Routing call failures in a location-based services system

The present invention generally relates to providing information to a communication device, and more particularly to providing a location-based service targeting a communication device located in a specific geographical area.

In recent years, wireless communication devices have evolved from the technology used by the elite population of the population to the technology used by the masses. By 2000, it is estimated that more than 100 million people in the United States have subscribed to at least one type of wireless communication service. Globally, the number of wireless communication users has reached an astonishing number and is constantly increasing. In the near future, almost anyone will own or use some kind of wireless communication device that can perform various functions.

In addition to customary wireless communication devices, many different types of portable electronic devices are in use today. In particular, notebook computers, palm top computers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) have become mediocre. The use of wireless communication devices has become widespread, and it is expected that compound mobile phones / PDAs will be widely used by the masses in the near future. Currently, most of these devices are used by only a small part of the population, primarily due to the limited number of applications and services available for such devices.

<p num="0004"> The Internet has become a widely used medium for providing corporate information in various forms targeting various forms of individuals and businesses. Generally speaking, one of the problems associated with using the Internet to search for company information about a particular product or service is that the company has access to a product or service that is available in a geographical area located near the user. It is possible to search for information. Therefore, there is a need for a method of providing a wide range of corporate information and content to wireless communication devices and workstations based on each geographical location of the communication device when information is requested.</p><p num="0005"> Users of many different types of remote terminals often desire access to directory assistance services provided by various telephone companies. Many of these directory assistance calls are generated in each city's telephone service area and require list information for lists contained within the same city service area. Most local directory assistance services used today are handled by an operator assisting the requester by manually entering the requested information into the application and exploring a database containing housing and business listings. Therefore, it is desired to provide an improved directory assistance system that can automatically supply the requester with a geographically targeted response.</p><p num="0006"> In addition, most users of wireless communication devices want to be able to use natural language when requesting information and content. A typical speech recognition application requires the developer to create a full siege grammar that itemizes each possible way an individual can pronounce a given concept or request. This allows the system to recognize the content contained in the pronunciation, but puts a significant burden on the developer before and after deploying the system. Therefore, a natural language processing application that does not require significant setting or maintenance is required. Moreover, due to the variety of speech patterns and pronunciations, it is now impossible to recognize pronunciations with nearly 100% success. Current speech recognition engines are aimed at interpreting sound, but cannot interpret the meaning or views of the context.</p><p num="0007"> A method and system that allows corporate users of these types of systems to search for usage history records are also required separately. These records can be used by enterprise users for various forms of search and record keeping. When consumers use voice commands to request information about each product or service, the system may not recognize the spoken word and therefore the voice enable system may not be able to find the appropriate information. In many cases, this causes frustration for the user, who may eventually stop using the voice-enabled system if they experience an error. Therefore, it is also desired to route call failures in location-based service systems.</p><p num="0008"> From the above, there is a demand for a location-based system that enables the user to search for the company, service, or product based on the user's geographical location. Methods and systems are needed to track the purchase and use of location-based systems in order to monitor the proposed and completed transactions of opportunities to consumers through location-based systems.</p>

<p num="0009"> A preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses a method of providing a location-based service in a communication system including a plurality of remote terminals. The remote terminal is preferably a wireless communication device, but another aspect of the invention is directed to providing location-based services to users of various types of computer workstations via Internet access. In a preferred embodiment, a tailored information request is generated using a remote terminal. The nature of this customized information request depends on the particular format of the information being searched for by the user of the remote terminal.</p><p num="0010"> As briefly described above, the customized information request is an information request generated by the user of the remote terminal. The customized information request may be a directory assistance request that includes the name of the individual or company that the user is searching for. Further, the customized information request may be in the form of an information request regarding a specific product or service. For example, a user of a remote terminal can generate a tailor-made information request consisting of a request for information about a featured product for which a deal is offered on television or a variety of other forms of product from a local retailer.</p><p num="0011"> In addition to tailor-made information requests, a geographic indicator is also generated, which is associated with the remote terminal and preferably is based on the remote terminal's current geographic location. As detailed below, customized information requests and geographic indicators are used by location-based service systems to respond to customized information requests based on the geographic location where the remote terminal is located. Is generated.</p><p num="0012"> In a preferred embodiment of the invention, after the customized information request and geographic indicator have been generated, both are sent to the location-based application server. A location-based application server is programmed by an application that produces a structured response to a tailor-made information request. The structured response is generated based on the geographic indicator of the remote terminal and the specific form of information requested by the user of the remote terminal. When the location-based application server generates a structured response, it is sent to the remote terminal for use by each user of the remote terminal.</p><p num="0013"> In one particular embodiment of the invention, the customized information request is in the form of a voice signal supplied by the user of the remote terminal. The customized information request can also be transmitted from the remote terminal to the location-based application server in the form of a textual message using a wireless application protocol in another preferred embodiment. Furthermore, the customized information request can also be transmitted from a remote terminal to a location-based application using a web-based protocol in yet another embodiment of the invention. Thus, the location-based service system gives the user various ways to access the services provided by the system, which further provides the user of the location-based service system with accessibility. Bring profits.</p><p num="0014"> As mentioned above, the geographic indicators generated and used by location-based service systems are based on each geographic location of the remote terminal. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the geographic indicator can be defined by the user of the remote terminal. The geographic indicator can be generated by a remote terminal, or the base station of a preferred wireless communication system. The present invention can also conveniently incorporate the advantages of an improved 911 system used to determine the geographic location of remote terminals in other preferred embodiments.</p><p num="0015"> As mentioned above, in response to a customized information request generated using a remote terminal, the location-based application server generates a structured response containing data in response to the customized information request. This structured response may be generated in the form of a voice signal or in the form of a text / graphic structured response generated using a wireless application protocol or a web-based protocol. You may. Regardless of the format of the structured response, the location-based application server sends the structured response to the remote terminal in a format that users can easily access and interact with using the remote terminal. ..</p><p num="0016"> Another preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses a method of performing natural language processing in a communication system. In this preferred embodiment, the remote terminal generates a voice request, which is transmitted to the base station. When the voice request is sent to the base station, each word contained in the voice request is identified by the voice recognition application. After the words are identified in the speech recognition application, the grammar associated with each word is identified in the natural language processing application. Once a word and its associated grammar are identified, each word falls into each grammar category. A structured response to the voice request is then generated by the response generation application.</p><p num="0017"> In this preferred embodiment of the invention, a natural language processing application based on word classification into grammatical categories and word identification produces structured requirements. After a structured request is generated, it is sent to a response generation application, which searches for a match for the structured request in the database of goods and services. Another aspect of the invention includes narrowing the structured response generated by the response generation application to a particular geographic area where the remote terminal is located. Therefore, the user of the remote terminal does not receive a response to a voice request for a product or service that is not located in a geographical area near the user. For example, an individual in Atlanta, Georgia is particularly indifferent to a California retailer selling an item that they are interested in buying near their geographic location.</p><p num="0018"> As generally mentioned above, a voice request is a request for a particular commodity or service. The term "goods" as used herein should be broadly construed to include services. In a preferred embodiment, the structured response generated to respond to the audio request may be in the form of an audio response or in the form of a text message containing a video and / or audio file. After a voice response or text message is generated, it is sent to the remote terminal, allowing the user of the remote terminal to interact with the structured response.</p><p num="0019"> Combining a natural language processing application into a location-based service system not only improves speech recognition by recognizing "pronunciation", but also speech recognition and by inferring the correct question and answering by using natural language. Helps bridge the gap between processing structured requirements. Natural language processing improves the user's experience by inferring unrecognized words (s) through the use of linguistics, and the resulting application searches for more relevant responses. can do.</p><p num="0020"> Another preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses a wireless communication system with natural language processing. In this embodiment of the invention, the remote terminal is connected to the base station and the user of the remote terminal can generate a voice request, which is transmitted to the base station. When the voice request arrives at the base station, the voice request is preferably transmitted to a voice recognition application connected to the base station. During operation, the speech recognition application identifies each word contained in the speech request. After the word is identified by the speech recognition application, the natural language processing application connected to the speech recognition application generates a structured request based on the word contained in the speech request. A response generation application is connected to the natural language processing application, which serves to generate a structured response to a structured request.</p><p num="0021"> In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the natural language processing application classifies the words contained in the speech request into each one of a plurality of grammatical categories. Once the words are in the grammar category, they are used by the response generation application to search for the goods identified in the voice request, thereby responding to the structured request. The structured response can be sent to the remote terminal as a voice response or text message. When a speech response is used, the speech synthesis application connected to the response generation application generates a speech response based on the structured response generated by the response generation application.</p><p num="0022"> Yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses a system and method for generating advertising content in a communication network. During the operation, an advertising campaign parameter entry form is generated on the corporate remote terminal. When this is generated, the advertiser enters the ad campaign parameters into the ad campaign parameter entry form using the corporate remote terminal. After the ad campaign parameters are entered, the ad campaign parameters are sent to the advertiser portal. The advertiser portal then directs this advertising campaign parameter to the campaign generation application. The campaign generation application then generates an ad campaign based on the ad parameters entered by the advertiser. The advertising campaign is then stored in the corporate database.</p><p num="0023"> In this preferred embodiment, the campaign management interface application generates an advertising campaign parameter entry form and sends it to a web browser on a corporate remote terminal. Therefore, it is preferable that the advertising data input by the advertiser is transmitted to the advertiser portal using the markup language file. Another aspect of the invention is to limit advertising campaigns to those generated for a particular geographic area located within a predetermined radius of the consumer.</p><p num="0024"> The advertiser's portal is equipped with an editing campaign application that allows corporate remote devices to edit advertising campaigns after they are stored in the corporate database. The advertiser portal will also be provided with a delete campaign application, which allows corporate remote terminals to delete advertising campaigns after they have been stored in the corporate database. In another preferred embodiment, the corporate remote terminal is a wireless communication device that allows an advertiser to generate, edit, and delete advertising campaigns from virtually any location.</p><p num="0025"> Another preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses a system and a method for managing a business list in a communication network. In this embodiment, a business list entry form is generated on the company remote terminal. The company entity then enters the sales list data into the sales list entry form using the company remote terminal. Once the sales list data is entered, it is sent to the advertiser portal, where it is directed to the sales list generation application. The sales list generation application then generates a sales list based on the company data given by the company user. When the sales list is generated, it is stored in the company profile database.</p><p num="0026"> The business list data is preferably entered in the form using the web browser of the corporate remote terminal. Further, it is preferable that the business list data is transmitted from the corporate remote terminal to the advertiser's portal using the markup language file. During the operation, the sales list generation application extracts the sales list data and puts it in a predetermined structure suitable for the location-based service system. A predetermined set of business list data includes company name, company category, product type, service type, company address, company URL, product name, model name, brand name, price, address and business hours instruction, and individual company position. It is preferred to be selected from a group of parameters consisting of other data unique to.</p><p num="0027"> The advertiser's portal is equipped with a sales list editing application that allows a remote company terminal to edit the sales list after it is stored in the company profile database. The advertiser's portal is also provided with a business list deletion application, which allows the remote terminal of the company to delete the business list after it is stored in the company profile database. In this embodiment, as in the other embodiments of the present invention, the corporate remote terminal is a wireless communication device or a desktop computer system.</p><p num="0028"> Another preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses a system and method for editing advertising content in a communication network. In this embodiment, a predetermined advertising campaign associated with each advertiser is searched for in a campaign management interface application located on the advertiser's portal, and the advertising campaign contains a plurality of parameters. When an ad campaign is searched, it is sent to a corporate remote terminal, which terminal generates a view of the ad campaign. Users of corporate remote terminals can then edit the parameters of the advertising campaign. After the advertiser edits, the ad campaign is returned to the advertiser's portal, which directs the ad campaign to the campaign editing application. The edited ad campaign is then stored in the corporate database using the data access component.</p><p num="0029"> Yet another embodiment of the present invention discloses a system and a method for editing business list contents in a communication network. In this preferred embodiment, a predetermined sales list related to each company is searched for in a company profile interface application located on the advertiser's portal, and the sales list includes a plurality of parameters. The sales list is then transmitted to the company remote terminal, which generates a view of the sales list. After the sales list view is generated, the user of the enterprise remote terminal is allowed to edit the sales list parameters. When the user finishes editing the sales list, it is returned to the advertiser's portal. The sales list is then directed to the sales list editing application and then stored in the company profile database using the data access component.</p><p num="0030"> Yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses a method of imparting advertising effectiveness search capability in a location-based service system. In a preferred embodiment, usage information for advertising campaigns placed in a location-based service system is stored in a database of usage data. A search request form containing at least one input field is generated at the remote terminal. The search request is then entered in the search request form on the remote terminal. The search request is then sent to an ad-effectiveness application that is preferably placed on the advertiser portal connected to the location-based service system. The usage information is then searched to generate a response to the search request, which is then transmitted to the remote terminal.</p><p num="0031"> In this preferred embodiment, the usage information includes the time of access, the location of access, the perception of the individual who received each ad campaign, the total number of people who received each ad campaign, the total number of people who responded to each ad campaign, You can choose from a group of information that includes the date and time each ad campaign was run, the product list for each ad campaign, and the service list for each ad campaign.</p><p num="0032"> The search request form is preferably generated in a web browser located at a remote terminal. Usage analysis The user interface application generates a search request form and sends it to a remote terminal via the advertiser's portal. The search results obtained from the database of usage data are formatted into segments that can be viewed in the data scoring application. Usage analysis User interface applications are preferably used to send responses to remote terminals. The remote terminal is a wireless communication device in some preferred embodiments.</p><p num="0033"> Yet another preferred embodiment of the invention discloses a method of providing predictive modeling in a location-based service system. Predictive modeling allows users to foresee or predict the format of users and the number of users who will probably respond to or receive advertising campaigns based on biographical records contained in a database of usage data. To do. In this embodiment, the advertising campaign is generated on a remote terminal. The advertising campaign is then sent to a predictive modeling application that is preferably placed on the advertiser's portal. The profile data file and the database of usage data are searched to generate a prediction model for the advertising campaign, and the prediction model is transmitted to the remote terminal.</p><p num="0034"> In this preferred embodiment, the generated advertising campaign comprises at least one business rule. This business rule is extracted by a business rule application located on the advertiser's portal, which can be used to help explore the profile data file and database of usage data. Usage Analysis User interface applications are used to generate sample advertising campaigns. In a preferred embodiment, the predictive model is formatted in a format that can be viewed using a data scoring application. The predictive model is preferably sent to a remote terminal using a usage analysis user interface application. The remote terminal is a wireless communication device in another embodiment of the present invention.</p><p num="0035"> Another preferred embodiment of the invention discloses a method for searching for usage information in a location-based service system. In this embodiment, usage information for a location-based service system is stored in a database of usage data. The advertiser's portal is set up on a remote terminal. A search request form is generated at the remote terminal to allow the user to generate a search. The user can then use the remote terminal to enter a search request in the search request form, which is sent to the advertiser's portal. The database of usage data is then searched to generate a response to the search request, which is sent to the remote terminal.</p><p num="0036"> In this preferred embodiment, a search request form is generated by a usage analysis user interface application located on the advertiser's portal. The search results are preferably formatted in a format that can be viewed by a data scoring application. The response is sent to the remote terminal in the usage analysis user interface application on the advertiser's portal. The remote terminal may be a wireless communication device.</p><p num="0037"> Another preferred embodiment of the invention discloses methods and systems for routing call failures in location-based service systems. In a preferred embodiment, the remote terminal is connected to a location-based service system using one of many different access methods. The voice-based customized information request is then generated by the user of the remote terminal and transmitted to the location-based service system. The voice-based tailor-made information request is then interpreted by the voice recognition application. If the voice recognition application fails to interpret the voice-based tailored information request with a given accuracy level, the remote terminal connection is routed to the call center server.</p><p num="0038"> The call center server preferably can operate to transfer the connection to the remote terminal to an available operator. The operator can then assist the user at the remote terminal by inputting an information request from the user into a location-based application server configured to generate a response to the user request. A structured response is then transmitted to the remote terminal by a location-based service system. In the preferred embodiment shown herein, the structured response is transmitted to a speech synthesis server capable of generating a speech response and transmitting it to a remote terminal.</p><p num="0039"> Yet another preferred embodiment of the invention discloses methods and systems for routing call failures in location-based service systems. In this embodiment, the remote terminal is connected to a location-based service system. A voice-based customized information request is generated by the user of the remote terminal and transmitted to the location-based service system 10. The voice-based customized information request is then interpreted by the voice recognition application, and the voice-based customized information request interpretation is transmitted from the voice recognition application to the natural language processing application. If the natural language processing application fails to interpret the intent of the voice-based information request at a predetermined level of accuracy, the remote terminal is routed or connected to the call center server.</p><p num="0040"> Another preferred embodiment of the invention discloses a method for tracking purchases in a location-based service system. In this embodiment, a request for information about a particular product is received from the consumer using a remote terminal. A geographically tailored response to the request is generated by a location-based service system. At least one opportunity is then displayed to the consumer based on its geographically tailored response. Acceptance of each opportunity made by the consumer is then processed by a location-based service system.</p><p num="0041"> It is preferable that the identifier of the campaign opportunity is specified for each opportunity or the customized response. The identifier of each campaign opportunity and the content of the opportunity itself are then stored in the used database or data file. Also, the identifier of each campaign opportunity is associated with each consumer and each company giving the opportunity. When a consumer purchases a product, the consumer is charged for the product. It is preferable that the electronic payment card is charged for the goods. In addition, it is preferable that the information about the electronic payment card is stored, and the stored information is the card number, the store owner code, the store owner name, the store owner address, the transaction format, the identifier of the purchased product, the purchase amount, and the purchase date. And selected from a group of information including purchase time.</p><p num="0042"> Geographically tailored responses can be generated based on the geographic settings made by the consumer at the remote terminal. Thus, when moving from one position to another, the consumer can receive a tailor-made response to the area moving towards the final destination. During the operation, multiple pieces of information about each opportunity are stored in the used database or data file. The information is selected from a group of information including the campaign identifier, shopkeeper name, consumer identifier, campaign code, date, time, consumer geographic location and opportunity number.</p><p num="0043"> Another preferred embodiment of the invention discloses a location-based service system with purchase tracking. This embodiment comprises a remote terminal capable of generating a customized information request about the product and a geographic indicator associated with the remote terminal. A location-based application server can be connected to each remote terminal and act to receive tailor-made information requests and geographic indicators from the remote terminal. The location-based application server can also operate to generate a structured response that depends on the geographic indicator given by the remote terminal in response to a customized information request about the product. This structured response is preferably sent to the remote terminal and is displayed on the remote terminal in the form of at least one opportunity proposal.</p>

