METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING MENU AND OTHER SERVICES FOR AN INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM USING A TELEPHONE OR OTHER AUDIO INTERFACE
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for providing efficient menu services for an information processing system that uses a telephone or other form of audio user interface. In one embodiment, the menu services provide effective support for novice users by providing a full listing of available keywords and rotating house advertisements which inform novice users of potential features and information. For experienced users, cues are rendered so that at any time the user can say a desired keyword to invoke the corresponding application. The menu is flat to facilitate its usage. Full keyword listings are rendered after the user is given a brief cue to say a keyword. Service messages rotate words and word prosody. When listening to receive information from the user, after the user has been cued, soft background music or other audible signals are rendered to inform the user that a response may now be spoken to the service. Other embodiments determine default cities, on which to report information, based on characteristics of the caller or based on cities that were previously selected by the caller. Other embodiments provide speech concatenation processes that have co-articulation and real-time subject-matter-based word selection which generate human sounding speech. Other embodiments reduce the occurrences of falsely triggered barge-ins during content delivery by only allowing interruption for certain special words. Other embodiments offer special services and modes for calls having voice recognition trouble. The special services are entered after predetermined criterion have been met by the call. Other embodiments provide special mechanisms for automatically recovering the address of a caller.
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Citations
119 Claims
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1-60. -60. (canceled)
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61. In a computer system that provides an audio user interface, a method of interfacing with a user comprising the steps of:
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a) prompting a user with a fast message indicating that the user may say a keyword to invoke an application and indicating that the user may stay tuned for a listing of keywords; b) waiting for a predetermined period for said user to say a keyword; c) provided said user does say a keyword during said predetermined period, automatically recognizing said keyword and executing an application indicated by said keyword; and d) provided said user does not say a keyword during said predetermined period, rendering a listing of keywords to said user and executing an application associated with a keyword spoken by said user in response to said listing. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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74. A computer system comprising:
a processor coupled to bus;
a memory coupled to said bus; and
communication channels for providing audio user interfaces, wherein said memory has stored therein instructions for implementing a method of interfacing with a user, said method comprising the steps of;a) prompting a user with a first message indicating that the user may say a keyword to invoke an application and indicating that the user may stay tuned for a listing of keywords; b) waiting for a predetermined period for said user to say a keyword; c) provided said user does say a keyword during said predetermined period, automatically recognizing said keyword and executing an application indicated by said keyword; and d) provided said user does not say a keyword during said predetermined period, rendering a listing of keywords to said user and executing an application associated with a keyword spoken by said user in response to said listing. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86)
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87. A computer implemented method for generating a human sounding phrase using speech concatenation, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) rendering a first name recording; b) selecting a verb based on subject matter contained within a remainder said phrase; c) rendering a recording of said verb; d) rendering a second name recording, wherein said second name recording commences with a predetermined word and wherein said verb recording is recorded such that its termination contains proper co-articulation for said predetermined word; and e) rendering said remainder of said phrase. - View Dependent Claims (88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93)
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94. In a computer system that provides an audio user interface, a method of providing information to a user comprising the steps of:
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a) entering a general mode of operation within said audio user interface wherein a user can interrupt said computer system by uttering keywords at any time; b) in response to said user saying a keyword that invokes a content delivery option, rendering a message informing said user that content delivery can be interrupted by uttering a special word; c) playing an audio content to said user; d) during step c), entering a special mode of operation wherein said audio content is interrupted only if said user says said special word and otherwise ignoring user utterances during said playing of said audio content; and e) resuming said general mode of operation upon completion of said audio content. - View Dependent Claims (95, 96, 97)
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98. In a computer system having an audio user interface, a method of providing information to a user comprising the steps of:
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a) automatically determining a default location based on a characteristic of a caller; b) rendering a first message to said caller that information of a first category will be provided to said caller using said default location unless said caller indicates a new location; c) pausing a predetermined period for said caller to say a new location and rendering a background audio signal during said pausing; d) provided said user does not indicate a new location, rendering to said caller information of said fast category that is pertinent to said default location; and e) provided said user does indicate a new location, rendering to said caller information of said first category that is pertinent to said new location. - View Dependent Claims (99, 100, 101, 102, 103)
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104. In a computer system, a method for providing an audio user interface, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) receiving a user utterance; b) processing said user utterance using automatic voice recognition processes; c) if said user utterance is a mismatch, entering a first process to determine if conditions exist that are likely to lead to poor voice recognition; and d) if said conditions do not exist then re-prompting said user and repeating steps a)-c), otherwise, entering a second process to provide services and user suggestions directed at raising the likelihood of receiving commands and data from said user. - View Dependent Claims (105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112)
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110-1. A method as described in claim 119 wherein said step d) is performed without said caller directly interfacing with said operator.
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113. In a computer system, a method for providing an audio user interface, said method comprising the steps of
a) on receiving a call, using an Automatic Number Information (ANI) of said call to determine if said call is using a wireless phone; -
b) provided said call is using a wireless phone, raising a barge-in threshold; c) detecting a user utterance when sounds of said call exceed said barge-in threshold; d) processing said user utterance using automatic voice recognition processes; e) if said user utterance is a mismatch, entering a first process to determine if conditions exist that are likely to lead to poor voice recognition; and f) if said conditions do not exist, then re-prompting said user and repeating steps c)-e), otherwise, entering a second process to provide services and user suggestions directed at raising the likelihood of receiving commands and data from said user.
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114. In a computer system, a method for providing an audio user interface, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) on receiving a call, using an Automatic Number Information (ANI) of said call to determine if said call is using a wireless phone; b) provided said call is using a wireless phone, raising a confidence rejection threshold used in automatic voice recognition processes; c) detecting a user utterance; d) processing said user utterance using said automatic voice recognition processes, wherein increasing said confidence rejection threshold means a higher confidence is required to be associated with a hypothesis before said automatic voice recognition processes consider a spoken word of said utterance to have been matched; e) if said user utterance is a mismatch, entering a first process to determine if conditions exist that are likely to lead to poor voice recognition; and f) if said conditions do not exist, then re-prompting said user and repeating steps c)-e), otherwise, entering a second process to provide services and user suggestions directed at raising the likelihood of receiving commands and data from said user.
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115. In a computer system having an audio user interface, a method of recovering an address from a caller comprising the steps of:
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a) obtaining a telephone number for said caller; b) using said telephone number to perform a reverse look-up through an electronic phone book database to attempt to obtain the caller'"'"'s address; c) provided said reverse look-up located an address for said caller, verifying a zip code with said user, otherwise, prompting said caller for a zip code and receiving a zip code from said caller; d) provided said reverse look-up located an address for said caller, verifying a street name with said user, otherwise, prompting said caller for a street name and receiving a street name from said caller; and e) provided said reverse look-up located an address for said caller, verifying a street number with said user, otherwise, prompting said caller for a street number and receiving a street number from said caller - View Dependent Claims (110, 116, 117, 118, 119)
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Specification