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Claims  |
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We claim:
1. A method for communication between a user using a telephone and an
electronic logic device, which device includes a table of menus containing
a plurality of menus, each of which contains data and not logic
instructions, and a logic memory and processor containing logic steps
executed by the processor upon invocation of each menu, each menu
including specification of actions to be taken by the processor upon
receipt of any of a plurality of possible inputs, comprising:
including in the logic steps which are executed upon invocation of a menu a
play prompt step and a get response step; and,
when the menu is invoked, executing both the play prompt step and the get
response step before proceeding to another menu from the table of menus.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
including in a menu in the table of menus a specification of the prompt to
be played by the play prompt step.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
including in a menu in the table of menus a specification that no prompt
shall be played by the play prompt step.
4. A method for communication between a user using a telephone and an
electronic logic device including a user input receiver, a table of menus
containing a plurality of menus, and a logic memory and processor
containing logic steps executed by the processor upon invocation of each
menu, each menu including specification of actions to be taken by the
processor upon receipt of any of a plurality of possible inputs,
comprising:
(a) including in the logic steps which are executed upon invocation of each
menu a play prompt step and a get response step,
(b) including in a menu in the table of menus a specification of the prompt
to be played by the play prompt step,
(c) displaying to the user a representation of the contents of a selected
menu of the table of menus,
(d) receiving from the user a command to move a cursor on the display and
accordingly moving the cursor,
(e) receiving from the user a command to change, at the location of the
cursor, a specification of a prompt to be played by the play prompt step
upon invocation of the selected menu, and
(f) changing the specification of the prompt to be played by the play
prompt step upon invocation of the selected menu.
5. An apparatus for communication between a user using a telephone and an
electronic logic device, which device includes a table of menus containing
a plurality of menus, each of which contains data and not logic
instructions, and a logic memory and processor containing logic step
instructions executed by the logic memory and processor upon invocation of
each menu, each menu including specification of actions to be taken by the
processor upon receipt of any of a plurality of possible inputs, wherein:
the logic step instructions contained in the logic memory and processor for
execution upon invocation of a menu include a play prompt instruction and
a get response instruction both of which are executed before proceeding to
another menu from the table of menus.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:
a menu in the table of menus includes a specification of the prompt to be
played by the play prompt instruction.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:
a menu in the table of menus includes a specification that no prompt shall
be played by the play prompt instruction.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the electronic logic device further
includes a user input receiver, the apparatus further comprising:
(a) means for displaying to the user a representation of the contents of a
menu of the table of menus,
(b) means for receiving from the user a command to move a cursor on the
display and accordingly moving the cursor,
(c) means for receiving from the user a command to change, at the location
of the cursor, a specification of a prompt to be played by the play prompt
instruction upon invocation of the menu and
(d) means for making the commanded change to the table of menus.
9. A method of operating an apparatus for communication between a user
using a telephone and an electronic logic device which presents to the
user a choice of any set of menus from a plurality of sets of menus
contained within a table of menus, each of the sets of menus including an
end result which is included in each of the other sets of menus,
comprising:
(a) establishing a connection to the user,
(b) identifying the user and receiving an indication of the user's choice
of a set of menus,
(c) storing in a memory the identity of the user and, associated therewith,
a parameter indicating the set of menus chosen by the user,
(d) breaking the connection to the user, and
(e) when the user subsequently uses the apparatus, identifying the user,
retrieving the parameter stored in the memory, and presenting to the user
the set of menus previously chosen by the user.
10. An apparatus for communication between a user using a telephone and an
electronic logic device which presents to the user a choice of any set of
menus from a plurality of sets of menus contained within a table of menus,
each of the sets of menus including an end result which is included in
each of the other sets of menus, comprising:
(a) means for establishing a connection to the user,
(b) means for identifying the user and receiving an indication of the
user's choice of a set of menus,
(c) memory means for storing the identity of the user and, associated
therewith, a parameter indicating the set of menus chosen by the user,
(d) means for breaking the connection with the user, and
(e) means for, when the user subsequently uses the apparatus, identifying
the user, retrieving the parameter stored in the memory, and presenting to
the user the set of menus previously chosen by the user.
