Patent Document

TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     This invention relates to service interfacing for telephony.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Cell phone users, for example, can not only conduct the usual voice phone calls but also have access to a wide variety of additional facilities based on digital data carrying services provided by mobile phone carriers. Cell phones users can, for example, transmit text messages to one another, send and receive email using the Internet, and browse the World Wide Web either through proprietary interfaces or direct access to Internet servers. One use of these services is to download content such as ringtones and video games. In the word “content” we include images, text messages, video material, sounds, audio material, programs, and web pages. Sounds may include ringtones, which play when a user receives a call, and ring-back tones, which are played to a caller to inform them of the recipient&#39;s phone is ringing. Another use is to subscribe to services that automatically transmit content to a user periodically. Although user devices designed specifically to take advantage of such functions sometimes include larger screens than hand-held devices, standard QWERTY-layout keyboards, and faster-than-normal data connection capabilities, cell phones with small screens and numeric keypads are also capable of accessing these data services.  
         [0003]     Integrated Voice Response (IVR) systems enable users of telephone or other voice-based communications technologies to interact with databases and other information resources using their voices and touch-tone signals generated by their phones. In telephone banking, for example, a bank account holder may access his accounts by speaking his account number and other identifying information or by entering numbers on his phone&#39;s keypad. The IVR not only provides an interface for user interaction, but also acts as an intermediary by interpreting the user&#39;s speech or touch-tones generated by his phone, relaying the entered information to the bank&#39;s computer systems, and converting the bank&#39;s response into speech that the user can understand over the phone.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0004]     In general, in one aspect, during a telephone call between a telephone user and an interactive response system, a user is enabled to use only his voice and key presses on a numeric keypad of his telephone to interactively specify information that can be used to control delivery of content to a visual display of, or a storage medium available to, a target telephone.  
         [0005]     Implementations may include one or more of the following features. The user&#39;s telephone may include a land-line telephone, a mobile phone, a mobile computer, or another device acting in the capacity of a telecommunications device. The target telephone may include the user&#39;s telephone, the user&#39;s mobile phone or other device, or the telephone of someone other than the user. The interactive response system may include an IVR system. The content may include a ringtone, a text message, a game, wallpaper, a video clip, a ring-back tone, an application, a web page, or a link to information. The content may be delivered by a supplier of content. The supplier of content may be independent of the interactive response system. The information specified by the user may include an identification of the content. The information specified by the user may include billing information. There may also be communication with a service provider with respect to delivery of the content based on the information specified by the user. There may be interaction with a service provider to cause the content to be delivered. The service provider may be independent of the interactive response system.  
         [0006]     Information provided in connection with the telephone call may be used to manage a user account associated with the user. Information may be automatically obtained during the telephone call that identifies the user, and the information identifying the user may be used to instruct a third party to bill the user for the content. The third party may provide telephone services to the user.  
         [0007]     In general, in one aspect, during a telephone call between a telephone user and an interactive response system, the user is enabled to engage in an interaction with the response system that is representative of an interaction between the user and a server connected to the Internet, and, on behalf of the user, a separate interaction is conducted with the server through the Internet based on the representative interaction. Implementations may include one or more of the following features. The telephone call may be conducted on a bandwidth-limited channel and the separate interaction through the Internet may be conducted on a higher-bandwidth channel. At least part of the telephone call and part of the separate interaction through the Internet may occur at the same time. At least part of the telephone call and part of the separate interaction through the Internet may occur at different times. The server may be independent of the interactive response system. Information may be automatically obtained during the telephone call that identifies the user, and that information may be used to identify the user to the server.  
         [0008]     In general, in one aspect, during a telephone call between a telephone user and an interactive response system, the user is enabled to use only his voice and key presses on a numeric keypad of his telephone to interactively specify information that can be used to control delivery transaction, information is automatically obtained during the telephone call that identifies the user, and the information is used to facilitate the transaction.  
