WO2001011850A1

WO2001011850A1 - Apparatus and method for a message monitoring service

Info

Publication number: WO2001011850A1
Application number: PCT/SE2000/001402
Authority: WO
Inventors: Diana Perez
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 1999-08-06
Filing date: 2000-06-30
Publication date: 2001-02-15
Also published as: GB2367717A; MXPA02001159A; GB2367717B; GB0201451D0; AU6041000A

Abstract

An apparatus (8) and method which implements a message monitoring service comprises a node (50, 67) having a voice mail service (90) which is adapted to allow private monitoring of message recording when a calling party initiates a call to a subscriber. Upon receipt of a telephone call, When the feature is active, the subscriber has the option to privately monitor a message left by the calling party, or to abort the recording process and engage the calling party directly in conversation. Further, the apparatus (8) and method provides for private monitoring and conversation with a calling party even when the subscriber is engaged in conversation with a third party. The method and apparatus (8) may be implemented by using a specially-adapted telephone (20), or using conventional telephones (80) with a specially adapted voice mail system (90).

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR A MESSAGE MONITORING SERVICE

Technical Field

This invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for recording telephone messages, such as answering machines and voice mail . More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for a message monitoring service that enables subscribers to automatically listen to voice mail messages as they are recorded, and if desired, speak to the calling party.

History of Related Art

Several different types of devices and methods exist for recording messages left by a calling party when the called party is either unable to answer his telephone, or is engaged in conversation with another party. The most common is a simple answering machine with a tape cassette or digital memory recorder activated after a predetermined number of rings at the called telephone. If no answer is made by taking the called phone off-hook, then the answering machine answers the call, plays a pre-recorded message to the calling party inviting them to leave a recorded message, signals that recording has begun, and records the calling party message. Call screening, or listening to the calling party during message recording, requires manipulation of the answering machine volume control so that the calling party voice is audible to those present near the answering machine. If desired, the telephone can then be taken off-hook so as to enable conversation between the calling and called parties. However, if the called party is already engaged in conversation with another party when the call comes in, an answering machine connected to the same line is not able to record the calling party's message .

A more sophisticated version of the answering machine is implemented within a Voice Mail Service (VMS) . A VMS offers the ability to record messages from calling parties which fail to reach the called party in person. Features include pre-recorded greetings, paging, future delivery of messages, call transfer, and call forwarding. The VMS, which may reside within a network nodal entity or telephone switch, is typically activated when the calling party fails to reach the called party, due to the called party failing to answer the phone or when the called party is otherwise occupied in a telephone conversation with a third party.

There is no provision available within a VMS to allow the called party to privately listen to a calling party during the recording of a message, without taking some objective action by the called party. Further, there is no provision for the called partry to interrupt the recording process, if desired, so as to directly converse with the calling party. Still further, when the called party is in conversation with a third party and message recording is enabled, the called party has no opportunity to monitor the activities of the calling party without making the third party aware of such activity, and there is again no opportunity to monitor the recorded message as it occurs. Finally, existing call -waiting services do not serve these functions, as they are audible to all parties engaged in conversation, failing to provide private monitoring.

Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus within a VMS for private monitoring of message recording by the telephone subscriber. Such a service would enable the individual subscriber, or called party, to automatically monitor message recording activity by a calling party, and further, to abort the recording process and interact directly with the calling party. In addition, such a service would enable the subscriber to interrupt a conversation with a third party to privately monitor call recording activities, and optionally, to engage the calling party directly in conversation, even when already speaking to a third party.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus of the present invention comprises a telecommunications switch, or a node, having a VMS adapted to receive a message monitoring feature activation code. The node is typically connected to a first telephone, operated by a calling party, and to a second telephone, operated by a called party. When the calling party initiates a telephone call to the called party, and the message monitoring service has been activated by receiving the appropriate activation code at the node, a pre-recorded message is played to the calling party, inviting them to leave a message after a recording tone is received. The VMS is adapted to enable the called party to automatically monitor the ensuing message recording activity by the calling party, perhaps by muting the second phone and taking it off hook, and then connecting the speaker on the second phone to so as to monitor audio signals on the telephone line.

The called party then monitors the calling party message and, if desired, may act to selectively abort the recording process, un-mute the second phone, and engage the calling party directly in conversation. Aborting the recording process may occur after the called party activates a button or keypad. However, if the called party is not interested in speaking with the calling party, then the recording process continues until the call is terminated.

