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WO2006116881A1 - Procédé et système de fourniture d'appels téléphoniques - Google Patents

Procédé et système de fourniture d'appels téléphoniques Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2006116881A1
WO2006116881A1 PCT/CA2006/000754 CA2006000754W WO2006116881A1 WO 2006116881 A1 WO2006116881 A1 WO 2006116881A1 CA 2006000754 W CA2006000754 W CA 2006000754W WO 2006116881 A1 WO2006116881 A1 WO 2006116881A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
greeting
user
delivery
greetings
recipient
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/CA2006/000754
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Cody W. Bly
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of WO2006116881A1 publication Critical patent/WO2006116881A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
    • H04M3/50—Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers ; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
    • H04M3/53—Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages, i.e. mailbox systems
    • H04M3/533—Voice mail systems
    • H04M3/53316—Messaging centre selected by message originator
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
    • H04M3/42382—Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
    • H04M3/487—Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
    • H04M3/493—Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M2203/00—Aspects of automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M2203/20—Aspects of automatic or semi-automatic exchanges related to features of supplementary services
    • H04M2203/2072—Schedules, e.g. personal calendars

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to the field of interactive systems for providing automated and pre-personalized greetings and/or messages. More particularly, the present invention relates to interactive systems in which users may customize greetings over the Internet and have them delivered to a recipient using various means, including telephony-based devices.
  • Greeting cards are available for nearly any conceivable purpose, including birthdays; anniversaries; calendar-based religious or national holidays; life events; encouragement; etc. Greeting cards are generally sent between individuals, or amongst groups of individuals.
  • greeting cards or other pre-printed media to maintain communication with clients.
  • a dental clinic may send periodic printed reminders to clients to encourage regular appointments, or a salon may conduct mass mailings of printed documents promoting a particular service, or providing coupons or discounts to regular clients. Businesses may also wish to send holiday greetings to colleagues or business acquaintances.
  • the greeting card/printed media industry is lucrative, a substantial portion of revenue is allocated to paper costs, printing costs and artists' costs, as well as advertising. These costs are passed on to the consumer, resulting in an average greeting card price of approximately $3 USD.
  • Electronic greeting cards and messaging services are available on the Internet through numerous providers. These are electronic files that can be sent to the recipient by email. Generally, e-cards are available for various events, religious and lifestyle persuasions, and are convenient in that the card or message can be pre-selected and personalized, and the sender may schedule the greeting for delivery on any specific date in the future. Although such electronic e-card services are generally free, or are available to consumers at minimal cost, these services require the message recipient to have an Internet connection, preferably an ADSL or Cable Internet connection. The initial appeal of these Internet-based services is fading, with many consumers avoiding the use of free online e- greeting services due to the overwhelming amounts of unwanted incoming email messages that typically result from registration for these "free" services.
  • a system for delivering a text or audio greeting to one or more recipients comprising: a web-enabled user interface; a customization module enabling a user to select and customize a greeting for delivery to one or more recipients; and a delivery module for enabling delivery of the greeting to the one or more recipients over a telephone network or the internet.
  • the system further comprises a user account module enabling a user to establish and access a user account within the system and/or where the user account module includes a credit module for selling greeting credits to a user and storing greeting credits for the user.
  • the customization module enables a user to browse a menu of audio greetings; select a greeting; customize the greeting; provide contact information for delivery of the greeting to a recipient; and, select a desired delivery date for delivery of the greeting to the recipient utilizing credits stored in a user's account.
  • the customization module enables one or more greetings to be delivered at one or more dates.
  • the system may also enable a user to create a directory of user defined recipients and the menu of audible greetings may include categories of greetings for a variety of occasions. Audio greetings may also be set to music.
  • at least a portion of a customized audio greeting is assembled by the system based on customized text entered by the user.
  • the audio greeting is delivered in the voice of a known character or celebrity.
  • the delivery module enables: assembly of the audio file corresponding to the customized greeting; queuing the voice file for delivery by telephony to the recipient; confirmation of the delivery status of the customized greeting; and user notification as to the delivery status of the greeting.
  • the invention provides a method of creating and delivering an audio or text greeting to a recipient comprising the steps of: providing a website interface within a greeting delivery system enabling a user to customize and deliver a greeting to one or more recipients over a telephone network or the internet.
