JP2002209015A - Information processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a voice interactive system that can provide an environment where a voice automatic reply service is applied to home-delivery pizza shops or the like not having an exclusive facility and an expert intelligence. SOLUTION: The voice interactive system 1 accepts an access from a personal computer 2 via the Internet 4 as a Web server and assigns telephone numbers of the system's own to applications for use from home-delivery pizza shops or the like as exclusive telephone numbers. The voice interactive system 1 executes the voice automatic response service to a dial signal from a consumer using a telephone set 5 and informs the home-delivery pizza shops or the like about the result of interaction (order of pizza or the like). The voice interactive system 1 conducts the voice automatic response service on the basis of contents stored in a contents server 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus suitable for implementing an automatic voice response service using a speech synthesis technique and a speech recognition technique.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional automatic answering service via a telephone line, a called party such as a company that provides the service outputs voice guidance for presenting options, and a calling side using the service is presented by voice guidance. In general, a response is made by pressing a dial button of the telephone to generate an operation sound in response to the option.

[0003] Speech synthesis techniques for generating speech in response to text data and speech recognition techniques for converting speech uttered by humans into text data are already in practical use.

[0004] Therefore, if the speech synthesis technology and the speech recognition technology are applied to the automatic answering service via the telephone line, the calling side using the service can respond by voice without operating the dial buttons or the like of the telephone. A possible automatic voice response service can be realized.

[0005] For example, if a home delivery pizza shop or the like implements an automatic voice response service, it is possible to reduce the personnel cost of a person who receives an order call.

[0006]

However, in order to actually implement an automatic voice response service, a telephone line, a private branch exchange (PBX), and information for executing voice synthesis processing and voice recognition processing, etc. In addition to requiring specialized equipment consisting of processing equipment, specialized knowledge to execute various settings and changes is required, so special equipment such as a home delivery pizza shop and stores that do not have specialized knowledge, etc. Implementing the service was a challenge.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has been made to provide an environment in which an automatic voice response service can be provided to a home-delivery visa shop or the like that does not have dedicated equipment or specialized knowledge. The purpose is to do.

[0008]

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention records allocating means for allocating a telephone number corresponding to a user's terminal device and a user's server in association with the telephone number allocated by the allocating means. Recording means for performing communication via a telephone line, voice recognition means for recognizing voice signals received by the communication means, determination means for determining the telephone number received by the communication means, Detecting means for detecting a server corresponding to the telephone number determined by the determining means based on the record; obtaining means for obtaining content data from the server detected by the detecting means via a network; and content obtained by the obtaining means Dialogue to generate a speech signal for the dialogue based on the data and the speech recognized by the speech recognition means and to make the communication means communicate with the communication means And the step, characterized in that it comprises a notifying means for notifying the recognition result speech recognition, information about interaction results based on the audio signal generated by the interacting means by the voice recognition means.

For example, the Internet can be applied to the network.

As the terminal device, in addition to a personal computer, an electronic device such as a mobile phone which can access a Web server and can transmit and receive e-mails can be used.

The allocating means is, for example, a URL shown in FIG.
The communication unit is configured by the registration unit 1 and can assign one of telephone numbers that can be received by the communication unit.

The communication means is, for example, the PBX 14 shown in FIG.
And a telephone line communication unit 15 for communicating via the telephone line.

The voice recognition means is constituted by, for example, the voice recognition unit 21 shown in FIG. 2, and can perform voice recognition of a voice signal input via a telephone line.

The judging means comprises, for example, the telephone number acquiring means 16 shown in FIG. 2, and can acquire the telephone number of the transmission source in addition to the telephone number received by the receiving means.

The detecting means comprises, for example, a URL searching section 17 shown in FIG. 2, and compares the telephone number determined by the determining means with the record of the recording means to obtain the URL of the corresponding server.
Can be detected.

The acquisition means is constituted by, for example, the content acquisition section 18 shown in FIG. 2, and can access the URL of the server detected by the detection means via a network to acquire the stored content data.

The dialogue means comprises, for example, a dialogue processing section 19 and a speech synthesis section 20 shown in FIG. 2, and generates a speech signal for a dialogue based on the content data and the speech recognized by the speech, and sends the speech signal to the communication means. Can communicate.

