System and method for voice activated dialing and routing under open access network control

• US 6,404,876 B1
• Filed: 09/25/1997
• Issued: 06/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GTE Intelligent Network Services Incorporated, Verizon Laboratories Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Karis, George Demetrios, Smith, Robert C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoosain, Allan
• Application Number:
  US08/936,957
• Time in Patent Office: 1,720 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/71, 379/72, 379/80, 379/88-1-, 379/88.07, 379/88.08, 379/88.16, 379/88.18, 379/88.23, 379/203, 379/260, 379/88.25, 379/213, 379/223, 379/83, 379/88.19, 379/88.2, 379/142.07, 379/142.15, 379/201.01, 379/201.02, 379/201.06, 379/201.07, 379/207.12, 379/218.01, 379/218.02, 379/219, 379/88.13, 379/88.17, 379/913, 704/231, 704/234, 704/251, 704/275, 704/243, 704/246, 704/250, 704/255, 704/256
• US Class Current: 379/218.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/12 intelligent networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42204 Arrangements at the exchange for service or number selection by voice at the terminal H04M1/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/44 Additional connecting arrangements for providing access to frequently-wanted subscribers, e.g. abbreviated dialling at the subscriber's set H04M1/27; automatic redialling H04M3/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/913 Person locator or person-specific

Abstract

System and method for deriving call routing information utilizing a network control data base system and voice recognition for matching spoken word sound patterns to routing numbers needed to set up calls. Public access is provided to a common database via a common access number or code. Terminating parties sponsor the call and originating parties need not be pre-subscribed to use the service. The common access number is used to initiate or trigger the service. The system advantageously operates under the direction of a service control point, which combines technologies for switching, interactive voice response, and voice recognition with the data base to automate the processes of assisting callers in making calls for which they do not know the phone number. Usage information is gathered on completed calls to each terminating party for billing. Three alternative deployments in the U.S. telephone network are described, and vary based on the location of the service control points or intelligent processors and the degree of intelligence within the network.

Claims

1. A method for connecting a calling party in a telecommunications network according to one or more utterances of the calling party during a call, said method comprising:

pre-storing a unique callname for each of a plurality of terminating parties, each of the callnames being independent of the calling party;

associating pointer words with combinations of the callnames;

receiving a signal from the calling party, said signal including signal information that includes the calling party'"'"'s utterances and non-speech data;

compartmentalizing the plurality of stored callnames at the time of the call to identify a subset of at least two of the stored callnames based on the non-speech data;

recognizing one of the stored callnames in the subset based on the calling party'"'"'s utterances, and

connecting the calling party to the terminating party corresponding to the recognized callname.

2. The method of claim 1, in which the step of compartmentalizing further includes:

compartmentalizing said subset based on one or more of the pointer words recognized in the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

3. The method of claim 1, in which the step of associating includes the substep of associating callname categories with combinations of said callnames, and in which the step of compartmentalizing further includes:

compartmentalizing said subset based on one or more callname categories recognized in the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

4. The method of claim 1, in which the step of associating includes the substep of associating callname categories with combinations of said callnames, and in which the step of recognizing includes the substep of identifying a stored callname or a callname category that matches the calling party'"'"'s utterances within a predetermined threshold minimum fit.

5. The method of claim 4, in which the predetermined threshold minimum fit is 98%.

6. The method of claim 4, in which the step of recognizing further includes the substeps of:

when no stored callname or callname category in the subset matches utterances of the calling party within the predetermined threshold minimum fit, sequentially playing back a preselected number of playback candidates to the calling party, said playback candidates consisting of stored callnames or callname categories in the subset that match the calling party'"'"'s utterances with less than the predetermined threshold minimum fit; and

after each playback candidate thus played back, confirming with the calling party whether the playback candidate that was just played back corresponds to the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

7. The method of claim 6, in which the preselected number of playback candidates played back is no more than 5.

8. The method of claim 6, in which playback candidates are sequentially played back in decreasing degree of fit with the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

9. The method of claim 6, in which the step of recognizing further includes the substeps of:

upon confirmation by the calling party of a playback candidate, determining whether said confirmed playback candidate is a stored callname or a callname category;

if a callname category, listing a predetermined number of preselected callnames from the subset within the confirmed callname category; and

after each stored callname thus listed, confirming with the calling party whether the callname that was just played back corresponds with a terminating party to which the calling party desires to be connected.

