Voice response apparatus

• US 5,781,886 A
• Filed: 12/29/1995
• Issued: 07/14/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Tsujiuchi, Hidetoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hudspeth, David R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAX, ROBERT L
• Application Number:
  US08/581,332
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 395/2.79, 395/2.84, 380/9, 358/403, 704/270, 704/275
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems

Abstract

A voice response apparatus and method in which narrative text contained in a database is presented to a user through a telephone. Based on user responses, the voice response apparatus selects only the appropriate text which matches the user'"'"'s selection. The user has the option of listening to a human voice synthesized by the system reciting the text or having the text and corresponding graphics faxed to him. At any point during the recitation of text, the user may select certain options made available by the system. These options include among many: increasing the speed of the voice reciting the text; decreasing the speed of the voice reciting the text; listening to a summary of the text rather than the full text; discontinuing recitation of the text; and switching to a different text. The system, upon detection of a user option selection, marks a position in the text and continues the recitation from that point when appropriate depending on the option selected.

Claims

1. A voice response apparatus connected via a communication line to a user telephone, said apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing narrative information;

transmitting means for generating a voice signal corresponding to the narrative information stored in said storage means and transmitting the generated voice signal to said user telephone via the communication line; and

control means for monitoring said communication line for input of position specifying data from the user telephone occurring during the transmission of the narrative information by said transmitting means, and for causing said transmitting means to interrupt the transmission of the narrative information and to resume the transmission of the narrative information from a position specified by the position specifying data.

2. A voice response apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the narrative information comprises one or more pieces of document data having a predetermined usage sequence stored therein,

said transmitting means generates the voice signals corresponding to each piece of said document data constituting the narrative information in an order based on a usage sequence, and

said control means receives the input of the position specifying data specifying one piece of said document data constituting the narrative information and resumes the transmission of the narrative information from the document data specified by the position specifying data.

3. A voice response apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the narrative information further comprises output control data for determining whether each document data is output as voice signals,

said transmitting means generates the voice signals corresponding to each piece of said document data indicating that the output control data is output in as voice signals among the document data constituting the narrative information, said transmitting means comprising:

rewriting means for rewriting said output data control data into data indicating that the voice signal output is not performed when a predetermined piece of first indication data is input from the user telephone via the communication line during transmission of the narrative information by said transmitting means.

4. A voice response apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said rewriting means rewrites a content of the output control data relative to all the document data in the narrative information into data indicating that the voice signal output is performed if a predetermined piece of second indication data is input from the user telephone via the communication line during the transmission of the narrative information by said transmitting means.

5. A voice response apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores first narrative information and second narrative information used for a same service,

said transmitting means generates the voice signals corresponding to one of the first narrative information and the second narrative information stored in said storage means, and said apparatus further comprises:

switching means for switching the narrative information used for the transmission by said transmitting means if third indication data is input from the user telephone via the communication line.

6. A voice response apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a content specified in the second narrative information is a summary of a content specified in the first narrative information.

7. A voice response according to claim 1, wherein said transmitting means generates the voice signals having utterance speeds on the basis of the narrative information, and

said control means controls said transmitting means to generate the voice signal in one of the utterance speeds according to an indication to chance an utterance speed from the user telephone via the communication line during the transmission of narrative information by said transmitting means.

8. A voice response apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a content of the narrative information is defined by text data, and

said transmitting means converts the narrative information into the voice signals by performing rule voice synthesis.

9. A voice response apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores the narrative information a content of which is defined by text data and the narrative information a content of which is defined by the accumulation voice data, and

said transmitting means converts the narrative information into the voice signals by performing rule voice synthesis when transmitting the narrative information the content of which is defined by the text data, and converts the narrative information into the voice signals by effecting waveform reproduction when transmitting the narrative information the content of which is defined by the accumulation voice data.

10. A voice response apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a database; and

retrieving means for creating said narrative information on the basis of a retrieval result of said database in accordance with a content of the indication from the user telephone and causing said storage means to store the thus created narrative information.

11. A voice response apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

facsimile signal transmitting means for creating image data on the basis of the narrative information to be transmitted by said transmitting means and transmitting facsimile signals corresponding to the created image data to the communication line.

12. A voice response apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position specifying data is a tone signal.

13. A voice response apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position specifying data the input of which is accepted by said control means comprises a portion of the position specifying data specifying the document data being transmitted.

14. A voice response apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position specifying data the input of which is accepted by said control means comprises a portion of the position specifying data specifying a portion of document data next to the document data being transmitted.

15. A voice response apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position specifying data comprises a portion of the position specifying data specifying a portion of document data positioned before the document data being transmitted.

16. A voice response apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position specifying data comprises a portion of the position specifying data specifying a head document data of the narrative information being transmitted.

17. A voice response apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position specifying data comprises a portion of the position specifying data specifying last document data of the narrative information being transmitted.

18. A voice response apparatus connected via a communication line to a user telephone, said apparatus comprising:

a voice synthesis unit generating a voice signal comprising narrative information retrieved from a database and transmitting said generated voice signal to said user telephone via said communication line; and

a control unit monitoring said communication line for a user selected option from the user telephone while the voice synthesis unit is generating a voice signal, and causing said voice synthesis unit to interrupt the transmission of the narrative information and to resume the transmission of the narrative information from a position specified by said control unit.

19. A method of controlling a voice response system connected via a communication line to a user telephone, said method comprising the steps of:

generating a voice signal comprising narrative information retrieved from a database and transmitting said generated voice signal to said user telephone via said communication line;

monitoring said communication line for a user selected option from the user telephone while generating a voice signal; and

interrupting the transmission of the narrative information and resuming the transmission of the narrative information from a position based on the user selected option.