Voice directed system and method configured for assured messaging to multiple recipients

• US 20060182085A1
• Filed: 02/14/2005
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vocollect, Inc. (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Vocollect, Inc. (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Astorri, Claudine, Sweeney, Lawrence R., Boyle, Linda, Maloy, James D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,609,669 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1868 Measures taken after transmission, e.g. acknowledgments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

A communications system transmits messages via a wireless network to multiple users nearly simultaneously in real-time. Each user has a terminal that receives a message and plays the message for the user. The terminal may also wait for the user to verbally acknowledge the arrival of the message before continuing with its normally executing application. The sender of the message may track, for each intended recipient, the delivery of the message, the accessing of the message by the user, and the acknowledgement by the user that the message was understood.

Claims

1. A method for sending a message to more than one selected recipient performing logistical operations at a warehouse, the method comprising the steps of:

executing a logistical application on a wireless terminal that is communicating with a server over a wireless network within the warehouse;

receiving at the wireless terminal a textual message transmitted from the server;

outputting the textual message as audio output via a speaker in communication with the wireless terminal;

receiving from an operator of the wireless terminal a verbal indication that the audio output was accessed; and

transmitting a first acknowledgement message to the server that the verbal indication was received from the operator.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

announcing to the operator that the textual message was received; and

delaying outputting of the textual message until receiving a verbal instruction from the operator.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

interrupting the logistical application after receiving the verbal instruction; and

resuming the logistical application after receiving the verbal indication.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

performing speech recognition on the verbal indication to determine whether the operator understood the audio output.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first acknowledgement message includes a timestamp.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

automatically transmitting a second acknowledgement message when the textual message is successfully received at the wireless terminal.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the message is associated with one of an event reminder, or an emergency message for the terminal operator.

24. The method according to claim 1 wherein the message is associated with one of an event reminder or an emergency message for the terminal operator.

8. A method for sending a message to more than one recipient performing logistical operations at a warehouse, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving at a server a textual message to be forwarded;

transmitting the textual message from the server over a wireless network within the warehouse to a plurality of wireless terminals;

receiving from one or more of the plurality of wireless terminals a respective first acknowledgement message indicating that the message was successfully received;

receiving from at least some of the one or more wireless terminals a respective second acknowledgement message indicating that an operator of that terminal understood the message; and

maintaining a respective record for each of the plurality of wireless terminals indicating receipt of the respective first and second acknowledgement messages.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

receiving from a subset of the plurality of wireless terminals a respective third acknowledgement message indicating that the operator of that terminal accessed the message after it was successfully received.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein each of the respective first and second acknowledgment messages includes a respective first and second timestamp.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

determining from the respective records which of the plurality of terminals have not provided the respective second acknowledgement message.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

selecting at the server an identity of each of the plurality of wireless terminals to receive the textual message.

13. A method for delivering a message, comprising the steps of:

transmitting the message to a set of recipients via a communications network;

receiving a first respective acknowledgement, from one or more of the set of recipients, that the message that the message was successfully received;

receiving a second respective acknowledgement from at least some of the set of recipients that the message was understood; and

maintaining a respective record for each of the set of recipients indicating receipt of the second respective acknowledgement.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the communications network is a wireless network.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein each of the set of recipients includes a respective terminal configured to receive the message and send the first and second respective acknowledgements.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

receiving the message as textual input; and

converting the message to an audio output format.

17. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

receiving a third respective acknowledgement from at least some of the set of recipients that the message was accessed.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the respective record for each of the set of recipients includes an indication of receipt of the first and third respective acknowledgements.

19. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

identifying which of the set of recipients have not successfully received the message.

20. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

identifying which of the set of recipients have not acknowledged understanding the message.

21. The method according to claim 13, wherein the set of recipients includes more than one recipient.

22. The method according to claim 13, wherein the respective record includes a timestamp of when the second respective acknowledgement is received.

23. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

graphically displaying the respective record for each of the set of recipients.

25. A method for delivering a message comprising the steps of:

receiving the message over a communications network;

outputting the message as audio output;

receiving verbal confirmation that the audio output was understood; and

transmitting a first acknowledgement message over the communications network, the first acknowledgement message indicating that the audio output was understood.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the message is delivered to a plurality of different recipients.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the communications network is a wireless network.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of outputting further includes the steps of:

indicating that the message has been received;

delaying outputting of the message until receiving a verbal command; and

receiving the verbal command to play the message.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising the steps of:

interrupting an executing application when the verbal command is received; and

resuming the executing application when the verbal confirmation is received.

30. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of:

in response to receiving the message, sending a second acknowledgement message over the network indicating that the message was successfully received.

31. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of:

converting the message from text format to audio output.

