Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7561679
Timestamp: 2014-08-31 04:44:35
Document Index: 149974022

Matched Legal Cases: ['arty 22', 'arty 22', 'art 22', 'arty 22', 'arty 22', 'arty 22', 'arty 22', 'arty 22', 'arty 22', 'arty 22', 'arty 22']

Patent US7561679 - Message delivery using a voice mail system - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsVoicemail systems and methods can provide a user with means for receiving categorized messages from parties. The categories can be independent of the intended recipients of the messages, such that multiple users can receive the same message. A user can subscribe to receive categorized messages within...http://www.google.com/patents/US7561679?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7561679 - Message delivery using a voice mail systemAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7561679 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/685,359Publication dateJul 14, 2009Filing dateOct 14, 2003Priority dateOct 14, 2003Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS8130919, US20090110159Publication number10685359, 685359, US 7561679 B1, US 7561679B1, US-B1-7561679, US7561679 B1, US7561679B1InventorsRohit Satish KalbagOriginal AssigneeVerizon Laboratories, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (7), Referenced by (5), Classifications (12), Legal Events (1) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMessage delivery using a voice mail systemUS 7561679 B1Abstract Voicemail systems and methods can provide a user with means for receiving categorized messages from parties. The categories can be independent of the intended recipients of the messages, such that multiple users can receive the same message. A user can subscribe to receive categorized messages within selected categories or from selected parties. A registered party, including a merchant, an organization, a government agency and/or another party, can input messages to selected categories and can input distribution parameters for the messages. Expiration dates can be associated with the messages such that messages can be deleted once expired.
1. A method of message delivery using a voice mail message system, comprising:
receiving from a party at said voice mail message system, a voice mail message and a category designation for said message;
storing said message in a storage area, said storage area accessed by said voice mail message system and corresponding to said category designation for said message;
retrieving messages from said storage area based on a user of said voice mail message system choosing said category designation;
presenting said messages to said user;
providing a first choice for said user to place a call to said party;
providing a second choice for said user to subscribe to future messages from said party when said message is presented to said user;
identifying said future messages received at said message system from said party as subscribed to messages for said user, when said user chooses said second choice; and
retaining access by other users of said voice mail message system to said message after said user deletes said message which restricts further communication on said message between said user and said party, whereby subsequent retrieval of said message by said user is restricted while subsequent retrieval of said message by any of said other users is not restricted.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein presenting said message comprises at least one of a text-to-speech conversion and a speech-to-text conversion.
6. The method of claim 1, comprising providing notifications to said user when said future messages are received.
7. The method of claim 1, comprising placing a call from said user to said party based on said user choosing an option to place a call when said message is presented to said user.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a message comprises receiving distribution parameters for said message.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein retrieving a message comprises matching said distribution parameters with user profile data.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a message comprises receiving expiration parameters for said message.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein storing said message comprises deleting said message from said storage area when said expiration parameter is exceeded.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving a message comprises receiving distribution parameters for said message.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein retrieving a message comprises matching said distribution parameters with user profile data.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving a message comprises incrementing a counter to track a number of times said message is retrieved.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a message comprises receiving at least one of distribution parameters and expiration parameters for said message.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein retrieving a message comprises matching said distribution parameters with user profile data.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein storing said message comprises deleting said message from said storage area when said expiration parameter is exceeded.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving a message comprises incrementing a counter to track a number of times said message is retrieved.
19. A method of receiving messages, comprising:
accessing a message system having a plurality of messages stored in categorized storage areas, wherein categories of said categorized storage areas are independent of intended recipients of said messages;
choosing at least one of said categories to obtain at least one chosen category;
retrieving messages from said at least one chosen category thereby obtaining retrieved messages;
incrementing counters for said retrieved messages when said retrieved messages are retrieved, each of said counters associated with one of said retrieved messages input to said message system by a party, each of said counters accessible by said party for determining a number of times said one of said retrieved messages is retrieved;
optionally subscribing to receive future messages from said party when a user of said message system retrieves said one of said retrieved messages input by said party; and
retaining access by other users of said message system to said one of said retrieved messages after said user deletes said one of said retrieved messages which restricts further communication about said one of said retrieved messages between said user and said party, whereby subsequent retrieval of said one of said retrieved messages by said user is restricted while subsequent retrieval of said one of said retrieved messages by any of said other users is not restricted.
