KR20040095248A - System and method for mobile electronic messaging - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and systems for sending voice messages to electronic addresses generally establish a data communication connection between the wireless device 50 and the first server 15 of the voice messaging system to enable a user to access an e-mail account. Steps. The first server 15 captures the wireless device identifier and accesses the combination of the wireless device identifier and the telephone number of the wireless device 50. The call from the wireless device 50 to the second server 25 of the voice message system is then initiated to record the voice message. The previously stored recipient electronic address is retrieved using the captured phone number and an email is generated containing a link to the voice message. This email is then sent to the recipient's electronic address.

Description

Mobile electronic messaging system and method {SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOBILE ELECTRONIC MESSAGING}

Cross Reference of Related Application

This application is based on the claims of priority in US Provisional Application No. 60 / 361,239, filed March 1, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a wireless voice messaging system and method.

In the entire drawing, these figures are not to scale, only shown, and like reference numerals designate like elements throughout.

1 is an overview diagram of a system architecture according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a flow diagram of an example method of interacting with a user of the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2B is a continuation of the flow chart of FIG. 2A.

3 is a flow diagram of an example method of signing up a new user of the system of FIG.

4 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of capturing a voice message in accordance with the present invention.

5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary method for enabling a user to respond, send, or compose an electronic message having a voice component in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, a voice messaging system 10 and a method of transmitting a voice message to an e-mail account according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention are shown and described. Unlike known systems that simply attach a sound file to an e-mail, the voice messaging system 10 inserts a link to a streaming audio file or a non-streaming audio file into the e-mail, so that the recipient can directly access the voice message. For example, a recipient of a voice message receives an email from a wireless device user that includes a link to the voice message. In an alternate embodiment, the voice message is sent directly to the recipient's voice mail account associated with the recipient's email account. In this way, the step of requiring the recipient to retrieve voice messages from his or her email account is eliminated. In addition, the voice messaging system 10 has the advantage of allowing a user to respond to a voice message, thereby eliminating the need to type a response. The streaming audio file may be a Windows (.asf) or real network (.ram) media format or any other audio format known or developed in the future. The non-streaming audio file may be a .wav (wave file format), PCT, mu-law or the like.

The example embodiments described herein normally operate over a wireless network, such as over a WAP capable network, for example, to enable wireless communication. As used herein, the term "WAP capable" refers to a network and a device that can typically transmit and receive data in a wireless manner using a wireless application protocol. As is known in the art, a wireless application protocol ("WAP") Is a secure specification that allows users to instantly access information through wireless devices such as mobile phones, pagers, two-way radios, communicators, and the like. WAP supports most wireless networks including CDPD, CDMA, GSM, PDC, PHS, TDMA, FLEX, ReFLEX, iDEN, TETRA, DECT, DataTAC, and Mobitex, and supports PalmOS, EPOC, Windows CE, FLEXOS, OS / 9, and can operate with the operating system of many handheld devices such as JavaOS. Typically, WAP-capable devices use LEDs or color graphics displays, and use the Internet on a so-called mini or micro browser, a web browser with a small file size that can accommodate the reduced memory limitations of pocket devices and the low bandwidth limitations of wireless networks. (Or other communication network).

It should also be understood that the WAP capable device is only one illustrative example of a wireless communication device that can be used in combination with the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any wireless data communication technology known or developed in the future may be used in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments of the invention described herein.

Referring to FIG. 1, the voice messaging system 10 preferably includes one or more server and database systems that are in communication with each other and capable of communicating wirelessly with a plurality of wireless devices of a user. In the exemplary embodiment, the voice messaging system 10 typically includes a mobile server system 15 and a voice server system 25 that are connected in communication with individual database systems 20 and 30. While the example embodiments described herein illustrate the use of separate servers and databases to perform the various functions of the voice messaging system 10, another embodiment may be a single server or as a matter of design choice while the functions described herein are performed. It should be noted that it may be implemented by storing software or programming that performs the functions described on any combination of multiple servers. Although not shown in the figures, server systems 15 and 25 typically include a processor, RAM, ROM, clock, hardware driver, associated storage device, and the like, as commonly found in server systems. Includes components recognized in the industry. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that a system, such as through a round-robin configuration, which is a non-limiting example of using multiple server systems because many users may access such a server at any given point in time. It will be appreciated that it is desirable to use multiple servers and databases that may be used separately or in series to support traffic and processing.