11. A method of operating an apparatus for communication between a user
using a telephone and an electronic logic device which presents to the
user a set of menus from a table of menus containing a plurality of sets
of menus, each set of menus containing a set of choices, comprising:
offering to the user a choice of any one set of menus from a plurality of
sets of menus contained within a table of menus, each of the sets of menus
including an end result of a change to be effected by the electronic logic
device while continuing to operate within the chosen set of menus which
end result is included in each of the other sets of menus, the set of
choices within one of said sets of menus being neither a subset of the set
of choices within any other of the sets of menus nor a superset of the set
of choices within any other of the sets of menus, and
presenting to the user the set of menus chosen by the user.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the electronic logic device also
identifies the user, further comprising:
(a) identifying the user and receiving an indication of the user's choice
of sets of menus from the table of menus,
(b) storing in a memory the identity of the user and, associated therewith,
a parameter indicating the set of menus chosen by the user, and
(c) when the user subsequently uses the apparatus, identifying the user,
retrieving the parameter stored in the memory, and presenting to the user
the set of menus previously chosen by the user.
13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:
receiving from the user a command entered at the telephone, entered while
the apparatus is operating with a first set of menus from the table of
menus, which command causes the apparatus to follow a second set of menus
in place of the first set of menus, said second set of menus containing a
set of choices which is neither a subset of the set of choices within the
first set of menus nor a superset of the set of choices within the first
set of menus.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
receiving from the user a command entered at the telephone, entered while
the apparatus is operating with the second set of menus from the table of
menus, which command causes the apparatus to return to the first set of
menus.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
upon causing the apparatus to follow a second set of menus, causing further
information to be presented explaining to the user the options then
available.
16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
receiving from the user a command to perform one of: (1) move and (2) copy
a menu from a first set of menus within the table of menus to a second set
of menus within the table of menus and modifying the table of menus to
accomplish the command.
17. An apparatus for communication between a user using a telephone and an
electronic logic device which presents to the user a set of menus from a
table of menus containing a plurality of sets of menus, each set of menus
containing a set of choices, comprising:
means for offering to the user a choice of any one set of menus from a
plurality of sets of menus contained within a table of menus each of the
sets of menus including an end result of a change to be effected by the
electronic logic device while continuing to operate within the chosen set
of menus which end result is included in each of the other sets of menus,
the set of choices within one of said sets of menus being neither a subset
of the set of choices within any other of the sets of menus nor a superset
of the set of choices within any other of the sets of menus, and
means for presenting to the user the set of menus chosen by the user.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:
(a) means for identifying the user and receiving an indication of the
user's choice of sets of menus from the table of menus,
(b) memory means for storing the identity of the user and, associated
therewith, a parameter indicating the set of menus chosen by the user, and
(c) means for, when the user subsequently uses the apparatus, identifying
the user, retrieving the parameter stored in the memory, and presenting to
the user the set of menus previously chosen by the user.
19. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:
switching means for causing the receipt of a command entered at the
telephone, entered while the apparatus is operating with a first set of
menus from the table of menus, to cause the apparatus to follow a second
set of menus in place of the first set of menus, said second set of menus
containing a set of choices which is neither a subset of the set of
choices within the first set of menus nor a superset of the set of choices
within the first set of menus.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:
means for causing the receipt of a command entered at the telephone,
entered while the apparatus is operating with the second set of menus from
the table of menus, to cause the apparatus to return to the first set of
menus.
21. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:
means, responsive to the switching means, for causing further information
to be presented explaining to the user the options then available.
22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the electronic logic device also
includes means for receiving command input from a user, further
comprising:
editing means for performing one of: (1) moving and (2) copying a menu from
a first set of menus within the table of menus to a second set of menus
within the table of menus upon receipt of a command. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND
Beginning first with telephone answering devices, many devices are now
available in the market place which allow a person connected by telephone
to the device to generate touchtones which are interpreted by the device
and which cause the device to take one or more of many actions or
features. Examples include automated attendant switchboard systems which
allow the caller to specify which person or department he or she wishes to
reach, voice messaging systems which allow the device owner or callers to
record and retrieve messages, audio information services which allow a
caller to access recorded messages with different kinds of information or
have the device fax to the caller information in printed form, and remote
controllers for electronic components which allow the component to be
operated remotely via a telephone connection.
Each of these devices presents the user with a set of menus, each menu
containing choices which may be selected by entering touchtone commands at
the caller's telephone. Most of these devices play for the caller prompts,
which are prerecorded messages informing the caller of his or her options.
If the number of features available in the device is small, all of the
features can be presented at one time and there will be only one menu.
