System and method for the creation and automatic deployment of personalized, dynamic and interactive voice services, including deployment through digital sound files

• US 6,606,596 B1
• Filed: 12/07/1999
• Issued: 08/12/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microstrategy Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Microstrategy Incorporated
• Inventors: Zirngibl, Michael, Patnaik, Anurag, Maass, Bodo, Eberle, Hannes
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Doris H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nolan, Daniel A.
• Application Number:
  US09/454,598
• Time in Patent Office: 1,344 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270, 704/270.1, 704/275, 704/260, 704/231, 704/241, 704/251, 345/752, 709/206
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/105 Financial transactions and auctions, e.g. bidding auctioneering devices in packet switching networks H04L12/1804
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/1058 Shopping and product ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/1066 Game playing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2016 Call initiation by network rather than by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2072 Schedules, e.g. personal calendars
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/355 Interactive dialogue design tools, features or methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6045 Identity confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/22 Automatic class or number identification arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42093 Notifying the calling party of information on the called or connected party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42136 Administration or customisation of services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 : via computer interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 : Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4872 : Non-interactive information services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 : Advertisement messages
• 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 3/4938 : comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5158 : in combination with automated outdialling systems devices for signalling identity of wanted subscriber H04M1/26
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 : Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 : Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53325 : Interconnection arrangements between voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53375 : Message broadcasting
• 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 system and method for the creation and automatic deployment of personalized, dynamic and interactive voice services, including information derived from on-line analytical processing (OLAP) systems and other data repositories is disclosed. In particular, the system and method include the ability to deploy voice services through a digital sound file. The system and method access personalized information and generate personalized markup documents from the personalized information. The personalized markup document is used to generate a sound file that is made available to a subscriber of the voice service, for example, through an e-mail or by posting to a web site.

Claims

1. A method for providing one or more individuals with personalized information in an audible format, the method comprising:

accessing personalized information for the one or more individuals;

generating personalized markup documents for the one or more individuals from the personalized information;

generating personalized sound files from the personalized markup documents;

customizing the personalized sound files by presenting the one or more individuals with a plurality of style properties comprising options pertaining to enhancements to the personalized sound files to be used in generating the personalized sound files, registering style property selections from the one or more individuals, and generating the personalized sound files in accordance with the registered style property selections; and

delivering the personalized sound files to the one or more individuals.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating personalized sound files comprises generating one or more sound files in a digital audio format.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of delivering the personalized sound files comprises:

composing one or more electronic mail messages; and

,

attaching the personalized sound files to the electronic mail messages.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of delivering the personalized sound files comprises:

posting the personalized sound files on an Internet web site; and

,

granting the one or more individuals access to the Internet web site.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of style properties comprise options pertaining to format of the personalized sound files.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of style properties comprise options pertaining to delivery of the personalized sound files.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of style properties comprise options pertaining to content of the personalized sound files.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of style properties comprise options pertaining to size of the personalized sound files.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the enhancements comprise sound effects to be added to the personalized sound files.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the enhancements comprise music to be added to the personalized sound files.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the enhancements comprise sound files to be added to the personalized sound files.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the enhancements comprise visual enhancements.

13. A system for providing one or more individuals with personalized information in an audible format comprising:

means for accessing personalized information for the one or more individuals;

means for generating personalized markup documents for the one or more individuals from the personalized information;

means for generating personalized sound files from the personalized markup documents;

means for customizing the personalized sound files by presenting the one or more individuals with a plurality of style properties comprising options pertaining to enhancements to the personalized sound files to be used in generating the personalized sound files, registering style property selections from the one or more individuals, and generating the personalized sound files in accordance with the registered style property selections; and

means for delivering the personalized sound files to the one or more individuals.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the means for accessing personalized information comprises an on-line analytical processing system.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the means for generating personalized markup documents comprises a server for generating the personalized markup documents from the personalized information.

16. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

a markup parsing engine for translating the personalized markup documents; and

,

a text to speech engine for generating a speech output from the translated personalized markup documents.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the sound file generator further comprises a sound file format module that formats the personalized sound files into a digital sound file format.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the format is a .wav file format.

19. The system of claim 13 wherein the sound file distribution module further comprises an electronic mail delivery module that delivers an electronic mail message containing the personalized sound files to the one or more individuals.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the sound file distribution module further comprises a module that enables posting the personalized sound files to an Internet web site.