AU698218B2

AU698218B2 - Voice mail

Info

Publication number: AU698218B2
Application number: AU20179/95A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Wolfgang Eckhart
Original assignee: Alcatel NV
Current assignee: Alcatel Lucent NV
Priority date: 1994-06-01
Filing date: 1995-05-22
Publication date: 1998-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 2015-05-22
Also published as: CA2150621A1; AU2017995A; EP0685957A2; EP0685957A3; NZ272197A

Description

c- ii I P/00/011 28/5/91 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Thtentq Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT

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S S Invention Title: "VOICE MAIL" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:-

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2 This invention relates to telephone exchanges with a speech store equipment as well as a method to store voice messages in such exchanges, whereby the speech store equipment is able to store voice messages arriving from a first subscriber and intended for a second subscriber and to send them to the second subscriber on his request.

Telephone exchanges with speech store equipment are already known and are generally termed voice mail devices. A method and an arrangement for storing telephone messages in a PABX system is also known.

The known systems have the disadvantage that when the speech store equipment is working to capacity, i.e. when all ports to this equipment are busy, the telephone connection will be interrupted and must be re-established by the calling subscriber after an undefined waiting time.

It is an object of the present invention to remove this disadvantage, and in 4 particular to define the waiting time to fhe next possible access to the speech store equipment and keep it as short as possible.

1 5 According to the invention, there is provided a telephone exchange with a voice mail device, which stores voice messages arriving from a first telephone used by a first qC subscriber and intended for a second subscriber using a second telephone in a mailbox assigned to the second subscriber, and to send the voice messages to the ,tee second telephone upon the second subscriber's request, where the telephone exchange includes a control device which contains a process control for controlling a selected mailbox, where in the event that all connection paths to the voice mail device are busy during a call made by the first subscriber, who then orders an automatic call-back when a connection path of the voice mail device becomes available, the process control stores a telephone number of the voice mail device and, after a connection path becomes available, keeps it open for the first subscriber, then calls the first subscriber and, after the first subscriber lifts the receiver of the first telephone, connects the firut subscriber with the voice mail device, wherein the process control after said first subscriber orders the automatic call-back also stores the telephone number of the second telephone and, after performing the automatic call-back sends the telephone number of the second telephone to the voice mail device, which then connects the first telephone with the mailbox of the second subscriber.

The advantage of such a method is that the re-establishment of the speech /0AL 1'iN, connection to the speech sto re equipment is carried out totally automatically Cc 3 In order that the invention may be readily carried into effect, an embodiment thereof will now be described in relation to the single figure of the accompanying drawing: I Subscriber terminals are connected to the telephone exchange 1 via ports In the present example, ports are provided tar the connection of telephone handsets 2,3 and a voice mail device is connected to ports x, y and z.

With this configuration 3 seizures of the voice mail device can take place simultaneously.

The telephone exchange 1 comprises a switching matrix 4 to enable connection of terminal devices 2,3 7 with each other in the known manner and is controlled by a control program Subscriber 2, for example, calls subscriber 3 who is however not ready to S answer calls and has diverted his line to voice mail device 7. This diversion, which is 115 conducted via control program 5 in the known manner, can also be conducted t'i automatically after a preset calling time. Once the call from subscriber 2 has been diverted to the voice mail device 7, the information exchange typical for a voice mail device takes place. The voice mail device introduces itself to subscriber 2 by means t of stored text and requests subscriber 2 to record his message for subscriber 3. This S procedure is generally terminated by subscriber 2 hanging up, or through expiry of a preset speaking time and the corresponding port of the voice mail device is then free 5* S for the next seizure.

r* In case all ports x,y,z to the voice mail device 7 are busy when subscriber 2 calls subscriber 3 who is either absent, or has diverted to the voice mail device, 25' subscriber 2 receives a further dial request tone which informs him about the scope of an automatic callback. Subscriber 2 then books a callback in the known manner to be reconnected with subscriber 3 or the voice mail device as quickly as possible.

Following this, the numbers of the calling subscriber 2 and called subscriber 3 are then stored in a call number memory 6 which can be contained in a part of the control program 5. Once a port x,y,z of the voice mail device becomes idle, the booked connection is re-established. With this method, subscriber 2 is called by the telephone exchange anc the number of subscriber 3 sent to the voice mni device 7.

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Once subscriber 2 lifts his handset, he will be connected with the position in alphameric memory 9 of the voice mail device 7 reserved for subscriber 3. The further procedure is as described above.

If a message is stored in the voice mail device for subscriber 3, a signal device 8, for example a LED, is activated on the subscriber extension of subscriber 3 which indicates to the subscriber upon his return that a message is waiting for him in the voice mail device.

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Claims

1. A telephone exchange with a voice mail device, which stores voice messages arriving from a first telephone used by a first subscriber and intended for a second subscriber using a second telephone in a mailbox assigned to the second subscriber, and to send the voice messages to the second telephone upon the second subscriber's request, where the telephone exchange includes a control device which contains a process control for controlling a selected mailbox, where in the event that all connection paths to the voice mail device are busy during a call made by the first subscriber, who then orders an automatic call-back when a connection path of the voice mail device becomes available, the process control stores a telephone number of t f t t the voice mail device and, after a connection path becomes available, keeps it open for the first subscriber, then calls the first subscriber and, after the first subscriber lifts the receiver of the first telephone, connects the first subscriber with the voice mail device, wherein the process control after said first subscriber orders the automatic call-back also stores the telephone number of the second telephone and, after performing the automatic call-back sends the telephone number of the second telephone to the voice mail device, which then connects the first telephone with the mailbox of the second subscriber.

2. A method for storing voice messages by way of a telephone exchange in a voice mail device which stores voice messages arriving from a first telephone used by a first subscriber calling a second subscriber at a second telephone in a mailbox assigned to the second subscriber, and to send a stored voice message to the second telephone upon the second subscriber's request, wherein the telephone exchange includes a control device which contains a control process for control of access to the mailbox, where in the event that all connection paths to the voice mail device are busy during a call made by the first subscriber, who then orders a call-back, the control process stores a telephone number of the voice mail device and, after a connection path becomes available, keeps it open for the first subscriber, then calls the first subscriber at the first telephone and, after the first subscriber lifts the receiver of the first telephone, connects the first subscriber with the yoice mawI device, wherein the control process after said first subscriber orders the automatic call-back, also stores a telephone number of the second telephone used by the second subscriber and, after 4~~~>%performing the call-back sends the telephone number of the second telephone to the r I I- I, I niiP-rC^I-E-~--*C-.r~-srY~~ 6 voice mail device, which then connects the first telephone with the mailbox of the second subscriber for recordation of a voice message from the first subscriber to the second subscriber.

3. A telephone exchange and method substantially as herein described with reference to the figure of the accompanying drawing. ''St t't C(L t a DATED THIS EIGHTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 1998 ALCATEL N.V. I I i: 1 4 i I; i; i i; r I ABSTRACT A telephone exchange with a speech store equipment as well as a method to store voice messages in such an exchange, whereby the speech store equipment is able to store voice messages arriving from a first subscriber and intended for a second subscriber and to send them to the second subscriber on his request. In case all links y, z) to the speech store equipment should be busy when the first subscriber calls, means 6) are provided for storing the switching request, keeping a link for the first subscriber as soon as it has become idle and ringing the first subscriber, sending the telephone number of the second subscriber to the speech store equipment and thereby activating the alphameric memory of the second subscriber and connecting the first subscriber to the speech store equipment as soon as he has picked up his telephone handset. t4.

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