32. The method of claim 25, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a verbal instruction to replay the message; and

in response, replaying the message as audio output.

33. A multi-recipient communications system comprising:

a server configured to transmit a message to multiple users;

a plurality of terminals, each configured to receive the message;

a wireless network configured to provide bi-directional communication between the server and the plurality of terminals; and

each of the terminals further configured to output the message as audio output, receive a respective verbal confirmation that the audio output was understood, and transmit, to the server, a respective indication that the verbal confirmation was received.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the server is further configured to:

receive the message as input;

receive an identification of each of the multiple users;

identify a respective terminal associated with each of the multiple users, and address a respective copy of the message for delivery to each of the respective terminals.

35. The system of claim 33, wherein each of the terminals is further configured to:

convert the message to audio output; and

play the message as audio output.

36. The system of claim 33, wherein each of the terminals is further configured to:

perform speech recognition on the verbal confirmation to determine if the verbal confirmation indicates the audio output was understood; and

re-output the message if the verbal confirmation does not indicate that the message was understood.

37. The system of claim 33, wherein each of the terminals is further configured to transmit a respective acknowledgement message indicating that the message was successfully received.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the server is further configured to:

determine for each of the terminals whether a respective indication of verbal confirmation has been received;

determine for each of the terminals whether a respective acknowledgement message has been received; and

display a respective message status for each of the terminals indicating whether the message was received and understood.

39. The system of claim 37, wherein each of the terminals is further configured to:

execute a logistical application within a warehouse environment;

interrupt the logistical application after outputting the audio output; and

resume the logistical application after receiving the verbal confirmation.

40. A communications system facilitating the performance of logistical operations at a warehouse involving multiple wireless communication devices, comprising:

a server configured to initiate transmitting a message related to the logistical operations to one or more selected communication devices and to receive a respective response from each of the selected communication devices regarding a status of the message; and

a memory in communication with the server configured to store the respective responses.

41. The system of claim 40, further comprising:

a graphical display configured to display the respective response for each of the selected communication devices.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the server is further configured to:

receive a respective subsequent response from each of the selected communication devices; and

update the memory and the graphical display based on the subsequent response.

43. The system of claim 40, wherein each of the respective responses indicates whether a user of that communications device performed one of:

playing the message, discarding the message, ignoring the message, delayed playing of the message, successfully receiving the message, understanding the message, and re-directing the message.

44. A communications system facilitating the performance of logistical operations at a warehouse involving multiple wireless communication devices, comprising:

a server configured to control communication with the multiple wireless devices;

a message composer configured to generate a textual message related to the logistical operations and to select one or more of the wireless communication devices to receive the textual message;

a transmitter configured to initiate transmitting the textual message to the one or more selected wireless communication devices; and

a text-to-speech converter configured within each of the selected one or more wireless communication devices to convert the textual message to audio output.

45. The system of claim 44, further comprising:

a speech recognizer configured within each of the selected one or more wireless communications devices to receive speech input related to the textual message and transmit a response message to the server based on the speech input.

46. A communications device operating over a wireless network to facilitate the performance of logistical operations at a warehouse, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a textual message from a server managing the wireless network within the warehouse;

an alarm configured to alert a user of the communications device about receipt of the textual message;

a speech recognizer configured to receive speech input from the user in response to the alarm and to recognize a command based on the speech input; and

a message handling application executing on the communications device configured to handle the textual message according to the command.

47. The device of claim 46, wherein the alarm is one or more of a visible indicator, an audible beep, a flashing visual indicator, an audio message, and a vibrational mechanism.

48. The device of claim 46, wherein, in response to the command, the message handling application converts the textual message to audio output which is played for the user.

49. The device of claim 46, wherein, in response to the command, the message handling application alerts the user about the textual message after a predetermined time period and waits to receive additional speech input at that time.

50. The device of claim 46, wherein, in response to the command, the message handling application discards the textual message without converting it to audio output.

51. The device of claim 46, wherein in response to the command, the message handling application re-directs the textual message to a different communications device.

52. The device of claim 46, further comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit a response message to the server, said response message indicative of the command received from the user.

53. The device of claim 48, wherein the speech recognizer is further configured to receive subsequent speech input after the audio output is played and to recognize an acknowledgement message about the audio output.

54. The device of claim 53, further comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit the acknowledgement message to the server, said acknowledgement message indicative of the users understanding of the audio output.

55. The device of claim 46 wherein the messages received by the receiver are of varying types, the alarm configured to indicate the type of message.

56. A wireless voice-directed system comprising a server and a plurality of client terminals worn by or associated with individual users, the system being configured to send a message to a predetermined group of users operating an associated predetermined group of terminals that have selected terminal addresses, wherein assurance of message delivery to a terminal in the predetermined group of users is caused by said server requiring from said terminal a first acknowledgement that the message has been received by the terminal and then by a second acknowledgement that the message has been delivered to and opened by the associated user.

