Technique for recognizing telephone numbers and other spoken information embedded in voice messages stored in a voice messaging system

Abstract

A technique for recognizing telephone numbers and other information embedded in voice messages stored in a telephone voice messaging system. A voice recognition system is coupled to the telephone voice messaging system. A voice message stored in the voice messaging system is transferred to the voice recognition system. The voice recognition system segments the voice message and then searches the segments for a predetermined speech reference model (grammar) which is expected to contain information of importance to the recipient of the message. In a preferred embodiment, the predetermined is a numeric grammar which specifies a sequence of numbers occurring in the voice message. In alternate embodiments, the grammar specifies a date, a time, an address, and so forth, and can specify more than one such type of information. The grammar can be modified or selected by the recipient of the voice message so that the voice recognition system searches for information of particular interest to the recipient. Once the predetermined grammar is identified, the voice recognition system outputs a portion of the stored voice message which includes the grammar. The output can be a display of the information contained in the grammar, such as a telephone number or an address. Alternately, the output can be an audible replay of the portion of the stored voice message which includes the grammar.