20. The method of claim 19, comprising optionally placing a call to said party when a user of said message system retrieves one of said messages input by said party.
identifying said future messages input by said party as subscribed to messages for said user; and
searching each of said categories to retrieve said subscribed to messages for said user when said user chooses a subscribed to category.
identifying said future messages input by said party as subscribed to messages for said user;
forwarding said subscribed to messages to a personal message storage area for said user; and
retrieving said subscribed to messages from said personal message storage area when said user chooses a subscribed to category.
23. The method of claim 19, wherein said message system is a voice mail system.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein retrieving comprises:
optionally placing a call from said user to said party when a user of said message system retrieves one of said messages input by said party; and
performing, when said user chooses a subscribed to category, one of searching each of said categories to retrieve said future messages, and of forwarding said future messages to a personal message storage area for said user for retrieval from said personal message storage area.
25. A voice-mail message system for providing message delivery, comprising:
an input controller configured to receive voice mail messages from a subscriber to said message system and to categorize said messages to obtain categorized messages;
a plurality of categorized storage areas for storing respectively categorized messages; and
an access controller configured to receive, from a user of said message system, a selection of at least one of said categorized storage areas to obtain a selected categorized storage area, to retrieve said respectively categorized messages from said selected categorized storage area, and to present said respectively categorized messages to said user whereupon said user can optionally subscribe to receive future messages from said subscriber to said message system, said access controller permitting access by other users of said message system to said respectively categorized messages after said user deletes at least one of said respectively categorized messages which restricts further communication about said at least one of said respectively categorized messages between said user and said subscriber to said message system, whereby subsequent retrieval of said at least one of said respectively categorized messages by said user is restricted while subsequent retrieval of said at least one of said respectively categorized messages by any of said other users is not restricted.
26. The message system of claim 25, comprising at least one of an interactive voice response module and a dual tone multi frequency module for said input controller and said access controller.
27. The message system of claim 26, comprising a user database and a subscriber database for storing profiles of said users and subscribers of said message system, respectively.
28. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to deliver voice mail messages by:
receiving a voice mail message from a party and a category designation for said message from said party;
storing said message in a storage area corresponding to said category designation for said message;
retrieving messages from said storage area based on a user selection of said category designation;
providing a choice for said user to subscribe to future messages from said party when executing said instructions for said presenting said messages to said user; and
retaining access by other users to all of said messages after said user deletes any of said messages presented to said user which restricts further communication on said any of said messages between said user and said party, whereby subsequent retrieval by said user of said any of said messages presented to said user is restricted while subsequent retrieval of said all of said messages by any of said other users is not restricted.
29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, containing instructions for controlling a computer system to deliver said messages by presenting a listing of category designations for selection by said user.
30. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 containing instruction for controlling a computer system to deliver said messages, wherein said category designation is separate from designation of intended recipients of said messages.
31. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, containing instructions for controlling a computer system to deliver said messages by:
identifying said future messages received from said party as subscribed to messages for said user.
32. The computer-readable medium of claim 31, containing instructions for controlling a computer system to provide notifications to said user when said future messages are received.
33. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, containing instructions for controlling a computer system to place a call from said user to said party based on said user choosing an option to place a call when presenting said messages to said user.
34. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, containing instructions for controlling a computer system to:
receive distribution parameters for said message; and
match said distribution parameters with user profile data when retrieving messages.
35. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, containing instructions for controlling a computer system to:
receive an expiration parameter for said message; and
delete said message from said storage area when said expiration parameter is exceeded.
36. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, containing instructions for controlling a computer system to increment a counter for tracking a number of times said message is retrieved.
37. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, containing instructions for controlling a computer system to:
38. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, containing instructions for controlling a computer system to increment a counter for tracking a number of times said message is retrieved.
FIELD The systems and methods relate to message systems, and more particularly to voice mail systems through which the user can subscribe to selected announcements.
BACKGROUND Voice Mail Systems (VMS's) can allow a user to retrieve messages left by callers. Generally, a caller places a call to the user and the VMS can give the caller the option of leaving a message for the user when the user does not answer the call. However, the user has little control over the message content or over who is leaving a message. More recent VMS's provide the caller's identification to the user prior to presenting the message to the user. Thus, such systems can provide an opportunity for the user to screen messages prior to listening to the messages.
SUMMARY Message systems and methods can provide a user with means for receiving categorized messages from parties. The categories can be independent of or unrelated to the intended recipients of the messages, such that multiple users can receive the same message. A user can subscribe to receive categorized messages within selected categories or from selected parties. A registered party, including a merchant, an organization, a government agency and/or another party, can input messages to selected categories and can input distribution parameters for the messages. Expiration dates can be associated with the messages such that messages can be deleted once expired.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS To provide an overall understanding, certain illustrative embodiments will now be described; however, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the systems and methods described herein can be adapted and modified to provide systems and methods for other suitable applications and that other additions and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the systems and methods described herein.
