Delivering voice portal services using an XML voice-enabled web server

• US 6,912,691 B1
• Filed: 06/30/2000
• Issued: 06/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Garahan, Peter Thomas, Dodrill, Lewis Dean, Barban, Susan Harrow
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): SCHLAIFER, JONATHAN D
• Application Number:
  US09/608,188
• Time in Patent Office: 1,824 Days
• Field of Search: 715/513, 715/507, 715/517, 709/201, 709/203, 709/219, 709/226, 709/229, 709/250, 709/217, 707/5, 707/10, 379/100.01, 713/204, 713/201
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• 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 2203/253 where a visual mode is used instead of a voice mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4509 Unified messaging with single point of access to voicemail and other mail or messaging systems
• 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 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• 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 application server, configured for executing an application defined by XML documents for delivering voice portal services, accesses subscriber attributes from a standardized information database server (such as LDAP). The application server, upon receiving a request from a proxy browser serving a user, accesses the standardized database server to obtain attribute information for responding to the application request. The application server sends a request to a content server for media content based on the HTTP request and the attribute information. The application server generates an HTML page, for execution of the prescribed voice portal service application having XML tags configured for controlling delivery of the media content in an audible format, based on the HTTP request.

Claims

1. A method in an application server for executing an application to deliver voice portal services, the method comprising:

receiving a HTTP request for execution of a prescribed voice portal service application for a subscriber;

accessing attribute information for the subscriber from an Internet Protocol (IP) based database server configured for storing subscriber attributes;

sending a request to a content server for media content based on the HTTP request and the attribute information; and

generating an HTML page for execution of the prescribed voice portal service application having XML tags configured for controlling delivery of the media content in an audible format, based on the HTTP request,

wherein the generating step includes generating the HTML page by an application instance executed by the server, the method further comprising, terminating the application instance based on the HTML page having been output to a browser.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step includes recovering within the HTTP request a browser configuration.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the recovering step includes identifying the browser configuration as one of a computer browser configuration configured for parsing a prescribed group of media tags and presenting a prescribed group of media types, and a lightweight browser configuration configured for parsing a prescribed portion of the prescribed group of media tags.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the generating step includes generating the HTML page by selectively supplying media tag types based on the identified browser configuration.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessing step includes accessing the IP-based database server according to the LDAP protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of sending a request includes using a data retrieval application programming interface to access the content server.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising converting text based information obtained from the content server into a media file having at least one prescribed media type.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the converting step includes converting the text based information into a .wav file playable by a browser.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of generating an HTML page includes inserting a first media tag including the .wav file and a second media tag configured for playing the .wav file.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the converting step includes executing a text to speech resource for converting the text based information into an audio file.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a second HTML page in response to an input indicating particular information of interest received from the subscriber, having instructions to access the particular information.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of accessing attribute information includes accessing subscriber preferences defining information which the subscriber wishes to receive.

13. An application server configured for executing an application for delivering voice portal services, the application server including:

a hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) interface for receiving an HTTP request specifying execution of a prescribed voice portal application for a subscriber; and

an application runtime environment configured for dynamically generating, in response to the HTTP request, a hypertext markup language (HTML) document for execution of the prescribed voice portal service application, the HTML document having XML tags configured for controlling delivery of media content, from a content server, in an audible format based on the HTTP request and on accessing attribute information for the subscriber from an Internet Protocol (IP) based database server configured for storing subscriber attributes,

wherein the application runtime environment is configured for generating the HTML document by an application instance, wherein the application instance is terminated based on the HTML document having been output to a browser.

14. The server of claim 13, wherein the application runtime environment accesses the IP-based database server according to the LDAP protocol.

15. The server of claim 13, wherein the application runtime environment is configured for instructing a data retrieval application programming interface to access the content server.

16. The server of claim 13, wherein the application runtime environment is configured for converting text based information, obtained from the content server, into a media file having at least one prescribed media type.

17. The server of claim 16, wherein the application runtime environment is configured for converting the text based information into a .wav file playable by a browser.

18. The server of claim 16, wherein application runtime environment is configured for executing a text to speech resource for converting the text based information into an audio file.

19. The server of claim 13, wherein the attribute information includes subscriber preferences defining information which the subscriber wishes to receive.

20. A computer readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions for executing an application to deliver voice portal services, the sequences of instructions including instructions for performing the steps of:

receiving a HTTP request for execution of a prescribed voice portal service application for a subscriber;

accessing attribute information for the subscriber from an Internet Protocol (IP) based database server configured for storing subscriber attributes;

sending a request to a content server for media content based on the HTTP request and the attribute information; and

generating an HTML page for execution of the prescribed voice portal service application having XML tags configured for controlling delivery of the media content in an audible format, based on the HTTP request,

wherein the generating step includes generating the HTML page by an application instance executed by the server, the sequence of instructions further including instructions for terminating the application instance based on the HTML page having been output to a browser.

21. The medium of claim 20, wherein the receiving step includes recovering within the HTTP request a browser configuration.

22. The medium of claim 21, wherein the recovering step includes identifying the browser configuration as one of a computer browser configuration configured for parsing a prescribed group of media tags and presenting a prescribed group of media types, and a lightweight browser configuration configured for parsing a prescribed portion of the prescribed group of media tags.

23. The medium of claim 21, wherein the generating step includes generating the HTML page by selectively supplying media tag types based on the identified browser configuration.

24. The medium of claim 20, wherein the accessing step includes accessing the IP-based database server according to the LDAP protocol.

25. The medium of claim 20, wherein the step of sending a request includes using a data retrieval application programming interface to access the content server.

26. The medium of claim 25, further comprising converting text based information obtained from the content server, into a media file having at least one prescribed media type.

27. The medium of claim 26, wherein the converting step includes converting the text based information into a .wav file playable by a browser.

28. The medium of claim 26, wherein the step of generating an HTML page includes inserting a first media tag including the .wav file and a second media tag configured for playing the .wav file.

29. The medium of claim 25, wherein the converting step includes executing a text to speech resource for converting the text based information into an audio file.

30. The medium of claim 20, further comprising generating second HTML page in response to an input indicating particular information of interest received from the subscriber, having instructions to access the particular information.

31. The medium of claim 20, wherein the step of accessing attribute information includes accessing subscriber preferences defining information which the subscriber wishes to receive.

32. An application server configured for executing an application for delivering a voice portal service, the application server including:

a hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) interface for receiving an HTTP request specifying execution of a prescribed voice portal application for a subscriber; and

means for dynamically generating, in response to the HTTP request, a hypertext markup language (HTML) document for execution of the prescribed voice portal service application, the HTML document having XML tags configured for controlling delivery of media content, from a content server, in an audible format based on the HTTP request and on accessing attribute information for the subscriber from an Internet Protocol (IP) based database server configured for storing subscriber attributes,

wherein the generating means is configured for generating the HTML document by an application instance, wherein the application instance is terminated based on the HTML document having been output to a browser.

33. The server of claim 32, wherein the generating means is configured to access the IP based database server according to the LDAP protocol.

34. The server of claim 32, wherein the generating means is configured to instruct a data retrieval application programming interface to access the content server.

35. The server of claim 32, wherein the generating means is configured for converting text based information into a media file having at least one prescribed media type.

36. The server of claim 35, wherein the generating means is configured for converting the text based information into a .wav file playable by a browser.

37. The server of claim 35, wherein generating means is configured for executing a text to speech resource for converting the text based information into an audio file.

38. The server of claim 32, wherein the attribute information includes subscriber preferences defining information which the subscriber wishes to receive.