Method for triggering at least one first and second background application via a universal language dialog system

• US 8,494,862 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unify Patente GmbH & Co. KG (Atos Se)
• Original Assignee: Unify GmbH & Co. KG (Atos SE)
• Inventors: Song, Dongyi, Totzke, Jurgen, Block, Hans-Ulrich, Caspari, Rudolph
• Primary Examiner(s): YEN, ERIC L
• Application Number:
  US12/086,402
• Publication Number:
  US 20100042400A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,448 Days
• Field of Search: 704270-275
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/18 using natural language modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context

Abstract

At least one transaction and at least one transaction parameter that is allocated thereto are determined based on at least one user statement in order to trigger at least one first and second background application via a universal language dialogue system, first transactions and first transaction parameters being assigned to the first background application and second transactions and second transaction parameters being associated with the second background application. The first and second transactions as well as the first and second transaction parameters are linked together via a universal dialogue specification which is evaluated to determine the at least one transaction and at least on associated transaction parameter in order to trigger at least one of the background application via the universal language dialogue system.

Claims

1. A method for triggering at east one of a first background application and a second background application via a universal language dialog system, comprising:

assigning transaction parameters to the first background application and the second background application, the transaction parameters comprising at least one first transaction parameter and at least one second transaction parameter, the assignment being determined on the basis of at least one user statement for triggering at least one of the first background application and the second background application, wherein at east one first transaction and the at least one first transaction parameter is assigned to the first background application and at least one second transaction and the at least one second transaction parameter is assigned the second background application;

linking the at least one first transaction and the at least one second transaction to one another via a universal dialog specification and linking the at least one first transaction parameter and the at least one second transaction parameter to one another via the universal dialog specification; and

assigning grammars to each of the at least one first transaction and the at least one second transaction;

analyzing the universal dialog specification via the universal language dialog system in order to determine whether received voice data corresponds to any of the at east one first transaction, the at least one second transaction, the at least one first transaction parameter and the at least one second transaction parameter, wherein the determination of whether the received voice data corresponds to any of the at least one first transaction the at least one second transaction, the at least one first transaction parameter and the at least one second transaction parameter is for triggering at least one of the first background application and the second background application; and

wherein transactions associated with the first and second background applications that have functional matches are linked to one another via the universal dialog specification; and

wherein in order to determine a functional match between two transactions, the grammars assigned to the two transactions are compared to one another and a functional correspondence between the two transactions is or is not determined depending on a result of the comparison.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the universal dialog specification is formed declaratively.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second transactions that are linked via the universal dialog specification are stored in a common transaction database.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least one first transaction and the at least one second transaction is assigned at least one postcondition routine.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in order to link at least two functionally corresponding transactions, a universal transaction is formed.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a common postcondition routine is assigned to link two functionally corresponding transactions of a universal transaction.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein transaction parameters that have semantic matches are linked to one another via the universal dialog specification.

4. The method as claimed in 1, wherein the first and second transaction parameters that are linked via the universal dialog specification are stored in a common transaction parameter database.

5. The method as claimed in 1, wherein first grammars assigned to the first background application and second grammars assigned to the second background application are combined in a common grammar database and assigned to the universal dialog specification.

10. A method for triggering at least one of a first background application and a second background application via a universal language dialog system comprising:

assigning transaction parameters to the first background application and the second background application, the transaction parameters comprising at least one first transaction parameter and at least one second transaction parameter, the assignment being determined on the basis of at least one user statement for triggering at least one of the first background application and the second background application, wherein at least one first transaction and the at least one first transaction parameter is assigned to the first background application and at least one second transaction and the at least one second transaction parameter is assigned the second background application;

assigning a grammar which provides parameter values that are assignable to the transaction parameters;

linking the at least one first transaction and the at least one second transaction to one another via a universal dialog specification and linking the at least one first transaction parameter and the at least one second transaction parameter to one another via the universal dialog specification; and

analyzing the universal dialog specification via the universal language dialog system in order to determine whether received voice data corresponds to any of the at east one first transaction, the at least one second transaction, the at least one first transaction parameter and, the at least one second transaction parameter, wherein the determination of whether the received voice data corresponds to any of the at least one first transaction, the at least one second transaction, the at least one first transaction parameter and the at least one second transaction parameter is for triggering at least one of the first background application and the second background application; and

wherein transaction parameters of the first and second background applications that have semantic matches are linked to one another via the universal dialog specification; and

wherein in order to determine a semantic correspondence between two transaction parameters, parameter values assignable to the two transaction parameters which are provided in the grammar are compared with one another, and

wherein depending on the result of the comparison, a semantic match between the two transaction parameters is or is not determined.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein parameter values of the transaction parameters are determined via a transaction parameter routine, wherein each of the transaction parameters is assigned valuation information that specifies a determination path.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the valuation information specifies linking of two semantically matching transaction parameters of different transactions.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein a presence of assigned postcondition parameters is checked, and postcondition actions associated with the assigned postcondition parameters are carried out in accordance with a common postcondition routine.

14. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein during execution of one of the at least one first transaction, a user of the universal language dialog system is shown one of information and action prompts preset for the first background application.