Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD FOR PROVIDING ACCESS TO
A VOICE MAIL SYSTEM
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to call processing in
the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and, in
particular, to a method of establishing a call connection
directly to a voice mail system subscriber's voice mail
box.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Automated Voice Mail Systems (VMSs) provide message
management services that have become an increasingly
popular means for receiving, storing, retrieving, and
managing messages for telephone service subscribers. As is
commonly practiced, telephone service providers leverage
their position in the telephone network to provide these
services because they can efficiently provide services that
answering machines cannot. For example, VMSs are adapted
to take messages for subscribers even when the subscribers'
telephone line is being used for another call.
Methods for enabling voice mail services are well
known in the art. Typically, when a calling party makes a
telephone call to a telephone service subscriber, call set-
up messages are generated and forwarded through the public
switched telephone network (PSTN) to a service switching
point (SSP) that serves the service subscriber's telephone.
If the SSP is unable to complete the call connection (e.g.
the call is not answered after a predefined number of
rings, or the line is busy) and the telephone service
subscriber also subscribes to a voice mail service, the SSP
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redirects the call to a VMS that hosts a voice mail box
assigned to the service subscriber.
The redirection of the call is performed because of a
line option set on the service subscriber's line in the
SSP. The redirection involves formulating a redirect call
setup message, generally an integrated Services Digital
Network-User Part (ISUP) Initial Address Message (IAM). A
redirect IAM is differentiated from a call setup IAN in
that it includes a redirecting number parameter, an
original called number parameter, and a redirection
information parameter. The telephone number of the VMS is
inserted in the called party number field, which is a
mandatory variable part of the IAM. The telephone number
of the service subscriber is inserted in the redirecting
number parameter.
Upon receipt of the redirect IAM information, the VMS
inspects information extracted from an optional part of a
signaling information field in the IAM to determine called
party details, including presentation information located
in the original called number parameter. The redirecting
number and redirection information parameters are used to
select a voice mail box for the call. In particular, the
redirecting number is used to identify the service
subscriber's voice mail box, and, in certain voice mail
systems, a redirect reason code is used to select a
particular message to be played to the caller. The last
four bits in the redirection information parameter (the
redirecting reason code) may be used to select one of a
plurality of messages to prompt the calling party to leave
the voice mail message.
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Although service provider supported voice mail systems
have become increasingly popular, they suffer from a
disadvantage that restricts their utility. The
disadvantage is that although a caller may wish to be
routed directly to voice mail, that option is either
generally not available, or is very awkward to use. There
are many circumstances that make direct access to voice
mail desirable. For example, a caller may wish to leave a
voice message at a time when the called party may not wish
to be disturbed, such as late at night. Alternatively, the
caller may simply wish to leave some information for the
called party, and prefer to do so without disturbing the
called party. However, the use of the redirecting number
and redirection information parameters to identify a voice
mail box makes direct access to a voice mail box difficult,
because a direct call connection to the VMS does not
contain either of the redirection information or
redirecting number parameters. The VMS is programmed to
treat calls that do not contain redirecting information as
requests to access maintenance features, so the calling
party is routed to a maintenance interface, which is
reserved for the voice mail subscriber and functions in a
manner well known in the art.
Direct access to voice mail is also desirable for
Internet-based directory services and for entities that
advertise using Internet web-pages who wish to offer a
voice mail equivalent to a "click to talk" icon. As is
known in the art, a telephone connection can be set up in
response to a predetermined event (e.g. selecting an icon
on a web page to initiate a request for a voice connection)
initiated by a calling party. This functionality may be
implemented using methods described in Applicant's
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co-pending United States Patent No 6,236,722 entitled
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMPLETING A VOICE CONNECTION
BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND VOICE TERMINALS IN A SWITCHED
TELEPHONE NETWORK, which issued on August 1, 2000.
However, implementing "click to voice mail" functionality
is not available and has not been described in the prior
art.
There is also no facility to permit a dial-up
directory service provider, or call assistant (whether
automated or not) from providing a calling party with an
option for direct access to a voice mail box. It would be
advantageous for a directory service or other service
provider to offer callers the option of direct access to a
selected service subscriber's voice mail box.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a method and
system for providing access to a voice mail box that
enables a party to record a message in a service
subscriber's voice mail box without first attempting to
complete a call to the service subscriber.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide
a method for enabling direct access to a voice mail box
associated with a service subscriber to a voice mail system
(VMS).