In another mode of operation, wherein the called party is actively engaged in conversation with a third party, the apparatus of the invention also comprises a node or switch having a VMS adapted to enable the called party to automatically monitor message recording activity by a calling party after the feature activation code has been received by the node. In this case, while the subscriber and third party are engaged in conversation, a pre-recorded invitation to leave a message is played privately to the calling party after a call is initiated by the calling party to the called party. At the time the recording tone is sent to the calling party (following the invitation) , a feature or service tone is sent to the called party

(such that only the called party hears the feature tone it is inaudible to the third party) and the recording process begins as described above . The called party has the option of placing the third party on hold (by activating a button or keypad) and privately listening to the calling party message as it is recorded. As discussed previously, the subscriber then has the option of allowing the recording process to be completed, or if desired, aborting the recording process and engaging the calling party directly in conversation. If the calling party is ignored by the called party, and the recording process continues, the called party may resume the third party conversation until the third party call is terminated, and then if desired, resume private monitoring of message recording activity by the calling party (if a message is still being recorded) .

Such a VMS message monitoring apparatus has the advantage of enabling private monitoring of recorded messages without any action required on the part of the called party (when no third party conversation is ongoing) . Further, it is also an advantage to allow the called party to privately monitor message recording while engaged in conversation with a third party. Finally, it allows the called party to abort the recording process and engage the calling party directly in conversation, if desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the structure and operation of the present invention may be had by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the apparatus of the present invention using a telecommunications switch;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the apparatus of the present invention within an intelligent network; Fig. 3 is a flow chart diagram illustrating the method of the present invention; and

Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a telephone adapted to operate in conjunction with the apparatus of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PRESENTLY PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Fig. 1 illustrates the apparatus of the present invention. The message monitoring apparatus 8 comprises a node or switch 50, which may be connected to a first phone 10 operated by a calling party "A" in electrical communication with the switch 50 by way of the first port 15 and the first trunk 17. The node or switch 50 may be identical to, or similar to, any of a number of telecommunications switches currently available, including the Ericsson AXE-10 running under the APZ Software Operating System. A second phone 20 may be connected to the switch 50 by way of a second port 25 and a subscriber line 22, and is typically operated by the called party "B, " or the subscriber. Optional modes of operation involve the use of a third phone 40, which may be connected to the switch 50 by way of a third port 45 and a second trunk 19, and operated by a third party "C." It should also be noted that the parties A and C may alternatively operate a mobile calling phone 30, in electrical communication with the switch 50 by way of the calling -base station 60. Further, the subscriber or called party, B, may alternatively operate the mobile called phone 80, which is in electrical communication with the switch 50 by way of a called base station 70 and a fourth port 75.

Depending on the particular embodiment of the invention employed, the switch 50 may comprise an

Enhanced Voice Mail System (EVMS) 90 which is adapted for recognizing activation by the subscriber of the message monitoring service. Typically, this is most conveniently accomplished by using the keypad 97 on the subscriber phone 20, 80 to enter a numeric code. The service provider may also activate the service upon subscriber request. The node or switch 50 may also comprise a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) or a Service Control Point (SCP) 67, as shown in Fig. 2. More generally, the switch 50 may also be identical to, or similar to, a node, such as a Service Switching Point (SSP) 65 within an intelligent communications network.

The first phone 10 and the third phone 40 are equivalent to, or identical to, commonly available rotary dial or electronic keypad telephones.

Alternatively, a mobile calling phone 30 may be used in place of either the first phone 10 and/or the third phone 40, and is identical to, or similar to, any of the commonly available mobile cellular radiotelephones well known in the art. Further, the second phone 20 may be identical to either of the first and third phones 10 and 40, or the mobile calling phone 30. Thus, the EVMS 90 may be programmed by the service provider to implement the message monitoring feature, or the feature may be directly activated by the subscriber B (using keypad codes) so as to implement the message monitoring service of the present invention. For example, the subscriber may enter the keypad 97 code sequence combination "*99" to activate the message monitoring feature, and the keypad 97 code combination "*98" to deactivate the message monitoring feature . The second phone 20, or the mobile called phone

80, may further comprise a TALK or MUTE button 95 which is used to abort the message recording process and allow direct connection to the calling party A. However, standard keypad 97 entry codes may also be used, as occurs for activation of other subscriber features, such as call -waiting. For example, the keypad combination "*11" may be activated to abort the message recording function as desired by the called party B. In any event, the second phone 20 should comprise a speaker 92 located in the handset 94 (as illustrated in Fig. 1), or otherwise located near the phone 20 to allow the called party to listen to recording activity by the calling party. The TALK or MUTE button 95, which is illustrated as part of the phones 20 and 80, may also be mounted apart from the phones, as a remote button 95 (illustrated in Fig. 2) .

