Method and apparatus for providing notification of pre-established shorthand notation

• US 6,266,639 B1
• Filed: 05/22/1998
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Goldberg, Randy G., Mane, Amir M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorvil, Richemond
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCFADDEN, SUSAN IRIS
• Application Number:
  US09/083,860
• Time in Patent Office: 1,159 Days
• Field of Search: 704/235, 704/270, 704/275, 704/276, 707/1, 707/2, 707/6, 379/88.13, 379/207, 379/213, 379/214
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27453 Directories allowing storage of additional subscriber data, e.g. metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2748 by matching character strings

Abstract

A method and apparatus for reminding users who enter information in longhand fashion that such information may also be accessed by entering a shorthand counterpart to the entered information. According to the present invention, a user enters an input identifier into a device such as a telephone. The present invention maintains in memory a set of valid longhand identifiers associated with their respective shorthand counterparts. Based on a comparison between the input identifier and the information maintained in memory, the present invention determines whether the input identifier is a longhand information item. If it is, the present invention accesses from memory the associated shorthand information item for the entered longhand information item. The present invention then presents the accessed shorthand information item to the user, so that in the future, the user will activate the longhand information item by entering the associated shorthand information item.

Claims

1. A training method for establishing a communication through a communication medium between at least a first entity and a second entity, the method comprising the steps of:

a) receiving an input identifier from an input device;

b) determining whether the input identifier corresponds to one of a longhand information item and a shorthand information item;

c) accessing, if the input identifier corresponds to the longhand information item, the shorthand information item associated with the longhand information item determined in step b);

d) presenting at an output device the accessed shorthand information item to at least one of the first entity and the second entity; and

e) establishing the communication only if at least one of the first entity and the second entity provides the accessed shorthand information item to the communication medium through said input device.

2. An apparatus for training data entry, the apparatus comprising:

a) means for receiving an input identifier through an input device;

b) means for determining whether the input identifier corresponds to one of a longhand information item and a shorthand information item;

c) means for accessing, if the input identifier corresponds to the longhand information item, the shorthand information item associated with the longhand information item determined by the means for determining;

d) means for presenting the accessed shorthand information item through an output device; and

e) means for completing the data entry operation only after the accessed shorthand information item is used in a data entry operation.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the means for presenting comprises:

a display device through which a visual representation of the accessed shorthand information item is presented.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the means for presenting comprises:

a speech output device through which an audible representation of the accessed shorthand information item is presented.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the input identifier is a voice signal.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the input identifier is a digital signal.

7. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the input identifier is a touch-tone signal.

8. A training apparatus for establishing a communication through a communication medium between at least a first entity and a second entity, comprising:

a) receiving an input identifier from an input device;

b) means for determining whether the input identifier corresponds to one of a longhand information item and a shorthand information item;

c) means for accessing, if the input identifier corresponds to the longhand information item, the shorthand information item associated with the longhand information item determined by the means for determining;

d) means for presenting at an output device the accessed shorthand information item to at least one of the first entity and the second entity; and

e) means for establishing the communication only if at least one of the first entity and the second entity provides the accessed shorthand information item to the communication medium through said input device.