JPH0537639A - Voice mail system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To expand the utilization range of the message delivery service without waste of resource with respect to the voice mail system in which the voice message is delivered via a mail box assigned to a sender and a recipient. CONSTITUTION:The system is a voice mail system 1, in which a voice message is delivered via a mail box 41 assigned to a sender and a recipient. The mail box 41 is assigned tentatively to a party not subscribed to the system, a message from the subscriber of the system is sent to the party not subscribed to the system and a reply message is sent to the subscriber.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice mail system for transmitting a voice message via a mailbox assigned to a sender and a receiver. In the voice mail system, an identification code (ID code) is given to a subscriber to the system, and a dedicated mailbox is assigned. The subscriber is
By inputting the identification code from the telephone, the voice mail device can be called to access the subscriber's own mailbox to send and receive messages to and from the subscriber, and various services can be received.

In order to expand the use of the voice mail system, further enhancement of service functions is desired.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art As a service function in a conventional voice mail system, a return service and a message sender that allow a message recipient to return a message to the sender of the message without disconnecting the receiving line. There is a transfer service that adds and transfers messages to subscribers other than.

Since these message delivery services are performed via the sender and recipient mailboxes,
It was available only to subscribers who had a mailbox, not to non-subscribers who did not have a mailbox.

[0005]

As described above, in the related art, the message transfer service is used only by limited subscribers, and messages from a large number of unspecified non-subscribers are collected or undelivered. The message could not be delivered to a specific large number of non-subscribers.

[0006] Therefore, it is impossible to take a questionnaire for a large number of arbitrarily extracted people and to successively convey a message to a large number of people, and the use range of the message transmission service is limited.

[0007] On the other hand, it is conceivable that people who are not actively subscribed will be assigned mailboxes as subscribers, but in such a case, people who do not know whether they will be able to use it or not A mailbox is allocated, which requires an extremely large memory area. This is not preferable from the viewpoint of effective use of resources.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to expand the range of use of a message transmission service without wasting resources.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a voice mail system according to the invention of claim 1
As shown in FIG. 11, a mailbox 41 is temporarily allocated to a non-subscriber of the system, a message from the subscriber of the system is transmitted to the non-subscriber, and a return message from the non-subscriber is sent to the subscriber. Configured to send to.

In the voice mail system according to the second aspect of the present invention, a mailbox 41 is temporarily assigned to a non-subscriber of the system, and a message from the subscriber of the system is sent to the mailbox 41 of the subscriber and the message. Transmitting to the non-subscriber via the non-subscriber's mailbox 41, and storing a return message from the non-subscriber in the non-subscriber's mailbox 41 following the transmission,
The return message stored in the non-subscriber mailbox 41 is transmitted to the subscriber via the subscriber mailbox 41.

In the voice mail system according to the third aspect of the present invention, the mailbox 41 is temporarily assigned to the non-subscriber of the system, and the message from the subscriber of the system is transmitted to the non-subscriber. A transfer message from the subscriber to another non-subscriber is configured to be sent to the other non-subscriber.

In the voice mail system according to the invention of claim 4, the mailbox 41 is temporarily allocated to the non-subscriber of the system, and the message from the subscriber of the system is sent to the mailbox 41 of the subscriber and the message. Transmitting to the non-subscriber via the non-subscriber's mailbox 41, and storing the transfer message from the non-subscriber in the non-subscriber's mailbox 41 following the transmission,
The transfer message stored in the non-subscriber mailbox 41 is configured to be transmitted to the other non-subscriber mailbox 41 via the other non-subscriber mailbox 41.

In the voice mail system according to the invention of claim 5, the mailbox 41 is assigned to a non-subscriber designated by a subscriber or a temporary subscriber to make it a temporary subscriber, and the temporary subscriber The transfer message is sequentially transmitted from the subscriber to another temporary subscriber.

[0014]

When the non-subscriber is designated as the other party, a mailbox is temporarily created for the non-subscriber, and the non-subscriber is treated as if it is a temporary subscriber.

As a result, whether subscribers or non-subscribers,
Return service or transfer service for unspecified persons becomes available. The transfer message is a concept that includes both the case where the first message is included and the case where the first message is not included.

[0016]

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a voice mail system 1 according to the present invention. Voice mail system 1
Is a voice mail device 7 connected to the exchange 6 and the exchange 6
Is composed of a large number of telephones 11, 12, 13 ...

The voice mail device 7 comprises a processing device 30, a storage device 31, a subscriber information table 32, a voice file 33 and the like. Mailboxes 41 are created in the storage device 31 for the subscribers of the voice mail system 1 and for the temporary subscribers designated as the other party even if they are non-subscribers.

In the mailbox 41, a message from the sender, a return message or a transfer message from the receiver, an identification code ID of the sender, a telephone number of the destination (recipient) designated by the sender, or Information indicating the type of message transmission service is stored.

The mailboxes 41 assigned to the subscriber A or the non-subscribers B, C and D may be referred to as the mailbox A and the mailbox B, respectively.

The subscriber information table 32 is information about the subscribers of the voice mail system 1, that is, the persons who can call and access the voice mail device 7.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the subscriber information table 32.

The subscriber information table 32 stores an identification code ID, a telephone number NTEL, etc. for each subscriber. In this embodiment, the telephone set 11 is related to the installation of the subscriber A, and the telephone sets 12, 13 and 14 are related to the installation of the non-subscribers B, C and D, respectively.

Therefore, the subscriber information table 32 stores information on the telephone 11 but does not store information on the telephones 12-14. The voice file 33 stores voice data for various guidance sentences. The content of the voice file 34 is converted into voice by the processing device 30 or a dedicated voice synthesizer (not shown).

The processing device 30 has a telephone number and an identification code I.
Processing for accepting a call from a subscriber by determining D or the like, processing for storing a message from a sender or a recipient in a predetermined mailbox 41, mailbox 41
Based on the contents stored in, the process of calling a predetermined telephone to transmit a message, the process of determining the signal sent from the telephone, the process of sending the voice data read from the voice file 33 to the telephone, etc. Then, the entire voice mail system 1 is controlled.

Next, the operation and operation of the message transmission service by the voice mail system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
Also, description will be made with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Only subscribers can be the source of message delivery services. First, a case where the subscriber A uses the return service for the non-subscriber B will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the subscriber A calls the voice mail device 7, and in accordance with the voice guidance from the voice mail device 7, specifies the identification code ID of the subscriber A, the telephone number of the non-subscriber B, and the return service. Enter the code for (step # 11).

Next, the subscriber A speaks the message A to be transmitted to the non-subscriber B (step # 12). Message A
Is stored in the mailbox A of the subscriber A together with the telephone number of the non-subscriber B (step # 13).

Since the return service is to the non-subscriber B, the mailbox B for the non-subscriber B is temporarily created (step # 14). As a result, the non-subscriber B becomes a temporary subscriber. However, the identification code ID is not given.

The message A etc. stored in the mailbox A is transferred to the mailbox B (step #
15). The voice mail device 7 calls the non-subscriber B, and the message A stored in the mailbox B is transmitted to the non-subscriber B by voice (step # 1).
6).

According to the voice guidance, the non-subscriber B specifies the return service (step # 17) and speaks the message (return message) B to be sent back to the subscriber A (step # 18).

The message B is stored in the mailbox B of the non-subscriber B (step # 19) and returned to the mailbox A of the subscriber A (step # 20), and thereafter.
The mailbox B is deleted (step # 21).

The voice mail device 7 calls the subscriber A, and the message B stored in the mailbox A is transmitted to the subscriber A by voice (step # 2).
2). As a result, the message A from the subscriber A is transmitted to the non-subscriber B, and the non-subscriber B adds the reply message B without disconnecting the line during the call, and this is transmitted to the subscriber A. The Rukoto.

Next, the subscriber A uses the transfer service,
In the case where messages are sequentially transmitted from subscriber A to non-subscriber C and non-subscriber C to non-subscriber D,
A brief description will be given with reference to FIG.

First, the subscriber A calls the voice mail device 7 to specify the transfer service (step # 31). Next, the subscriber A speaks the message A that he wants to convey to the non-subscriber C (step # 32). The message A is stored in the mailbox A of the subscriber A (step # 33).

Since the transfer service is for the non-subscriber C, the mailbox C for the non-subscriber C is temporarily created (step # 34). As a result, the non-subscriber C becomes a temporary subscriber.

The message A etc. stored in the mailbox A is transferred to the mailbox C (step # 3).
5) The voice mail device 7 calls the non-subscriber C and the message A is transmitted to the non-subscriber C (step # 36).

The non-subscriber C specifies the transfer service, inputs the telephone number of the non-subscriber D who is the transfer destination (step # 37), and speaks the message C to be added to the non-subscriber D (step S37). Step # 38). Message C
Is stored in the mailbox C of the non-subscriber C (step # 39).

Since the transfer service is for the non-subscriber D, the mailbox D for the non-subscriber D is temporarily created (step # 40). As a result, the non-subscriber D becomes a temporary subscriber.

The contents of the mailbox C are transferred to the mailbox D (step # 41), and then the mailbox C is deleted (step # 42). The non-subscriber D is called from the voice mail device 7, and the message A and the message C (transfer message) stored in the mailbox D are transmitted to the non-subscriber D by voice (step # 43).

