Telephonic communications – Audio message storage – retrieval – or synthesis – Display of message related information
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-21
2004-10-19
Smith, Creighton (Department: 2642)
Telephonic communications
Audio message storage, retrieval, or synthesis
Display of message related information
C379S207020, C379S221090
Reexamination Certificate
active
06807255
ABSTRACT:
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This Application is related to U.S. Application No. TBD, entitled, Telecommunications Device Ring Tone Apparatuses, Systems and Methods, and U.S. Application No. TBD, entitled, Systems and Methods for Wireline Ring Tone Service, filed concurrently herewith.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed generally to systems and methods for providing wireline messages to terminating stations, such as telephones, and more particularly, to systems and methods for providing wireline messages, such as text messages, ring tones and the like, to slightly modified conventional telephones using conventional telecommunications infrastructure.
BACKGROUND
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) has been in existence for many years and has been the primary network supporting the conventional telephone system. Until recently, the PSTN has been used exclusively for transmitting verbal communications between users at two or more terminating stations, such as telephones, positioned in different geographic locations. While the PSTN continues to be used for transmitting verbal communications, use of the PSTN has expanded greatly within the past twenty years to include data transmission between computers, internet support, and other such applications.
During evolution of the PSTN, the mobile communications network simultaneously evolved to support primarily mobile telephones and other verbal communication devices. The mobile communications network evolved very similarly to the PSTN, except that the mobile communications network experienced change at a much faster pace than the PSTN. For instance, the mobile communications network was first developed as a collection of towers covering individual geographic areas, referred to as cells, for transmitting verbal communications electronically between two mobile telephones or between a mobile telephone and a wireline telephone. Mobile communication devices were quickly reconfigured to enable users to send and transmit data across the mobile communications network using modems and other such devices. Shortly thereafter, text messaging, referred to as short message service (SMS), was developed for sending short text messages to mobile communication devices. These short messages were designed as a reliable way for sending short messages or reminders to colleagues, friends and others. At the time, SMS was limited to messages consisting only of alpha-numeric characters.
Recently, SMS evolved into a system, commonly referred to as enhanced messaging service (EMS), that is capable of sending ring tones, operator logos, and other simple visual messages to EMS compliant mobile devices. EMS compliant mobile telephones also have the ability to send and receive a combination of simple media items, such as melodies, pictures, sounds, animations, modified text and standard text as an integrated message for viewing on display screens. Both SMS and EMS allow users to receive and view messages on a mobile device in many geographic locations. However, SMS and EMS are effective methods of communication only if the intended recipient is using the mobile device. If the intended recipient is not using the mobile device, then the intended recipient does not receive the message. In addition, an intended recipient cannot receive a communication if the recipient is in an area that does not support mobile communications, such as a rural area without mobile communication towers.
Although mobile telephones are used regularly by a portion of society, usage of mobile telephones vary from person to person based on a variety of factors. For instance, some individuals use mobile telephones as their primary means of communication, while others use mobile telephones sporadically or not at all. As a result, the likelihood of contacting someone through a mobile telephone varies as well. Thus, using SMS and EMS on mobile telephones is not always a reliable method of communicating with someone. In addition, even frequent users of mobile telephones often have portions of a typical day in which they are not in contact with their mobile telephones, such as when they are at work or at home after work, on a weekend or on a holiday. Thus, senders often cannot be sure that the intended recipient will see a message promptly.
In many instances, a wireline telephone is available to the intended recipient when a mobile telephone is unavailable. Thus, a need exists for a system and method for sending messages, composed of text, audio messages and the like, to wireline devices that are capable of receiving these messages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Set forth below is a brief summary of systems and methods according to the invention that address the foregoing problems and provide benefits and advantages in accordance with the purposes of the present invention as embodied and broadly described herein. According to one aspect, this invention is directed to a system for providing wireline messages to a terminating station, such as a telephone, across a conventional public switched telecommunications network (PSTN). The wireline messages may include text messages, ring tones and other items and may be created through a variety of sources, such as personal computers, mobile telephones, wireline telephones, modems, and other such devices. Wireline messages are stored within a wireline messages database associated with a service control point (SCP) of a conventional Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN). The wireline message database stores wireline messages and associates each message with either a called directory number or a calling directory number.
In one embodiment, wireline messages composed of text messages are delivered to a terminating station using the conventional PSTN. The process of sending a wireline message to a directory number includes sending the wireline message to a service switching point (SSP) if the wireline message is created using an originating station coupled to the SSP, such as a telephone, or sending the wireline message through another system, such as a mobile network, if the wireline message is created using a wireless telephone or the like. Regardless of the path through which the wireline message is initially routed, the wireline message is sent to a message server as an email message or a SMS using a unique address. The message server sends the wireline message to a service node that is configured as an Internet Gateway with both signaling and voice path interfaces.
The service node receives the wireline message and determines whether the terminating directory number associated with the wireline message is a subscriber of the wireline text service. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by the service node sending a query to the SCP to access a directory within the wireline message database containing a list of directory numbers subscribing to the wireline text service. If the wireline message database contains the directory number, then the SCP sends a response to the service node instructing the service node to send the wireline message to the wireline message database. Otherwise, the SCP sends a response to the service node instructing the service node to delete the message and send a message to the calling party indicating that the wireline message is undeliverable because the directory number is not associated with a subscriber of the wireline text system.
After a wireline message has been created and sent to a directory number associated with a subscriber of the wireline message system, the wireline message is stored within the wireline message database for a very brief period of time until a trigger, such as a conventional terminating attempt trigger (TAT), is actuated. After the wireline message is stored within the wireline message database, the service node initiates a telephone call to the wireline message terminating directory number. The TAT is actuated upon a service switching point receiving the telephone call from the service node. Actuating the trigger causes the wireline message stored in the wireline database associated with the SCP to
Alston Douglas B.
Hogans Simpson Anita
BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation
Merchant & Gould
Smith Creighton
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