Voice control of a server

• US 6,157,705 A
• Filed: 12/05/1997
• Issued: 12/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Morgan Stanley Services Group Inc. (Morgan Stanley)
• Original Assignee: E*Trade Group, Inc. (Morgan Stanley)
• Inventors: Perrone, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): WEAVER, SCOTT LOUIS
• Application Number:
  US08/985,565
• Time in Patent Office: 1,096 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.01, 379/88.02, 379/88.04, 379/88.17, 379/88.13, 705/36, 705/37, 705/39, 705/44
• US Class Current: 379/88.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3334 Selection or weighting of terms from queries, including natural language queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML

Abstract

A method for controlling a server using voice is disclosed. In one embodiment, a client such as a Web browser is coupled over a data communication channel to a server. A telephone at the client side is connected to an interactive voice response (IVR) system that has a speech recognizer at the server side, over a separate, parallel voice communication channel. The IVR system has a control connection to the server. A table of associations between resource identifiers and network addresses is stored in association with the IVR system. A user at the client side establishes a data connection between the client and the server, and a voice connection between the telephone and the IVR system. Control software on the IVR system synchronizes an IVR session to a server session. The control software receives a spoken utterance over the voice communication channel, interprets the utterance to recognize a resource identifier in the utterance, and associates the resource identifier with a network address of a server resource. The IVR system commands the server to deliver the server resource identified by that network address to the client. Thus, the server delivers server resources in response to voice commands at the client side. In an alternate embodiment, the voice communication channel is integrated with the data communication channel. The invention also encompasses an apparatus, computer system, computer program product, and computer data signal configured to carry out the foregoing steps.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a remote server by a voice command issued from a location local to a client, comprising the steps of:

establishing a voice communication channel between said location local to said client and said remote server;

establishing a data communication channel associated with said voice communication channel between said client and said remote server;

receiving said voice command by said voice communication channel;

associating said voice command with an identifier of a server resource;

selecting said server resource based on said identifier and

associating said identifier with a network address by

identifying said identifier in a table of said remote server that maps identifiers to network addresses, and

looking up said network address in said table; and

delivering said server resource from said remote server to said client by said data communication channel.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said step of associating said identifier further comprises the step of loading said server resource identified by said network address from a storage device coupled to said remote server.

3. A method of controlling a remote server by a voice command issued from a location local to a client, comprising the steps of:

establishing a voice communication channel between said location local to said client and said remote server;

establishing a data communication channel associated with said voice communication channel between said client and said remote server;

receiving said voice command by said voice communication channel;

associating said voice command with an identifier of a server resource;

selecting said server resource based on said identifier;

delivering said server resource from said remote server to said client by said data communication channel;

establishing a data communication channel between said client and said remote server configured to communicate data said client and said remote server; and

establishing a second voice communication channel between said client and said remote server configured to communicate sound information including said voice command among said client and said remote server.

4. The method recited in claim 3, wherein said step of establishing a second voice communication channel includes establishing a telephone connection from said client to a voice recognizer that is coupled to said remote server.

5. The method recited in claim 3, wherein said step of establishing a second voice communication channel includes establishing a telephone connection from said client to an interactive voice response (IVR) system coupled to said remote server.

6. The method recited in claim 3 wherein said step of establishing a second voice communication channel includes establishing an Internet telephony connection from said client to a voice recognizer that is coupled to said remote server.

7. The method recited in claim 5 wherein said step of associating said voice command with an identifier further includes recognizing a natural language phrase in said voice command at said IVR system;

transmitting said natural language phrase to said remote server; and

transmitting a voice response from said IVR system to said client.

8. A method of controlling a remote server by a voice command issued from a location local to a client, comprising the steps of:

establishing a voice communication channel between said location local to said client and said remote server;

establishing a data communication channel associated with said voice communication channel between said client and said remote server;

receiving said voice command by said voice communication channel;

associating said voice command with an identifier of a server resource by

converting a waveform of said voice command into a plurality of tokens, each token representing a parameter that describes a characteristic of said waveform, and

converting said plurality of tokens into a resource identifier for a resource associated with the voice command; and

selecting said server resource based on said identifier; and

delivering said server resource from said remote server to said client by said data communication channel.

9. A method of controlling a remote server by a voice command issued from a location local to a client, comprising the steps of:

establishing a voice communication channel between said location local to said client and said remote server;

establishing a data communication channel associated with said voice communication channel between said client and said remote server;

receiving said voice command by said voice communication channel;

associating said voice command with an identifier of a server resource by

at the client, receiving a waveform representation of said voice command;

converting said waveform representation of said voice command into a plurality of tokens that represent physical characteristics of said waveform representation;

delivering said plurality of tokens over said data communication channel to said remote server, and

converting said plurality of tokens into a resource identifier for a resource associated with the voice command; and

selecting said server resource based on said identifier; and

delivering said server resource from said remote server to said client by said data communication channel.

