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Claims  |
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What is claimed:
1. A method for retrieving and displaying data files from an Internet
location comprising the steps of:
receiving, at a screen-display telephone terminal, a data file request from
a user;
transmitting the data file request to a telephony platform server;
receiving the data file request at the telephony platform server and
transmitting an Internet protocol message to an Internet site location,
wherein the Internet protocol message corresponds to the data file and the
Internet site location corresponds to the data file;
retrieving an Internet data file from the Internet site location and
formatting the Internet data file received in response to the Internet
protocol message for display on the screen-display telephone terminal;
transmitting, from the telephony platform server, the Internet data file to
the telephone terminal, wherein said Internet data file is formatted for
display on the screen-display telephone terminal; and
displaying the formatted data file on the screen-display telephone
terminal.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the data file
request to a telephony platform server includes the substeps of
receiving the data file request at a first memory of the telephony platform
server; and
interpreting the received data file request to generate an Internet
protocol message.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the Internet protocol is a Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and wherein the step of interpreting the
received data file request includes the substep of
generating an HTTP formatted data file request message.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of retrieving and formatting the
Internet data file includes the substeps of
receiving the retrieved Internet data file at a second memory of the
telephony platform, wherein the data file received is formatted in a
markup language; and
converting the retrieved Internet data file to a data display block
formatted for display on the screen-display telephone terminal.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the screen-display telephone terminal is
an ADSI compatible device, and wherein the step of converting the
retrieved Internet data file to the data display block includes the
substep of
converting the markup language formatted data file to an ADSI protocol data
display block.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the markup language is a Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML), and wherein the step of converting the markup language
formatted data file to the ADSI protocol data display block includes the
substep of
converting the HTML data file to the ADSI protocol data display block.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the markup language is a Handheld Device
Markup Language (HDML), and wherein the step of converting the markup
language formatted data file to the ADSI protocol data display block
includes the substep of
converting the HDML data file to the ADSI protocol data display block.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the data file
request includes the substeps of
presenting a selection of Internet site locations on a display screen of
the screen-display telephone terminal, wherein said selection of Internet
site locations correspond to a selection of data files that may be
retrieved; and
receiving the Internet data file request through at least one of a softkey
selection device or a numeric keypad selection device.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the screen-display telephone terminal is
an ADSI compatible telephone terminal and the telephony platform is an
ADSI capable telephony platform server, and wherein the step of
transmitting the Internet data file request includes the substep of
transmitting an ADSI protocol data file request message.
10. A system for interfacing at least one ADSI screen-display telephone
terminal with a plurality of Internet site locations, wherein the Internet
site locations contain data files, the system comprising:
an ADSI screen-display telephone terminal for transmitting a data file
request to an ADSI telephony platform server and displaying an Internet
data file retrieved from one of the plurality of Internet site locations;
and
a browser device residing on the ADSI telephony platform server for
retrieving the Internet data file and formatting the retrieved data file
for display on the ADSI screen-display telephone terminal.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the telephony platform further includes
a first memory, accessible by the browser device, for receiving and storing
the data file request; and
a second memory, accessible by the browser device, for receiving and
storing a data file.
12. The system in claim 10, wherein the browser device further includes
a request message receiving and formatting section, connected to the first
memory of the telephony platform, for receiving the data file request from
the telephony platform and generating an Internet compatible protocol
message corresponding to the data file request received;
a request message transmitting section, connected to request message
receiving and formatting section, for transmitting the Internet compatible
protocol message to an Internet site location;
a data file retrieval section, connected to the second memory of the
telephony platform, for retrieving the data file from Internet site
location; and
a data file formatting and transmitting section for converting the
retrieved data file to an ADSI data display block formatted for display on
the ADSI terminal and transmitting the ADSI data display block to the ADSI
terminal.
13. The system in claim 10, wherein the data file retrieved from the
Internet is formatted in a markup language, and wherein the data file
formatting and transmitting section further includes
a converter for converting the retrieved data file formatted in the markup
language to the ADSI data display block.
14. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the markup language is a
HTML.
15. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the markup language is a
HDML.
16. A system in an ADSI protocol environment for linking an ADSI terminal
user with a plurality of ADSI application servers, wherein the ADSI
application servers contain a plurality of ADSI protocol application
files, said system comprising:
an ADSI screen-display telephone terminal for transmitting an ADSI
application request to a telephony platform server and displaying a
retrieved application data file, wherein said ADSI application request
corresponds to the ADSI application data file requested by the user;
a browser device, residing on the telephony platform server, for retrieving
an ADSI application data file from one of the plurality of ADSI
application servers and transmitting the retrieved ADSI application data
file to the ADSI terminal.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the telephony platform further includes
a first memory, accessible by the browser device, for receiving and storing
the ADSI application request; and
a second memory, accessible by the browser device, for receiving and
storing the ADSI application data file retrieved from the ADSI application
server.
18. The system in claim 16, wherein the browser device further includes
means for transmitting the ADSI application request to the ADSI application
server containing the ADSI application data file;
means, connected to the second memory of the telephony platform, for
retrieving the ADSI application data file received from the ADSI
application server and stored in the second memory of the telephony
platform server wherein said ADSI application data file corresponds to the
user requested ADSI application file; and
means, connected to means for retrieving, for transmitting the ADSI data
display block to the ADSI terminal. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of Analog Display Services
Interface (ADSI) and in particular to a system and method for interfacing
a screen-display telephone device with the World Wide Web or Internet.
B. Description of the Prior Art
1. ADSI Display Devices
ADSI is a telecommunications protocol standard developed by Bellcore and
published in Bell Communications Research report "Generic Requirements for
an SPCS to Customer Premises Equipment Data Interface for Analog Display
Services," Technical Reference TR-NWT-001273, Dec. 1992 (incorporated
herein by reference). ADSI enables alternate voice and data capability
over the existing analog telephone network. This capability permits ADSI
devices to communicate with users through a familiar voice response audio
interface, where the user listens to voice recordings and makes menu
selections using the telephone keypad, and with visual menus and
information on a screen display, where service selections can be made
using softkeys. Currently, ADSI devices are often implemented as
screen-display telephone terminals, but there can also be television
set-top boxes allowing users to make calls using the television, personal
digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, and personal computers that are ADSI
capable.
In addition to real-time interactive applications, ADSI also enables
program transfer using a capability known as Feature Download. These
programs, or service scripts, can be developed by a server and run on a
local terminal. In many cases, these scripts are created by an authoring
tool and stored in an external database for access by the telephony
platform serving the user. Therefore, when new features are requested by
the user, or are newly added by the server, the scripts are transferred by
the telephony platform to the ADSI terminal where they are stored in
memory and executed by the terminal until overwritten. These scripts
define not only call flow, but also define the softkeys and displays
presented to the user during a call.
One example of applied ADSI technology is Northern Telecom's Advanced Call
Management Service (ACMS). In ACMS, customer selected features are stored
in an external database. When a customer calls in for activation of
services, a database lookup is performed so that the appropriate
information for that customer can be downloaded to the telephone. The
application runs on a Network Applications Vehicle (NAV), which is
typically a UNIX-based telephony platform, and which reads an object file
to get information concerning the call flow. The NAV presents the call
flow, including ADSI commands, to the end user and as a result a new
application is presented to the terminal.
In addition, any server may create Custom Local Area Signaling Services
(CLASS).sup.SM or Custom Calling Features (CCF) and download these
advanced feature download scripts that are specifically tailored to the
user's service subscription. As a result, a user can activate services
such as three-way calling, call waiting, and call forwarding through
context sensitive screen prompts and softkeys. These advanced call
management telephony script applications have been a primary area of
development for ADSI display terminals.
An example of advanced ADSI script transfer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.
5,541,986, to Hou. Specifically, Hou discloses a method and system for
automatically consolidating service scripts for downloading to
ADSI-compatible screen-display telephones. The method and system comprises
specifying a general template for a set of service features, specifying
line specific attributes for a feature, and then combining the two into a
service module. A customer's service is composed of multiple service
modules which, when selected, would be consolidated by a network server
computer into a single service script. Hou also discloses compiling the
consolidated service script for downloading and transmission to a local
processor in the compatible screen-display telephone.
