Methods and apparatus for prefetching an audio signal using an audio web retrieval telephone system

• US 20010043592A1
• Filed: 01/05/2001
• Published: 11/22/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Informio, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Informio, Inc.
• Inventors: Jimenez, Ray, Picard, Donald
• Application Number:
  US09/755,511
• Publication Number:
  US 20010043592A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/64 Browsing; Visualisation therefor generation of a list or set of audio data G06F16/638
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/203 : composed of PSTN and data network, e.g. the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 : Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 : Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 : comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 : for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 : Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53316 : Messaging centre selected by message originator
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53333 : Message receiving aspects

Abstract

In one aspect, the invention relates to a method for pre-fetching an audio signal for a user. The method includes establishing a telephone call from a user of an audio web telephone system, providing a system greeting; determining a user profile of the user and retrieving one or more audio signals from an Internet protocol (“IP”) network based on the user profile while the user is listening to the system greeting. The method further includes storing the one or more retrieved audio signals, obtaining a request for an audio signal from the user, retrieving the requested audio signal to the user from the stored one or more retrieved audio signals and converting the requested audio signal to a packet based signal conforming to a telephony packet protocol.

Claims

1. A method for pre-fetching an audio signal for a user, the method comprising:

establishing a telephone call with a user of an audio web telephone system;

providing a system greeting;

determining a user profile of the user;

retrieving one or more audio signals from an Internet protocol (“

IP”

) network based on the user profile while the user is listening to the system greeting;

storing the one or more retrieved audio signals;

obtaining a request for an audio signal from the user;

retrieving the requested audio signal to the user from the stored one or more retrieved audio signals; and

converting the requested audio signal to a packet based signal conforming to a telephony packet protocol.

2. The method of

claim 1

further comprising:

providing a telephony interface module;

wherein the step of retrieving the requested audio signal further comprises storing, in a buffer in the telephony interface module the requested audio signal; and

wherein the converting step further comprises converting by the telephony interface process, the requested audio signal stored in the buffer to a packet based signal conforming to a telephony packet protocol.

3. The method of

claim 1

wherein the step of determining further comprises accessing a file listing desired audio signals based on input entered by the user.

4. The method of

claim 1

wherein the step of determining further comprises accessing a file listing desired audio signals based on past actions by the user.

5. The method of

claim 1

wherein the audio signal is a streamed audio signal.

6. The method of

claim 1

wherein the telephony packet protocol conforms to one of a H.323 and a SIP communications standard.

7. The method of

claim 1

wherein the step of establishing further comprises originating, by the user a phone call to the audio web telephone system.

8. The method of

claim 1

wherein the step of establishing further comprises originating, by the audio web telephone system a phone call to the user.

9. A method for pre-fetching an audio signal for a plurality of users, the method comprising:

determining a trend profile of the plurality of users;

retrieving one or more audio signals from an IP network base on the trend profile of the plurality of users prior to establishing a telephone call with one user of the plurality of users;

storing the one or more retrieved audio signals;

establishing a telephone call from a user of an audio web telephone system;

obtaining a request for an audio content from the user;

retrieving the requested audio content to the user from the stored one or more retrieved audio contents; and

converting the requested audio signal to a packet based signal conforming to a telephony packet protocol.

10. The method of

claim 9

further comprising:

providing a telephony interface module;

wherein the step of retrieving the requested audio signal further comprises storing, in a buffer in the telephony interface module the requested audio signal; and

wherein the converting step further comprises converting by the telephony interface process, the requested audio signal stored in the buffer to a packet based signal conforming to a telephony packet protocol.

11. The method of

claim 9

wherein the step of determining further comprises:

accessing a plurality of files, each file listing desired audio signal based on input entered by each user of the plurality of users;

identifying desired audio signals identically listed in two or more of the files.

12. The method of

claim 9

wherein the step of determining further comprises:

accessing a plurality of files, each file listing desired audio content based on past actions by each user of the plurality of users; and

identifying desired audio signals identically listed in two or more of the files.

13. The method of

claim 9

wherein the audio signal is a streamed audio signal.

14. The method of

claim 9

wherein the telephony packet protocol conforms to one of a H.323 and a SIP communications standard.

15. The method of

claim 9

wherein the step of establishing further comprises originating, by the user a phone call to the audio web telephone system.

16. The method of

claim 9

wherein the step of establishing further comprises originating, by the audio web telephone system a phone call to the user.

17. An audio web telephone system for pre-fetching an audio signal, the system comprising:

a telephony gateway in communication with a public switched telephone network (“

PSTN”

), the telephony gateway configured to receive a telephone call from a user using a telephony device;

an Internet protocol (“

IP”

) network;

an audio browser comprising;

a content retrieval module in communication with the IP network, the content retrieval module configured to retrieve one or more audio signals from the IP network based on a profile of the user; and

a telephony interface module in communication with the telephony gateway for communicating with a telephony device of the user and in communication with an IP network to receive the one or more audio signals, the telephony interface configured to translate an IP-based signal of the one or more audio signals to a telephony packet-based signal of the one or more audio signals, thereby providing an audio message to the user via the telephony device; and

a web cache configured to store the one or more audio signals.

18. The system of

claim 17

wherein the content retrieval module further comprises one of text-to-speech module and streaming media module.

19. The system of

claim 17

wherein the audio browser further comprises a navigation module.

20. The system of

claim 19

wherein the navigation module further comprises one of speech recognition module and touch tone (DTMF) recognition module.