Methods for Voice Activated Dialing

• US 20080095328A1
• Filed: 12/19/2007
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: At&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Koch, Robert, Bishop, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,081,739 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems

Abstract

Methods for routing a call based on voice activated dialing (VAD). A VAD device module may respond to a VAD instruction, or to a call received with a VAD instruction with a corresponding call destination number obtained from a personal VAD directory. If the personal VAD directory fails to include the call destination number, the VAD device module may route the call or initiate a call through a gateway to a VAD network module. The VAD network module may obtain call destination information from the VAD instruction, and may use the call destination information obtain the call destination number. The VAD network module may obtain additional information from the call or other source, and use the additional information to obtain the call destination number. The call then is routed to the call destination number. The call destination number may be added to the personal VAD directory.

Claims

1. A method for updating a first voice-activated dialing directory for a caller, comprising:

receiving, into a caller device, a request from the caller to determine a directory number based on a voice activated dialing instruction, wherein the caller has not initiated a call to the directory number corresponding to the request;

translating at least part of the voice activated dialing instruction in a first directory into data;

retrieving, from the caller, geographical information corresponding to the voice activated dialing instruction;

querying a second directory, using the data and the geographical information, for the directory number;

retrieving the directory number from the second directory; and

updating the first directory with the directory number retrieved from the second directory, wherein the first directory is resident on the caller device and wherein no call occurs between the caller and the directory number.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second directory is part of a data network.