<figref num="1">It is a figure which shows the preferable embodiment of the service system based on a position.</figref><figref num="2">A flowchart showing process steps performed by a location-based application server when processing a structured request.</figref><figref num="3">It is a figure which shows various methods which a user request is made and is given as an input to a speech recognition application.</figref><figref num="4">It is a figure which shows the grammar related to the word of the user request shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="5">It is a figure which shows how to generalize the grammar from a user request to one set of grammars.</figref><figref num="6">It is a figure which shows the grammar category which each word enters from the user request shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="7">FIG. 5 shows preferred methods and systems for managing, generating, and editing advertising campaigns and sales lists in location-based service systems.</figref><figref num="8">It is a figure which shows the preferable method for searching the usage information in the service system based on the position.</figref><figref num="9">FIG. 5 shows a preferred advertising effectiveness application for a location-based service system.</figref><figref num="10">FIG. 5 illustrates a preferred predictive modeling application for a location-based service system.</figref><figref num="11">FIG. 5 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a location-based service system with a system for determining and routing call failures.</figref><figref num="12">FIG. 5 illustrates preferred method steps performed to determine and route a call failure in a location-based service system.</figref><figref num="13">FIG. 5 illustrates a preferred method for tracking opportunity proposals and purchases in a location-based service system.</figref><figref num="14">FIG. 5 illustrates a preferred method for completing a transaction and storing data about that transaction.</figref><figref num="15">It is a figure which shows the preferable advertisement effectiveness application.</figref>

Yet another object and effect of the invention will be apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings which clearly show preferred embodiments of the invention. The present invention discloses methods and systems for providing location-based services via various communication networks. Referring to FIG. 1, the location-based service system 10 according to a preferred embodiment uses the geographic location of the remote terminal 12 to provide geographically targeted services to the remote terminal 12. A remote terminal 12 contracted with a location-based service system 10 can select and receive information from the remote terminal 12, and thus a wide range of businesses and service providers located close to the user's geographic area.

As shown in FIG. 1, one preferred embodiment of the location-based service system 10 connects to the wireless communication system 14 using one of a number of available and commonly used communication protocols. It is equipped with a remote terminal 12. As illustrated, the remote terminal 12 is connected to the base station 16 of the wireless communication system 14, which base station transmits and receives radio signals to and from the remote terminal 12 during operation. Although only one base station 16 is shown in FIG. 1, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that in practice a large number of base stations 16 will be used to form the preferred wireless communication system 14. Ideally, the preferred wireless communication system 14 covers a large geographic area, such as the entire United States.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the remote terminal 12 can transmit a digital input signal to the base station 16. The term "digital input signal" should include voice signals, keypad input data, and pointer device selection signals, or data from other commonly used means for inputting data to each remote terminal 12. Please be widely interpreted. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that for various types of remote terminals 12, a number of peripheral devices are available that can be used to enter data into the remote terminal 12 and can incorporate the advantages of the present invention.

The wireless communication system 14 is preferably a digital communication system that uses one of a number of different methods of providing wireless digital communication between the remote terminal 12 and the base station 16. Further, the wireless communication system 14 can assign two transmission directions between the remote terminal 12 and the base station 16 by using a frequency division duplex (FDD) or a time division duplex (TDD).

One of a number of different types of multiplex access methods is used in the present invention to provide the remote terminal 12 with a multiplex access method which means a method of forming multiple channels in each transmission direction. Three preferred forms of multiple access methods that can be used include frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and / or code division multiple access (CDMA). It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention will readily incorporate the advantages of other multiple access methods.

As further shown in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the base station 16 of the wireless communication system 14 is connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) 18 by a public exchange 20. As is well known to those skilled in the art, PSTN18 is a worldwide voice telephone network used to enable various communication devices to communicate with each other. Although the preferred PSTN18 is a digital system, the invention is also made available to analog systems to accommodate geographical areas that are not well developed or serviced by digital systems.

The public exchange 20 transfers the signal received from the base station 16 to the private branch exchange (PBX) 22. A public branch exchange 20 is connected to a private branch exchange (PBX) 22, which is a telephone exchange system used to interconnect various extensions to each other, as is commonly known in the art. Is. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the PBX22 can use a fully digital method for exchange and can support digital remote terminals and telephones and analog remote terminals and telephones. As described in detail below, in a preferred embodiment, the PBX 22 is connected to a server in a location-based service system 10, which is some form of digital remote terminal.

Referring to FIG. 1, in this embodiment of the invention, the PBX 22 is connected to at least one speech recognition server 24. The speech recognition server 24 includes at least one speech recognition application that can act to recognize each word contained in the speech signal received from the PBX 22. As described in detail below, the output is produced by the speech recognition application and used by the natural language processing application.

The speech recognition server 24 is connected to at least one natural language processing server 26, which processes the identified words contained in the speech signal to determine the meaning of the words contained in the speech signal. Includes language processing applications. Therefore, during operation, the voice recognition server 24 identifies or recognizes a specific word contained in the voice signal, and the natural language processing server 26 recognizes the voice signal first generated from the remote terminal 12. Interpret the meaning of the word. The natural language processing application may be located on the speech recognition server 24 in another embodiment of the invention, but may be located on a separate server or a separate set of servers to improve performance levels. Is preferable.

The natural language processing server 26 is connected to an application server 28 based on at least one location. As described in detail below, the location-based application server 28 is programmed to supply the remote terminal 12 with the response information requested by each user of the remote terminal 12. Generally speaking, the location-based application server 28 is used to retrieve location-based information and pass it to the remote terminal 12 in various data formats. The format of the information supplied to the remote terminal 12 varies based on the particular nature of the information requested by the user and the geographical location of the remote terminal 12.

During operation, after the meaning of the word in the voice signal is interpreted, the natural language processing server 26 is programmed to generate a structured request, which is a location-based application server 28. Will be sent to. In response to this structured request, the location-based application server 28 generates a structured response, which is sent to the remote terminal 12. As detailed below, the exact nature of the information transmitted in a structured response depends on the particular request made by the particular user of the remote terminal 12.

