Automatic speech recognition to select among call destinations

• US 4,827,500 A
• Filed: 01/30/1987
• Issued: 05/02/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T, Inc.), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Buss, Christine M., Binkerd, Mark S., Stone, Roger E., Gawrys, George W.
• Primary Examiner(s): BROWN, THOMAS
• Application Number:
  US07/009,259
• Time in Patent Office: 823 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88, 379/89, 379/67, 379/207, 379/211, 379/212, 379/201, 379/220
• US Class Current: 379/88.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42204 Arrangements at the exchange for service or number selection by voice at the terminal H04M1/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42306 Number translation services, e.g. premium-rate, freephone or vanity number services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5166 in combination with interactive voice response systems or voice portals, e.g. as front-ends
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/527 Centralised call answering arrangements not requiring operator intervention
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13512 800 - freefone
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13541 routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13547 subscriber, e.g. profile, database, database access
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/42 Circuit arrangements for indirect selecting controlled by common circuits, e.g. register controller, marker

Abstract

A method and apparatus for setting up a telecommunications call from a calling customer (caller) terminal to one of a plurality of call destinations through an interconnection network. The caller dials an 800 number. This number is identified in a first data base as indicating a plurality of possible services, each of which is associated with one or more call destinations. A second data base provides the identification of a switch for generating an announcement to the customer and for the identification of an announcement in that switch. The call is connected to that announcement and an automatic speech and tone recognition unit, and the announcement prompts the caller to speak a command or key a dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) signal in order to select one of the possible destinations. Based on the number dialed by the caller, the Numbering Plan Area (NPA) code of the caller plus the command keyed or spoken by the caller and recognized by the recognition unit, one of a plurality of POTS (plain old telephone service) telephone numbers is selected by the second data base and the call is routed to a destination identified by that POTS telephone number. Advantageously, such an arrangement permits a business to use a single directory number for serving a plurality of services of the business, to select among these services on the basis of a command spoken or a DTMF signal keyed by a caller in response to an announcement of that business, and permits the business to receive the call at an appropriate destination for processing that call.

Claims

1. A method of processing a call through a common carrier network serving a plurality of non-common carrier communication facilities, comprising:

sending calling data comprising data received from a caller of said call to a data base means;

deriving in said data base means announcement identification data in response to said received data;

sending said announcement identification data from said data base means to said common carrier network;

prompting said caller with a prompting announcement, identified by said announcement identification data, to issue a speech command;

sending a speech signal command to automatic speech recognition means for recognizing said speech command;

generating speech command data in response to a recognition of said speech command by said recognition means;

sending call data including said speech command data to said data base means;

deriving from said data base means call routing data for said call in response to said call data; and

routing said call through said common carrier network in response to said routing data.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said common carrier network comprises an action control point, wherein said call is connected to said action control point, and wherein routing said call comprises sending said call routing data from said data base means to said action control point for routing said call through said common carrier network.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said call routing data comprises the address of one of said plurality of non-common carrier communication facilities.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said address comprises a telephone number.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said calling data comprises data representing a telephone number specified by said caller and data representing at least a subset of a number identifying said caller.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said step of sending said call data comprises the step of assembling a data message comprising data representing said speech command data and transmitting said data message over a common channel signaling system interconnecting said common carrier network and said data base means.

7. A method of processing a call through a common carrier network serving a plurality of non-common carrier communication facilities, comprising:

prompting a caller on said call with a prompting announcement to issue a speech command;

sending said speech command to automatic speech recognition means for recognizing said speech command;

generating speech command data in response to said recognition means recognizing said speech command;

sending call data including said speech command data to a data base means; and

receiving, in said common carrier network from said data base means, call routing data, derived in said data base means in response to said call data including said speech command data, for routing said call through said common carrier network.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

prior to said prompting, sending calling data, comprising data received from said caller, to said data base means; and

receiving from said data base means announcement identification data identifying said prompting announcement.

9. A method of processing a call through a common carrier network serving a plurality of non-common carrier communication facilities, comprising:

receiving, in a data base means from said common carrier network, calling data comprising data received from a caller;

deriving in said data base means announcement identification data in response to receipt of said calling data;

sending said announcement identification data from said data base means to said common carrier network for identifying to said common carrier network a prompting announcement for prompting said caller to issue a speech command;

receiving, in said data base means from said common carrier network, speech command data generated in response to recognizing said speech command on said dall, and other calling data comprising data received from a caller of said call;

deriving in said data base means call routing data for said call in response to said speech command data and said other calling data; and

sending said call routing data from said data base means to said common carrier network for routing said call through said common carrier network.

