Abstract: When an incoming call is received, a signal is sent to a computer that monitors the telephone line. If the telephone is not answered, the messaging system sends a signal and streaming audio signals to the computer. The signals are output over speakers connected to the computer.

Abstract: A method for providing multiple calling service announcements on a single circuit card within a telephone network. The method reduces the number of stored speech files necessary to generate announcements regarding a calling service such as Automatic Call Back or Enhanced Repeat Dial. By reducing the amount of speech data stored on a circuit card, multiple calling service announcements can be provided on a single circuit card, thereby reducing equipment costs.

Abstract: A method and system for enabling call notification for a user of a telephonic device, such as a telephone, computer or video conference system, include forming a notification message having content-specific information relating to the subject matter of interest to the calling party. Preferably, the notification message also includes caller identification. In one embodiment, the application of the method is restricted to call-waiting circumstances, but this is not critical. The content-specific information is acquired using automated processes, such as interactive voice recognition. Voice responses are converted to a proper text format for presentation on a display of the target telephonic device. The display of the notification message presents the content-specific information in a nonintrusive manner. The called party is thereby able to form an informed decision as to whether to answer the incoming call, interrupt an ongoing call, or forward the call and/or the notification message to a mailbox.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for entering and transmitting a message at a future delivery time to a receiving device that is coupled either to a telephony-centric network or to a data-centric network. The apparatus includes a message server, a data-centric network server, and a telephony-centric network server. The message server translates the message into a format compatible with the receiving device and initiates delivery of the message at the future delivery time. The data-centric network server transmits the message over the data-centric network and, if the receiving device is addressable over the data-centric network, then said data-centric network server delivers the message directly to the receiving device. The telephony-centric network server provides an interface between the data-centric network server and the telephony-centric network.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed that generates a message in response to an inquiry. The present invention generates such a message by applying the inquiry to a data table contained within a receiving device, wherein a call identifier is associated with the inquiry. An agent is then selected from an agent group corresponding to the call identifier. The call identifier is then supplied to an interface message device, wherein an agent message associated with the selected agent is chosen from an agent message database based upon the call identifier. The agent message is then supplied to the source of the inquiry.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed for accessing originating central office equipment to control the disclosure of a calling party directory telephone number and/or name (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “DN” or “directory telephone number with a corresponding name”) to a called party who subscribes to Caller ID service or to any other Custom Local Area Switching System (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “CLASS”) service which discloses the calling party DN to the called party by performing a desired one of a plurality of automatic and/or manual calling operations. The apparatus and method are also for receiving, displaying and storing to memory a calling party DN sent from terminating central office equipment via a voice channel of a called party busy or idle telephone line in response to the receipt of the calling party flagged “public” DN sent from originating central office equipment to which the calling party telephone line is connected.

Abstract: A telecommunications system (10) is provided that provides for telephone functions to be accessed through client computer system (14). A server computer system (16) provides telephony services, database services and access to E-mail, voice mail, video conferencing and facsimile systems. A graphical user interface 116 is presented to a user to allow the user to perform a large number of functions and to access databases of information associated with calling and called parties.

Abstract: A method for controlling a server using voice is disclosed. In one embodiment, a client such as a Web browser is coupled over a data communication channel to a server. A telephone at the client side is connected to an interactive voice response (IVR) system that has a speech recognizer at the server side, over a separate, parallel voice communication channel. The IVR system has a control connection to the server. A table of associations between resource identifiers and network addresses is stored in association with the IVR system. A user at the client side establishes a data connection between the client and the server, and a voice connection between the telephone and the IVR system. Control software on the IVR system synchronizes an IVR session to a server session.

Abstract: An interactive voice response system provides voice prompts that supply information to a user, request data from the user, and present the user with a plurality of selectable options. The user can first select one or more options by providing one or more letters of the alphabet corresponding to one or more of the selectable options. If the letter or letters that are provided correspond to more than one selectable option, the user further selects one of the options from among the selectable options corresponding to the one or more letters.

Abstract: A unified messaging system. A server node with a telephony interface to interface with the public switch telephone network and a web interface providing an interface to a wide area network receives messages of a plurality of type via these interfaces. The messages are stored in a database and provided by the server node to a user node executing a web browser. The server node provides message conversion so that a user at the user node can retrieve messages of the different media types, respond to those messages, forward messages, and send messages of different message types across a plurality of media originating from the user node over the wide area network.

Abstract: An arrangement for remotely retrieving information from a computer memory over an audio channel includes an audio channel such as a telephone line. A user speaks a command into the audio channel, and it is received at the other end, which is within a private network. Within the private network, the user is authenticated, as by evaluation of a code number or by voice signature. Once authenticated, the user's spoken command is applied to a speech recognition arrangement, also within the private network, which converts the spoken command into a computer-executable command. The executable command is applied to the appropriate network memory, and the computer file is retrieved. The retrieved file is applied to a firewall in order to block transmission of any information from the private network which is deemed to be inappropriate for transmission over the audio channel, or which should not leave the private network in computer-readable form.