If an analog voice signal is used, although not shown in FIG. 1, at least one digital signal processor server can be used to convert the analog signal to a digital signal, and the voice recognition server 24 It can be processed and interpreted using a speech recognition application. In each of these embodiments, the digital signal processor server is preferably connected between the voice recognition server 24 and the PBX 22. It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the voice recognition server 24 can be configured to perform the functions of a digital signal processor server in other embodiments of the present invention.

Each remote terminal 12 also transmits a remote terminal identifier unique to the base station 16 while communicating with the base station 16 of the wireless communication system 14. This remote terminal identifier is preferably attached to each voice signal as it passes through the location-based service system 10, so the system tracks inferences as to which remote terminal 12 receives the requested information. be able to. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of identification methods can be used to track a particular remote terminal 12 using a location-based service system 10.

Also, as further shown in FIG. 1, the location-based application server 28 is also connected to the location gateway server 30, which is then connected to the base station 16 of the wireless communication system 14. The location gateway server 30 is used by the location-based application server 28 to search for geographic indicators associated with each remote terminal 12. Thus, while each remote terminal 12 is connected to the wireless communication system 14, the location-based application server 28 determines each geographical location of the remote terminal 12 and remotely remotes the geographically targeted responses and information. It can be supplied to the terminal 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, the location gateway server 30 is preferably connected to the base station 16 of the wireless communication system 14 using the network connection 32, which is in another embodiment of the invention. It may be a private network connection or an internet connection. When a user of the remote terminal 12 accesses the location-based service system 10, it is preferred that a geographic indicator be generated by the remote terminal 12 or the base station 16 and transmitted to the location-based application server 28. The geographic indicator is preferably sent to the location-based application server 28 along with the remote terminal identifier to allow the location-based application server 28 to associate each remote terminal 12 with a particular geographic location.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the geographic indicator is preset by the user of the remote terminal 12, automatically generated by GPS located at the remote terminal 12, or executed at the base station 16. Generated by various geographic determination applications. Furthermore, the present invention can effectively take advantage of the improved 911 system of wireless communication system 14 to generate geographic indicators. In another embodiment of the invention, the geographic indicator may be generated from a combination of these sources and / or systems (ie, may come from a GPS assisted network that uses GPS and devices on the network). .. The geographic indicator is automatically sent to the location-based application server 28 as soon as each remote terminal 12 is connected to the wireless communication system 14, but in another embodiment of the invention, the geographic indicator is Sent only when each remote terminal sends a structured request to the location-based application server 28. When the geographic location of the remote terminal 12 changes, the geographic indicator is updated and the updated information can be continuously transmitted to the location-based application server 28.

As further shown in FIG. 1, at least one speech synthesis server 33 is connected to the location-based application server 28 and PBX 22. For voice-related applications in the location-based service system 10, the speech synthesis server 33 is based on a structured response generated in response to a structured request received by the location-based application server 28. Used to generate a voice response. The speech synthesis application of the speech synthesis server 33 is used to convert a structured response into a speech response. In a preferred embodiment, the PBX 22 is used to transmit a voice response to the PSTN 18, which then transmits the voice response to the base station 16, which finally delivers the voice response to the remote terminal 12. Send to. In another embodiment of the present invention, the speech synthesis server 33 is directly connected to each base station 16 of the wireless communication system 14.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in yet another embodiment of the invention, the remote terminal 12 is connected to the location-based application server 28 via the wireless application protocol (WAP) gateway 34 of the wireless communication system 14. The WAP gateway 34 is connected to the WAP server 38 of the location-based service system 10 via a network connection 36. The network connection 36 may be a private network connection or an internet connection. The WAP server 38 is connected to the location-based application server 28 and is used to generate structured requests based on the requests entered on the remote terminal 12 during operation, which is location-based. Sent to application server 28.

The remote terminal 12 can communicate with the WAP server 38 and the location-based application server 28 using the WAP standard. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the WAP standard is a protocol configured for wireless communication devices to access e-mail and textual web pages in a confidential manner. WAP provides a complete environment for wireless applications, including the wireless-enabled portion of TCP / IP and a framework for phone integration. In a preferred embodiment of the location-based service system 10, the remote terminal 12 for location-based services by using text and graphic-based menus that can be provided from the location-based application server 28 to the remote terminal 12. You can also browse.

One preferred embodiment of the invention uses the WAP standard to support the use of the latest version of HTML, wireless markup language (WML), for small screen displays, remote terminal 12 and location-based applications. Communicates and transfers information to and from the server 28. WAP can also use WMLScript, a compact JavaScript-like language that can be executed in the limited memory of the remote terminal 12. The location-based service system 10 is also conveniently configured to take advantage of this capability to provide location-based services to users of remote terminal 12 based on a particular geographic location of remote terminal 12. You can also do it.

In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the WAP standard supports a variety of handheld input methods, such as keypad input and pointer device input, which are generated in a variety of different types of remote terminals 12. This gives the user of the remote terminal 12 the ability to enter data from the keypad for the purpose of entering a search request into the location-based service system 10 with respect to the present invention. In addition, the remote terminal 12 can receive, interpret and display a web page containing hypertext links to other selected web pages using various selection methods.

In the description of the present invention, the term "wireless application protocol" is a communication protocol similar to what is commonly referred to as the "WAP standard" and, as described above, transfers text and graphic-based information to the remote terminal 12. It should be broadly interpreted as including the communication protocol used to transmit. The WAP standard will be used for this particular preferred embodiment of the invention, but it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other text and graphic based communication protocols may be used in another embodiment of the invention.

For example, although not described in detail, another preferred embodiment of the present invention can also be configured for an i-mode wireless communication system. The i-mode wireless communication system uses a packet-based communication protocol to communicate between the remote terminal 12 and the base station 16, which essentially means that the remote terminal 12 is always connected to the wireless communication system. It means that the packet is used to communicate with the base station 16. I-mode can also provide web browsing and customized applications to the remote terminal 12.

i-mode is an ownership system that uses a subset of HTML known as cHTML, as opposed to the WAP standard, which uses WML. In this particular embodiment, the i-mode server is used to connect the base station 16 of the wireless communication system 14 to the location-based application server 28. Other details of this particular embodiment are similar to those of other embodiments of the present invention and therefore no detailed description will be needed.

Referring to FIG. 1, in another preferred embodiment of the location-based service system 10, a second remote terminal 40 is connected to the subscriber portal web server 44 via a network connection 42. The network connection 42 is a private network connection or an internet connection. As shown, the subscriber portal web server 44 is also connected to the location-based application server 28. During operation, the second remote terminal 40 is programmed to receive a structured request, which is sent to the location-based application server 28, and similarly, the location-based application server 28. It is programmed to generate a structured response, which is sent to a second remote terminal 40.

The second remote terminal 40 and the location-based application server 28 preferably communicate with each other using standard web-based protocols commonly used in various Internet-based applications. In this embodiment of the invention, the user accesses the subscriber portal web server 44, preferably via a second remote terminal 40, which is a computer workstation. As a subscriber to the location-based service system 10, the second remote terminal 40 is designated with a predetermined geographic indicator. The geographic indicator is used by the location-based application server 28 to target services and corporate content to the second remote terminal 40 based on the geographic location of the second remote terminal 40.

The user of the second remote terminal 40 is given the option to set the geographic indicator to the desired geographic location, which position may or may not be the exact geographic location of the second remote terminal 40. Good. For example, if a user wants to move to another city and access location-based services in that particular city, they can be given the option to allow a second remote terminal 40 to specify that particular city. ..

In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the second remote terminal 40 is preferably a computer workstation that includes multimedia capabilities and is equipped with a microphone and a voice card. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, this allows the second remote terminal 40 to generate audio by the speaker system and receive the audio signal by the microphone. Although not specifically shown in FIG. 1, it connects the subscriber portal web server 44 to the voice recognition server 24 and receives the voice signal transmitted from the second remote terminal 40 from the wireless remote terminal 12. Allows processing similar to the method used to process the voiced signal.

Referring to FIG. 1, the corporate remote terminal 46 is connected to the network connection 48, which is connected to the advertiser portal web server 50. The network connection 48 is a private network connection or an internet connection. The Advertiser Portal Web Server 50 adds, modifies and / or adds, modifies and / or campaigns configured to allow various businesses (ie, content providers) to promote and sell various products and services via a location-based service system 10. Allow it to be deleted. For example, if a particular corporate entity wishes to perform a promotion for a particular product or service, the Advertiser Portal Web Server 50 may modify each list so that the corporate entity includes each item or service related to a featured product. To do so.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the service system 10 based on the preferred configuration location can also influence the data grouped into preferably four logical data groups 52. These logical data groups include a profile data file 54, a corporate data file 56, an additional data file 58, and a usage data file 60. Data file 54-60 contains detailed information about the various items and services used by the location-based service system 10, which will be described in detail below. Data files 54-60 can be located on location-based application servers 28, but are preferably maintained on separate servers.

The profile data file 54 includes a group of logical entities containing such information about each consumer of the location-based service system 10. These logical entities include, but are not particularly limited to, the following items: Consumer name; Consumer phone number; Consumer identification; Consumer password; Consumer home address; Consumer home phone number; Consumer e-mail address; Consumer wireless call number; Consumer Consumer service contract (details of consumer selection level to subscribe to one or more services); Consumer privacy priorities (share consumer private data with others based on data format, requester, service, etc.) Consumer Service Priority (Details of specific stored information related to any service the consumer uses, eg, named location (eg, consumer). (Address of work location or address of consumer friend), priorities for named interests or hobbies, interests in news articles, sports, music, favorite brands or chains, banking information and other demographics Scientific information (eg, NBA basketball, jazz music, Italian food, favorite clothing brands or chains, banking information, etc.), and preferred asynchronous communication methods listed by the service and / or service / content provider (e-mail). Or wireless call).

The enterprise data file 56 consists of a group of logical entities containing all such information about the enterprise listed within the location-based service system 10, including, but not limited to, the following: Company Name; Company Phone Number; Company Text Contract; Company Voice Contract; Company Video Contract; Company and / or Product Image; Company Identification; Company Password; Company Category (One or More); Ad participation level; Ad campaign information, eg, parameters that define the target market; Campaign identification code; Ad content and special treatment / discounts; Stored data mining / reporting parameters; Sales brand; Service brand; Product format for sale; Service product type; Sale product model; Service product model; Product model price; and service price and inventory list (depending on brand, product type and product model).

The additional data file 58 contains a group of logical entities that generally have additional content that can be more influenced by the location-based service system 10, which probably includes, but is limited to: Not done. Company ranking (according to external rating services); weather conditions; driving directions; maps; traffic. Although not specifically shown, the remaining phone number and address list is given by the local telephone company via a residence list server connected to the location-based application server 28.

Data file 60 used contains a group of logical entities that generally contain all recorded information about consumer transactions from remote terminals 12, 40, which probably includes, but is limited to: Not done. Consumer identification (or a unique hash of consumer identification); Date; Time; Services used; Request format; Search criteria; Matched data; Purchases made; And actions taken. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many other formats of usage data can be stored in the usage data file 60.

As generally mentioned above, the location-based service system 10 users will be satisfied with a particular purchase or service request using a number of access methods (voice, wireless application protocol or web application protocol). Is given the ability to search by remote terminals 12 and 40. The location-based application server 28 is programmed to handle a variety of structured requests, and the location-based application server 28 receives the structured requests in the same format (ie, voice, wireless application). A variety of structured responses can be generated with a protocol or web application protocol).

Some of the structured requirements parameters that can be used for enterprise services provided by the location-based service system 10 include (but are not limited to) one or more of the following: Product Type; Service Type; Company Name; Company Category; Product Name (or Model Name); Product Brand; Price Level; Company or Service Ranking (ie External Ratings such as AAA by Ranking Service); Special Whether a good deal is offered; location (automatic location (eg, searching for a nearby ATM), specified location or consumer-specified location); time of operation; availability of service (eg, specified at a restaurant) Availability of available tables in time); and companies specified within their preference for the category (ie, the name of their favorite coffee house franchise). It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various structured requirements parameters can be used in the present invention.