10. In a common carrier network arrangement for serving a plurality of non-common carrier communication facilities, a switching system for routing a call through said common carrier network arrangement from a caller to one of said plurality of non-common carrier communication facilities, comprising:

automatic speech recognition means responsive to a receipt of a speech command from said caller for generating speech command data therefor; and

switch means for connecting said call to said automatic speech recognition means, and comprising processor means, and controllable by said speech command data for generating a first data message, said first data message comprising call data including said speech command data, for transmission to a data base means to request call routing information therefrom;

wherein said processor means further selects a prompting announcement in response to a second data message receivable from said data base means for identifying said prompting announcement; and

said switching system further comprising means for generating said prompting announcement for transmission on said call for prompting said caller to issue said speech command.

11. The switching system of claim 10 wherein said automatic speech recognition means further comprises means for generating one signal data representing a recognized tone signal;

wherein said processor means generates a third data message comprising said tone signal data for transmission to said data base means to request call routing information therefrom.

12. The switching system of claim 11 wherein said recognized tone signal is a dual tone multifrequency signal.

13. A method of processing a call from a caller through a common carrier network to one of a plurality of destinations, said destinations being non-common carrier communication facilities served by said common carrier network, said call being routed via an action control point of said common carrier network, comprising:

determining that said call is a special class of call in response to a receipt of a directory number for said call;

in response to said determining, sending a first data message comprising data identifying said directory number and data identifying the area code of said caller over a common channel signaling data network to a first data base to derive a call control message;

in response to said first data message, determining if said call requires advanced special service and transmitting a call control message to said common carrier network, said call control message comprising an advanced special service indicator if it is determined that said call requires advanced special service;

in response to said call control message, if said call control message comprises said advanced special service indicator, sending a second data message comprising data for identifying said call over said common channel signaling data network to a second data base to determine the identity of a prompting announcement, said data for identifying said call comprising data identifying said area code of said caller;

connecting said call to an announcement point having automatic speech recognition means for recognizing speech commands from said caller;

responsive to said second data message, identifying a prompting announcement for said call and sending a prompting data message from said second data base to said announcement point, said prompting data message comprising data for identifying a prompting announcement for said call;

connecting the identified prompting announcement to said call for prompting said caller therewith for requesting said caller selectively to provide a speech command or a keyed tone signal for specifying a desired call service connection;

generating speech command data in response to recognizing said speech command in said automatic speech recognition means during a silent interval of said prompting announcement;

sending a first response data message from said announcement point to said second data base in response to said speech command data, said first response data message comprising said speech command data and said data for identifying said call;

generating tone signal data in response to recognizing said keyed tone signal in said automatic speech recognition means, said keyed tone signal being recognizable during a silent interval of said prompting announcement and recognizable during a non-silent portion of said prompting announcement;

sending a second response data message to said second data base in response to said tone signal data, said second response data message comprising said tone signal data and said data for identifying said call;

in response to a failure to recognize said speech command or said keyed tone signal in said automatic speech recognition means, sending a third response data message to said second data base, said third response data message comprising data representing said failure to recognize and said data for identifying said call;

responsive to receipt of any of said response data messages, deriving a third data message in said second data base under the control of data provided by said any of said response data messages, said third data message comprising data determining a call destination;

transmitting said third data message to said action control point of said common carrier network connected to said call; and

routing said call from said action control point through said common carrier network to said call destination determined by said data determining a call destination.

14. A call control data base method for a common carrier network comprising:

receiving first call data for a call;

deriving first routing information from a data base means linked to said common carrier network in response to said received first call data;

sending said first routing information from said data base means to said common carrier network for routing said call to a speech recognition means;

receiving second call data, including speech data recognized by said speech recognition means on said call, at said data base means from said common carrier network;

deriving second routing information from said data base means for said call in response to the received second call data; and

sending the derived second routing information from said data base means to said common carrier network;

wherein said sending the derived second routing information comprises sending said second routing information to said common carrier network for routing said call.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

receiving third call data after receiving said first call data and prior to receiving said second call data;

deriving prompting selection data from said data base means for selecting a prompting announcement; and

sending said prompting selection data to said common carrier network for connection of the selected prompting announcement to said call.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said data base means comprises a first and a second data base, and wherein said first routing information is derived from said first data base and said second routing data and said prompting selection data are derived from said second data base.