HK1095951B - Short voice message (svm) service method, apparatus and system - Google Patents

Description

Short voice message service method, device and system

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No.60/281942, filed on 5/4/2001.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a new method of transmitting a message, and more particularly, to a new method of transmitting a voice-type short message.

Background

Short Message Service (SMS) has implemented point-to-point (PP) and Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) in global system for mobile communications (GSM). See ETSI GSM specification, GSM 03.40 version 5.3.0, 1996, month 7, and GSM 07.05 version 5.5.0, 1998, month 1. For a brief course of SMS, see "global system for mobile communications short message service" (by g.peerman and s.cvetkovic, IEEE personal communication, June, 2000). A problem with entering messages for transmission via SMS is that it often takes too long to create a message. The user must use a keyboard, each of which has the ability to enter one of several possible letters, and is individually selected by pressing multiple times. This can take a significant amount of time, as more than one hundred characters may be sent even without a link (coordination). With links, the message may be added tens of thousands of characters in length. If too long, this becomes annoying and impractical even if a full keyboard on a Personal Computer (PC) or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) is used.

Disclosure of Invention

The purpose of the invention is to facilitate the sending of short messages.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing messages between users in a telecommunications network. This method comprises the steps of: receiving from the first terminal a voice message spoken by the first user to be sent to a second user of the second terminal; checking the availability of the second terminal; and immediately transmitting the received voice message to the second terminal if available. Also according to a second aspect of the invention, an apparatus for use in such a telecommunications network comprises: means for receiving from the first terminal a voice message spoken by the first user to be sent to a second user of the second terminal; means for checking availability of the second terminal; and means for immediately transmitting the received voice message to the second terminal if available.

According to the first and second aspects of the invention, the voice message may be stored until it is determined that the second terminal is available. The second user of the second terminal may be notified of the received voice message from the first user before the voice message is transmitted to the second terminal. In this case, the voice message is only sent after the second user signals acceptance.

Also according to the first and second aspects of the invention, after receiving a first message from the first terminal to the second terminal, a communication session, i.e. a two-way communication, may be established by receiving a spoken voice message of the second user from the second terminal and transmitting the received voice message to the first terminal. Such interchange may continue for the exchange of a large number of voice messages between the first and second terminals. The availability of the first terminal may be determined prior to sending a voice message from the second user to the first terminal prior to establishing the session.

Also according to the first and second aspects of the invention, the voice message received at the first or second terminal may be stored for use at the convenience of the receiving user. For example, may be stored in a SIM card.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a voice message service center in a voice message system including a plurality of terminals comprises: means for receiving a voice message from a first user terminal; means for storing a received voice message from a first terminal; means for checking availability of a predetermined second user of the second terminal; and means for sending the store received message from the first terminal to the second terminal when the second terminal is available.

Also according to the third aspect of the invention, the service center may further comprise a unit for notifying the second terminal of the voice message received from the first terminal, wherein the received voice message from the first terminal is transmitted to the second terminal upon receiving an acceptance signal that the second terminal responds to the notification.

Also in accord with the third aspect of the invention, one or more of the plurality of terminals comprises: means for receiving, at the first user terminal, a voice message dictated by the first user to provide the means for receiving voice messages in the service center with the voice message from the first user terminal; means for storing a voice message comprising a voice message spoken by a first user; means for receiving a designation signal from a first user designating a second user as a predetermined recipient; means for retrieving the stored voice message in response to the specified signal to provide the voice message retrieved from the memory and the specified signal; and means for sending the voice message and the designated signal retrieved from the memory as an outgoing voice message to a second user of the voice message system. One or more of the plurality of terminals may further include: a unit for receiving an incoming voice message from a second user, the received incoming voice message being stored by the SVM storage unit; and means for replaying the incoming voice message to the first user after retrieval from the means for storing voice messages by the means for retrieving stored voice messages. One or more of the plurality of terminals may further include: means for receiving a notification of an incoming voice message from a second user, the notification for display or notification to a first user; means for transmitting an acceptance indication input signal in response to an acceptance indication input signal from a first user, the acceptance indication input signal for use in the voice message system to determine whether to transmit the incoming voice message from the second user to the first user.