  • the method further may further include the step of requiring a user to establish and access a user account within the system, selling greeting credits to a user and storing greeting credits for the user within a user account and/or enabling a user to browse a menu of audio greetings; select a greeting; customize the greeting; provide contact information for delivery of the greeting to a recipient; and, select a desired delivery date for delivery of the greeting to the recipient utilizing credits stored in a user ' s account.
  • Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a greeting selection and customization method for use in accordance with an embodiment of the invention
  • Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a greeting management system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
  • Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a greeting delivery system for use in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
  • the present invention provides a method and system for selecting, personalizing, and delivering automated greetings.
  • the present invention provides a system through which a user may register, purchase greeting credits, select appropriate greetings for delivery to one or more recipients, and personalize each greeting, if desired. The user can then set appropriate delivery dates and times for each greeting, and each greeting will be delivered by the system accordingly. For example, an individual with a large extended family may use the system to pre-select and personalize birthday greetings for each of his family members for delivery on the birthdays of each individual family member, thereby avoiding the cost and effort associated with periodically sending paper greeting cards to each family member by mail.
  • a user may use an Internet connection to access system 10.
  • the system 10 may be managed by equipment well-known in the art, so as to interact with a web-enabled user interface.
  • a pre-registered user may access the web-enabled user interface, log in and begin browsing and customizing greetings 11. If the user has not previously registered with the system, the user will do so through the sign up tool 12. An unregistered user may be permitted to browse available greetings, but must register or log in to customize and send greetings through the system.
  • the user may choose to send the greeting(s), which will prompt the system to determine whether sufficient credits 12 exist in the user's account to send the greeting. If insufficient credits are present, the user will be prompted 14 to purchase credits 15, which may be offered in packages (eg. 10 credits for $9.95, 25 credits for $19.95, 75 credits for $49.95, etc). Once credits have been used to purchase the greetings desired by the user, the system may request confirmation of the greeting 13 by playing the complete greeting for the user. The user may proceed to schedule delivery of the greeting 16, save the greeting to the saved greetings menu 17, or edit the greeting 18. Sign Up Tool 12
  • a user may be asked to provide a wide range of information, which may include name, email address, telephone number, password selection, etc.
  • the user may select a package or level of service, and may set personal preferences, for example, relating to receipt of notifications, updates, or promotions offered through the system.
  • the user may also indicate whether he or she wishes to be contacted by the system for the purpose of surveys or other promotions, which may result in the user receiving free greeting credits.
  • Method for Browsing and Customizing Greetings 11 When a user browses the website to select or preview greetings, the system may display a list of the most popular greetings, and/or the user may browse through lists of pre-recorded greetings.
  • the greetings may be categorized, for example: Birthday, Christmas, irritation, Flirts, Get Well, Inspirational, Insults, Love, Miss You, Stress Relief, Thank you, Wake-up Calls, etc.
  • a category all of the available greetings within that category will appear, which may be previewed by the user.
  • selection of a "Play" function may allow the user to listen to an MP3 file of an audible greeting.
  • the greetings may be set to music, and in one embodiment, the user may select the background music that will play during delivery of the greeting.
  • the user may customize or personalize the greeting. For example, if the user is a salon owner, the user may wish to customize an introduction to say, "Dear loyal customer", and to include the salon name as the sender. Alternatively, if the user is an individual sending a Mother's Day greeting to his wife, he may customize the introduction to say "To my darling Jennifer from your loving husband”. Further, a secret admirer may elect to customize a greeting to the recipient, but choose not to have any sender information given in the greeting. The user may store a list of customized introductions, and may also store a list of recipients so as to be easily accessible for later use.
  • the greeting is delivered to the recipient by telephone or other means of audible communication, such as a .wav file delivered over the Internet.
  • the customized greeting may include the sender's voice in part or all of the greeting.
  • the text of the selected greeting could be displayed for the user to read into the system via a microphone or telephone, or the user could record their own, unique greeting without choosing a preset greeting from the system.
  • the preset greetings within the system may be pre-recorded or created in the voice of various characters or celebrities, and the sender could add further text to customize the message, which would be delivered in the same character or celebrity voice.
  • Methods for assembling voice files are known in the art, and could be delivered by the system, as described below.
  • the user may save the greeting to the "My Greetings Menu" 17, or may send 16 or edit 18 the greeting.
