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Claims  |
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What we claim is:
1. A method for telephonically accessing and navigating a computer network,
the method comprising:
receiving a first request transmitted from a telephone, the first request
comprising data signals that correspond to a first unique address of a
first data file residing on the computer network, and the first data file
comprising a first hyperlink;
transmitting a first response to the telephone, the first response
comprising voice signals that correspond to text stored in the first data
file the first data file corresponding to a Hyper Text Mark-up Language
(HTML) format; and,
converting the first data file to a first format, the first format
including an H-tree data structure.
2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the first hyperlink corresponds
to a second unique address of a second data file residing on the computer
network.
3. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the computer network comprises
the Internet.
4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the first data file resides on
a first computer of the computer network, and the first hyperlink
corresponds to a second unique address of a second data file residing on a
second computer of the computer network.
5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data signals comprise Dual
Tone Multiple Frequency (DTMF) signals.
6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the voice signals comprise
synthesized voice signals.
7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the voice signals comprise
recorded voice signals.
8. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
receiving a second request transmitted from the telephone, the second
request comprising data signals that correspond to a second unique address
of a second data file residing on the computer network, and the second
unique address corresponding to the first hyperlink of the first data
file.
9. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein the first data file comprises a
Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format.
10. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
transmitting predetermined signals to the telephone, the predetermined
signals indicating the first hyperlink.
11. The method as recited in claim 10 wherein the predetermined signals
comprise a predetermined tone.
12. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
fetching the first data file using a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
13. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the voice signals comprise a
verbal reading of the first unique address.
14. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
receiving a facsimile request transmitted from the telephone, the facsimile
request indicating a request for a copy of the first data file transmitted
via facsimile; and
transmitting a facsimile response, the facsimile response comprising the
first data file transmitted via facsimile.
15. The method as recited in claim 14 further comprising:
converting the first data file from a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML)
format to a first format.
16. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein the first format comprises a
PostScript format.
17. The method as recited in claim 15 further comprising:
converting the first data file from the first format to a second format,
the second format comprising a Tagged Image File Format (TIFF).
18. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
receiving an electronic mail request transmitted from the telephone, the
electronic mail request indicating a request for an electronic copy of the
first data file transmitted via electronic mail; and
transmitting an electronic mail message, the electronic mail message
comprising the first data file.
19. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
receiving a postal mail request transmitted from the telephone, the postal
mail request indicating a request for a printed copy of the first data
file; and
transmitting a postal mail message, the postal mail message comprising the
first data file in a paper-based document format.
20. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the voice signals comprise
recorded voice signals that correspond to the text stored in the first
data file, the recorded voice signals being stored in a voice database.
21. A method for telephonically accessing and navigating a computer
network, the method comprising:
receiving a first request transmitted from a telephone, the first request
comprising data signals that correspond to a first unique address of first
data file residing on the computer network, and the first data file
comprising a first hyperlink;
transmitting a first response to the telephone, the first response
comprising voice signals that correspond to text stored in the first data
file;
fetching first data file using the first unique address, the first data
file comprising a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format, and the first
unique address comprising a Universal Resource Locator (URL) the fetching
step including a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request transmitted
via the Internet, and the URL including an address of a first computer in
communication with the Internet; and,
converting the first data file to an H-tree data structure.
22. The method as recited in claim 21 further comprising:
generating the voice signals that correspond to the text stored in the
first data file; and
generating predetermined signals preceding the first hyperlink to indicate
the first hyperlink.
23. The method as recited in claim 22 wherein the generating the voice
signals step comprises:
outputting recorded voice signals, the recorded voice signals being stored
in a voice database.
24. The method as recited in claim 23 wherein the generating speech signals
step further comprises:
outputting text-to-speech synthesized voice signals, the text-to-speech
synthesized voice signals being generated by a text-to-speech voice
synthesizer.
25. The method as recited in claim 22 further comprising:
receiving a second request transmitted from the telephone, the second
request comprising DTMF signals that correspond to the first hyperlink;
and
transmitting a second response to the telephone, the second response
comprising voice signals that correspond to text stored in the second data
file, and the second data file comprising a second hyperlink.