Turning now to Fig. 3, the method of the present invention is illustrated as a flow chart diagram. At step 100, the calling party, A, initiates a call to the subscriber, or called party, B. If the message monitoring service feature is determined to be inactive at step 110, then the second phone operated by B will be sent a ring tone a preset number of times in step 120 by the switch 50. If B decides to talk to A in step 130, and takes the second phone 20 off-hook, then A will be allowed to engage in direct conversation by connecting the first phone 10 to the second phone 20 by way of the switch 50. As would be the case with conventional answering machines or a VMS, the message recording process will not occur. If B decides not to engage A in conversation in step 130, then the second phone 20 will simply be left on-hook and the "invitation to record a message" will be played to A along with a subsequent record tone in step 160, and recording of the message left by A for B will occur in step 170. The recording process will end at step 150, when A's call is terminated, either by the EVMS 90 program logic, or by placing the first phone 10 on-hook.

If the message monitoring service feature is determined to be active by the EVMS 90 program logic 91

(shown in Figs. 1 and 2) in step 110, then it is necessary to detect whether B is actively engaged in conversation with a third party, C, operating the third phone 40. This decision occurs within the EVMS 90 application program logic module 91, and is triggered by a determination that the message monitoring service 110 feature is active. If B is not currently occupied with an ongoing third-party telephone conversation, as determined in step 180, then the "invitation to record a message" is played to A by the EVMS 90 so that A can leave a recorded message, if desired.

In step 200, the second phone 20 is taken off-hook automatically and a confirmation message is sent back to the EVMS 90 by the second phone 20 so that the EVMS 90 can confirm message monitoring by B. The off-hook function within the second phone 20 can be effected in several different ways. The first is to send a special ring tone from the switch 50 to the second phone 20, 80 which must be specially adapted to be muted and go off- hook upon receipt of the special ring-tone. The second method is to send a series of characters or tones from the EVMS 90 to the second telephone 20, 80 (or an SMS message) which are recognized and used to take the second phone off-hook. In either case, the node 65 or the switch 50 and the EVMS 90 must take special action to accommodate activation of the message monitoring service feature . The special ring tone may be implemented by modulating the timing of- the regular ring tone, or the amplitude of the ring tone voltage. Further, the second phone 20, 80 may provide several different behavior options upon receipt of the special ring tone. These options include: no audible ring, a preset number of audible rings, a unique audible ring frequency, timing or sequence, or a pre-recorded announcement message indicating that recording activity is occurring. As mentioned previously, the phone 20, 80 may use keypad code entries to activate the feature/service .

The record tone, indicating that message recording is about to begin, is sent to the first phone 10, operated by A, in step 220. This record tone is audible to A only, and not to B. The message recording activity begins in step 230, and B may listen privately to A's message as it is being recorded (since B's phone has been muted automatically) . If B decides to engage A directly in conversation in step 240, then some combination of keypad 97 keys may be pressed by B (e.g. "*11") , or the talk button 95 may be activated by B, in order to un-mute B's phone and to abort the recording process begun in step 250. Further, other implementations of the present invention may utilize speech recognition to abort recording, for example, the second phone 20, 80 may be adapted to recognize B's speech, and upon recognizing the word "ABORT, " the second phone 20, 80 may be un-muted and act to abort the recording process in step 250. At this point, the first phone 10 will be connected to the second phone 20, 80 so that A may engage B in conversation in step 260 and the conversation will continue until A's call is terminated at step 150.

If the message monitoring service feature is active (e.g. B has pressed "*99" on his keypad 97) , and B is currently engaged in conversation with a third party, C, as determined in step 180, then the recording invitation message will be played to A in step 290 (the message will be audible only to A, and not B or C) . The message monitoring feature tone will be sent to B only (not audible to A or C) in step 300, and the record tone will be sent to A only (not audible to B or C) in step 310.

The recording of A's message by the EVMS 90 begins in step 320, and B is given the opportunity to privately listen to the message as it is recorded in step 330. If B decides not to listen to the calling party A, then a determination is made by the system as to whether the call with the third party C has been terminated. If so, as shown in step 340, then the process continues as described above at step 240. That is, B once again has the opportunity to privately listen to the message recorded by A, or allow the recording process to complete without engaging A in conversation. If the conversation with the third party C is not terminated during the recording of A's message, then the recording process is completed in step 350 and A's call is terminated as described above in step 150. If B decides to listen to the recording of the calling party message in step 330, then B may place C on hold in step 360 and the second phone 20, 80 will automatically be muted and allow B to privately listen to A during the message recording process in step 370. If B decides to forego conversation with A in step 380, then the recording process is completed in step 440 while C is taken off hold by B in step 420. The conversation then continues with C until C's call is terminated in step 430 by either B or C placing their telephones 20, 80 or 40, respectively, on-hook. However, if B decides to engage A directly in conversation at step 380, then, by activating the TALK or MUTE button 95, for example, or the keypad 97 (e.g., entering "*11"), B's phone is un-muted, the recording process is aborted in step 390 and A is connected directly to B by way of the switch 50 in step 400. Once A's call is terminated, which may occur by A placing the first phone 10 on-hook, or once B takes C off hold in step 420, the conversation between B and C may continue until C's call is terminated at step 430, as described above.

The present invention contemplates several optional features, including retention of recorded messages after the recording process is aborted in order to save information deemed important by the called party B. In addition, the EVMS 90 may be adapted to recognize not only that the message monitoring feature or service is activated for any particular subscriber, but the EVMS 90 may also be adapted to implement all of the method steps illustrated in Fig. 3.

Some switches, such as the Ericsson AXE-10 using APZ software allow private monitoring using a standard telephone. This occurs when any of several different operating modes are implemented using the switch. For example, the Ericsson AXE-10 may provide features such as Executive Busy Override to enable a business group subscriber to intrude upon a busy party (i.e., an ongoing conversation to which the business group subscriber is not initially a party) . Other modes include monitoring of subscriber lines and trunk lines, typically used for fault localization; traffic observation, typically used to monitor service quality for live subscriber traffic; and Business Group Attendant Busy Line Verification, wherein an attendant or other business group member may verify the state of a business group subscriber line and intrude on a conversation with, or without, warning the previously engaged parties. Each of these operational modes are well known in the art and involve variations of the ability to monitor call connections and intrude upon an ongoing conversation. Such activities provide a basis for enabling a switch or node to enable a called party to monitor the recording process initiated by a calling party whenever the called party is currently engaged in conversation, or chooses not to answer a call request by a calling party. In addition, a regular mobile radiotelephone may be substituted for the desk-type telephone if such a specially-programmed EVMS 90 is utilized. The use of character-containing messages or SMS message emanating from the switch 50 to implement the special behavior modes involved for activation of the message monitoring feature are especially applicable to use by the subscriber B of a mobile called phone 80.

In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the second phone 20 may be adapted to recognize a message monitoring feature active ring tone. Similarly, a mobile called phone 80 may be used in place of the second phone 20 and, in this embodiment, the mobile called phone 80 is also specially adapted to recognize a feature active ring tone. Alternatively, the second phone 20 or mobile called phone 80 may be specially adapted to receive and accept a message monitoring service sequence of characters (e.g., via Short Message Service) in order to activate and implement the method of the present invention.

Turning now to Fig. 4, a block diagram illustrating a telephone adapted to operating in conjunction with the apparatus of the present invention can be seen. This telephone may be used as a specially-adapted version of the second telephone 20 which is hormally unable to recognize a feature active ring tone. Alternatively, the phone 20 may be modified to accept a message monitoring service sequence of characters (e.g., via Short Message Service) in order to implement the method of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 4, the phone 20 comprises a handset 94, a handset cradle 26, or other off/on-hook detection device, a ring detector 27, a keypad 97, a TALK or MUTE button 95, audio logic and amplifier circuitry 32, and a speaker 92, which may be located within the handset 94, or within the body of the phone 20. The phone 20 also comprises an optional display 31, and a microprocessor 28, or other embedded computing element which makes use of a memory 29. The phone 20 is connected to the switch 50 by means of trunk line 22. Of course, if a mobile telephone 80 is used in place of phone 20, then there will be no direct connection to the switch 50; rather, a radio link will exist between the telephone 80 and a base station 70, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

