Integrated voice processing system

• US 5,255,305 A
• Filed: 11/01/1990
• Issued: 10/19/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intervoice Limited Partnership
• Original Assignee: Voiceplex Corporation
• Inventors: Sattar, Sohail
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Thomas W.
• Application Number:
  US07/608,147
• Time in Patent Office: 1,083 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88, 379/89, 379/67, 379/201, 379/33, 379/34, 379/97, 379/216
• US Class Current: 379/32.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems

Abstract

Integrated voice processing systems. Generalpurpose common computer platform voice processing systems described provide integrated voice processing functions, for example, voice messaging, call processing, interactive voice response and other systems typically only available in discrete systems. Industry standard computer databases and interfaces are used to create a dynamically modifiable voice processing system which is adaptable to perform to any customer specification. State vector architecture for the system described herein provide economic and efficient tailoring of voice processing functions for a wide variety of applications. Voice processing systems for interfacing voice transactions through a telecommunications line to a user comprise a general-purpose digital, computer common-platform adapted to communicate through the telecommunications line with an outside environment. A relational database interfaced to the general-purpose, digital computer for storing at least one object having a state that is modifiable by a vector protocol, thereby producing a voice transaction event that is output to the user through the telecommunications whereby the user activates the vector protocol through the telecommunications to act on the object and produce the voice transaction event, and an interface adapted to convert user commands input to the voice processing system through the telecommunications to activate the vector protocol and alter the object'"'"'s state.

Claims

1. A voice processing system for providing voice transactions through a telecommunications line comprising:

a general-purpose, digital computer adapted to communicate through the telecommunications line with an outside environment;

storage means interfaced to the general-purpose digital computer for storing at least one object having a state associated therewith that is modifiable and that will produce a voice transaction event upon modification;

at least one vector protocol that can be activated by a user in the outside environment through the telecommunications line for operating on the at least one object to produce the change in the object'"'"'s state; and

an interface adapted to convert user commands input to the voice processing system through the telecommunications line to activate the vector protocol and alter the object'"'"'s state.

2. The voice processing system recited in claim 1 wherein the storage means is a relational database.

3. The voice processing system recited in claim 2 wherein the system further comprises run-time executive means on the general-purpose, digital computer for controlling the voice processing system when the voice processing system is in communication with the user through the telecommunications line.

4. The voice processing system recited in claim 3 further comprising logic state table means for storing application logic state tables which are used by the run-time executive means and which provide instructions to the run-time executive means to operate the voice processing system.

5. The voice processing system recited in claim 4 further comprising editor means for generating the application logic state tables that provide instructions to the run-time executive means to operate the voice processing system.

6. The voice processing system recited in claim 5 further comprising server means in communication with the run-time executive means for communicating with external systems in the outside environment and enabling the run-time executive means to interact with the relational database.

7. The voice processing system recited in claim 6 wherein the server means further comprises:

a data communication server adapted to interface the voice processing system to external systems in the outside environment; and

an interface server for providing communications protocols to the relational database to enable the run-time executive means to interact with the relational database.

8. The voice processing system recited in claim 7 further comprising:

alarm means in communication with the interface server for triggering a system alarm and managing system activity provided by the run-time executive means; and

alarm storage means connected to the alarm means for logging messages generated by the alarm means.

9. The voice processing system recited in claim 8 further comprising operational server means in communication with the relational database and the run-time executive means for generating voice processing transactions on command from the run-time executive means as instructed by the application logic state tables.

10. The voice processing system recited in claim 9 wherein the operational server means comprises:

an outcall server which is driven by interface statements from the interface server for generating outcall lists to select telecommunications paths for outcalling by the run-time executive means; and

a broadcast server for sorting and distributing information retrieved from the relational database by the voice processing system.

11. The voice processing system recited in claim 10 wherein the interface server, data communications server, outcall server, and broadcast server exchange information with the run-time executive means according to at least one voice window.

12. The voice processing system recited in claim 11 wherein the voice window comprises a protocol which organizes and manages information exchanges between the servers and system user to provide vector state transitions which produce voice transactions events in response to user input.

13. A voice processing system of the type utilizing vectored-state machine architecture comprising:

digital input means for inputting user data over a telephone line;

general-purpose computer means interfaced with the digital input means for processing the user data that is input through the digital input means and for controlling the voice processing system in response to the user data to obtain a voice transaction event;

interface means operatively coupled to the general-purpose computer means for converting the user input data to an interface query;

storage means operatively coupled to the general-purpose computer means through the interface means for storing information that is used by the general-purpose computer means to process the user data to obtain the voice transaction event in response to the interface query;

at least one voice processing object having a state stored on the storage means for producing the voice transaction event when the state is changed; and

at least one vector protocol stored on the storage means for responding to the interface query to change the object'"'"'s state and produce the voice transaction event.

14. The voice processing system recited in claim 13 wherein the digital input means is a TOUCHTONE telephone.

15. The voice processing system recited in claim 14 wherein the storage means is a mainframe computer in an outside environment to the voice processing system.

16. The voice processing system recited in claim 14 wherein the storage means is a relational database operatively coupled to the general-purpose computer means.