26. The method as recited in claim 25 wherein the first data file comprises
a first Web page, and the second data file comprises a second Web page.
27. The method as recited in claim 25 further comprising:
inputting recorded speech in the voice database using a teleprompter.
28. The method as recited in claim 25 wherein the fetching step comprises:
requesting a Web page corresponding to the first unique address using a Web
browser.
29. The method as recited in claim 28 further comprising:
converting the first data file to a Tagged Image File Format (TIFF); and
transmitting the converted first data file via facsimile.
30. The method as recited in claim 28 further comprising:
converting the first data file to a paper-based document format; and
mailing the converted first data file via postage mail.
31. The method as recited in claim 28 further comprising:
converting the first data file to an ASCII format; and
transmitting an electronic mail message, the electronic mail message
comprising the converted first data file.
32. The method as recited in claim 28 wherein the predetermined signals
comprise a numeric voice message.
33. The method as recited in claim 28 wherein the voice signals are encoded
in Adaptive Differential Pulse Coded Modulation format.
34. The method as recited in claim 28 further comprising:
generating text-to-speech synthesized voice signals that correspond to the
text stored in the first data file if recorded speech corresponding to the
text stored in the first data file is not stored in the voice database;
and
storing the generated text-to-speech synthesized voice signals in the voice
database for subsequent lookup.
35. An apparatus for telephonically accessing and navigating a computer
network, the apparatus comprising:
logic that receives a first request transmitted from a telephone, the first
request comprising data signals that correspond to a first unique address
of a first data file residing on the computer network and the first data
file comprising a first hyperlink, the first data file comprising a Hyper
Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format;
logic that transmits a first response to the telephone, the first response
comprising voice signals that correspond to text stored in the first data
file;
logic that converts the first data file to a first format, the first format
including an H-tree data structure.
36. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 wherein the first hyperlink
corresponds to a second unique address of a second data file residing on
the computer network.
37. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 wherein the computer network
comprises the Internet.
38. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 wherein the first data file
resides on a first computer of the computer network, and the first
hyperlink corresponds to a second unique address of a second data file
residing on a second computer of the computer network.
39. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 wherein the data signals comprise
Dual Tone Multiple Frequency (DTMF) signals that correspond to the first
unique address.
40. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 wherein the voice signals are
generated using a voice interface that outputs synthesized voice signals.
41. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 wherein the voice signals are
generated using a voice interface that outputs recorded voice signals.
42. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 further comprising:
logic that receives a second request transmitted from the telephone, the
second request comprising data signals that correspond to a second unique
address of a second data file residing on the computer network, and the
second unique address corresponding to the first hyperlink of the first
data file.
43. The apparatus as recited in claim 42 wherein the first data file
comprises a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format.
44. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 further comprising:
logic that transmits predetermined signals to the telephone, the
predetermined signals indicating the first hyperlink.
45. The apparatus as recited in claim 44 wherein the predetermined signals
comprise a predetermined tone.
46. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 further comprising:
logic that fetches the first data file using a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
(HTTP).
47. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 wherein the voice signals comprise
a verbal reading of the first unique address.
48. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 further comprising:
logic that receives a facsimile request transmitted from the telephone, the
facsimile request indicating a request for a copy of the first data file
transmitted via facsimile; and
logic that transmits a facsimile response, the facsimile response
comprising the first data file transmitted via facsimile.
49. The apparatus as recited in claim 48 further comprising:
logic that converts the first data file from a Hyper Text Mark-up Language
(HTML) format to a first format.
50. The apparatus as recited in claim 49 wherein the first format comprises
a PostScript format.
51. The apparatus as recited in claim 50 further comprising:
logic that converts the first data file from the first format to a second
format, the second format comprising a Tagged Image File Format (TIFF).
52. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 further comprising:
logic that receives an electronic mail request transmitted from the
telephone, the electronic mail request indicating a request for an
electronic copy of the first data file transmitted via electronic mail;
and
logic that transmits an electronic mail message, the electronic mail
message comprising the first data file.
53. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 further comprising:
logic that receives a postal mail request transmitted from the telephone,
the postal mail request indicating a request for a printed copy of the
first data file; and
logic that transmits a postal mail message, the postal mail message
comprising the first data file in a paper-based document format
transmitted via postal mail.
54. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 wherein the voice signals comprise
recorded voice signals that correspond to the text stored in the first
data file, the recorded voice signals being stored in a voice database.
55. An apparatus for telephonically navigating a computer network, the
apparatus comprising:
logic that receives a first request transmitted from a telephone, the first
request comprising data signals that correspond to a first unique address
of a first data file residing on the computer network, and the first data
file comprising a first hyperlink; and
logic that transmits a first response to the telephone, the first response
comprising voice signals that correspond to text stored in the first data
file;
a Web browser, the Web browser fetching the first data file using the first
unique address, the fist data file comprising a Hyper Text Mark-up
Language (HTML) format, and the fist unique address comprising a Universal
Resource Locator (URL), the Web browser transmits a Hyper Text Transfer
Protocol (HTTP) request transmitted via the Internet, and the URL
including an address of a first computer in communication with the
Internet;
an H-tree converter, the H-tree converter converting the first data file to
an H-tree data structure.
56. The apparatus as recited in claim 55 further comprising:
a voice interface, the voice interface generating voice signals that
correspond to the text stored in the first data file, and the voice
interface generating predetermined signals preceding the first hyperlink
to indicate the first hyperlink.
57. The apparatus as recited in claim 56 further comprising:
a voice database, the voice database storing recorded voice signals, and
the voice interface outputting voice signals stored in the voice database
that correspond to the text stored in the first data file.
58. The apparatus as recited in claim 57 further comprising:
a text-to-speech voice synthesizer, the text-to-speech voice synthesizer
generating text-to-speech synthesized voice signals, and the voice
interface outputting text-to-speech generated voice signals that
correspond to the text stored in the first data file.
59. The apparatus as recited in claim 56 further comprising:
logic that receives a second request transmitted from the telephone, the
second request comprising DTMF signals that correspond to the first
hyperlink; and
logic that transmits a second response to the telephone, the second
response comprising voice signals that correspond to text stored in the
second data file, and the second data file comprising a second hyperlink.
60. The apparatus as recited in claim 59 wherein the first data file
comprises a first Web page, and the second data file comprises a second
Web page.
61. The apparatus as recited in claim 59 further comprising:
a teleprompter, the teleprompter being used to input recorded speech in the
voice database.
62. The apparatus as recited in claim 59 wherein the Web browser requests a
Web page that corresponds to the first unique address.
63. The apparatus as recited in claim 62 further comprising:
a Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) converter, the TIFF converter converting
the first data file to a TIFF file; and
logic that transmits the converted first data file via facsimile.
64. The apparatus as recited in claim 63 further comprising:
a document delivery sub-system, the document delivery sub-system converting
the first data file to a paper-based document format for mailing via
postage mail.
65. The apparatus as recited in claim 63 further comprising:
a document delivery sub-system, the document delivery sub-system converting
the first data file to an ASCII format; and
an electronic mail sub-system, the electronic mail sub-system transmitting
an electronic mail message, and the electronic mail message comprising the
converted first data file.
66. The apparatus as recited in claim 63 wherein the predetermined signals
comprise a numeric voice message.
67. The apparatus as recited in claim 63 wherein the voice signals are
encoded in Adaptive Differential Pulse Coded Modulation format.