Often, the features will be organized in a hierarchy of menus with certain
features grouped together in a sub-menu which can be accessed by a
selection from the menu at the level above. Unless there are only two
features available to a caller, the features can always be organized in a
hierarchy of menus. Typically, there are many possible structures for this
hierarchy. For example, the hierarchy can be organized such that no more
than two options are presented at any one time, such as, "yes" or "no".
This creates a menu system which is very easy to understand and navigate,
but it requires passing through many levels before the desired end result
feature is reached.
As electronic devices which can be controlled through a telephone have
become more complex, the number of features has proliferated, creating
very complex menu structures. To make navigation of these menus easier,
some devices present the caller with a choice of different sets of menus
for beginners and advanced users. Typically, the beginner's set of menus
has long and detailed prompts while the advanced user's set of menus has
terse, cryptic prompts. Also, the advanced user's set of menus may offer
more features than the beginner's set of menus. In addition, some devices
allow the use of certain touchtones to go back to the previous level of
the menu hierarchy or to escape the menu hierarchy and return to the first
level.
The above beginner/advanced menu structures have a subset/superset
relationship. As discussed herein a first set of menus is a subset of a
second set of menus if the only changes are the wording of the prompts and
the addition of choices in menus of the second set of menus that were not
available in the first set of menus. If the one or more menus of the first
and second set each have choices different from the choices in the
corresponding menu of the other set then the two sets of menus have no
subset/superset relation.
In addition, some devices define a certain key stroke or sequence of key
strokes %o invoke a "help" recording. Typically, the recording that is
played when help is invoked depends upon the menu prompt that was last
played and contains an elaboration of the information in the prompt.
Once the logic control for a device has been programmed to implement a
particular set of menus, reprogramming the interface to implement a
different set of menus requires essentially the same process and the same
technical understanding as the programming of the original design.
A typical logic sequence, which is written in a computer programming
language, works like this:
1. play prompt: the standard greeting.
2. play prompt: To check your messages, press 1; to record a message, press
2; to change your setup, press 3.
(a) If touchtone 1 pressed: play prompt: you have.sub.-- new messages. To
play new messages, press 1, to play old messages, press 2, to return to
main menu, press *.
(i) If touchtone 1 pressed: play prompt: to exit playing of messages, press
*, to delete a message, press #; play new messages.
(ii) If touchtone 2 pressed: play prompt: to exit playing of messages,
press *, to delete a message, press #; play old messages.
(iii) If touchtone * pressed: return to step 2.
(iv) If any other or no touchtone is pressed, return to step 2.
(b) If touchtone 2 pressed: play prompt: Record your message. When you have
finished recording, press 1.
(i) If touchtone 1 pressed: play prompt: enter the box number of the person
to receive your message.
(1) If touchtones are pressed, record #, send message, and return to step
2.
(2) If no touchtones are pressed, return to step (i), and if no touchtones
are pressed again, return to step 2.
(ii) If any other or no touchtone is pressed, return to step (b), and if
any other or no touchtone is pressed again, return to step 2.
(c) If touchtone 3 pressed: play prompt: To change your greeting, press 1;
to turn on message forwarding; press 2; to turn off message forwarding,
press 3.
(i) If touchtone 1 pressed: play prompt: Record new greeting. When you have
finished recording, press 1.
(1) If touchtone 1 pressed: play prompt: to listen to your greeting, press
1; to return to main menu, press *.
(A) If touchtone 1 pressed: play greeting.
(B) If touchtone * pressed: return to step 2.
(C) If any other or no touchtone is pressed, return to step (1), and if any
other or no touchtone is pressed again, return to step 2.
(2) If any other or no touchtone is pressed, return to step (i), and if any
other or no touchtone is pressed again, return to step 2.
(ii) If touchtone 2 pressed: play prompt: Message forwarding now on; return
to step 2.
(iii) If touchtone 3 pressed: play prompt: Message forwarding now off;
return to step 2.
(iv) If any other or no touchtone is pressed, return to step (c), and if
any other or no touchtone is pressed again, return to step 2.
(d) If any other touchtone or no touchtone pressed: return to step 2, and
if any other or no touchtone is pressed again, play prompt: Goodbye; and
exit.
In the example above, each time the words "play prompt" appear, a new menu
is presented to the user. Two of those menus, the first and the last, do
not call for any action by the user. The program logic simply continues
after the prompt is played. Notice that 13 menus are contained in the
above example. Many actual contemporary systems employ more than 30 menus.
