Telephone answering device linking displayed data with recorded audio message

DC CAFC

US 5,572,576 A
Filed: 03/15/1994
Issued: 11/05/1996
Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1992
Status: Expired due to Term

- Alert
- Pin

Associated Cases

Associated Defendants

First Claim

Patent Images

1. A telephone message system coupled to a telephone line for automatically answering incoming telephone calls and storing and retrieving information from the incoming telephone calls, comprising:

(a) a telephone answering device, which comprises;

means for receiving first signals from said telephone line, each of said first signals specifying a particular one of a plurality of callers;

means for receiving and storing voice messages, each voice message corresponding to a particular one of said plurality of callers;

means for linking each of said first signals with a corresponding one of said voice messages;

means for transmitting said first signals to a user remote access device for assisting in the selective retrieval of at least one of said stored voice messages;

means for transmitting to a user of said user remote access device at least one of said voice messages linked to a corresponding one of said first signals; and

(b) a user remote access device, which comprises;

means for receiving said first signals from said telephone answering device such that said first signals are available upon user demand;

means for providing caller identities related to said first signals;

means for displaying caller identities associated with said stored voice messages;

user actuable preprogrammed means for automatically establishing communication with said telephone answering device by calling said telephone answering device and automatically transmitting a user codeselection means associated with said displaying means for allowing selection of the displayed caller identities; and

means for controlling said telephone answering device, said means for controlling being operatively connected with said selection means for transmitting a second signal to said telephone answering device to cause said telephone answering device to play back a selected stored voice message in response to the selection of a displayed caller identity.

View all claims

2 Assignments

Timeline View

Assignment View

Litigations

1 Petition

Accused Products

Abstract

A telephone answering device (TAD) which includes a means of intelligently organizing voice messages, associated entered codes such as personal IDs and home telephone numbers, and information stored in the memory of the TAD. These codes or numbers are decoded by means of the caller entering DTMF signals into the telephone which are recognized, recorded and processed by the TAD. When processed with codes and personal information previously entered into the device'"'"'s memory, the TAD displays the identity of the callers for each message, thus providing a menu of choices, i.e., a list of callers. This enables the user to access messages in a selective manner based on the identity of the caller. The need to listen to the actual voice messages to determine the caller'"'"'s identity and the need to listen to the messages sequentially or chronologically is obviated, saving both time and effort. Additionally, because the voice message is also linked to pre-stored additional data in the data base, when hearing a message, one also can view relevant associated information, such as a fax number, etc., that might not have been left in the audio message but might be important. A remote access device is also provided that allows the user to retrieve and display the callers'"'"' identities and select a message to be played back from a remote location.

548 Citations

21 Claims

1. A telephone message system coupled to a telephone line for automatically answering incoming telephone calls and storing and retrieving information from the incoming telephone calls, comprising:
- (a) a telephone answering device, which comprises;
  
  means for receiving first signals from said telephone line, each of said first signals specifying a particular one of a plurality of callers;
  
  means for receiving and storing voice messages, each voice message corresponding to a particular one of said plurality of callers;
  
  means for linking each of said first signals with a corresponding one of said voice messages;
  
  means for transmitting said first signals to a user remote access device for assisting in the selective retrieval of at least one of said stored voice messages;
  
  means for transmitting to a user of said user remote access device at least one of said voice messages linked to a corresponding one of said first signals; and
  
  (b) a user remote access device, which comprises;
  
  means for receiving said first signals from said telephone answering device such that said first signals are available upon user demand;
  
  means for providing caller identities related to said first signals;
  
  means for displaying caller identities associated with said stored voice messages;
  
  user actuable preprogrammed means for automatically establishing communication with said telephone answering device by calling said telephone answering device and automatically transmitting a user codeselection means associated with said displaying means for allowing selection of the displayed caller identities; and
  
  means for controlling said telephone answering device, said means for controlling being operatively connected with said selection means for transmitting a second signal to said telephone answering device to cause said telephone answering device to play back a selected stored voice message in response to the selection of a displayed caller identity.
- View Dependent Claims (2)
- - 2. A remote access device according to claim 1, wherein said user actuable preprogammed means includes a key.