Abstract: A system and method provides universal access to voice-based documents containing information formatted using MIME and HTML standards using customized extensions for voice information access and navigation. These voice documents are linked using HTML hyper-links that are accessible to subscribers using voice commands, touch-tone inputs and other selection means. These voice documents and components in them are addressable using HTML anchors embedding HTML universal resource locators (URLs) rendering them universally accessible over the Internet. This collection of connected documents forms a voice web. The voice web includes subscriber-specific documents including speech training files for speaker dependent speech recognition, voice print files for authenticating the identity of a user and personal preference and attribute files for customizing other aspects of the system in accordance with a specific subscriber.

Abstract: A system for developing and testing a telephony application on a interactive voice system without using associated telephony hardware. The telephony application normally sends and receives hardware signals to and from the system telephony hardware for communication with a telephone. In this invention a telephony emulator intercepts the hardware signals from the voice application and sends back simulated hardware signals to the voice application. A graphical user interface provides the user output in response to the telephony emulator means and accepts and passes on user input to the emulator means.

Abstract: Apparatus and processes to provide a telephone answering device for receiving and recording a voice message from a caller to a user over a telephone line. The voice message is retrievable from the telephone answering device by the user from a remote location. After the user retrieves the message, but while the remote user is still on the telephone line, a calling module in the telephone answering device directs, at the remote user's request, a call back to the caller. The remote user is then connected to the call to the third party using the same telephone line without disconnecting the user from the original phone call.

Abstract: A platform provides access to multiple telecommunications services via a single telephone number. These services may include, for example, voicemail services, facsimile messaging services, paging services, and outbound calling services. A guest caller may call the single phone number to speak to a subscriber, leave a voicemail message for a subscriber, leave a facsimile message for a subscriber, or place a page to a subscriber. A subscriber may call the phone number to place outbound calls. In addition, a subscriber may call the single phone number to retrieve or send facsimile messages and/or voicemail messages. A subscriber may also call the phone number to configure service options. For instance, a subscriber may select routing options and choose what services are available to guest callers.

Abstract: A toolkit for creating customized video announcement messages on video-enabled answering machine. The video-enabled answering machine may have many new features including customized video announcement messages, caller ID based video announcement messages, and time based video announcement messages.

Abstract: A system and method for speech-responsive voice messaging, in which a Speech-Responsive Voice Messaging System (SRVMS) preferably provides a hierarchically-simple speech user interface (UI) that enables subscribers to use speech to specify commands such as mailboxes, passwords, and digits. The SRVMS generates and evaluates candidate results. The SRVMS invokes a speech UI navigation operation or a voice messaging operation according to the outcome of the evaluation of the candidate results. In the preferred embodiment, the SRVMS determines whether the candidate results are good, questionable, or bad; and whether two or more candidate results are ambiguous due to a likelihood that each such result could be a valid command. If the candidate results are questionable or ambiguous, an ambiguity resolution UI prompts the subscriber to confirm whether the best candidate result is what the subscriber intended.

Abstract: A system and method for speech-responsive voice messaging, in which a Speech-Responsive Voice Messaging System (SRVMS) preferably provides a hierarchically-simple speech user interface (UI) that enables subscribers to use speech to specify commands such as mailboxes, passwords, and digits. The SRVMS generates and evaluates candidate results. The SRVMS invokes a speech UI navigation operation or a voice messaging operation according to the outcome of the evaluation of the candidate results. In the preferred embodiment, the SRVMS determines whether the candidate results are good, questionable, or bad; and whether two or more candidate results are ambiguous due to a likelihood that each such result could be a valid command. If the candidate results are questionable or ambiguous, an ambiguity resolution UI prompts the subscriber to confirm whether the best candidate result is what the subscriber intended.

Abstract: A telephone answering device (TAD) and a method of controlling such TAD. In one embodiment, the TAD includes: (1) an external interface couplable to a telephone line outbound from a site, (2) an internal interface couplable to a client telephone and (3) decode circuitry, associated with the internal interface, that interprets affirmative commands received from the client telephone to allow the client telephone to control the TAD.

Abstract: Dialable user profiles are established via a software user agent in a telecommunications system for filtering mixed-media messages, including electronic mail and voice mail. According to the software agent of the present invention, the user creates, stores and retrieves a plurality of user profiles which indicate how inbound messages are to be sorted and prioritized. The user selects and invokes a particular profile which is appropriate to a given situation, such as remote computer dial up, pay phone dial up, cellular dial up, etc. The user agent resides in a message server of the data communication network and interprets commands from the user via remote terminal or touch-tone pad to retrieve and apply the requested profile.