A telephone 20 constructed as shown in Fig. 4, is thus able to activate/deactivate the message monitoring feature of the present invention using the keypad 97 and appropriate code sequence combinations, as described previously. Further, the recording process used to monitor third party callers when the called party is engaged in an ongoing conversation may be aborted using the TALK or MUTE button 95, or by entering an appropriate keypad 97 code sequence, as described above. The user of the phone 20 may be alerted to the presence of a third party attempting to contact the called party by means of the speaker 92 and a modified ringing signal, which is different from the conventional signal used when the message monitoring feature of the present invention is not active. Also, the display 31 may be used to announce the presence of such a caller, during the time when the called party chooses not to answer the phone, or when the called party is currently engaged in conversation. In either case, the display 31 and the speaker 92 may be used separately as annunciation/monitoring devices, or in conjunction with each other. Thus, the switch 50 is enabled to interact with the specially modified phone 20 to implement the method of the present invention, or alternatively, the switch may act alone with a conventional telephone which has not been specially- modified, as described above.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limited sense. The various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications that fall within the scope of the invention, or their equivalents.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A message monitoring apparatus comprising: a node having a voice message service adapted to receive a message monitoring feature activation code, wherein the voice message service is adapted to enable a called party to automatically monitor message recording activity by a calling party after the message monitoring feature activation code has been received by the node .

2. The message monitoring apparatus of Claim 1, wherein the voice message service is adapted to enable the called party to selectively abort monitored message recording activity and connect the calling party directly to the called party.

3. The message monitoring apparatus of Claim 2, wherein the voice message service is adapted to enable the called party to abort monitored message recording activity and connect the calling party directly to the called party after the called party activates a button.

4. The message monitoring apparatus of Claim 2, wherein the voice message service is adapted to enable the called party to abort monitored message recording activity and connect the calling party directly to the called party after the called party enters a code sequence .

5. The message monitoring apparatus of Claim 1, wherein the message monitoring feature activation code has been received by the node and the voice message service is adapted to enable the called party to privately monitor message recording activity by the calling party when a third party is engaged in conversation with the called party.

6. The message monitoring apparatus of Claim 5, wherein the called party is enabled to privately monitor message recording activity by the calling party after placing the third party on hold.

7. The message monitoring apparatus of Claim 6, wherein the voice message service is adapted to enable the called party to selectively abort monitored message recording activity and connect the calling party directly to the called party after the called party activates a button.

8. The message monitoring apparatus of Claim 6, wherein the voice message service is adapted to enable the called party to selectively abort monitored message recording activity and connect the calling party directly to the called party after the called party enters a code sequence .

9. The message monitoring apparatus of Claim 6, wherein the node is a service control point .

10. The message monitoring apparatus of Claim 6, wherein the node is a mobile switching center.

11. A method of implementing a message monitoring service comprising the steps of: activating a voice mail message monitoring feature within a node; sending an invitation to record a message from the voice mail service to a calling party; enabling a called party to automatically monitor calling party message recording activity; and recording a message from the calling party to the called party.

12. The method of Claim 11, further comprising the steps of : selectively aborting the recording step by the called party; and connecting the calling party directly to the called party to enable direct conversation between the calling party and the called party.

13. The method of Claim 12, wherein said selectively aborting step is accomplished when the called party activates a button.

14. The method of Claim 11, wherein the node is a service control point.

15. The method of Claim 11, wherein the node is a mobile switching center.

16. A method of implementing a message monitoring service comprising the steps of: activating a message monitoring feature within a voice mail service; sending a an invitation to record a message from the voice mail service to a calling party; sending a feature tone from the voice message service to the called party; recording a message from the calling party to a called party; and enabling the called party to privately monitor the message recording activity after placing a third party on hold.

17. The method of Claim 16, further comprising the steps of: aborting the recording step if the called party sends an abort code to the voice message service; and connecting the calling party directly to the called party to enable direct conversation between the calling party and the called party if the called party sends an abort code to the voice message service.

18. The method of Claim 16, further comprising the steps of: aborting the recording step if the called party activates a button; and connecting the calling party directly to the called party to enable direct conversation, between the calling party and the called party if the called party activates a button.

19. The method of Claim 16, further comprising the step of : continuing the recording step and reconnecting the calling party to the third party if the called party takes the third party off hold.