Abstract:
A mobile telephone with which a user may send a voice message to another subscriber instantly and independently of any other functions. In facilitation of the invention, a dedicated key is provided on the telephone. In an alternative embodiment, innovative menus are provided to support a method of the invention.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention pertains to telephone networks, and particularly to voice messaging via wireless telephone networks.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Wireless telephones have become ubiquitous in recent years. Unlike landline phones which for the most part have traditionally been limited to passive paths for enabling live voice conversations, wireless telephones tend to be incorporate microprocessors and thus to provide many innovative capabilities, including the taking, storage and forwarding of pictures; text messaging; voice messaging; games; “juke box” functions; appointment calendars; address-book functions, and so on.  
         [0003]     A sender on a wireless phone may “push” a text message. That is, he may cause the text message to be received by a recipient&#39;s phone instantly if the recipient&#39;s phone is turned on, or as soon as the recipient&#39;s phone is subsequently turned on.  
         [0004]     Voice messages, however, may not be pushed; rather they may be left for a recipient only ancillarily to other functions: 1) a sender is given the opportunity to leave a voice message for a recipient after the sender has attempted a voice call to the recipient and the recipient did not answer; 2) a sender forwarding a picture may have the opportunity to forward a voice commentary along with the picture.  
         [0005]     It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a simple way for a user to push a voice message to a recipient, without dependence on any other functions.  
         [0006]     This and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description thereof.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention overcomes these drawbacks of the prior art by providing for the pushing of voice messages. One embodiment provides a pushbutton on a user&#39;s phone for initiating an instant voice message. An alternative embodiment provides a compact menu structure implemented in the user&#39;s phone&#39;s hardware, firmware, and software providing for the pushing of voice messages.  
         [0008]     The present invention provides a method of sending an instant voice message from a first telephone to at least one second telephone on a telephone network, comprising the steps of: providing a menu option on the first telephone for a user to request sending of an instant voice message; accepting and storing at the first telephone the instant voice message from the user; accepting in the first telephone and associating with the instant voice message at least one telephone number, each identifying one certain second telephone; providing the instant voice message and at least one telephone number to the telephone network; informing a recipient at a certain second telephone of the instant voice message; accepting from the recipient a request to play the instant voice message on the certain second telephone; retrieving the instant voice message to the certain second telephone; and playing the instant voice at the certain second telephone.  
         [0009]     The invention will next be described in regard to several exemplary embodiments; it will, however, be clear to those in the art that enhancements, modifications, and subtractions can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     The invention will be more clearly understood from the ensuing description of certain embodiments, in conjunction with following drawings, wherein:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  (Prior Art) is a block diagram of actions between a sender&#39;s phone and a recipient&#39;s phone when a sender attempts to initiate a voice call;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  (Prior Art) is a block diagram of actions between a sender&#39;s phone and a recipient&#39;s phone when a sender initiates a text message;  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  (Prior Art) is a block diagram of actions between a sender&#39;s phone and a recipient&#39;s phone when a sender initiates sending of a picture;  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a high-level block diagram of actions between a sender&#39;s phone and a recipient&#39;s phone when a sender pushes a voice message according to the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIGS. 5 through 7  show further detail of the actions depicted in  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0016]      FIGS. 8 through 17  depict screens displayed on a sender&#39;s phone while executing functions depicted in  FIGS. 5 through 7 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]      FIG. 1  depicts the sequence of a user attempting to initiate a voice telephone call on a mobile phone of the prior art. In block  100  the sender provides a telephone number of his intended recipient. He may do this by keying in the number at that time, or causing it to be retrieved from a list of numbers prestored in his phone, as is well known in the art. In block  105  he requests placement of the call by pressing a predetermined button on his phone.  
         [0018]     The call is routed by the telephone system by means well known in the art and not discussed here. The telephone system may include, without limitation, the sender&#39;s telephone service provider, the intended recipient&#39;s telephone service provider, and the public switched telephone network (PSTN).  
         [0019]     In block  110 , if the recipient&#39;s telephone is turned on, flow dispatches to block  115  in which the recipient&#39;s phone provides the recipient some indication that an attempt is being made to call him—his telephone does a predetermined operation such as ringing or vibrating.  
         [0020]     In block  120 , if the user “answers” the call (usually by pressing a predetermined key) the flow dispatches to block  170 —the user and the recipient converse in real time via the phone system.  
         [0021]     Contrary to the above, if in block  110  it is determined that the recipient&#39;s phone is not turned on, or if in block  120  the recipient does not answer his phone, the telephone system is directed to dispatch to block  125  in which the user is informed that the recipient is not available, and then to block  130  in which the user is invited to leave a voice message. In block  135  the user speaks a voice message into his telephone.  
