Calendar system with direct and telephony networked voice control interface

• US 6,009,398 A
• Filed: 04/18/1997
• Issued: 12/28/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MediaOne Group Inc. (Comcast Corporation), U S West Inc.
• Inventors: Mueller, Hans-Peter, Cox, Louis Anthony Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hudspeth, David R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Storm, Donald L.
• Application Number:
  US08/843,980
• Time in Patent Office: 984 Days
• Field of Search: 345/963, 364/705.08, 364/705.01, 364/705.07, 704/200, 704/272, 704/275, 704/270
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

An electronic calendar system is disclosed wherein the calendar system can interact with a user entirely auditorially, e.g. via speech based interactions, entirely visually, or a combination of both. Moreover, the present invention utilizes context information regarding the state or configuration of the calendar system so that substantially at any time a user may query the calendar system for informing the user of the current state of the calendar system. Accordingly, the present invention is particularly useful for users who communicate with the calendar system substantially or entirely auditorially. The user may contact a processing module in the calendar system through a telecommunications network such as a telephone network, a cable network or through the worldwide web. The system includes an apparatus for converting speech to text streams and vice versa. In such an interaction mode, a user can utter a phrase such as, "Where am I?" and the present invention is able to provide a response that assists the user in maintaining effective communication with the calendar system. Accordingly, the present invention is particularly useful for telephony users wherein a standard telephone is the user communication device to the calendar system of the present invention.

Claims

1. A voice controlled computer processing calendar system, comprising;

a calendar module for performing a calendar activity, said calendar activity including one of entering, storing, retrieving, modifying and deleting a calendar association;

wherein said calendar association associates data for a calendar time period with user data supplied by a user; and

wherein said calendar module, when performing said calendar activity, transitions from a first computational state to second computational state, each said computational state for representing a computational configuration of said calendar module, and wherein said first computational state represents said computational configuration of said calendar module before performing said calendar activity and said second computational state represents said computational configuration of said calendar module after performing said calendar activity;

a translation module for translating between;

(i) signals for communicating speech, and (ii) text;

a context analyzer (a) for receiving communications between said calendar module and, via said translation module, the user, said communications related to a transitioning of said calendar module from said first computational state to said second computational state, sand (b) for establishing, with said communications, context information related to said second computational state of said calendar module;

wherein synthesized speech related to said context information is output of the user using said translation module.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said communications includes at least a portion of said user data.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said calendar module, said translation module and said context analyzer is provided by a telephony infrastructure.

4. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said communications is transmitted using a telecommunication network between the user and at least one of said calendar module, said translation module and said context analyzer.

5. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 4, wherein said telecommunication network includes one of a telephone network, a cable network and a World Wide Web website.

6. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, further including a visual user interface having:

a visual input means for receiving said user data related to said calendar association; and

a visual output means for outputting visual information related to one of said calendar associations.

7. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 6, wherein said context analyzer coordinates a speech output to the user with a visual output to the user, via said visual user interface, so that said speech output includes a spoken version of said visual output.

8. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said translation means includes:

a speech recognition means for translating the user speech into text strings; and

a text-to-speech means for translating text into signals for communicating speech.

9. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said context analyzer includes a state transition means for identifying a new computational state of said calendar module using said context information when said context analyzer receives said communications communicated between said calendar module and the user.

10. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said context analyzer responds to requests for information related to a current computational state with text related to said current computational state, said text converted into speech by said translation module.

11. A method for interacting with an electronic calendar, comprising:

determining a user preference for interaction, said interaction being predominantly one of visual and audio based;

communicating with the user substantially visually when the user'"'"'s interaction preference is audio based;

receiving information for a user specified time related to a user specified description for said specified time during an activation of a first command for said electronic calendar, wherein said information is input as speech when the user'"'"'s interaction preference is audio based;

translating between;

(i) signals for communicating speech, and (ii) text; and

providing, when the user'"'"'s interaction is audio based, the user with a spoken description of a status related to said activation, said status including one of an identification of said first command, an identification of a data field for said first command, and an identification of data in a data field for said first command.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said specified time is one of a time within a day, a day, a month, and a year.

13. A method as claimed in claim 11, further including outputting to the user data related to one of a time within a day, a date, and a description of a calendar entry.

14. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said step of determining includes configuring said electronic calendar for communicating with the user in one of a visual based and an audio based communication according to a capability of a user communication device.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said step of configuring includes setting said electronic calendar for audio based interaction with the user when said user communication device includes a telephone.

16. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said step of configuring includes setting said electronic calendar for visual based interaction with the user when said user communication device includes a display terminal.

17. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said step of receiving includes transmitting said information over a telecommunications network.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein said telecommunications network is one of a telephony network, a cable network and an Internet network.