WO1996012370A1

WO1996012370A1 - Automatic telephone directory information system using character input

Info

Publication number: WO1996012370A1
Application number: PCT/JP1995/001457
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jinsei Yamaguchi
Original assignee: Jinsei Yamaguchi
Priority date: 1994-10-14
Filing date: 1995-07-21
Publication date: 1996-04-25
Also published as: AU2991095A; JPH08116362A

Abstract

Object: to automate telephone directory information service. Constitution: a telephone set is improved by attaching a display on which a user can communicate with computer in a telephone office through a telephone line or radio waves to send a command or request. On the telephone office side, a system is established so that the computer can directly input and output messages from and to the display. A request is input by filling in a form drawn on the display screen, and the requested information is displayed on the screen in the form of an information card.

Description

Automatic telephone number guidance system by character input

The present invention relates to the automation of telephone directory service. Background art

Conventional telephone directory assistance has been in the form of operators answering questions, but this system required drastic reform from the perspective of corporate profitability due to rising labor costs.

In addition, in the past, when a verbal question was asked in an obscure manner, the operator often interpreted himself and sent back incorrect information as an answer.

Conventionally, telephone numbers have been recorded on media independent of telephones, such as an address book. For this reason, various inconveniences have occurred, but if possible, I would like to record the telephone number on the phone itself in some way.

An object of the present invention is to achieve a fundamental solution of the above-mentioned problems by automating telephone directory guidance. Disclosure of the invention

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In the system of the present invention, an inquiry is made by inputting a question according to a menu displayed on a display installed on the telephone, instead of making an inquiry by voice through a handset as in the conventional case.

For this purpose, a display is attached to a conventional telephone, and the instructions and queries on the display are connected appropriately so that they can communicate with the computer in the central office via a line or radio waves. The telephone office side is a telephone Arrange the system so that commands and questions on the on-board display can be entered directly.

To use directory assistance, start by pressing the "directory assistance button". By pressing this number guide button, a system is created in which the necessary "information card input screen" appears.

It is assumed that the information card input screen includes items such as "name", "address", "telephone number", and "FAX number". If the screen is small, scroll to display each item.

The input is performed in each country's basic alphabet, numbers and Roman letters, and the results can be converted to word processor equivalents. However, the display after conversion is not one type of native language, such as ヮ Pro, but two types, native language and Romanized notation, are written together. Therefore, "Convert button" is needed in the screen. The input means is not specified.

Build a flexible system that does not require you to enter all the items specified on the information card. For example, in this system, the central office accepts only input in the name field, ignoring the address field. It also enables keyword searches. For example, a system that can search for only the name field of "Yamaguchi" and the address field of "Shibuya-ku, Tokyo".

When the input is completed, the data is transmitted. To specify the destination, press the directory button on the telephone as usual, or press the "Send button". This button is displayed on the screen.

The input data is used as input, and the central office computer searches the database and automatically sends the answer back to the telephone. The answer shall be displayed on the information card with all registered information such as name, address, telephone number and fax number.

Such as when two or more different names correspond to the same phone number (individual name, store name) or when two or more different phone numbers correspond to the same name (two in a family) If there are duplicates on the same information card, Shall be described.

There are usually multiple answers from the system configured as described above. C These multiple information cards are displayed on the screen in Windows format.

Suppose you make a call based on the obtained phone number. At this time, there is no need to press the number each time, just press the line of the number displayed on the screen and the system will automatically go to the destination of the number written on that line.

By the way, if the telephone is not a public telephone but a personal telephone, a system is created so that the information obtained as described above can be stored in a personal database. For this reason, it is assumed that each information card is automatically stored internally in the "address book database" when the "Recruit button" is pressed.

[Action]

When trying to make a call to a person who has not memorized the telephone number using the telephone configured as above, first search the attached address book database for the necessary information card and enter the number of the other party. Confirm.

If the other party's number is not registered in the database, press the number guide button, write the known information on the information card, send the result, and wait for a reply.

If there is only one answer, it is the phone number you want, so press that line to connect to the person. If there are multiple answers, narrow down to one of them based on the address section.

Unnecessary information cards are deleted. The remaining information cards are stored in the address book database. At this time, if the related information card exists in the database, the two cards are merged. Relevance is defined by a phone number or name match.

【The invention's effect】

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

(1) No operator for telephone directory guidance is required. (2) The answer to the telephone directory is sent back instantly.

(3) It is not necessary to write down the returned phone number.

(4) There is no need to redo the number.

(5) The number you paid once is automatically memorized, so you do not have to listen to the same number next time.

(6) The telephone has an address book + α database.

(7) The function of using the display can be expanded by incorporating various other functions in addition to telephone directory assistance.

(8) Until now, when asking the telephone number through the operator, the ambiguous question was answered appropriately by the operator's arbitrary interpretation. As a result, we often experience the phenomenon of giving incorrect answers, but this does not occur in our system. Instead, the result of ambiguity appears as multiple answers. In other words, it is the responsibility of the user.

(9) Until now, no matter how long you talk, if the operator cannot finally find the number, the fee is free. Such unequal phenomena from the viewpoint of line usage will not occur.

(10) A mischievous phone call for a directory guide lady gets lost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

【Figure 1】

The display on the phone and its normal surface

【Figure 2】

Example of information card input screen

[Figure 3]

An example in which an information card is presented on a screen in a Windows system Best mode for carrying out the invention

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. You.

In Fig. 1, the information card input screen is called by pressing the directory guide button 1 in the normal screen.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the called information input screen. Here, based on the Hiragana 50 character display 2, the area where the other Hiragana display buttons 3 are arranged, the area where the Kana-Kanji conversion button 4, the Send button 5, and the Search button 6 are arranged, and the name The screen is divided into three areas: an area where items and scroll signs 7 are arranged.

Figure 3 shows how the telephone office responded after sending the information card input screen. Each information card is displayed on the screen in Windows format, and each card number 8 is written in the upper right corner of the window. On this screen, there are a button 9 for displaying the number of information cards, an adoption button 10 and a delete button 11. If each card information cannot be written on the screen due to space, press the right scroll sign 12 to check. Industrial applicability

As described above, the automated telephone directory guidance system according to the present invention is suitable for reducing the labor cost of operators at telephone offices and improving corporate profitability.

Claims

: Φ 鼸图

1. A system that automates telephone directory guidance by using a character input / output method on the display.