Description

The present invention deals with a method and a system for the control of voicemail connections. In particular, it deals with methods that prohibit unintentional call charges from users due to unintentional connection to the voicemail of a called party.

Voicemail is often an additional service which is chargeable when delivering recorded voice message and is activated whenever an incoming call is not answered, the phone is out of range, deactivated or busy. When a called party does not answer a call, a voicemail allows the caller to leave a voice message. The called party then gets a text message explaining how to listen to the voice message.

A voicemail system also known as voicemail box, voice message or voice bank is a computer-based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, thereby often using an ordinary telephone. The term is also used more broadly to denote any system of conveying a stored telecommunications voice messages, including using an answering machine. Most cellphone services of a voicemail as a basic feature; many corporate PBXs include versatile international voice messaging services which are available to most individual and small business landline subscribers.

However, voicemail is by default activated. When the voicemail is activated, the call is automatically forwarded to the voicemail in any of the above cases.

In case a called party wants to deactivate the voicemail, some further actions are needed. The called party can deactivate/activate the voicemail service simply by using the phone self-help system or by calling the service provider’s customer service to seek assistance.

From the called party’s point of view, this is a way to never miscall. However, from the caller’s point of view, this leads in many cases to additional call charges. The charge starts after the phrase“Your call is being delivered”. The charge is usually the same as in a regular call.

The matter is that the call is delivered to the voicemail in any of the cases mentioned without that being the intention of the caller. Moreover, in many cases the caller is charged for a predefined amount of money - even if he has not left any voice message to the voicemail box of the called party - without even realizing it. The called party will be informed every time a voice message has been left to the voicemail box, e. g. by receiving an SMS. However, due to the fact that many callers leave voice messages unintentionally the called party will be charged in order to hear a message with no content. Also, in this case the voicemail of a called party is filled with messages which do not possess any content and there will be a need to empty it occasionally.

Therefore, the present invention is based on the object to overcome the above- described problems. In particular, the present invention is based on the object to provide a method and system to avoid unnecessary costs due to unintentional connection to the voicemail of a called party, regardless of the called party’s configuration.

This object is solved according to the present invention by a method for a call party- controlled avoidance of voicemail redirection having the features according to claim 1 , and a system for a call party-controlled avoidance of voicemail redirection having the features according to claim 12. Preferred embodiments of the invention are specified in the respective dependent claims.

Accordingly, a method for call party-controlled avoidance of voicemail redirection the method comprising the steps of:

a) initiating a first call from a call party’s system to a called party’s system;

b) initiating a timer to calculate a timer value once the call has reached the called party’s system and is ringing;

c) terminating the timer once

i) a connection with a voicemail of the called party’s system is established; or ii) the first call is answered; or

iii) the first call is terminated and answered;

d) storing the timer value in the call party’s system resulting in a stored timer value; e) initiating a second call from the call party’s system to the called party’s system; f) activating the stored timer value once the second call has reached the called party’s system until the stored timer value expires;

g) disconnecting the second call to avoid redirection to voicemail of the called

party’s system.

By the inventive method, a voicemail (also known as voicemail system, voice message, voice box or voice bank) is a system which allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages, to select and deliver voice information and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using any kind of devices or communication systems, which are suited to this purpose. According to the inventive method, a call party’s system or a called party’s system can be any kind of telephony device or any other communication system, where the user could be connected to a voicemail in particular after an unanswered call, a busy or deactivated user. For example, such a system can be a mobile or desk phone device or any kind of PBX or computer-based system that allows the above criteria.

The inventive method is using a specific timer per destination. Within meaning of the invention a destination is a specific contact, called part’s system or a unique entity to which a connection is intended to be established. It is of benefit to have one timer per specific destination so that the time that the call needs to be redirected to voicemail can be stored individually per destination (e.g. per called party). Hence it should be taken under consideration that every destination may have a different redirecting time to voicemail.

If the called party has activated the voicemail service and a call is not answered, the call will be automatically forwarded to voicemail. The connection with the voicemail is usually established after a few seconds.

From a signaling point of view one of the first steps of the inventive method is the storage of a timer value (t). For this case, call charges cannot be avoided, because there are no data stored yet.

According to the inventive method, the first step begins with the initiation of a new call or a first call. This first call is initiated by a call party’s system, which for example could be a mobile device. After the call has reached the called party, the caller’s system gets a message that the called party’s system is reached and is ringing. This is the point where the timer begins counting until a connection with the voicemail of the called party’s system is established or the first call is answered or the first call is terminated unanswered. This counted timer value (t) is stored in the called party’s system for the specific destination. A second call to this called destination (called party’s system) is initiated and the stored timer t _s value is activated when the second call has reached the called party’s system and is ringing. This stored timer value is used to disconnect the call from the call party before connecting to the voicemail of the called party. When this timer value expires, the call will be disconnected to avoid redirection to voicemail.