Optionally, consumers have the ability to "opt in" or "push" content and advertising services. The push service is defined as a service that proactively delivers content to consumers via remote terminals 12, 40, rather than a service provided only after a consumer request. As described above, the consumer preference for using the remote terminal 12 is stored in the profile data file 54. So, for example, golf enthusiasts "push" a deal offer when an item such as a golf club or a particular brand of golf ball moves near a golf equipment store in connection with a special deal. can do.

Also, as briefly mentioned above, the location-based service system 10 gives the enterprise the ability to manage each content and mine usage data by using the advertiser portal web server 50. The advertiser portal web server 50 preferably includes the following web-based applications: That is, campaign management applications, corporate profile management applications, mining / reporting and predictive modeling applications. Each of these applications and their functional features will be described in detail below.

Campaign management applications include a number of applications that allow businesses to generate ad campaigns and edit / delete ad campaigns. This generation campaign capability allows advertisers to generate location-based advertising campaigns. As part of this capability, companies define the market segments that are targeted by advertising. The advertiser then only delivers the advertising content to its target market and the delivery mechanism (ie, pushed to each consumer's remote devices 12, 40, or makes the improved directory assistance request / search. (Whether it is presented to the consumer) is defined. The edit / delete campaign capability allows an entity to modify or delete an existing campaign that has already been generated and is running on a location-based application server 28.

The corporate profile management application includes the ability to generate a sales list and the ability to edit a sales list. The ability to generate a sales list allows a company to define each set of company data (see above for a list of content in the company data). The ability to edit sales lists allows companies to change or delete those sales lists. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a number of other options are also available through the corporate profile management application.

The mining / reporting capability allows the enterprise to interface with the data stored in the usage data file 60. The ad effectiveness interface uses usage data file 60 and corporate data file 56 to generate an analysis of the effectiveness of location-based advertising campaigns. This analysis is directed to the question, "How many people received my campaign in the downtown area of Atlanta." The information given to the enterprise provides insights to quantify the outcome of the campaign generated in the location-based service system 10 by the campaign management tool.

Predictive modeling capabilities give the prospect that potential consumers will probably respond to opportunity offers, listings and deals. The form of feedback that consumers receive includes, but is not limited to, for example: Identifying customers who probably respond to a campaign by customer category; identifying customers who probably request a campaign or list by customer category; and identifying demand by peak time or day.

As briefly mentioned above, location-based service systems 10 provide consumers with remote terminals 12, 40 with voice, wireless application protocols (such as WAP and cHTML) and web protocols (Java (R)). And give access to goods and services in designated geographic areas by a number of access methods (such as HTML). The present invention includes the entire life cycle of a location-based service system 10 including delivery and maintenance, which includes content management, consumer management, content delivery, advertising management, advertising reporting, advertising delivery, and usage. Includes tracking, usage mining and reporting, accounting and clearing.

The location-based service system 10 in a preferred configuration can provide location-based services to consumers via remote terminals 12, 40, and is managed by various content providers through the use of each enterprise remote terminal 46. The services provided by the location-based service system 10 preferably include improved directory assistance services and improved corporate services provided through voice recognition capabilities, wireless application protocol capabilities and / or web application capabilities.

To access the improved Directory Assistance Service or Enterprise Services, the user of Remote Terminal 12 presses on the keypad of Remote Terminal 12 (eg, by pressing 411) or by pressing a specifically specified key on Remote Terminal 12. Therefore, it is preferable to input a predetermined key sequence. If the remote terminal is not yet connected to the base station 16, the remote terminal 12 establishes a connection with the base station 16 of the wireless communication terminal 14 when the improved directory assistance service or corporate service is selected. , It acts as a gateway to the location-based service system 10.

In another embodiment, the remote terminal 12 user is given the option to use voice commands to select one of each service, but as described above, using the remote terminal 12's keypad input. , You can also select the desired service. For those skilled in the art, improved directory assistance services and corporate services do not necessarily have to be provided by the same access method, and are keypad-based until a reasonable time for the user to enter a voice signal containing an information request. It will be clear that a menu system can be used.

For example, if the improved directory assistance service is selected by the user of the remote terminal 12, either the base station 16, the location-based application server 28, or the remote terminal 12 is audibly generated on the remote terminal 12. It can be programmed to generate a search parameter request. In the embodiments described herein, the search parameter request is transmitted in the form of an audio signal prompting the user to state the first name (first name) and last name (last name) of the individual being sought. In addition, the search parameter request can also include an option that prompts the user to state the geographic area in which the individual is located. As is clear from the above description, the location-based service system 10 includes a voice recognition application, so that a person skilled in the art would use the voice signal generated by the remote terminal 12 to perform the entire process of inputting the search parameter request. It will be clear that it will be done.

In response to the search parameter request generated by the remote terminal 12, the user preferably gives a voice response to the remote terminal, which is transmitted to the base station 16. This voice response preferably includes a first name response and a last name response (and perhaps a detailed geographic information response to a non-local list) of a particular individual that the user is looking for to retrieve information. The voice response to the search parameter request also preferably includes a unique remote terminal identifier associated with each remote terminal 12, which is transmitted from the remote terminal 12 to the base station 16. The base station 16 transmits the voice response to the PSTN 18, which then routes the voice response to the PBX 22 along with the identifier of the remote terminal.

The PBX22 sends the voice response and remote terminal identifiers as input to the voice recognition and natural language processing applications located on the servers 24 and 26, which in turn then provide the voice response and remote terminal identifiers to the structured dwelling list. Each is translated into a request, which is sent to the location-based application server 28. As described in detail above, the speech recognition application analyzes the speech response to make a decision to recognize a particular word contained in the speech response. The structured dwelling list request also includes detailed geographic information provided by the user, which is sent to the location-based application server 28.

As shown in FIG. 2, the structured dwelling list request is used as input to the dwelling finder application 62 located on the location-based application server 28. During operation, this dwelling finder application 62 interprets the structured dwelling list request and uses at least one data access routine 64 to provide each database file with the specific information requested by the structured dwelling list request. Search and search from 54-58. For those skilled in the art, a number of database servers are connected to the location-based application server 28, which are supplied to the user by the location-based service system 10 in various formats, as detailed below. It will be apparent that it is used to store various forms of information and content.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dwelling finder application 62 matches a structured dwelling list request with the geographic indicator of the remote terminal 12. If the geographic information is not included in the structured response, the residential finder application 62 searches for profile data file 54 and additional data file 58 within a predetermined area based on the geographic location of the remote terminal 12. This is done in the data access routine 64. When the geographic information is included in the voice response, the residential finder application 62 searches within the geographic area specified by the user. As mentioned above, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dwelling list database file is stored under the additional data file 58, as an example, but should not be construed as limiting the invention to it.

The dwelling finder application 62 also searches the profile data file 54 and the remote terminal 12 when the personal recognition contained in the structured dwelling request is identified as a subscriber to the location-based service system 10. Phone number and / or e-mail address is also added to the response, and this response is preferably provided to the user requesting the desired information. If the searched individual is allegedly a subscriber to a location-based service system 10, another embodiment of the invention allows the subscriber to generate a personal response, which personal response. Is stored in a database file and is supplied in response to a housing list request that identifies it.

In addition to receiving the structured dwelling list request, the dwelling finder application 62 obtains the remote terminal identifier and geographic indicator associated with the remote terminal 12. This allows the system to default to the geographic location of the remote terminal 12 and perform the search, as described above. For example, if the remote terminal 12 is located in Atlanta, Georgia, the residential finder application 62 knows this from a geographic indicator and searches only the list of Atlanta areas.

In the example shown here, the Dwelling Finder application 62 searches for suitable data in response to a structured dwelling list request that preferably includes at least one telephone number and / or address of the named individual in the voice signal. The residential finder application 62 then operates to generate a structured residential response, which is sent to the speech synthesis server 33. As described in detail above, the speech synthesis server 33 is programmed to convert the structured residential response into a speech response signal in a speech synthesis application located at the speech synthesis server 33.

As briefly mentioned above, the voice response generated by the speech synthesis server 33 is the name, address, residential phone number, mobile phone number and / or e-mail of the specific individual from whom the user requested the home list. Can include addresses. If the structured dwelling response contains more than one dwelling list, the dwelling list finder application 62 generates a structured dwelling response that gives a large number of listing results with a pre-determined organization of listings. It is preferable to be programmed as such.

The list structure of the predetermined organization interacts with the list given to the voice response by the user of the remote terminal 12 by using the keypad input or by the voice signal spoken by the user to the remote terminal 12. It is preferably set so that it can be done. The information is preferably organized based on the addresses of specific people identified by the residential finder application 62 and presented to the user of the remote terminal 12, but those skilled in the art will present and organize the results ( It will be apparent that another method (that ranks the results in geographical order) can also be used for various embodiments of the invention.

If the individual for whom the information was requested is instructed to be unlisted or absent, the location-based application server 28 indicates that the requested information is not listed or is not available. It is preferably programmed to generate a structured residential response that includes a message. Thus, in this embodiment of the invention, the location-based application server 28 sends its structured dwelling response to the speech synthesis server 33, which is requested by the user requesting the dwelling list. It generates an audio signal notifying that the list of dwellings is not listed or is not available, which is transmitted to the remote terminal 12.

As briefly mentioned above, another preferred embodiment of the location-based service system 10 can provide enterprise services to the remote terminal 12, which services are based on the geographic location of the remote terminal 12. Provided to remote terminal 12. When the user of the remote terminal 12 selects the corporate service option instead of the improved directory assistance service option, various information services can be provided to the user via the location-based service system 10. During the operation, the corporate service is provided to the remote terminal 12 by the same access method as the residence list service is provided to the remote terminal 12. In addition to being able to obtain the address and telephone number of the local company, various other forms of company information can be transmitted to the remote terminal 12 by the location-based service system 10.

As generally stated above and detailed below, one or more of the following parameters have a preferably structured enterprise requirement parameter that can be processed by the enterprise service of the location-based service system 10. Including (but not necessarily limited to). Company Name; Company Category; Product Name (or Model Name); Product Brand; Price Level; Company or Service Ranking (eg, External Rating by Ranking Service, such as AAA); Special Transactions or Opportunities Is provided; the automatic location of the prescribed service (eg, searching for the nearest ATM); the time of operation; the availability of the service (eg, the availability of an empty table at the specified time at the restaurant); and / Or company information specified within a user-defined favorite category (eg, favorite coffee house franchise name, favorite clothing brand, favorite restaurant).

In this preferred embodiment of the invention, when the user of the remote terminal 12 gains access to the corporate services provided by the location-based service system 10, the voice requesting the user to state each corporate request. Prompted by a signal. In response to being prompted for a corporate request, the user issues a voice response containing a predetermined request for a predetermined format of corporate content, which is received by the remote terminal 12. The exact nature and content of the voice response will vary based on the particular format of the company / service information required by the user of the remote terminal 12. As described above and below, preferred embodiments of the present invention include a natural language processing application used to interpret the meaning and context of words contained in a voice response, and thus the user of remote terminal 12. Is allowed to make a request with a request spoken using the language commonly used in daily conversation.

For example, each user of remote terminal 12 may want to obtain company information in connection with locating a favorite local fast food restaurant. Therefore, the user's voice response received by the remote terminal 12 has a voice signal containing a corporate information request that can be expressed in some phrase in line with the policy of the following statement: "Burger King Restaurant near my current location" What is the address of a Burger King restaurant that is close to my present location? ". As mentioned above, this preferred embodiment of the invention can use a natural language processing application to interpret this requirement and generate a structured response.

As in the case of residential services, in this embodiment of the invention, the voice response given by the user of the remote terminal 12 is transmitted from the remote terminal 12 to the base station 16 of the wireless communication system 14, where the base station is It then operates to transmit the voice response to the PSTN 18, which transmits the voice response to the PBX 22. The voice response is then sent from the PBX 22 to the voice recognition server 24, where it is processed by the voice recognition application to determine recognition or to include each word contained in the voice response from the user, including a corporate information request. recognize. Although not shown, in another embodiment of the invention, the base station 16 is directly connected to the voice recognition server 24, so that the base station 16 can transmit the voice response directly to the voice recognition server 24.