The interactive means controls the obtaining means to obtain, for example, weather forecast information from a server which discloses the weather forecast information via a network, and generates a weather forecast voice signal for communication. Means can be communicated.

The notifying means comprises, for example, a dialogue result notifying section 22 shown in FIG. 2, and provides information on the dialogue result by writing using e-mail or facsimile, making a call using a telephone, or publishing on a predetermined server. Can be notified.

[0020] When the terminal device receives an access from the terminal device via the network, the allocating means may present a plurality of telephone numbers to prompt the user to make a selection and allocate the selected telephone number.

The dialogue means can generate a voice signal for the dialogue by generating a synthesized voice or by reproducing a voice file recorded in advance.

The information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a template supply means for supplying a template of content data when an access is received from a terminal device via a network, and a content data template customized by a user of the terminal device. Storage means for storing in a predetermined server provided,
The recording means can record a predetermined server in which the storage means stores the template as a user's server.

The template storage means comprises, for example, the content setting section 51 shown in FIG. 8, and can supply a template of content data when the terminal device is accessed via a network.

The storage means comprises, for example, a content setting section 51 shown in FIG. 8, and stores a content data template customized by a user of the terminal device.
It can be stored in a predetermined server prepared in advance (for example, the content server 52 in FIG. 8).

The template of the content data is
Customization can be performed in response to an operation from the user of the terminal device.

[0026] The information processing apparatus of the present invention can further include storage means for monitoring the communication of the communication means and storing the communication history.

The storage means is constituted by, for example, the communication history recording unit 71 shown in FIG. 11, and can store the incoming time and the disconnection time for each telephone number.

The recording of the incoming time and the disconnection time for each telephone number stored in the storage means can be used for calculating the billing amount.

In the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, a telephone number is assigned corresponding to the user's terminal device, and the user's server is recorded in association with the assigned telephone number. In addition, communication is performed via a telephone line, and the received voice signal is recognized by voice. Further, the received telephone number is determined, based on the record, a server corresponding to the determined telephone number is detected, content data is obtained from the detected server via a network, and the obtained content data, Based on the recognized voice, a voice signal for a dialog is generated and communicated.
Further, information on the recognition result of the voice recognition and the result of the dialogue based on the generated voice signal is notified.

According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the assigned telephone number is recorded in association with the user's server, the incoming telephone number is determined, and the content data is transmitted from the user's server corresponding to the determined telephone number. Acquisition, the content data and the information about the dialogue result based on the voice recognition result and the generated voice signal is notified,
It is possible to provide an environment in which an automatic voice response service can be performed for a dedicated facility, a home delivery visa shop that does not have specialized knowledge, and the like.

Further, according to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the user of the terminal device, once registered, does not need to contact the administrator of the information processing apparatus any time thereafter. The contents of the automatic voice response service can be changed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost of the communication work between both the user of the terminal device and the administrator of the information processing device.

Further, according to the information processing apparatus of the present invention,
The user of the terminal device accesses the information processing device using the terminal device and completes registration immediately without the need for preparing the content for automatic voice response and storing it in the server. It becomes possible to start using the automatic voice response service.

[0033]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The concept of a speech dialogue system to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. The voice interaction system 1 enables an automatic voice response service to be provided to a system user who does not have a dedicated facility other than the personal computer 2 such as a home delivery pizza shop.

That is, the voice interaction system 1 accepts access from the personal computer 2 via the Internet 4 as a Web server, and applies for use of the system from a home delivery visa shop (text data of voice guidance and the like are stored). URL of content server 3
(Including a Uniform Resource Locator)), and assigns one of a plurality of telephone numbers that can be received by itself as a dedicated telephone number. The phone number to be assigned is
It may be a dial-in number. The home delivery pizza shop or the like notifies the consumer of the dedicated telephone number assigned to the consumer, for example, as a telephone number for receiving orders.

The voice interaction system 1 also provides an automatic voice response service using voice synthesis technology and voice recognition technology to consumers who dial a dedicated telephone number assigned to a home delivery pizza shop or the like using the telephone 5. Execute and notify the result of dialogue with the consumer (pizza order, etc.) to the delivery pizza shop or the like.