If each menu requires an average of 8 lines of computer program code to
implement, the total set of menus will require 240 lines of code. In the
above example, there are 22 logical steps. Programming this example in a
programming language would require many more than 22 lines of code.
In the prior art, when a set of menus like the above example is programmed,
the programmer implements each of the logic steps in the listed sequence
by writing lines of code to implement each step. An implementation of the
above example will contain a command for "play prompt" thirteen times,
once for each time a prompt is to be played. Likewise, the implementation
will contain a sequence of code which represents "if any other or no
touchtone is pressed, return to step 2" seven times.
The programming or modification of a set of menus is very complicated. It
requires a skilled programmer to write the original lines of computer
program code or to change the lines of code. To change the recording of a
particular prompt simply requires changing a sound recording stored at a
particular address in the system. This is easy for the user to do.
However, to change the structure of the menus, to move a feature option
from one menu to another, to break a long menu into two short menus, or to
give the user another exit point in the menu structure, is very difficult
and complicated. When a set of menus is created or modified, great
attention must be paid to each detail to be sure that all possible
branches are considered. Otherwise, the program will not function
correctly if an unspecified touchtone is selected.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The basic components of the disclosed invention constitute a system for
creating and operating menu structures for any logic device that can be
operated via a telephone. The system allows the owner and/or user of the
device to easily design any desired set of menus with any desired
recordings of prompts to create an interface which is particularly suited
to the needs of that owner or user. This system allows the owner or user
of the device to create such sets of menus without knowing how to
generally program the logic means contained within the device.
The system assigns to each menu a certain number and allows any touchtone
selection, or no touchtone selection, to cause the execution of an action,
which may be a feature, and then invoke any other menu number within the
system. A set of menus is designed by specifying all the parameters for
each menu in the set.
The logic sequence is programmed only once for implementation of all menus
of a set and any other conceivable menu. The flow chart for this logic
sequence is shown in FIG. 2. Creation of additional menus does not require
the keying or copying of any programming commands. Instead, to create an
additional menu, an additional line of numbers is added to a table such as
Table 2, below. Consequently, menus can be modified or added by a user who
does not understand programming and does not even know what a programming
command is, let alone how to write one.
Also, it is very easy to create alternative sets of menus. In the prior art
programming technique, creation of a set of menus, such as the set of
thirteen menus shown in the example above, is a tedious and detailed
process. A complete set of menus for a user interface will typically have
approximately 30 menus. To create a custom set of menus for each user of
the system who would like the system to operate differently from the
standard method of operation would require a skilled programmer and would
be prohibitively labor intensive. However, the technique of the present
invention allows any number of alternative sets of menus to be easily
created. This allows the creation of a system which presents a different
set of menus to each user based on the identification of the user, or a
system which has an initial master menu giving the user a choice of menu
set A or menu set B.
(1) data and logic are not mixed in a single long sequence but are rather
separated, and (2) the logic sequence is stated only once and the data to
implement each menu is retrieved and used by the logic sequence when the
menu is implemented. This allows a particular menu, or a set of menus,
which is simply a table of numbers, to be edited with a simple editor that
works much like a spread sheet program as used by a bookkeeper and does
not require the editing of lines of programming commands as written by a
programmer. It also allows the use of alternative sets of menus, the
choice between sets of menus being made either by the system or by the
user. In all prior art systems, however complex the set of menus may be,
there is only one set of menus available to each user.
Two or more alternate sets of menus can be created and each user can be
given a choice of which set of menus he wishes to use. The choice can be
resented once when the user is first set up on the system. Or, the choice
can be presented each time the user calls, as an initial choice which
selects the set of menus to be followed for the remainder of the call. Or,
the user can be given the option of switching from one set of menus to the
other at any time during the navigation of the menus. Or, the user can be
allowed to switch from one set of menus to another and back again at any
time as desired by the user.
Another aspect of the invention allows one or more keys which are not
otherwise used as options for the menu system to be designated as "speed"
keys. Speed keys can be defined to jump ahead in the normal menu hierarchy
directly to certain desired features or results. One of the speed keys can
also be a "help" key. When the help key is pressed, the user is presented
with a prompt describing a].l of the options available to the user,
particularly including the speed keys. The selection of which keys are
speed keys and what results they achieve can be easily modified by the
user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the components of the preferred
embodiment and the relationships between them.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the steps of the menus logic.