Also in accordance with the third aspect of the invention, the means for receiving the spoken voice message of the first user comprises a voice recognition unit for recognizing the spoken voice message of the first user, providing the voice message as a text message, so that the voice message is stored as a text message in or retrieved from the means for storing the voice message, and transmitted as an outgoing text voice message via the short message service centre. The means for receiving an incoming voice message from the second user may comprise means for receiving an incoming text voice message for storage as a text message in said means for storing a voice message, wherein the means for playing back the incoming text message is for displaying the incoming text message in a display of the user device. On the other hand, the unit for retrieving the stored voice message may also be adapted to convert the retrieved voice message into a voice signal for playback at the retransmission unit as a pronounced voice message such as a simulated sound.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a user equipment for use in a voice message system comprises: means for receiving a short voice message spoken by a first user; means for storing an SVM including an SVM spoken by a first user; means for receiving a designation signal from a first user designating a second user as a predetermined recipient; means for retrieving the stored SVM in response to a designation signal to provide the SVM retrieved from the memory and the designation signal; and means for sending the SVM retrieved from the memory and the designated signal as the calling SVM to a second user of the voice messaging system.

Also in accordance with the fourth aspect of the present invention, the user equipment further comprises: a unit for receiving an incoming call SVM from a second user, the received incoming call SVM for SVM memory location storage; and means for replaying the incoming SVM to the first subscriber after the means for retrieving the reservoir SVM are retrieved from the means for storing SVM. Such user equipment may further include: means for receiving a notification from a second user of an incoming call to the SVM, the notification for display or notification by the user device; and means for transmitting an acceptance indication input signal in response to the acceptance indication input signal from the first user, the acceptance indication input signal for use in the voice message system to determine whether to transmit an incoming SVM from the second user to the user equipment of the first user.

Also in accordance with the fourth aspect of the present invention, the means for receiving the SVM spoken by the first user may comprise a speech recognition unit for recognizing a short voice message spoken by the first user, providing the SVM as a text message, such that the SVM is stored as a text message in or retrieved from the means for storing the SVM, and transmitted as an outgoing text SVM via the short message service center. Likewise, the means for receiving an incoming call text SVM from a second user may comprise means for receiving an incoming call text SVM for storing as a text message in the means for storing SVM, wherein the means for replaying an incoming call text SVM is for displaying in a display of the user device. Conversion software may also be provided for converting the incoming text SVM from the second user into speech, for example pronounced as artificial sound.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of the best mode embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates a Short Voice Message (SVM) service method according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is similar to fig. 1 and shows a SVM service method according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 shows the SVM service method of the present invention applied to a GSM network subsystem.

Fig. 4 shows the SVM service method of the present invention applied to a GPRS system.

Fig. 5 illustrates an SVM service method of the present invention applied to a UMTS system.

Fig. 6 illustrates the SVM service method of the present invention employed in an instant messaging infrastructure proposed by a third party operator of a private instant messaging service.

Fig. 7 illustrates the SVM service method of the present invention applied in a presence service (presence service) proposed to IETF.

Fig. 8 shows details of an alternative monitor to that of fig. 7.

Fig. 9 illustrates the SVM service method of the present invention applied to the instant messaging service proposed to the IETF.

Fig. 10 shows the SVM service method applied to the present invention for creating presence information according to the proposals for IETF.

Fig. 11 shows details of an SVM service center according to the present invention, showing connections to a pair of terminals via one of a number of possible alternative networks.

Fig. 12 shows details of a user equipment according to the invention, showing a connection to one of a number of possible networks.

Detailed Description

As described above, the present invention discloses a Short Voice Message (SVM) service or a Voice Message Service (VMS), which is a completely new way to transmit a short message, i.e., a short message such as a voice-type short message. According to the invention, the Short Voice Message (SVM) is sent as an SMS message, SMS-like message or instant message. A user or a sending principal (sending principal) simply records a short voice message and sends it over the network for playback at one or more terminals of the intended recipient or receiving principal (receiving principal).

Referring to fig. 1, a user 10 initiates a Short Voice Message (SVM) by, for example, pressing a menu key on a user device 14 associated with the short voice message feature for a period of time, e.g., a few seconds. As shown in step 12 of fig. 2, the user device 14 receives a signal resulting from a user pressing a menu key to dictate a short voice message. The user device 14 is ready to receive a phrase tone message, as shown at step 16, and issues a beep, for example, to tell the user that dictation may begin, as shown at step 18. The user 10 then dictates the user device 14 as shown in box 20 in the dashed box 1 of fig. 1. The user device 14 then receives and stores the SVM during the utterance of the spoken message, as shown in step 22 of fig. 2. The SVM may be terminated in a number of ways, such as by the user 10 pressing the same or a different menu key for a short period of time, for example, an instant press. Alternatively, the user equipment may end the message recording by signaling to the user that the maximum message length has been reached.