In addition, as will be apparent from the following description and the associated drawings, a user may employ a voice server system 15 and a message server system 25 and a global communication network 150 such as, for example, a cellular, satellite or other wireless communication network. Communicate via Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that network 150 includes non-wireless components such as, for example, a general switched telephone network (PSTN), cable, or fiber optic network. As such, wireless device 50 communicates wirelessly with other portions of network 150, although network 150 may be comprised of any number of different types of communication devices that enable the transmission of voice and data. have. It will be apparent that the various system components of the voice messaging system 10 are connected in communication with the other components, respectively, via a communication network 40 such as a local or wide area network (LAN or WAN).

Generally speaking, mobile server system 15 communicates with users' wireless devices 50 via a data communication connection to permit data transmission, where voice server system 25 is more conventional digital or analog wireless voice. Communicate with the wireless devices 50 of users via connections. Adapting server systems, such as those described herein in wireless communication with one or more wireless devices, are well known to those skilled in the art.

In the exemplary embodiment as shown in FIGS. 2A-5, the wireless device 50 establishes a data connection with the mobile server system 15 of the voice messaging system 10 so that two devices can communicate. Will be. Through this data connection, the wireless device 50 can retrieve and review the email received from the user's email account. If the user decides to respond to an email with a voice message, the mobile server system 15 attempts to capture the wireless device identifier, which is the mobile identity of the device, as defined below. number, “MIN”) or other stored identifier that uniquely identifies the user's wireless device 50. If the wireless device identifier is invalid, the user is prompted to enter and transmit a wireless phone number. Depending on whether the wireless device 50 can make a digital phone call or is limited to an analog call, either the wireless device identifier (digital) or the wireless phone number (analog) can be used as described in more detail below. The email address of the recipient of the voice messages will be used to associate the specific voice message.

Preferably, when accessing his or her email account, the user has at least three possible choices: (1) respond to a conventional email; (2) send an existing email to a new address: or (3) compose a new email. In either case, wireless device 50 sends one or more recipient electronic addresses to mobile server system 15. Depending on whether the wireless device is digital or analog, the recipient electronic addresses are mapped to a wireless device identifier or wireless telephone number and stored in the database system 20.

Once this process is complete, mobile server system 15 may prompt the user to continue to view the email or to start a voice message recording session. If the user chooses to start a voice message recording session, the data connection is terminated and the user is prompted to initiate a call to the voice server system 25 of the voice messaging service 10. This call may be analog or digital (eg, Voice-over-IP, "VOIP"). In response to various prompts, the user records a voice message, which is stored in the second database system 30.

During the recording process, in case of digital connection, voice server system 25 attempts to capture the wireless device identifier. In this scenario, once the device identifier is captured, voice server system 25 can access any stored recipient electronic address mapping of the wireless device identifier, which in turn results in some outgoing pending message by the user. You can decide whether you have them. If messages are pending, voice server system 25 retrieves the recipient's electronic address and prompts the user to select which addresses are associated with which voice message. The process of recording voice messages is described in more detail below.

In the case of an analog connection, voice server system 25 instead attempts to capture the telephone number of the wireless device by caller-ID. If the caller ID is forbidden, the system prompts the user to enter a phone number. Again using the telephone number, voice server system 25 may associate the wireless device with an outbound recipient address. As soon as the recording phase is completed, the voice message is sent to the selected recipient's electronic address.

With further reference to FIG. 2, an exemplary method of interaction between voice messaging system 10 and a user is shown and described, which allows a user to, at step 202, use a wireless device 50 to send a message. Receive, organize and send, or respond to conventional messages. By way of example only, a user may access and retrieve emails from various e-mail accounts using a wireless application protocol (WAP) feature or other data communication protocol of the wireless device 50. Those skilled in the art will understand that wireless application protocol (WAP) is the only way wireless devices can access data over a network, and any such data transfer technology can be used to access and transmit electronic data. If the user chooses to respond, send, or compose a new message, and to include a voice message element, the user is positioned to communicate with the mobile server 15. In step 204, as soon as a connection is established, the mobile server 15 first attempts to detect whether this is the first use of the user's voice message system 10. If it is the first use of the user's voice message system 10, then at step 206 the mobile server 15 starts the user's registration routine. It will be appreciated that the user registration routine may be operated by one of any of the servers of FIG. 1 or by another server in communication with the communication network 40, and the user information may be stored in any associated database. As shown in step 206 (shown in greater detail in FIG. 3), this routine may include the display of various messages and notifications to the user involved in the use of the voice message system 10. For example, notifications such as privacy sentences regarding the use of the service or voice message system 10 may be displayed to the user. If the user accepts or agrees to all displayed messages and notifications, the user mobile server 15 continues with the registration process, which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 3 below.