FIG. 3 shows the structure and contents of a table of menus.
FIG. 4 shows the system hardware.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention has three main elements: the data memory 1, the logic
memory and processor 2, and an editor 3 for building and modifying the
menus. The data memory 1 stores all the parameters for one or more sets of
menus 4, each of which can be custom tailored to suit each user. Each menu
gives the user a plurality of choices and details how the user's response
is to be acted upon. The logic memory and processor 2 acts upon the user's
response or upon the user's failure to respond.
Additional memory in the electronic device 47 contains a predefined set of
features logic instructions 5 for features that the device can perform. By
executing these features, the device can receive user input or ignore user
input if it is nonsensical. It can perform internal actions, such as
querying and updating a database of information, or it can perform
external interactive actions, such as recording and playing messages 13.
See Table 1 below for a list of feature options for the preferred
embodiment.
The data memory 1 contains a table of uniquely numbered menus 4. Each menu
consists of three parts: prompt information, actions to take on user
input, and succeeding actions to take.
As shown in Table 2 below, the first part of a menu defines how to play a
prompt by specifying a prompt number (retrieved by menus logic at step
11), how many times it should be played (retrieved by menus logic at step
18), and how much time to pause after each playing (retrieved by menus
logic at step 15). If a predetermined value, such as a negative number, is
specified for the prompt number at menus logic step 12, then the menus
logic 6 will bypass playing a prompt. Instead, it will continue on as
though no input was received and execute the appropriate action based on
no input, step 21.
The second part of a menu defines the handling of possible responses from
the user. These possible responses include the pressing of a touchtone key
40 or failure to press a key. In either case, the user's response must be
interpreted at menus logic step 21. To each of these possible responses,
the menu defines an action, in the form of a menu number, a feature code,
or "quit", to be executed for that particular response. If the action is a
menu number, which is checked at step 24, then the logic will branch to
that new menu and continue processing from there. However, if the action
is a feature code, then the logic steps of the features logic 5 defined by
the feature code will be taken at step 25.
Features perform specific actions outside of the menus logic 6. Features
may perform simple, invisible operations based upon the user's response;
or they may perform further interaction with the user to gather data or
perform multiple operations. A feature is also capable of "returning" two
possible states of completion: success or failure. The two states of
feature completion may also be used to "branch" to another menu.
The final section of the menu defines what action to take next on each of
two conditions: if the feature completes successfully, step 28, or if it
does not complete successfully (error), step 27. If the next action to
take on error, step 27, is a menu numbers step 24, then the new menu is
interpreted and control continues from that point as defined above. If the
next action to take on errors, step 27, is "quit", step 22, the interface
system is exited, step 23. If the feature does not complete successfully,
the next action to take on error, step 27 may be another feature code
which is restricted to certain features that cannot fail to complete
successfully.
Menus Editor
The present invention also preferably includes a menus editor 3 to edit the
defined menus or create new menus. The menus editor 3 is a stand-alone
utility that provides editing functions for individual fields and entire
menus of the menu table shown in Table 2 below.
The editor 3 has a screen display interface 41 much like current database
spreadsheets; with horizontal rows representing a single menu in the menu
table and each column representing a data field in the menu. The
intersection of a row and a column is called a "cell". See Table 2 below
for an example of the editor interface.
A cell contains data for a specific field of a menu. The data of a cell can
only be modified when the cursor is in the cell. Numeric keys 46 may be
used to enter data in that field. A change made to a cell is accepted by
pressing the `Enter` key 44 or cursor movement keys 45. Modifications to
an existing cell may be cleared and the previous value restored by
pressing the `Esc` key 43.
The first cell of each row is unique. This cell contains the menu number.
The cells that follow are data parameters of that menu. The editor
provides (and only allows) a special set of editing commands on menu
number cells: copy, delete, insert, and move. Selecting one of these
commands with the cursor on the menu number cell causes block handling of
the menu number and all of the data parameters associated with it.
The editor allows the owner and/or user of the invention to easily design
any desired hierarchy of menus, without knowing how to generally program
the logic means contained within the device, to create an interface which
is particularly suited to the needs of that owner or that user. The editor
is used for building and modifying menu designs which are stored in
memory. The menu editor is used to edit the defined menus or create new
menus. The menu editor allows the user to edit both individual fields and
entire menu definition lines of a menu table.