It is another object of the invention to provide a
method and system for enabling a `click to voice mail'
option from a web page or an electronic mail message to
enable a user browsing the Internet to request a call
connection to an associated voice mail box without first
attempting a call to the subscriber.
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A further object of the invention is to provide a
method and system for enabling directory service
providers to provide direct access to the voice mail
boxes of VMS subscribers.
The invention therefore provides a system for
providing a directory service with a direct to voice mail
option for voice mail system (VMS) service subscribers,
comprising: a directory service that permits a requesting
1o party to communicate an identifier used to locate a
directory record associated with the VMS service
subscriber, the directory service being adapted to
provide the requesting party with an option to be
connected directly to the VMS service subscriber's voice
mail box after the record is located; and means for
formulating a common channel signaling initial address
message (IAM) containing a redirecting number parameter
to connect the requesting party directly to the voice
mail box of the VMS service subscriber.
The invention also provides a system for providing a
click to voice mail option accessed from a server on an
Internet protocol (IP) network, comprising: a user
interface for permitting a requesting party to select the
click to voice mail option, the click to voicemail option
being associated with a particular voice mail box of a
voice mail system (VMS) subscriber; means for forwarding
a message requesting setup of a connection directly to
the voice mail box; and means for receiving the message
and formulating a common channel signaling system initial
address message (IAM) containing a directory number of
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the VMS inserted in a called party number parameter of
the IAM and a directory number of the VMS service
subscriber inserted in the redirecting number parameter
of the IAM.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following
detailed description, taken in combination with the
appended drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating principal
elements of a system in accordance with the present
invention for enabling a calling party to request a
direct connection to a voice mail box of a VMS;
FIGs. 2a and 2b are message flow diagrams
schematically illustrating principle steps involved in
establishing a connection to a VMS using the system
illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating principal
elements of a system in accordance with the invention for
enabling an Internet user to request a direct connection
to a voice mail box of a VMS from a web page or an
electronic mail message;
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FIG. 4 is a message flow diagram schematically
illustrating principle steps involved in establishing a
connection to a voice mail box of the VMS using the
system illustrated in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5a is a schematic diagram of a web browser
application enabled interface for offering a "click to
voice mail" request;
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FIG. 5b is a schematic diagram of an electronic mail
message for enabling a recipient of the electronic mail
message to establish a direct access to a voice mail box of
a sender of the message; and
FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of principal
fields in a SS7 ISUP IAM, used in the present invention to
initiate a call connection to the VMS.
It will be noted that throughout the appended
drawings, like features are identified by like reference
numerals.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention enables a user to establish a
call connection directly to a voice mail server (VMS) of a
service subscriber, without first attempting to establish a
call connection to the service subscriber. The call
connection is established in response to a predetermined
event triggered by a requesting party. The requesting
party may trigger the event by clicking an icon on an
Internet web page, or an electronic mail message, or by
selecting a voice mail box option from a directory service.
The directory service may be accessed through a switched
telephone network, the Internet, PCD, or any other
automated system for exchanging information.
In a first embodiment, a voice mail system (VMS) 10 is
accessed by a requesting party using a telephone 12
connected by a subscriber line 14 to a public switched
telephone network (PSTN) 16 at a service switching point
(SSP) 20a. As is known in the art, the PSTN 16 comprises a
plurality of SSPs only four of which, 20a-20d, are shown.
The SSPs are respectively connected to the PSTN 16 and its
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associated common channel signaling (CCS) network, only a
portion of which is shown. Many of the SSPs serve a
plurality of subscriber lines (such as subscriber line 14),
and also serve one or more integrated services digital
network (ISDN) trunks that are connected to peripheral
devices such as voice mail system 10. The SSPs 20d and 20c
serve the VMS 10 and a directory service (DS) 22,
respectively, with ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network) or SMDI (Simplified Message Desk Interface)
trunks. The trunks convey call control messages as well as
bearer traffic (i.e. the voice/data content carried over an
established call connection) . The DS 22 is adapted to
receive calls, provide a service of locating a directory
number for a called party, and optionally requesting a
re-connection of the call to the located directory number.
