Ast Research, Inc.

Tandy Corporation

Richard J Wolf

Charles D Lanier

Leticia Villegas

Todd A Milburn

An intelligent help system which processes information specific to a user and a system state is described. The system incorporates a monitoring device to determine which events to store as data in an historical queue. These data, as well as non-historical data (e.g. system state), are stored in a knowledge base. An inference engine tests rules against the knowledge base data, thereby providing a help tag. A display engine links the help tag with an appropriate solution tag to provide help text for display.

Intelligent help system

Method and a system for a user-customizable interactive voice mail/voice response system are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, an interactive voice mail/voice response ('IVR') system of the present invention enables a user to build and operate custom IVR functions using voice templates. An interactive voice mail/voice response ('IVR') system of the present invention enables a user to build and operate custom IVR menus. The system comprises a voice menu system that includes a plurality of menus, each comprising a plurality of script records implemented using voice templates made up of voice template elements of various types, the characteristics and behavior of which will be determined by their user-designated type and the characteristic of the voice response record with which they are associated. As a result, the voice elements, and in turn, the voice templates they comprise, dynamically exhibit a behavior that is appropriate to the current environment. When the contents of a voice template are to be played over the telephone line, the voice elements are played sequentially such that the result is perceived as a whole that represents the entire phrase or sentence as described by the text representation of the voice template.

Voice templates for interactive voice mail and voice response system

User-customizable method and system for enabling a user easily and conveniently to navigate one or more IVR systems regularly accessed by the user are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, a script-based DTMF information retrieval system of the present invention enables a user to build scripts that may be used to access information in an IVR system so that the need for remembering menu picks, account numbers and passwords is eliminated. Using the system of the present invention, a user may enter information about a service, such as the telephone number and name thereof. The user may then enter information about one or more accounts within each service, including account numbers and any passwords associated therewith. At that point, the user may construct scripts that can be used automatically to access information from or execute orders in connection with the service. Each script includes script records of various types depending on the type of action to be performed. In particular, each type of record has properties and methods that combine to perform the action that the user desires.

Script-based DTMF information retrieval system

A personalized voice mail identification system is enclosed. In a preferred embodiment, the system of the present invention resides on a personal computer (PC) connected to a phone line via a TAPI-compliant or other appropriate device for enabling telephone functions to be performed by the PC. In one aspect of the invention, when a caller calls a system subscriber, a callerID code, if present, is detected and a determination is next made whether there is an ID recording comprising the spoken caller's name associated with the callerID code already stored in a database of the system. If there is an ID recording for the caller in the database, the recording is accessed and played to the subscriber as part of a call screening function. Alternatively, if no callerID code was detected or if there is not an ID recording associated with the caller in the database, the caller is prompted to speak his or her name into the phone, at which point the caller's name is announced to the subscriber and the ID recording is stored in the database in association with the callerID code, if one was detected. In another aspect of the invention, the accessed ID recording is incorporated into an audio message header of a message left by the caller when the subscriber is unavailable.

Personalized voice mail identification system

A user interface with embedded or linked objects is enclosed. In one embodiment, the invention comprises a computer program, operating with a GUI and capable of linking or embedding an object from an application program into the GUI. The program includes instructions for determining a size of the object, instructions for determining whether the object is in an active mode, instructions for providing a first frame size of a container if the object is not in the active mode, and instructions for providing a second frame size if the object is in the active mode. The frame can simply represent the size of the container or an actual border around the container. The computer program also provides a first client window that is responsive to whether or not the object is active. Furthermore, the computer program adjusts the location of the object on the display when the object is in the active mode, provides space for controls of the objects server application, and provides appropriate pop-up menus for the object.

User interface with embedded objects for personal computers and the like

Method and a system for a user-customizable interactive voice mail/voice response system are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, an interactive voice mail/voice response ('IVR') system of the present invention enables a user to build and operate custom IVR functions. The system comprises a voice menu system comprising a plurality of menus, each comprising a plurality of script records, and a scripting engine for providing event queuing functions to the voice mail system. When a menu is activated in response to an incoming call, the activated menu queues appropriate events with the script engine for playing a greeting to the telephone line and optionally requesting and verifying a password input by the caller. The menu then requests each record to queue events for providing a prompt indicating the key association and the purpose of the record. The engine processes the event queue and concurrently processes incoming keys, which are sent to the active script by the menu and then dispatched by the menu to the record with which the key is associated. The record responds with event requests appropriate to its implementation. This continues until the call is terminated. In one aspect of the invention, the script engine is connected to a script editing mechanism for enabling a user to create new menus, change the properties of existing menus, add records from an available inventory of record types and change the properties of existing records using a series of graphical user interface screens and dialog boxes designed for that purpose.

Script-based interactive voice mail and voice response system

A graphics image management system registers each image in a graphical database which can be used to select and organize the images to generate a display record identifying images which meet certain user defined criteria. Each record contains a filename and contains an index name that does not need to be unique. The graphic image management system also includes a mechanism for displaying representations of each image on a display screen. The displayed graphic images can be scrolled in a picture browser window in any order as determined by the database. Index names may be used for selection of a graphical image in a combo box. In addition, a descriptive phrase can be associated with each image in order to further identify the image and these phrases can be searched to locate a particular image.

Method and apparatus for managing browsing, and selecting graphic images

A subgroup object displayed by a drawing program in a window area as part of a more complex display can be edited by creating a new drawing area or 'window' called a 'zoom' window and reproducing the subgroup in the new drawing window. Within the zoom window, the subgroup object is effectively broken into its component objects, and the component objects can be individually manipulated using standard techniques. More particularly, the subgroup object is copied into the new window by copying the list of individual objects which comprise the subgroup object into the main group object list associated with the new window. As each individual object is redrawn in the new window, it is scaled and translated so that it appears in the same relative position in the new window as it did in the original window, but at a position and size relative to the new window. Thus, the new window appears to portray the original group object, but the new window actually contains a collection of individual objects which are not part of a subgroup. Thus, the objects can be individually manipulated using the standard drawing program tools.

Method and apparatus for editing groups of graphic images

An intelligent help system which processes information specific to a user and a system state is described. The system incorporates a monitoring device to determine which events to store as data in an historical queue. These data, as well as non-historical data (e.g., system state), are stored in a knowledge base. An inference engine tests rules against the knowledge base data, thereby providing a help tag. A display engine links the help tag with an appropriate solution tag to provide help text for display.

Growing community of inventors

Crowley, TX, United States of America

Richard J Wolf