After the words contained in the speech response are recognized using the speech recognition application, the speech recognition application produces each output, which is used as input to the natural language processing application. As described in detail above, the natural language processing application determines the meaning and context of the words contained in the voice response received by the remote terminal 12. With reference to Figure 2 again, once the meaning and context of the recognized word contained in the voice response has been determined, the natural language application is programmed to generate a structured corporate requirement, which is , Sent to the location-based application server 28. The location-based application server 28 comprises at least one enterprise / service finder application 62 that can act to process structured enterprise requests by retrieving the requested information.

As detailed above, the remote terminal 12 also sends the remote terminal identifier along with the voice response, which is a structured corporate request that is finally generated and sent to the location-based application server 28. It is preferable to be integrated in a certain way. Further, in this preferred embodiment and other embodiments of the present invention, geographical indicators and remote terminal identifiers associated with each remote terminal 12 to form structured corporate requirements are also available or location-based applications. Already obtained by server 28. As shown in FIG. 2, the geographic indicator and the structured enterprise request are used by the enterprise / service finder application 62 to generate a structured enterprise response in response to the structured enterprise request.

In the example shown here, the preferred enterprise / service finder application 62 uses the geographic indicator of remote terminal 12 to determine which particular Burger King location is closest to remote terminal 12. A mapping routine within the Enterprise / Service Finder application 62 compares the geographic location of the remote terminal 12 with each geographic location of the Burger King restaurant searched by the structured enterprise request, and which location is the remote terminal 12. It makes a determination of which is the closest to, which can be done based on the distance from each location to the remote terminal 12. As shown in FIG. 2, this is preferably done by a data access routine 64 that accesses appropriate information from a corporate data file 56 that includes a database of sales lists, addresses, goods and / or services provided.

After searching for the appropriate information, the location-based application server 28 is programmed to generate a structured corporate response, which is sent to the speech synthesis server 33. The voice synthesis server 33 converts the structured corporate response into a voice signal, which is transmitted to the remote terminal 12. In this example, the structured enterprise response includes the Burger King address closest to the remote terminal 12, which was determined by the location-based application server 28 based on the geographic location of the remote terminal 12. is there.

In yet another example of this embodiment of the invention, a user of a corporate service requests information about a retail store that sells a particular product or provides a particular service. For example, the user says, "Who sells or provides the goods / services? (States the desired specific goods / services)". After the speech recognition and natural language processing applications have interpreted the requirements and transformed them into structured enterprise requirements, the enterprise / service finder application 62 has been structured using the geographic indicators of the remote terminal 12. The company request is narrowed down to search for company information contained within the specified geographical area where the remote terminal 12 is located. If more than one company sells the item or provides the requested service, the company / service finder application 62 is structured with a list of each company that meets the desired criteria. It is programmed to generate a corporate response, which is sent to the speech synthesis server 33.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the user accesses the location-based service system 10 by using a wireless application protocol to generate a structured request and send it to the location-based application server 28. can do. The user of the remote terminal 12 uses a keypad or other equivalent input means to access the location-based service system 10 from a selection menu generated on the display of the remote terminal 12. In this preferred embodiment of the invention, when the user chooses to gain access to the location-based service system 10, the remote terminal 12 will access the corporate services and residence listing services provided by the location-based service system 10. It is preferably programmed to display a selection menu that includes a link. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various prescribed links and menu selections for various types of services may also be displayed, which may or may not be specified by the user of the remote terminal 12.

When the residence list service is selected on the remote terminal 12, the remote terminal 12 prompts the user to enter the first name and last name of the individual who wishes to obtain the information. By default, the remote terminal 12 is preferably programmed to search the list contained in the nearest geographic location of the remote terminal 12. For example, if the remote terminal 12 is located in the city area of Atlanta, it is preset to search using the Atlanta residence list database. In another embodiment of the invention, the display of the remote terminal 12 is provided with an additional input area, which allows the user to specify a particular geographical location (ie, city and state input location) to search. .. As is clear, this allows the user to change the position to search according to the user's preference, which gives the user additional benefits.

An additional item programmed for the remote terminal 12 to generate on the display is for the remote terminal 12 to send a search request containing the parameters entered by the user to the base station 16 of the wireless communication system 14. The specified icon or selection area. As mentioned above, preferably the search request is transmitted to the base station 16 using a wireless application protocol, which protocol is a broad standard used by various wireless communication systems 14 for the purposes of the present invention. Please be broadly interpreted as including. The remote terminal 12 also transmits an identifier of the remote terminal together with the search request, which is designated as the remote terminal 12 for the purpose of identification as described above. Upon receipt by base station 16, the search request is directed to WAP gate 34, which gateway then sends all search requests received by the user accessing the location-based service system 10 to WAP server 38. It is preferably programmed to do so.

The WAP server 38 is programmed to interpret the search request and generate a structured housing request, which is sent to the location-based application server 28. For identification purposes, the remote terminal identifier is also sent to the location-based application server 28 along with the structured housing request. Similar to other embodiments of the invention, the location-based application server 28 uses one of a number of data access routines 64 by the residential finder application 62 to provide the requested information in each database file 54-58. Programmed to get from. The structured response is then sent to the WAP server 38, which in turn sends the structured response to the WAP gateway 34 and finally to the remote terminal 12.

When the corporate service option is selected, the remote terminal 12 prompts the user for a search request that the user inputs to the remote terminal 12. The search request is then sent to the location-based application server 28, where it is processed by the enterprise / service finder application 62, as described for the directory assistance service. The enterprise / service finder application 62 uses the data access routine 64 to retrieve the desired information and generate a structured response based on the geographic location of the remote terminal 12.

For example, if the remote terminal 12 is located in the northern part of Atlanta, Georgia, the location-based application server 28 will be notified of this by receiving a geographic indicator from the second remote terminal 12, and that particular. It acts to generate a structured response to a structured request that contains information that targets the geographic location. For example, when a user of remote terminal 12 enters a request to search for information about "Chinese restaurants serving special dishes," the northern part of Atlanta is not located in an unrelated geographical location such as far south of Atlanta. A structured response that gives information about a Chinese restaurant is generated by the enterprise / service firer application 62.

As mentioned above, in yet another preferred embodiment of the location-based service system 10, the user of the second remote terminal 40 is connected to the subscriber web portal server 44. The second remote terminal 40 and the subscriber web portal server 44 are configured to communicate with each other using a standard web-based protocol (eg HTML). The subscriber web portal server 44 is connected to the location-based application server 28, thus giving the second remote terminal 40 access to the corporate services and improved directory assistance services provided in the preferred embodiment of the present invention .

The second remote server 40 can provide voice or keypad input data to the subscriber web portal server 44. As mentioned above, for voice signals, each voice response is sent to the voice recognition server 24 for processing, and in the case of keypad input data, the subscriber web portal server 44, as described above. It can operate to generate a structured request in response to a user request received from the second remote terminal 40. The preferred configuration location-based service system 10 embraces the benefits of the services provided by the present invention, even in non-wireless environments, by supporting the use of standard computing devices commonly used in homes and workplaces. To be able to.

Thus, for example, the user of the second remote terminal 40 seeks to find a local trade in Polo merchandise and a store dealing with this particular brand, located in Atlanta, Georgia, and near each of its geographical locations. In the case of keypad input search, the user is prompted to request a search from a web page generated on the second remote terminal 40, where in this example the desired form of the word "POLO product". Enter the search parameters.

After the search request has been entered and the user is ready to send the request, an icon or other form of selection indicator will be generated on the web page displayed on the second remote terminal 40 and the user can send the request. It is preferable to do so. When this is selected, a search request, a second remote terminal identifier, and a geographic indicator are sent to the subscriber web portal server 44. The subscriber web portal server 44 then translates its search request into a structured search request, which is sent to a location-based application server 28, which server is similar to other embodiments of the invention. Handles structured requests.

When audio signal input is used, the user is prompted to state each request with respect to the wireless remote terminal 12, much like the example described above. Therefore, in the case of the example shown here, the user is referred to as a "POLO product" after being prompted for a corporate service request. This voice response is transmitted to the voice recognition server 24, which processes the voice response in the same manner as the other embodiments described herein, as described above.

Therefore, in the example shown here, the user of the second remote terminal 40 has a structured response that contains information related to the company that sells the Polo product at a geographical location relatively close to the second remote terminal 40. Given by the application server 28 based on. Indeed, in each embodiment of the invention, the user is also given the option of choosing a predetermined geographic radius where he wishes to generate a response during the operation. For example, each user only wants to get information about a company located within 15 miles of remote terminals 12, 40, and therefore generates a response to a corporate service request only within a radius of 15 miles of remote terminals 12, 40. Set the settings provided on the remote terminals 12 and 40 so that it can be done.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the radio carrier 70 is also connected to the data file 54-60 via the radio carrier server 72. The wireless carrier server 72 preferably can operate to monitor the data contained in the data files 54-60. Therefore, during the operation of the location-based service system 10, the wireless carrier server 72 can update the subscriber data file 74 when the users of the remote terminals 12, 40 access the location-based service system 10. This allows the wireless carrier 70 to track the use of the location-based service system 10 and to charge the user various charges as appropriate.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses methods and systems for performing improved natural language processing in a location-based service system 10. One embodiment of the present invention improves natural language processing by constructing and influencing a grammatical database organized based on parts of speech and intended purpose. This embodiment of the present invention is a natural language processing application located on the natural language processing server 26 and is a user of the remote terminal 12 without the need for significant configuration and maintenance required in a menu-driven implementation. Provides a natural language processing application that allows a number of original methods to request information.

As shown in Figure 3, a number of different ways to make a verbal request when a digital video disc (DVD) player has a bargain or discount are shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the requirements shown in FIG. 3 are merely examples and that many other forms of goods or service requests are made by consumers. Therefore, the various requirements for the DVD player bargains or discounts shown in FIG. 3 are merely examples and do not limit the present invention in any way. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are configured to handle any form of consumer demand for goods or services.

The first voice request 100 shown in FIG. 3 is "Do you have any specials on DVD players?". The second voice request 102 is "Do you have any discounts on DVD players?". The third voice request 104 is "Do you have any DVD players on sale?". These three requirements 100-104 are slightly different, but various where the customer uses natural language to ask the salesperson in-store or over the phone about a DVD player's bargain, or other form of goods or services. Here are some of the methods. As described in detail below, the present invention is a natural language processing application configured to handle a variety of ways consumers request information, in which the user of the remote terminal 12 is a location-based service system 10. Disclose a natural language processing application that allows you to use natural language when requesting information about a product or service while using.

Each of requirements 100-104 in FIG. 3 has a specific word structure associated with requirements 100-104, which can be referred to as a speech part or grammar. The speech part refers to how words are categorized based on their particular function in the sentence for the purpose of grammatical analysis. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, during operation, the natural language processing application located on the natural language processing server 26 divides each spoken request into one of eight parts of speech or grammar. The eight parts of the speech or grammar where each verbal request is preferably divided include nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, verbs and exclamations. Most languages use the above eight parts of speech or grammar, so the natural language processing applications presented here are flexibly applied to almost any spoken language. In the description of the present invention, it is worth noting the functions of these grammars and how they are used by natural language processing applications.

A noun is a word commonly used to describe an object, place, person, quality or action. In a sentence, a noun is the subject or object of an action represented by a verb, or the object of a preposition. In some languages, nouns and verbs can sometimes take the same form. In the preferred embodiment shown herein, the natural language processing application uses the identified nouns from verbal requests 100-104 to determine the object or object requested by the user of the remote terminal 12. Therefore, with reference to FIG. 4, in the examples shown herein, the terms bargain, DVD, player, discount and sale are considered by natural language processing applications as nouns for requirements 100-104. During operation, the service system 10 based on the location of the preferred configuration uses these terms to search for the goods requested by the user of the remote terminal 12.

Adjectives are part of a speech that modifies or limits a noun or pronoun in one of three forms of comparative. The three forms of comparatives in which adjectives can modify or limit nouns or pronouns are elementary (eg, cheap), comparative (eg, cheaper), or superlative (eg, cheapest). Natural language processing applications typically use the adjectives contained in verbal requests 100-104 to generate structured requests that work to narrow the search made for a particular product or service. For example, if a request for a "cheapest DVD player" is received, in a preferred embodiment, the high price or superlative DVD player is excluded from the structured response sent to the user of the remote terminal.