The CCS includes a plurality of signal transfer
points 28 (STPs) used to route call control messages
between SSPs and other signaling points, such as signal
control points (SCPs), not shown. A relatively recent
addition to the CCS network is a call control node
(CCN) 26, also referred to as a virtual switching point
(VSP), described in Applicant's United States Patent
No. 6,226,289 which issued on May 1, 2001. The CCN 26
interfaces with an STP 28, and a virtual instance 30 of the
CCN 26 functions as a virtual switching point located
between terminating ends of an enhanced ISDN-user part
(E-ISUP) 31 trunk that connects the SSP 20b and the
SSP 20c. The CCN 26 is controlled by a call control
application (CCA) 32. The CCA 32 provides control
functions to the CCN 26 to direct call processing and
generates redirected call setup messages used for direct
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access to voice mail boxes, as will be explained below in
detail. The CCN 26 and CCA 32 are interconnected by a
local area network (LAN) 34, that may also interface with
an intranet 36. The intranet 36 interfaces with an
Internet protocol (IP) network 38. The IP network 38,
intranet 36, and LAN 34 serve to convey IP messages from
the DS 22 to the CCA 32. This connection may be used to
request a call disconnection and redirection.
FIG. 2a is a call flow diagram schematically
illustrating principal messages exchanged in order to
provide a directory service enhanced by the capacity to
reconnect calls directly to a voice mail box, in accordance
with the invention. A requesting party accesses the
service using the telephone 12 by dialing a predetermined
number, "411", for example. The SSP 20a detects the off-
hook condition, in step 100, and applies dial tone to the
line (step 102) . The requesting party dials the number
(DN) associated with the directory service (step 104). The
SSP 20a translates the dialed digits to determine a trunk
to reserve for the call, and forwards an initial address
message (IAM) over the CCS network to a switch (not shown)
in the PSTN 16 to which the reserved trunk is terminated
(step 106). The switch translates the dialed DN contained
in a called party number parameter in a mandatory variable
part of a signaling information part of a signaling
information field of the IAM, reserves a determined trunk,
and forwards the IAM to a next switch in the PSTN 16. In
this manner a bearer path is reserved, hop-by-hop through
the PSTN, until, in step 108, the IAM is forwarded to the
SSP 20b. The SSP 20b translates the DN. Translation
tables in the SSP 20b direct the SSP 20b to reserve the
E-ISUP trunk 31 for the call, and to forward the IAM to the
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CCN 26 (step 110) , which is a virtual services switching
point (CCN 30) in the E-ISUP trunk 31, as explained above.
As will be understood by those skilled in the art,
call connections are not necessarily routed over E-ISUP
trunks. Calls to the directory service's DN are routed
through an E-ISUP trunk somewhere in the network so that
the services of the CCN 26 can be utilized, but the way in
which this is accomplished is a matter of design choice and
may vary with implementation. One other way of so doing
involves using an inter-exchange carrier code, as described
in Applicant's co-pending United States patent application
No. 09/798,085, filed on March 2, 2001 and entitled METHOD
AND APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE
FEATURES USING CALL CONTROL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM A
BEARER CHANNEL IN A TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK.
The CCN 26 receives the IAM, and passes at least a
part of the content of the IAM to the CCA 32 (step 112),
including the called and calling party number parameters
and other information required to determine a purpose of
the call and log the call connection. The CCA 32 has no
service features to invoke at this point in the call
connection reserved, and so directs the CCN 26 to advance
the IAM to the SSP 20c (step 114). The CCN 26 forwards the
IAM to the SSP 20c (step 116), which serves the directory
service (DS) 22. The SSP 20c therefore issues an ISDN set-
up message to the DS 22 (step 118), and receives an
acknowledgement of the set-up message in the form of an
ISDN alerting message (step 120). Once the alerting
message is received, the SSP 20c returns an ISUP
address complete message (ACM) that is relayed back through
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successive switches in the reserved call connection. The
ACM is sent to the CCN 26 (step 122), relayed to the
SSP 20b (step 124), relayed through the switches in the
bearer path in the PSTN 16 (step 126), and finally relayed
to the SSP 20a (step 128) , which completes a connection
between the subscriber line 14 of the calling party and
permits the calling party to hear ringing applied to signal
an attempt to connect to the DS 22.