         [0022]     In step  140  the voice message is stored.  FIG. 1  depicts this storage taking place in the telephone system, but as a design choice it might alternatively take place in the user&#39;s telephone or the recipient&#39;s telephone. Flow then passes to block  150 , perhaps instantly if the recipient&#39;s telephone is already turned on, or else later when the user turns it on block  145 . In block  150  the recipient is informed of the existence of the voice message and in block  155  may elect to hear it, in which case block  160  plays it back and the recipient hears it in block  165 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  depicts pushing an instant text message according to the prior art. In block  205  the user requests to send a text message. In block  210  he is invited to key it in and does so. In block  215  he provides a recipient phone number (either by keying it in currently or selecting it from among prestored numbers) and in block  220  he requests sending of it. In block  225  the message is stored (perhaps in the sender&#39;s phone, perhaps in the telephone system, perhaps in the recipient&#39;s phone (shown). In block  230  the recipient is informed of the text message (perhaps instantly, or alternatively after he has turned on his phone). In block  235  he requests to view the message, and in block  240  it is displayed to him on a screen of his telephone.  
         [0024]      FIG. 3  depicts a sender&#39;s initiation of a picture transmission according to the prior art. In block  305  the sender, equipped with a “picture phone” or “camera phone” (well known in the art), takes a picture or selects a previously taken and prestored picture. In block  310  he is given the option to send a voice message along with the picture, and may record same into his phone. In block  325  he requests to send the picture.  
         [0025]     In block  330  the picture (and voice message, if any) are stored (in the user&#39;s phone, in the telephone system, or in the recipient&#39;s phone (shown). In block  335  the recipient is informed of the picture, and in block  340  may request display of the picture. In block  345  the picture is displayed on a screen on the recipient&#39;s telephone; simultaneously, the voice message (if any) is played to the user.  
         [0026]     Nothing in the prior art allows a sender to push an instant voice message to a recipient simply and without being subservient to other functions (i.e., an unanswered voice call or a picture message).  FIG. 4  depicts the solution provided by the present invention. In block  405  the sender requests sending an instant voice message. In block  410  he speaks the message into his telephone where it is recorded. In block  415  he provides a recipient telephone number, either by keying it or selecting it from among prestored numbers. In block  420  the sender requests that the message be sent. In block  425  the voice message stored, alternatively in the sender&#39;s telephone, the telephone system, or the recipient&#39;s telephone (as shown). In block  430  the recipient is informed of the voice message, and in block  435  he may request that the message be played, which will dispatch to block  440  and play the message.  
         [0027]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a sender&#39;s telephone is equipped with a separate key (here called the Instant Voice Message (IVM) key) for initiating the sending of a voice message. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a sender&#39;s telephone does not have an IVM key but instead is provided with enhanced menus (described below) in support of the IVM function.  
         [0028]      FIGS. 5 and 7  depict further detail of the operation of the present invention on a user&#39;s telephone equipped with an IVM key. Referring first to  FIG. 5 , in block  505  the user presses and holds the IVM key. In block  520  he is prompted, such as by a screen as depicted in  FIG. 8 , to speak his message into his telephone for recording and to release the IVM key when he has spoken the entire message. In block  525  he releases the IVM key, and flow passes (as denoted by connector “A” on  FIG. 5 ) to block  705  of  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  will be discussed further below.  
         [0029]      FIGS. 6 and 7  depict further detail of the operation of the present invention on a user&#39;s telephone either not equipped with an IVM key or with an IVM key but where the sender elects to use the aforementioned special menus. Referring first to  FIG. 6 , in block  605  the sender is shown a screen such as that depicted in  FIG. 9 . He clicks MENUS, and as depicted in  FIG. 10 a  popup menu appears which includes (among other things, not shown) the legend MESSAGES. As shown in block  610  the sender clicks MESSAGES. In block  615  the sender is shown a screen such as that of  FIG. 11  on which he sees a list of previously received and stored incoming messages, and on which he may request NEW IVM. When he clicks NEW IVM control passes to block  620 , in which he is prompted on a screen such as that shown in  FIG. 12  to speak his voice message into his telephone and to signal when completed. As denoted by the connector A on  FIG. 6 , control then passes to block  705  in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0030]     With reference to  FIG. 7  (reached from either  FIG. 5  or  FIG. 6 , as noted above), the sender is informed that his message has been successfully recorded. In an embodiment of the invention this is accomplished by displaying a screen such as shown in  FIG. 13 , on which the sender is offered options to play back his message for confirmation or to re-record it. When he clicks NEXT, control passes to block  710 . Here he is shown a screen such as the one shown in  FIG. 14  on which he is reminded that he has not yet selected recipients for the voice message. Should he click NO RECIPIENTS he is dispatched to block  715  where he is shown a screen such as that of  FIG. 15 . He may enter the phone numbers of one or more recipients by keying them in or selecting them from among prestored numbers. When he clicks CONTINJUE he is dispatched to block  720 , in which he is shown a screen such as that of FIG.  16 , similar to the screen of  FIG. 14  except for showing confirmation of the recipient phone number(s). When he clicks SEND, the message is sent to a recipient&#39;s phone as described above in  FIG. 4 , blocks  425  et. seq., and the sender is shown a confirmation screen such as that of  FIG. 17 .  
         [0031]     Those skilled in the art will realize that the invention may be embodied in yet other specific forms without departing from the spirit thereof. This invention is to be embraced by the appended claims and not limited by the foregoing embodiments.