KR100976920B1 - Apparatus and Method of Image Based Guidance for Automatic Response Service System - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention enables to provide an answering service through a video between a video telephone terminal capable of using a video telephone service such as a 3G WCDMA phone or a VoIP video phone. Accordingly, the user can grasp the contents of the guide by visual elements such as voice, video, and text, so that the contents can be grasped more easily and accurately, so that the answering machine service procedure can be made very quickly and accurately.

Answering system, Video, Voice, Multimedia, Telephone, Guide

Description

Apparatus and Method of Image Based Guidance for Automatic Response Service System

The present invention relates to a video guidance apparatus and a method for an answering machine, and in particular, to provide an answering service through video with various video telephone terminals capable of using a video calling service such as a 3G WCDMA phone or a VoIP video phone. It relates to a device and a method for doing so.

At present, an automatic response service system (Automatic Response Service System) is used in a variety of fields to guide a variety of services such as product sales, inquiry of various information, issuance of certification documents, payment, and so on.

All of these conventional answering machines provide a service using only pre-recorded voices.

That is, a service is provided by a method of guiding a user with various menus by voice, and executing a voice guidance corresponding to the user by selecting a desired menu by operating a key of a telephone terminal.

On the other hand, such an answering service procedure by voice has a problem in that the service usage time is long because the user must listen to the information from the beginning to the end in order to know the corresponding information.

In particular, most answering service requires a procedure for collecting some information from the user.

For example, in order to verify a user's identity, a social security number must be inputted, or a user's credit card number, bank account information, or amount to be paid must be input from the user in order to provide a payment service.

Since such information must be treated as very important for the validity of the service or for security reasons, a procedure for re-checking the information entered by the user to confirm the integrity is required. need.

However, such a procedure increases the time required for the use of the answering service, which is a major factor that makes users who use the answering service more uncomfortable.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, it is possible to provide an automatic answering service through the guide video between the video telephone terminal, the user using the video telephone terminal that is currently popularized more convenient It is an object of the present invention to provide an image guide device and method for an answering machine that enables a quick and quick answering service.

In order to achieve the above object, the image guide device for an answering machine according to the present invention, the image information storage unit for storing and maintaining each guide image according to the answering machine guide scenario; A receiver for receiving user input information from a video telephone terminal of a user connected through a specific phone number; A confirmation unit for generating a confirmation guide image including the user input information received through the reception unit and transmitting the identification guide image to the video telephone terminal to confirm whether the corresponding user input information is correctly input; And transmitting the initial guide image to the video telephone terminal and transmitting the corresponding guide image of the video information storage unit according to the user input information received through the receiver, when the user input information requires the user's confirmation. It includes a guide for proceeding the answering service while checking the corresponding user input information.

The video guide device for the automatic answering system is configured to use the video telephone terminal and the preset called party's phone when the user input information received through the receiver corresponds to a guide image transmitted to the video telephone terminal. The terminal may further include a call connection processing unit that allows each other to make a call.

In this embodiment, the guide unit may be configured to resume the answering service between the video telephone terminal and the video telephone terminal when the call between the video telephone terminal and the called terminal connected to each other by the call connection processor ends. have.

The video guidance method for an answering machine according to the present invention comprises the steps of: connecting the video answering system to a video telephone terminal of a user calling a specific phone number; Transmitting the initial guide image to the video telephone terminal by the video answering system, and transmitting the corresponding guide video according to a preset answering guide scenario according to user input information received from the video telephone terminal, and proceeding with an answering service. ; And terminating the connection with the video telephone terminal by the video answering system.

In this case, the automatic answering service may include: when the user input information received from the video telephone terminal requires the user's confirmation, a confirmation guide image including the user input information is sent to the video telephone terminal. It may be configured to confirm whether or not the input information is correctly input.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an answering service using an image away from the conventional voice method. The user can grasp the contents of the guide by visual elements such as voice, video, and text, so that the contents can be grasped more easily and accurately, and the desired service contents can be selected accurately.