The personal computer 2 executes the installed Web browser application program, and executes the Web program via the Internet 4.
Access the server (the voice conversation system 1 and the content server 3). The personal computer 2 also sends and receives e-mails via the Internet 4 by executing a mailer application program. Note that, instead of the personal computer 2, an electronic device such as a mobile phone having a function equivalent to a Web browser and a mailer can be used.

The content server 3 stores the order of dialogue of voice guidance set by a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop, text data for generated voice, and the like (hereinafter, simply referred to as content).

FIG. 2 shows a first configuration example of the voice interaction system 1. The URL registration unit 1 executes a registration process (described later with reference to FIG. 4) in response to access from the personal computer 2 via the Internet communication unit 12 and the Internet 4, and obtains registration information (allocated dedicated information). A telephone number, a registered URL, etc.) are output to a registration information database (DB) 13.

The Internet communication unit 12 communicates various data via the Internet 4 according to a predetermined protocol. The registration information database 13 includes the URL registration unit 11
A correspondence table as shown in FIG. 3 is generated and stored on the basis of the registration information input from.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the correspondence table stored in the registration information database 13. In the correspondence table, a registered URL is recorded in association with the assigned telephone number. For example, the telephone number “03-12”
34-5678 ", the URL" http: //www.○○○.com/
Δ △ ”are stored in association with each other. In the correspondence table, all telephone numbers that can be assigned by the voice interaction system 1 are recorded, and the assignment status (in use or unused) of each telephone number is also recorded.

The private branch exchange (PBX) 14 is connected to the public telephone line 6.
And the voice data of the call is output to the telephone line communication unit 15. The telephone line communication unit 15 outputs voice data from the calling side via the public telephone line 6 and the PBX 14 to the dialog processing unit 19, and transmits voice data from the dialog processing unit 19 via the PBX 14 and the public telephone line 6. Send to the side.

The telephone number acquisition unit 16 stores the telephone number (one of the allocatable telephone numbers; hereinafter referred to as an incoming telephone number) received by the PBX 14 into the PBX 1.
4 and is notified to the URL search unit 17. The telephone number acquisition unit 16 stores the telephone number of the calling side (telephone 5) in the PBX 14
It is possible to obtain from. The URL search unit 17 refers to the registration information database 13 and refers to the telephone number acquisition unit 1
The URL corresponding to the incoming telephone number notified from 6 is searched, and the URL as the search result is notified to the content acquisition unit 18.

[0043] The content acquisition unit 18 communicates with the URL search unit 1 via the Internet communication unit 12 and the Internet 4.
The Web server 7 accesses the Web server (for example, the content server 3) corresponding to the URL notified from the server 7, obtains the stored content, and supplies it to the interaction processing unit 19.

The dialogue processing unit 19 includes the content acquisition unit 18
Is generated by the voice synthesizing unit 20 based on the content supplied from the telephone line communication unit 15 and output to the telephone line communication unit 15. The voice data of the call input from the telephone line communication unit 15 is To generate a dialogue result (data such as a customer's address, name, pizza order, etc.) and output it to the dialogue result notification unit 22 together with information indicating a notification method included in the content. The voice synthesizer 20 may generate voice data by voice synthesis processing, or may generate voice data by reproducing a voice file in which voice is recorded in advance.

The dialogue result notifying section 22 notifies the dialogue result input from the dialogue processing section 19 to a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop according to the information indicating the notification method from the dialogue processing section 19. Notification methods include facsimile or e-mail notification in writing, a method of making a phone call to the system user to notify by synthetic voice, or storing the results of the dialogue on a predetermined Web server and using the corresponding system. A method is conceivable in which only people can browse.

When notifying the result of the dialogue by facsimile or telephone call, the dialogue result notifying unit 22 uses a system such as a home delivery pizza shop via the telephone line communication unit 15, the PBX 14, and the public telephone line 6. Dials the telephone used by the user and sends a fax or synthesized voice. When notifying as an e-mail, the dialog result notification unit 22 transmits the e-mail to the personal computer 2 via the Internet communication unit 12 and the Internet 4. A system user such as a home delivery pizza shop can use a personal computer 2
Confirm the contents of the e-mail (pizza order, etc.) by the mailer executed.

When the information is stored in a predetermined Web server, the dialogue result notifying unit 22 transmits the data of the dialogue result to the personal computer 2 via the Internet communication unit 12 and the Internet 4. A system user such as a home delivery pizza shop accesses the Web server using a Web browser executed by the personal computer 2 and checks the contents of the dialogue result (pizza order, etc.).

