Abstract:
A system comprises an acoustic coupling product label ( 20 ) for mounting on a product to be serviced. The label ( 20 ) includes a memory ( 23 ) for storing information relating to the product to be serviced, control means ( 29 ) for controlling the flow of data from the label ( 20 ), an activation switch ( 22 ), and an acoustic transducer that emits tones corresponding to said product information. The system further includes a telephone ( 30 ) and a computerized product support system ( 50 ), which collects and interprets the information provided by the label ( 20 ). The control means ( 29 ) is arranged to control the flow of data from the label ( 20 ) to the system ( 50 ) at a rate and time required by the system ( 50 ).

Description:
The present invention relates to an acoustic coupling product label and a method of using the label. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   There are a number of problems associated with the reporting of faults on self-service devices, such as Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). Normally a fault is reported by someone in the vicinity of the device, who calls a service centre. They then verbally quote the serial number of the device, which is compared to a service database, by call centre staff, to determine the level of service contract covering the device before the call is connected to a customer care agent. 
   The present system is based on a label that is mounted on the device, the issues arise where the label may be inaccessible, or the person placing the call to the service centre may just misread the serial number. 
   This problem is exacerbated by regulations from product-certification organizations such as UL (Underwriter Laboratories Inc.), CSA (Canadian Standards Association), and VDE (Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker), which specify that the printed serial number label must be attached to the frame of the product, near its power source, which is usually on or near the base of the product. Unfortunately this placement of the printed serial number label may cause difficulty for the customer trying to find the desired product serial number in a timely and accurate manner, so the serial number may be given to the service provider. Also, a product&#39;s serial number may be hidden by mounting equipment requiring burdensome disassembly, such as having to remove a cash register from its mounting in a check-out stand. 
   The initial telephone connection to the service centre and the serial number reporting could be automated, as is disclosed in the applicant&#39;s US patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,365, by attaching an acoustic coupling device to the self-service device that automatically dials the service centre and then automatically reports the serial number only. This solves the problem of the initial connection but does not address the required communications between the label on the device and the automated Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) system in the call centre. 
   Due to the levels of experience of the staff in some environments they may not be able to correctly identify the configuration of the device they are reporting the fault on. This can lead to an extended call to the service centre while basic configuration information for a device is sought. This is an inefficient use of the time of the customer care agent and can be frustrating for the customer. 
   There is a need to provide a product label for assisting customers or, in the case of financial institutions, members of staff, in providing more extensive product information easily and accurately during a service call, preferably near the beginning of the service call. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a system comprising: an acoustic coupling product label for mounting on a product to be serviced, said label including a memory for storing information relating to the product to be serviced, control means for controlling the flow of data from the label, an activation switch, and an acoustic transducer which emits tones corresponding to said product information; a telephone; and a computerized product support system which collects and interprets the information provided by the label, wherein the control means is arranged to control the flow of data from the label to the system at a rate and time required by the system. 
   Preferably, additional tones corresponding to the telephone number of the service provider are transmitted before the tones corresponding to the product information. 
   Preferably, the system transmits a human audible message to the user prior to the call being terminated. 
   Preferably, the system notifies appropriate service personnel for the product to be serviced. 
   According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an acoustic coupling product label for mounting on or near the front of a product or in an easily accessible location on a product to be serviced, comprising: a memory for storing information relating to the product to be serviced, and control means for controlling the flow of data between the label and a computerized product support system, an activation switch, and an acoustic transducer which emits tones corresponding to said product information, wherein the control means is arranged to control the flow of data from the label to the system at a rate and time required by the system. 
   Preferably, the label further includes a power source, which is independent of a power source of the product to be serviced. 
   Preferably, the label is arranged to broadcast information that is audible to a human. 
   Preferably, the label includes at least two buttons, the actuation of each provides broadcast information in a different language. 
   Preferably, the label is adapted for dynamic updating of the information in the memory. Most preferably, the information in the memory is updated from the product to be serviced, via a sound card. Alternatively, the information in the memory is updated via the use of a device, which is used to capture the configuration information and convert it into tones that are then transmitted to the label for storage in the memory. In that embodiment, the device is most preferably an MP3 player. 