The user 10 then uses the menu keys to select one or more intended recipients, as shown in step 26 of FIG. 2 and in the dashed separator bar 2 of FIG. 1. After selecting the recipient, the user may press a menu key to initiate the transfer, such as pressing the key associated with the "ok" indication in the dashed separation bar 2 of fig. 1. It should be appreciated that step 26 may be performed at various stages of the process shown in fig. 2. For example, it may be performed before or after step 12.

The SVM is then sent to the SVM service center. It may be a Short Message Service (SMS) service center that determines the availability of one or more intended recipients. The service center may then send the SVM directly to the available intended recipients and continue to attempt to send to those unavailable recipients until those unavailable recipients become available or a timeout occurs. On the other hand, instead of sending the SVM directly when determining availability, the service center notifies the available recipients that the SVM has been received and may identify the sender in the display of the user device 30 as shown in the dashed separation bar 3 of fig. 1 for each available recipient. The delivery of the SVM message to the SVM service center and, where appropriate, the sending of the notification is shown in step 28. The reception of the notification is shown in step 30.

Thereafter, in appropriate circumstances, the recipient 32 (as shown in the dashed separation columns 3 and 4 of fig. 1) decides to reject ("ignore") or accept ("load") the SVM received from the sender, and presses the corresponding key, or signals (e.g., voice) whether to accept, as described in step 34 of fig. 2. Assuming the recipient 32 decides to accept the SVM, step 36is performed in which the short voice message service center provides SVM delivery to the recipient for playback, as shown in box 20 in the dashed column 4 of fig. 1. As mentioned above, it should be appreciated that instead of sending a notification as described in step 30, the SVM service may send the SVM directly to the intended recipient without giving the recipient the freedom to do or not accept. This may be the case, for example, in a traditional SMS or Instant Messaging (IM) environment, where the sender first determines whether the intended recipient is available through a presence service, and the intended recipient has actually acquiesced its availability by pre-joining a "buddy list" or subscribing to the service. In that case, the voice message spoken by the originating user (initiating user) is sent directly to the user equipment of the intended recipient, may be announced without further intervention, or may be recorded in the recipient's SIM card for the recipient to decide on playback at will.

It will be appreciated that the processes shown in figures 1 and 2 may be reversed, i.e. messaging from user 32 to user 10, to effect a communication exchange between the two users.

The short voice message service may be implemented in a GSM network as shown in fig. 3. A Short Voice Message (SVM) service center 50 is shown along with an interconnecting MSC 52 connected to a GSM network subsystem 56 by a line 54. The gateway 58 serves as an interconnection between the SVMSC 50 and a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)58 of another GSM network 59, where the network 59 includes an MSC 60, a BSC 62, and a BTS 64. The first-mentioned GSM network subsystem 56 also includes an MSC 66 coupled to a Base Station Subsystem (BSS)68 and other base station subsystems 70 for communicating with a plurality of mobile stations, only one of which 72 is shown for convenience. The BSS 68 includes one or more transceiver stations (BTSs) 74 and a base station controller 76, with the base station controller 76 in turn connected to the MSC 66. The MSC is also connected to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and/or an ISDN network 78 for allowing the mobile station to communicate with wireline telephones in a circuit-switched manner. The MSC 66 is also coupled to a plurality of databases including a VLR 80, an HLR82, an EIR 84 and an AuC 86, which may be coupled directly to the MSC or to the MSC via a data network 80 and an operations and maintenance center 82. An interworking function (not shown) may be required between the data network 80 and the MSC 58.

The SVMSC 50 of fig. 3 may utilize the protocol layers of an existing SMS point-to-point service that has the capability to transmit short messages, e.g., 140 bytes (octets) of data, in each Packet Data Unit (PDU). In accordance with an SMS feature particularly useful with the present invention, the SMS service provides the ability to link messages of a length that can be increased to, for example, 38760 or 16830, depending on the character encoding scheme employed. In accordance with the present invention, the concatenated PDUs can be concatenated together in any combination of 1 to 255 PDUs from each 140 byte to form a short voice message. Thus, a short voice message such as that shown in fig. 1 and 2 may be communicated between the mobile station 72 of one GSM network subsystem 56 and another mobile station 90 associated with another GSM network subsystem 59. The sequence of steps shown in FIG. 2 from the originating user 10 to the receiving user 32 may proceed in the reverse direction so that the user 32 sends a response to the user 10. In the case shown in fig. 3, this exchange takes place entirely between the GSM network subsystems 56 and 59.

