Information guidance service system, information guidance providing device, information guidance service method, and recording medium

• US 8,041,312 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2005
• Issued: 10/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Endo, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, KIET M
• Application Number:
  US11/172,596
• Publication Number:
  US 20060004599A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,301 Days
• Field of Search: 455/405, 455/518, 455/406, 455/416, 455/569.1, 455/90.2, 455/171.1, 705/40, 701/1, 379/191, 379/80, 379/88.01, 379/88.04, 370/352
• US Class Current: 455/90.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3608 using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/39 using speech synthesis
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/15 Information service where the information is dependent on the location of the subscriber
• 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: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services

Abstract

An information guidance service system according to the present invention provides a user terminal with information on a facility in use. The information guidance service system includes the user terminal having a push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) function of performing a transceiver-mode communications; a PoC server which controls the transceiver-mode communications with the PoC function to relay between the user terminal and an information guidance providing device; and the information guidance providing device for providing the information on the facility in use to the user terminal. The information guidance providing device includes a control circuit that controls to communicate with the user terminal via the PoC server and notify the user terminal of the information on the facility in use as a voice signal.

Claims

1. An information guidance service system for providing an information guidance service to a user terminal having a push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) function with voice guidance information, comprising

an information guidance providing device for providing guidance information by voice data in response to voice data inputted from the user terminal using a one-way communication by transceiver mode communication of the PoC function, including

a voice recognition circuit for recognizing the voice data inputted from the user terminal for the information guidance service;

a service data base for storing voice data pieces relating to the information guidance service;

a voice synthesis circuit for synthesizing the voice data relating to the information guidance service and outputting synthesized voice data to the user terminal; and

a control circuit for controlling the information guidance service provided by the information guidance providing device through the voice recognition circuit and the voice synthesis circuit; and

a PoC server for controlling the one-way communication by transceiver mode communication of the PoC function to relay voice data between the information guidance providing device and the user terminal, monitoring the voice data transmitted between the information guidance providing device and the user terminal, and being provided with a timer which is activated for a predetermined time period at each time the voice data is detected,

wherein the PoC server stops the timer when no voice data is detected after the predetermined time period has elapsed, starts the timer again when the voice data is detected after the predetermined time period has elapsed and performs charging for the user terminal while the timer is being activated, and

wherein the predetermined time period counted by the timer represents a supposed time period during which the voice is being heard from the user terminal and calculated based on a length of the voice data having been received.

2. The information guidance service system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a time schedule database provided in the information guidance providing device for accumulating running schedules of a vehicle of public transportation; and

a vehicle management device connected with the information guidance providing device for managing running status of the vehicle,

wherein the information guidance providing device provides time information on the vehicle to the user terminal as the information guidance service.

3. The information guidance service system according to claim 2, wherein

the control circuit obtains information on a get-on place, a get-off place, and a scheduled get-on time for the vehicle based on the voice data transmitted from the user terminal, searches for a route based on the obtained information from the user terminal by referring to information of the time schedule database and the vehicle management device, and provides the voice data of time information on the vehicle to the user terminal.

4. The information guidance service system according to claim 3, wherein

the information guidance providing device provides transit guidance information on the vehicle to the user terminal as the information guidance service while a user of the user terminal is aboard the vehicle based on notification of getting on the vehicle from the user terminal and detected current position of the vehicle through the vehicle management device.

5. The information guidance system according to claim 4, wherein

the information guidance providing device notifies the user terminal about a transit place and the get-off place by the voice data when the vehicle is approaching the respective places.

6. The information guidance service system according to claim 5, wherein the information guidance providing device further comprises:

a DTMF detector for receiving and analyzing a dial tone multi frequency (DTMF) signal transmitted from the user terminal for inputting information as the voice data.

7. An information guidance service method for providing an information guidance service to a user terminal having push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) function with voice guidance information, comprising:

connecting the user terminal to an information guidance providing device via a PoC server which controls a one-way communication by transceiver mode communication of the PoC function to relay voice data between the information guidance providing device and the user terminal;

performing communications using said respective one-way communications in such a manner that guidance information is provided from the information guidance providing device by voice data to the user terminal in accordance with inputted information by voice data inputted from the user terminal;

monitoring the voice data transmitted between the information guidance providing device and the user terminal and activating a timer for a predetermined time period at each time the voice data is detected at the PoC server;

stopping the timer when no voice data is detected after the predetermined time period has elapsed, starting the timer again when the voice data is detected after the predetermined time period has elapsed and performing charging the user terminal while the timer mer is being activated at the PoC server;

recognizing the voice data inputted from the user terminal for the information guidance service in the information guidance providing device;

synthesizing voice data pieces stored in the information guidance providing device relating to the information guidance service to generate synthesized voice data; and

outputting the synthesized voice data to the user terminal from the information guidance providing device,

wherein the predetermined time period counted by the timer represents a supposed time period during which the voice is being heard from the user terminal and calculated based on a length of the voice data having been received.

8. The information guidance service method according to claim 7, wherein the information guidance providing device provides time information on a vehicle of public transportation as the information guidance service by referring to running schedules accumulated in a time schedule database provided in the information guidance providing device and running status of the vehicle managed in a vehicle management device connected with the information guidance providing device, and the method further comprising:

obtaining information on a get-on place, a get-off place, and a scheduled get-on time for the vehicle at the information guidance providing device based on the voice data transmitted from the user terminal;

searching for a route based on the obtained information from the user terminal by referring to information of the time schedule database and the vehicle management device; and

providing the voice data of time information on the vehicle to the user terminal.

9. The information guidance service method according to claim 8, wherein the information guidance providing device provides transit guidance information on the vehicle as the information guidance service to the user terminal while a user of the user terminal is aboard the vehicle based on notification of getting on the vehicle from the user terminal and detected current position of the vehicle through the vehicle management device, and the method further comprising:

notifying the user terminal about a transit place and the get-off place by the voice data when the information guidance providing device detects that the vehicle is approaching the respective places.

10. The information guidance service method according to claim 9, wherein the voice data inputted from the user terminal is a dial tone multi frequency (DTMF) signal and analyzed in the information guidance providing device as the voice data.