It should be noted that the second call or any further call do not have to take place immediately after the first call. Within the meaning of the present invention, the value of the stored timer can be updated in the second call or further calls. If not updated, the stored timer value will otherwise keep the last saved value.

According to a preferred embodiment, the initiation step of a first call from a call party’s system comprises a SETUP message.

According to another preferred embodiment, the step b) comprises an ALERT message received by the call party’s system from the called party’s system.

According to still another preferred embodiment, the step c) of terminating the timer comprises a CONNECT message received by the call party’s system from the called party’s system.

According to still another preferred embodiment, the step g) of disconnecting the second call to avoid redirection to voicemail comprising a DISCONNECT message received by the call party’s system from the called party’s system.

According to another preferred embodiment of the inventive method, step d) relating to the storage of the timer value further comprises decreasing the timer value (t) by a predetermined value (t _d ) which results in a stored timer value (t _s ). The decrease of the timer value (t) by the predetermined value (t _d ) which is a configurable parameter (e.g. one or more seconds), is beneficial in order to make sure that a redirection to voicemail is avoided. However, it is important to mention that the mechanism for storing the timer can also be used in the case where the called party answers the call or the call is terminated unanswered. Thus, the stored timer value can be used from the call party in order to control the duration of the called party’s alerts and release the call if the time value stored expires e.g. the called party does not answer the call (even if the called party has not activated voicemail).

As already mentioned above, these timer values can be updated in the second call or further calls. If not updated, the timer otherwise will keep the last saved value.

According to another embodiment, step d) comprises an optional control step for the call party’s system to store the timer values (t, t _d , t _s ) in any of the events i) a connection with a voicemail of the called party’s system is established; ii) the first call is answered; or iii) the first call is terminated unanswered.

Further, according to another embodiment of the invention, step d) comprises the use of a first flag (e.g. called“store timer”). This flag allows the call party to store a timer value once this first flag has been activated before the initiation of the first, the second or every further call.

According to another preferred embodiment, the timer can be enabled or disabled before the initiation of a second or further call according to step e) of the inventive method. This is to activate or deactivate the mechanism to disconnect the call after the stored timer value expires.

According to another preferred embodiment, the activation of the stored timer value (ts) in step f) of the inventive method, comprises the use of a second flag (e.g. called “voicemail timer activated”). So, if another call (second or any further call) is initiated from the caller to the same called party’s system (or a destination) and this second flag is on, then the stored timer value starts counting down so as the call to be

disconnected before it, reaches the voicemail of the called party’s system.

According to another preferred embodiment, the timer values (t, t _d , t _s ) are stored together with the called party information, for example such information can be contact information, telephone IP or any kind of metadata related to a specific called party.

According to still another preferred embodiment, the initiation of the first call from the call party’s system (e. g. the SETUP message of the first call) comprises an information element which avoids redirection to voicemail in any event independent of any timer activation in the call party’s system. In such a case, a new information element, for example called“voicemail connection” is included in the initiation of the first call or in the message which is sent when a first call is initialized. The redirection to voicemail will be prevented and the call party will be disconnected. So, no matter what the called party’s state is, the call will never reach the voicemail. This can be achieved by setting another flag before the first call is initiated in order to send the specific information element together with the initiation of the first call (e. g. to send the SETUP message together with the specific information element). This mechanism can be applied in any case the called party for example has not answered the call, is busy or deactivated.

Further, according to the present invention, a system for call party-controlled avoidance of voicemail redirection according to a method described above is provided, comprising a storage to store a timer value (t, t _d , t _s ), means for initiation, disconnection and/or termination of a call, means for receiving information that the call initiated has reached the called party’s system and is ringing, means for initiation, deactivation and/or activation of a timer and/or a flag, means for calculation and/or modulation of the timer and means for displaying and editing the timer and/or the flag.

Such a system could be any kind of telephony device or system or any other communication system, where the user could be connected to the voicemail in the events of an unanswered call, busy or deactivated user. For example, such a system could be any kind of PBX phone system, any kind of a computer-based system, any kind of mobile or desk phone or any other communication system.

According to another preferred embodiment, such a system is part of a PBX phone system.

According to yet another preferred embodiment, wherein in such a system the call party’s system and/or the called party’s system is any kind of telephony device or any other communication system, where a call party could be connected to a voicemail of a called party’s system, for example after an unanswered call, a busy or deactivated user.

The invention and embodiments thereof will be described below in further detail in connection with the drawings. FIG. 1a schematically illustrates the timer storage mechanism according to one embodiment of the inventive method;

FIG. 1 b shows a flow diagram illustrating the mechanism of storing a timer value;

FIG. 2a schematically illustrates the mechanism of using a stored timer value according to FIG.1 a/b to avoid connection to voicemail of the called party’s system;

FIG. 2b shows a flow diagram illustrating using the stored timer value of FIG. 1 a/b to avoid connection to the voicemail of a called party’s system;

FIG. 3a schematically illustrates the mechanism to avoid voicemail connection in any event using an information element; and

FIG. 3b shows the flow diagram of the mechanism described in FIG. 3a.

