of the first party.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the action by the first party comprises interaction with the first communications device.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the interaction with the first communication device by the first party is selected from the group consisting of key strokes at a keyboard, movement of a cursor, clicks of a mouse button, powering on the first communications device, setting of a logical flag by the first party, and motion detection of the first party via ultrasound or infrared radiation detector.
9. The system of claim 3, wherein the presence indication is generated through inactivity indicator of the first communications device.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the inactivity indicator comprises activation of a screen saver.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the first party is a calling party.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the second party is a called party.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first communications device and the second communications device is selected from the group consisting of an information device, a computer, a telephone, and a PDA.
14. A method, executed by a server comprising a presence detection module and a memory, for providing availability information of a first party using a first communications device to a second party using a second communications device, the method comprising the following steps:
receiving a voicemail message from the first communications device left by the first party for retrieval by the second party at the second communications device after a communication attempt between the first communications device and the second communications device was unsuccessful;
detecting periodically by the presence detection module availability information regarding the first party using the first communications device;
modifying periodically the voicemail message to include in the voicemail message the availability information; and
transmitting the modified voicemail message to the second communication device upon the voicemail message retrieval by the second communications device.
15. The method of claim 14 further comprising determining the presence of the first party.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of determining the presence of the first party comprises detecting an action by the first party, wherein the action explicitly indicates presence.
17. The method of claim 14 further comprising querying the server regarding the availability of the first party.
18. The method of claim 14 further comprising associating the first party with the voicemail message.
19. The system of claim 1, wherein the voicemail message is modified by appending to the voicemail message an indication of the presence of the first party.
20. The method of claim 14, wherein the voicemail message is modified by appending to the voicemail message an indication of the presence of the first party.
US14/444,001 2000-12-18 2014-07-28 System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail Active US9203961B2 (en)
US09/737,583 US7957514B2 (en) 2000-12-18 2000-12-18 System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail
US13/155,214 US8824643B2 (en) 2000-12-18 2011-06-07 System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail
US14/444,001 US9203961B2 (en) 2000-12-18 2014-07-28 System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail
US13/155,214 Continuation US8824643B2 (en) 2000-12-18 2011-06-07 System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail
US20140334615A1 US20140334615A1 (en) 2014-11-13
US9203961B2 true US9203961B2 (en) 2015-12-01
US09/737,583 Active 2026-09-09 US7957514B2 (en) 2000-12-18 2000-12-18 System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail
US13/155,214 Active US8824643B2 (en) 2000-12-18 2011-06-07 System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail
US14/444,001 Active US9203961B2 (en) 2000-12-18 2014-07-28 System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail
JP5071158B2 (en) * 2008-02-29 2012-11-14 沖電気工業株式会社 Exchange system and server device
FR2949635B1 (en) * 2009-09-01 2014-11-21 Alcatel Lucent Absence notification system
AU2603401A (en) 1999-12-23 2001-07-03 Michael Moynihan Personal video channel system
2000-12-18 US US09/737,583 patent/US7957514B2/en active Active
2011-06-07 US US13/155,214 patent/US8824643B2/en active Active
2014-07-28 US US14/444,001 patent/US9203961B2/en active Active
US7957514B2 (en) 2011-06-07
US8824643B2 (en) 2014-09-02
US20110299667A1 (en) 2011-12-08
US20020076010A1 (en) 2002-06-20
US20140334615A1 (en) 2014-11-13
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:SAHAI, SHANKAR;REEL/FRAME:033399/0704
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:HEARME;REEL/FRAME:033399/0758