System, Method and Computer Program Product for Conveying Presence Information Via Voice Mail

摘要

A system, method, and computer program product are provided for conveying availability information of a calling party to a called party. A PBX serving the telephones of the calling and called parties is connected to a presence server. In an embodiment of the invention, the presence server is also connected to a computer and/or other information device (such as a personal data assistant or telephone) of the calling party. After the calling party has left a voice mail message for the called party, the called party will subsequently retrieve the message. In an embodiment of the invention, the PBX then queries the presence server as to the availability of the calling party. The presence server senses whether the calling party has indicated his or her presence; if so, it is inferred that the calling party is probably present and available for a return call. If the presence server detects no such indication by the calling party, it is inferred that the calling party is likely to be absent. The presence server responds to the query of the PBX by indicating the calling party's likely availability (or absence) to the PBX. Based on this information, the PBX modifies the voice mail message to include a statement that the calling party is either available or unavailable.

主权项

1. A system for providing presence information of a first party to a second party, said system comprising:
a first device of or associated with the first party and adapted to be in communication with a communications network; a second device of or associated with the second party and adapted to be in communication with the communications network, wherein the first device is adapted to receive a message from the first party for retrieval by the second party after a communication attempt between the first device and the second device was unsuccessful; a presence server connected to the first device and adapted to detect presence of the first party by receiving presence information of the first party from the first device; a memory for associating and storing the message with the presence information; and a communications path between the presence server and the second device adapted to transmit the message and the presence information to the second party upon the message retrieval.