10. The method of claim 9, in which the predetermined number of preselected callnames is no more than 5.

11. The method of claim 9, in which the callnames to be listed are preselected to facilitate connection of the calling party with terminating parties located geographically nearby.

12. The method of claim 1, in which the calling party'"'"'s utterances include a callname but not a callname category, and in which the step of recognizing includes the substep of:

suggesting to the calling party to further utter a desired callname category upon failure to match one of the stored callnames in the subset to said uttered callname with better than a predetermined threshold minimum fit.

13. The method of claim 12, in which the predetermined threshold minimum fit is 98%.

14. The method of claim 1, in which the step of connecting includes the substep of determining whether the calling party will be tolled for said connection.

15. The method of claim 14, in which, if the calling party is to be tolled for said connection, the step of connecting further includes the substep of informing the calling party thereof.

16. The method of claim 15, in which said informing substep includes the substep of stating the expected toll for said connection.

17. The method of claim 15, in which said informing substep is performed prior to making said connection.

18. The method of claim 1, in which the non-speech data includes information identifying the geographic location from which the signal originates.

19. The method of claim 1, in which a signal may be received from any calling party connected to the U.S. Public Switched Telephone Network.

20. The method of claim 1, in which the step of compartmentalizing includes the substep of adapting said subset according to pre-stored statistical data.

21. The method of claim 1, in which the step of compartmentalizing includes the substep of adapting said subset according to speech characteristics recognized in the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

22. The method of claim 21, in which said speech characteristics include one or more speech characteristics selected from the group consisting of:

(a) tongue;

(b) dialect;

(c) accent; and

(d) communications device signature.

23. The method of claim 21, in which the step of recognizing includes the substep of filtering out said recognized speech characteristics in comparing stored callnames with said received signal information.

24. A computer program product having a computer readable medium on which computer readable logic is recorded for connecting a calling party in a telecommunications network according to one or more utterances of the calling party during a call, the telecommunications network including a processor, a memory, and a display device, the computer program product comprising:

means for pre-storing a unique callname for each of a plurality of terminating parties, each of the callnames being independent of the calling party;

means for associating pointer words with combinations of the callnames;

means for receiving a signal from the calling party, said signal including signal information that includes the calling party'"'"'s utterances and non-speech data;

means for compartmentalizing the plurality of stored callnames at the time of the call to identify a subset of at least two of the stored callnames based on the non-speech data;

means for recognizing one of the stored callnames in the subset based on the calling party'"'"'s utterances; and

means for connecting the calling party to the terminating party corresponding to the recognized callname.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, in which the means for compartmentalizing further includes:

means for subsequently compartmentalizing said subset based on one or more of the pointer words recognized in the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

26. The computer program product of claim 24, in which the means for associating includes means for associating callname categories with combinations of said callnames, and in which the means for compartmentalizing further includes:

means for subsequently compartmentalizing said subset based on one or more callname categories recognized in the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

27. The computer program product of claim 24, in which the means for associating includes means for associating callname categories with combinations of said callnames, and in which the means for recognizing includes means for identifying a stored callname or a callname category that matches the calling party'"'"'s utterances within a predetermined threshold minimum fit.

28. The computer program product of claim 27, in which the predetermined threshold minimum fit is 98%.

29. The computer program product of claim 27, in which the means for recognizing further includes:

means for sequentially playing back a preselected number of playback candidates to the calling party when no stored callname or callname category in the subset matches utterances of the calling party within the predetermined threshold minimum fit;

said playback candidates consisting of stored callnames or callname categories in the subset that match the calling party'"'"'s utterances with less than the predetermined threshold minimum fit; and

means for confirming with the calling party after each playback candidate thus played back whether the playback candidate that was just played back corresponds to the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, in which the preselected number of playback candidates played back is no more than 5.