The control unit 23 controls the drive 24 to
Magnetic disk 25, optical disk 26, magneto-optical disk 2
7, or the control program stored in the semiconductor memory 28 is read, and the entire voice dialogue system 1 is controlled based on the read control program.

Next, a registration process according to the first configuration example of the voice interaction system 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This registration process is started when a Web browser of a personal computer 2 operated by a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop accesses the voice interaction system 1 via the Internet 4.

In step S1, the URL registration unit 1
In response to access from the personal computer 2, data of a registration window is generated and transmitted to the personal computer 2 via the Internet communication unit 12 and the Internet 4.

In step S2, the Web browser of the personal computer 2 displays a registration window from the voice interaction system 1 on a display. FIG.
3 shows a display example of a registration window displayed on the display of the personal computer 2.

In the registration window 31, a registration URL input field 32 in which the system user inputs a URL of a Web server storing his / her content (text data of voice guidance, etc.), and a telephone number to be given are displayed. A telephone number selection field 33 to be selected, a check box 34 to be selected when the registration result is notified by e-mail, an e-mail address input field 35 for inputting a destination of the registration result e-mail,
In addition, there is provided an "apply" button 36 to be pressed when applying for registration based on the contents entered in the registration URL input field 32 to the e-mail address input field 35.

In the registration URL input field 32, for example, the URL “http://www.xxx.com/ 入 力” of the content server 3 is entered. In the telephone number selection column 33, candidates for telephone numbers to be allocated (of all telephone numbers that can be allocated by the voice interaction system 1 are telephone numbers that are not currently used).
Is displayed, the system user such as a home delivery pizza shop,
Move the cursor to one of the displayed phone numbers (in this case, "03-1234-7890").
Select

When a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop inputs necessary information such as a URL to be registered in the registration window 31 and presses an “apply” button 36, the corresponding registration information is transmitted from the personal computer 2 to the Internet. 4, the voice response system 1 is notified. The URL registration unit 11 of the voice response system 1 receives registration information from the personal computer 2.

In step S3, the URL registration unit 11
Outputs the received registration information to the registration information database 13. The registration information database 13 includes the URL registration unit 11
A correspondence table is generated and stored based on the registration information input from.

Further, the URL registration unit 11 generates data of a registered notification window for notifying a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop that the registration has been completed, and transmits the data via the Internet communication unit 12 and the Internet 4. To the personal computer 2. FIG. 6 shows a display example of a registered notification window displayed on the personal computer 2. In the registered notification window 41, the system user enters the registration URL input field 3 of the registration window 31.
2 and a telephone number assigned by the voice interaction system 1 to a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop are displayed.

A system user such as a home delivery pizza shop notifies the consumer of the telephone number assigned by the voice interaction system 1 as a telephone number for his / her own order.

If the system user has selected the check box 34 in the registration window 31, an e-mail similar to the content displayed in the registered notification window 41 is input to the e-mail address input box 35. Sent to the destination.

In the above description, the telephone number assigned by the voice interaction system 1 to the system user can be selected by the system user from a plurality of displayed candidates. The URL registration unit 12 may be determined from among the candidates for the telephone numbers to be assigned without being selected by the user.

The description of the registration process according to the first configuration example of the voice interaction system 1 has been completed.

Next, the dialogue processing of the voice dialogue system 1 for a call from a consumer will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this interactive processing, the consumer uses the telephone 5 to dial a telephone number notified by a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop, and the call is transmitted to the voice interactive system 1.
It is started when the PBX 14 receives a call.

In step S 11, the telephone number obtaining unit 16 obtains the incoming telephone number received by the PBX 14 from the PBX 14 and notifies the URL search unit 17. In step S12, the URL search unit 17 searches the registration information database 13 for a URL corresponding to the incoming telephone number notified from the telephone number acquisition unit 16, and obtains the URL (corresponding to the content server 3). Is notified to the content acquisition unit 18.

In step S 13, the content acquisition unit 18 accesses the URL notified from the URL search unit 17, that is, the content server 3 via the Internet communication unit 12 and the Internet 4 to acquire the stored content. And supplies it to the interaction processing unit 19.