Using the menu editor, a user or owner of the system who has no technical
knowledge of programming can easily design or modify a hierarchy of menus,
as easily as a computer user can use a spreadsheet. As shown by Table 2,
the menu table defines what action will be invoked by the selection of any
particular key on the key pad 49 at each menu. Table 1 lists the features
that can be specified on each menu line to occur upon the press of a key
when that menu is in effect.
The editor allows a user or owner to change the action number in each one
of the columns representing touchtones zero through nine plus star and
pound sign on the telephone keypad 49. A particular feature to be
accomplished can be moved from one menu to another menu.
In place of the preferred form of the editor which is operated with a
keyboard 42 and computer screen 41 like a spread sheet, an alternative
embodiment of the menu editor can be operated with a user interface
consisting of a telephone and an appropriate set of voice prompted menus.
The voice prompted menu hierarchy might be constructed using the keyboard
and screen menu editor previously described.
Editors which are designed to display on the screen the contents of a
computer file, allow modification of the information on the screen, and
then allow the modified information to be saved as a computer file are
well known to computer programmers. Programmers use many different editors
to perform their work and many programmers have written their own editors
to serve as useful tools for doing certain steps in programming. A large
number of such editors are available as mass market software products.
Some such editors are available for copying and distribution without a
license or royalties as they have been placed in the public domain or they
include a royalty-free license to reproduce and distribute. Also available
without a royalty is the source code for more than one editor which a
programmer could use as a starting point to create an editor with any
particular desired features.
Interface with Database
The preferred embodiment uses the menu system with a telephone voice mail
system. In addition to handling routine calls to the voice mail system,
the menu system is used to create and maintain an active database that
maintains system and user information. This database provides
readable/writable storage for system wide and per-user parameters that can
be queried by a feature called by one of the menu choices.
Menu systems can be built which are different for each caller. When callers
are first connected they are asked to enter touchtones to identify
themselves. This identification allows the system to query the database
and select an appropriate one of the menu numbers in the system as the
first menu for that caller. From this point on, the menus define the
structure of the conversation, with the user navigating the menus until he
chooses to quit.
Voice Mail Menus
The subscriber is presented with a primary set of menus to handle the basic
voice mail functions (set up options, checking messages, leaving messages,
reviewing and/or forwarding messages). Although there is no prompt to
inform the subscriber, other "speed keys" or "hot-keys" will switch to a
second set of menus allowing access to any of the functions immediately
and providing an enhanced menu key which causes a prompt to be played that
describes the functions of the speed keys.
The primary set of menus provides a sequential hierarchy of basic voice
mail functions. These functions can be selected or rejected through a
simple "YES" or "NO" by pressing keys such as 1 for Yes and 2 for No.
Selecting key 3 will invoke the second set of menus and play the prompt
that describes the functions of the speed keys. Speed keys invoke also the
second set of menus and provide the user with direct and immediate access
to all the options that are presented one after the other in the primary
set of menus. Upon completing the speed key function the user has the
choice of quitting, entering another speed key, or, by default, returning
to the primary set of menus.
The following are examples of how, using the interface system of the
present invention, varying sets of menus can be presented and utilized by
the end-user. The `1` and `2` keys provide the yes/no responses for the
primary set of menus; the `3` key plays a prompt of options available by
speed keys; `4`, `5`, `6`, and `7` are speed keys which immediately access
a function through the second set of menus; and the `8` key returns to the
primary set of menus. The key designations are for illustrative purposes
only and could easily be changed without departing from the invention.
______________________________________
Touchtone
______________________________________
Scenario A: A Subscriber wants to leave a message for another
subscriber.
Example A - Primary Set of Menus.
Prompt
"[so and so], remember, 1 for yes
and 2 for no."
"You have X new messages. Would you like
to check them?" 2
"Would you like to leave a message?"
1
"Please enter the extension of the person
100
you'd like to leave a message for."
"[so and so]. Press yes to confirm."
1
"Okay, I'll record your message now . . . [beep]"
Example B - Speed Set of Menus.
Prompt
"[so and so], remember . . . "
55
"Please enter the extension of the person
100
you'd like to leave a message for."
"[so and so]. Press yes to confirm."
1
"Okay, I'll record your message now . . . [beep]
Scenario B: A subscriber wants to change the security code.
Example A - Primary Set of Menus.
Prompt
"[so and so], remember, 1 for yes and
2 for no."
"You have X new messages. 1 Would you like
2
to check them?"