31. The computer program product of claim 29, in which playback candidates are sequentially played back in decreasing degree of fit with the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

32. The computer program product of claim 29, in which the means for recognizing further includes:

means for determining, upon confirmation by the calling party of a playback candidate, whether said confirmed playback candidate is a stored callname or a callname category;

means for listing a predetermined number of preselected callnames from the subset within the confirmed callname category, said means for listing responsive to a determination that said confirmed playback candidate is a callname category; and

means for confirming with the calling party after each stored callname thus listed whether the callname that was just played back corresponds with a terminating party to which the calling party desires to be connected.

33. The computer program product of claim 32, in which the predetermined number of preselected callnames is no more than 5.

34. The computer program product of claim 32, in which the callnames to be listed are preselected to facilitate connection of the calling party with terminating parties located geographically nearby.

35. The computer program product of claim 24, in which the calling party'"'"'s utterances include a call name but not a callname category, and in which the means for recognizing includes:

means for suggesting to the calling party to further utter a desired callname category upon failure to match one of the stored callnames in the subset to said uttered callname with better than a predetermined threshold minimum fit.

36. The computer program product of claim 35, in which the predetermined threshold minimum fit is 98%.

37. The computer program product of claim 24, in which the means for connecting includes means for determining whether the calling party will be tolled for said connection.

38. The computer program product of claim 37, in which, if the calling party is to be tolled for said connection, the means for connecting further includes means for informing the calling party thereof.

39. The computer program product of claim 38, in which the means for informing includes means for stating the expected toll for said connection.

40. The computer program product of claim 38, in which the calling party is informed prior to making said connection.

41. The computer program product of claim 24, in which the non-speech data includes information identifying the geopgraphic location from which the signal originates.

42. The computer program product of claim 24, in which a signal may be received from any calling party connected to the U.S. Public Switched Telephone Network.

43. The computer program product of claim 24, in which the means for compartmentalizing includes means for adapting said subset according to pre-stored statistical data.

44. The computer program product of claim 24, in which the means for compartmentalizing includes means for adapting said subset according to speech characteristics recognized in the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

45. The computer program product of claim 24, in which said speech characteristics include one or more speech characteristics selected from the group consisting of:

(a) tongue;

(b) dialect;

(c) accent; and

(d) communications device signature.

46. The computer program product of claim 44, in which the means for recognizing includes means for filtering out said recognized speech characteristics in comparing stored callnames with said received signal information.

65. The service control point of claim 27, in which a signal may be received from any calling party connected to the U.S. Public Switched Telephone Network.

66. The service control point of claim 27, in which the means for compartmentalizing includes means for adapting said subset according to pre-stored statistical data.

47. In a telecommunications network, a service control point to which a signal incoming from a calling party may be directed, said incoming signal including signal information that includes one or more utterances of the calling party and non-speech data, the service control point being capable of setting up a connection in the telecommunications network according to said utterances of the calling party, the service control point comprising:

a switch;

a resource platform, the resource platform including means for interactive speech recognition and response;

an intelligent peripheral controller;

means for maintaining the switch, the resource platform and the intelligent peripheral controller in data communication with each other; and

the switch, the resource platform and the intelligent peripheral controller in combination further comprising;

means for pre-storing a unique callname for each of a plurality of terminating parties, each of the callnames being independent of tie calling party;

means for associating pointer words with combinations of the callnames;

means for receiving said incoming signals;

means for compartmentalizing the plurality of stored callnames at the time of the call to identify a subset of at least two of the stored callnames based on the non-speech data;

means for recognizing one of the stored callnames in the subset based on the received calling party'"'"'s utterances; and

means for connecting the calling party to the terminating party corresponding to the recognized callname.

48. The service control point of claim 47, in which the means for compartmentalizing further includes:

means for subsequently compartmentalizing said subset based on one or more of the pointer words recognized in the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

49. The service control point of claim 47, in which the means for associating includes means for associating callname categories with combinations of said callnames, and in which the means for compartmentalizing further includes:

means for subsequently compartmentalizing said subset based on one or more callname categories recognized in the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

50. The service control point of claim 47, in which the means for associating includes means for associating callname categories with combinations of said callnames, and in which the means for recognizing includes means for identifying a stored callname or a callname category that matches the calling party'"'"'s utterances within a predetermined threshold minimum fit.