It should be appreciated that in addition to implementing the present invention in the GSM network subsystems 56 and 59 of fig. 3, other approaches are possible, particularly in view of the evolution of GSM networks in turn towards packet-based infrastructure via General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). As shown in fig. 4, the GPRS infrastructure 90 can connect to various data networks including, for example, the internet 92 or x.25 networks 94. At the user end, User Equipment (UE)96 is connected via a radio link (Um) to base transceiver station 98, which base transceiver station 98 is in turn connected to a base station controller 100 connected to GPRS infrastructure 90. GPRS is a data service for GSM. It is a packet switched mobile data communication service, which is the next development stage of GSM. It allows relatively high-speed mobile data communication applications and is very useful for "bursty" data applications such as mobile internet browsing, email and push (push) technologies, it can also be applied to the SVM service of the present invention. Speeds up to 150kbps have been demonstrated. The GPRS infrastructure includes: a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN)102, which is connected to the BSC 100; and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN)104 that may interface with packet data networks 92 and 94. SGSN 102 and GGSN 104 may be interconnected by a GPRS backbone (IP based) 106. SGSN 102 may be coupled to HLR 108 similar to HLR 74 of fig. 3. It may also be connected to an SVM service 110 similar to the SVM service center 50 of fig. 3 for connecting to GSM network subsystems, other GPRS infrastructure, etc., in accordance with the present invention.

The present invention may also be implemented in a UMTS packet network architecture as shown in figure 5. Fig. 5 shows a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) infrastructure 120 that connects to a data network 122, such as the internet. On the user side, user equipment 124 is connected by one or more radio links (Uu) to one or more respective node bs 126, which node bs 126 are in turn connected (Iub) with respective Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) 128. The RNCs 128 may be interconnected as shown in the figure (Iur) for improved radio link and for ease of handover. The RNC 128 interfaces with the UMTS infrastructure 120 via an Iu interface to a third generation serving GPRS support node (3G-SGSN) 140. This may also be coupled to HLR 142 similar to HLR 108 of figure 4 and HLR 74 of figure 3. The 3G-SGSN 140 may be connected to a 3G gateway GPRS support node (3G-GGSN)142 via an IP based UMTS backbone 144. It may also be connected to an SVM service 146 similar to the SVM service center 50 shown in fig. 3 for connecting to GSM network subsystems, other UMTS infrastructures, GPRS infrastructures, etc., in accordance with the present invention. The present invention may be implemented using the networks of fig. 4 and 5, as shown in the open architecture example of fig. 6.

Fig. 6 illustrates a data network 160, such as data network 80 of fig. 3, data network 92 of fig. 4, or data network 122 of fig. 5. An Instant Messaging (IM) cloud (cloud)162 is located in the data network, which contains an instant messaging structure, such as the "interoperability of IMX architecture with american online instant messaging service" proposed by e.aoki and a.wick in Internet Draft (Internet Draft) "Draft-aol-IMX-00. txt" at 6 months and 15 days 2000. Such an open IM architecture is illustrated and discussed in, for example, IEEE Internet Computing, an unsigned article entitled "approval and criticism of AOL's instant Messaging advice triggering" dated 7-8 at 2000. This proposal for AOL contains three main methods to join the proposed public IM cloud. The IM system Hosts (IMSystems) may be public, may be aggregation units (aggregators), or may be proprietary gateways. In the IM cloud of fig. 6, a plurality of IM systems are shown, which communicate with each other using the open IMX protocol according to the above proposal. Communication between hosts of the IM cloud is via continuous TCP connections on demand, using the open IMX protocol. Which is represented by the open IMX protocol line 164 interconnecting the IM systems. Systems in the IM cloud employ proprietary or vendor-specific client protocols 180, 182, 184, 186, 188 to communicate outside the cloud. These protocols are server-to-server protocols and are distinct from the open IMX protocols that interconnect IM systems in the IM cloud. These vendor-specific client protocols may be different from one another and may be used to connect various entities to the IM cloud via data network 160. It should be noted that although IM cloud 162 is illustrated in data network 160, it may be a separate entity, connected to various clients directly or via data network 160. As many IM systems as needed may be part of IM cloud 162, per the AOL recommendations described above. Supplementing the recommendations, a company, IM service, or ISP may run its own IM system by being directly within the cloud or connected to the cloud via IM aggregation unit 190. For example, the ISP IM server 192 is connected to the IM system aggregation unit 190 via line 188. This ISP 192 may provide instant messaging services to IM clients 194 and 196, where IM clients 194 and 196 may be independent of each other. Also, a corporate IM server 198 may be connected to the aggregation unit 190 by way of the line 186 for providing IM services to its own clients 200, 202 and 204 inside and outside the corporation.