In step S14, the dialog processing unit 19
The voice synthesizing unit 20 converts the voice data of the voice guidance based on the content supplied from the content obtaining unit 18.
And outputs it to the telephone line communication unit 15, and makes the voice recognition unit 21 recognize the voice data of the call input from the telephone line communication unit 15, and outputs the dialogue result (order contents, customer address,
Then, it generates text data such as a name) and outputs it to the interaction result notifying unit 22 together with information indicating the notification method included in the content.

The processing in step S14, that is, the speech synthesis processing of the speech synthesis unit 20 executed based on the content preset by the system user, and the speech recognition unit 2
A specific example of the automatic response service based on the first voice recognition process will be described.

First, the speech synthesis unit 20 generates a synthesized speech "Delivery pizza shop. Thank you for calling. There are mixed pizza and Italian pizza. Which pizza do you order?" Communication unit 15,
The data is transmitted to the telephone 5 via the PBX 14 and the public telephone line 6. The voice recognition unit 21 is set so as to be able to distinguish between a voice uttering “mix pizza” and a voice uttering “Italian pizza”.

When the consumer utters in response to the inquiry by the synthesized voice from the voice dialogue system 1, the voice data is subjected to the dialog processing from the telephone 5 via the public telephone line 6, the PBX 14, and the telephone line communication unit 15. It is input to the voice recognition unit 21 of the unit 19. The voice recognition unit 21 recognizes the voice data of the consumer as, for example, “mix pizza”.

Next, the speech synthesizer 20 generates a synthesized voice “Mix pizza. There are small and large sizes. Which size do you order?” , PBX 14 and public telephone line 6 to telephone 5. The voice recognition unit 21 is set so as to be able to identify a voice uttering “small” and a voice uttering “large”.

When the consumer utters in response to the inquiry made by the synthesized voice from the voice dialogue system 1, the voice data is processed by the telephone 5 through the public telephone line 6, the PBX 14, and the telephone line communication unit 15 for dialog processing. It is input to the voice recognition unit 21 of the unit 19. The voice recognition unit 21 recognizes the voice data of the consumer as “large”, for example.

Next, a synthesized voice “Large size of mixed pizza. How many copies are ordered?” Is generated by the voice synthesis unit 20, and is transmitted via the telephone line communication unit 15, the PBX 14 and the public telephone line 6. Sent to telephone 5. The voice recognition unit 21 is set so as to be able to identify a voice that utters a number.

Thereafter, a synthetic voice for asking the consumer to order another product, or to utter the customer's address, name, telephone number, etc. is generated, and the corresponding consumer's voice data is subjected to voice recognition. It is recognized by the unit 21.

Next, the voice synthesis unit 20 uses a synthesized voice for confirming the order contents, the customer's address, name, telephone number, etc. “The order is one large size of mixed pizza, and the name of the customer is ○. ○, your address is XX, phone number is XX,
I heard Is that all right? Is generated and transmitted to the telephone 5 via the telephone line communication unit 15, the PBX 14, and the public telephone line 6. Voice recognition unit 21
Is set so that a voice uttering “Yes” and a voice uttering “No” can be distinguished.

When the consumer utters in response to the inquiry made by the synthesized voice from the voice dialogue system 1, the voice data is processed by the telephone 5 through the public telephone line 6, the PBX 14, and the telephone line communication unit 15. It is input to the voice recognition unit 21 of the unit 19. The voice recognition unit 21 recognizes, for example, the voice data of the consumer as “Yes”.

Finally, the speech synthesizer 20 generates a synthesized speech “I received your order. I will deliver it within 30 minutes. Thank you for your order today.” The telephone line communication section 15, PBX 14, After the transmission to the telephone 5 via the public telephone line 6, the call to the telephone 5 is disconnected by the PBX 14.

In step S15, the dialogue result notifying unit 22 sends the dialogue result input from the dialogue processing unit 19 to a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop according to the information indicating the notification method input from the dialogue processing unit 19. Notice.

The description of the dialogue processing by the voice dialogue system 1 has been completed.

By the way, when the content of the synthesized voice is changed and the setting of the voice to be recognized is changed, for example, the synthesized voice uttered first is “Delivery pizza shop. Thank you for calling. Mixed pizza and Italian pizza. There is a seafood pizza. Which pizza do you want to order? " There is a case where the user wants to make settings so as to be distinguished from the uttered voice.