         [0009]     Implementations may include one or more of the following features. The information that identifies the user may include a caller ID, a subscriber ID, or a handle. An account of the user may be managed based on the automatically obtained information and the information specified by the user.  
         [0010]     In general, in one aspect, during a telephone call between a telephone user and an interactive response system, information is received that can be used to identify the user, based on the received information, user authentication information is transmitted to the user, the authentication information is received from the user, and the user is allowed to access a service.  
         [0011]     Among the advantages of the invention are one or more of the following. Users of cellular or land-line telephones that do not have data capabilities, or who do not wish to or cannot use whatever data capabilities their phones have, can use services intended for users who can and do use phones with data capabilities. Users of phones that do have data capabilities can use these services in a simplified manner. They can use these services by dialing their telephones in a manner to which they are accustomed for making telephone calls. The interactive voice response system may have a faster connection to a network such as the Internet than the user&#39;s telephone or other device has, and, by relaying information between a user and servers on the Internet, it may allow the user to access information from servers faster or more conveniently than they could if they were directly communicating with those servers using their device&#39;s data capabilities.  
         [0012]     Other general aspects include other combinations of the aspects and features described above and other aspects and features expressed as methods, apparatus, systems, program products, and in other ways.  
         [0013]     Other advantages and features will become apparent from the following description and claims. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIGS. 1-7  are a block diagrams.  
         [0015]      FIG. 8  shows a mobile telephone device.  
         [0016]     Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , when a user  114  wishes to communicate with a service provider  130 , she may use a telephone  112  to call an IVR  100  over a communication line  116 . The communications line  116  could be a telephone network, a cellular network, a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) connection, or another method of voice communication. If the service provider were a bank, for example, the user could dial a number provided by the bank and be connected to an IVR operated by or on behalf of the bank.  
         [0018]     Within the IVR  100 , an interface  102  connected to the communications line  116  generates signals to communicate in both directions with the user  114 . In one direction, the IVR can provide voice response or voice prompting to the user, for example. In the other direction the IVR can receive speech and touch tones from the user and the user&#39;s phone.  
         [0019]     The audio (voice) signals to be transmitted to the user  114  are provided by a speech generation module  104  over line  124 . The speech generation module  104  could synthesize voice from a data source  105  such as stored text or text provided to it, or could play back recorded real speech. The user&#39;s speech or touch-tones corresponding to her button presses on a telephone  112 , are passed by the interface  102  to a voice &amp; tone recognition module  106 . The voice &amp; tone recognition module  106  interprets the words spoken by the user  114  or the tones generated by the telephone  112 . A controller  108  receives the user  114 &#39;s input as interpreted by the voice and tone recognition module  106  over line  126  and may, in appropriate cases command the speech generation module  104  over line  120  to generate an appropriate output in cases where a spoken prompt or a spoken response is needed. The controller  108  is in communication with the service provider  130  through a services interface  110  and lines  122  and  128 . By communication with the service provider  130  and based on its own programming, the controller  108  determines what action (if any) to take in response to the user  114 &#39;s input and what output (if any) to instruct the speech generation module  104  to produce. The response could include hanging up, asking for more information, or providing information from the service provider to the user by voice response, for example. The telephone  112  could be a land-line telephone, a mobile phone, a mobile computer, or some other device acting as a telecommunications device.  
         [0020]     The lines  116 ,  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  126 , and  128  could each be an analog or digital communication link. Any two or more of the interface  102 , the speech generation module  104 , the voice &amp; tone recognition module  106 , the controller  108 , and the services interface  110  could be partially or fully integrated into a single unit, for example, a computer, eliminating the need for one or more of the dedicated lines  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 , or  126 . Any of one or more of the interface  102 , the speech generation module  104 , the voice &amp; tone recognition module  106 , the controller  108 , and the services interface  110  could be implemented in software or in hardware or a combination of the two, and may be located at a single site or distributed in multiple locations. The IVR  100  or any of its components may be operated by the service provider  130  and located at its facilities or may be operated by an independent operator or located separately from the service provider  130 &#39;s facilities. The service provider  130  could be anything that receives or provides information or services, from a single computer to a multinational corporation.  