In particular, important information such as social security number, credit card number, bank account information and amount to be paid can be immediately confirmed through video, which can greatly reduce the processing time compared to the procedure of reconfirming using conventional voice. You can check more precisely whether one is correct.

Accordingly, it is possible to provide a faster and more convenient answering service to users using the video phone terminal.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the term 'image' used below refers to multimedia information including voice, text, as well as image or video information.

1 illustrates an example of a network capable of providing an answering service using video according to the present invention, wherein a video telephone terminal 11 of a user who wants to use an answering service is connected to a video telephone network 13-1. do.

Examples of the video telephone network 13-1 include an IP network such as the Internet network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a mobile communication network, and the like. Examples of mobile communication networks include HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) or WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, H.324M).

The user's videophone terminal 11 may be connected to the answering machine 15 through various paths. For example, if a specific company (eg, LG Dacom) provides an answering machine according to the present invention, the video telephone terminal 11 in turn turns the calling video telephone network 13-1 and the LG Dacom video telephone network 14 in turn. Via an answering machine system 15 interworking with the Dacom videophone network 14 via.

The video telephone terminal 11 may be configured in various ways according to the network to which it is connected. For example, a VoIP terminal, a general video telephone, a mobile communication terminal, etc., which can use a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service may be used. have. Examples of the VoIP terminal include a soft phone equipped with a VoIP function, such as a personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a hard phone such as an IP phone.

The answering machine 15 basically processes the answering service based on the guide image.

The answering machine 15 is largely referred to as a network matching unit 15-1, a media matching unit 15-2, and an image guide device 15-3 for an answering machine according to the present invention. It can be made, including).

The network matching unit 15-1 sets a path for video communication with the video telephone terminal 11.

That is, the user enters a specific phone number (e.g., 16XX 4 digits or 8 digit national representative numbers such as 15XX-XXXX, 16XX-XXXX, etc.) into the video telephone terminal 11 such as a 3G WCDMA phone or a VoIP video phone. If so, the network matching unit 15-1 sets a path for video communication with the video telephone terminal 11.

In this case, if the video phone terminal 11 is a 3G WCDMA phone, protocols such as SS7 (Signaling System 7), ISDN, etc. may be used. In the case of VoIP video phones, VoIP protocols such as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) may be used.

The media matching unit 15-2 sets a medium for performing video communication in the video communication path set through the network matching unit 15-1.

That is, the media matching unit 15-2 sets a media (eg, codec, speed, etc.) to be used when communicating with the video telephone terminal 11 through the path set through the network matching unit 15-1. To perform. In this case, if the video phone terminal is a 3G WCDMA phone, a protocol such as H.245 of H.324M may be used. In the case of a VoIP video phone, an SDP (Session Description Protocol) protocol may be used.

The video guide device 15-3 uses the video communication path established by the network matching unit 15-1 and the media set by the media matching unit 15-2 to communicate with the video telephone terminal 11. Provides an automatic response service through the guidance video (guidance).

Referring to FIG. 2, an embodiment of the image guide apparatus 15-3 may include an image information storage unit 21, a receiver 22, a confirmation unit 23, and a guide unit 24. .

The image information storage unit 21 is a component that stores and maintains each guide image according to the automatic response guide scenario.

Each guide image according to the answering machine guide scenario is input by using a key of the video telephone terminal 11 according to the guide image displayed on the current screen as well as the initial guide image to be transmitted to the first connected video telephone terminal 11. Various images are scheduled to be performed according to user input information.

The receiver 22 serves to receive user input information from the video phone terminal 11. That is, when the user views the guide image and manipulates the key of the video telephone terminal 11 accordingly, the corresponding key signal is received by the receiver 22.

The confirmation unit 23 generates a confirmation guide image including the user input information received through the reception unit 22, and transmits the generated confirmation guide image to the video phone terminal 11 to display the corresponding user input information. It checks whether the user is correct or not.

