Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Message storage or retrieval
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-12
2001-12-25
Trost, William (Department: 2683)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Message storage or retrieval
C455S414200, C455S466000, C455S413000, C455S461000, C379S067100, C379S081000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06334053
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a procedure as defined in the preamble of claim
1
and to a system as defined in the preamble of claim
13
for providing an answering service in a telecommunication network. In particular, the invention concerns the implementation of an answering service in a GSM network (GSM, Global System for Mobile Communications), in an ISDN network (ISDN, Integrated Digital Services Network) and between ISDN and GSM networks.
Telephone answering services are traditionally based on voice messages. The subscriber uses e.g. an answering machine which is connected to a telecommunication terminal or integrated with it. The answering machine comprises means, e.g. a magnetic tape, which the subscriber can use to store a spoken information message and which a person trying to reach the subscriber can use to leave a spoken paging message for the subscriber. As digital telecommunication networks are becoming more common, the same functions are nowadays generally implemented as services provided by the operator. This means that the subscriber orders from the operator a service by which, when the subscriber cannot be reached, any calls addressed to him/her are directed to a separate answering number. When someone is trying to call the subscriber, a standard information message provided by the operator or an information message dictated by the subscriber him/herself is reproduced for the caller. In addition, the caller can leave a paging message for the subscriber, who will receive the message when he/she calls his/her answering number to check any paging messages left for him/her.
A problem with prior-art answering services is that only one information message can be used at a time. If different messages are to be used in different situations, then they have to be recorded separately each time. Furthermore, present answering services are typically supplementary services liable to charge.
The object of the present invention is to disclose a new type of procedure to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned above.
A specific object of the invention is to disclose a new type of procedure and system that makes it possible to utilise the short-message service of a digital mobile communication network to implement a text message based answering service between the mobile communication network and the wired network as well as within the mobile communication network and the wired network.
As for the features characteristic of the invention, reference is made to the claims.
The system of the invention for providing an answering service in a telecommunication network comprises a mobile communication network, which comprises a first short-message service centre. The mobile communication network is preferably a GSM network provided with a short message transmission capability. The system also comprises a telephone network which uses digital signalling and is connected to the mobile communication network by means known in themselves in telephony. The telephone network is preferably an ISDN telephone network. Connected to the mobile communication network and to the telephone network are a number of telecommunication terminals, mobile stations and ISDN terminals, by means of which a response message is transmitted from a called party's terminal to a calling party's terminal after the calling party has tried to call the called party, who has activated an answering service in his/her terminal equipment.
According to the invention, the response message is a predetermined short message. Further, in the system according to the invention, a first short-message service centre is connected to the telephone network via a first telecommunication link.
According to the invention, during the generation of a response message, the message is provided with subscriber type identification of the calling party, which may be e.g. the calling party's subscriber number. Next, the response message is sent to the first short-message service centre. The calling party's subscriber type and possibly telephone number is/are verified in the short-message service centre and, based on that, the response message is sent to the calling party if the latter is a subscriber in the telephone network. If the calling party is a subscriber in the mobile communication network, then the short message definitions of the mobile communication network, known in themselves, will be used and the response message is sent via the short-message service centre to the calling party.
As compared with prior art, the present invention has the advantage that it makes it possible to send desired pre-selected short messages if, in certain situations, calls cannot be answered or if the line cannot be held. Several different messages can be stored in the terminal equipment for different situations, and from these messages the user can quickly and flexibly select a suitable one in each case as necessary. Naturally, it is also possible to write a new message. As the function is implemented in the terminal equipment, the user need not separately order a chargeable answering service from the operator, thus economising on costs. Besides, the fact that the message is in text form provides an advantage over a spoken message in certain situations. If a foreign language has to be used in the messages, then a written message will be more readily understood than a spoken message.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in addition to a first short-message service centre, the system comprises one or more short-message service centres or devices or gateways corresponding to these, which are used to match the transmission path between the first short-message service centre and the telephone network. Such an arrangement may be needed to match the short-message service centre with the telephone network. The signalling used between the first short-message service centre and the telephone network is preferably DSS1—(DSS, Digital Signalling System) or ISUP—(ISUP, Integrated Services User Part) signalling.
Since setting up an ISDN call typically takes only a short time, it is possible to use the queueing property of the telephone network If the subscriber or the short-message service centre is busy at the beginning of the setup of a call addressed to them. The delay resulting from the queueing is so short that it does not significantly hamper the transmission of a response message, but instead it will eliminate “unnecessary” failures caused by a busy-signal in the transmission of short messages. The use of a queueing function like this is part of prior-art technology and it will therefore not be described here in detail.
If the response message is transmitted from an ISDN network to a GSM network or from a GSM network to an ISDN network, then the routing of the response message is taken care of by the first short-message service centre, which is connected to the mobile communication network. When a response message is sent from or to an ISDN terminal, then a call is set up between the terminal and the first short-message service centre to transmit the message to a second short-message service centre. The transmission of the response message is preferably effected using ISDN UUS signalling (UUS, User to User Signalling) by transfering the UUS information elements required for the transmission of the response message to the first short-message service centre or to the terminal during the ringing phase. However, no actual call is set up between the short-message service centre and the ISDN terminal.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, receiver identification is transmitted in the Called Party Subaddress field.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sending of the response message is delayed by a predetermined time interval. In this way, the user of the service will have time to answer the call if he/she wants to.
In addition, in a preferred embodiment of the procedure of the invention, a monitoring function is used to establish whether the message is successfully transmitted to the calling party and a notice of successfu
Altera Law Group, LL
Milord Marceau
Nokia Networks Oy
Trost William
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