System for initiating interactive communication in response to audio codes
View Patent ↗A communication appliance has a processor, a data store, a display screen, an interface to a wireless network, a microphone, and software executable from a machine-readable physical medium, wherein the software provides a function for comparing incoming audio signals with signals stored in the data store as trigger signals, and a function for initiating an action or sequence of actions in response to recognizing an incoming signal as a trigger signal.
1. A communication appliance comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory has stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:
receive audio signals over an audible frequency, at least one of the audio signals comprising an audio tone embedded therein, wherein the audio tone comprises a header tone;
compare the header tone of the audio tone with that of one or more header tones stored in a data store for at least a partial match, the data store being accessible by the processor;
in response to identifying at least the partial match, monitor for a subsequent sequence of audio tones comprising a code tone sequence;
in response to identifying the subsequent sequence of audio tones, convert the code tone sequence based on frequencies and durations of the code tone sequence to a resulting code, wherein the memory has further stored thereon a table for converting the code tone sequence to ASCII code useable for generating a specific menu on the communication appliance;
execute the resulting code; and
initiate an action on the communication appliance in response to executing the resulting code.
2. The communication appliance of claim 1 , wherein the audio signals are emitted by a digital appliance capable of audio output.
3. The communication appliance of claim 1 , wherein the action comprises navigating to an Internet server for downloading an interactive menu.
4. The communication appliance of claim 1 , wherein the action comprises initiating a telephone call.
5. The communication appliance of claim 1 , wherein the converting of the code tone sequence comprises converting the code tone sequence to a unified product code (UPC).
6. The communication appliance of claim 1 , wherein a frequency of the audio tone is outside the human range of hearing.
7. The communication appliance of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to receive the audio signals via a microphone coupled to the processor.
8. The communication appliance of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to receive the audio signals via a network interface coupled to the processor.
9. A method for initiating an action from a communication appliance comprising a processor in response to audio signals, the method comprising:
receiving, by the processor, the audio signals over an audible frequency, at least one of the audio signals comprising an audio tone embedded therein, wherein the audio tone comprises a header tone;
comparing, by the processor, the header tone of the audio tone with that of one or more header tones stored in a data store for at least a partial match, the data store being accessible by the processor;
in response to identifying at least the partial match, monitoring, by the processor, for a subsequent sequence of audio tones comprising a code tone sequence;
in response to identifying the subsequent sequence of audio tones, converting, by the processor, the code tone sequence based on frequencies and durations of the code tone sequence to a resulting code, wherein the converting of the code tone sequence comprises converting the code tone sequence to ASCII code useable for generating, by the processor, a specific menu on the communication appliance;
executing, by the processor, the resulting code from the code tone sequence; and
initiating, by the processor, an action on the communication appliance in response to executing the resulting code.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the audio signals are emitted by a digital appliance capable of audio output.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the action comprises navigating to an Internet server to download an interactive menu.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the action comprises initiating a telephone call.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the converting of the code tone sequence comprises converting the code tone sequence to a unified product code (UPC).
14. The method of claim 9 , wherein a frequency of the audio tone is outside the human range of hearing.
15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the audio signals are received by the processor via a microphone coupled to the processor.
16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the audio signals are received by the processor via a network interface coupled to the processor.