In addition to ISP 192 and corporate IM server 198 described above, short voice messages may be provided from or to clients 194, 196, 200, 202 and 204 or between clients via data network 160, for example, where data network 160 may contain IM cloud 162 in accordance with the present invention. Further, in addition to the IM system aggregation unit, other IM systems 206, 208, 210 may be provided for connecting the respective wireless user devices 96, 124 and other mobile stations, such as mobile station 72, to the IM cloud 162 for exchanging short voice messages between the wireless systems or between the various systems, including SVM exchanges between wireless and land-based systems.

Among the available solutions, IETF RFC2778, month 2, 2000 (before AOL proposal) has proposed: presence and instant messaging systems are provided in terms of "models for presence and instant messaging" by m.day (Lotus), j.rosenberg (Dynamiesoft), and h.sugano (Fujitsu). For example, fig. 7 illustrates an exemplary instant messaging service, in accordance with the present invention, in accordance with the presence model described above for a suitable SVM. The SVM presence service 248 is operable to accept SVM presence information, store it, and distribute it, for example, via line 252, for example. The SVM representation (sensitivity) 254 is a client that provides presence information to be stored and distributed via line 250. Another group of clients, referred to as SVM watchers, such as, for example, SVM watcher 256 in fig. 7, receive SVM presence information from SVM presence service 248 via line 252.

As shown in FIG. 8, according to the modification of RFC2778, there are two types of SVM monitors, called extraction unit (fetcher)258 and SVM subscriber (subscriber) 260. The SVM extraction unit 258 simply requests the presence service 248 for the current value of the presence information represented by a certain SVM. Instead, the SVM subscriber 260 requests a notification of a (future) change in the presence information represented by a certain SVM from the SVM presence service 248. The SVM extraction unit of the specific kind is an SVM extraction unit that periodically extracts SVM presence information. It is referred to as an SVM poller 262.

The SVM presence service 248 of fig. 7 also has SVM watcher information about SVM watchers and their activities in extracting or subscribing to SVM presence information. The SVM presence service may also distribute SVM watcher information to certain SVM watchers using the same mechanisms that may be used to distribute SVM presence information. Changes to SVM presence information are distributed to SVM subscribers via notifications.

Associated with the SVM presence service 248 of fig. 7 and 8 is an SVM service, as shown in fig. 9. The above-described RFC2778 simulates an instant messaging service that responds to messages from a sender for providing messages to an instant inbox. In fig. 9, a short voice message service 270 is shown responding to messages from SVM sender 272 for providing short voice messages to SVM inbox 274. It will thus be appreciated that the SVM service of the present invention may be implemented in accordance with the model of presence and instant messaging described in RFC2778, and in accordance with the proposed open IM architecture, such as that shown in fig. 6. If implemented according to the model of RFC2778, the SVM user will implement the roles implemented by a "principal," such as RFC2778, where the term "principal" refers to a person, group, and/or software in the "real world" outside the system that uses the system as a coordination and communication tool. The users 10 and 32 of fig. 1 are within this definition. In RFC2778, it is stated that: for how the real world maps to a "principal" it is entirely outside the model provided therein, i.e. the system of model entities only knows that two different principals are different and that two identical principals are identical. A principal interacts with the system via one of several User Agents (UAs), as shown in fig. 7 and 9. For example, a title "SIP: these user agents are implemented as defined in the Internet draft "ietf-sip-rfc 25436is-02. ps" of Session initiation protocol ". Thus, according to the invention, the presence service of fig. 7 is adapted to record the "presence" of SVM service users, and the principal interacts with such a modified system via an SVM presence UA 276 and an SVM monitor UA 278. Also, as shown in fig. 9, a principal user of the SVM service 270 interacts with an SVM sender UA 280 and an SVM inbox UA 282. It should be noted that the different kinds of user agents are separated in the model, as described in RFC2778, even though most implementations will incorporate at least part of it. The user agent is simply a connection between the principal and some core entity of the system (SVM inbox 274, SVM sender 272, SVM representation 254, SVM monitor 256). It will therefore be appreciated that the simple example shown in RFC2778 applies to the SVM service of the present invention.