68. The apparatus as recited in claim 63 further comprising:
a text-to-speech synthesizer, the text-to-speech synthesizer generating
text-to-speech synthesized voice signals that correspond to the text
stored in the first data file if recorded speech corresponding to the text
stored in the first data file is not stored in the voice database; and
logic that stores the generated text-to-speech synthesized voice signals in
the voice database for subsequent lookup. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX
A Microfiche Appendix conforming to the standards set forth in 35 CFR
.sctn.1.96(c)(2) is attached. The Microfiche Appendix includes four
microfiche including an Appendix A microfiche, an Appendix B microfiche,
an Appendix C microfiche and an Appendix D microfiche. The Appendix A
microfiche includes nine frames. The Appendix B microfiche includes four
frames. The Appendix C microfiche includes four frames. The Appendix D
microfiche includes 29 frames.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods for retrieving
information from an interconnected network and for accessing and
delivering the retrieved information to a user, and, more particularly, a
method for accessing and retrieving information from an interconnected
networks such as the internet via a telephone in response to the user's
request and for delivering the information via voice, fax-on-demand,
email, and other means to the user.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Under the conventional method of accessing information on an interconnected
network such as the internet, the user is required to have a certain
amount of computer software and hardware and is expected to have a certain
level of computer expertise before the user can successfully access (or
browse) a wide range of information now available on the internet. If the
user does not have the necessary hardware and the appropriate software to
direct the computer to establish a connection to the internet via a modem
or a direct connection to the internet, the user would then have no other
means available to him or her for accessing the internet.
Given the amount of information now readily available on the internet,
having the ability to access the internet becomes a matter of convenience
as well as a matter of having access to an invaluable information source.
Additionally, from a company or an organization point of view, it is
advantageous to direct customers to a centralized information database and
thereby necessitating the maintenance of only one database rather than
multiple databases.
The software and hardware requirement for accessing the internet creates a
barrier for most people to take advantages of this information source.
Prior art systems overcome this problem by providing a telephone
fax-on-demand system where a user uses a telephone to dial into a
company's web page and directs the system to fax the web page back to the
user. However, the manner in operating this type of system is tedious and
time consuming. In order for the user to access a hyperlink on the web
page, the first web page needs to be faxed back to the user with the
hyperlinks numerically annotated for reference. The user then calls a
second time (or waits for the first fax page to arrive on another line) to
access subsequent web pages numerically using the now numbered hyperlinks.
It is thus clear that a better system is needed to access and browse the
internet in an inexpensive and efficient manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for
accessing and browsing the internet through the use of a telephone.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for
accessing and browsing the internet by converting the information content
of a web page to voice format.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for
signaling the user in an audio manner the hyperlink selections in a web
page.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for
accessing and browsing the internet where the information content of a web
page may be provided to the user via voice format, fax-on-demand, e-mail,
or regular mail.
Briefly, a method for accessing and browsing the internet through the use
of a telephone and the associated DTMF signals is disclosed. The preferred
embodiment of the present invention provides a system that converts the
information content of a web page from text to speech (voice signals),
signals the hyperlink selections of a web page in an audio manner, and
allows selection of the hyperlinks through the use of DTMF signals as
generated from a telephone keypad. Upon receiving a DTMF signal
corresponding to a hyperlink, the corresponding web page is fetched and
again delivered to the user via one of the available delivery methods.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a method for
accessing and browsing the internet through the use of a telephone.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a method for
accessing and browsing the internet by converting the information content
of a web page to voice format.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a method
for signaling the user in an audio manner the hyperlink selections in a
web page.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a method
for accessing and browsing the internet where the information content of a
web page may be provided to the user via voice format, fax-on-demand,
e-mail, or regular mail.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will no
doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having
read the following illustrations and detailed description of the preferred
embodiments.
IN THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates the components of the preferred embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 2 shows the subsystems for the voice browser of the present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates the subsystems of the HTree Generator/Web browser;
FIG. 4 shows the components of the Voice Data Management System; and
FIG. 5 illustrates the components of the Fax Data Management System.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the present invention is
operated by a caller 10 using a telephone 12 to dial into a server having
telephonic interfacing software and hardware. The server provides audio
directions to the caller and provides a number of options which may be
selected by the corresponding DTMF tones generated through the use of a
telephone keypad. By pressing a number on the keypad corresponding to the
desired option, the caller selects one of the several available options.
The server then receives the DTMF tone, converts the tone to a
corresponding DTMF code, identifies the option corresponding to the code,
and executes the action corresponding to the selected option. In this
manner, the caller is able to direct the server to take certain available
actions.