In such a case, since the dialogue of the automatic voice response service is executed based on the content stored in the content server 3, a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop operates the personal computer 2 by operating the personal computer 2. What is necessary is just to access the content server 3 and edit the content of the stored content.

That is, a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop, once registered, does not need to contact the system provider managing the voice interactive system 1 at any time, and can arbitrarily perform automatic voice communication. The content of the response service can be changed. Therefore, the cost of the communication work between both the system user and the system provider can be reduced.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a second example of the voice dialogue system 1.
Is shown. In the second configuration example, the URL registration unit 11 of the first configuration example shown in FIG. 2 is replaced with a content setting unit 51, and a content server 52 is added.

The content setting section 51 executes a registration process (described later with reference to FIG. 9) in response to access from the personal computer 2 via the Internet communication section 12 and the Internet 4, and obtains registration information (assignment information). (A dedicated telephone number, an assigned URL, etc.) to a registration information database (DB) 13. Further, the content setting unit 51 presents a template of the content (interaction content of the automatic voice interaction service, etc.) to the personal computer 2 of the system user such as a home delivery pizza shop, and changes the specification of the content template from the system user. In response to the setting, a content customized for a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop is generated and stored in a directory in the content server 52.

The content server 52 stores the content input from the content setting unit 51 and customized for a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop in a specified directory. The content server 52 is also connected to the Internet 4 and can be accessed by the personal computer 2 via the Internet 4.

Components other than the content setting section 51 and the content server 52 are the same as those in the first configuration example shown in FIG. 2, and are denoted by the same reference numerals, and therefore description thereof is omitted. .

Next, a registration process according to the second configuration example of the voice interaction system 1 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. This registration process is started when a Web browser of a personal computer 2 operated by a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop accesses the voice interaction system 1 via the Internet 4.

In step S 21, the content setting unit 51 generates registration window data in response to access from the personal computer 2 and transmits the data to the personal computer 2 via the Internet communication unit 12 and the Internet 4.

In step S22, the Web browser of the personal computer 2 displays a registration window from the voice interaction system 1 on a display. The registration window displayed at this time is, for example, the registration window 31 deleted from the registration window 31 shown in FIG.

When a system user, such as a home delivery pizza shop, selects a telephone number to be given to the displayed registration window and presses an “apply” button provided in the registration window, Corresponding registration information is notified from the personal computer 2 to the voice response system 1 via the Internet 4. The content setting unit 51 of the voice response system 1 receives registration information from the personal computer 2.

In step S23, the content setting section 51 transmits the data of the content setting window to the personal computer 2 via the Internet communication section 12 and the Internet 4.

In step S24, the Web browser of the personal computer 2 displays a content setting window from the voice interaction system 1 on the display. The content setting window displayed at this time is, for example, configured so that a plurality of templates prepared in advance can be selected, and further, the selected template can be customized.

When the system user of the home delivery pizza shop or the like selects the content template and appropriately executes customization on the displayed content setting window, the information (hereinafter referred to as content selection information) is displayed. Is described from the personal computer 2 to the voice response system 1 via the Internet 4.

Content setting section 5 of voice response system 1
1 receives the content selection information from the personal computer 2. The content setting unit 51 generates content customized for a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop based on the received content selection information.

In step S25, the content setting section 51 specifies a directory in the content server 52 and stores the generated content. Further, the content setting unit 51 determines whether the content server 52 stores the content in the registration information received in step S22.
The information indicating the URL is added and output to the registration information database 13. The registration information database 13 generates and stores a correspondence table based on the registration information input from the content setting unit 51. Further, the content setting unit 51
Generates a user ID and a password required when a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop accesses the content server 51 and edits the stored content.

Further, the content setting unit 51 generates data of a registered notification window for notifying a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop that the registration has been completed, and transmits the data via the Internet communication unit 12 and the Internet 4. To the personal computer 2.

FIG. 10 shows a display example of a registered notification window displayed on the personal computer 2.
In this registered notification window 61, the content setting unit 51 displays the content server 51 in which the content is stored.
URL, telephone number assigned from the voice interaction system 1 to a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop, and user ID and password required when accessing the content server 51 and editing stored content. Is displayed.

