Method and apparatus for rendering audio streams from textual content for delivery to a user

• US 20040258219A1
• Filed: 07/07/2004
• Published: 12/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: James Chase, Seda Gragossian, Stephen Breitenbach
• Original Assignee: James Chase, Seda Gragossian, Stephen Breitenbach
• Inventors: Gragossian, Seda, Breitenbach, Stephen, Chase, James
• Granted Patent: US 7,440,555 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.22
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML

Abstract

Responsive to an incoming telephone call, a session server consults pre-stored caller preferences to generate a source file of caller-specific audio content, then conducts an interactive playback session audibly presenting the content to the caller. Each call'"'"'s source file may include an internally stored history record documenting events that occur during playback, such as caller utterances, identity of audio content presented, voice prompts presented to the caller, errors, and time stamps of various playback events. In response to certain caller utterances or completion of the source file'"'"'s presentation, the session server may reference the history record for guidance in creating an appropriate follow-up source file containing appropriate supplementary audio content. Use may also be made of history records for purposes such as increasing the functionality of interactive user playback, providing billing records, aiding debugging, and preserving data that is useful for marketing purposes.

Claims

1-31. -31. (cancelled)

32. A method for rendering audio streams from textual content for delivery to a user, comprising:

establishing an audio communication session with the user;

looking up the user'"'"'s content preferences based on a user identifier;

identifying textual content that satisfies the content preferences;

retrieving the textual content;

rendering the textual content into an audio stream that can be audibly presented to the user; and

delivering the audio stream to the user over the audio communication session.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the audio communication session is a telephone call.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising assembling a universal database that contains textual content received from content suppliers.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the textual content is arranged in predefined content channels.

36. The method of claim 32, further comprising receiving the user'"'"'s content preferences from the user, wherein the content preferences may include:

a selection of one or more content channels; and

an order of delivery for the textual content.

37. The method of claim 32, further comprising establishing a history record for the communication session, wherein the history record may include:

an identification of an event that occurred during the communication session, wherein the event is from a set of predetermined event types;

a timestamp for the event;

a list of instructions received from the user;

a list identifying the textual content delivered to the user;

a list of misrecognitions of user commands; and

a list of errors that occurred during the communication session.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising analyzing the history record to create a detail report that includes information about the communication session.

39. The method of claim 37, further comprising using the history record to determine the source of errors that occurred during the communication session.

40. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

determining whether textual content has been previously delivered to the user; and

if so, not rendering and delivering the previously delivered textual content.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein not rendering and delivering the previously delivered textual content involves not rendering and delivering the previous delivered textual content if indicated in the user'"'"'s content preferences.

42. The method of claim 32, wherein rendering the textual content into the audio stream further comprises:

constructing a VoiceXML source file including representations of the identified textual content; and

executing the VoiceXML source file to render the textual content to the audio stream.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein constructing the VoiceXML source file further involves:

reviewing a history record for the audio communication session;

interpreting the history record to determine a current state of progress of the audio communication session;

determining potential future audio output options based upon the current state of progress;

creating VoiceXML code modules implementing the potential future audio output options; and

executing one or more of the VoiceXML code modules interactively in accordance within input from the user.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein determining potential future audio output options further involves cross-referencing the current state in an array indexing future audio output options with states.

45. The method of claim 43, further comprising creating one or more executable scripts to generate one or more future history records to document future playback events.

46. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

generating a series of name-value pairs representative of the future audio output options; and

executing scripts based on the name-value pairs to create VoiceXML module implementing each of the potential future audio output options.

47. The method of claim 43, wherein reviewing the history record further involves sequentially reviewing a sequence of text lines in the history record.

48. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for rendering audio streams from textual content for delivery to a user, the method comprising:

establishing an audio communication session with the user;

looking up the user'"'"'s content preferences based on a user identifier;

identifying textual content that satisfies the content preferences;

retrieving the textual content;

rendering the textual content into an audio stream that can be audibly presented to the user; and

delivering the audio stream to the user over the audio communication session.

49. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 48, wherein the audio communication session is a telephone call.

50. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 48, wherein the method further comprises assembling a universal database that contains textual content received from content suppliers.

51. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 50, wherein the textual content is arranged in predefined content channels.

52. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 48, wherein the method further comprises receiving the user'"'"'s content preferences from the user, wherein the content preferences may include:

a selection of one or more content channels; and

an order of delivery for the textual content.

53. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 48, wherein the method further comprises establishing a history record for the communication session, wherein the history record may include:

an identification of an event that occurred during the communication session, wherein the event is from a set of predetermined event types;

a timestamp for the event;

a list of instructions received from the user;

a list identifying the textual content delivered to the user;

a list of misrecognitions of user commands; and

a list of errors that occurred during the communication session.

54. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 53, wherein the method further comprises analyzing the history record to create a detail report that includes information about the communication session.

55. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 53, wherein the method further comprises using the history record to determine the source of errors that occurred during the communication session.

56. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 48, wherein the method further comprises:

determining whether textual content has been previously delivered to the user; and

if so, not rendering and delivering the previously delivered textual content.

57. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 56, wherein not rendering and delivering the previously delivered textual content involves not rendering and delivering the previous delivered textual content if indicated in the user'"'"'s content preferences.

58. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 48, wherein rendering the textual content into the audio stream further comprises:

constructing a VoiceXML source file including representations of the identified textual content; and

executing the VoiceXML source file to render the textual content to the audio stream.

59. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 58, wherein constructing the VoiceXML source file further involves:

reviewing a history record for the audio communication session;

interpreting the history record to determine a current state of progress of the audio communication session;

determining potential future audio output options based upon the current state of progress;

creating VoiceXML code modules implementing the potential future audio output options; and

executing one or more of the VoiceXML code modules interactively in accordance within input from the user.

60. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 59, wherein determining potential future audio output options further involves cross-referencing the current state in an array indexing future audio output options with states.

61. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 59, wherein the method further comprises creating one or more executable scripts to generate one or more future history records to document future playback events.

62. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 59, wherein the method further comprises:

generating a series of name-value pairs representative of the future audio output options; and

executing scripts based on the name-value pairs to create VoiceXML module implementing each of the potential future audio output options.

63. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 59, wherein reviewing the history record further involves sequentially reviewing a sequence of text lines in the history record.

64. An apparatus for rendering audio streams from textual content for delivery to a user, comprising:

a communication mechanism configured to establish an audio communication session with the user;

a preference mechanism configured to look up the user'"'"'s content preferences based on a user identifier;

an identification mechanism configured to identify textual content that satisfies the content preferences;

a retrieval mechanism configured to retrieve the textual content;

a rendering mechanism configured to render the textual content into an audio stream that can be audibly presented to the user; and

a delivery mechanism configured to deliver the audio stream to the user over the audio communication session.