It can be understood that access by party 22 can include dialing a predetermined access number and inputting one or more passwords and/or codes, in a manner similar to user 12 access to VMS 10, as previously described. Input controller 20 can compare party 22 inputs with a subscriber database 30 of VMS 10 to verify that part 22 has authority to input messages to VMS 10. During registration with VMS 10, party 22 can provide subscriber information that VMS 10 can store in subscriber database 30 of VMS 10, for example as a subscriber profile. It can be understood that party 22 can modify the subscriber information when accessing VMS 10 at 202.
When prompted, party 22 can record the message, as at 214 and the message can be stored (216) in the appropriate category message storage areas 28 a-n of FIG. 1 for the designated categories, with associated identifiers for distribution and/or expiration. As determined at 218, party 22 can input additional messages by returning to 208, or can end inputting messages, as at 220. It can be recognized that access to VMS 10 can also end (220) after party 22 inputs a personal message, as at 206. In one embodiment, the profile for party 22 in subscriber database 30 can include �subscribed to� data indicating those users 12 subscribing to messages from party 22. When party 22 inputs a message, the distribution can include sending the message to the personal messages storable area 26 and/or the subscriber category message storable area for the users 12 indicated by the �subscribed to� data.
Enter the category number or say the category name if known or
Press # [#]
Press 1 or say News to listen to messages in the Local News
Press 2 or say Discounts to listen to messages in the Discounts
Press 0 or say Restaurants to listen to messages in the
Restaurant Discounts category [0]
First message from Tony's Pizza Order 1 large pizza,
get the second half price. Use voicemail coupon code
�DISC001� when ordering. Offer valid till Feb 28th
Press 0 to Save, 1 to Skip, 2 to call Tony's Pizza, 3 to subscribe
to messages from Tony's Pizza [3]
No more messages in the Restaurant Discounts category.
Press 1 for more categories or # to end [#]
In the above example, user 12 pressed �3� to subscribe to messages from Tony's Pizza. Future messages from Tony's Pizza can be placed in the message storage area designated in the user 12 profile in user database 18. The categories presented to the user 12 can include a �subscribed to� category. For example, the prompts provided by VMS 10 can include a prompt such as: Press 8 or say Subscriptions to listen to messages in the Subscribed To category.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS5705995 *Apr 7, 1997Jan 6, 1998Motorola, Inc.Selective call receiver and method of storing messages thereinUS5937037 *Jan 28, 1998Aug 10, 1999Broadpoint Communications, Inc.Communications system for delivering promotional messagesUS6411685 *Jan 29, 1999Jun 25, 2002Microsoft CorporationSystem and method for providing unified messaging to a user with a thin web browserUS6526335 *Jan 24, 2000Feb 25, 2003G. Victor TreyzAutomobile personal computer systemsUS6857024 *Aug 21, 2000Feb 15, 2005Cisco Technology, Inc.System and method for providing on-line advertising and informationUS7158621 *Oct 29, 2002Jan 2, 2007Bayne Anthony JPre-paid calling and voice messaging services for inmatesUS7363302 *Jun 30, 2003Apr 22, 2008Googole, Inc.Promoting and/or demoting an advertisement from an advertising spot of one type to an advertising spot of another type* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7894580 *Oct 26, 2005Feb 22, 2011Research In Motion LimitedMethods and apparatus for reliable voicemail message deletion alerts at mobile communication devicesUS8126120 *Dec 12, 2005Feb 28, 2012Tellme Networks, Inc.Providing missed call and message informationUS8391448Dec 27, 2010Mar 5, 2013Research In Motion LimitedMethods and apparatus for reliable voicemail message deletion alerts at mobile communication devicesUS8548130Jan 17, 2012Oct 1, 2013Microsoft CorporationProviding missed call and message informationUS20130029644 *Jul 28, 2011Jan 31, 2013Collin MurphyVoicemail management system for mobile phone voicemail* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification379/88.22, 379/88.12, 379/114.13, 379/88.14International ClassificationH04M1/64Cooperative ClassificationG10L13/043, H04M3/5335, H04M3/4878, H04M2201/60, H04M2201/40European ClassificationH04M3/533R2, G10L13/04ULegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionDec 19, 2012FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google