Focus tracking in dialogs

• US 20050154591A1
• Filed: 01/10/2004
• Published: 07/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lecoeuche, Renaud J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,160,883 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/270.100
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/1815 Semantic context, e.g. disambiguation of the recognition hypotheses based on word meaning
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00

Abstract

Controls are provided for a web server to generate client side markups that include recognition and/or audible prompting. The controls comprise elements of a dialog such as a question, answer, confirmation, command or statement. A module forms a dialog by making use of the information carried in the controls. The dialog follows a selected order of prompting and receiving input from a user as related to the order of the controls, and departs from the selected order as a function of responses from the user.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium having instructions, which when executed on a computer generate client side markup for a client in a client/server system, the instructions comprising:

a set of controls for defining a dialog, the controls comprising at least a control for generating markup related to audible prompting of a question and for generating markup related to a grammar for recognition, wherein the set of controls includes means for generating markup that is adapted to prioritize prompting of a question and for generating markup related to a grammar for recognition as a function of responses from a user; and

a module, when executed on the client, creates a dialog as a function of the controls, wherein the dialog follows a selected order of prompting and receiving input from a user as related to the order of the controls, and departs from the selected order as a function of responses from the user.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the module creates a dialog as a function of activated controls.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 2 wherein controls are activated as a function of responses from the user.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 3 wherein the set of controls includes an attribute to indicate the selected order that each of the controls will be activated.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein one of the controls provides means for defining a confirmation for generating markup related to confirming that a recognized result is correct.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 1 and further comprising a second set of controls for generating markup related to visual rendering on a client, wherein at least one of the first-mentioned set of controls is associated with at least one of the controls of the second set of controls.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the module maintains information related to an order of responses received from the user, and wherein the module departs from the selected order to provide a prompt related to a previous _[RL10] response from the user in the information.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 7 wherein the set of controls includes an attribute to indicate whether a response to a prompt will be maintained in the information related to the order of responses received from the user.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein module maintains the information related to an order of responses received from the user as a stack.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9 wherein the stack is of selected length such that the oldest information related to the oldest received response is removed when information is received related to the latest response from the user.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein creating the dialog includes maintaining information related to an order of responses received from the user, and wherein the dialog departs from the selected order to provide a prompt related to a previous_[RL11] response from the user in the information.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 14 wherein the set of controls includes an attribute to indicate whether a response to a prompt will be maintained in the information related to the order of responses received from the user, and wherein creating the dialog includes maintaining information related to an order of responses received from the user as a function of the corresponding attribute for a prompt.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 15 wherein maintaining the information related to the order of responses received from the user, comprises maintaining the information in a stack.

17. The computer implemented method of claim 16 wherein the stack is of selected length such that the oldest information related to the oldest received response is removed when information is received related to the latest response from the user_[RL12].

18. The computer implemented method of claim 14 wherein defining a dialog includes logic for modifying the maintained information related to an order of responses received from the user, and wherein creating the dialog includes modifying the maintained information pursuant to the logic.

11. A computer implemented method for performing recognition and/or audible prompting on a computer, the method comprising:

defining a dialog with a set of controls, the set of controls comprising at least a question for generating an audible prompt of a question and a grammar used for recognition, wherein the set of controls includes means for to prioritize prompting of a question and for using a grammar for recognition as a function of responses from a user; and

creating a dialog as a function of execution of code related to the controls, wherein the dialog follows a selected order of prompting and receiving input from a user as related to the order of the controls, and departs from the selected order as a function of responses from the user.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 11 wherein the set of controls includes an attribute to indicate an order that each of the controls will be activated.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 12 wherein creating the dialog is as a function of activated controls.