Guestroom telephone having single action message retrieval

Details Guestroom telephone having single action message retrieval Guestroom telephone having single action message retrieval

2001-10-15

2003-04-29

Hoosain, Allan (Department: 2645)

Telephonic communications

Audio message storage, retrieval, or synthesis

C379S088080, C379S088110, C379S088120, C379S088220, C379S198000, C379S227000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06556663

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a telephones having message retrieval capability and more specifically to guestroom telephones that facilitate retrieval of stored messages by a single action by the user.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well know that telephone systems may be connected to voice mail systems so that voice mail messages may be retrieved by the user. Often, the voice mail systems are associated with private automatic branch exchanges (PABX). This is often the case in commercial environments, such as in offices, industrial environments, and the hospitality environments, such as in hotels and the like.
In many residential applications, voice mail services are typically offered by the telephone service provider or PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) or equivalent. To retrieve messages via the residential telephone, the user may dial the central telephone number or access number of the voice mail system, and upon receipt of a prompt, the user then enters the residential telephone number to identify a particular “mail box.” Entry of a password is also typically required. The message is then played back. Alternatively, if the user is calling from the residential telephone corresponding to the mail box number (i.e., typically the user's home telephone), the user may dial “*98,” which in some systems, retrieves the messages.
It is also known that telephones may include a speakerphone, which permits the user to listen to the audio output without placing the handset next to the ear. The speakerphone is typically activated by depressing a specific “speakerphone” button or “speaker” key. Once the speaker function is activated, the user may use the keys to dial a telephone number, and will hear the DTMF (dual tone multi-frequency) tones through the speaker. All voice communication will also be heard through the speaker.
Retrieval of voice mail messages in commercial, industrial and hospitality environments may be slightly less complex than retrieval of messages in the residential environment because telephones in such environments may include one button or key that automatically causes the telephone to connect with the corresponding PABX system. Thus, the user may lift the handset and depress the appropriate message retrieval key to retrieve the stored messages.
Although the above methods and systems permit the user to retrieve voice mail messages, such systems are somewhat inconvenient because the user must perform several actions before the voice mail message can be retrieved. As described above, in a residential telephone system, the user must lift the handset and then dial the correct telephone (along with the correct access code and password) to retrieve the messages. However, at least several actions are required, that is, the user must either lift the handset, and then contact the voice mail system. Accordingly, at least two or more separate actions are required.
Similarly, in some commercial environments, the user may also lift the handset and then dial the correct telephone to connect to the voice mail system. Often, once the user has lifted the handset, he or she may depress an additional button to connect to the voice mail system to retrieve the messages. The second button is often a “speed-dial” button, which causes automatic dialing of the correct sequence of numbers to effect connection and retrieval of the stored voice mail messages. At least two actions are required, that is, the user must either lift the handset, and then must depress a second key (speed-dial key) to contact the voice mail system and retrieve the messages, which are played back. Again, the above described method requires at least two separate actions by the user. It is therefore desirable to provide a telephone system that permits a user to retrieve voice mail messages via a single user action.
As described above, telephones systems in commercial environments, such as in offices, industrial environments, and the hospitality environments, such as in hotels, and the like, are usually connected to voice mail systems associated with private automatic branch exchanges (PABX). However, depending upon the age of the equipment, such PABX systems may utilize different technology for issuing the message waiting signal. If a hotel updates its PABX equipment, often all of the telephones must be replaced to maintain compatibility with the message waiting signal. This can be very expensive. It is therefore desirable to have a telephone that responds to a variety of message waiting signals sent from a PABX.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The disadvantages of present telephone systems are substantially overcome with the present invention by providing a novel guestroom telephone that permits a user to retrieve stored voice mail messages through a signal action, namely, depressing a single button or key. The user need not lift the handset.
Known guestroom telephone systems require the user to perform several actions to retrieve stored voice mail messages. The present invention permits the user to retrieve voice mail messages though one action and only one action, that is, by depressing a single button or key. Upon depression of the “message retrieval” key, the telephone sends the correct sequence of DTMF tones to the PABX. This causes the PABX to retrieve and playback the stored messages corresponding to the particular hotel room. Simultaneously, the speaker portion of the telephone is activated to that the message is heard through the speaker. The user need not pick up the handset and then depress a message retrieval key. It is much more convenient that the user can depress only a single button to perform the desired task, rather than depressing two or more buttons.
More specifically, a telephone system according to one embodiment of the present invention is operatively coupled to a private automatic branch exchange (PABX) system and to a voice mail system, where the telephone system permits a user to retrieve recorded voice messages from the voice mail system. The telephone system includes one or more telephones, where each telephone further includes a handset, a message waiting indicator configured to inform the user that the voice message is pending with the voice mail system, a message retrieval key for retrieving the voice message from the voice mail system, and an audio speaker configured to provide the user with audio output corresponding to the voice message. A single action by the user of activating the message retrieval key causes the voice message to be retrieved and the audio speaker to be automatically activated such that the voice message is output on the audio speaker without the user lifting the handset.


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