Referring now to fig. 10, the SVM service of the present invention is shown as part of SVM presence information 290 in the presence service 248 of fig. 7. The presence information includes any number of elements, referred to as presence tuples 292, 294, 296. Each such element includes: status flags 298, 300 (which may convey information such as online/offline/busy/away/do-not-disturb); optional communication addresses 302, 304; and other optional presence marks (markup)306, 308. The communication addresses 302, 304 comprise communication means, according to the invention, SVM services 310, 312. It also includes SVM inbox addresses 314, 316 in accordance with the present invention. States 298, 300 are also defined, as directed by the model, having at least two states that interact with instant messaging: on, in this state, the phrase voice message will be accepted; and closed, in which state the phrase-tone message will not be accepted. The status is interpretable by a program or by a person and may include a single or multiple values, as described in the IETF model of RFC 2778.

Referring again to fig. 9, it will be appreciated that the SVM presence service of fig. 7 and 10 has the effect on short voice messaging traffic in that: since the SVM inbox 274 is the recipient of a short voice message, its SVM inbox address 314 may be included in the presence tuples 292, 294 to define how the short voice message should be sent to the short voice message inbox. As described above, certain values of the status flags 298, 300 indicate whether a phrase-voice message is to be accepted at the SVM inbox 274. Thus, the combination of the SVM presence service of FIG. 7 and the SVM service of FIG. 9 constitutes an IM system similar to that shown in FIG. 6, but in a more "open" architecture than that shown in FIG. 6.

One problem with prior art SMS systems is: the prior art SMS system is a proprietary system in which each SMS centre differs from vendor to vendor. In order to avoid such a problem in the SVM service of the present invention, an open RFC2778 method and the like are recommended. Other methods that facilitate a more transparent applicability of the SVM service of the present invention include a platform for integrating IP networks with short voice message services in mobile and fixed networks. For the mobile case, this integrated platform is compatible with the article "iSMS: the integration platform of short message service and IP networks "(IEEE Network, March/April 2001, pages 48-55) is similar to that described. In this article, instead of containing a proprietary SMSC and gateway interconnecting the mobile network to the IP network, a so-called iSMS gateway is proposed, which contains a mobile phone connected to a proprietary GSM network that communicates with a short message driver using an AT instruction set, which in turn communicates with an iSMS server connected to the IP network using TCP using a TCP API. This also allows GSM networks of different operators to interact with each other in a painless way. See, for example, fig. 5 of the aforementioned article by Chung-Hwa Rao, which is readily adaptable to the SVM service center of the present invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. This approach may also be used between IM system B gateway 206 and SVMSC 50 of fig. 6, thereby eliminating the need for gateway 58.

Referring now to fig. 11, a generalized SVMSC 50 is shown in connection with a first terminal 14 and a second terminal 30. The first terminal is used by a first user 10 and the second terminal 30 is used by a second user. Each terminal includes a display, microphone, speaker, and antenna associated therewith, although the wireless connection between the terminal and the SVMSC may be replaced by a wired connection for one or both terminals, as shown in fig. 6. The SVMSC of fig. 11 comprises a unit 320 for receiving an SVM from a first terminal, dictated by a first user, intended for a second user at a second terminal. The SVMSC can check the availability of the second terminal by means of a unit 322 for checking the availability. This may be present in whole or in part in one or both of said GSM networks. If the second terminal is available, the SVMSC immediately transmits the received voice message to the second terminal through unit 324.

The voice message may be temporarily stored in the SVMC's unit 326 for storing short voice messages until it is determined that the second terminal is available. In some implementations, it may be desirable to notify the second terminal of the SVM receiver before actually sending the SVM. In this case, a unit 328 for notification is provided in the SVMC, which is capable of notifying the second user of the second terminal that there is a received voice message directed from the first user to the second user. If the second user signals acceptance, the SVMSC causes the received SVM to be immediately transmitted to the second terminal. In other words, the received SVM is retrieved from the unit for temporarily storing SVMs 326 (or from another storage unit outside the SVMSC) and immediately transmitted to the second terminal.

Once the second user receives the SVM from the first user, the second user may do nothing at all, or respond. In this case, the second SVM is activated in a manner similar to that shown in fig. 1, but in the opposite direction. The SVMSC then receives the spoken short voice message from the second terminal by the second user and immediately transmits the received voice message to the first terminal. In some cases it may be desirable to check the availability of the first terminal before performing the step of immediately transmitting the received voice message from the second terminal to the first terminal if a significant time delay or for some other reason has elapsed between the transmission of the message from the first terminal to the second terminal and the initiation of the reply from the second terminal. This may be under the control of a timing algorithm.