3. A method of automatically answering incoming telephone calls and storing and retrieving information from the incoming telephone calls with a telephone answering device having a memory and being coupled to a telephone, comprising the steps of:
- receiving first signals specifying each caller of each incoming call;
  
  receiving a voice message from each caller and storing each said received voice message as a stored voice message in said memory;
  
  linking each of said received first signals with a corresponding voice message;
  
  transmitting said received first signals to a user remote access device such that said first signals are available upon user demand for assisting in the selective retrieval of at least one of said stored voice messages using displayed first signals; and
  
  transmitting to a user remote access device at least one specific voice message linked to a specific one of said received first signals in response to selection of said at least one of said stored voice messages.
- View Dependent Claims (4)
- - 4. The method of automatically answering incoming telephone calls according to claim 3, said method further using a user remote access device and comprising the steps of:
    - receiving at said user remote access device said first signals specifying the caller of each incoming call, said first signals being transmitted from said telephone answering device to said user remote access device;
      
      displaying at said user remote access device caller identities related to said first signals, said caller identities being associated with said stored voice messages for user selection of at least one of said caller identities; and
      
      controlling said telephone answering device by transmitting a second signal from said user remote access device to said telephone answering device to cause said telephone answering device to play back a selected stored voice message in response to the selection of a specific caller identity from among the displayed caller identities.

5. A telephone message system coupled to a telephone line for automatically storing and later retrieving information from incoming telephone calls, comprising:
- (a) a telephone answering device, which comprises;
  
  means for receiving and storing first signals from said telephone line, each of said first signals specifying a particular one of a plurality of callers;
  
  means for receiving and storing voice messages, each voice message corresponding to a particular one of said plurality of callers on said telephone line;
  
  means for linking each of said first signals with a corresponding one of said voice messages;
  
  means for transmitting said first signals to a user remote access device for assisting in the selective retrieval of at least one of said stored voice messages; and
  
  (b) a remote access device, which comprises;
  
  means for storing a predetermined list of names and associated stored identifying information;
  
  means for receiving said first signals from said telephone answering device, said first signals specifying the identities of said plurality of callers;
  
  means for comparing said first signals with said predetermined list;
  
  means for displaying a respective caller'"'"'s name if the comparing means matches said first signals with any stored identifying information in said list; and
  
  means for selectively receiving, using at least one of said first signals and said respective caller name, at least one specific voice message linked to a specific transmitted first signal.

6. A remote access device communicating with a telephone answering device for the selective retrieval of stored voice messages on said telephone answering device each of said messages being vocalized by a caller, comprising:
- means for receiving first signals from said telephone answering device, such that said first signals are available upon user demand and said first signals identifying the callers of said stored messages;
  
  means for displaying the caller identities for said stored messages;
  
  selection means associated with said display means for allowing selection of the displayed identities;
  
  user actuable preprogrammed means for automatically establishing communication with said telephone answering device by calling said telephone answering device and automatically transmitting a user code; and
  
  means for controlling said telephone answering device, said means for controlling being operatively connected with said selection means, for transmitting a second signal to said telephone answering device to cause said telephone answering device to play back a selected stored voice message in response to the selection of a displayed identity.
- View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
- - 7. A remote access device according to claim 6, wherein said user actuable preprogrammed means includes a key.
  - 8. A remote access device according to claim 6, wherein the remote access device is provided as part of a mobile telephone.

9. A remote access device communicating with a telephone answering device for assisting in the selective retrieval of stored voice messages from each respective caller on said telephone answering device, each of said caller messages being recorded by said answering device, comprising:
- means for receiving at least one signal from said telephone answering device, such that said signal is available upon user demand and each of said at least one signal indicating a respective caller of at least one of said stored messages;
  
  means for displaying the caller identity for at least one of said stored voice messages in a predetermined order corresponding to the chronological order in which said at least one stored voice messages were stored in said answering device, whereby the position of each selected caller identity within the predetermined order allows a user to retrieve the stored voice message corresponding to each selected caller identity; and
  
  user actuable preprogrammed means for automatically establishing communication with said telephone answering device by calling said telephone answering device and automatically transmitting a user code.
- View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
- - 10. A remote access device according to claim 9, wherein the means for displaying the caller identity displays the caller identity for at least two of said stored voice messages in a predetermined order corresponding to the chronological order in which said voice messages were stored in said answering device, whereby the position of each selected caller identity within the predetermined order allows the user to retrieve the stored voice message corresponding to the selected caller identity.
  - 11. A remote access device according to claim 9, wherein said user actuable peprogrammed means includes a key.
  - 12. A remote access device according to claim 9, wherein the remote access device is provided as part of a mobile telephone.

