Apparatus for and method of disambiguation of directory listing searches utilizing multiple selectable secondary search keys
First Claim
1. An information retrieval system comprising:
- a data base including a plurality of records, each of said records including a primary key field storing first identification data, a plurality of selectable secondary key fields storing respective secondary data, and a target information field storing requested data;
an input processor receiving input identification data;
a search engine responsive to said input identification data for accessing said data base, comparing said input identification data with said first identification data and, in response, identifying selected ones of said records;
a processor identifying one of said secondary key fields corresponding to said selected ones of said records which respective secondary data stored in said identified secondary key fields distinguishes one or more of said selected ones of said records from the others; and
an output device connected to provide a prompt including said secondary data for soliciting an input designating one or more of said selected ones of said records.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A telephone directory search method and system intelligently utilizes secondary information contained in subscriber listings to disambiguate search results and provide telephone number and other data associated with a desired party. Upon identification of more than one listing for a particular requested named party, the system searches through secondary information for each of the parties to identify distinguishing information which is solicited from the calling party. Thus, where there are multiple listings for a particular name, the system attempts to identify distinguishing categories of information such as location, department, terminal type, etc., helpful in refocusing the search and eliminating listings from further consideration. The system considers the size of the candidate list in providing prompts, enumerating secondary data for selection when there are few qualifying entries, while generally soliciting information pertaining to the identified category when there is a wide range of secondary information entries to be considered. To enhance user confidence in system understanding of name information, the system incorporates the name pronunciation used by the calling party in system formulation of prompts and announcements provided back to that caller.
433 Citations
35 Claims
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1. An information retrieval system comprising:
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a data base including a plurality of records, each of said records including a primary key field storing first identification data, a plurality of selectable secondary key fields storing respective secondary data, and a target information field storing requested data;
an input processor receiving input identification data;
a search engine responsive to said input identification data for accessing said data base, comparing said input identification data with said first identification data and, in response, identifying selected ones of said records;
a processor identifying one of said secondary key fields corresponding to said selected ones of said records which respective secondary data stored in said identified secondary key fields distinguishes one or more of said selected ones of said records from the others; and
an output device connected to provide a prompt including said secondary data for soliciting an input designating one or more of said selected ones of said records. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A telephone directory system comprising:
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a directory of subscriber records, each of said subscriber records including a primary key field storing subscriber name data, a plurality of secondary key fields storing respective secondary data, and a target information field storing telephone number data;
a speech recognition engine connected for receiving a speech input from a caller and, in response, providing requested party data;
a search engine responsive to said requested party data for accessing said data base for identifying selected ones of said records;
a processor identifying one of said secondary key fields corresponding to said selected ones of said records which respective secondary data stored in said identified secondary key fields distinguishes one or more of said selected ones of said records from the others; and
an output device connected to provide a prompt including said secondary data for soliciting an input designating one or more of said selected ones of said records. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of retrieving data including the steps of:
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storing a plurality of records, each of said records including a primary key field storing first identification data, a plurality of secondary key fields storing respective secondary data, and a target information field storing requested data;
secondary receiving input identification data;
comparing said input identification data with said first identification data and, in response, identifying selected ones of said records;
identifying one of said secondary key fields corresponding to said selected ones of said records which respective secondary data stored in said identified secondary key fields distinguishes one or more of said selected ones of said records from the others; and
providing a prompt including said secondary data for soliciting an input designating one or more of said selected ones of said records. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification