Caller identification using voice recognition

• US 8,391,445 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2008
• Issued: 03/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hoblit, Robert S., Waluk, Karen, Prorock, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Hemant
• Application Number:
  US12/268,132
• Publication Number:
  US 20100119046A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,576 Days
• Field of Search: 370351-356, 370259-271, 379 671- 8828, 37914201-14218, 379/201.01, 379/201.11, 37920713-20801, 379/67.01, 379/93.07, 379 9326- 9334, 379/110.01, 379156-166, 379/167.08, 37921601-21802, 379372-37304, 37938701-38807, 379/419, 379/430, 379/431, 704270-278, 455403-420, 455/426.2, 4554561-466, 4555501-560, 4554121-420, 455/426.1, 455461-466, 709201-207, 709211-248
• US Class Current: 379/88.02
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/00 Speaker identification or verification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and computer program products for automatically identifying a calling party using voice recognition. Voice recognition is the computing task of identifying or validating a person'"'"'s identity using characteristics of their voice. A first voice record is obtained from an identifiable party and associated with a voice identifier. When a second voice record is received from a calling party, the voice in the second voice record is compared to the voice in the first voice record to determine the identity of the calling party. If the there is a match between the voice in the second voice record and the voice in the previously obtained first voice record, then the called party is notified of the identity of the calling party. A voice identifier, when available, is preferably displayed to the called party on a screen instead of caller ID information.

Claims

1. A method for a called party telephone device automatically identifying a calling party comprising:

obtaining a first voice message from an identifiable party;

associating the first voice message with an identification of the identifiable party;

receiving caller ID information from a telephone service provider along with a second voice message from a calling party, wherein the second voice message is at least a portion of a voice activation command that the calling party uttered to initiate a call to the called party;

comparing the voice in the second voice message to the voice in the first voice message to determine the identity of the calling party; and

notifying the called party of the identity of the calling party before the call is answered as determined by comparing the voices in the first and second messages.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second voice messages are separate instances of at least a portion of voice activation commands that the calling party uttered to initiate calls to the called party.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of comparing includes pattern matching.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the called party is notified of the identity of the calling party as determined by comparing the voices in the first and second messages, rather than the caller ID information received from the telephone service provider.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, in a telephony device of the called party, the first voice message and the identification of the identifiable party associated with the first voice message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of notifying the called party includes displaying the identity of the calling party on a screen.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of notifying the called party further includes displaying an originating telephone number.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, in a telephony device of the called party, a plurality of records, each record including a voice message and at least one identifier associated with the voice message.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a calling party identifier along with the second voice message;

comparing the second voice message with the voice message that is stored in a target record having an identifier matching the calling party identifier; and

comparing the second voice message with one or more other voice messages in the plurality of records only if the voice message of the target record does not match the second voice message.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein two or more of the records are associated with a common calling party identifier.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of notifying includes displaying a list of voice messages in a voice mail inbox and the identity of the calling party associated with each of the listed voice messages.

12. A computer program product including computer usable program code embodied on a computer usable tangible medium for a called party telephone device automatically identifying a calling party, the computer program product including:

computer usable program code for storing a first voice message in association with a calling party identifier;

computer usable program code for receiving a calling party identifier along with a second voice message;

computer usable program code for comparing the voice in the second voice message with the voice in the first voice message to determine the identity of party in the second voice message, wherein the second voice message is at least a portion of a voice activation command that the calling party uttered to initiate a call to the called party; and

computer usable program code for notifying the called party of the identity of the calling party as determined by comparing the voices in the first and second messages.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer usable program code for comparing includes computer useable program code for pattern matching.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer usable program code for notifying includes computer useable program code for displaying an originating telephone number.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising:

computer usable program code for storing a plurality of records, each record including a voice message and at least one identifier associated with the voice message.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving a calling party identifier along with the second voice message; and

computer usable program code for comparing the second voice message with the voice message that is stored in a target record having an identifier matching the calling party identifier; and

computer usable program code for comparing the second voice message with one or more other voice messages in the plurality of records only if the voice message of the target record does not match the second voice message.

17. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer usable program code for notifying includes computer usable program code for displaying a list of voice messages in a voice mail inbox and the identity of the calling party associated each of the listed voice messages.

18. A communication system for a called party telephone device identifying a caller comprising:

a first telephony device including a microphone for receiving a voice command uttered by a calling party, a component for recording at least a portion of the voice command, a speech recognition module for determining that the calling party is instructing the first telephony device to place a call to a second telephony device, and a component for transmitting the recording of the voice command along with caller identification in an initial call signal;

a second telephony device storing a first voice message in association with a calling party identifier, and including a voice recognition module for analyzing the transmitted recording to determine the identity of the calling party that uttered the voice command;

an output device for communicating the identity of the calling party to a called party as determined by comparing the voices in the first voice message and the transmitted recording; and

a communication network for establishing communication between the first telephony device and the second telephony device.