An adverb is part of a speech that modifies a verb (buy cheap), modifies an adjective (very cheap DVD player), or modifies another adverb (buy very cheap). Adverbs are place or direction (where, from where), time (yet, immediately), degree (very, cheaply), way (and therefore, words ending in ly, eg "locally"), trust or question (probably). , No) may be indicated. Like adjectives, adverbs have comparative levels (moderately and wisely). As mentioned above with respect to adjectives, natural language processing applications use adverbs identified in verbal requirements 100-104 to limit or narrow structured requirements, which are post-generation response generation applications 62. Will be sent to.

Prepositions are words that are combined with nouns or pronouns to form a phrase. In languages such as Latin and German, prepositions change the form of nouns or pronouns with respect to object or possessive. Conjunctions are sentences, closes, phrases or words, and sometimes words that connect paragraphs. Coordinate conjunctions (eg and, but, or, however) are used to connect independent closes, or parts of a sentence, and subordinate conjunctions are subordinate conjunctions (where, when, because, if, since). , Which) is introduced. Prepositions and conjunctions are also used by natural language processing applications to formulate structured requirements that target the user's specific requirements of remote terminal 12 so that the results are more accurate. For example, if the user states that he wants a "steak dinner or seafood dinner special dish", the natural language processing application will generate a structured requirement for these two specific types of dinner special dishes.

A pronoun is an identification word that is used in place of a noun and inflections like a noun when spoken. In English, there are many different forms of pronouns. The pronouns for people are I, you, he / she / it, we, you, and they. The demonstrative pronouns are this, that, such. Who and which are question pronouns when introducing a question and relative pronouns when introducing a close. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, pronouns are identified and classified, but by a natural language processing application because they are of little value for the purpose of generating a structured request to be sent to the response generation application 62. It is preferable to be ignored. However, other embodiments use pronouns to generate structured requirements.

A verb is a word that represents a form of action. In English grammar, verbs have three moods: the realis mood for facts; the subjunctive mood for contingency; and the imperative mood for commands (I ran; I might run; Run!). Like nouns, natural language processing applications use the identified verbs from verbal requests 100-104 to determine the form of action the user is requesting to perform. For example, a verb in verbal requests 100-104, such as "purchase" or "buy," tells the response-generating application that processes the request that the user is looking to buy a particular item. .. Therefore, a natural language processing application produces a structured request that produces a result based on the format of the requested behavior.

Referring to FIG. 4, each of the requirements 100-104 shown in FIG. 3 has a specific grammatical structure associated with the words contained in each request 100-104. One request affects the same word structure and conveys a similar concept or requirement, while another request affects a different word structure and conveys a similar concept or requirement. During operation, the preferred natural language processing application splits each request 100-104 into individual parts of the speech, where it reuses the most common words in each part, and only the words that are specific to the request. You can generate it in the grammar database.

Although not specifically shown, in certain embodiments, the grammar database is used by the response generation application 62 to search for a similar form of requests 100-104 made by the user of remote terminal 12. The response generation application 62 can also track previous structured responses made to similar requests 100-104. Therefore, the grammar database can be built over time to include almost all forms of requests 100-104 for a particular product or service, thereby making a response generation application each time request 100-104 is made. The need for 62 to search the corporate data file 56 is eliminated. In this preferred embodiment, the grammar database is located in data file 52. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the grammar database can be placed in other locations as well.

As shown in FIG. 5, each of the requirements 100-104 shown in FIG. 3 is generalized into a predetermined set of grammars associated with each requirement 100-104. Referring to FIG. 6, during the operation, the words contained in each request 100-104 are divided or generalized into sub-grammatical categories, and each word is based on the grammatical use in requests 100-104. Can be placed in a specific category. Once the subgrammar categories have been generated, the preferred natural language processing application uses those values to generate the structured request processed by the response generation application 62 (see Figure 2).

In the embodiments described herein, the response generation application 62 uses these values to search the grammar database for matches that include words that fall into the same grammar category. As a result, if an exact match is made, the response generation application 62 searches for the corporate data file 56 and uses one of the many methods described above for other embodiments of the invention to the remote terminal. Generate a structured response presented to 12 users. When the response generation application 62 searches the corporate data file 56 for a suitable list, the response generation application 62 updates the grammar database if an exact match is not obtained, and future requirements that match that criterion are highly demanding. Allows you to generate a response with accuracy and speed.

With reference to FIG. 6, each of Requests 100-104 is divided into sub-grammar categories to show how the preferred natural language processing application works during normal operation. As shown, the "Verb" category has two words: "Do" and "have", while the "Noun" category has four implicitly identified words, clearly. Five identified words: "specials", "DVD", "players", "discounts", "sale", "special", "player", "discount" and "sales". A preferred natural language processing application automatically associates multiple forms of words with a single form of word located in the "noun" subgrammar category, and the search performed on the match to be obtained is broader. To produce more reliable results.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, when the user of the remote terminal 12 generates voice requests 100-104, it is transmitted to base station 16, which base station 16 then , Send it to the voice recognition server 24. As mentioned above, the speech recognition server 24 uses a speech recognition application programmed to recognize or identify the words contained in speech requests 100-104. After the words contained in speech requests 100-104 have been identified, the grammar associated with each word is also identified by the natural language processing application located on the natural language processing server 26. Once the grammar is identified for each word, the natural language processing application classifies each word into each grammar category.

After the words are classified by the natural language processing application, a structured request is generated by the natural language processing application, which is sent to the location-based application server 28. The response generation application 62, preferably located on the location-based application server 28, uses this structured request to search for the requested goods or services. The response generation application 62 uses this structured request as input to the search engine, which searches for a match in the company data file 56 for the requested goods or services. When the response generation application 62 finds a match, the response generation application 62 generates a structured response to the voice request.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the structured response is sent to the speech synthesis server 33, which converts the structured response into a speech response and sends it to the remote terminal 12. .. As in another embodiment of the invention, when a large number of lists are searched, a voice response can be generated in the form of a menu, whereby the user of the remote terminal 12 is searched. Can interact with the list of items. The user of the remote terminal 12 can also interact with the list using an input device such as a pointer or keypad, or in other embodiments, interact with the list using his or her voice. You can also do it. In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, a structured response is generated as a text message and transmitted to the remote terminal 12. The text message is preferably transmitted to the remote terminal 12 using the wireless application protocol. In yet another embodiment, the text message may be accompanied by a video or audio file.

With reference to FIG. 7, where common elements found throughout the drawing are indicated by the same reference number, another preferred embodiment of the invention is for a corporate user or advertiser via a web-connected corporate terminal 46. To be able to access location-based service system 10 to generate and manage advertising campaigns and sales listings. This is preferably done with a web-based user interface that gives the user the ability to generate and manage advertising content and sales listings. Therefore, the owner of a company contracting to the location-based service system 10 can generate, modify, or delete the advertising content or business list given to the user of the location-based service system 10 at each company location. Therefore, the owner of a company does not necessarily have to contact the owner or operator of the location-based service system 10 to generate, modify or delete an advertising campaign or sales listing.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, corporate advertisers preferably access the advertiser portal 50 via a web browser, and the advertiser portal 50 serves as a gateway to the location-based service system 10. Corporate data is captured by the advertiser interacting with the advertiser portal 50 using the corporate remote terminal 46. Within the Advertiser Portal 50, it is preferable that there are at least two applications that give the user the ability to select, view, add, edit and delete advertising campaigns or sales listings. The preferred advertiser portal 50 includes a campaign management interface application 200 and a corporate profile interface application 202. Within each of these applications 200, 202, it is preferred that there are two options available to enterprise users.

As detailed below, the Campaign Management Interface Application 200 allows enterprise users to generate campaigns, edit campaigns, and delete campaigns. The enterprise profile interface application 202 allows enterprise users to generate and edit sales lists. The applications that support the above applications are a business rule application, an opportunity processing application, a company profile collection application, and a data access application, which are described below.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the advertising campaign is different from the business list. Generally speaking, advertising campaigns are directed to bargains, discounts or transactions obtained for a particular product or service offered by a corporate subscriber of a location-based service system 10. The sales list relates to a wide range of information given by corporate users, such as company name, address, product type (s), service type (s), menu (s). , Brand format (s), price information, model format (s), and business hours. Business lists tend to remain unchanged, but advertising campaigns tend to run only during a given time cycle. For example, pizza restaurants constantly apply for large pepperoni pizzas on their listings, but sell these pizzas for sale only once a month.

The campaign generation application 204 in the advertiser portal 50 captures data from the campaign management interface application 200, which application is used to capture data from advertisers and generate location-based advertising campaigns. During operation, the campaign management interface application 200 preferably generates a web-based user interface, which allows enterprise users to enter detailed parameters on their respective enterprise remote terminals 46. Therefore, it is preferable that the advertising campaign parameter input form is generated in the corporate remote terminal 46 so that the corporate user can input the advertising parameters.

When the advertising parameters are entered, information is sent to the campaign management interface application 200, which transfers the information to the campaign generation application 204 and the business rule application 206. If the customer enters certain transaction information along with the advertisement, the request is processed using the campaign generation application 204 and the opportunity processing application 208. After each application processes an ad campaign, it is stored in the corporate database 56 with the help of data access element 64.

The campaign edit / delete application 210 can also be accessed via the campaign management interface application 200, allowing advertisers to modify or delete existing advertising campaigns. When the advertiser selects this option, the list of existing campaigns is searched and displayed in the web browser of the corporate remote terminal 46, which is generated by the advertiser portal 50. When the advertiser wants to change each campaign, he selects the campaign in the list and then is presented with the campaign data entry field. Advertisers can then edit the parameters of the campaign and submit their changes. This information is then passed through the campaign edit / delete application 210 and the business rule application 206 and processed into the corporate database 56.

A preferred embodiment also allows the enterprise remote terminal 46 to delete all campaigns. During operation, if the advertiser wishes to remove each campaign, the advertiser selects the campaign in the list of campaigns running by the advertiser, and the campaign data entry field goes through the advertiser's web browser. It is preferably presented interactively. Once the appropriate campaign is selected, the advertiser can select the removal option presented in the web browser and remove that campaign, or perhaps part of a larger campaign. Each advertiser preferably sends this information over the Internet to the edit / delete application 210, after which the campaign is deleted from the corporate database 56.

The advertiser portal 50 also includes a corporate profile interface 202, which has a sales list generation application 212 for capturing data from advertisers and generating a location-based sales list. First, the advertiser enters the sales list data into the user interface generated by the corporate profile interface 202 and then sends the information for processing by the advertiser portal 50. Preferably, the enterprise remote terminal 46 generates a sales list entry form, which allows the enterprise user to enter sales list data related to each policy of the enterprise.

When the advertiser portal 50 receives the sales list data, it is directed to the sales list generation application 212, which serves to generate the sales list based on the input of the company user in the sales list entry form. Information is also directed to various applications, including corporate profile application 214 and business rule application 206. Next, the sales list information is transmitted to the data access element 64, and the sales list data is stored in the company database 56.

The sales list editing application 216 allows advertisers to update the sales list based on their location. When editing a sales list, advertisers enter data into the user interface and submit the information for processing. The edited information is then transmitted to various applications, including the company profile application 214 and the business rule application 206. The data access element 64 receives this information from the advertiser and updates the appropriate sales list data in the corporate database 56.

As mentioned above, applications that support applications 204, 210, 212 and 216 include business rule application 206, opportunity processing application 208, company profile application 214 and data access element 64. The business rule application 206 is a set of parameters associated with a campaign or list generated by the location-based service system 10. The captured parameter information is used to carry out advertising campaigns or sales listings. The parameter information includes, for example, the following. For "2 for 1 drink special", the target is 21 to 35 men requesting a bar or restaurant in Atlanta. The Business Rule application 206 allows advertisers to target specific types of users of the service system 10 based on positions that have certain types of characteristics or fall within the general category.

The parameter information available is preferably divided into five categories, including demographic target limits, target market limits, location limits, time length limits, and biographical dialogue limits. Demographic target limits include, but are not necessarily limited to: Gender; age; ethnicity; marital status; children; income; special interests; hobbies; educational background; hometown; and car ownership. Target market limits preferably include city and state information. Location restrictions include the address and the radius from the remote terminal 12 and the consumer terminal 40. Campaign time limits include parameters such as start and end dates. Biography dialogue restriction parameters include the range, category and list format accessed by each remote terminal 12 and consumer terminal 40.