13. A remote access device for retrieving at least one recorded voice message left by at least one of a plurality of callers on a base telephone answering machine, comprising:
- means for storing a predetermined list of names and associated stored identifying information;
  
  means for transferring information between said remote access device and said base answering machine;
  
  means for receiving identifying information from the base answering machine identifying said at least one of a plurality of callers;
  
  means for comparing the received identifying information with said predetermined list;
  
  means for displaying the respective caller'"'"'s name if the comparing means matches the received identifying information with any stored identifying information in said list; and
  
  means for displaying the caller identity for each stored voice message in a predetermined order corresponding to the chronological order in which each voice message was stored in said answering device, whereby the position of a selected caller identity allows the user to retrieve the stored voice message corresponding to the selected caller identity.

14. A mobile telephone for retrieving at least one recorded voice message left by at least one of a plurality of callers on a base telephone answering device, comprising:
- means for storing a predetermined list of names and associated stored identifying information;
  
  means for transferring information between said mobile telephone and said base answering device;
  
  means for receiving identifying information from the base answering device identifying said at least one of a plurality of callers;
  
  means for comparing the received identifying information with said predetermined list;
  
  means for displaying the respective caller'"'"'s name if the comparing means matches the received identifying information with any stored identifying information in said list; and
  
  means for displaying the caller identity for each stored voice message in a predetermined order corresponding to the chronological order in which each voice message was stored in said answering device, whereby the position of a selected caller identity from among the predetermined order allows the user to retrieve the stored voice messages corresponding to the selected caller identity.

15. A mobile telephone for use with a telephone answering device which receives and stores voice messages, each voice message corresponding to a particular one of a plurality of callers, said mobile telephone comprising:
- means for receiving first signals from said telephone answering device, each of said first signals specifying a particular one of a plurality of callers;
  
  means for providing caller identities related to said first signals;
  
  means for displaying caller identities associated with said stored voice messages;
  
  user actuable preprogrammed means for automatically establishing communication with said telephone answering device by calling said telephone answering device and automatically transmitting a user code;
  
  selection means associated with said displaying means for allowing selection of the displayed caller identities; and
  
  means for controlling said telephone answering device, said means for controlling being operatively connected with said selection means for transmitting a second signal to said telephone answering device to cause said telephone answering device to play back a selected stored voice message in response to the selection of a displayed caller identity.
- View Dependent Claims (16)
- - 16. A mobile telephone according to claim 15, wherein said user actuable preprogrammed means includes a key.

17. A telephone answering device coupled to a telephone line for automatically answering incoming telephone calls and storing and retrieving information from the incoming telephone calls comprising:
- means for storing a predetermined list of names and associated stored identifying information;
  
  means for receiving identifying information from said telephone line, each received identifying information specifying a particular one of a plurality of callers;
  
  means for receiving a voice message from each of said callers on said telephone line and storing each said voice message;
  
  means for linking each received identifying information with a corresponding one of said voice messages;
  
  means for comparing each received identifying information with said predetermined list;
  
  means cooperating with said comparing means for simultaneously displaying a plurality of caller'"'"'s names whose respective received identifying information matches stored identifying information in said list; and
  
  means for allowing a user to select any one of the plurality of simultaneously displayed callers names from said display means, said selecting means also automatically directly audibly retrieving the voice message associated with the selected caller'"'"'s name without scrolling individually through either the displayed names or the voice messages.

