Telephonic communications – Audio message storage – retrieval – or synthesis – Multimedia system
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-24
2003-07-15
Williams, Kimberly A. (Department: 2697)
Telephonic communications
Audio message storage, retrieval, or synthesis
Multimedia system
C379S093270, C709S246000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06594348
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a voice browser and a method for interpreting and responding to Dual Tone MultiFrequency (DTMF) tones received from a telecommunications network, which DTMF tones are transmitted by a user for controlling the operation of the voice browser when information published on a data packet switched network, such as the Internet, is accessed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The World Wide Web (WWW or Web for short) is today the most utilised Internet application. The Web consists of millions of Web pages and the number of accessible Web pages is continuously growing. An Internet user accesses a Web page using a browser. A conventional browser provides a textual and graphical user interface, which aids the user in requesting and displaying information from the Web. A conventional browser is typically a software program running on a computer, for example a personal computer. Thus, a user needs some sort of computer hardware on which browser software can be executed in order to retrieve and display information published as Web pages.
More and more companies use the Web as an information channel to their customers and/or as a way to provide services to their customers. Such companies are, for example, consumer product companies, insurance companies, banks, employment agencies etc., but also public authorities, which publish information and services relating to shopping, news, employment, education, and so on. A problem with all these web pages provided by different companies and authorities is that they are only accessible by people having a computer on which a graphical browser can be executed. Even if a user has access to a computer he needs to be connected to the Internet. In addition, people with poor reading skills or with vision problems will have difficulties in reading text-based Web pages.
For the above reasons, the research community has developed browsers for non-visual access to Web pages, or WWW content, for users that wish to access the information or services through a telephone. The non-visual browsers, or voice browsers, present audio output to a user by conversion of text of Web pages, such as HTML pages, to speech and by playing pre-recorded Web audio files from the Web. A voice browser furthermore implements the functionality needed to allow a user to navigate between Web pages, i.e. follow hyptertext links, as well as navigate within Web pages, i.e. to step backward and forward within the page. Other functions that can be provided to the user is the possibility to pause and resume the audio output, go to a start page and choose from a number of pre-defined bookmarks or favourites. Some voice browsers are implemented on PCs or Work-stations and allow the user to access the browser functions using commands inserted with a computer keyboard, while others are accessed using a telephone. When accessing a voice browser with a telephone, one or several browser commands can be sent by the user by way of using DTMF signals, which are generated with one or several keystrokes on a keypad of the telephone.
Another way to allow a user of a telephone access to a database or the like is to provide an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Conventional IVR systems usually allow a user to interact directly with the application by way of transmitting DTMF signals to the system and the application. For example, the most common way of enabling a user to select between a number of choices in an IVR system is to have a menu read to the user and to allow the user to select a certain item from the menu by producing a corresponding DTMF signal. In a similar way, for certain applications that are accessed on the Internet using a voice browser, there is a need for the application to be able to receive commands directly from a user without any interference from the browser. Such direct access to keys on a keyboard sometimes in the literature referred to as “access keys”. With the notation of an access key in HTML, an application could assign a key to be directly attached to the application. The action to be performed in response to a signal from such a key would then be defined by the application.
Thus, conventional techniques either use DTMF tones for controlling the browser functionality only, which is the case for known voice browsers, or for application control only, which is the case for known IVR systems. There is a problem in how to design a voice browser which in an efficient manner can simultaneously handle DTMF tones relating to browser functionality control as well as tones relating to the control of a current accessed application, especially since the number of keys of a telephone keypad generally is limited to 12 keys.
Another problem with voice browser systems is how to design a voice browser in which a currently accessed part of an HTML page is in synchronism with a set of current and relevant operations, or voice browser functions, that are possible to perform in response to received and interpreted DTMF tones.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a solution for how a voice browser which is controlled through a DTMF tone interface can provide access to commands for controlling the voice browser as well as, at the same time, commands for controlling an application being separate from the voice browser and accessed from the voice browser through a data packet switched network.
Another object of the invention is to provide a voice browser system with a user friendly interface that enables a user to access the most important functions supported by the voice browser and by an application being accessed by the voice browser using only one key stroke.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a voice browser having a mechanism that ensures that the process of accessing a certain part of an HTML page is in synchronism with a corresponding set of potential operations, or voice browser functions, that are possible to perform, for the particular HTML page part, in response to received and interpreted DTMF tones.
According to the present invention, these objects are achieved by an arrangement and a method having the features as defined in the appended claims.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a voice browser in a voice browser system, said voice browser being arranged at a server connected to the Internet and responsive to Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) tones received from a telecommunications network, wherein said voice browser includes: an object model comprising elements defined in a retrieved HTML page and defining navigation positions within said HTML page; audio means for playing an audio stream derived from an element of said HTML page; a voice browser controller for controlling the operation of said voice browser; and a dialogue state structure, having a plurality of states and transitions between states, storing text and audio objects to be outputted to said audio means; and a dialogue controller arranged to control a dialogue with a user based on said dialogue state structure and to response to an interpreted DTMF tone with an event to said voice browser controller, wherein said voice browser controller, in response to an event including an interpreted DTMF tone of a first predetermined set of interpreted DTMF tones, is arranged to control a voice browser function associated with said interpreted DTMF tone and to control from which state in said dialogue state structure, or in a second dialogue state structure associated with a second retrieved HTML page, and dialogue should resume after an execution of said function; said voice browser controller, in response to an event including an interpreted DTMF tone of a second predetermined set of interpreted DTMF tones, is arranged to direct said interpreted DTMF tone to an application of said retrieved HTML page; each of said states is associated with a corresponding position in said object mode; and said voice browser further includes synchronisation means for synchronising said dialogue, with resp
Bjurstrom Hans
Granberg Christer
Hogberg Jesper
Johannsen Berndt
Mcglashan Scott
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Elahee MD S.
Pipebeach AB
Williams Kimberly A.
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