Once registration is completed or if the user has already registered (see step 208), the mobile server 15 attempts to capture the wireless telephone number or wireless device identifier for the user's wireless device 50, in step 210. . In certain instances, wireless telephone numbers may be captured. However, in some examples, mobile server system 15 may capture a wireless phone number because many wireless communication providers encrypt the number for the privacy of that customer. In steps 212 and 214, if the wireless telephone number cannot be captured, the mobile server 15 captures the mobile identification number or other wireless device identifier of the devices.

Because of various privacy regulations, rules, and laws, many, if not all, wireless communication providers use MINs to make their telephone numbers inaccessible by third parties. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the MIN is an encrypted form of a user's wireless telephone number, and that the use of the term MIN means that the telephone number of the user's telephone number has been made inaccessible by a third party, despite the name or form, by a third party. It should be understood to include the form. In yet another embodiment, the wireless identifier may be stored in the wireless device (eg in the form of a cookie), so that it may be retrieved even if the wireless communication provider is not using MINs.

As mentioned above, a wireless telephone number may be used by the voice messaging system 10 to ensure that a user's voice message is sent to the correct recipient. Therefore, where the wireless telephone number cannot be captured via a wireless data connection to the mobile server 15, the wireless identifier is used to retrieve the mapping of the previously stored wireless identifier to the wireless telephone number for the device 50. .

If the mapping is not stored in the database system 20, at step 216 the mobile server prompts the user to enter the device number into the wireless device using the keypad (or other input device) for transmission to the mobile server 15. Do it. Once the mobile server 15 receives the device number in step 218, the mapping of the captured MIN (or other wireless identifier) to the wireless phone number entered by the user is transferred to the database 20 for future use in step 220. Stored.

Once the wireless device 50 has been identified by the mobile server system, the user is provided with at least two possible paths, depending on the type of action initiated by the user: answer or speak by voice as shown in FIG. 2B. Or create a new message by voice. The latter two options, which involve substantially the same operation, are described together with respect to FIG. 2B. When the user responds to the electronic message with a voice message, in step 222a, a mapping of the original sender's electronic address (hereafter the recipient of the response message) to the device number is stored in the database 20. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that storing a mapping of the device telephone number to the recipient's email address is exemplary, and that such information can be stored using any database interconnected to the voice messaging system 10. On the other hand, if the user composes a new message or delivers the message to another recipient, at step 222b, mobile server 15 prompts the user to navigate, select and enter the recipient's electronic address.

As a non-limiting example, many wireless devices, such as PDAs and mobile phones, have features that allow a user to store contact information, which in many cases includes an email address. Such devices also allow the user to browse previously stored addresses or create quick lists to facilitate the location of frequently used addresses. Of course, to the extent that the device does not allow such storage or retrieval, the address can be entered manually by the user. Once the user has selected or entered the address of the recipient, the mapping of the address of the recipient to the device number is stored in the database 20 in step 222c as described above.

In either case, when obtaining the recipient's address, mobile server 15 connects to voice server system 25 to record the voice message by prompting the user to make a call at step 224. For example, mobile server 15 may send a telephone number for voice server system 25 to a user's wireless device. When making a call, at step 226, either a digital or analog connection between wireless device 50 and voice server system 25 is established. The processing of the results that occur next depends on whether the connection is digital or analog and, therefore, is described separately below.

If the connection is digital, voice server system 25 attempts to capture the wireless device identifier, which may be a cookie, or a stored data file such as a MIN. Once the identifier is captured, voice server 25 can retrieve the device number from the stored mapping in database 20, which in turn retrieves the electronic address of the previously stored recipient. As will be described in more detail with respect to FIG. 4, the voice server 25 then prompts the user to begin recording voice messages. Preferably a voice prompting system is used to interact with the user. Once the voice message is recorded, voice server 25 sends the voice message to the recipient's electronic address identified in step 228.

Alternatively, if the connection is analog, no data can be transmitted between the wireless device 50 and the voice server 25. To overcome this problem, voice server system 25 attempts to capture device numbers using known caller ID techniques. However, if the caller ID is blocked or unavailable, the user is prompted to manually enter the device number using known tone detection techniques. Once the device number is captured, voice server system 25 retrieves the previously stored recipient address using the telephone number.