  • Greetings may be delivered by various means, such as by standard telephone, over the Internet, by voice messaging, to a cellular or satellite telephone etc.
  • the recipient contact information may be specifically entered by the user, or the user may upload a telephone list or provide a directory service as a source of named or anonymous recipients.
  • the greeting may be scheduled by the user for delivery to the recipient by identifying the desired date(s) and time(s) for delivery. If the greeting is to be delivered to more than one recipient, the dates of delivery to each recipient may be independently selected by the user. To simplify delivery of greetings by the system, it is preferable that greetings be delivered only in specific increments of time. For example, the user may select the delivery time in 15 minute increments, which will schedule delivery of the message within the selected 15 minute time window.
  • the system may not actually deliver the voice greeting, but may deliver to the recipient a telephone number and access code to allow the recipient to access the voice greeting by telephone.
  • the telephone number and access code may be delivered by email, text messaging, or other means.
  • the user may also be the recipient, and the system is used to provide periodic inspirational greetings or stress relief voice messages to the user.
  • the user may enter a list of important dates, and use the system to deliver telephony reminders of these dates to himself so that these important dates are not forgotten.
  • this menu may contain saved greetings 21, greetings that have been customized and scheduled for delivery 22, and greetings that have been sent previously by the system 23.
  • the user may view greetings that have previously been saved. These greetings may or may not be customized, and the user may use this menu to store favourite or commonly used greetings, or may simply select various appealing greetings that may be customized and scheduled at a later time. Recipient lists may also be stored in this menu. Any greeting in this menu may be further edited or customized, new or additional recipients may be added, and the saved greeting may be scheduled for delivery, at which time the scheduled greeting would be moved by the system into the Scheduled Greeting Menu 22.
  • the Saved Greetings Menu 21 contains all of the Greetings that have been saved, customized, or sent by the user. The user would then have the option of editing 24 the greetings, or deleting 25 any of the greetings from this menu.
  • the Saved Greetings Menu 21 will be particularly useful to business users, who may send out identical messages at various times of the year. For example, a dental office may send appointment reminders to clients a day in advance of the client appointment.
  • the Saved Greetings Menu may therefore contain certain standard greetings such that minimal customization is necessary prior to delivery of each individual greeting.
  • the office administrator may easily select the greeting from the Saved Greetings Menu 21, and may edit 24 the greeting to add a recipient list such that all greetings or appointment reminders will be sent to clients with upcoming appointments.
  • the scheduled greetings would be saved to the Scheduled Greetings Folder 22, while the basic greeting would remain in the Saved Greetings Menu 21 for use with another group of recipients.
  • the system may link to the business user's internal database in order to automate the process of customizing and scheduling greetings for delivery to appropriate recipients.
  • the user may view all scheduled greetings, and may cancel 26 or edit 27 any of the greetings.
  • Sent Greetings Menu 23 The Sent Greetings Menu displays all previously sent greetings, as well as any errors or problems encountered by the system in delivering each greeting. If a greeting was not delivered successfully, the system may be configured to attempt to resend the greeting a certain number of times, after which the greeting will be displayed in the Sent Greetings Menu as a failed delivery. The user may edit such failed greetings to determine the source of the failure, and may reschedule 28 the greeting for delivery.
  • Greeting Delivery System Voice greetings may be delivered by telephone to the desired recipient in accordance with the method shown in Figure 3.
  • a voice file may be assembled from the user-customized digital greeting file according to methods known in the art.
  • the greeting text may be parsed to convert the text to a voice file, which will be created in the voice desired by the user, if applicable, and any background music may be added to the file.
  • the system will then queue the file for delivery according to the delivery method selected by the user.
  • the system 10 may send the greeting file to an electronic call management system, such as IVRnetTM for delivery.
  • an electronic call management system such as IVRnetTM for delivery.
  • a process for such delivery is shown in Figure 3, in which the system website sends an XML file to a FTP site hosted by the electronic call management system 31.
  • the XML file is parsed 32 for the phone number and to assemble the voice file, converting the text to speech using appropriate technology, such as NeospeechTM.
  • the electronic call management system queues and prioritizes 33 the voice file for delivery. Calls are distributed 34 through the call system, and are delivered, following which the delivery status is confirmed 35 to the user through the system website via the Sent Greetings Menu 23 or otherwise.
  • the system may further include additional features to optimize delivery of greetings to the recipients when greetings are delivered by telephone, such as identity confirmation, detection of automated answering services, etc. Such features will ensure that greetings are delivered to the recipient in as personal a manner as possible.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Information Transfer Between Computers (AREA)

