Internet-enabled voice-response service

• US 6,519,246 B1
• Filed: 06/30/1997
• Issued: 02/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Strahs, Lee B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Chau
• Assistant Examiner(s): KWOH, JASPER C
• Application Number:
  US08/886,136
• Time in Patent Office: 2,052 Days
• Field of Search: 370/259, 370/352-356, 370/410, 370/522, 370/252, 370/353, 370/525, 370/526, 379/220, 379/220.01, 379/221.01, 707/10
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 via computer interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal

Abstract

A method and system of providing a remote user with access to a voice response unit, which allows Internet users to access voice response units using a web graphical interface. In one aspect, the present invention includes an Internet telephone services node, which includes a web server communicatively coupled to a client computer system of the remote user, a voice switch initiating a call to a voice response unit, responsive to a signal from the web server, a touch-tone generator generating a touch-tone signal, responsive to a signal from the web server, and transmitting the touch-tone signal to the voice response unit through the voice switch and an audio streaming server receiving an audio signal from the voice response unit through the voice switch, digitizing the audio signal and transmitting the digitized audio signal to the client computer system through the web server. In another aspect, in order to provide a remote user with access to a voice response unit, the Internet telephone services node receives a request for access to the voice response unit from the remote user. Communications with the voice response unit are established. An audio signal is received from the voice response unit and information to be displayed to the remote user, which corresponds to the received audio message, is transmitted to the remote user.

Claims

1. A method of providing a remote user with access to a voice response unit, comprising the steps of:

accepting access from the remote user;

transmitting to the remote user, via a data network, information to be displayed, the information representing a plurality of voice response units that may be selected;

receiving from the remote user, via the data network, a first selection indicating a selected one of the plurality of voice response units;

establishing audio communications with the selected voice response unit, via a telephone network;

receiving from the selected voice response unit, via the telephone network, an audio message indicating a plurality of options that may be selected;

transmitting to the remote user, via the data network, information corresponding to the received audio message;

receiving from the remote user, via the data network, a second selection indicating a selected one of the plurality of options; and

transmitting to the selected voice response unit, via the telephone network, an audio signal based on the selected option.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the access from the remote user is over the Internet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio communications are carried over the public switched telephone network.

4. A method of providing a remote user with access to a voice response unit, comprising the steps of:

establishing communications with an Internet telephone services node;

receiving, from the Internet telephone services node, a first unit of information representing a plurality of voice response units that may be selected;

displaying, to the user, the first unit of information,

receiving, from the user, a first selection indicating one of the plurality of voice response units;

transmitting the first selection to the Internet telephone services node;

establishing audio communications with the selected voice response unit;

receiving, from the selected voice response unit, a second unit of information corresponding to an audio message, the audio message indicating a plurality of options that may be selected;

displaying the second unit of information to the user,

receiving, from the user, a second selection indicating a selected one of the plurality of options; and

transmitting the second selection to the Internet telephone services node.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein communications with the Internet telephone services node are carried over the Internet.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the second unit of information comprises the audio message from the selected voice response unit, and the method further comprises the step of:

playing the audio message to the user.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the second unit of information comprises a digitized audio message based on the audio message from the selected voice response unit, and the method further comprises the steps of:

converting the digitized audio message to analog form; and

playing the audio message to the user.

8. A system for providing a remote user having a client computer system with access to a voice response unit, comprising:

a web server communicatively coupled to the client computer system;

a voice switch configured to initiate a call to a voice response unit, responsive to a signal from the web server;

a touch-tone generator configured to generate a touch-tone signal, responsive to a signal from the web server, and transmit the touch-tone signal to the voice response unit through the voice switch; and

an audio streaming server configured to receive an audio signal from the voice response unit through the voice switch, digitize the audio signal and transmit the digitized audio signal to the client computer system.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the received audio signal indicates a plurality of options that may be selected;

the web server is further operable to receive a selection indicating one of the plurality of options from the user and transmit a signal based on the selected option to the touch-tone generator; and

the touch-tone generator is operable to transmit a touch-tone signal based on the selected option to the voice response unit, responsive to the signal from the web server.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein communications with the client computer system are carried over the Internet.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the communications with the voice response unit are audio communications.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the audio communications are carried over the public switched telephone network.

13. A system for providing a remote user with access to a voice response unit, comprising:

means for accepting access from a remote user;

means for transmitting information to be displayed to the user, the information representing a plurality of voice response units that may be selected;

means for receiving a first selection indicating a selected one of the plurality of voice response units from the remote user;

means for establishing audio communications with the selected voice response unit;

means for receiving an audio message from the selected voice response unit, the audio message indicating a plurality of options that may be selected;

means for transmitting information corresponding to the received audio message to the remote user;

means for receiving a second selection indicating a selected one of the plurality of options; and

means for transmitting an audio signal based on the selected option to the selected voice response unit.

14. A system for providing a remote user with access to a voice response unit, comprising:

means for establishing communications with an Internet telephone services node;

means for receiving a first unit of information representing a plurality of voice response units that may be selected from the Internet telephone services node;

means for displaying the first unit of information to the user,

means for receiving a first selection indicating one of the plurality of voice response units from the user;

means for transmitting the first selection to the Internet telephone services node;

means for establishing audio communications with the selected voice response unit;

means for receiving a second unit of information corresponding to an audio message from the selected voice response unit, the audio message indicating a plurality of options that may be selected;

means for displaying the second unit of information to the user,

means for receiving a second selection indicating a selected one of the plurality of options from the user; and

means for transmitting the second selection to the Internet telephone services node.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein communications with the Internet telephone services node are carried over the Internet.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the second unit of information comprises the audio message from the selected voice response unit, and the system further comprises:

means for playing the audio message to the user.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the second unit of information comprises a digitized audio message based on the audio message from the selected voice response unit, and the system further comprises:

means for converting the digitized audio message to analog form; and

means for playing the audio message to the user.