JP3167778B2 - Mutual automatic communication method using automatic voice response device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system using an automatic voice response system in which a human selects information by operating a push button of a telephone or the like via a telephone line or the like and listens to the result by voice. The present invention relates to a method for automating communication with a device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an automatic voice response device is used, a human inputs information by operating a push button of a telephone or the like, and the answer is obtained by a recorded or synthesized voice. As an example, a “meeting room reservation system” using an automatic voice response device will be described. The user has a unique identification number (I
Wait for D), and assume that the conference room is also numbered.
The purpose of this system is to allow users to reserve a conference room.

When a user makes a call to the telephone number to which the automatic voice response device is connected, the device responds with a message "This is a conference room reservation system. Please enter your ID." When the user enters his / her ID, the device subsequently responds with "Please enter date and time of use". When the user inputs the date and time, the user requests items such as the number of people and the conference room number, and the operation branches according to the input. If the conference room is not vacant, the apparatus notifies the user of the information. That is, the branching of the automatic voice response apparatus may or may not depend on the input of the user. Also, in some places, respond with "Do you want to use △△? Enter # if it is okay, enter * if you want to start over", etc., and enable return. In this way, the interactive voice response apparatus acquires necessary information from the user by a push signal sound in an interactive manner, proceeds with necessary processing while branching the program, and reserves a conference room.

[0004]

As described above, the conventional automatic voice response apparatus is based on the premise that a person himself operates a push button with a telephone or the like. For this reason, if an attempt is made to perform human operation on behalf of a certain device and automate communication with the voice response device, the content of the voice message output by the voice response device is automatically recognized by the proxy device using voice recognition technology. It is not easy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to easily interpret the contents of a voice message without requiring a voice recognition technology or the like, to allow a human operation to be performed on behalf of the device, and to provide an automatic voice response device including a decision branch. The purpose is to automate communication.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to an automatic voice response apparatus which connects an automatic voice response apparatus and its utilization apparatus through a communication line, sends out a push signal tone from the utilization apparatus, and Sends out a voice message,
When communicating with each other, for each voice message, each voice message is associated with a unique push signal tone that specifies the content of the message, and the voice response apparatus performs a judgment branch based on the push signal tone sent from the use device, A push signal tone specifying the content of the message is added to the voice message and transmitted, and the utilization device interprets the transmitted push signal tone and performs a decision branch according to the result,
The next push signal sound is automatically transmitted depending on the branch destination .

[0007]

The technique of extracting the push signal tone from the voice message and extracting it has already been implemented in a service using an automatic voice response device such as the dial Q2. When acting on behalf of a human operation, the utilization device performs a decision branch by a push signal tone in the same manner as an automatic voice response device does. The correspondence between the message content and the push signal sound sequence output before and after the message content is determined in advance. Since there are usually 12 types of push tone, there are at most 12 types of voice messages that can be distinguished by one push tone. If there are more voice messages to be distinguished, they are represented by a series of push signal tones. Further, when data of indefinite length, for example, data such as the amount of money, is included in the voice message, following the push signal tone sequence,
A push signal string representing the amount is output. At this time, for example, the numbers are “0” to “9”, and the end of the data is “#”.
It can be represented by a push signal sound.

[0008]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 100 is an automatic voice response device, 2
Reference numeral 00 denotes a telephone or a device of the same type as the automatic voice response device 100 (hereinafter, referred to as a utilization device). The automatic voice response apparatus 100 includes a push signal tone identification unit 101, a push signal tone transmission unit 102, a voice message storage unit 103, a voice message transmission unit 104, and a control unit 110 that controls each unit. Utilization device 20
Reference numeral 0 includes a push signal tone identification unit 201, a push signal tone transmission unit 202, a voice message output unit 203, and a control unit 210 that controls each unit.

[0010] When the user device 200 performs a human operation on behalf of the user, the push signal tone transmission unit 202 transmits a push signal tone by an automatic dialing method based on an instruction from the control unit 210, and transmits a voice signal via the communication line 300. Automatic answering device 1
Call 00. In the automatic voice response apparatus 100, the push signal tone identification unit 101 identifies the push signal tone input from the communication line 300 and notifies the control unit 110 of the identification.
The control unit 110 analyzes the input push signal sound,
Push signal sound transmission unit 102 and voice message transmission unit 1
Give instructions to 04. The voice message sending unit 104 , based on an instruction from the control unit 110,
3, a predetermined voice message is read out from the communication line 30.
Send to 0. The push signal sound transmission unit 102 also receives a voice message transmission unit 104 based on an instruction from the control unit 110.
A predetermined push signal sound is transmitted before and after the operation of the communication line 30.
Send to 0. The push signal tone specifies the content of the voice message transmitted by the voice message transmitting unit 104 .

In the use device 200, the push signal sound identification unit 201 identifies the push signal sound added to the voice message input from the communication line 300 and notifies the control unit 210 of the identification. Note that when the use device 200 substitutes for a human operation, the voice message output unit 203 does not operate. The control unit 210 analyzes the input push signal sound and issues an instruction to the push signal sound transmission unit 202 .
The push signal sound transmission unit 202 transmits the next push signal sound as necessary based on the instruction of the control unit 210.
Send to 00.