Abstract

A system and method for customizing and delivering telephony greetings to a recipient is described. The system and method enable a customized voice greeting to be pre-selected and delivered to a recipient at a pre-scheduled time. The system enables a user to schedule personalized voice greetings for future delivery by telephone, cellular phone, or over the Internet, to one or more recipients. The system may be used by business clients to deliver information or greetings to clients or other businesses using an automated system, thereby reducing administrative time in making calls personally.
PCT/CA2006/000754 2005-05-05 2006-05-05 Procédé et système de fourniture d'appels téléphoniques Ceased WO2006116881A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US67781805P 2005-05-05 2005-05-05
US60/677,818 2005-05-05

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2006116881A1 true WO2006116881A1 (fr) 2006-11-09

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/CA2006/000754 Ceased WO2006116881A1 (fr) 2005-05-05 2006-05-05 Procédé et système de fourniture d'appels téléphoniques

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Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5787151A (en) * 1995-05-18 1998-07-28 Northern Telecom Limited Telephony based delivery system of messages containing selected greetings
WO2000072236A1 (fr) * 1999-05-25 2000-11-30 Silverbrook Research Pty. Ltd. Methode de remise de carte de voeux et systeme correspondant
WO2001010128A1 (fr) * 1999-08-03 2001-02-08 Videoshare, Inc. Messager video instantane
US6288319B1 (en) * 1999-12-02 2001-09-11 Gary Catona Electronic greeting card with a custom audio mix
US20030191816A1 (en) * 2000-01-11 2003-10-09 Spoovy, Llc System and method for creating and delivering customized multimedia communications
US20040001219A1 (en) * 2002-06-28 2004-01-01 Xin Wen Personalized photo greeting cards
US20040044723A1 (en) * 2002-08-27 2004-03-04 Bell Cynthia S. User interface to facilitate exchanging files among processor-based devices

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5787151A (en) * 1995-05-18 1998-07-28 Northern Telecom Limited Telephony based delivery system of messages containing selected greetings
WO2000072236A1 (fr) * 1999-05-25 2000-11-30 Silverbrook Research Pty. Ltd. Methode de remise de carte de voeux et systeme correspondant
US20050179943A1 (en) * 1999-05-25 2005-08-18 Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd. System and method for delivering a greeting card to a user
WO2001010128A1 (fr) * 1999-08-03 2001-02-08 Videoshare, Inc. Messager video instantane
US6288319B1 (en) * 1999-12-02 2001-09-11 Gary Catona Electronic greeting card with a custom audio mix
US20030191816A1 (en) * 2000-01-11 2003-10-09 Spoovy, Llc System and method for creating and delivering customized multimedia communications
US20040001219A1 (en) * 2002-06-28 2004-01-01 Xin Wen Personalized photo greeting cards
US20040044723A1 (en) * 2002-08-27 2004-03-04 Bell Cynthia S. User interface to facilitate exchanging files among processor-based devices

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