One of the available actions is to direct a voice browser 18 to navigate
the internet 20. By selecting the voice browser, the caller is provided
with an audio readback of a default web page where the available links to
other web pages are read back to the user and are indicated by a special
audio signal such as a short duration tone signal, a beep, a "bong" sound,
etc.
For example, referring to Appendix D illustrating a listing of the code of
the preferred embodiment as described below, instructions (starting from
page 13 of Appendix D) are provided to direct a user to navigate through
available documents and the hyperlinks therein. By repetitively selecting
documents and the hyperlinks contained therein, the user can navigate the
entire internet.
User Interface for Operating the Voice Web
To operate the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a touch-tone
phone and the phone number to access a server are all that is required.
The voice browser provides a series of audio menus to guide the caller to
retrieve documents or web pages from the internet. Several options are
provided at each menu and the caller may make a selection by pressing the
corresponding key(s) on the telephone. The opening menu may request a
password before allowing the caller to access the system.
For inputs requiring specific spelling of the information being entered
(e.g. e-mail address, name, street address, etc.), each character can be
defined by pressing a two-key combination. The first key indicates the key
where the letter appears, and the second key indicates the position it
occurs on that key. For example, the letter "A" is defined as 21, "B" is
defined as 22, "C" is defined as 23, "D" is defined as 31, etc. However,
the letters "Q" and "Z" are not defined on a telephone keypad and they may
be assigned by special two-key combinations. In the preferred embodiment,
the letter "Q" is defined as 17 and the letter "Z" is defined as 19. Other
special characters may be assigned as well. For example the "@" sign is
defined as 12, the ".sub.-- " character is defined as 18, the "." (period)
is defined as 13, and a "" (space) is defined as 11.
The actual interface between the voice browser and the telephony
interfacing hardware is expected to vary according to the implementation.
There are two issues involved here. One issue involves interface control,
namely how the software commands are accepted by the interface and how
errors or exceptions are signaled. The other issue involves audio
encoding--how audio (e.g. voice) data is represented at the interface. For
example, the Rockwell chip set utilizes a Hayes-compatible command set
which is extended for fax and voice operations, and audio data is encoded
in the Adaptive Differential Pulse Coded Modulation (ADPCM) format. Under
a Unix system, ioctl() commands may be used to manipulate the audio
interface. There may be another protocol for ISDN lines as well.
Voice Web
Referring to FIG. 2, the voice browser is software driven and is composed
of several cooperating subsystems. From the main engine 22, depending on
the selection made or the scheduling algorithm, either the Call Menu
Script Interpreter 24 or the document delivery subsystem 26 may be
activated.
The Call Menu Script Interpreter (CMSI) guides a caller through a series of
call menus and plays voice segments of retrieved web pages or documents to
the caller. It responds to the caller's touch tone selection and drives
the HTree Generator/Web Browser 28. The task is accomplished by first
directing the web browser to retrieve the desired web page(s) from the
internet. The HTree Generator then converts the retrieved web page into an
HTree which is a data structure storing web page data in a particular
format conducive for conversion into voice format. The CMSI then traverses
the HTree, sending HTree segments to the Voice Data management Subsystem
(voice DMS) 38. The Voice DMS contains pre-recorded texts or text-strings.
For the texts or text-strings not in the Voice DMS, a text-to-speech
engine is provided to convert the text to speech. The information content
of the web page is then delivered to the caller in the voice format.
Optionally, the web page can also be delivered to the caller in other
available methods, or it can be marked as a document request job for later
processing. If the caller is calling from a phone line connected to a fax
machine, the web page can be immediately delivered to the caller via the
fax machine.
The web browser 28 of the preferred embodiment is a general web browser
modified to interface with the HTree Generator and to access the internet
20. The web page or documents that may be readily accessed by the caller
are indexed by document-ID, title, or Universal Resource Locator (URL) and
stored in a database.
The document delivery subsystem 26 responds to the several available
methods for delivering the web page to the caller. These methods include
delivery via fax, electronic mail, and regular postal mail. The document
delivery subsystem 26 also may directly retrieve a web page as selected by
a caller and deliver the information to the caller via one of the
available delivery methods.