   Preferably, the label further comprises a printable display or smart ink, which is actuated to provide an indication to a user that a product requires servicing. 
   According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a computerized product support system, arranged to both receive tones corresponding to product information from an acoustic coupling product label, and to transmit tones to the label to inform the label of the rate and time at which the system requires said information. 
   According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for providing product information over a standard telephone line to a computerized product support system, the method comprising the steps of: providing an acoustic coupling product label for mounting on a product to be serviced, the label having a memory containing the product information; locating a telephone near the label; activating the label so that tones corresponding to the product information are transmitted over the standard telephone; and controlling the transmission of said information at a rate and time required by the computerized product support system. 
   Preferably, the method further including the step of determining service entitlement, by the service provider, based on the information transmitted to the system by the label. 
   This invention provides an automated solution to both connecting a device to the service centre and transmitting all of the required information to complete the service call. It has the added advantage that the label can now store additional information that can be queried automatically by the automated call centre prior to connecting to a customer care agent. The information stored on the label can also be dynamically updated providing the most up to date information on the configuration of the self-service device and potentially device status information. 
   The advantages of this solution include increased automation of the connection, providing more accurate information to the call centre. The invention also enables more efficient use of the customer care agent, since comprehensive information can now be gathered automatically by an automated system allowing the agent to attend to more complex customer problems. The system also incorporates audio feedback on call progression for the user of the system providing a better interface. 
   Perhaps most importantly, the system provides a solution to the aforementioned problems that is intuitive for the user and allows the label to automatically pass the serial number plus other configuration information to the automated call centre system. It could also potentially be retrofitted to existing ATM&#39;s as well as incorporated into some of the smaller desktop ATM&#39;s. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram of an acoustic coupling product label system in accordance with the present invention, 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic representation of the bi-directional flow of data in the system of  FIG. 1 , in more detail; 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart of the method of operation of the label of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 4  is a second embodiment of an acoustic coupling product label system in accordance with the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring now to the drawings, in which like-referenced characters indicate corresponding elements throughout the several views,  FIG. 1  illustrates the system  10  including an acoustic coupling product label  20 , a standard telephone  30  at the customer site, and a call centre  40  housing a computerized support system  50 . The acoustic coupling product label  20  is mounted on a product (not shown) in a relatively easily accessible location. The acoustic coupling product label  20  includes an activation switch  22 , an acoustic transducer or speaker  24 , and a label power source  28 . The acoustic coupling product label also includes a product serial number or other product identification number  26 . The product identification number  26  is in both human readable form (Arabic numbers) and in bar code form to be read by a scanner. In some embodiments one or other form of numbering may be utilized. 
   The acoustic coupling product label  20  can be formed of any standard components currently used to provide credit card or business card sized automatic dialers such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,077 issued to Malnowski and U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,519 issued to Feldman. The acoustic coupling product label  20  also includes a memory  23  for storing at least the product identification number or other product identification information which is to be transmitted to the service provider. 
   The label power source  28  may be a battery power source or a solar power source from a solar collector (not shown) and is preferably a combination of the two types of power sources. The power source  28  for the acoustic coupling product label is independent from the product&#39;s power source so that it is always readily available. The power source may also includes a small rechargeable battery to supply the label with a short burst of energy greater than the collector alone can supply. 
   The activation switch  22  is preferably blended into the label such as a raised area under the company logo as shown in  FIG. 1 . The raised label preferably has a flexible area in the surface for engaging the activation switch  22  when slight pressure, as by a fingertip, is applied. Obviously, any type of switch may be used which fits compactly onto the label. Preferably the switch  22  is hidden behind a decal or insignia on the label. 
   The label  20 , further includes two volume control buttons, one to increase volume (button  27 A) and one to decrease volume (button  27 B), which allow the user to change the volume depending on the environment (i.e. to increase volume in a noisy street environment), to enable better communications. This is fed, in this embodiment, by the call centre  40  reporting that the signal is too noisy and that the volume should be increased. However, it could alternatively be done automatically through the speaker microphone pairing on the label that automatically configures the volume level when it detected background noise. 
   Prior art acoustic labels only store the contact number of the service centre and serial number of the self-service device. This information is passed to the service centre and either relies on known timing of the delays within the call centre system or requires human intervention to trigger the passing of the information. 