17. The voice processing system recited in claim 16 further comprising:

run-time executive means on the general-purpose computer means for controlling the voice transaction event;

logic state table means for storing application logic state tables used by the run-time executive means to provide instructions to the run-time executive means to operate the voice processing system;

editor means for generating the application logic state tables that provide instructions to the run-time executive means to operate the voice processing system; and

server means in communication with the run-time executive means for communicating with external systems in an outside environment and enabling the run-time executive means to interact with the relational database.

18. The voice processing system recited in claim 17 wherein the server means comprises:

a data communications server adapted to interface the voice processing system to external systems in the outside environment; and

an interface server for providing communications protocols to the relational database to enable the run-time executive means to interact with the relational database.

19. The voice processing system recited in claim 18 further comprising:

alarm means in communication with the interface server for triggering a system alarm and managing system activity in response to the run-time executive means; and

alarm storage means connected to the alarm means for logging messages generated by the alarm means.

20. The voice processing system recited in claim 16 further comprising:

operational server means in communication with the relational database for generating the voice transaction event;

run-time executive means for controlling the voice transaction event on command from the operational server means; and

editor means for generating application logic state tables which provide the commands to the run-time executive means.

21. The voice processing system recited in claim 20 wherein the operational server means comprises:

an interface server for generating interface statements in response to user input;

an outcall server which is driven by the interface statements for generating outcall lists to select telecommunications paths for outcalling by the run-time executive means; and

a broadcast server for sorting and distributing information retrieved from the relational database by the voice processing system.

22. A method of performing voice processing functions in a voice processing system of the type having a general-purpose computer-based control system, utilizing a digital input device and a telecommunications line comprising the steps of:

receiving digital data from a user over the telecommunications line and storing the digital data in the general-purpose computer-based control system;

initializing a state vector function stored in a memory in the general-purpose computer-based control system with the digital input received from the user;

operating the state vector function on a systemdefined object having an initial state associated therewith which is stored on a database associated with the general-purpose computer-based control system, thereby modifying the object'"'"'s state;

generating a user-recognizable event which is realized by the state vector function'"'"'s modification of the object'"'"'s state; and

outputting the user-recognizable event generated by the state vector function'"'"'s operation on the object.

23. The method of voice processing recited in claim 22 wherein the receiving step further comprises the steps of:

providing a run-time executive on the general-purpose computer-based control system; and

controlling the voice processing system with the run-time executive when the voice processing system is in communication with a user through the telecommunications line.

24. The method of voice processing recited in claim 23 further comprising the step of generating application logic state tables to be used by the run-time executive and which provide instructions to the run-time executive to operate the voice processing system.

25. The method of voice processing system recited in claim 24 further comprising the step of interfacing communications protocols to the database to enable the run-time executive to interact with the database in response to a user'"'"'s command to modify the object'"'"'s state.

26. The method of voice processing recited in claim 25 further comprising the step of generating a voice window to provide a protocol which organizes and manages information exchanges between the communications protocols and the user to provide vector state transitions which produce voice transactions events in response to the user'"'"'s input.

27. The method of voice processing recited in claim 26 wherein the object, the state associated with the object, and the state vector function are stored on the database in the general-purpose computer-based control system.

28. The method of voice processing recited in claim 27 further comprising the step of converting user input to the general-purpose computer based control system into standard queries corresponding to commands input from the user.

29. The method of voice processing recited in claim 28 wherein the database is a relational database adapted to respond to the standard queries converted from the user input.

30. A method of integrated on-line voice processing with a general-purpose computer which is interfaced to a telecommunications line comprising the steps of:

identifying at least one object having a state in response to a user command wherein the object is adapted to provide a voice processing transaction to a user that accesses the general-purpose computer through the telecommunications line;

acting on the object with a vector protocol adapted to change the state of the object in response to the user'"'"'s command;

outputting at least one event in response to the changed state of the object after the object has been operated on by the vector protocol;

initializing the voice processing transaction in response to the event; and

communicating the voice processing transaction to the user through the telecommunications line.

31. The method of integrated on-line voice processing recited in claim 30 further comprising the steps of:

controlling the voice processing transaction in response to a user input to the general-purpose computer with a run-time executive;

generating application logic state tables that provide instructions to the run-time executive to control the voice processing transaction;

generating the voice processing transaction to the user on command from the run-time executive as instructed by the application logic state tables which are generated; and

interfacing the voice processing transaction with standard queries after the voice processing transaction has been initialized.

32. The method of integrated on-line voice processing recited in claim 31 wherein the object, vector protocol, and event are stored on a storage device.

33. The method of integrated on-line voice processing recited in claim 32 wherein the storage device is a relational database.

34. The method of integrated on-line voice processing recited in claim 33 wherein the relational database is adapted to respond to standard queries input to the relational database through the general-purpose computer.

35. The method of integrated on-line voice processing recited in claim 34 further comprising the step of converting user input to the general-purpose computer to standard queries which are recognizable by the relational database and which enable the vector protocol to operate on the object to produce the state change achieved by the object.