Method and apparatus for identifying and replying to a caller

Abstract

A voice mail system in which a recipient of a call is provided with the ability to reply to an internal or external voice message in a common manner. A method for providing a reply includes identifying a caller, and retrieving an address of the caller from a database. Caller origination information is automatically provided with a recorded message from the caller to enable a recipient of the recorded message to reply. Identifying the caller may include searching a database using a voice signature of the caller to identify caller information.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of retrieving information about a caller comprising the steps of: 
 recording a vocal utterance made by the caller; and    accessing a database to retrieve information about the caller as a function of the recorded vocal utterance.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising: 
 identifying a calling location of the caller; and    accessing the database as a function of the identified calling location and the received caller identifying tones.    
     
     
         3 . A method of replying to a caller comprising the steps of: 
 identifying a calling location of the caller;    recording a vocal utterance made by the caller;    accessing a database as a function of the identified calling location and the recorded vocal utterance to retrieve caller information, wherein the caller information includes a caller reply location; and    sending a reply to the caller reply location.    
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the calling location is different from the caller reply location.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the reply is an electronic mail message.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the reply is a recorded message.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the caller reply location is a voice mailbox.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 3 , comprising: 
 converting the vocal utterance to a string of characters, wherein the database is accessed as a function of the string of characters.    
     
     
         9 . A method of storing a single voice mail message from a caller comprising the steps of: 
 identifying a calling location of the caller;    recording a spoken name uttered by the caller;    accessing a database as a function of the identified location and the recorded spoken name to retrieve the caller information; and    recording a message uttered by the caller and storing the recorded spoken name and the recorded message information together as a single voice mail message.    
     
     
         10 . A system for retrieving information about a caller comprising: 
 means for identifying a calling location of the caller;    means for storing a vocal utterance made by the caller; and    means for accessing a database as a function of the identified calling location and the recorded vocal utterance.    
     
     
         11 . A system for replying to a caller comprising: 
 means for identifying a calling location of the caller;    means for storing a vocal utterance made by the caller;    means for accessing a database as a function of the identified calling location and the recorded vocal utterance to retrieve caller information, wherein the caller information includes a caller reply location; and    means for sending a reply to the caller reply location.    
     
     
         12 . A method of forming a reply to a voice message on a first voice mail system, comprising the steps of: 
 identifying a caller providing the voice message;    retrieving information related to the identified caller; and    providing the retrieved information to a second voice mail system to enable the reply.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the retrieving information step includes retrieving a reply address of the caller.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the identifying a caller step includes identifying a caller using speech recognition.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the identifying a caller step includes identifying a caller using DTMF tones.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the identifying a caller step includes identifying a caller using automatic number identification.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the identifying a caller step includes identifying a caller using speaker verification.