         [0021]     Users of cellular telephones or other portable devices, such as PDAs, increasingly use cellular data networks to communicate with service providers, either directly for a service offered by their network providers, or through the Internet in other cases. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the user  114  uses a device  200  to access a cellular data network  202  over a wireless link  206 , and through the network to access a data service provider  204 . The data service provider  204  is connected to the cellular data network  202  though a link  208 . The link  208  could be a wireless link directly to the cellular data network  202 , or it could be a wired or wireless link to an intermediate point, such as an operator (not shown) of the cellular data network  202 . The data service provider  204  could be an interactive service that provides information, services, or products to the user  114 , or an intermediary service that causes transmission of information, services or products to the user  114  from a third party  210  through links  212  and  214 . The device  200  could be a mobile phone, a mobile computer, or some other device capable of connecting to cellular data network  202 .  
         [0022]     One example is a ringtone service, in which the user  114  sends a text message to the data service provider  204  indicating her preferences related to ringtones, and the data service provider  204  then transmits a ringtone to the user  114  which she can then use on her cellular phone. The ringtone is stored in a memory  804  on the device  200 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . The user  114  might include payment information in her initial message, or the data service provider might bill the user  114  through her service provider  216 , with which it communicates over a link  218 .  
         [0023]     Interaction by the user with the data service provider  204  can be made simple, quick, cheap, and pleasant, especially in the context of a bandwidth-limited channel, by enabling the interaction with the IVR (or other user interfacing system) to occur over a telephone system  300  ( FIG. 3 ) using lines  302  and  304 . The line  302  is a communications link provided by the user  114 &#39;s telephone service provider  310 , which could be wireless if the device  200  is a cell phone, or wired if the device  200  is a land-line phone. The link  304  is whatever link the IVR  100  has to the telephone system  300 , such as a traditional land-line telephone service. The IVR could be operated by the telephone service provider in some cases. The telephone system  300  could be the public telephone system or it could be a private telephone system, or a combination. Any of the links  302  and  304  or the telephone system  300  could be replaced in this example by another voice-based communications system such as VOIP.  
         [0024]     The IVR  100  in turn communicates with the data service provider  204  over a link  306 . The IVR  100  converts voice or tone input provided to it by the user  114  into data input expected by the data service provider  204 . Similarly, it converts any response from the data service provider  204  into speech which it communicates back to the user  114 . To use this system, the user  114  need only enter a standard telephone number into the device  200  to reach the IVR  100  and then simply speak to and listen to the IVR  100  or press numbers on the device  200 . Dialing, speaking, listening, and pressing numbers are actions that any user of a phone has already learned and knows how to use intuitively.  
         [0025]     In some implementations, illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the user&#39;s  114  interaction with an Internet-based server can be made faster, easier, and more intuitive by connecting the IVR  100  through a high-bandwidth link  404  to the Internet  400 . Then the IVR conducts high-speed interaction with, for example, the World Wide Web instead of the user using a lower bandwidth link and a browser that is constrained by a small screen and a numeric keypad of a typical hand-held device. The user  114  uses the device  200  to communicate with the IVR  100  over the links  302  and  304  and the phone system  300 , or another voice-based communications system such as VOIP, as in  FIG. 3 . Because the high-bandwidth link  404  provides a fast connection to the Internet  400 , the IVR  100  can convert the user  114 &#39;s input into Internet communications, transmit them to a host  402  connected to the Internet  400  by a link  406 , and convert any response to voice and read it back to the user  114  more quickly than the cellular data network  202  of  FIG. 2  could have transmitted the user  114 &#39;s input and returned the  402 &#39;s response in digital form.  