57. The system of claim 56 wherein said message is sent as text and wherein said terminals have text-to-speech conversion capability.

58. The system of claim 57 wherein said message is converted to speech by said terminal and is opened by the associated user by initiating an audible reproduction of the message.

59. The system of claim 56 wherein said message is sent as text and wherein said terminals have a display and text-to-speech conversion capability.

60. The system of claim 59 wherein said message is opened by the associated user by initiating an audible reproduction of speech converted by the terminal from text or by initiating presentation of the message on the display.

61. The system of claim 56 wherein a terminal upon receiving a message transmits an alert to the associated user indicating that a message is awaiting delivery to the user.

62. The system of claim 61 wherein said terminal is adapted to receive from the user in response to the alert a reply in the form of a speech message.

63. The system of claim 62 wherein the speech message may comprise an indication of readiness to receive the message, a request not to send the message, or an indication to send the message at a later time.

64. The system of claim 56 configured to run a logistics, quality control or other application, said system being further configured to send an application interrupt upon receiving said first acknowledgement.

65. The system of claim 64 wherein said system is configured to resume the application upon receipt by the server of the second acknowledgement.

66. The system of claim 61 wherein the messages received by the terminal are of varying types, the alert configured to indicate the type of message.

67. A wireless voice-directed system comprising a server and a plurality of client terminals worn by or associated with individual users, the system being configured to run a logistics, quality control or other application and being further configured to send a message to a group of users operating an associated group of terminals, said server sending to a terminal in the group of terminals an application interrupt upon receipt of an acknowledgement that the message has been received by said terminal.

68. The system of claim 67 wherein said system is configured to resume the application upon receipt of a acknowledgement from said terminal that the message has been delivered to and opened by the user.

69. The system of claim 67 wherein said message is sent as text and wherein said terminals have text-to-speech conversion capability.

70. The system of claim 69 wherein said message is converted to speech by said terminal and is opened by the associated user by initiating an audible reproduction of the message.

71. The system of claim 67 wherein said message is sent as text and wherein said terminals have a display and text-to-speech conversion capability.

72. The system of claim 71 wherein said message is opened by the associated user by initiating an audible reproduction of speech converted by the terminal from text or by initiating presentation of the message on the display.

73. The system of claim 67 wherein a terminal upon receiving a message transmits an alert to the associated user indicating that a message is awaiting delivery to the user.

74. The system of claim 73 wherein said terminal is adapted to receive from the user in response to the alert a reply in the form of a speech message.

75. The system of claim 74 wherein the speech message may comprise an indication of readiness to receive the message, a request not to send the message, or an indication to send the message at a later time.

76. The system of claim 67 configured to run a logistics, quality control or other application, said system being further configured to send an application interrupt upon receiving said first acknowledgement.

77. A wireless voice-directed silent public address system comprising a server and a plurality of client terminals that are worn by or associated with individual users and that have text-to-speech conversion capability, the system being configured such that the server sends a text message to a predetermined group of users operating an associated predetermined group of terminals that have selected terminal addresses, the group of terminals receiving the text message and converting it to speech such that the message is heard only by the associated predetermined group of users.

78. The public address system of claim 77 wherein the message is one of a reminder or an emergency message to the users.

79. A wireless, voice-directed, user-worn terminal configured to receive a text message, alert the user of the terminal of the availability of a message, and deliver the message to the user upon receipt from the user of a request for delivery of the message.

80. The terminal of claim 79 having a unique address, and wherein said terminal receives only messages directed to a terminal having said address.

81. The terminal of claim 79 wherein the terminal is running a logistical, quality control or other application and is configured to apply an interrupt of the application when the message is received by the terminal.

82. The terminal of claim 81 configured to apply an application resume signal when an indication has been received by the terminal that the user has opened the message.

83. The system of claim 79 wherein said message is sent as text and wherein said terminal has text-to-speech conversion capability.

84. The system of claim 83 wherein said message is converted to speech by said terminal and is opened by the associated user by initiating an audible reproduction of the message.

85. The system of claim 79 wherein said message is sent as text and wherein said terminal has a display and text-to-speech conversion capability.

86. The system of claim 85 wherein said message is opened by the associated user by initiating an audible reproduction of speech converted by the terminal from text or by initiating presentation of the message on the display.

87. A wireless, voice-directed public address system comprising a server and a plurality of client terminals each associated with an individual user;

the server configured for running a workflow application for directing the actions of the users;

the server further configured to send emergency messages or informational messages and to interrupt the workflow application for such messages;

the terminals configured to convert the messages to speech for the users.