It should also be noted that the short voice messages exchanged between the first and second terminals may also be stored at the terminals themselves after being transmitted from the SVMSC. Such short messages may be stored, for example, in the SIM card of the respective terminal, or in the case of a hard-wired terminal, in some storage medium, such as a hard disk drive, EEPROM or random access memory.

The various blocks shown in the SVMSC 50 of fig. 11 are shown connected to each other by a common bus 330, the common bus 330 in turn being connected to input/output (I/O) ports, which in turn are connected to a pair of mobile phones by an antenna or by other connections. These mobile telephones communicate with the antennas of the first and second terminals via respective GSM networks serving the first and second users, respectively. It should be appreciated that functionally, the various blocks shown in the SVMSC may be implemented in one or more integrated circuits or as part of software executed by a general purpose signal processor. In this case, bus 330 includes data, address, and control buses that interconnect various components, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), clock, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), and so forth. Also in this case, the ROM stores code used by the CPU to execute the functional blocks shown in fig. 11. For the illustrated case, where the first and second terminals 14 and 30 are subscribers of service providers of different companies, it is theoretically possible to implement SVMSCs in the manner of the sms gateway described above to improve the complexity of the interaction that would be caused by SVMSCs with proprietary interfaces. Thus, the SVMSC of fig. 11 is shown communicating with two independent GSM networks using the above-described iSMS method modified to the SVM service center model of the present invention. In this case, the SVMSC may be implemented in a laptop computer.

Fig. 12 shows details of a user device, such as user device 14 or user device 30 of fig. 1. It may include an input/output device 400, the input/output device 400 including, but not limited to, a keypad and a display. The keypad may be used to receive input from a sending user who is to dictate the SVM. This may be signaled by the sending user pressing a certain key of the keypad, resulting in a signal on line 402 to be supplied to unit 404, where unit 404 is used to receive, register, a signal on line 402 from the sending user of the SVM to be spoken. This results in a signal on line 406 to be provided to a unit 408, where unit 408 is used to prepare for receiving the SVM. Unit 408 in turn provides a signal via line 410 to unit 412 wherein unit 412 is adapted to receive the SVM spoken by the sending user into microphone 414, microphone 414 is adapted to provide the signal via line 416 to unit 412, and unit 412 is adapted to convert the signal on line 416 into an encoded signal representing speech for decoding by the receiving end for playback as speech. The coded signal may be provided to a cell 420 for temporary storage of the SVM via a line 419. Upon completion of the SVM message, the user may select a recipient via keypad 400, as shown in dashed box 2 of FIG. 1, wherein keypad 400 provides a selection signal via line 422 to element 424, element 424 for receiving such a signal from the sending user designating the intended recipient, which signal is encoded and provided via signal line 426 to element 428, and element 428 for retrieving the SVM stored in memory element 420, which SVM is communicated via line 430. The stored SVM, along with the encoded information specifying the intended recipient, is provided by signal line 432 to unit 434, which unit 434 is used to transmit the retrieved SVM to antenna 438 by line 436 for transmission to GSM network 442 via wireless link 440. Thereafter, it may be sent to an SVMSC similar to that in fig. 11.

Likewise, in the opposite direction, the other user equipment provides the SVM message to the SVMSC (which may be the same SVMSC) and to the GSM network 442, which in turn provides the notification to the antenna 438 via the radio link 440 for transmission via line 443 to the unit 444 for receiving such notification. The notification signal is provided to the display 400 via line 446 in a manner similar to that shown in the dashed divider 3 of fig. 1. The receiving user may then press a key to "load" or "ignore" the incoming SVM message. Assuming that the receiving user presses the key on the keypad corresponding to "load" signaling acceptance, a signal is provided via line 446 to element 444 for accepting the notified SVM message. The acceptance is signaled by line 443 to antenna 438 for transmission to the SVMSC via radio link 440 and GSM network 442. The SVMSC then provides the SVM to GSM network 442, which in turn provides it to antenna 438 via radio link 440 for transmission to unit 450 for receiving the SVM. The receiving unit 450 then provides the received SVM to the unit for storing a receiving SVM 420 via line 452. It may then be retrieved by unit 428 and provided for playback at unit 456 by line 454, where unit 456 is connected to a speaker 460 by signal line 458 for notifying the receiving user of the SVM. As with the SVMSC of fig. 11, the user equipment of fig. 12 may be implemented in various combinations of hardware and software, including general purpose or specialized signal processors. It is known in the art that these functionalities can be embodied in various combinations of hardware and software, and that their functionality is freely transferable between hardware and software implementations to various degrees.