In the case of delivery by fax, the documents may be directly retrieved by
a Fax Data Management Subsystem (Fax DMS) where the web pages in the HTML
format may be converted to the PostScript format and then from the
PostScript format to TIFF image format.
In the case of delivery by e-mail, documents may be directly retrieved by
an E-Mail Data Management Subsystem where web pages in the HTML format may
be converted to straight ASCII text or to the PostScript format.
Call Menu Script Interpreter
The Call Menu Script Interpreter (CMSI) guides the caller through a series
of call menus via voice prompts and plays voice segments of a retrieved
web page to the caller. The caller interacts with the CMSI by generating
DTMF tones from the caller's touch-tone keypad. The DTMF tones are
converted into ASCII text usually by the telephony interface hardware. In
one embodiment, the conversion from DTMF tones to ASCII text is performed
by a voice modem.
In order to carry out all of the tasks, the CMSI is implemented utilizing a
set of software registers and instructions. A software register may be
readable, writable, markable, or nav-writable where a nav-writable
register allows the navigational mechanism of the browser to write to it.
Registers which can be written by the DTMF-converted ASCII text are
referred to as "caller-writable registers." These registers include the
DocID, FaxNum, ExtNum, ExtName, Passwd, Userid, and Selection registers.
Registers for which the ASCII text can be converted into voice are termed
"caller-readable registers". These registers include the DocId, FaxNum,
ExtNum, ExtName, and Title registers. Markable registers include the DocId
and URL registers. The nav-writable registers include the DocId, URL,
Title, MarkedNumDoc, MaxNumDoc, and MaxRepeatInput registers.
There is also an instruction set associated with the registers. There are
four basic categories of instructions: Execution Control instructions,
Caller Register instructions, Audio Output instructions, and Miscellaneous
instructions. Some of the more basic instructions are the Play instruction
which plays the content of a register, a prompt, or a web page; the Get
instruction which gets the DTMF input into a register; the Mark
instruction which marks a page or document according to a URL or DocId;
the Goto instruction which unconditionally jumps to a different location
in the script; and the Selection instruction which jumps if a given
register matches a given DTMF string. Appendix A attached herein explains
each of the registers and instructions. The preferred embodiment is not
limited to the listed registers and instructions in Appendix A. New
instructions and/or registers can be readily added to accommodate new
features or functionalities.
As the caller navigates through the web, a URL list is kept. A maximum size
limit is imposed on the URL list where a First-In-First-Out system is
maintained. Additionally, each URL entry in the URL list may have an
associated HTree. There is an HTree cache for all the HTree entries. For
the HTree cache, if there is a limitation in size, the least recently used
entry is deleted first.
HTree Generator/Web Browser
The HTree Generator/Web Browser (hereinafter "HTree Generator") is the
Voice Browser's agent for accessing the World-Wide-Web. It is similar to a
GUI-based web browser except that the user interface is replaced by an
audio interface residing within the CMSI. The HTree Generator is driven by
the CMSI. Referring to FIG. 3, the HTree Generator 28 is generally
comprised of a generator interface component 50, an HTree Converter 52,
and a web browser 54. The CMSI sends a URL 56 to the HTree Generator 28.
The generator interface 50 receives the URL and sends the URL to the web
browser 54 to retrieve the web page or document via one of the several
available methods (e.g. FTP and HTTP). The HTree Converter 52 converts the
retrieved web page/document into an HTree, and the HTree is sent to the
CMSI. Thus, regardless of the format of the retrieve document, it can be
converted into HTree format for processing.
At its highest level, an HTree contains a series of HTree sentences. An
HTree sentence can comprise several HTree segments which when strung
together forms a complete sentence in the language of choice including
English and Spanish. The top level structure, represented by the symbol
.sub.-- HTree, represents a given web page where the structure may include
the URL of the page, its title, and it may include a number of linked
lists. Appendix B attached herein provides a full explanation of the HTree
structure.
Voice Data Management Subsystem
The Voice Data Management Subsystem (Voice DMS) provides audio segments to
the CMSI for the given text segments. Referring to FIG. 4, the main
interface between the Voice DMS and the CMSI is the voice interface 60.