In this case, the background image of the confirmation guide image may be processed as an image stored in the image information storage unit 21. In addition, the confirmation guide image may be generated by synthesizing the content of displaying the user input information input by the user on which image and inquiring whether the information is correct. Such a confirmation guide image can be configured in various ways as necessary.

On the other hand, the guide unit 24 transmits the initial guide image to the video telephone terminal 11 at the initial time when the video telephone terminal 11 is connected.

The guide unit 24 transmits a guide image to be processed according to user input information among guide images stored in the image information storage unit 21 according to user input information received through the receiver 22, When the user input signal is received, the automatic response service is performed while repeating the process of transmitting the guide image corresponding thereto.

In particular, the guidance unit 24 is a confirmation unit 23 when the user input information received from the video phone terminal 11 in the current process is important information that needs to be confirmed by the user, such as a social security number, credit card number, bank account number, password Check whether the user input information is input correctly through.

The process of identifying important information in the guide unit 24 may be variously configured as necessary.

For example, assuming that the payment service is provided, it is assumed that the payment method (e.g., credit card, bank transfer, etc.), the social security number, the credit card number or the account number, and the amount of the payment are processed in order. After all of these steps are completed, each piece of information can be sent to the videophone terminal 11 to be confirmed at once. In addition, for each procedure, the corresponding information may be sent to the video telephone terminal 11 to be checked at that time.

Referring to FIG. 3, another embodiment of the image guide device 15-3 according to the present invention will be described.

There is no limitation on the contents of the service provided by the video guide device 15-3, and the user may often want to talk to a counselor related to the service while using the answering machine. For example, if you want to pay for something purchased at home shopping, you may want to immediately contact the home shopping counselor for details on delivery issues, product characteristics, and discounts.

To this end, the video guide device 15-3 includes a menu for promptly requesting a call connection with an arbitrary called party such as a counselor on the guide video transmitted to the video phone terminal 11, and the receiver 22 from the user. When the user input information received through the call connection request may further comprise a call connection processing unit 25 to allow the video phone terminal 11 and the preset called terminal for the call to each other.

At this time, the guidance video having a menu for requesting a call connection immediately with any called party such as a counselor may be configured to include advertisements or promotional contents of the company.

In addition, in this embodiment, the guide unit 24 may be configured to resume the automatic answering service that is in progress when the call between the video telephone terminal 11 and the called terminal terminated through the call connection processing unit 25 ends. Can be. At this time, if the user is configured to start from the step before starting the call, the user can use the answering machine service while maintaining the continuity of the procedure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the call connection processor 25 is a terminal in which the user's video telephone terminal 11 is connected to an IP network, and the called terminal 12 is connected to a public switched telephone network 13-2 (PSTN). When the video phone terminal 11 and the called terminal 12 are connected to different networks, such as a connected terminal, signal exchange or media exchange for performing an interface between heterogeneous networks is performed. Can be done.

Then, the video telephone terminal 11 is connected to the called terminal 12 through the called side telephone network 13-2 through an automated service connection logic.

Referring to FIG. 4, an embodiment of an image guide method for an automated response system according to the present invention will be described.

The answering machine is connected to the video telephone terminal of the user calling the specific telephone number (S41).

Then, the answering machine sends the initial guide image to the video telephone terminal, and then repeats the process of transmitting the corresponding guide image according to the preset answering scenario according to user input information received from the video telephone terminal. Proceed to (S42).

Particularly, in step S42, when the user input information received from the video phone terminal requires the user's confirmation, the answering machine transmits a confirmation guide video including the user input information to the video phone terminal so that the user input information is correct. It goes through the process of checking whether or not it has been entered.

If the user hangs up the phone or terminates the service during the step S42, the answering machine terminates the connection with the video telephone terminal (S43).

Now, an example of a specific process of performing step S42 will be described.

First, the answering machine sends an initial guide image to the video telephone terminal (S42-1), and the user responds by manipulating the key of the video telephone terminal. Then, the answering machine receives a user input signal from the video telephone terminal (S42-2).

If the user input signal received in step S42-2 indicates the end of the service (S42-3), the automatic answering system terminates the connection with the video telephone terminal (S43).

However, if the user input signal received in step S42-2 does not indicate the end of the service, the answering machine proceeds with the answering service according to the type of the user input signal.

That is, when the user input signal received in step S42-2 does not receive the user's confirmation (eg, service type or general information inquiry request), a guide image corresponding to the corresponding user input signal is sent to the video telephone terminal. In operation S42-8, a user input signal corresponding to the transmitted guide image is received (S42-2).

However, if the user input signal received in step S42-2 is important information that needs to be confirmed by the user (S42-4), the corresponding user input information is transmitted by sending a confirmation guide image including the user input information to the video telephone terminal. The process of checking whether it is correct is carried out (S42-5, S42-6).

If the user inputs a key indicating that the information is not correct as a result of checking in step S42-6, the user transmits a guide image requesting to input the information again to the video telephone terminal (S42-9). A user input signal corresponding to the guide image is received (S42-2).

However, if the user inputs a key for confirming that the information is correct as a result of checking in step S42-6, the guide image corresponding to the scenario to be performed next is sent to the video telephone terminal (S42-8), and the sent guide image is sent. In operation S42-2, a user input signal corresponding to the terminal is received.

On the other hand, the important user input information that needs to be confirmed by the user in step S42-4 can be variously set as necessary. For example, user identification information, credit card numbers, and credit card passwords.

The above-described embodiments are intended to help the understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be variously modified and implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. to be.

1 is an example of a network for providing an answering service according to the present invention;

2 is an embodiment of an image guide apparatus according to the present invention;

3 is another embodiment of an image guide device according to the present invention;

4 is an embodiment of an image guide method according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

11: video telephone terminal 12: telephone terminal

15: automatic answering system 15-1: network matching unit

15-2: Media matching unit 15-3: Video guide device

21: Image information storage unit 22: Receiver

23: check unit 24: guide unit

25: call connection processing unit

Claims (5)

An image information storage unit for storing and maintaining each guide image according to the auto response guide scenario; A receiver for receiving user input information from a video telephone terminal of a user connected through a specific phone number; A confirmation unit for generating a confirmation guide image including the user input information received through the reception unit and transmitting the identification guide image to the video telephone terminal to confirm whether the corresponding user input information is correctly input; And Send the initial guide image to the video telephone terminal and transmit the corresponding guide image of the image information storage unit according to the user input information received through the receiving unit, and when the user input information is required to be confirmed by the user through the confirmation unit An image guide device for an answering machine comprising a guide for performing an answering service while checking the user input information. The method of claim 1, When the user input information received through the receiver in response to the guide image sent to the video telephone terminal is a request for a call connection, the call connection to allow the video telephone terminal and the preset called terminal for a call to each other An image guidance device for an answering machine further comprising a processing unit. The method of claim 2, And the guide unit is configured to resume the answering service between the video telephone terminal and the video telephone terminal when the call between the video telephone terminal and the called terminal connected to each other by the call connection processor ends. Video guidance device for response system. Connecting the answering machine to the video telephone terminal of the user calling the specific telephone number; Transmitting, by the automatic answering system, an initial guide image to the video telephone terminal, and transmitting the corresponding guide image according to a preset automatic response guide scenario according to user input information received from the video telephone terminal, and performing an automatic answering service; And The step of terminating the connection with the video telephone terminal by the answering machine; The automatic answering service may include: when the user input information received from the video telephone terminal requires confirmation of the user, generates a confirmation guide image including the corresponding user input information, and sends the image to the video telephone terminal. And a method of determining whether input information is correctly inputted. The method of claim 4, wherein And user input information requiring confirmation of the user comprises at least one of user identification information, a credit card number, and a credit card password.

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