Figures 1 a and 1 b describe a mechanism for avoiding the connection with voicemail 500 using a timer 400 per destination. The figure 1 a schematically illustrates the timer storage mechanism according to one embodiment of the inventive method and figure 1 b shows a corresponding flow diagram of this mechanism.

One timer 400 per specific destination (e.g. called party) is needed so that the time that the call needs to be redirected to voicemail 500 can be stored. Considering that every destination may have a different redirecting time to voicemail 500 it is not suitable to use only one timer 400 for all destinations.

If the called party 300 has activated the voicemail 500 service and the call is not answered, then the call will be automatically forwarded to the voicemail 500. The connection with the voicemail 500 is established after a few seconds. Figure 1a shows the process from signaling point of view where a timer 400 is going to be stored. As a result, in this case it cannot be avoided that this first call 1 10 causes charges because there are no time data stored yet.

At the beginning a first call 110 is initiated. Optionally this step comprises the sending of a SETUP message 610 to the called party’s system 300 from the call party’s system 200. After the call has reached the called party’s system 300 and is ringing e.g. via an ALERT message 620 the timer 400 begins counting from the time the called party’s system 300 starts ringing 410 until the connection with Voicemail 420 (e.g. by receiving a CONNECT message 636), in case the called party 300 has not answered the first call 110. The time period between timer starts 410 and timer stops 420 is the timer value t. This timer value t will be stored for future use and will be used from call party’s point of view to avoid future connection to called party’s voicemail 500.

Optionally two flags are used for this mechanism. A first flag 710 (e.g. called“Store timer” flag) to allow the caller 200 to store this timer 400 and a second flag 720 (e.g. called“Voicemail timer Activated” flag) to activate the mechanism and disconnect the call after the timer stored expires.

The figures 2a and 2b show how the stored timer value t _s can be used in order to avoid the connection to the voicemail 500. In this case, a second call 120 will be

disconnected before it is connected to the voicemail 500 of the called party’s system 300.

The value of timer will be stored automatically if the first flag 710 (“store timer” flag) is activated. Therefore, if another second call 120 is initiated from this user to the same destination (e.g. called party 300), and the second flag 720 (“Voicemail timer Activated” flag) is enabled (“on”), then the timer is activated 440 counting down until it expires 450 as a result the second call 120 is disconnected before it can reach the voicemail 500.

In order to make sure that the redirection to voicemail 500 is avoided, the timer value t will be decreased by timer value t _d , which is a configurable parameter and it may be for example 1 second before a stored timer value t _s is finally stored.

Therefore, using the first flag 710 (“Voicemail timer Activated”) per destination, the caller 200 is given the option to activate/deactivate the voicemail 500 redirection. It is important to mention that the mechanism of storing the timer 400 can optionally also be used in case the called party 300 answers the first 110, the second 120 or any further call. So, in this case, the timer 400 can be used from the caller party 200 in order to control the duration the called party 300 alerts and release the call after the stored timer value t _s expires, if the called party 300 does not answer the call (even if the called party 300 has not activated voicemail 500). The timer 400 can be updated in every call if the first flag 710 (“store timer”) is activated otherwise it will keep the last saved stored timer value t _s .

If a connection to the voicemail 500 of the called party 300 is established or not, is in this scenario controlled by the caller 200. The caller 200 has the option to use or not the stored timer value t _s .

The timer values t, t _d and t _s can be stored by contact and be used in future outgoing calls to this contact. Contact means information or any data associated with a specific party or person e.g. called party 300. However, the next time that a specific contact is called and this contact does not answer the call in a certain amount of time (stored timer value t _s ), the call will be disconnected because the second flag 720“Voicemail Timer Activated” is activated (“on”) and as a result no voicemail 500 connection will happen. The caller 200 has the option to see the stored timer value t _s (e.g. duration in seconds) and choose whether to activate it or not.

In figures 3a and b a mechanism is described in order to avoid the connection to the voicemail 500. In this case, an Information Element 800 (e.g. called“Voicemail connection”) is included in the message 610 which is sent when a new call is initialized. The redirection to voicemail 500 will be prevented and the caller 200 will be

disconnected. No matter what the called party 300 state is, the call will never reach the voicemail 500. This can be achieved by setting a third flag 730 before the call is initiated in order to send the SETUP message 610 with the specific Information

Element 800. The Information Element 800 comprising the two data sets; data: 0 No voicemail 500 connection; data:1 voicemail 500 connection possible. If the call is not answered by the called party 300 and in the Information Element 800 included in the SETUP message 610 data:0 is enabled the caller 200 will not be allowed to be connected to voicemail 500 of the called party 300 and a disconnect message 640 will be send to the call party 200. This mechanism can apply in case the called party 300 has not answered the call, is busy or deactivated. The call party 200 has the

opportunity to activate or deactivate this third flag 730 to either allow connection to voicemail 500 or prevent it in any case. Reference Numerals