When the DS 22 allocates resources for the call and is
ready to connect to the requesting party, it sends an ISDN
connect message to the SSP 20c (step 132) . The connect
message is acknowledged (step 134), and an ISUP answer
message (ANMs) is sent back to the CCN 26 (step 136), and
then relayed to the SSP 20b (step 138), and through the
PSTN 16 (step 140) to the SSP 20a (step 142) The call
connection is now in service and the communications session
begins. Interaction between the calling party and the
DS 22 is not illustrated, but as will be understood by
those skilled in the art, the calling party interacts with
the DS 22 in one of a number of known ways, a live operator
or voice recognition engine, for example, to identify a
party for which a directory number is required. During
this interaction, the DS 22 may make one or more queries to
the directory service database 24, in a manner well known
in the art, to locate a directory record associated with
the party for which the directory number is required. It
is assumed that in the course of the communications session
the requesting party is presented with, and selects an
option to direct the call directly to the voice mail box of
the identified party.
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In step 144, the DS 22 responds to the selection by
the requesting party, and queries the directory service
database 24 to retrieve the identified party's DN, and the
DN of the identified party's VMS. The reply to the query
contains both DNs (step 146), which the DS 22 includes in a
reconnect request message that is sent through the IP
network 38 (step 148) to the CCA 32 (step 150). The
reconnect request message (step 150) also contains
information required to identify the call connection setup
through the CCN 26 (dialed number and calling line
identification, for example, or any one of the other
mechanisms described in Applicant's United States Patent
No. 6,226,289), and may also contain an indicator of a
redirecting reason code. The CCA 32 commands the CCN 26 to
release the part of the call connection between the CCN 26
and the DS 22, by issuing an ISUP release ,(REL) message
(step 152). In step 154, the REL message is sent to the
SSP 20c. The ISUP REL message is acknowledged with an ISUP
release complete (RLC) message, in step 156. On receipt of
the RLC message, the CCN 26 returns a message (step 157) to
the CCA 32 to inform the CCA 32 that the release forward is
complete. Meanwhile, the SSP 20c forwards an ISDN
disconnect message to the DS 22, in step 158, which is
acknowledged with an ISDN released message, in step 160,
and in step 162, the ISDN release is acknowledged.
Figure 2b continues the call flow where CCA 32 then
prompts the CCN 26 to initiate an extension of the
remaining call connection to the VMS 10 using a redirected
IAM (RIAM) (step 163). The RIAM is identical to any other
IAM and is formulated according to the SS7 standard. The
RAIM includes original called number, redirecting number,
and redirection information parameters in a optional part
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of the signaling information part of the signaling
information field of the RIAM. The format and content of
the RIAM are discussed below in detail with reference to
FIG. 6.
The RIAM is issued to the SSP 20b (step 164), and
forwarded from there, hop-by-hop through the PSTN 16
(step 166), to the SSP 20d (step 168), which serves the
VMS 10. The SSP 20d forwards an ISDN set-up message to the
VMS 10 (step 170), and, upon receipt of the alerting
message in reply (step 172), issues an ACM that is relayed
back through the reserved extension of the call connection.
The ACM is passed through the PSTN 16 (step 174) to the
SSP 20b (step 176), and from there to the CCN 26
(step 178), which logs and discards the ACM. The VMS 10
answers the call, and sends a connect message to the
SSP 20d (step 180), which is acknowledged in step 182. In
step 184, the SSP 20d issues an ANM through the PSTN 16
that is relayed to the SSP 20b and the CCN 26 in steps 186
and 188, respectively. The CCN 26 logs and discards the
ANM, and the call connection extension is established
between the CCN 26 and the VMS 10.
The VMS 10 answers the call and determines the voice
mail box of the service subscriber to whom the call is
directed using the information contained in the redirecting
number parameter of the IAM. The service subscriber may
have recorded two or more greetings that are respectively
associated with calls that are forwarded to the VMS for
different redirecting reasons, as is known in the art. A
redirecting reason code may be included in the redirection
information parameter, and preferably, a new code for a
direct call is used to signify the redirecting reason in
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this case, to permit the service subscriber to tailor a
greeting message appropriate to this type of call.
Once the call connection extension is established, the
CCN 26 notifies the CCA 32 (step 190) . In response, the
CCA 32 may optionally inform the DS 22 that the request has
been successfully completed. The message sent to the DS 22
may be a reconnect complete message, for example, that is
relayed through the IP network (step 192) to the DS 22.