The voice interface 60 receives a text string from the CMSI and passes it
to the Voice database 64 to retrieve the corresponding digitally encoded
voice pattern. The voice interface 60 then returns the encoded voice
pattern 66 to the CMSI. If the voice interface does not find the text
string in the Voice database, it will send the text string to the
Text-To-Speech subsystem 68 to generate the digitally encoded voice
pattern for that text string. The generated voice pattern is passed to the
voice interface to pass to the CMSI. Whenever the Text-To-Speech subsystem
generates a voice pattern for a text string, the text string and the
generated voice pattern is passed to the Voice database and stored for
future reference.
Some of the voice interface's functions for driving the application program
interface (API) include voiceopen, voiceget and voiceclose. The voiceopen
function creates a voice handle for a given URL that enables the CMSI to
keep track of the data during a session. The voiceget operation uses the
voice handle to retrieve a voice pattern. The voiceclose function simply
closes the interface associated with a voice handle.
Commonly used text strings may be recorded with human voice. A method of
inputting text strings and associated human voice into the voice database
involves the using of a voice teleprompter 70 and input interface hardware
72. Some of the capabilities that the teleprompter include Play, Start,
Stop, and Record. The voice teleprompter 70 receives an HTree as input 74
and displays HTree segments on the teleprompter 70. A person whose voice
is being recorded would read the text strings as displayed by the
teleprompter 70 and use the input interface hardware 72 to input his or
her voice. Once the recording is satisfactory, the teleprompter sends the
recording along with the text string to the voice interface 60 for storage
into the voice database 64.
Document Delivery Subsystem
The Document Delivery Subsystem provides a method for the caller to request
a document or a web page to be delivered via one of the available delivery
methods such as delivery via fax, via e-mail, or via regular postal
service.
In delivering a document or web page via e-mail, the document or web page
may be formatted for ASCII, a selected word processing program format, or
another available format. In delivering a document or web page via regular
postal mail, the system will ask for the caller's name and address if it
is not already in a caller information database.
In delivering a document or web page via fax, once the TIFF files for all
the requested documents have been retrieved or received, the files are
concatenated into one file and queued for transmission. The fax can be
sent to the caller right away if the caller has another phone line
connected to a fax machine.
The document delivery subsystem operates like a queue where the queue is
periodically check to see if there are any pending jobs. If there is a
pending job, a scheduling file that contains the time for delivery, the
method of delivery, and the file for delivery for each job is checked. If
the transmission attempt is unsuccessful, the job will be rescheduled for
transmission at a later time. There is a limit on the number of retries
before the system administrator is notified. Appendix C attached herein
provides the specific details for the document delivery subsystem.
Fax Data Management Subsystem
The Fax Data Management Subsystem (Fax DMS) interacts with the CMSI and
Document Delivery Subsystem through an interface called the fax interface.
Referring to FIG. 5, the fax interface 80 receives a URL 82 and returns a
TIFF formatted file 84. The fax interface 80 searches the Fax database 86
for the corresponding TIFF file for the given URL. If a TIFF file is
found, the fax interface retrieves the file and returns it to the
requesting subsystem. If the requested file is not found in the Fax
database, the fax interface sends the URL to a URL-To-TIFF convertor 88.
The TIFF converter invokes a GUI browser 90 to retrieve the web page or
document if it has not already been retrieved and uses the browser to
convert the web page or document into a PostScript formatted file 92. The
PostScript formatted file is then passed to a PostScript interpreter 94
which creates a TIFF file 96 from the PostScript file. The TIFF file is
then passed back to the fax interface 80 and/or a fax database 86. Fax
images can also be directly imported into the fax database through the use
of a fax machine which creates an image capture file 100 for import into
the fax database. The image capture file 100 ensures the quality of an
image and may compare favorably against TIFF formatted images.
Although the present invention has been described in terms of the presently
preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that such disclosure is not
to be interpreted as limiting. Various alterations and modifications will
no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the
above disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that the appended claims be
interpreted as covering all alterations and modifications as fall within
the true spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *
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