System and method for providing network coordinated conversational services

• US 7,003,463 B1
• Filed: 10/01/1999
• Issued: 02/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Gopalakrishnan, Ponani, Maes, Stephane H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Young, W. R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sked, Matthew J.
• Application Number:
  US09/806,425
• Time in Patent Office: 2,335 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270.1, 709/203
• US Class Current: 704/270.1
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/00 Speech or voice signal processing techniques to produce another audible or non-audible signal, e.g. visual or tactile, in order to modify its quality or its intelligibility G10L19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference

Abstract

A system and method for providing automatic and coordinated sharing of conversational resources, e.g., functions and arguments, between network-connected servers and devices and their corresponding applications. In one aspect, a system for providing automatic and coordinated sharing of conversational resources inlcudes a network having a first and second network device, the first and second network device each comprising a set of conversational resources, a dialog manager for managing a conversation and executing calls requesting a conversational service, and a communication stack for communicating messages over the network using conversational protocols, wherein the conversational protocols establish coordinated network communication between the dialog managers of the first and second network device to automatically share the set of conversational resources of the first and second network device, when necessary, to perform their respective requested conversational service.

Claims

1. A method for providing automatic and coordinated sharing of conversational resources between network devices, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a conversational service by a first network device;

determining by the first network device whether to process the requested conversational service one of locally using conversational resources of the first network device, remotely using conversational resources of at least a second network device, or locally and remotely using both the local and remote conversational resources; and

automatically communicating with the at least second network device, if it is determined that the conversational service will be processed, at least in part, remotely using the conversational resources of the at least second network device,

wherein the step of determining comprises the steps of determining whether local conversational resources are available for processing the requested conversational service; and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of;

executing the requested conversational service using the local conversational resources, if it is determined that local conversational resources are available for processing the requested conversational service;

determining if results of the local processing is acceptable; and

automatically accessing the at least second network device to remotely process the requested conversational service, if it is determined that the results of the local processing are not acceptable.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting messages using conversational protocols to establish coordinated network communication between the first and at least second network device for sharing the conversational resources.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of automatically accessing comprises the steps of:

automatically establishing a network connection with the at least second network device by transmitting messages using the conversational protocols; and

transmitting compressed speech features or compressed waveform to the at least second network device.

4. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for providing automatic and coordinated sharing of conversational resources between network devices, the method steps comprising:

receiving a request for a conversational service by a first network device;

determining by the first network device whether to process the requested conversational service one of locally using conversational resources of the first network device, remotely using conversational resources of at least a second network device, or locally and remotely using both the local and remote conversational resources; and

automatically communicating with the at least second network device, if it is determined that the conversational service will be processed, at least in part, remotely using the conversational resources of the at least second network device,

wherein the instructions for performing the determining step comprise instructions for performing the steps of determining whether local conversational resources are available for processing the requested conversational service; and

wherein the program storage device further comprises instructions for performing the steps of;

executing the requested conversational service using the local conversational resources, if it is determined that local conversational resources are available for processing the requested conversational service;

determining if results of the local processing is acceptable; and

automatically accessing the at least second network device to remotely process the requested conversational service, if it is determined that the results of the local processing are not acceptable.

5. The program storage device of claim 4, further comprising instructions for performing the step of transmitting messages according to conversational protocols to establish coordinated network communication between the first and at least second network device for sharing the conversational resources.

6. The program storage device of claim 5, wherein the instructions for performing the step of automatically accessing comprise instructions for performing the steps of:

automatically establishing a network connection with the at least second network device using the conversational protocols; and

transmitting compressed speech features or a compressed waveform to the at least second network device.