18. A method of automatically answering incoming telephone calls and storing and retrieving information from the incoming telephone calls with a telephone answering device, said telephone answering device having a memory and being coupled to a telephone, said method comprising the steps of:
- storing a predetermined list of names and associated stored identifying information in said memory;
  
  receiving identifying information specifying a particular one of a plurality of callers for each incoming call;
  
  receiving a voice message from at least one of said plurality of callers and storing said voice message in said memory;
  
  comparing said received identifying information with said predetermined list and displaying the caller'"'"'s name if the received identifying information matches any stored identifying information identical in said predetermined list;
  
  displaying simultaneously a plurality of callers'"'"' names whose respective received identifying information matches stored identifying information in said list;
  
  linking each displayed caller'"'"'s name with its corresponding voice message; and
  
  selectively directly retrieving the voice message corresponding to any one of the displayed caller'"'"'s names by selecting that caller'"'"'s name without scrolling through either said displayed names or said voice messages.
- View Dependent Claims (19)
- - 19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising the step of simultaneously displaying the corresponding caller'"'"'s name and stored identifying information when the voice message associated with the selected caller'"'"'s name is audibly retrieved.

20. A telephone message system coupled to a telephone line for automatically storing and later retrieving information from incoming telephone calls, comprising:
- (a) a telephone answering device, which comprises;
  
  means for receiving and storing first signals from said telephone line, each of said first signals specifying a particular one of a plurality of callers;
  
  means for receiving and storing voice messages, each voice message corresponding to a particular one of said plurality of callers on said telephone line;
  
  means for linking each of said first signals with a corresponding one of said voice messages;
  
  means for storing a predetermined list of names and associated stored identifying information;
  
  means for comparing said first signals with said predetermined list;
  
  means for identifying one or more caller names if the comparing means matches said first signals with any stored identifying information in said list; and
  
  means for transmitting said identified caller names to a user remote access device for assisting in the selective retrieval of at least one of said stored voice messages;
  
  (b) a remote access device which comprises;
  
  means for receiving said identified caller names;
  
  means for displaying the received identified caller names; and
  
  means for selectively receiving, using at least one of said received identified caller names, at least one specific voice message linked to said at least one of said received identified caller names.

21. A telephone message system for use with a telephone line for automatically storing and later retrieving information from incoming telephone calls, comprising:
- (a) a telephone answering device coupled to a telephone line, which comprises;
  
  means for receiving and storing first signals from said telephone line, each of said first signals specifying a caller;
  
  means for receiving and storing a voice message from each caller on said telephone line;
  
  means for converting each received first signal into received identifying information;
  
  means for linking each received identifying information with the corresponding stored voice message;
  
  means for storing a predetermined list of names and associated stored identifying information;
  
  means for comparing the received identifying information with said predetermined list of stored identifying information;
  
  means for identifying one or more caller names if the comparing means matches said first signals with any stored identifying information in said list; and
  
  means for transmitting at least one identified caller name to a user of said telephone message system for assisting in the selective retrieval of at least one of said stored messages;
  
  (b) a remote access device, which comprises;
  
  means for receiving and displaying one or more respective caller names.

Specification

Resources

Litigation Campaign Assessment

Litigation Data

Current Assignee
IPVX Patent Holdings Incorporated
Original Assignee
Klausner Patent Technologies
Inventors
Klausner, Judah, Hotto, Robert
Primary Examiner(s)
Hofsass, Jeffery
Assistant Examiner(s)
TSANG, FAN S

Application Number

US08/188,200
Time in Patent Office

966 Days
Field of Search

379/67, 379/88, 379/89, 379/58, 379/96, 379/142, 379/199, 379/97, 379/70, 379/74, 379/77
US Class Current

379/88.11
CPC Class Codes

H04M 1/2745   using static electronic mem...

H04M 1/27453   Directories allowing storag...

H04M 1/275   implemented by means of por...

H04M 1/575   Means for retrieving and di...

H04M 1/6505   storing speech in digital form

H04M 1/652   Means for playing back the ...

H04M 2250/60   logging of communication hi...

Telephone answering device linking displayed data with recorded audio message

First Claim

2 Assignments

Litigations

1 Petition

Accused Products

Abstract

548 Citations

21 Claims

Specification

Solutions

Use Cases

Quick Links

Telephone answering device linking displayed data with recorded audio message

First Claim

2 Assignments

Subscription Required

Subscription Required

Litigations

1 Petition

Subscription Required

Accused Products

Subscription Required

Abstract

548 Citations

21 Claims

Specification

Subscription Required

Solutions

Use Cases

Quick Links