Opportunity processing application 208 processes information related to the generation of transactions or special opportunities. As mentioned above, during the operation, the advertiser may use the campaign generation application 204 and the campaign edit / delete application 210 with detailed description of the transaction, market of the transaction, and parameters related to the transaction using the business rule application 206. Give a rule. The opportunity processing application 208 processes the data input from the campaign generation application 204 or the campaign edit / delete application 210 before passing it through the data access element 64.

The corporate profile application 214 serves to collect the profile information of the advertiser. This information is used to generate a list of corporate profiles for advertisers. This information preferably includes, but is not limited to: Company name; Company category; Product type; Service type (s); Franchise; Company e-mail address or URL; Product name (s) and / or model name (s); Identification code (s); product brand (s); price (s); location address; business hours; and category list selection. Thus, the corporate profile application 214 allows the advertiser to use the corporate remote terminal 46 to send profile list information to the advertiser portal 50, which transfers it to the data access element 64 and the profile database. Remember in 54. Data access element 64 is used to access database 54-60, which holds all of the location-based service network information. This element is used to retrieve and enter data into each database 54-60. You can also delete data from each database.

Although not shown, in another preferred embodiment of the invention, a wireless enterprise remote terminal can access advertising campaigns and enterprise listings generated by each advertiser. In this embodiment, the wireless enterprise remote terminal is connected to a base station that includes a wireless application protocol gateway. The wireless application protocol gateway allows wireless enterprise remote terminals to access and interact with content 52 of the location-based service system 10. Thus, advertising campaigns and sales listings can still be generated, edited and deleted from wireless communication systems even if the advertiser is not located in a traditional desktop computer system.

Referring to FIG. 1, in yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the advertiser subscriber using the remote terminal 46 is provided with a mining system 300. The usage mining system 300 has the ability to search the usage trends and transactions of the location-based service system 10 via a web application. In FIG. 1, the advertiser preferably uses the web browser of the corporate remote terminal 46 to access this capability via the advertiser portal 50, and the remote terminal 46 preferably serves as a gateway to the application platform. .. The advertiser portal 50 gives the user of the corporate remote terminal 46 the ability to access and search the data stored in the usage data file 60.

With reference to FIG. 8, a preferred embodiment of the present invention preferably comprises a usage analysis user interface 302 that provides a web-based user interface to the usage mining system 300. Using this usage analysis user interface 302, the advertiser can select a first analysis option that generates a detailed usage analysis from the location-based service system 10. The mining system used 300 preferably generates an analysis based on two categories of analysis options. Preferred analysis options include, but are not limited to, advertising effectiveness analysis application 304 and predictive modeling application 306. During the operation, the user selects a field in each application 304, 306 to generate a search query. Applications 304, 306, based on their input, determine the factors needed to access to generate the correct analysis. Although not shown, it is also possible to give a general search query that allows the user to search the full-use database 60 based on a search for a given parameter.

The preferred steps performed by the ad effectiveness application 304 are shown in FIG. The ad effectiveness application 304 uses the corporate data file 56 and the usage data database 60 in the location-based service system 10 to generate an analysis of the effectiveness of the location-based advertising campaign. The analysis can address questions such as "How many people received my campaign in the downtown area of Atlanta?". The information given to the advertiser provides insight to quantify the outcome of the advertising campaign generated by the location-based service system 10.

The user must first determine and enter the input variables used for the search, which is preferably done via the web-based interface using the enterprise remote terminal 46. When a search query is entered, it is used to search and browse the data stored in the corporate data file 56 and the database 60 of usage data. The ad effectiveness application 304 retrieves data from the corporate data file 56 and the database 60 of usage data and matches the request parameters entered by the user. The advertising effectiveness application 304 then forwards the search results to the use analysis user interface 102, which displays the search response obtained via the web browser of the enterprise remote terminal 46.

Referring to FIG. 9, during the operation, the user of the enterprise remote terminal 46 receives a query entry form from the usage analysis user interface 302. When the user enters the search parameters in the query field of the query entry form, the search request is sent from the corporate remote terminal 46 to the advertiser portal 50. When the user uses the ad effectiveness application 304, a search request is sent to the data access element 64. This data access element 64 searches the company data file 56 and the database 60 of the usage data, and searches for search results that match the criteria specified in the search request. The search results are then directed to the data scoring application 308, which allows the search results to be reformatted into a variety of different formats.

As shown in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the content file 52 is placed on the location-based application server 28. Therefore, although not specifically shown in FIG. 8-10, the usage analysis user interface 302 must access the location-based application server 28 to retrieve the desired information. Further, the data access element 64 is preferably located on the location-based application server 28. Thus, the mining system used 300 preferably generates a search request, which is sent to a data access element, which in turn actually performs the search on the location-based application server 28. However, in another preferred embodiment of the invention, the content file 52 can be mirrored in the advertiser portal 50, and all processes can be performed in that location.

Once the search results are in the appropriate format, the ad effectiveness application 304 uses the usage analysis user interface 302 to generate output that can be viewed on the enterprise remote terminal 46. Results are preferably given using a web browser on the corporate remote terminal 46, but other methods of giving results are also used. The search results can be displayed using numbers, graphs, charts, videos, or other methods of giving analysis results.

The list (minimum) of inputs used within the ad effectiveness application 304 includes, but is not necessarily limited to: Each advertising campaign; demographic information; date or time cycle; location information; category; list category format; competing list category; and keyword input. The form of feedback received by the user includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the following, for example: A measure of the number of customers reached; ad or list frequency; competitive analysis comparing ad list frequency to categories; cost per impression; number of customers reached by the top three demographic categories; and 1) population Statistical information (gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, children, income, special interests, hobbies, academic background, hometown, and car ownership); 2) target markets (city and state); and 3) location (Address and location during historical dialogue).

The preferred steps performed by the predictive modeling application 306 are shown in FIG. Predictive modeling application 306 provides the ability to foresee or project the format and number of users using remote terminals 12, 40 that will probably respond to opportunity proposals, listings, campaigns and transactions. The form of feedback received by the user includes, but is not limited to, for example: Perhaps identify customers who respond to a campaign by customer category; identify customers who respond to a campaign or opportunity offer for a product or service; perhaps identify customers who request a campaign or list by customer category; and demand Are identified by peak hours or days.

During the operation, the user feeds the proposed future advertising campaign / transaction and related business as input to the predictive modeling application 306. Entering and submitting this information builds a search query with the necessary search parameters to explore the profile database 54 and the usage data database 60. The data access element 64 searches each database to find a data element that matches its search query. The search results obtained are preferably sent to the data scoring application 308 to determine the statistical success rate of the proposed campaign. These results are then sent back to the predictive analysis application 306 and displayed on the corporate remote terminal 46 by the usage analysis user interface 302.

Referring to FIG. 10, when the advertiser uses the predictive modeling application 306, preferably the usage analysis user interface 302 generates a search parameter entry form, which is sent from the advertiser portal 50 to the corporate remote terminal 46. Will be done. This allows the advertiser to enter search parameters, which include the potential goods or services of the opportunity, along with the business rules that proceed with the opportunity. Business rules include discount information, bargain deals (eg, buy two and get one free), special rates, or other forms of incentives or restrictions. Once the search parameters are entered, the advertiser submits them to the advertiser portal 50, which in turn forwards the search parameters to the predictive modeling application 306.

The predictive modeling application 306 then uses the business rule application 310 to extract the appropriate parameters from the search request and formulate the appropriate search to be submitted to the profile database 54 and the usage data database 60. Once formatted to the appropriate search format, the business rule application 310 uses the data access element 64 to perform a search through the profile database 54 and the usage data database 60. The data access element 64 then transfers the search results to the data scoring application 308, which transforms the results into one of a number of viewable formats.

When the data scoring application 308 converts the search results into a usable format, the search results are sent to the predictive modeling application 306. The predictive modeling application 306 then uses the usage analysis user interface 302 to send a response from the advertiser portal 50 to the corporate remote terminal 46. The result is preferably presented to the advertiser via the web browser of the corporate remote terminal 46.

Expected mining input options available to advertisers include (but are not necessarily limited to): Advertising campaigns; Target dates (start and end dates); List Category format; Demographic information (gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, children, income, special interests, hobbies, academic background, birthplace, car Owned by); 2) Target markets (cities and states); and 3) Locations (addresses and locations during historical dialogue). Other input options can be given as needed to allow advertisers to perform more flexible searches.

Although not shown, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a wireless communication device can be used to mine data from a location-based service system 10. In this embodiment, the wireless communication device is connected to the advertiser portal 50 and uses the wireless application protocol to submit a search in a manner similar to the above. Therefore, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the corporate remote terminal 46 need not be limited to a personal computer and should be regarded as including a wireless communication device.

With reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, another feature of the present invention discloses a call failure system 400 that routes call failures to operators in a location-based service system 10. The call failure system 400 is preferably located on the call center server 402 connected to the speech recognition server 24 and the natural language processing server 28. During operation, the consumer enters a structured request into the location-based service system 10 using one of three access methods: voice access method (wireless or wireline); WAP Wireless application protocols such as; or web application protocols such as HTML (or other suitable markup language). As described in detail above, the means of sending user requests to each service handler is based on the access method chosen.

As for the voice access method, the consumer preferably initiates a voice call from remote terminals 12 and 40 selected from wireless communication devices, remote computer terminals and ordinary telephones. When the voice call is initiated from the wireless remote terminal 12, the voice call is routed from the wireless communication system 14 to the PBX 22. The way the other access methods described above route voice calls for processing varies based on the particular form of access used by the location-based service system 10.

Consumers access a location-based service system 10 and, when prompted, give a structured request for information about a particular product. This structured requirement is preferably entered by the consumer using natural language, which means the form of language used during normal speaking, broken or purse of each language. Not a form. Although the wireless remote terminal 12 is described below, various voice-based communication devices can also be used to provide structured requirements to the location-based service system 10. A structured request is a request for information about a particular product, including audio signals that can be used by a location-based service system 10.

In a preferred embodiment, when the structured request reaches the PBX 22, it is transferred to the speech recognition server 24 where the speech recognition application digitizes the signal and recognizes the speech. Then, the word selected as having the highest possibility of matching for the word contained in each voice signal is passed to the natural language processing server 26. This natural language processing server 26 evaluates the holistic effectiveness of the selected word in the voice signal and interprets the promising context and meaning from the word. It then identifies the application service required to satisfy the request, generates a structured search request containing the required message (required by the appropriate application service), and then this message or the structured search request. To the location-based application server 28.

As shown in FIG. 11, the natural language processing server 26 is connected to the location-based application server 28. As described in detail above, the location-based application server 28 can be programmed or operated to supply the remote terminals 12, 40 with the response information requested by each user of the remote terminals 12, 40. Generally speaking, the location-based application server 28 retrieves location-based information and passes it to remote terminals 12, 40 using various formats of data formats. The format of the information supplied to the remote terminals 12, 40 varies based on the particular nature of the information requested by the user and the geographical location of the remote terminals 12, 40.

During operation, after the meaning of the word in the voice signal has been interpreted, the natural language processing server 26 can be programmed or operated to generate a structured request, which is a location. It is sent to the application server 28 based on, requesting information depending on the consumer's request. In response to this structured request from the natural language processing server 26, the location-based application server 28 generates a structured response, which is sent to remote terminals 12, 40. The exact nature or content of the information transmitted in the structured response generated by the location-based application server 28 is the specific details in the customized information request made by the specific users of remote terminals 12, 40. Dependent.

When either the voice recognition server 24 or the natural language processing server 26 cannot conveniently process the voice input given by the consumer via the remote terminals 12 and 40, a voice call is made as shown in FIG. Call failed Transferred to system 400 and completed. The call failure system 400 allows the voice recognition server 24 or the natural language processing server 26 to fail to properly process a structured request before the consumer lists or negotiates for the particular product or service they are looking for. It is preferable to connect the user to an operator who can help in exploring the proposal. The operator can also help the consumer complete the transaction through the location-based service system 10.

With reference to FIG. 12, the steps performed by the call failure system 400 to route and handle call failures in the location-based service system 10 are described in detail below. First of all, in step 404, the consumer inputs the verbal request into the remote terminals 12, 40. Then, in step 406, the voice input is digitized and processed by the voice recognition server 24. In step 408, if the voice recognition server 24 fails to recognize the words contained in the voice signal input by the user at a specified precision level, the location-based service system 10 requests that request. By forwarding to 410, a step is taken to ensure that the request is properly processed.

