Interactive Natural Language Calling System
First Claim
1. An interactive voice response calling system for automatically dialling a plurality of telephone numbers, said system including:
- a database containing a plurality of records, said records relating to dialling information for a dialling campaign;
a dialler operably connected to the database, said dialler receiving and translating the records relating to the dialling campaign from said database into dialling instructions;
a calling unit connected to the dialler and a plurality of communication lines, said calling unit receiving from the dialler the dialling instructions, and then initiating a plurality of calls based on said dialling instructions;
an interactive voice response unit being operably connected to the calling unit upon verification by the calling unit that the connected call is answered by a person, said interactive voice response unit including;
a natural language recognition engine, said engine responsive to voice input from the person wherein the natural language engine automatically determines the language of the person and responded in the determined language; and
storage for temporarily storing answers to the dialling campaign;
a voice print secure identification unit coupled to the interactive voice response unit for verifying a voice of a subscriber; and
a switch coupled to the interactive voice response unit and the dialler, said switch allowing the interactive voice response unit to send information relating to a call to the dialler, said dialler then updating the dialling instructions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An interactive voice response calling system (1) for automatically dialling a plurality of telephone numbers includes database (10) containing records of dialling information for a dialling campaign. A dialler (20) translates the records i the database into dialling instructions. A calling unit (40) initiates a plurality of calls based on the dialling instruction An interactive voice response unit (30) is operably connected to the calling unit (40) upon verification by the calling unit (40) that the connected call is answered by a person. The interactive voice response unit (30) includes a natural language recognition engine that automatically determines the language of a person and responds in the determined language and storage for temporarily storing answers to the dialling campaign. The system further includes a voice print secure identification unit for verifying a voice of a subscriber, and a switch allowing the interactive voice response unit (30) to send information relating to a call to the dialler (20) for updating the dialling instructions.
24 Citations
14 Claims
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1. An interactive voice response calling system for automatically dialling a plurality of telephone numbers, said system including:
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a database containing a plurality of records, said records relating to dialling information for a dialling campaign; a dialler operably connected to the database, said dialler receiving and translating the records relating to the dialling campaign from said database into dialling instructions; a calling unit connected to the dialler and a plurality of communication lines, said calling unit receiving from the dialler the dialling instructions, and then initiating a plurality of calls based on said dialling instructions; an interactive voice response unit being operably connected to the calling unit upon verification by the calling unit that the connected call is answered by a person, said interactive voice response unit including; a natural language recognition engine, said engine responsive to voice input from the person wherein the natural language engine automatically determines the language of the person and responded in the determined language; and storage for temporarily storing answers to the dialling campaign; a voice print secure identification unit coupled to the interactive voice response unit for verifying a voice of a subscriber; and a switch coupled to the interactive voice response unit and the dialler, said switch allowing the interactive voice response unit to send information relating to a call to the dialler, said dialler then updating the dialling instructions. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7)
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2. An interactive voice response debt collection system for automatically dialling a plurality of telephone subscribers, said system including:
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a database containing a plurality of records, said records relating to dialling information for a dialling campaign; a dialler operably connected to the database, said dialler receiving and translating the records relating to the dialling campaign from said database into dialling instructions; a calling unit connected to the dialler and a plurality of communication lines, said calling unit receiving from the dialler the dialling instructions, and then initiating a plurality of calls based on said dialling instructions; An interactive voice response unit being operably connected to the calling unit upon verification by the calling unit that the connected call is answered by a person, said interactive voice response unit including; a natural language recognition engine, said engine responsive to voice input from the person wherein the natural language engine automatically determines the language of the person and responds in the determined language; storage for temporarily storing answers to the dialling campaign; a voice print secure identification unit coupled to the interactive voice response unit for verifying a subscriber; and an online payment authorisation portal coupled to the interactive voice response unit said payment portal retrieving from the interactive voice response unit storage a subscribers payment details, said payment portal then initiating a payment transaction based on the retrieved payment details and updating the subscriber records on the completion of the transaction. - View Dependent Claims (3)
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8. A method of calling a plurality of subscribers, said method including:
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formulating a campaign and storing said campaign on a database with a plurality of campaigns in a record format; selecting at least on campaign from the plurality of campaigns for download to a dialler; translating the selected campaign form the record format of the database into dialing instructions to a calling unit; initiating a plurality of calls from a calling unit based on the received dialling instructions; verifying that the connected call is answered by a person, and upon verification transferring the call to an interactive voice response unit; determining the connected persons natural language using a natural speech recognition engine, said engine responsive to voice input from the person wherein the natural language engine automatically determines the language of the person; verifying a subscriber using a voice print secure identification procedure; presenting the selected campaign in the determined language and temporarily storing answers to the presented campaign, and responding to said answers in the determined language; and updating campaign information stored on the database based on the stored answers to the selected campaign. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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9. A method of automated debt collection said method including:
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formulating a campaign and storing said campaign on a database with a plurality of campaigns in a record format; selecting at least one campaign from the plurality of campaigns for download to a dialler; translating the selected campaign form the record format of the database into dialling instructions, and transmitting the dialling instructions to a calling unit; initiating a plurality of calls from a calling unit based on the received dialling instructions; verifying that the connected call is answered by a person, and upon verification transferring the call to an interactive voice response unit; determining the connected persons natural language using a natural speech recognition engine, said engine responsive to voice input from the person wherein the natural language engine automatically determines the language of the person; verifying a subscriber using a voice print secure identification procedure; presenting the selected campaign in the determined language and temporarily storing payment details in response to the presented campaign, and responding to said answers in the determined language; transmitting said payment details to an on line payment authorisation portal, said portal then initiating a payment transaction based on the received payment details; updating campaign information stored on the database based on the outcome of said payment transaction.
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Specification