A system user such as a home delivery pizza shop notifies the consumer of the telephone number assigned by the voice interaction system 1 as a telephone number for his / her own order.

As in the case of the registration processing according to the above-described first configuration example, an electronic mail can be used for the registration completion notification. Further, the system user can select a telephone number to be assigned by the voice interaction system 1 to the system user from a plurality of displayed candidates. The content setting unit 51 may be determined from the number candidates. Furthermore, the name of the directory in the content server 52 that stores the content (that is,
URL) may be determined by the system user.

The description of the registration process according to the second configuration example of the voice interaction system 1 is completed.

Note that the dialog processing by the second configuration example of the voice dialog system 1 is similar to the dialog processing by the first configuration example of the voice dialog system 1 described above with reference to FIG. Omitted.

According to the second configuration example of the voice interaction system 1, a system user such as a home delivery pizza shop needs time and effort to prepare content for automatic voice response and store it in the content server 3. Without using the personal computer 2 and accessing the voice interaction system 1 and completing registration, the use of the automatic voice response service can be started immediately.

Next, FIG. 11 shows a third configuration example of the voice interaction system 1. This third configuration example is obtained by adding a communication history recording unit 71 to the first configuration example shown in FIG.

The communication history recording unit 71 monitors the processing (incoming and outgoing calls) of the PBX 14 and associates the time with the incoming telephone number supplied from the telephone number acquiring unit 16 as shown in FIG. 12, for example. Recorded as communication history information.
Further, the communication history recording unit 71 calculates the number of times of dialing and the talk time for each telephone number assigned to the system user based on the recorded communication history information.

The components other than the communication history recording unit 71 are the same as the components of the first configuration example shown in FIG. 2, and are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description is omitted.

Next, the operation of the third example of the configuration of the voice dialogue system 1 will be described. The registration process of the third configuration example is the same as the registration process of the first configuration example described above with reference to FIG. The dialog processing of the third configuration example is as follows.
7 is the same as the dialog processing according to the first configuration example described above with reference to FIG. 7, but the communication history recording processing by the communication history recording unit 71, that is, the time is recorded when a call from a consumer arrives. Processing and processing for recording the time when a call is disconnected are added.

Next, a billing calculation process according to the third configuration example of the voice interaction system 1 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. This billing process is executed by the communication history recording unit 71 every predetermined period (for example, every month).

In step S31, the communication history recording section 71 reads out communication history information recorded by itself. In step S32, the communication history recording unit 71 counts the number of calls for each incoming telephone number from the read communication history information, and calculates the talk time and the total transit time of each call. In step S33, the communication history recording unit 71
A calculation amount such as multiplying the total call time of each incoming telephone number by a predetermined coefficient is calculated for the system user to whom the incoming telephone number is assigned. Note that the number of calls may be used to calculate the billing amount.

The calculated charge is used when the system provider charges the system user for the system usage fee.

The description of the billing calculation process according to the third configuration example of the voice interaction system 1 has been completed.

Next, an example of use of the voice interaction system 1 to which the present invention is applied will be described. The voice dialogue system 1
As described above, the present invention can be used for an automatic voice interaction service such as receiving an order from a customer in place of a home delivery pizza shop or the like. The present invention can be used for a weather forecast notification service for notifying the weather forecast by voice, a music preview service for previewing the specified music, a stock price notification service for notifying the stock price of the specified stock certificate by voice, and the like.

When the voice interaction system 1 is used for, for example, a weather forecast notification service, the content acquisition unit 18
Then, based on the dialogue result of the dialogue processing unit 19, the user is allowed to access a Web server that publishes information such as a weather forecast via the Internet communication unit 12 and the Internet 4 to acquire weather forecast information. To be supplied. The voice synthesizer 20 of the dialogue processor 19 generates a synthesized voice corresponding to the supplied information such as the weather forecast, and supplies the synthesized voice to the telephone line communication unit 15. The telephone line communication unit 15 transmits the synthesized voice of the weather forecast from the dialog processing unit 19 to the telephone 5 during a call via the PBX 14 and the public telephone line 6.

Incidentally, the above-described series of processes of the voice interaction system 1 can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software.
When a series of processing is executed by software,
A program that constitutes the software is recorded on a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware, or on a general-purpose personal computer or the like that can execute various functions by installing various programs. Installed from media.