It should be noted that this example has been
described with reference to a directory service accessed
through a dial-up connection. However, as will be
understood by those skilled in the art, the directory
service could also be an online service accessed through
the Internet, in which case access is through an
interactive directory service application, well known in
the art. It should be further understood that the directory
service is only one example of a service that can be
adapted to offer the direct to voice mail option.
Practically any telephone termination, or Internet
interface can be equipped with an interface to enable the
direct to voice mail option using the invention. This could
include any wireless control mechanism as well. Directory
access using a personal communications device (PCD)
provides another example of a control mechanism that
parallels the Internet example.
FIG. 3 shows a network configuration for implementing
a second embodiment of the invention, which permits a
requesting party to establish a call directly to a voice
mail box hosted by VMS 10 from a worldwide web page
available, for example, on the Internet 38 or from an
electronic mail message. The requesting party uses a web
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browser application that runs on a computer 42, or an
applet embedded in the electronic mail message to access a
worldwide web (WWW) public server on the Internet 38. The
WWW server 44 may be adapted to process and exchange call
request messages with the CCA 32 either directly, or as
will be described in the following example, indirectly
through a proxy server 40, in order to request call
connections in accordance with the invention. Apart from
the signaling path for accessing the CCA 32, the remainder
of the system illustrated in FIG. 3 remains identical to
that described above with reference to FIG. 1. The PSTN 16
is used to complete the call, and the CCN 26-CCA 32 pair
serves a point of origin for call control signaling used to
establish the call to the VMS 10 via the STP 28. As
explained above, the CCN 26 serves as a virtual switching
point 30 in the E-ISUP trunk 31. As is known in the art,
the Internet 38 comprises a plurality of Internet protocol
(IP) routers (not illustrated) and both public and private
servers. The WWW server 44 generally stores a plurality of
worldwide web pages used to present information to Internet
users.
FIG. 4 illustrates principal steps involved in
establishing a call directly to the VMS 10 using the
network configuration illustrated in FIG. 3. In step 200,
the requesting party, using the web browser application or
an applet embedded in an electronic mail message, accesses
the WWW server 44 by clicking on a hotlink, or otherwise
selecting a universal resource locator (URL) identifying a
web page stored on the WWW server 44. The data request is
routed through the Internet 38 to the WWW server 44
(step 202), which returns IP data packets through the
Internet 38 (step 204) to an access server (not shown) used
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by the requesting party, which duly relays the packets to
the web browser application (step 206) . The requesting
party is thus presented with information associated with
the web page. The requesting party selects a `click to
voice mail' button, which prompts the web browser to
generate and send a data request for an applet associated
with the selected button (step 208). The data request for
the applet is forwarded through the Internet 38 to the WWW
server 44 (step 210), and the response provides
presentation information associated with a graphical user
interface (GUI) applet that is returned through the
Internet 38 (step 212) to the web browser (step 214). The
applet is executed yielding a GUI that is displayed to the
requesting party, inviting the requesting party to enter a
directory number (DN) of a subscriber line that will be
used by the requesting party to receive a call to be set up
to the selected voice mail box. The requesting party
supplies the DN of telephone 12, and the data is sent in a
packet(s) through the Internet 38 (step 216) to the WWW
server 44 (step 218). The WWW server 44, then formulates a
message to the CCA 32, or a proxy server 40 requesting that
a call be set up between the DN entered by the requesting
party and the VMS of the selected party (step 220) using a
connection request message that includes a service user's
DN. The proxy server 40 issues a connection request
message to the CCA 32 (step 222) containing the DN supplied
by the requesting party, the DN of the service subscriber,
and the DN of the VMS 10. The connection request message
may contain an indicator that the IAM used to initiate the
establishment of a call connection to the DN of the VMS 10
is a direct call to the mail box.
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On receipt of the connection request message, the
CCA 32 commands the CCN 26 to initiate a call connection to
the DN that the requesting party input (step 224) . The
CCN 26 subsequently formulates an IAM and forwards the IAM
through the PSTN 16 (via the SSP 20b not illustrated)
(step 226). The IAM is forwarded hop-by-hop to the SSP 20a
(step 228). The SSP 20a applies ringing to the subscriber
line 12 (step 230), and returns an ACM through the PSTN 16
(step 232) that retraces the bearer connection to the
CCN 26 (step 234) . The CCN 26 discards the received ACM.
