Speech recognition system for electronic switches in a cellular telephone or personal communication network

• US 5,297,183 A
• Filed: 04/13/1992
• Issued: 03/22/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: VCS Industries, Inc. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Foster, Peter J., Schalk, Thomas B., Bareis, Bernard F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shankar, Vijay
• Application Number:
  US07/867,873
• Time in Patent Office: 708 Days
• Field of Search: 379/59, 379/60, 379/58, 379/67, 379/88, 379/354, 379/355, 455/33.1, 455/54.1
• US Class Current: 455/410
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18567 Arrangements for providing additional services to the basic mobile satellite telephony service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/10 with dictation recording and playback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/405 involving speaker-dependent recognition adaptation to speaker for speech recognition G10L15/07
• 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 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices

Abstract

An advanced telecommunications system is provided for the recognizing of spoken commands over a cellular telephone, satellite telephone, or personal communications network. In the cellular application, for example, a Speech Recognition System interconnects either internally with or as an external peripheral to a cellular telecommunications switch. The Speech Recognition System includes an administrative subsystem, a call processing subsystem, a speaker-dependent recognition subsystem, a speaker-independent recognition subsystem, and a data storage subsystem. The Speech Recognition System also allows for increased efficiency in the cellular telephone network by integrating with the switch or switches as a shared resource. The administrative subsystem of the Speech Recognition System is used to keep statistical logs of pertinent call information. Pre-recorded instructional messages are stored in the memory of the call processing subsystem for instructing a user on his or her progress in using the system. The speaker-independent recognition subsystem allows the user to interact with the system employing non-user specific functions. User specific functions are controlled with the speaker-dependent recognition subsystem. User specific attributes collected by the recognition subsystems are stored in the data storage subsystem.

Claims

1. In a mobile telecommunications system that connects mobile telecommunications customers, each having a mobile unit, to land-based customers served by a telephone network, wherein incoming and outgoing calls are routed through a mobile telecommunications switching office connected to a group of cell sites that communicate with the mobile units, the improvement comprising a voice recognition system located at the mobile telecommunications switching office, the voice recognition system comprising:

a voice recognizer for recognizing characters and commands spoken by a mobile unit customer;

announcing means; and

processor means, operative under the control of a program stored therein and responsive to receipt by the voice recognizer of a first spoken command from said mobile unit customer, for controlling the announcing means to request the mobile unit customer to enter information identifying a destination number to be dialed;

the processor means further operative under the control of said program and responsive to receipt by the voice recognizer of a second spoken command from the mobile unit customer, for transferring the identifying information received by the voice recognizer to the mobile telecommunications switching office.

2. In the mobile telecommunications system as described in claim 1 wherein the voice recognizer includes means for verifying the mobile unit customer'"'"'s identity.

3. In the mobile telecommunications system as described in claim 1 wherein the identifying information comprises one or more digits of the destination number.

4. In the mobile telecommunications system as described in claim 1 wherein the identifying information comprises a keyword associated with the destination number.

5. In the mobile telecommunications system as described in claim 1 wherein the identifying information comprises a code associated with the destination number.

6. In the mobile telecommunications system as described in claim 1 wherein the processor means is further operative under the control of the program and responsive to receipt by the voice recognizer of a third spoken command from the mobile unit customer, for controlling the announcing means to announce the identifying information received by the voice recognizer to enable the mobile unit customer to verify the information prior to issuing the second spoken command.

7. In the mobile telecommunications system as described in claim 6 wherein the first spoken command is Dial, the second spoken command is Send and the third spoken command is Verify.

8. In a mobile telecommunications system that connects mobile telecommunications customers, each having a mobile unit, to land-based customers served by a telephone network, wherein incoming and outgoing calls are routed through a mobile telecommunications switching office connected to a group of cell sites that communicate with the mobile units, the improvement comprising a voice recognition system located at the mobile telecommunications switching office, the voice recognition system comprising:

a voice recognizer for recognizing characters and commands spoken by a mobile unit customer;

announcing means; and

processor means, operative under the control of a program stored therein and responsive to receipt by the voice recognizer of a first spoken command from the mobile unit customer, for controlling the announcing means to request the mobile unit customer to enter information identifying a destination number to be dialed;

the processor means further operative under the control of the program and responsive to receipt by the voice recognizer of a second spoken command from the mobile unit customer, for controlling the announcing means to announce the identifying information received by the voice recognizer to enable the mobile unit customer to verify the information;

the processor means also operative under the control of the program and responsive to receipt by the voice recognizer of a third spoken command from the mobile unit customer, for storing the identifying information received by the voice recognizer for subsequent retrieval and use by the mobile unit customer.

9. In a mobile telecommunications system as described in claim 8 wherein the first spoken command is Dial, the second spoken command is Verify and the third spoken command is Store.

10. A mobile telecommunications switching office connected between a telephone network and a group of cell sites that communicate with mobile units, comprising:

a mobile telephone switching exchange for routing incoming and outgoing calls between the mobile units and land-based customers served by the telephone network;

a voice recognizer for recognizing characters and commands spoken by a mobile unit customer;

announcing means; and

processor means, operative under the control of a program stored therein and responsive to receipt by the voice recognizer of a first spoken command from the mobile unit customer, for controlling the announcing means to request the mobile unit customer to enter information identifying a destination number to be dialed;

the processor means further operative under the control of said program and responsive to receipt by the voice recognizer of a second spoken command from the mobile unit customer, for transferring the identifying information received by the voice recognizer to the mobile telecommunications switching office.

11. A voice recognition system for use in a mobile telecommunications switching office connected between a telephone network and a group of cell sites that communicate with mobile units, the mobile telecommunications switching office including a mobile telephone switching exchange for routing incoming and outgoing calls between the mobile units and land-based customers served by the telephone network, comprising:

a voice recognizer for recognizing characters and commands spoken by a mobile unit customer;

announcing means; and

processor means, operative under the control of a program stored therein and responsive to receipt by the voice recognizer of a first spoken command from the mobile unit customer, for controlling the announcing means to request the mobile unit customer to enter information identifying a destination number to be dialed;

the processor means further operative under the control of said program and responsive to receipt by the voice recognizer of a second spoken command from the mobile unit customer, for transferring the identifying information received by the voice recognizer to the mobile telecommunications switching office.