As shown in FIG. 2, the recording medium is a magnetic disk 25 (including a floppy disk) on which the program is recorded and an optical disk 26 which are distributed separately from the computer to provide the program to the user.
(CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), DVD (Digit
al Versatile Disc), magneto-optical disc 27 (M
D (including Mini Disc)), or a packaged medium comprising a semiconductor memory 28, etc., and also provided to the user in a state in which it is incorporated in a computer in advance, such as a ROM or a hard disk on which a program is recorded. It consists of.

In this specification, the steps for describing the program recorded on the recording medium are not limited to the processing performed in chronological order according to the described order, but are not necessarily performed in chronological order. Alternatively, it also includes individually executed processing.

In this specification, the system is
It represents the entire device including a plurality of devices, circuits, and processing blocks.

[0114]

As described above, according to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the assigned telephone number is recorded in association with the user's server, the incoming telephone number is determined, and the received telephone number is determined. Since the content data is acquired from the user's server and the information on the content data and the dialogue result based on the voice recognition result and the generated voice signal is notified, a home delivery visa store that does not have dedicated equipment or specialized knowledge For example, it is possible to provide an environment in which an automatic voice response service can be implemented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the concept of a voice interaction system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of a voice interaction system 1 to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence table generated and stored by a registration information database 13;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a registration process according to a first configuration example of the voice interaction system 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a registration window 31;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a registered notification window 41.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a dialogue process according to a first configuration example of the voice dialogue system 1.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a second configuration example of the voice interaction system 1 to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a registration process according to a second configuration example of the voice interaction system 1.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of a registered notification window 41.

FIG. 11 shows a third example of the voice interaction system 1 to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication history information.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a billing calculation process according to a third configuration example of the voice interaction system 1.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Voice dialogue system 2 Personal computer 3 Content server 4 Internet 5 Telephone 6 Public telephone line 11 URL registration part 12 Internet communication part 13 Registration information database 14 Private branch exchange 15 Telephone line communication part 16 Telephone number acquisition part 17 URL search part 18 Content acquisition Unit 19 Dialogue Processing Unit 20 Speech Synthesis Unit 21 Voice Recognition Unit 22 Dialogue Result Notification Unit 23 Control Unit 24 Drive 25 Magnetic Disk 26 Optical Disk 27 Magneto-Optical Disk 28 Semiconductor Memory 31 Registration Window 32 Registration URL Input Field 33 Phone Number Selection Field 34 Check box 35 E-mail address input field 36 Application button 41 Registered notification window 51 Content setting unit 52 Content server 61 Registered notification window 71 Notification history recording unit

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus for recognizing a voice signal input via a telephone line and outputting a voice signal via the telephone line, wherein the information processing apparatus allocates a telephone number corresponding to a user terminal device. Means, a recording means for recording the server of the user in association with the telephone number assigned by the assigning means, a communication means for communicating via the telephone line, and an audio signal received by the communication means. Voice recognition means for recognizing voice; determination means for determining the telephone number received by the communication means; detection for detecting the server corresponding to the telephone number determined by the determination means based on the record of the recording means Means for acquiring content data from the server detected by the detecting means via a network, and the acquiring means Dialogue means for generating a speech signal for a conversation based on the acquired content data and the speech recognized by the speech recognition means and causing the communication means to communicate with the speech data; An information processing apparatus, comprising: a notifying unit that notifies the user of the recognition result and the information on the dialogue result based on the audio signal generated by the dialogue unit. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said allocating means presents a plurality of telephone numbers to prompt a selection and allocates the selected telephone number when the terminal device receives access from said terminal device via said network. Item 2. The information processing device according to item 1. 3. The dialogue means according to claim 1, wherein the dialogue means generates the voice signal for the dialogue by generating a synthesized voice or by reproducing a prerecorded voice file. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 4. A template supply unit for supplying a template of the content data when the terminal device receives access from the terminal device via the network, and a template for the content data customized by a user of the terminal device. Storage means for storing the template in a predetermined server provided, wherein the recording means records the predetermined server in which the storage means stores the template as a server of the user. Item 2. The information processing device according to item 1. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit that monitors communication of the communication unit and stores a communication history.