When the requesting party answers the ringing telephone 12
(step 236) , the SSP 20a detects an off-hook condition of
the telephone 12, and issues an ANM that is forwarded hop-
by-hop through the PSTN 16 (step 238) to the CCN 26
(step 239). The CCN 26 discards the ANM and the call
connection to the requesting party is complete.
Consequently, the CCN 26 returns a connect complete to the
CCA 32 (step 240), which responds by commanding the CCA 32
to connect to the VMS 10 using a redirect message.
The CCN 26 responds by initiating the establishment of
a second part of the call connection by issuing a
subsequent IAM through the PSTN 16 (via the SSP 20c; not
illustrated) (step 242) to the SSP 20e (step 244) . The
SSP 20e, upon receipt of the IAM, issues a setup message
over an ISDN trunk to the VMS 10 (step 246) . The VMS 10
returns an alerting message (step 248), which triggers the
SSP 20e to issue an ACM that is relayed back along the
reserved bearer connection in the PSTN 16 (step 250) to the
CCN 26 (step 252), where the ACM is logged and discarded.
Once the VMS 10 has allocated resources to the call,
it issues a connect message to the SSP 20e (step 254). The
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connect message is acknowledged (step 256), and the SSP 20e
issues an ANM back through the switches in the PSTN 16 that
are part of the call connection to the VMS 10 (step 258).
The ANM is relayed to the CCN 26, in step 260, where the
ANM is logged and discarded. The call connection between
the requesting party and the VMS 10 is thus completed, and
the CCN 26 returns a connect complete message to the CCA 32
(step 262).
An exemplary embodiment of an interface for requesting
a direct call to a voice mail box is schematically
illustrated in FIG. 5a. The web browser application 52
provides a graphical user interface (GUI) through which
information is presented to the user, and the user can
issue commands, which include navigation commands for
browsing or "surfing" the Internet. Most web browser
applications permit users to specify a URL in more than one
manner. The web browser 50 has a header section 52, and a
content section 54. The content section 54 displays a web
page that contains, among other information, two buttons, a
"click to talk" button 56 that is used to initiate calls to
a telephone service subscriber associated with the web
page, and a "click to voice mail" button 58 enabled by the
present invention to initiate direct call connections to a
voice mail box.
When a user of the web browser application selects the
"click to voice mail" button 58, the WWW server 44 that
displays the web page may require the input of a DN in
order to complete the click to voice mail operation, as
described above with reference to FIG. 4. If a "cookie" is
retrieved from the requesting party's computer 42 (FIG. 3)
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that contains a telephone number, that number is displayed
in the telephone number field.
As is common knowledge, the selection of the "click to
voice mail" button 58 generally involves highlighting the
button and pressing return, or left-clicking on the button
using a pointing device, such as a mouse. This prompts the
web browser application to request presentation information
for a button's hyperlink. In this case the button's
hyperlink activates an applet, which generates an applet
GUI 60. The applet GUI 60 presents text 62 and a field for
inputting text 64. The text 62 elicits input from the user
of a directory number to be used to set up the call. This
is only one example of an interface for requesting a call
to a voice mail server that can be offered over the
Internet 36. After the GUI 60 is displayed, the user may
initiate the call by selecting the "OK" button, or cancel
the call by selecting the "cancel" button. The telephone
number, if provided, may also be changed.
Another exemplary embodiment of an interface for
requesting a direct call to a voice mail box is
schematically illustrated in FIG. 5b. The electronic mail
message 70 provides a well known messaging vehicle that
permits users to exchange text and graphic information in a
manner well known in the art. The electronic mail
message 70 has a header section 72 and a message text
section 74. The message text section 74 permits the
insertion of text and other objects that are incorporated
into the message. In the example shown, the text message
includes a "click to talk" button 76 that is used to
initiate calls to a telephone service subscriber who sent
the electronic mail message, and a "click to voice mail"
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button 78 enabled by the present invention to initiate
direct call connections to the telephone subscriber's VMS
mail box.
When a recipient of the electronic mail message
selects the "click to voice mail" button 78, an applet
launches a message to, for example, the WWW server 44, and
the WWW server responds to the message, for example, by
inspecting a "cookie" sent from the requesting party's
computer 42 (FIG. 3) to determine if it contains a
telephone number. If so, that number is displayed in a
telephone number field 94 of a GUI 90 returned to and
displayed on the computer display screen. Otherwise, a
GUI 80 requests the input of a telephone number in number
field 84.
As described above, the selection of the "click to
voice mail" button 78 generally involves highlighting the
button and pressing return, or left-clicking on the button
using a pointing device, such as a mouse. This activates
the applet, which generates the message to the WWW server
44. After the appropriate GUI 80,90 is displayed, the
electronic mail recipient may initiate the call by
selecting the "OK" button, or cancel the call by selecting
the "Cancel" button.
FIG. 6 illustrates components particular to a
redirected IAM, in conformance with a signaling system 7
(SS7) standard. A standard ISDN message signaling unit
(MSU) 1000 contains a plurality of fields, including a
frame check sequence (FCS) byte 1100, a signaling
information field (SIF) 1200, a service indicator octet
(SIO) 1300, two spare bits and a six bit length indicator
(LI) 1400, a forward indicator bit and forward sequence
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number 1500, a backward indicator bit and backward sequence
number 1600, and a flag 1700 used to identify the
beginnings and ends of MSUs 1000.
The SIF 1200 contains three parts; a signaling
information part 1210, a circuit identification code
(CIC) 1220, and a routing label 1230. The CIC 1220
identifies a circuit (e.g. a timeslot on a TI trunk)
between switches in the PSTN 16 identified by an
originating point code (OPC) and a destination point code
(DPC) contained in the routing label 1230. The CIC 1220
and routing label 1230 are used for routing the MSU one hop
in the PSTN 16. The signaling information part 1210 stores
service information for the call connection to be
established.
The signaling information part 1210 has a message type
indicator 1211, which is an IAM in this case, and a
mandatory fixed part 1212, a mandatory variable part 1213,
and an optional part 1214. The mandatory fixed part 1212
and mandatory variable part 1213 of IAMB contain
information used to establish the call connection, and the
called party number that is used at every hop to determine
a CIC 1220 and routing label 1230 for the next hop.
The optional part 1214 of a redirected IAM contains an
original called number parameter 1216, a redirecting number
parameter 1218, and a redirection information
parameter 1220.
The original called number parameter 1216 is used to
indicate the address of the party that initiated the call
redirection. In accordance with the invention, the
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original called number parameter 1216 is preferably filed
with the directory number of the voice mail subscriber who
owns the voice mail box to which the call is directed. The
redirecting number parameter 1218 is used to indicate the
telephone number from which the called number was last
forwarded. In accordance with the invention, the
redirecting number parameter 1218 is also filed with the
directory number of the voice mail service subscriber, so
that the VMS 10 can correctly identify the voice mail box
to which the requesting party is to be connected.
The values of the redirection information
parameter 1220 include a four-bit redirection reason. The
redirecting reason value is a code that can be used by a
VMS to select a greeting message, in order to provide the
calling party with an appropriate message (e.g. "Thank you
for leaving a message." as opposed to "I'm sorry I cannot
take your call right now."). The default redirecting
reason code (0000) indicates that the reason is
unavailable/not known. The redirecting reason code 0011
indicates that the redirection was unconditional, which may
be used for calls that are redirected for any reason other
than unsuccessful call completion. A new redirecting
reason code may be used to indicate a call routed directly
to voice mail, to ensure that an appropriate message is
played to the calling party. If so, one of the unassigned
redirecting reason codes can be used for this purpose.
Although the invention has been explained with
reference to calls completed exclusively through the PSTN,
it will be understood by those skilled in the art that such
calls can be set up in other ways. For example, the direct
to voice mail option may be selected from a web page,
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electronic mail message or a directory server by a user of
a wireless application protocol (WAP) enabled telephone or
a personal communications service (PCS) device. The
requesting party may also be enabled to request a voice-
over-IP (VoIP) connection, in which case the CCN 26 sets up
the call to the requesting party through a VoIP gateway, in
a manner well known in the art. These and other
alternatives have been contemplated and are within the
scope of the invention.
Consequently, the embodiments of the invention
described above are intended to be exemplary only. The
scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited
solely by the scope of the appended claims.
