Automated visiting of multiple web sites

• US 5,950,165 A
• Filed: 11/25/1997
• Issued: 09/07/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Unify GmbH & Co. KG (Atos SE)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Communications Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Beyda, William J., Shaffer, Shmuel, Thomas, Jay, Gold, Cheryl
• Primary Examiner(s): WEAVER, SCOTT LOUIS
• Application Number:
  US08/978,175
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.13, 379/88.16, 379/88.17, 379/90.01, 379/93.01, 379/93.13, 370/214, 704/231, 704/270, 704/271, 704/272, 704/275, 395/200.49
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal

Abstract

An apparatus and method allow a telephone user to be automatically connected, in sequence, to multiple telephone numbers in response to a single directory assistance query. The user can elect to put all numbers retrieved by his request into a queue, or can queue a subset. The user can further elect to be connected to all numbers in the queue, or can dial some and skip some. An analogous apparatus and method allow a user connected to the internet to navigate by voice interaction through queued site-visit options.

Claims

1. A method for constructing a queue of at least one internet site and sequentially visiting sites identified in the queue, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) constructing a queue by performing the following substeps;

(1) supplying plural internet site identifiers;

(2) for each supplied site identifier, performing the following;

(A) displaying the supplied site identifier; and

(B) allowing the user to decide whether to add the supplied site identifier to said queue; and

(b) automatically visiting each site identified by an identifier in said queue without requiring further user specification of sites.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein the decision in substep (a)(2) (B) is signaled by voice command.

3. A method as in claim 1 wherein the supplied site identifier is indicated by a speech unit.

4. A method for a user to visit internet sites identified in a queue, said method comprising:

(a) automatically and sequentially presenting site identifiers in said queue without requiring further user specification of sites during said presentation, and for each site identifier until termination of the method, performing the following steps;

(b) the user deciding whether to visit the site identified by the site identifier, wherein if the decision is "no", proceeding directly to step (e);

(c) connecting to said identified site;

(d) completing the site visit;

(e) the user deciding whether to remove said identified site from said queue, and if said decision is to remove, deleting said identified site from said queue; and

(f) the user deciding if more site visits are needed and if no more are needed, terminating the method.

5. A method as in claim 4 wherein the decision of said substep (b) is signaled by voice command, said voice command causing the method to proceed to a subsequent step in the method.

6. A method as in claim 4 wherein the decision of said substep (f) is signaled by voice command, said voice command causing the method to proceed to a subsequent step in the method.

7. A method as in claim 4 wherein the site identifier is indicated by speech unit.

8. A system for visiting a queue of sites on the internet, comprising:

a computer system running applications including a browser and a selector script, the computer system further including means for display and for user input and a connection to the internet, the browser supplying a candidate list of site identifiers for site visits, the user optionally paring the candidate list, the selector script driving a sequence of visits to a subset of sites identified by the identifiers of the candidate list, during which sequence of visits the user need specify no further site identifiers.

9. A system as in claim 8 wherein the computer system further includes a voice response unit (VRU).

10. A system as in claim 9 wherein the supplied sites are identified by the VRU.

11. A system as in claim 9 where list paring is effected by voice command.