         [0026]     In the examples of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the service or host with which the IVR  100  is communicating on behalf of the user  114  may require identification of the user  114 , or the IVR  100  may require such identification itself. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , instead of requiring or trusting the user  114  to provide such identification, the identification can be provided by the phone system  300  via a caller ID message  500 . The identification could be a subscriber ID or a handle, for example, if the user is using a telephone system that does not support caller ID. The IVR  100  could communicate that identification to any service provider or host with which it communicates. This could be done in a pre-arranged fashion, if a service provider, e.g., the data service provider  204  in  FIG. 3 , is equipped to receive caller ID information. In some implementations, it could be done on the fly, for example, by automatically providing identification information that is requested by an Internet host, e.g., Internet host  402  in  FIG. 4 , skipping the step of reading to the user  114  the request for identification and getting a response from the user  114 . At some level of the transaction, in the IVR  100 , at the service provider  204 , or somewhere else in the process, the identification provided by the caller ID message  500  is processed and can be used to look up or create an account with integration into the user  114 &#39;s service provider&#39;s billing system or a credit card billing system  502 , which may be in communication with the IVR  100  over a link  504 . The information provided in the caller ID message may also be used to determine that the caller is using a cellular phone.  
         [0027]     In some implementations, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the IVR  100  may direct a server  600  to directly provide something to the user  114 . The user  114  uses the device  200  to communicate with the IVR  100  through the phone system  300 , as before. In response to the user  114 &#39;s input, the IVR  100  sends a command  606  to the server  600 . The server  600  sends, for example, some content  608  to the user  114 . The content is then displayed on a visual display  802  or stored in a storage medium  804  or  806 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . The server  600  might also be instructed to send some content  610  to another user  602  using a  15  device  604 . For example, the user  114  may request that a ringtone be sent either to himself or to the user  602  by providing the user  602 &#39;s phone number or other identification. The IVR relays that request to the server  600 , and the ringtone is sent as the content  608  or  610  to the device  200  or  604 , respectively, and stored in the storage medium  804  or  806 . Content that is suitable for visual display, such as a wallpaper or a game, may be displayed on the visual display  802  instead of or in addition to being stored in the storage medium  804  or  806 . The content  608  and  610  may be communicated using a cellular data network as in  FIG. 2 , or, if suitable, could be communicated via the phone system  300  or any other means of transmitting content to a device. The content may be transmitted once, or may be transmitted on a recurring basis, for example a ringtone of the week service. Any charges for the content may be based on the caller ID message  500  or on information provided by the user  114  at the time he requests the content. Such a service can be advantageous when the results of a request must be sent as data, but the request for that data can more easily be communicated over the phone. The visual display  802  may be a text display, such as for displaying text messages, or a graphics display capable of displaying videos, wallpapers, video games, or other visual content. The storage medium  804  may be an internal memory built into the device or it may be a removable memory, for example a memory card. The network storage medium  806  may be a storage medium not integrated with the phone but accessible by it through connection  808 , which may be a short-range wireless network, a cellular data network, a data cable, infrared communication, or some other means. Storage media  804  and  806  may be any of a volatile memory, a flash memory, a hard disk, or any other form of memory used for storage of data.  
         [0028]     Rather than sending the content directly to the user, the IVR  100  may direct the server  600  to send a message to the phone that contains a link to the desired service or content. When the user receives the message and opens the link, he is connected to the service or content through the phone&#39;s data capabilities as if he had navigated to that point using the phone&#39;s data capabilities, for example a mobile web browser, in the normal manner. Such a service can be used to simplify the process of accessing services through the phone&#39;s data capabilities, for example by simplifying the information that must be provided to a user for him to find a particular services. Instead of instructing the user to navigate through a particular series of mobile web pages, the user can be given a phone number that, when called, will cause the IVR, through a server, to send the user a link directly to the final page of the series.  
