Interactive audio telecommunications message storage, forwarding and retrieval system

A voice message system for transferring messages among users comprising:

• (a) user interface means for providing a plurality of user connections for transferring messages from or to users;
• (b) storage means for storing a plurality of messages;
• (c) a plurality of interface processor means for managing the transfer of messages to and from said user interface means, said interface processor means being coupled to respective said user connections, each said interface processor means including:
• bidirectional first buffer means connected at first times to said user interface means for message transfers between said first buffer means and said user interface means, and at second times to said storage means for message transfers between said first buffer means and said storage means,
• bidirectional second buffer means connected at second times to said user interface means for message transfers between said second buffer means and said user interface means, and at first times to said storage means for message transfers between said second buffer means and said storage means, and
• interface control means for determining said first and said second times;
• and
• (d) system control means for controlling said storage means and for communicating with said interface control means of said plurality of interface processor means, said system control means providing commands to and receiving requests and status information from said interface control means to coordinate the accessing of the respective said buffer means and said storage means in support of the transfer of messages with respect to said users in real time, each said interface control means selecting the one of their respective said bidirectional first and second buffer means for access by said system control means during their respective said first and second times.

A store/forward system for managing the transfer of messages and the receipt of messages and commands with respect to a plurality of full duplex message channels, said system comprising:

• (a) storage means for storing messages;
• (b) control means for managing the transfer of messages to and from said storage means;
• and
• (c) interface means for transferring messages between said message channels and said control means, said interface means including a plurality of interface processor means, respectively coupled to a like plurality of said message channels, for processing messages into message segments for transfer to said storage means and for processing message segments into messages upon transfer to said message channels, each said interface processor means including means for subtracting out the receipt of a message from a respective message channel where said message is being simultaneously transferred to said respective message channel by its said interface processor means, whereby a command is received in isolation from any message being transferred to the same said message channel.

A voice store and forward system for transferring messages between users of said system by access via a plurality of full duplex voice channels to provide voice messages and user commands and to receive voice messages, said system comprising:

• (a) a mass storage device having a plurality of message segment storage locations, each message being stored as a set of message segments;
• (b) a system control processor having an interface to said mass storage device for the transfer of message segments to and from said mass storage device and a random access memory data store, said system control processor maintaining a message directory and corresponding message segment set allocation table in said data store for use in selecting sets of said message segment storage locations for access in storing and retrieving messages to and from said mass storage device;
• and
• (c) a plurality of interface processor units, each said interface processor unit including
• a channel interface coupled to a respective one of said channels,
• a transmit direction message reconstruction circuit operating at a conversion rate determined by a first clock signal,
• a transmit direction command generation circuit,
• an isolation circuit coupled to said channel interface for isolating a receive direction half-duplex channel,
• a summation circuit coupled to said transmit direction message and command circuits for providing summed transmit direction messages and commands to said channel interface, said summation circuit coupled to said isolation circuit for subtracting transmit direction messages and commands from any messages and commands received in said receive direction half-duplex channel to distinguish user messages and commands,
• a receive direction message conversion circuit coupled to said summation circuit for continuously variable rate analog to digital converting received user messages, the conversion rate of said receive direction message conversion circuit being responsive to a second clock signal,
• a receive direction command decode circuit for decoding received user commands,
• a silence detection circuit coupled to said summation circuit for detecting the absence of user messages and commands for a predetermined period of time,
• first and second status latches separately selectable for the reading and writing of control signals, said system control processor selectably reading said first status latch and writing said second status latch,
• a pair of message segment buffers for temporarily storing message segments, said message segment buffers being alternately connected to said system control processor by a first address and data bus,
• an interface processor coupled alternately to said message segment buffers by a second address and data bus, said message segment buffers being alternately and mutually exclusively coupled to said first and second address and data busses in response to a select signal provided by said interface processor so that respective said message segment buffers alternately receive and source message segments, said interface processor being coupled to said transmit direction message reconstruction circuit to provide a message segment thereto as received from said message segment buffers, to said receive direction message conversion circuit to obtain a message segment for provision to said message segment buffers, to said receive direction command decode circuit to obtain receive commands, to said silence detection circuit to detect periods of silence, and to said first and second status latches to obtain and provide status signals, said interface processor writing control signals to said first status latch to identify the accessibility of an alternate one of said message segment buffers to said system control processor, a command issued by a user, and the end of a message, said interface processor reading said second status latch to identify said first and second clock signals and, thereby, the message segment reconstruction and conversion rates, and the transmit direction commands for generation by said transmit direction command generation circuit.