Multi-media response control system

• US 5,146,488 A
• Filed: 02/14/1990
• Issued: 09/08/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dosa Advances LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Tanaka, Katsumi, Okada, Akihiro, Kino, Tooru
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Thomas W.
• Application Number:
  US07/465,266
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• Field of Search: 379/100, 379/89, 379/88
• US Class Current: 379/88.04
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/06 Elementary speech units used in speech synthesisers; Concatenation rules
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0435 Details

Abstract

The kind of medium owned by a user is stored in a service center system and a medium is determined by a request from the transmitting side in accordance with an inquiry to a receiver. Where a voice is used as a medium for the inquiry or the service, the sound piece data to which a descriptor is added and the sentence structure data for forming a single sentence by collecting the sound piece data and formed by a descriptor are stored. When the voice output request is produced, the sound piece data is obtained from the sentence structure data, thereby producing a voice of a desired sentence.

Claims

1. A response control system comprising:

first storing means for obtaining encoded first sound piece data, for attaching a first descriptor to respective encoded first sound piece data which represent units of a sentence part and for storing the first descriptor and corresponding encoded first sound piece data,

second storing means for obtaining encoded second sound piece data, for attaching a second descriptor to respective encoded second sound piece data which represent units of a sentence part and for storing the second descriptor and corresponding encoded second sound piece data,

third storing means for using the first and second descriptors stored in said first and second storing means to produce a plurality of sentence structures constituting a sentence and for storing the sentence structures, and

control means for receiving a voice output request signal including designation data, for reading a sentence structure from said third storing means in accordance with said voice output request signal, for selecting among the first sound piece data and the second sound piece data based on the designation data to form voice data and for outputting a voice response signal indicative of the voice data.

2. A response control system for use in a service system, said response control system comprising a telephone terminal apparatus for transmitting designation data over a line, said response control system comprising:

first storing means for obtaining encoded first sound piece data, for attaching a first descriptor to respective encoded first sound piece data which represent units of a sentence part and for storing the first descriptor and corresponding encoded first sound piece data,

second storing means for obtaining encoded second sound piece data, for attaching a second descriptor to respective different encoded sound piece data which represent units of a sentence part and for storing the second descriptor and corresponding encoded second sound piece data,

voice output request signal producing means for determining a sentence structure based on the designation data and using the designation data to designate sound piece data stored in said second storing means to produce a voice output request signal;

third storing means for using the first and second descriptors stored in said first and second storing means to produce a plurality of sentence structures constituting a sentence and for storing the sentence structures, and

control means for receiving a voice output request signal including designation data, for reading from said third storing means a sentence structure corresponding to the voice output request signal, for selecting among the first sound piece data and the second sound piece data based on the designation data to form voice data and for outputting a voice response signal indicative of the voice data.

3. The response control system according to claim 2, the telephone terminal apparatus comprising a modem and a computer apparatus connected to the modem to provide digital data to the service system over the line, wherein said voice output request signal producing means comprises:

means for generating the voice output request signal from the digital data by attaching the sentence structure to the designation data.

4. The response control system according to claim 2, said telephone terminal apparatus comprising a push phone capable of generating a push button signal, wherein said voice output request signal producing means comprises:

means for attaching at least one of the sentence structures to the designation data to generate the voice output request signal based on the push button signal outputted from the push phone.

5. A response control system for use in a service system having a computer connected by a line to an exchange apparatus and connected to a terminal that outputs special information corresponding to the exchange apparatus, comprising:

first storing means for obtaining encoded first sound piece data, for attaching a first descriptor to respective encoded first sound piece data which represent units of a sentence part and for storing the first descriptor and corresponding encoded first sound piece data,

second storing means for obtaining encoded second sound piece data, for attaching a second descriptor to respective encoded second sound piece data which represent units of a sentence part and for storing the second descriptor and corresponding encoded second sound piece data,

request signal generating means for determining a sentence structure based on the special information output from the terminal corresponding to the exchange apparatus and for attaching designation data to the first sound data to produce a voice output request signal,

third storing means for using the first and second descriptors stored in said first and second storing means to produce a plurality of sentence structures constituting a sentence and for storing the sentence structures, and

control means for receiving a voice output request signal including the designation data, for reading from said third storing means a sentence structure corresponding to the voice output request signal, for selecting among the first sound piece data and the second sound piece data based on the designation data, and for outputting a voice response signal indicative of the voice data.

6. The response control system according to claim 5, wherein the exchange apparatus outputs the special information including a transmitting number as a request source number and a receiving number as a transmitting destination number.