   The label of  FIG. 1  additionally includes intelligence and control means  29  resulting in a much more flexible automated solution, allowing variation in the timing of the information. This enables the label  20  to intelligently control when it sends the information to the automated system  50  in the service or call centre  40 . The automated product support system  50  used in the call centre  40  for the initial connection are usually Interactive Voice Response Systems or Voice Response Units (IVR/VRU) which have the capability to automatically accept input from the tones generated from a standard handset. 
   These standard telephone control tones are Dual Tone Multi Frequency tones (DTMF) and can be used to pass information between the label  20  and the automated systems  50  in the call centre  40 . The increased intelligence and control, from the control means  29 , provides increased automation of the process and relieves the customer care agent of this simple data gathering. 
   As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , by using these tones much of the data gathering can be done automatically by the call centre  40  interrogating the label for the required information in the required order. Correct timing of data transfer is vital to achieve the required bi-directional communication between the label  20  and the automated system  50 , as the timing of the communication is dependent on the current state and availability of the call centre system  50 . 
   When the call is initially placed it uses the Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN) to place the call that the call centre answers. If the network is busy then the time to connect a call will vary, also if the call centre has no free inbound lines then the call may not be connected. In these conditions the label has to wait for a connection before it can send the serial number, or even redial the service centre number. To solve these problems when a call was connected the call centre system  50  sends a code either as a DTMF tone or in Frequency-Shift Keying (FSK) encoding to the label  20  to signal that a connection has been made. This allows the label  20  to start sending the serial number data, from the memory  23 , after which it again waits for a response code from the call centre system  50  before sending any more data. By using two codes sent from the call centre  40  the label  20  can detect whether it should send the next data or re-send the previous data that was not understood at the call centre system  50 . This can be expanded to support a number of other codes that can be used to query the different information that is held in the label  10 . This means that the data is not restricted to be passed in a specific order allowing changes in the call centre call flow without having to change all the currently existing labels in the field. 
   Another issue with the current solution is that the staff member holds the phone  30  to the label  20  and is therefore unable to hear the responses from the call centre system  50 . The integration of user feedback for the staff member making the call provides another advantage that reduced confusion during the call and makes the system simpler to use. The provision of audio feedback on the call progression avoids the need to remove the handset from the label to check that the call was connected. This would otherwise cause problems with the sending of data between the label and the service centre as only some of the data may be sent before the handset was removed disrupting the communication. 
   When a call is connected the service centre system response code is used to play a series of tones to the user to signal that the call has connected. These tones are outside the range of the tones that can be recognized by the phone so it is not detected by the handset and therefore the service centre system avoiding confusion. A similar communication strategy is used to provide feedback as other data is passed between the two systems. A different series of tones can be used when the user is required to remove the handset from the label and speak to the customer service agent. This allows the user to follow and understand the various stages of the service call through a simple interface. 
   The introduction of bi-directional passing of data between the label  10  and the automatic service centre system  50  provides additional information to the service or call centre  40 . This information can include configuration information about the modules that the self-service device currently has installed. 
   This data can be dynamically updated as modules are added to and removed from the device by engineers. This is achieved by connecting the label through an audio cable (not shown) from the sound card in the self-service device. When the configuration application is run to update the module configuration the information could be sent as a new series of tones to the label to update the configuration. 
   This upgrading is achieved using software that converts the configuration information from the device (such as an ATM) into DTMF or FSK tones that could be sent through the sound card to the label  20 . The label  20  would then interpret these and the codes stored in the memory  23  of the label  20  ready to be sent to the call centre  40 , during the next service call. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , in operation, when a product to which an acoustic coupling label  20  is attached has a problem, the customer holds a telephone  30  to the label  20  and presses the button  22  to actuate the label (step  100 ). The label  20  then emits the service provider&#39;s phone number, in DTMF tones, to connect to the call centre system  50  (step  102 ). 
   The user&#39;s identity is then verified by the system  50 , to stop accidental or malicious use of the label (step  104 ). 