As illustrated, the request failure application 410 first generates a location data request based on the remote terminal identifier (eg, the remote terminal's telephone number) in step 412 to position the users of the remote terminals 12, 40. To determine. The wireless remote terminal 12 can generate location data using the location gateway application. As another access method, another method of determining the position of the user can be used. For example, the user of the remote terminal 40 may have a setting for indicating the position of the remote terminal 40. For regular telephones, the caller ID mechanism can be used to determine the geographic location of the user.

When the location data request is generated, it is transmitted to the location gateway 30 of the wireless communication system 14. In response to the location data request, the wireless communication system 14 generates a location response and sends it to the request failure application 410. When the request failure application 410 receives the location data, it parses it as needed and extracts the location value. Once the user's location is determined, in step 414 an operator message is generated, including, but not limited to, the caller's telephone number and their location information. It is also preferred for the user to process and notify those calls via a synthesized or recorded message, which message is generated from the speech synthesis server 33 and transmitted to the user. The operator message and call are then transferred by the call failure system 400 to the operator call routing system or call center in step 416 to terminate.

If the speech recognition server 24 conveniently recognizes the speech input at a specified confidence level, the phonemes and / or words identified by the speech recognition server 24 are transmitted to the natural language processing server 26 in step 418. The natural language processing server 26 is used to determine the context and intent of the consumer's request. If the natural language processing server 26 fails to recognize the context or intent of the consumer's request at the specified trust level, the request is forwarded to the request-failing application 410, as shown in step 420. If the natural language processing application 26 determines the context or intent of the speech at a given level of confidence or accuracy, the location-based application server 28 processes the information request and responds, as shown in step 422. Generate and send to user.

Similar to the failure associated with the speech recognition server 24, if the natural language processing application 26 indicates that the context or intent of the user request cannot be determined with sufficiently high accuracy, the request failure application 410 is first remote. Determine the location of users on terminals 12 and 40. This is accomplished in step 412 by generating a location data request based on the remote terminal identifier (eg, the telephone number of the remote terminal). The wireless remote terminal 12 uses the location gateway application to generate location data. As another access method, another method of determining the position of the user can be used. For example, the user of the remote terminal 40 may have a setting for indicating the position of the remote terminal 40. For regular telephones, the caller ID mechanism can be used to determine the geographic location of the user.

When the location data request is generated, it is transmitted to the location gateway 30 of the wireless communication system 14. In response to the location data request, the wireless communication system 14 generates a location response and sends it to the request failure application 410. When the request failure application 410 receives the location data, it parses it as needed and extracts the location value. Once the user's location has been determined, in step 414 an operator message is generated, preferably including, but not limited to, the caller's telephone number and their location information. Also, the user is preferably notified that those calls will be processed via a synthesized or recorded message, which message is generated from the speech synthesis server 33 and transmitted to the user. The operator message and call are then transferred by the call failure system 400 to the operator call routing system or call center in step 416 to terminate.

As generally mentioned above, if the natural language processing server 26 conveniently recognizes the context and intent of the user request at a specified trust level, the necessary application services to satisfy the user request (1). One or more) are identified. The location-based application server 28 generates an appropriate response, and the resulting information is returned to the consumer via a synthetic voice message.

With reference to FIG. 1, in yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, a particular purchase or service request can be made by a number of access methods, including the use of voice commands, wireless application protocols or web application protocols, as described above. Consumers will be given the ability to search for satisfied companies via remote terminals 12 and 40. Consumers are here allowed to search for goods that generally refer to products and services. Based on the parameters contained in the search query or structured request entered by the consumer, the location-based service system 10 identifies and responds to the most appropriately matched consumer request. Similarly, these matches are special opportunity offers or transactions used by advertisers to attract potential customers to purchase each product or service or visit the company's location. It is preferable to include it.

Referring to FIG. 13, in step 500, based on the access method used, the consumer uses his remote terminals 12, 40 to request a transaction for a particular product or service in the location-based service system 10. Or submit an inquiry. This search request is then processed by the location-based service system 10, as shown in step 502. In step 504, the location-based service system 10 determines if a valid search result is found in response to the search request. When the location-based service system 10 produces a valid search result, the search result is transmitted to the consumer and displayed on the remote terminals 12 and 40, as shown in step 506. If no valid search results are obtained, consumers are prompted to enter another search by allowing improvements in those searches, or a location-based service, as shown in step 508. You are allowed to leave System 10.

As described above, when a valid search result is obtained, the search result is displayed on the remote terminals 12 and 40. Consumers will be able to revisit the details for each of the matched lists using remote terminals 12, 40. As mentioned above, the list preferably contains proposals for special transactions or opportunities in response to consumer input. For example, a consumer enters a search request: "Who has a dinner special near my present location to night?". In response to this search request, location-based service system 10 states that "Tavern Restaurants and Bars in downtown Atlanta will have a total dinner purchase of $ 40 or more if you use the American Express Card to purchase dinner. We offer a $ 15 discount. Say opportunity number 10789. (The Tavern Restaurant and Bar in downtown Atlanta is offering you $ 15 off of your total. Generate a response such as "dinner purchase of $ 40 or more with the use of your American Express Card for your dinner purchase. Please mention offer 10789.)". Of course, the displays of the remote terminals 12 and 40 may present two or more responses or opportunities in menu format, or in the case of voice commands, the consumer may use a key or another input device on the remote terminal. , And voice commands can also be used to select opportunities presented in list or menu format by the voice synthesis server 33.

When a consumer makes a search request during an operation, the information contained in each search request is preferably captured and stored in a usage data file 60 within the location-based service system 10. The response generated for each search request is also captured and stored for tracking purposes. The information captured and stored in the usage data file 60 includes, but is not limited to, the following: Campaign number or identifier; Storekeeper's name; Consumer's name (or encode ID); Consumer's radio number (or encode ID); Campaign code; Date; Time; Consumer's geographic location when making a request; And the negotiation number.

After the company or opportunity is displayed to the consumer, in step 510, the consumer is given the option to select a particular business list or opportunity. If the consumer does not select a particular business list or opportunity, another search can be made, as shown in step 508, or the location-based service system 10 exits. If the consumer selects a sales list or opportunity in the list presented to the user, the location-based service system 10 consumes the company list or opportunity in the usage data file 60, as shown in step 512. Save to a personal list related to the person. The location-based service system 10 can also store information about the consumer's choice in the usage data file 60 associated with the selected company and notify the selected company of the consumer's purchase or request. To do so.

Referring to FIG. 14, in one preferred embodiment of the invention, as shown in step 520, the consumer goes to the location of the company that made the offered business list or opportunity proposal. Where appropriate, in step 522, the consumer presents the opportunity number generated during the first contact in the location-based service system 10. In step 524, the entity confirms by looking for information related to the opportunity number on the enterprise remote terminal 46, if given or required by the opportunity number. The corporate remote terminal 46 accesses the data file 60 used to confirm the opportunity and determines what service or product should be provided to the consumer based on the exact nature of the opportunity and the opportunity.

After the opportunity number is approved, the consumer then completes the purchase process by paying for the item with the specified electronic payment card (step 526). When the consumer completes the purchase transaction with an electronic payment card, the information is captured and sent to the card issuer for payment, as shown in step 528. At this point, the company has been paid for each product or service and the consumer can receive each product or service. In another embodiment, the remote terminals 12, 40 can complete all transactions, especially if the consumer does not need to visit the location of the enterprise.

As shown in step 530, the location-based service system 10 sends the card data in the card data file to the card database 532, preferably in a periodic batch process. The card data is then downloaded from the card database 532 by the location-based service system 10 in step 534 and then uploaded to the usage data file 60 in step 536. Important information found in electronic card data includes, but is not limited to: Card number; Shopkeeper code; Shopkeeper name; Shopkeeper address; Transaction format; Consumer name; Purchased item or service; Purchase quantity; Purchase date; and Purchase time.

Referring to FIG. 13, in step 512, although not specifically shown, when the consumer selects an opportunity in the sales list, the consumer is asked to receive the goods or services delivered or provided to a predetermined address. It can also be configured in. Some goods or services purchased using the location-based service system 10 do not require the consumer to travel to the location of the company to complete the transaction. However, most consumers go to a company's location to complete a transaction, as if searching for a restaurant offering a special dinner or a bargain on a particular item within the consumer's geographic location. Can be considered.

With reference to FIG. 15, the preferred steps performed by the ad effectiveness application 540 are shown in FIG. The ad effectiveness application 540 uses the company data file 56 and the usage data file 60 of the location-based service system 10 to generate an analysis related to the effectiveness of the location-based advertising campaign. This analysis can address questions such as "How many people received my campaign in the downtown area of Atlanta?". The information given to the advertiser provides insight to quantify the outcome of the advertising campaign generated by the location-based service system 10.

The user must first determine and enter the input variables used for the search, which is preferably done via the web-based interface using the enterprise remote terminal 46. When a search query is entered, it is used to search and browse the data stored in the corporate data file 56 and the database 60 of usage data. The ad effectiveness application 540 retrieves data from the corporate data file 56 and database 60 of usage data and matches the request parameters entered by the user. The advertising effectiveness application 540 then transfers the search results to the use analysis user interface 542, and the search response obtained is displayed via the web browser of the corporate remote terminal 46.

Referring to FIG. 14, during the operation, the user of the enterprise remote terminal 46 receives a search query entry form from the usage analysis user interface 542. The search query entry form is preferably generated from the ad effectiveness routine 544 associated with the usage analysis user interface 542. When the user enters the search parameters in the fields of the inquiry entry form, the search request is sent from the corporate remote terminal 46 to the advertiser portal 50. The search request is then directed to the data access element 64, which searches the company data file 56 and the used data file 60 for search results that match the criteria specified for the search request. The results of this search are directed to a data scoring application 546 that can reformat it into a variety of different formats of data forms.

As shown in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the content file 52 is placed on the location-based application server 28. Therefore, although not specifically indicated, the ad-effectiveness application 540 must access the location-based application server 28 to search for the desired information. Further, the data access element 64 is preferably located on the location-based application server 28. Thus, the ad-effectiveness application 540 preferably generates a search request, which is sent to the data access element 64, which in turn actually performs the search on the location-based application server 28. However, in another preferred embodiment of the invention, the content file 52 can be mirrored in the advertiser portal 50, and all processes can be performed in that location.

Once the search results are in the appropriate format, the ad effectiveness routine 544 uses the usage analysis user interface 542 to generate output that can be viewed on the enterprise remote terminal 46. Results are preferably given using a web browser on the corporate remote terminal 46, but other methods of giving results are also used. The search results can be displayed using numbers, graphs, charts, videos, or other methods of giving analysis results.

The list (minimum) of inputs used within the ad effectiveness application 540 includes, but is not necessarily limited to: Each advertising campaign; demographic information; date or time cycle; location information; category; list category format; competing list category; and keyword input. The form of feedback received by the user includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the following, for example: A measure of the number of customers reached; ad or list frequency; competitive analysis comparing ad list frequency to categories; cost per impression; number of customers reached by the top three demographic categories; and 1) population Statistical information (gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, children, income, special interests, hobbies, academic background, hometown, and car ownership); 2) target markets (city and state); and 3) location (Address and location during historical dialogue).

In order for the shopkeeper / advertiser to determine the success of a campaign or transaction opportunity, the advertiser accesses the advertiser portal 50 within the location-based service system 10. The advertiser then uses the usage analysis user interface 542 and the ad effectiveness routine 544 to determine how many people respond to transactions or special opportunities.

By selecting and sending the information for the search inquiry, the company can search and search the advertising campaign data stored in the company content database 52. The location-based service system 10 retrieves data from the usage data file 60 and matches the request parameters entered by the user. The system then displays the resulting response via a web browser. The form of feedback received by the user includes, but is not limited to: A measure of the number of customers reached; Volume of tracked sales; Number of tracked sales; Competitive analysis comparing advertiser list sales to category sales; Cost per sale; by top three demographic categories Total Sales Reached; Demographic Information (Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Marital Status, Children, Income, Special Interests, Hobbies, Education, Hometown, and Car Ownership); Target Markets; Cities; States; Locations The address; and the position at the time of the dialogue.

Although the present invention has been described above with the currently best known operating modes and embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate other modes, embodiments and effects of the invention.