Automated message system for a calling party

Abstract

An automated message system sends a message of the calling party to the called party in response to a control signal. The automated message system includes a telephone network, a first telephone station, a second telephone station used by the called party and an automated message unit coupled to the first and second telephone stations through the network. A controller of the automated message unit that receives the control signal from the calling party selects a database from a memory device and retrieves a message from the database based on information included in the control signal. If an answering machine answers the calling party's call, the controller waits for the answering machine message to complete and sends the message retrieved from the database to the second telephone station of the called party.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.