With further reference to FIG. 4, an exemplary embodiment of the interaction between the user and the voice server 25 is shown in more detail. When connecting the call in step 402, voice server 25 determines whether it is possible to detect the device number of the caller in step 404. If not, the user is prompted to enter a device number in step 406, or an attempt is made to detect the MIN to retrieve the device number from the MIN / device number mapping previously stored in the database 20 as described above. . At any point in time, the caller may choose to terminate the call at steps 406a and 406b. Upon entering a number at step 408, voice server 25 determines whether enough digits have been entered. If less than the required number of digits are entered, voice server 25 prompts the user to reenter the number at step 408a. Once at step 410 such information is received or device number can be captured, voice server 25 attempts to match the input or captured phone number to any message that may be waiting for the user's account to be sent. do. Since the generated or replied message (and the recipient's address) was previously mapped to the device number, a match can be made for any message mapped to a particular device number. If a match is made, the voice server 25 prompts the user at steps 414-416 to record the message as a sound of voice as a non-limiting example. However, if there is no waiting message to be sent, the voice server ( 25) ends the call. Once the user has finished recording the message, in step 418, the voice server 25 allows the user to pay attention to the message, indicating whether the user should delete or rewrite the message or cancel the message altogether. Make a decision. If the user does not choose to cancel or rewrite the message, at step 420, voice server 25 sends a voice message to the recipient's electronic address and the call ends at step 422. The exemplary embodiment described herein uses the number of the wireless device as a common mapping correlation, but uses any code, ID or password to correlate the address of the recipient with a voice message that is written, forwarded or embedded in a response. It can be related.

Referring to FIG. 3, an exemplary embodiment of a method 300 of registering a new user with a service that is paid each time a user uses the voice message system 10 is shown. Once the user accesses the mobile server 15, the registration process begins in step 302 and the mobile server 15 previously transfers to the electronic wallet service where the user was authorized for use with the voice message service 10 in step 304. Detect whether or not it is registered. If the user has not previously been registered with such a service, then at step 306 the user is referred to with information that allows the user to register for this service. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the process of registering for an electronic service is not an important part of the present invention and can be performed in any way depending on the design choice. For example, a user may be connected to a website that is given the opportunity to provide such a service or to register using a wireless service. If the user is already registered or registered in the electronic wallet service, the mobile server 15 detects in step 308 whether the electronic wallet account has sufficient funds to use the voice messaging service. If the account does not have sufficient funds, at step 310, mobile server 15 prompts the user to enter or select a dollar amount to be added to the account. Once this selection or entry is made, in step 312 the user is prompted to enter a security ID and / or password. If a security ID and / or password is identified, the transaction is completed and funds are added to the electronic wallet at step 314 in a manner known in the art. A new user or a user who lacks sufficient funds is then transferred to the process of creating and sending a voice message in step 316 as described above.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a schematic diagram of an example method is shown that enables a user to respond to a retrieved email, send the email to a new recipient, or compose an entirely new voice message for the email recipient. In a first step 5a, the user retrieves an email from the user's email out, and decides to use the user's wireless device to respond to the message with a voice message 2, and in the next step 5b the primary server is responsible for the wireless device. Capture a wireless identifier, which may be a name or a previously stored cookie from. As mentioned above, and as shown in more detail in Table 510, the mapping of wireless IDs to wireless device telephone numbers is stored. When capturing a radio identifier for a wireless device, the mobile server accessing this mapping determines whether a telephone number for the particular identifier captured is present. If no telephone number exists, the user is prompted to manually enter the user's wireless device telephone number. At this time, the mapping is saved so that the user does not have to enter the phone number again. In the next step 5c, the action message created, sent or responded to is associated with the telephone number of the wireless device being used and acting by the mail server as shown in Table 520. At this time, the wireless data connection is disconnected and the telephone call is a trigger from the wireless device to the voice server. Next, in step 5e, the voice server attempts to detect the telephone number of the wireless device using the caller ID. If the caller ID is not available, the user is required to enter the telephone number manually, as described above. In the next step 5f, the telephone number is used to find the correct message for the specific telephone number from Table 520 and the recipient's address. If the correct recipient's address and message is found, the user is prompted to record a voice response in step 5g, and the voice server sends the response to the address identified in the active message. The message may be in the form of a link to the file as stream audio included in an email sent to the recipient, or may be delivered in the form of a native audio file. The address or recipient can receive the message with any device capable of receiving such an email.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a wireless device user may receive an electronically transmitted voice message via the wireless device. Therefore, if a particular user has received voice mail with his or her email account, the user can use his wireless device 50 to retrieve and listen to the message. In a first embodiment, a user wirelessly accesses an email account that includes one or more emails containing voice messages. When an email with a voice message is selected, a non-limiting example is a voice message to a user's wireless device that is preferably stored in a highly compressed format such as Microsoft's GSM audio file, along with a media player to play the voice message. Pushed, the voice message is played. In this exemplary embodiment, the media player is self-executing, so that voice message playback is automatically started and started upon completion of the download.

