Interaction With a Device via a Communications Network

• US 20130101098A1
• Filed: 03/01/2012
• Published: 04/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Novo Diaz, Oscar, Arkko, Jari, Rissanen, Heidi-Maria
• Application Number:
  US13/409,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20130101098A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/93.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML

Abstract

A gateway apparatus enables interaction with a device that is connected to a network. The gateway receives voice or Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signals from a user terminal via a circuit-switched connection. The received voice or DTMF signals are used in conjunction with a semantic data document to ascertain an interaction to be carried on with the device. Signals are generated and received via the network in accordance with the ascertained interaction. A user friendly response from the interaction can be formed (e.g., in the form of a voice response) and communicated to the user terminal via the circuit-switched connection.

Claims

1. A method of operating a gateway apparatus to interact with a device that is connected to a network, the method comprising the gateway apparatus performing:

receiving voice or Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signals from a user terminal via a circuit-switched connection;

using the received voice or DTMF signals in conjunction with a semantic data document to ascertain an interaction to be carried on with the device; and

generating and receiving signals via the network in accordance with the ascertained interaction.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

using one or more signals received from the device in conjunction with the semantic data document to generate a response to be sent to the user terminal via the circuit-switched connection.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising:

forming the response to be sent to the user terminal as a voice response.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the semantic data document is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) document.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the network is a constrained network.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

retrieving the semantic data document from a memory that is part of the gateway apparatus.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising:

retrieving the semantic data document from a memory that is external to the gateway apparatus.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the memory that is external to the gateway apparatus is part of the device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the semantic data document separately defines permissible interactions for each one of a plurality of devices.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the semantic data document defines an address of the device on the network.

11. A gateway apparatus for interacting with a device that is connected to a network, the gateway apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to receive voice or Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signals from a user terminal via a circuit-switched connection;

circuitry configured to use the received voice or DTMF signals in conjunction with a semantic data document to ascertain an interaction to be carried on with the device; and

circuitry configured to generate and receive signals via the network in accordance with the ascertained interaction.

12. The gateway apparatus of claim 11, comprising:

circuitry configured to use one or more signals received from the device in conjunction with the semantic data document to generate a response to be sent to the user terminal via the circuit-switched connection.

13. The gateway apparatus of claim 12, comprising:

circuitry configured to form the response to be sent to the user terminal as a voice response.

14. The gateway apparatus of claim 11, wherein the semantic data document is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) document.

15. The gateway apparatus of claim 11, wherein the network is a constrained network.

16. The gateway apparatus of claim 11, comprising:

a memory; and

circuitry configured to retrieve the semantic data document from the memory.

17. The gateway apparatus of claim 11, comprising:

circuitry configured to retrieve the semantic data document from a memory that is external to the gateway apparatus.

18. The gateway apparatus of claim 17, wherein the memory that is external to the gateway apparatus is part of the device.

19. The gateway apparatus of claim 11, wherein the semantic data document separately defines permissible interactions for each one of a plurality of devices.

20. The gateway apparatus of claim 11, wherein the semantic data document defines an address of the device on the network.