   This can be done in a number of ways. For example, the user can be requested to provide a password. More preferably, in order to activate the label the user would have to press, say, three keys in a specific order to enable the communications. The three keys would be the start button ( 22 ) and the two volume buttons ( 27 A  7   27 B). This works as a PIN number that authenticated the user as a valid user of the label. There is not any limit to the size of the PIN number since the buttons could be pressed a number of times in different sequences. It could also be used to configure which service centre number that the label called depending on the PIN entered for different types of problems i.e. for level  1  support for replenishment or a different number if the machine actually needed to be repaired. 
   Alternatively, one can use the handset to capture the users voice and this could be compared to a stored sample in the label to authenticate the user. It could also be stored and passed to the service centre for authentication there, it could also be encoded in the label and then sent to service centre once the call was connected to allow authentication of the user and service level agreement. This would not have to be a full voice recognition solution it could simple be a word that the user spoke which was compared to a sample of that word from the user by simple pattern matching. In the simplest case the word could be used by all users as the trigger word with no actual verification of the user just the fact that they knew the code word to provide access to the label. 
   The call centre can also use the serial number to check the Service Level Agreement to stop abuse of the service centre by people without service contracts. 
   The system  50  then requests information at a rate and time as required (step  106 ). The control means  29  controls the label  20 , through bi-directional transfer of data, to provide the data required by the system  50 , as detailed in  FIG. 3  (step  108 ). 
   This is achieved through the emission of a series of tones corresponding to the product&#39;s identification number and other product identification information, which the service provider&#39;s system  50  quickly recognizes and captures. The service provider uses the transmitted information to determine service entitlement or other service-related information. 
   Once the system  50  has received and verified all of the required information the system  50  sends a audible message, intended for the user (step  110 ). On receipt of the message the user either ends the call (step  112 ) or starts a conversation with one of the call centre staff (step  114 ) prior to ending the call. 
   The acoustic coupling product label  20  of the present invention uses a standard telephone connection and does not require the customer to purchase or provide any additional hardware such as a modem to enable the automatic capture of the serial number or other identification number or other product information. 
   Preferably, the acoustic coupling product label  20  is attractive enough to mount the label conspicuously on the front of the product. The acoustic coupling product label preferably does not replace the regulatory labeling as discussed above. 
   To provide the acoustic coupling product label functionality on existing products supported by the service provider, an acoustic coupling label can be provided as a field-installable label. 
   As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , updating of the label  20  can also be arranged, for devices that do not contain a sound card. This is achieved using a device  60 , such as an MP3 player, carried by the service engineer, which is used to capture the configuration information and convert it into tones that are then stored in the label  20 . This allows the current dynamic information to be available to the call centre  40 , giving improved levels of information on the device (not shown). 
   This also has the added advantage that the information is held outside the machine so it does not require it to be opened or taken out of service during the service call. This also has security advantages since the member of staff making the service call does not have access to any valuable media stored in the device. In some situations where the service level  10  may not provide on-site support, such as entry level off premise devices, it would be possible for the dynamic information to store part numbers for the replaceable parts. The call centre  40  can then query the label  20  and replacement parts can be automatically dispatched to the owner of the self-service device for them to fit. 
   Alternatively other methods of updating the dynamic information on the label could be used, such as enabling the label with RFID that could be used to receive the configuration information wirelessly from inside the self-service device. This would allow the information on the label to be automatically updated from the status monitoring system in the self-service device. 
   Also, the inclusion of smart-inks or small printable displays  27  on the label  20  provide a visual cue on the label that a service call is required. This allows the label to alert the local staff that they should use the smart label system to contact the call centre  40  increasing availability of the device and therefore increasing customer satisfaction. In addition, the label  20 , once connected to the call centre  40 , can upload the current configuration information as well as the latest system health information providing local information to the call centre  40  and therefore allowing more accurate diagnosis of problems and error states. 
   Also as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the label  20  can also be used to provide multi-language support and audio lead through. 
   For example, the service engineer or replenisher can carry a small audio device  60  such as an MP3 player (as described above) which would contain the various messages required on a number of labels in all the required languages and dialects. The engineer could then download the audio clips they required onto the MP3 player ready to take into the field. At each self-service device the required audio clips could be selected on the MP3 player and downloaded onto the labels. 
   Although the invention has been described with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, variations and modifications may be effected within the scope of the present invention.