In another embodiment, in order to minimize the need to download the media player file, upon registration, the media player is sent to the wireless device 50 for later playback of the voice message, loaded and stored. In either case, the user can reply to any other email, including a voice message or a voice message described herein.

Further, in another embodiment, the user may create an email account with the voice messaging system 10 through which the email can be retrieved using the user's wireless device 50, as described herein. The email server 45 will be communicatively linked to the voice server system 25. When an email is received with a user account on email server 45, programming on email server 45 determines whether there is a voice message in the email. The email server 45 then extracts the voice message from the email and uploads the voice message file to the voice server system 25. The voice server system 25 retrieves the user wireless telephone number from the database system 30 and initiates a call to the user's wireless device 50. In either case when the user answers the call or when the user's voice mail picks up the call, the voice server system 25 may request that the voice message be received by the user's wireless device 50. Play it. In this way, the voice message originally sent via email can be pushed directly to the user / recipient, without the user / recipient having to access their email account. One skilled in the art would prefer that the voice messaging system further include an email server 45 for locally receiving and storing emails containing voice messages, but using an external email account in a similar manner to deliver voice messages to the user. It will be understood that what is included is within the scope of the present invention.

It is also within the scope of the present invention to operate on a wireless network capable of transmitting and receiving both voice and data simultaneously. The system can eliminate both disconnecting the data connection and establishing a separate voice connection.

Claims (22)

A method for sending voice messages to electronic addresses using a wireless device, Creating an association of an identifier and an electronic address of the wireless device; Storing the combination in a database system; Recording a voice message; Combining the voice message with the identifier; Retrieving an electronic address from the database using the stored combination; Generating an electronic message comprising the recorded voice message; Sending the electronic message to the retrieved electronic address Method of transmitting the voice message comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein creating an association of an identifier and an electronic address of the wireless device comprises: Establishing a data connection with the wireless device; Receiving the identifier from the wireless device; Receiving an electronic address from which the voice message is to be sent; Mapping the wireless device identifier to the electronic address. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the wireless device identifier is an alphanumeric code. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the wireless device identifier is a mobile identification number. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the wireless device identifier is a wireless telephone number. The method of claim 1, wherein recording the voice message comprises: Establishing a voice call session with the wireless device; Prompting a user to speak in the wireless device after displaying; Capturing the voice message as it is spoken. 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the indication is a tone. 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the indication is a beep. The method of claim 1, wherein combining the voice message with the identifier comprises: Capturing the identifier during the voice call session; Mapping the recorded voice message to the captured identifier. 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the voice call session is digital and capturing the identifier during the voice call session comprises receiving a data transmission of the identifier. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the voice call session is analog, and capturing the identifier during the voice call session comprises receiving the identifier via a call ID. The method of claim 9, wherein the voice call session is analog, and capturing the identifier during the voice call session comprises: Using a key stroke to prompt the user to enter the identifier; Receiving the key stroke. The method of claim 1, wherein generating an electronic message comprising the recorded voice message comprises embedding a link to the voice message in the electronic message. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after recording the voice message, converting the voice message into a streaming media format. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after recording the voice message, converting the voice message into an audio data file. The method of claim 1, Establishing a data connection with the wireless device; Accessing data stored in a memory of the wireless device to retrieve the identifier. The method of claim 1, Enabling a user to retrieve an electronic message from an e-mail account using the wireless device; Providing one or more options to a user to compose the electronic message or to respond to the retrieved electronic message; Receiving the electronic address as a result of the user selecting one of the options. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein one of the options is for responding to an existing electronic message to an existing electronic message sender. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein one of the options is for sending an existing electronic message to a new recipient. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein one of the options is for composing a new electronic message. A system for generating and sending an e-mail including a voice message at an electronic address using a wireless device, the wireless device being capable of communicating wirelessly and programming to receive, compose, and respond to the electronic message. In the system for generating and sending e-mail, including, Server system suitable for communicating wirelessly with one or more wireless devices Including, The server system, Receive an indication that the user wants to compose an electronic message including a voice message; Receive an electronic address to which the electronic message will be sent; Record a voice message sent to the server system via the wireless device; Combine the voice message with a suitable electronic address; Generate an electronic message comprising a voice message addressed to the appropriate electronic address; A system for generating and sending e-mail that is operated by a program. The method of claim 21, wherein the server system, While receiving the electronic address from the wireless device, Detect a wireless device identifier; Map the wireless device identifier to the electronic address; Store the mapping; While recording the voice message, Operating by a program mapped to the wireless device identifier to retrieve an addressed electronic address.