51. The service control point of claim 50, in which the predetermined threshold minimum fit is 98%.

52. The service control point of claim 50, in which the switch, the resource platform and the intelligent peripheral controller in combination further comprise:

means for sequentially playing back a preselected number of playback candidates to the calling party when no stored callname or callname category in the subset matches utterances of the calling party within the predetermined threshold minimum fit, said playback candidates consisting of stored callnames or callname categories in the subset that match the calling party'"'"'s utterances with less than the predetermined threshold minimum fit; and

means for confirming with the calling party after each playback candidate thus played back whether the playback candidate that was just played back corresponds to the calling part'"'"'s utterances.

53. The service control point of claim 52, in which the preselected number of playback candidates played back is no more than 5.

54. The service control point of claim 52, in which playback candidates are sequentially played back in decreasing degree of fit with the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

55. The service control point of claim 52, in which the means for recognizing further includes:

means for determining, upon confirmation by the calling party of a playback candidate, whether said confirmed playback candidate is a stored callname or a callname category;

means for listing a predetermined number of preselected callnames from the subset within the confirmed callname category, said means for listing responsive to a determination that said confirmed playback candidate is a callname category; and

means for confirming with the calling party after each stored callname thus listed whether the callname that was just played back corresponds with a terminating party to which the calling party desires to be connected.

56. The service control point of claim 55, in which the predetermined number of preselected callnames is no more than 5.

57. The service control point of claim 55, in which the callnames to be listed are preselected to facilitate connection of the calling party with terminating parties located geographically nearby.

58. The service control point of claim 47, in which the calling party'"'"'s utterances include a callname but not a callname category, and in which the means for recognizing includes:

means for suggesting to the calling party to further utter a desired callname category upon failure to match one of the stored callnames in the subset to said uttered callname with better than a predetermined threshold minimum fit.

59. The service control point of claim 58, in which the predetermined threshold minimum fit is 98%.

60. The service control point of claim 47, in which the means for connecting includes means for determining whether the calling party will be tolled for said connection.

61. The service control point of claim 60, in which, if the calling party is to be tolled for said connection, the means for connecting further includes means for informing the calling party thereof.

62. The service control point of claim 61, in which the means for informing includes means for stating the expected toll for said connection.

63. The service control point of claim 61, in which the calling party is informed prior to making said connection.

64. The service control point of claim 47, in which the non-speech data includes information identifying the geographic location from which the signal originates.

67. The service control point of claim 47, in which the means for compartmentalizing includes means for adapting said subset according to speech characteristics recognized in the calling party'"'"'s utterances.

68. The service control point of claim 67, in which said speech characteristics include one or more speech characteristics selected from the group consisting of:

(a) tongue;

(b) dialect;

(c) accent; and

(d) communications device signature.

69. The service control point of claim 47, in which the means for recognizing includes means for filtering out said recognized speech characteristics in comparing stored callnames with said received signal information.

70. The service control point of claim 47, in which the means for maintaining the switch, the resource platform and the intelligent peripheral controller in data communication with each other is an ethernet.

71. A method for connecting a calling part in a telecommunications network according to one or more utterances of the calling party during a call, said method comprising:

pre-storing a unique H e for each of a plurality of terminating parties, each of the callnames being independent of the calling party;

associating pointer words with combinations of the callnames;

receiving a signal that includes the calling party'"'"'s utterances from the calling party;

screening the calling party based on prior interaction by the calling party to determine whether to permit the calling party to proceed;

recognizing one of the stored callnames in the calling party'"'"'s utterances when the calling party is permitted to proceed; and

connecting the calling party to the terminating party corresponding to the recognized callname.

72. A method for connecting a calling party in a telecommunications network according to one or more utterances of the calling party during a call, said method comprising:

pre-storing a unique callname for each of a plurality of terminating parties, each of the callnames being independent of the calling party;

associating pointer words with combinations of the callnames;

receiving a signal that includes the calling party'"'"'s utterances from the calling party;

screening the calling party based on prior interaction by the calling party to determine whether to permit the calling party to proceed;

recognizing one of the stored callnames in the calling party'"'"'s utterances when the calling party is permitted to proceed;

determining that the recognized callname corresponds to multiple locations of the terminating party;

determining a location of the terminating party closest to the calling part; and

connecting the calling party to the terminating party corresponding to the recognized callname at the determined location.