Speech recognition method of and system for determining the status of an answered telephone during the course of an outbound telephone call

• US 9,848,083 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2016
• Issued: 12/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Eliza Corporation (Gainwell Technologies)
• Original Assignee: Eliza Corporation (Gainwell Technologies)
• Inventors: Merrow, Lucas, Drane, Alexandra, Krocker, John, Boulanov, Oleg, Quibria, Nasreen R., Robinson, Michael R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Teshale, Akelaw
• Application Number:
  US15/063,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20160248910A1
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• Field of Search: 379 8801, 379 80, 379 8802, 379 37, 379 671, 379 8804, 379 8813, 379 8816, 379 9301, 379 9317, 37914204, 37920102, 37920401, 37921102, 379339, 379360, 379368, 379 39, 379 45, 379 8812, 379 8817, 379 8818, 379 8819, 379 9325, 379 69, 37926607, 3792661, 37911403, 37914206, 37921802, 379262, 37926501, 37926502, 379 8803, 379 9312, 37926511, 379447, 379126, 37926505, 379 2701, 379 8814, 379 9, 37912703, 37914214, 37914217, 379159, 379 1501, 379160, 37916705, 37920702, 37920705, 37920901, 37921001, 37921104, 37921601, 37922109, 37922112, 37926506, 37926509, 37926512, 37926513, 37935502, 379 38, 379 8811, 379 8822, 379 8827
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/06 Decision making techniques; Pattern matching strategies
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/87 Detection of discrete points within a voice signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/64 Automatic arrangements for answering calls; Automatic arrangements for recording messages for absent subscribers; Arrangements for recording conversations centralised dictation systems H04M11/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/82 Line monitoring circuits for call progress or status discrimination for detecting caller identity H04M1/573
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2016 Call initiation by network rather than by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2027 Live party detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/46 Arrangements for calling a number of substations in a predetermined sequence until an answer is obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5158 in combination with automated outdialling systems devices for signalling identity of wanted subscriber H04M1/26

Abstract

A system for determining the status of an answered telephone during the course of an outbound telephone call includes an automated telephone calling device for placing a telephone call to a location having a telephone number at which a target person is listed, upon the telephone call being answered, initiating a prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person and receiving a spoken response from an answering person and a speech recognition device for performing a speech recognition analysis on the spoken response to determine a status of the spoken response. If the speech recognition device determines that the answering person is the target person, the speech recognition device initiates a speech recognition application with the target person.

Claims

1. A method of determining the status of an answered telephone during the course of an outbound telephone call comprising:

(A) placing, with an automated calling system, a telephone call to a location having a telephone number at which a target person is listed;

(B1) upon said telephone call being answered, initiating a prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person;

(B2) while the prerecorded greeting is being played, attempting to detect a spoken response that is longer than a predetermined time;

(C) based on detecting that the spoken response is not longer than the predetermined time, determining that a spoken response has been received from an answering person;

(D) performing a speech recognition analysis on said spoken response to determine a status of said answering person; and

(E) upon said speech recognition analysis determining that said answering person is said target person, initiating a speech recognition application with said target person, wherein the speech recognition application comprises a consumer survey application, an educational application, a learning and lesson application, a testing application, a test results application, or a compliance application.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein, in step D, if said speech recognition analysis determines that said spoken response indicates that said answering person is not said target person, a next step comprises initiating a prerecorded query asking for said target person.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein, upon said target person answering said telephone call, said method further comprises initiating a speech recognition application with said target person.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein, in step D, if said speech recognition analysis determines that said spoken response indicates that said target person is not present at said location, a next step comprises initiating a prerecorded query asking to leave a message for said target person.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising a step of providing a prerecorded message to said answering person.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein, in step D, if said speech recognition analysis determines that said spoken response is a hold request, a next step comprises entering a wait state to wait for said target person to provide a spoken response to said telephone call.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein, upon said target person providing a spoken response to said telephone call, said method further comprises initiating a speech recognition application with said target person.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein, in step D, if said speech recognition analysis determines that said spoken response is a request for the identity of the entity responsible for the calling system, the method further comprises initiating a prerecorded response indicating the identity of the calling party, repeating said prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person, and repeating step C through step E.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein, in step D, if said speech recognition analysis determines that said spoken response indicates that said telephone number is not the correct number for the target person, the method further comprises initiating a prerecorded apology message and terminating said telephone call.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein, in step D, if said speech recognition analysis cannot determine a status of said spoken response, said method further comprises repeating said prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person, and repeating step C through step E.

11. A system for determining the status of an answered telephone during the course of an outbound telephone call comprising:

an automated telephone calling device for placing a telephone call to a location having a telephone number at which a target person is listed; and

a speech recognition device which, upon said telephone call being answered, initiates a prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person, receives a spoken response from an answering person and performs a speech recognition analysis on said spoken response to determine a status of said answering person;

wherein the speech recognition device is configured to, while the prerecorded greeting is being played, attempt to detect a spoken response that is longer than a predetermined time;

wherein the speech recognition device is further configured to, based on detecting that the spoken response is not longer than the predetermined time, determine that a spoken response has been received from the answering person;

wherein, upon said speech recognition device determining that said answering person is said target person, said speech recognition device initiates a speech recognition application with said target person, wherein the speech recognition application comprises a consumer survey application, an educational application, a learning and lesson application, a testing application, a test results application, or a compliance application.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein, if said speech recognition device determines that said spoken response indicates that said answering person is not said target person, said speech recognition system instructs said automated telephone calling device to initiate a prerecorded query asking for said target person.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein, upon said target person answering said telephone call, said speech recognition system initiates a speech recognition application with said target person.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein, if said speech recognition device determines that said spoken response indicates that said target person is not present at said location, said speech recognition system instructs said automated telephone calling device to initiate a prerecorded query asking to leave a message for said target person.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said automated telephone calling device provides a prerecorded message to said answering person.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein, if said speech recognition device determines that said spoken response is a hold request, said speech recognition enters a wait state to wait for said target person to provide a spoken response to said telephone call.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein, when said speech recognition device determines that said target person has provided a spoken response to said telephone call, said speech recognition device initiates a speech recognition application with said target person.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein, if said speech recognition device determines that said spoken response is a request for the identity of the entity responsible for the automated calling device, the speech recognition system instructs said automated telephone calling device to initiate a prerecorded response indicating the identity of the entity and to repeat said prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person;

wherein, upon receiving a spoken response from the answering person, said speech recognition device performs a speech recognition analysis on said spoken response to determine the status of said spoken response.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein, if said speech recognition device determines that said spoken response indicates that said telephone number is not the correct number for the target person, said speech recognition system instructs said automated telephone calling device to initiate a prerecorded apology message and to terminate said telephone call.

20. The method of claim 11 wherein, if said speech recognition device cannot determine a status of said spoken response, said speech recognition system instructs said automated telephone calling device to repeat said prerecorded greeting which asks for the target person;

wherein, upon receiving a spoken response from the answering person, said speech recognition device performs a speech recognition analysis on said spoken response to determine the status of said spoken response.