         [0029]     In some implementations, a server or service provider with which a user is in communication needs to verify the identification provided by the user. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the user  114  is in communication with a server  706  through a relay  702  over links  708  and  710 . The relay  702  and links  708  and  710  could be one of the examples of  FIGS. 2, 3 ,  4 , or  6 , or another method of communicating between the device  200  and the server  706 . The server  706  could be a data service provider  204  (figures.  2 ,  3 ), an internet host  402  ( FIG. 4 ), a server  600  ( FIG. 6 ), or another similar device or service. The user  114  provides his phone number or other appropriate address-type identification, e.g., an email address, to the server  706 , and the server  706  sends a message containing a token  704  to the user  114  according to the phone number or other address-type identification provided. The message is transmitted through a message system  700 , which could be a Short Message Service (SMS) operated by cellular telephone operators, or the Internet email system, or another method of transmitting digital messages to devices. When the device  200  receives the message containing the token  704 , it relays the token  704  back to the server  706 . If the token  704  is returned intact, i.e., the data comprising it has not been altered, or has been altered in an expected manner, the server  706  can be confident that the identification provided by the user  114  was in fact the user  114 &#39;s identification. The token  704  could be data representing an encrypted value, such that the user  114  could not determine what value to send to the server  706  if he wished to forge the token  704 , or it could be an Internet link that the user  114  must follow to demonstrate the authenticity of the information he provided.  
         [0030]     In some implementations the features of  FIGS. 6 and 7  are combined, as when a user wishes to purchase content using one phone, but have that content delivered to a different phone, as in  FIG. 6 , and further wishes to have the charges for the purchase collected through the receiving phone&#39;s account with a cellular service provider. The user  114  provides the phone number of the receiving phone  604  when purchasing content. Before the content  610  is transmitted, the IVR sends a message, e.g., an SMS message, through message system  700  to the designated receiving phone  604  asking the recipient  602  to take some action to confirm the purchase. When the recipient  602  takes that action, e.g., by replying to the SMS message, the IVR instructs the server  600  to transmit the content  610  and sends a message over a link  712  to the user  602 &#39;s cellular service provider  216  instructing it to charge the user  602  for the content.  
         [0031]     In one implementation, a user dials the number for a ringtone vendor on her cell phone and makes the call using her cellular service provider. The call is routed to an IVR operated on behalf of the vendor by an IVR operator. The IVR answers the call and plays recorded and synthesized speech to the user to tell her about the ringtones available from the vendor. In addition, when the call is connected, the cellular service provider transmits a caller ID message identifying the caller to the IVR. When the user hears the description of the ringtone she wishes to purchase, she speaks or presses buttons on her cell phone as instructed by the IVR. Before gathering billing information, the IVR may communicate with the vendor to inquire whether the user already has an account for which billing information is known. If not, the IVR connects to the cellular service provider to verify that the user can be charged for her purchase through the cellular service provider.  
         [0032]     If the user cannot be charged through her cellular service provider, the IVR asks the user to enter credit card information. Upon receiving appropriate billing information, the IVR transmits the user&#39;s identification, purchase selection, and billing information to the vendor. The vendor then creates an account for the user, if she does not already have one, charges her for her purchase, and transmits the selected ringtone to the user&#39;s phone using MMS, WAP Push or other protocols for transmitting information to a cell phone. The ringtone is then stored in the phone&#39;s storage medium or in available network storage. Alternatively, the IVR could handle the account creation and billing, and simply inform the vendor what ringtone to send. The user receives the purchased ringtone on her cell phone.  
         [0033]     In some implementations, after creating an account for the user and receiving the user&#39;s ringtone preferences from the IVR, the vendor may transmit new ringtones to the user periodically, charging her each time according to the billing information stored in the user&#39;s account.  
         [0034]     Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.  
         [0035]     For example, instead of purchasing ringtones, a user could use the IVR to subscribe to a service that sends periodic text messages on some subject, e.g., daily bible verses or news headlines. A user could use the IVR to purchase games, wallpaper, or other downloadable digital media.

Technology Category: h