Voice-aided diagnostic for voice over internet protocol (VOIP) based device

• US 7,948,903 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2005
• Issued: 05/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fang, Zheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo; Ricky
• Assistant Examiner(s): Oveissi; David
• Application Number:
  US11/180,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20050249197A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,141 Days
• Field of Search: 370/352, 370/241, 370/242, 379/21, 379/27, 379/58, 379/59, 375/1, 375/21, 375/29, 704/252, 704/254, 704/255, 704/257, 704/270
• US Class Current: 370/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42676 for modulating an analogue carrier signal to encode digital information or demodulating it to decode digital information, e.g. ADSL or cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for using voice commands to invoke a mode of operation of a broadband network device used in a broadband communication network implemented with VOIP, such as a communication gateway. The user can interface interactively with the device through voice commands or through touch-tone data entry, and the results of the tasks performed are reported back to the user in voice format.

Claims

1. A voice invoked method used in a device of a broadband communication network implemented with voice over interne protocol, comprising the steps of:

a. invoking a main task by receiving a first input of a user;

b. said main task providing a plurality of subtasks and outputting a corresponding selection menu in voice format;

c. receiving a second input from a user responsive to the outputted menu;

d. interpreting said second input and executing a selected subtask when said second input is interpreted as a valid selection which corresponds to the selected subtask; and

e. outputting a report reflecting the result of executing said selected subtask in a voice format,

wherein said selected subtask diagnoses and determines a status of said broadband communication network or said device, and

the report indicates the status of said broadband communication network or said device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said first and second inputs are in voice format.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said main task is invoked by a voice input or a dial tone input as said first input.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said second input is a voice input or a dial tone input.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one valid access code is provided and wherein invoking said main task comprises:

a1. interpreting said first voice input; and

a2. invoking said main task only if said first input is interpreted as a valid access code.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein providing a plurality of subtasks further comprising:

b1. categorizing said access code into a plurality of access-code groups; and

b2. the accessibility of said subtasks depending on said access code groups.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said subtask is a multi-level with each level including a plurality of subtasks and their corresponding selection menu in voice format.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein invoking said subtasks further comprising the ability to download main tasks, subtasks and their related files from other network devices through said broadband communication networks.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

f. authenticating the user for verifying whether the user is a valid user.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step f is performed by comparing a user'"'"'s voice command to a voice file stored in a memory.

9. A device configured to have voice invoked tasks implemented with voice over Internet protocol, comprising:

a connection cable of connecting a telephone set with said device and receiving an input from a user through said telephone set and sending voice output from said device to said user through said telephone set;

a memory storing a main task having a plurality of subtasks and its corresponding digital voice files;

a first processor coupled to said connection cable and configured to convert the input from a user into a digital format and output a selected digital voice file to said user in a voice format; and

a second processor operatively coupled to said first processor, the second processor having a capacity of checking the validity of inputs from a user, invoking said main task in response to a specified input from a user, executing one of said subtasks in response to a valid input from a user, and reporting the result of an executed subtask by selecting a corresponding digital voice file for said first processor to process,

wherein said one of said subtasks diagnoses and determines a status of said device, and

the result indicates the status of said device.

10. A device configured to have voice invoked tasks in a broadband communication network implemented with voice over Internet protocol, comprising:

means for connecting a telephone set with said device;

means for invoking a main task by a user'"'"'s input through said telephone set;

said main task means for providing a plurality of subtasks and their corresponding selection menu which will be output to said user in voice format;

means for receiving a valid selection of said selection menu from said user;

means for interpreting said user selection and executing said selected subtask; and

means for voice reporting the result of executed subtask to said user,

wherein said one of said subtasks diagnoses and determines a status of said device or said broadband communication network, and

the result indicates the status of said device or said broadband communication network.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein means for invoking by a user'"'"'s input further comprising a user'"'"'s voice input.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein means for invoking by a user'"'"'s input further comprising a user'"'"'s input by using keypad of said telephone set.

13. The device of claim 10, wherein said subtasks including download update tasks, subtasks and their related files from other network devices through said broadband communication network.

14. The device of claim 10, wherein said device is a communication gateway in a cable television network implemented with voice over Internet protocol.

15. The device of claim 10, wherein said device is a settop box in a cable television network implemented with voice over Internet protocol.