2. The Internet
The Internet, or "net," fueled by the popularity of the World Wide Web (WWW
or Web), has exhibited significant growth over the past few years. At
present, to access the information available on the Web, users typically
use standard computer equipment, such as a home personal computer with a
display and modem, and an Internet connection.
There have been efforts to expand the number of users and the ease with
which they access the net. For example, several companies have developed
television set-top boxes that permit users to browse or "surf" the
Internet from their television sets. In addition, telephone companies have
joined with software developers to allow mobile communication devices such
as cellular telephones, pagers, and PDAs to access some features of the
Internet.
At present, several types of Internet connections are available. For
example, to use an Internet connection from Internet Service Providers
(ISPs), the user dials into a computer at the ISP's facility using a modem
and standard telephone line. The ISP's computer in turn provides the user
with access to the Internet. Through this Internet connection, the user
can access information on the Web using a computer program called a "Web
browser," such as for example the Netscape Navigator.TM. from Netscape
Communications Corporation. The Web browser is a software program that
allows a user to view the data received from an Internet site location. To
accomplish this, the user gives the Web browser a Uniform Resource Locator
(URL) for an object on the Internet, for example, a data file containing
information of interest. The document is referred to as a "Web page," and
the information contained in the Web page is called content. Web pages
often refer to other Web pages using "hypertext link" or "hyperlinks" that
include words or phrases representing the other pages in a form that gives
the browser the URL for the corresponding Web page when a user selects a
hyperlink.
Hyperlinks are made possible by building Web pages using a Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML), an evolving language which is used to construct documents
in a uniform, standardized format so they may be accessed by Web browsers
and displayed for the user. HTML is an ASCII text-based language which
defines page formats used to display the HTML elements. To ensure
accessibility, all HTML documents have a "point-of-contact" name, or
ANCHOR, identified in the document as part of the ANCHOR element. This
name is hyperlink-enabled by surrounding the name with the <A >element.
This feature permits a user to link with another URL when the ANCHOR
element is selected.
Once the user selects a site to visit, the URL identifies a specific host
computer on the Internet, called a "Web Server," and, more particularly,
the location of a Web page located on the Web Server. The Web browser
retrieves the Web page and displays it for the user.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the most widely used format to access
and link users with various other Web pages or sites referenced by the
original Web page. HTTP requires a program running on the host computer
that understands and responds to this protocol. The file retrieved might
be, for example, an HTML file, a graphic file, a sound file, an animation
sequence file, a file to be executed by the Web server (e.g., CGI
programs), or a word processing file. Ultimately, whether the file can be
retrieved or handled depends on the features and capabilities of the
browser. When a browser requests a specific URL, it sends the request to
the sponsoring Web server. The Web server receives the request and
attempts to fulfill the request.
There are several ways that user requests can be fulfilled. For example,
Web servers translate a request such as
"http://www.recipes.com/recipes/soup.htm" into a search for a physical
file on that server. It would start from the base directory for that
domain and then apply the path that was requested. In this example, the
Web server would look for a directory called "recipes" and then look for a
file called "soup.htm" within that directory. If the file was found it
would be passed back, without modification, to the requesting browser. In
this way, the URL can be thought of as a specific file sitting on a
server, or host computer.
Common Gateway Interface (CGI) was created as one way for Web servers to
achieve a dynamic element by calling to programs that reside on the
server. This dynamic element allows the Web server to immediately respond
to the request without doing additional processing. The server receives a
request from the browser, and it uses the dynamic element, or hypertext
link, to connect with a new process. The server then passes CGI based
tagged data that will be used by the program to create, for example, the
HTML file. The CGI program executes the associated display format
subroutine, or script file, and accesses other data sources to generate
the content and then returns the HTML back to the HTTP server. Once the
transfer is completed, the CGI process | | |
