Providing Visual Cues for a User Interacting with an Automated Telephone System

摘要

Visual cues are provided for a user who is using a telephone for interacting with an automated telephone system. A number stream is created from the digits entered by the user with the phone keypad in response to audible prompts from the automated system. The visual cues comprise graphical representations (such as icons) that are inserted into the number stream to provide a quick visual indication not only of where the entered digits are delimited, but also what they represent. Thus, the user can quickly review the visual cues—for example, while making subsequent decisions for the interaction. The visual cues are selected by locating keywords in the audible prompts and consulting a mapping data structure that identifies the visual cues to be used with particular keywords. Optionally, a textual summary of the interaction is created as well (e.g., when the interaction concludes).

主权项

1. A telephone device comprising:
a keypad usable for receiving responses from a user during a telephone-based interaction between the telephone device and an automated telephone system; a display area usable for displaying a data stream comprising a representation of the responses received from the user; a processor; and instructions which are executable, using the processor, to perform functions comprising:
detecting receipt, at the telephone device, of an audible prompt message from the automated telephone system during the telephone-based interaction;locating, in the audible prompt message, at least one keyword;using the located at least one keyword to obtain an identification of a graphical image corresponding to the located at least one keyword;inserting the identified graphical image into the data stream displayed on the display area, in advance of receiving a response from the user to the audible prompt message, as a visual cue for the user;receiving, from the user through the keypad, the response to the audible prompt message; anddisplaying, in the data stream on the display area following the inserted graphical image, the representation of the response received from the user.