Messaging system

• US 20040133459A1
• Filed: 11/12/2003
• Published: 07/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2001
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications (BT Group Plc) (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications (BT Group Plc) (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: Dance, Philip J, Oliver, Adam J
• Application Number:
  US10/477,462
• Publication Number:
  US 20040133459A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment

Abstract

A work despatch system in which instructions are transmitted to mobile staff 7, such as the emergency services or operatives of utility providers, has the additional facility to embed recordings 6 of initial customer interactions in the instructions to allow the mobile staff 7 to gain a fuller understanding of the requirements of the customer 4 prior to attending an activity. The recording may be transmitted in the form of an audio file, containing a recording 6 of a telephone conversation, attached to a text instruction (email). To assist the mobile staff, any textual matter, whether in the instructions or the attached recording, may be converted to audio form.

Claims

1. An information distribution system comprising recording means for making an audio recording of an initial informant interaction requesting a task to be performed, means for selecting a member of a distributed workforce to perform the said task, means for transmitting an instruction over a telecommunications system to the selected member, and playback means for transmitting, with the instruction, the audio recording of the initial informant interaction.

2. An information distribution means according to any preceding claim wherein the instruction means comprises means for compiling a text message, and the playback means comprises means for attaching an audio file to the text message.

3. A scheduling system according to claim 2, further comprising speech synthesis means for converting the text elements of the message to audio messages.

4. A method of transmitting information to a distributed workforce, comprising the steps of making an audio recording of an initial informant interaction requesting performance of a task, selecting a member of the distributed workforce to perform the requested task, transmitting instructions to the selected member over a telecommunications system, and transmitting the audio recording with the instructions.

5. A method accoring to claim 4, wherein the instructions are created as a text message, to which a sound file carrying an audio recording is attached.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the text elements of the message are subjected to a speech synthesis process for generation as an audio message.