Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090304170 | DIRECT DIAL TO VOICE MAIL - A calling party can by-pass voice mail menu structures and disturbing of a called party by directly dialing into the called party's voice mail. The calling party dials a special code, such as the digit 2, in conjunction with dialing the called party's telephone number. The telephone network detects the call as being a special call by detecting the special code. In response, the calling party is sent directly to the called party's voice mail without ever ringing the called party's access device and without requiring the calling party to make menu selections for routing the call. | 12-10-2009 |
20100034360 | COMMUNITY MESSAGING SERVICE - Community Messaging Service (CMS) is a system and method for operators in developing countries to provide a messaging service to subscribers who cannot yet afford a wireless telephone or personal landline service or for which such infrastructure is not readily available, but have the basic requirement to communicate with each other. CMS makes it possible for callers to leave messages for people who would otherwise be unreachable and allow subscribers to reply back to those callers. More specifically, CMS involves the use of a pre-paid account to allow callers without telephones to have a non-gsm telephone number that can be used for communication via voicemail over a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). | 02-11-2010 |
20100091958 | AUTO BLOCK AND AUTO DISCOVERY IN A DISTRIBUTED COMMUNICATION SYSTEM - A voicemail system enabling various components of the voicemail system to be distributed geographically yet operate as a seamlessly integrated system is disclosed. A signal gateway interfaces with a telephone network. In addition, one or more media servers interface with the signal gateway as well as the telephone network. The signal gateway is configured to block calls to malfunctioning media servers. The signal gateway monitors the media servers, and responsive to determining that a media server has malfunctioned, the signal gateway initiates auto-blocking such that the telephone network does not route calls to the malfunctioning media server. In addition, the signal gateway is configured to auto-detect a media server responsive to the media server being initialized. The voicemail system can include a variety of other elements, such as one or more system management units and one or more central data and message store systems. Each of the elements in the voicemail system communicate with each other over an internet protocol type network. Any functions in the various elements that require interfacing with the telephone network are simply handled through the signal gateway. | 04-15-2010 |
20100232582 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OUTBOUND CALLING FROM A DISTRIBUTED TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM - Outbound calling from a Voice eXtensible Markup Language (VXML) based voicemail system, which has distributed architecture, is disclosed. The voicemail system includes a media server, which is in communication with a telephone network. The media server includes multiple communication termination-link components, and the communication termination-link components are adapted to couple to trunks that extend to the telephone network. The media server also includes a network interface that is adapted to receive and provide communications to components of the telecommunications platform. The media server also includes a link-selector, a browser module, and a processor. The link-selector is adapted to select a given communication termination-link component from the plurality of communication termination-link components. The browser module is adapted to provide a browser session, which is associated with the given communication termination link, and the processor implements the link-selector and the browser module in responsive receiving an outbound notification via the network interface. | 09-16-2010 |
20100232583 | System and Method for Message Storage Assurance in a Geographically Distributed Voice Messaging System - A voice messaging system comprises a common message store, a local data store located remotely from the common message store, and a media server. The media server is operable to receive a call directed to a number serviced by the media server, prompt the user for a voice message, direct the voice message to the local data store for temporary storage, notify the common message store that the voice message is present in the local data store, respond to a request to transfer the voice message to the common message store, and direct the local data store to erase the message upon receipt of a communication from the common message store that the voice message was successfully saved. | 09-16-2010 |
20100248759 | Provision of Messaging Services From a Video Messaging System for Video Compatible and Non-video Compatible Equipment - A telecommunications system that supports the provision of video messaging, yet maintains compatibility and operation with user equipment that is not capable of processing, receiving or rendering video content. Based on the type of user equipment, as well as user selected options, network configurations and status, and class-of-service characteristics, the telecommunications systems can revise the manner in which content is provided to the user equipment. Variations in the content provision include providing synchronized audio and video content, audio content only, video content only, video content with closed-captioning and closed-captioning only. | 09-30-2010 |
20110051717 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING REDUNDANCY IN A DISTRIBUTED TELECOMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE - A telecommunications platform that provides redundant interfaces to a telecommunications system for multiple IP based telecommunication devices. The telecommunications platform includes a gateway cluster with two or more signaling gateways. Each signaling gateway is assigned a point code for being accessed by devices in the telecommunications system. The gateway cluster is assigned a virtual point code. Any of the IP based telecommunications devices can be accessed by the telecommunications system by routing to the virtual point code through one of the signaling gateways in the gateway cluster. Thus, if one of the signaling gateways is not available, the IP based telecommunications devices can still be accessed through one of the other signaling gateways in the gateway cluster. | 03-03-2011 |