Next, an operation example when the present system is applied to a conference room reservation system will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 2 shows the operation of the automatic voice response apparatus 100, and FIG.
FIG. 4 shows the operation of the utilization device 200. In this operation example, the user has two candidates for the reservation time,
When the first candidate is unacceptable, a second candidate is applied, and when both are unacceptable, it is abandoned.

The use apparatus 200 calls the automatic voice response apparatus 100 by automatic dialing or the like. In the figure, the operation at this time is omitted. When the connection between the two devices is completed, the interactive voice response device 100 sends a voice message “This is a conference room reservation system. Please enter an ID” and a corresponding push signal tone “10 #”. (Step 111). Upon confirming the reception of the push signal tone “10 #” (step 21)
1), a push signal tone "123 #" is transmitted (step 212). Here, “123” means a user ID, which is assumed to be stored in advance in a memory or the like in the use device 200. The voice response apparatus 100 analyzes the received push tone (ID) (step 112),
If D is invalid, for example, a voice message “ID is not registered, service cannot be performed” and a corresponding push signal tone “110 #” are transmitted, and the process ends (step 114). On the other hand, if the ID is valid, a voice message of “Please enter the date and time of use” and a corresponding push signal tone “11 #” are transmitted (step 113).

The use apparatus 200 analyzes the received push signal tone (step 213). If this is "110 #", for example, new registration or the like is performed.
In the case of "#", a push tone indicating the date and time of use is transmitted (step 214). It is assumed that this reservation date and time is also stored in advance in a memory or the like in the use device 200. The voice response apparatus 100 analyzes the received push signal tone (reservation date and time) (step 115), and if there is a vacancy, a voice message “Reserved” and a corresponding push signal tone “12”. # Is sent (step 116). If there is no space, a voice message of "There is no space, please enter another date and time" and a corresponding push signal tone "120 #"
Is transmitted (step 117). Thereafter, the voice response apparatus 100 waits for reception of the next push signal tone from the use apparatus 200. Although omitted in FIG. 1, a conference room reservation status database is connected to the automatic voice response device 100, and in step 115, the control unit 110 searches the database to determine an air / busy status.
Since this type of search is well known and is not directly related to the present invention, further description is omitted.

The use apparatus 200 analyzes the received push tone (step 215). If the push tone is "12 #", the push tone "#" is sent out (step 2).
16) For example, "first candidate OK" is printed on the printer (step 217), and the operation is terminated. The automatic voice response apparatus 100 confirms the reception of the push signal tone of “#”, and similarly terminates the operation (step 115).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 215 that the received push signal tone is “120 #”, the use device 200 continuously sends out a push signal tone indicating the use date and time of the second candidate (step 221). . It is assumed that the use date and time of the second candidate is also stored in advance in the memory or the like in the use device 200 following the first candidate. Thereafter, the use apparatus 200 has a response from the automatic voice response apparatus 100 and, when receiving the push signal sound, analyzes it (step 222), and in the case of "12 #", sends the push signal sound "#" (step 222). Step 223), “Second candidate O
K is printed to end the operation (step 224). If "120 #" is received again, a push signal tone "#" is sent out (step 225), and for example, "reservation impossible" is printed. (Step 22)
6). In any case, the automatic voice response apparatus 100 confirms the reception of the push signal sound of "#" and ends the operation (step 115).

As described above, in the description of the operation example, the data to be communicated with the automatic voice response apparatus 100 is written in a specific register or memory in the usage apparatus 200 in a format that can be easily input by the user, and the control unit 210 transmits the data to the data processing apparatus. Is read, and the decision is made. However, this is effective in the case of frequently changing data such as date and time for a conference room reservation or data such as the amount of money in financial relations. However, if the user changes not only the data but also the structure of the program, a tool for preparing the program is prepared, and the tool inputs the program structure and data and translates it into the control unit (program) 210. There is also a way to do this.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When transmitting a push signal tone from a telephone or the like and obtaining the answer from the automatic voice response device, human operation including decision branching without impairing the functions of push button input and voice response output required for human operation Can be realized on behalf of the machine. This is particularly effective when a human is absent at the time when the operation is to be performed and the user wants the machine to perform the operation. Further, it is possible to construct a cooperative system in which two or more automatic voice response devices automatically perform mutual communication and perform distributed processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an example of an operation flowchart on the voice automatic response device side.

FIG. 3 is an example of an operation flowchart on the use device side.

FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart continued from FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 automatic voice response device 101 push signal sound identification unit 102 push signal sound transmission unit 103 voice message storage unit 104 voice message transmission unit 110 control unit 200 utilization device 201 push signal sound transmission unit 202 push signal sound identification unit 203 voice message output unit 210 control unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04M 3/42-3/58 H04M 11/00-11/10

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An automatic voice response system in which an automatic voice response device and its utilization device are connected through a communication line, a push signal tone is transmitted from the utilization device, and the voice automatic response device transmits a voice message and communicates with each other. An intercommunication method using a device, wherein each voice message is associated with a unique push signal tone that specifies the content of the message, and the automatic voice response device makes a decision branch based on the push signal tone sent from the use device. Then, a push signal tone specifying the content of the message is added to the voice message and transmitted, and the utilization device interprets the transmitted push signal tone, performs a decision branch according to the result, and determines a branch destination. Yo
A method for automatically transmitting the next push signal tone, the method comprising the steps of: