SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTERACTING WITH A USER VIA A VARIABLE VOLUME AND VARIABLE TONE AUDIO PROMPT

• US 20100158219A1
• Filed: 03/04/2010
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xtone Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Xtone Incorporated
• Inventors: DHAWAN, Vishal, Price, Timothy M., Sindhwani, Manoj
• Granted Patent: US 8,964,960 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.180
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2478 Telephone terminals specially adapted for non-voice services, e.g. email, internet access centralized arrangements where telephones services are combined H04M7/0024; for recording text messages H04M3/5322; for accessing Internet H04M3/4938
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00

Abstract

A system plays audio prompts to a user as part of a voice application. If the user begins to provide input in response to the audio prompt before the audio prompt is finished playing, the volume of the audio prompt is reduced, but the audio prompt continues to play. If the user finishes providing his input and the system is able to interpret the input before the audio prompt finishes, the audio prompt will halt and the system will take further action in accordance with the user'"'"'s input. If the user finishes providing his input while the audio prompt is still playing, and the system is unable to interpret the input, the volume of the audio prompt will increase back to the original volume level until either the audio prompt finishes playing, or the user again begins to provide input.

Claims

1. A method of playing an audio prompt to a user when a voice application is being performed, comprising:

beginning to play the audio prompt at a first volume level;

reducing the volume of the audio prompt to a second lower level when the system detects that a user is providing input in response to the audio prompt.