As a result, the message A from the subscriber A is transmitted to the non-subscribers C and D and the non-subscriber D is sent.
The message C added by the non-subscriber C is also transmitted to the.
Similarly, the message A from the subscriber A is transmitted from the non-subscriber D to another non-subscriber while adding messages one after another.

According to the above embodiment, the non-subscribers B, C,
Also for D, the return service and transfer service of the voice mail system 1 can be used. Therefore,
Regardless of subscribers or non-subscribers, messages from many unspecified persons can be collected by the return service, and messages can be transmitted one after another to many unspecified persons by the forwarding service. The range of service usage is significantly expanded.

Moreover, the mailboxes B, C and D assigned to the non-subscribers B, C and D are created temporarily and are deleted after the respective communications are completed. Does not become huge, and the memory area is not wasted and is effectively used.

In general, in a voice mail service using only a message, there is a possibility that a message may not be reliably transmitted when a person other than the person who wants to make a message appears on the telephone of the other party or when the other party is absent. If the return service by the voice mail system 1 of the above-described embodiment is used, it is possible to add a reply to the end of the transmitted message to confirm that the message has been heard. It is possible to confirm whether or not the message has been transmitted to a specific destination, and communication reliability is improved.

Further, in the transfer service, regardless of whether the subscriber or the non-subscriber is used, the transfer is not interrupted in the middle because the transfer is made to the non-subscriber unlike the conventional case.
The certainty of message transmission is improved.

In the above embodiment, the non-subscribers B, C,
The mailboxes B, C, D created for D may be created each time, or an appropriate number created in advance may be assigned to the non-subscribers B, C, D each time. .

In the above-mentioned embodiment, it was explained that the voice mail device 7 calls the subscriber A during the return service. However, the subscriber A calls the voice mail device 7 and the mail box A You may ask the contents.

In the above embodiment, when the transfer destination is a subscriber, the identification code of the subscriber may be input. Further, when a telephone number is input as the transfer destination, the subscriber information table 32 may be searched with the telephone number NTEL as a key to determine whether or not the user is a subscriber.

In the above embodiment, the contents of the subscriber information table 41, the configuration of each part of the voice mail device 7 or the voice mail system 1, the processing contents, the processing order, and the like can be variously changed other than those described above.

[0048]

According to the present invention, the range of use of the message transmission service can be expanded without wasting resources. According to the inventions of claims 1 and 2, it is possible to collect messages from a large number of unspecified persons regardless of subscribers or non-subscribers.

According to the inventions of claims 3 to 5, the message can be successively transmitted to a large number of unspecified persons regardless of subscribers or non-subscribers.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a voice mail system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a subscriber information table.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation and an operation of a return service.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing operations and operations of a transfer service.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Voice mail system 41 mailbox

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A voice mail system (1) for transmitting a message by voice via a mailbox (41) assigned to a sender and a receiver, which is for a non-subscriber of the system. By temporarily allocating a mailbox (41), sending a message from a subscriber of the system to the non-subscriber, and sending a return message from the non-subscriber to the subscriber. Voice mail system to do. 2. A mailbox (41) is temporarily allocated to a non-subscriber of the system, and a message from the subscriber of the system is sent to the subscriber's mailbox (41) and the non-subscriber's mailbox. (41) is sent to the non-subscriber, and a message returned from the non-subscriber is stored in the non-subscriber's mailbox (41) following the transmission, and the non-subscriber's mailbox ( 41) A voice mail system characterized in that the return message stored in (41) is transmitted to the subscriber via the subscriber's mailbox (41). 3. A voice mail system (1) for transmitting a message by voice via a mailbox (41) assigned to a sender and a receiver, which is for a non-subscriber of the system. To temporarily allocate a mailbox (41), send a message from a subscriber of the system to the non-subscriber, and transfer a message from the non-subscriber to another non-subscriber to the other non-subscriber. A voice mail system characterized by being sent. 4. A mailbox (41) is temporarily allocated to a non-subscriber of the system, and a message from the subscriber of the system is sent to the subscriber's mailbox (41) and the non-subscriber's mailbox. (41) is transmitted to the non-subscriber, and, following the transmission, the transfer message from the non-subscriber is stored in the non-subscriber's mailbox (41). 41) The transfer message stored in 41) is sent to another non-subscriber's mailbox (41).
A voice mail system characterized in that it is sent to the other non-subscriber via the. 5. A voice mail system (1) for transmitting a voice message via a mailbox (41) assigned to a sender and a receiver, which is a subscriber or a temporary subscription. A temporary subscriber by allocating a mailbox (41) to a non-subscriber designated by a subscriber, and sequentially transmitting transfer messages from the temporary subscriber to other temporary subscribers. A voice mail system characterized by