10. A method of controlling a securities trading server from a client by voice, comprising the steps of:

establishing a data communication channel between said client and said remote server and a voice communication channel between a location local to said client and an interactive voice response (IVR) system coupled to said remote server;

receiving a voice command that contains a request to trade a security and a name of said security to be traded;

associating said request with one of said network addresses in a table of mappings of requests to network addresses stored in association with said remote server;

delivering a document identified by said one of said network addresses over said data communication channel to said client;

delivering a voice message from said IVR system to said client over said voice communication channel; and

executing a trade of said security.

11. The method recited in claim 10, wherein the step of establishing a data communication channel includes the step of synchronizing said data communication channel to said voice communication channel.

12. A computer system providing voice control of a server from a client at a local point, comprising:

a data communication channel connecting said client and said remote server;

a voice communication channel coupled from said local point to said remote server, and synchronized to said data communication channel;

a plurality of documents stored in association with said remote server;

a table stored in association with said remote server and configured to associate network addresses of said documents with natural language phrases; and

a sequence of instructions stored in memory coupled to said remote server and configured to cause said remote server to execute the steps of;

receiving said voice command by said voice communication channel;

associating said voice command with one of said natural language phrases in said table;

associating said one of said natural language phrases with one of said network addresses in said table;

delivering said document from said remote server to said client by said data communication channel; and

delivering a voice message from said remote server to said local point, wherein said voice message is coordinated with said document.

13. The computer system recited in claim 12, wherein said voice communication channel is integrated with said data communication channel.

14. The computer system recited in claim 12, wherein said sequence of instructions further comprise instructions that cause said processor to carry out the step of processing said voice command using a speech recognition process to recognize said natural language phrase.

15. The computer system recited in claim 12, wherein said sequence of instructions further comprise instructions that cause said processor to carry out the steps of:

identifying said natural language phrase in a table of said remote server that maps natural language phrases to network addresses; and

looking up said one of said network addresses in said table.

16. The computer system recited in claim 12, wherein said sequence of instructions further comprise instructions that cause said processor to carry out the step of loading said document identified by said network address from a storage device coupled to said remote server.

17. The computer system recited in claim 15, wherein said voice communication channel comprises a telephone connection from said client to a voice recognizer that is coupled to said remote server.

18. The computer system recited in claim 15, wherein said voice communication channel comprises a telephone connection from said client to an interactive voice response (IVR) system coupled to said remote server.

19. The computer system recited in claim 15 wherein voice communication channel comprises an Internet telephony connection from said client to a voice recognizer that is coupled to said remote server.

20. The computer system recited in claim 18 wherein said sequence of instructions further comprises instructions that cause said processor to execute the steps of:

recognizing said natural language phrase in said voice command at said IVR system;

transmitting said natural language phrase to said remote server; and

transmitting a voice response from said IVR system to said client.

21. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for controlling a remote server by a voice command issued from a location local to a client, the one or more sequences of one or more instructions including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

establishing a voice communication channel between said location local to said client and said remote server;

establishing a data communication channel associated with said voice communication channel between said client and said remote server;

receiving said voice command by said voice communication channel;

associating said voice command with an identifier of a server resource;

selecting said server resource based on said identifier and associating said identifier with a network address by

identifying said identifier in a table of said remote server that maps identifiers to network addresses, and

looking up said network address in said table; and

delivering said server resource from said remote server to said client by said data communication channel.

22. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21, wherein said step of associating said identifier further comprises loading said server resource identified by said network address from a storage device coupled to said remote server.

23. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for controlling a remote server by a voice command issued from a location local to a client, the one or more sequences of one or more instructions including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one more processors to perform the steps of:

establishing a voice communication channel between said location local to said client and said remote server;

establishing a data communication channel associated with said voice communication channel between said client and said remote server;

receiving said voice command by said voice communication channel;

associating said voice command with an identifier of a server resource;

selecting said server resource based on said identifier;

delivering said server resource from said remote server to said client by said data communication channel;

establishing a data communication channel between said client and said remote server configured to communicate data said client and said remote server; and

establishing a second voice communication channel between said client and said remote server configured to communicate sound information including said voice command among said client and said remote server.

24. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 23, wherein said step of establishing a second voice communication channel includes establishing a telephone connection from said client to a voice recognizer that is coupled to said remote server.

25. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 23, wherein said step of establishing a second voice communication channel includes establishing a telephone connection from said client to an interactive voice response (IVR) system coupled to said remote server.

26. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 23, wherein said step of establishing a second voice communication channel includes establishing an Internet telephony connection from said client to a voice recognizer that is coupled to said remote server.

27. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 25, wherein said step of associating said voice command with an identifier includes recognizing a natural language phrase in said voice command at said IVR system, transmitting said natural language phrase to said remote server, and transmitting a voice response from said IVR system to said client.