"Would you like to leave a message?"
2
"Would you like to review or forward old
2
messages?"
"To return to your mailbox press 1, to quit
7
press 2, for setup options press 7."
"Setup options."
"Would you like to change your personal
2
greeting?"
"Would you like to change your delivery
2
options?"
"Would you like to change your security code?"
1
"Please enter your security code now. Press
1234*
star when you are done."
Example B - Speed Set of Menus.
Prompt
"[so and so], remember . . . "
766
"Please enter your security code now.
Press star when you are done."
1234*
______________________________________
The feature descriptions, their labels, and the feature codes for the
preferred embodiment are listed below:
TABLE 1
__________________________________________________________________________
Feature
Feature Feature
Number
Label Description
__________________________________________________________________________
101 VF.sub.-- CHECKMSGS
Check new messages
102 VF.sub.-- SENDMSGS
Send messages
103 VF.sub.-- GREETING
Change personal greeting
104 VF.sub.-- REVIEW Review or forward old messages
105 VF.sub.-- TRANSFEROPTS
Toggle extension transfer and change number
106 VF.sub.-- DELIVERYOPTS
Toggle active message delivery schedules
107 VF.sub.-- PERSONALOPTS
Change mailbox voice name
108 VF.sub.-- NEWMESSAGES
Check new messages
109 VF.sub.-- VOICENAME
Change mailbox voice name
110 VF.sub.-- SPELLEDNAME
Change mailbox spelled name
111 VF.sub.-- ADLISTING
Selects inclusion or exclusion from directory
listing
112 VF.sub.-- SECURITYCODE
Delete or change mailbox security code
113 VF.sub.-- ENROLLEDSUBSCRIBER
Determine if subscriber has been enrolled in
mailbox or not
114 VF.sub.-- OLDMESSAGES
Review or forward old messages
115 VF.sub.-- MSGDELIVERY
Change message delivery schedules
116 VF.sub.-- CALLSCREENING
Toggle call screening to the extension
117 VF.sub.-- CALLHOLDING
Toggle call holding to the extension
118 VF.sub.-- AUTHORDICTATION
Author conversation for dictation feature
119 VF.sub.-- TRANSCRIBEDICTATION
Transcriber conversation for dictation feature
120 VF.sub.-- ADVANCEDFEATS
Determines if subscriber is allowed access to
advanced features
121 VF.sub.-- SUBSCRIBERENROLLMENT
Subscriber enrollment process
122 VF.sub.-- SYSTEMSTATUS
Plays system status information to system manager
123 VF.sub.-- CHANGEMAILBOX
Perform mailbox maintenance
124 VF.sub.-- OPENINGREETING
Change schedule modes and greetings
125 VF.sub.-- SYSTEMSCHEDULE
Change the system clock and schedules
126 VF.sub.-- SYSMGRID
Change the system manager password ID
127 VF.sub.-- OPERSTN Change the extension receiving operator status
128 VF.sub.-- SYSTEMNAME
Controls modules that change voice name, spelled
name, status
129 VF.sub.-- INTROAUTOMSG
Determine if auto-messaging has been activated if
so
handle message, otherwise perform
__________________________________________________________________________
intro
A typical memory table for a particular set of menus for the preferred
embodiment is listed below:
TABLE 2
__________________________________________________________________________
No
Sec-
Times Re- Next
Er-
Menu
Prompt
onds
to sponse
Menu
ror
Num-
Num-
to Re- Action for touchtone response Ac- Num-
Ac-
ber ber Wait
peat
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * # tion
ber tion
__________________________________________________________________________
// Subscriber enrollment check, if enrolled go to intro/automsg.
// Otherwise, go do subscriber enrollment
1 -1 0 0 113
113
113
113
113
113
113
113
113
113
113
113
113 3 2
// Subscriber enrollment
2 -1 0 0 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 121 91 1
// Subscriber introduction (with auto-msging), before the main
conversation
3 -1 0 0 5 5 5 9 10 11 12 13 5 5 8 90 129 4 5
// Subscriber voice mail conversation
4 262 0 1 5 5 5 9 10 11 12 13 5 5 8 90 5 8 92
5 -1 0 0 6 6 6 9 10 11 12 13 6 6 8 90 101 6 92
6 24 5 2 7 102
7 9 10 11 12 13 7 7 8 90 8 7 92
7 -1 5 2 8 8 | | |