The problem of entering a plurality of letters to form a short message can be overcome by converting a spoken SVM into text at the user terminal using speech recognition software and transmitting the converted text to the recipient via the conventional SMS infrastructure for display as text on the intended recipient's terminal or for playback by converting the text into speech such as simulated sound, without wishing to send a short voice message in speech form. In this case, with reference to fig. 12, the unit 412 for receiving a spoken SVM may comprise speech recognition software and a unit for converting recognized speech features into text, provided via the line 419 as characters such as are conventionally used in SMS, and occupying a very small capacity of the unit 420 for storing such messages. In this case, unit 428 retrieves the stored message and sends it to unit 434 via line 432 and to the recipient via antenna 438, wireless link 440, GSM network 442 and a conventional SMS network such as that shown, which in turn is connected to the GSM network of the intended recipient. Upon receipt, the recipient's terminal may display the incoming SMS message as text in a conventional SMS fashion, or may include hardware/software for converting the text to speech, such as simulated sound, for playback. In this case the user device of the recipient must contain a conversion unit in the retrieval unit 428 for converting the text message into a speech signal for playback and notification at the loudspeaker 460 via the line 454. However, if only text form, it may be displayed in the display 400 without such conversion.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the best mode embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and additions in the form and detail thereof may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. A method for providing a short voice message presence service (248) and a short voice message service (270), comprising:

at the short voice message presence service (248), providing (252) status (298) information in response to the short voice message presence information (290); and

at the short voice message service (270), responsive to a short voice message provided by a short voice messaging principal, providing the short voice message when the status information indicates availability for receipt of the short voice message.

2. A messaging system comprising at least one terminal and a short voice message presence service, wherein

The terminal includes:

a short voice message monitor user agent (278) for receiving short voice message presence information regarding the short voice message representation (254); and

a short voice message sender user agent (280) for providing a short voice message to a short voice message service (270) for delivery of the short voice message by the short voice message service (270) when the short voice message presence information indicates availability of receipt of the short voice message; and

the short voice message presence service comprising:

means for storing a short voice message from the terminal;

the method is characterized in that:

the short voice message presence information comprises presence tuples, each tuple comprising a status flag and a communication address identifying at least one of a short voice message service and a short voice message inbox address; and

the messaging system includes a short voice message service, responsive to a short voice message from a sending principal addressed to a short voice message inbox, for transmitting the short voice message when the short voice message presence information indicates availability of receipt of the short voice message at the short voice message inbox, wherein the indication for the availability of receipt is based on a check of the status flag of the short voice message presence information.

3. A terminal for accessing a short voice message service for receiving a short voice message from a short voice message transmitting end and for providing the short voice message to a short voice message inbox, the short voice message service being associated with a short voice message presence service for receiving short voice message presence information regarding a short voice message representation and for providing the short voice message presence information to a monitor, the terminal comprising:

a short voice message monitor user agent (278) for receiving short voice message presence information regarding the short voice message representation (254); and

a short voice message sender user agent (280) for providing a short voice message to a short voice message service (270) for delivery by the short voice message service (270) when the short voice message presence information indicates availability of reception of a short voice message.

4. The terminal of claim 3, further comprising:

a short voice message presence user agent (276) for interacting with the short voice message representation (254); and

a short voice message inbox user agent (282) to interact (274) with the short voice message inbox.

5. A method for providing messages between terminals used by subscribers in a short voice message service center for a telecommunications network, comprising:

receiving, in the short voice message service center, a short voice message sent from a first terminal for forwarding to a second user of a second terminal, the short voice message being dictated by a first user of the first terminal;

checking availability of the second terminal or a user thereof with a short voice message presence service, the presence service comprising a data structure embedded in a computer readable medium, wherein the data structure is a short voice message presence information (290) database for storing short voice message presence tuples (292, 294, 296,..., n), each tuple having a status flag (298) indicating availability for receiving short voice messages and a communication address (302, 304,..., n) indicating at least one of a short voice message service (310, 312,..., n) and a short voice message inbox address (314, 316,..., n); and

and if available, sending the short voice message from the short voice message service center to the second terminal.