Patents Assigned to VCS Industries, Inc.
  • Patent number: 5365574
    Abstract: A method for enabling a caller to obtain access to one or more services via a telephone network by speaking a password is described. The method begins by establishing at least one predetermined threshold value for a speaker verification signal. For each spoken character of the password, the method generates a set of parameters using a voice verification feature transformation. After entry and recognition of the password, the sets of parameters are used to generate a speaker verification signal for the password. Upon the occurrence of a predetermined call condition, the predetermined threshold value is adjusted to increase the level of security in the verification algorithm. If the signal verification signal for the password has a predetermined relationship with respect to the adjusted threshold value, the caller's identity is accepted. If not, the caller may be asked to answer certain personal questions before his or her identity is accepted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1994
    Assignee: VCS Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan K. Hunt, Thomas B. Schalk
  • Patent number: 5315649
    Abstract: A toll call service center of the present invention is accessible by subscribers to a toll call service. One or more of the subscribers of the service have their own set of identifiers uniquely associated with a plurality of called stations desired to be accessed by the subscriber. The center comprises a voice command system having a storage for storing representations of the identifiers at storage locations uniquely identified with the subscriber. The command system also includes an announcing circuit and a processor operative under the control of a program stored therein. The processor is responsive to reception of an incoming call from a subscriber for controlling the announcing circuit to request the subscriber to speak an identifier associated with one of the plurality of called stations. A voice recognizer is responsive to receipt of the identifier for determining whether the identifier is valid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 1992
    Date of Patent: May 24, 1994
    Assignee: VCS Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Peter J. Foster, Kim S. Terry
  • Patent number: 5303299
    Abstract: The present invention describes a method for recognizing alphanumeric strings spoken over a telephone network wherein individual character recognition need not be uniformly high in order to achieve high string recognition accuracy. Preferably, the method uses a processing system having a digital processor, an interface to the telephone network, and a database for storing a predetermined set of reference alphanumeric strings. In operation, the system prompts the caller to speak the characters of a string, and characters are recognized using a speaker-independent voice recognition algorithm. The method calculates recognition distances between each spoken input character and the corresponding letter or digit in the same position within each reference alphanumeric string. After each character is spoken, captured and analyzed, each reference string distance is incremented and the process is continued, accumulating distances for each reference string, until the last character is spoken.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 12, 1994
    Assignee: VCS Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan K. Hunt, Thomas B. Schalk
  • Patent number: 5297194
    Abstract: The present invention describes a system and method for enabling a caller to obtain access to services via a telephone network by entering a spoken password having a plurality of digits. Preferably, the method includes the steps of: (1) prompting the caller to speak the password beginning with a first digit and ending with a last digit thereof, (2) recognizing each spoken digit of the password using a speaker-independent voice recognition algorithm, (3) following entry of the last digit of the password, determining whether the password is valid, and (4) if the password is valid, verifying the caller's identity using a voice verification algorithm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 22, 1994
    Assignee: VCS Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan K. Hunt, Thomas B. Schalk
  • Patent number: 5297183
    Abstract: An advanced telecommunications system is provided for the recognizing of spoken commands over a cellular telephone, satellite telephone, or personal communications network. In the cellular application, for example, a Speech Recognition System interconnects either internally with or as an external peripheral to a cellular telecommunications switch. The Speech Recognition System includes an administrative subsystem, a call processing subsystem, a speaker-dependent recognition subsystem, a speaker-independent recognition subsystem, and a data storage subsystem. The Speech Recognition System also allows for increased efficiency in the cellular telephone network by integrating with the switch or switches as a shared resource. The administrative subsystem of the Speech Recognition System is used to keep statistical logs of pertinent call information. Pre-recorded instructional messages are stored in the memory of the call processing subsystem for instructing a user on his or her progress in using the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 22, 1994
    Assignee: VCS Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Bernard F. Bareis, Peter J. Foster, Thomas B. Schalk
  • Patent number: 5127043
    Abstract: The present invention describes a system and method for enabling a caller to obtain access to services via a telephone network by entering a spoken password having a plurality of digits. Preferably, the method includes the steps of: (1) prompting the caller to speak the password beginning with a first digit and ending with a last digit thereof, (2) recognizing each spoken digit of the password using a speaker-independent voice recognition algorithm, (3) following entry of the last digit of the password, determining whether the password is valid, and (4) if the password is valid, verifying the caller's identity using a voice verification algorithm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1992
    Assignee: VCS Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan K. Hunt, Thomas B. Schalk
  • Patent number: 5125022
    Abstract: The present invention describes a method for recognizing alphanumeric strings spoken over a telephone network wherein individual character recognition need not be uniformly high in order to achieve high string recognition accuracy. Preferably, the method uses a processing system having a digital processor, an interface to the telephone network, and a database for storing a predetermined set of reference alphanumeric strings. In operation, the system prompts the caller to speak each character of a string, beginning with a first character and ending with a last character. Each character is then recognized using a speaker-independent voice recognition algorithm. The method calculates recognition distances between each spoken input character and the corresponding letter or digit in the same position within each reference alphanumeric string.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1992
    Assignee: VCS Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan K. Hunt, Thomas B. Schalk