Method and apparatus for accessing a wide area network

• US 6,996,609 B2
• Filed: 04/28/1997
• Issued: 02/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: G&H Nevada-Tek
• Inventors: Gough, Michael, Hickman, Paul L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Application Number:
  US08/847,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20010033564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,207 Days
• Field of Search: 370351-360, 379/88, 379/96, 379/67, 379/87, 379/97, 379/89, 379/67.1, 379/88.13, 704/270, 704/271, 704/275, 395/500, 395/200.49, 395/200.48, 395/200.57, 709/218, 709/217, 709/219, 709204-207, 709/228, 709/232, 707/101, 707/2, 707/1
• US Class Current: 709/218
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/247 Telephone sets including user guidance or feature selection means facilitating their use user interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2478 Telephone terminals specially adapted for non-voice services, e.g. email, internet access centralized arrangements where telephones services are combined H04M7/0024; for recording text messages H04M3/5322; for accessing Internet H04M3/4938
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/08 specially adapted for optional reception of entertainment or informative matter
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/39 using speech synthesis speech synthesis per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5322 for recording text messages
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A voice web browser system includes a telephone, an access system coupled to a TCP/IP network, a telephone system coupling the telephone to the access system, and a speech-to-text system for “reading” text that had been sent over the TCP/IP network to the telephone user. Preferably, the access system receives TCP/IP packets from web pages accessible over the TCP/IP network and parses the HTML code of the web pages into text and non-text portions, such that the text portion can be read to the telephone user. A computer implemented process for obtaining web page information over a TCP/IP network includes implementing a connection of a telephone user to an access system that is coupled to a TCP/IP network, detecting a selection of at least one navigation command by the telephone user to access a web page accessible over the TCP/IP network, and navigating over the TCP/IP network to the web page in response to the navigation command, resulting in a verbal communication of at least some information derivable from the web page to the telephone user. A method for retrieving e-mail that was sent over a TCP/IP network includes calling from a user telephone to an access computer coupled to a TCP/IP network, providing user identification to the access computer, retrieving e-mail via the access computer that was sent over the TCP/IP network and addressed to the user, and reading the e-mail to the user of the user telephone utilizing a text-to-speech system.

Claims

1. A voice web browser system comprising:

a telephone;

an access system coupled to a TCP/IP network, said TCP/IP network comprising a plurality of nodes, said TCP/IP network providing access to web pages stored on computer systems coupled to said TCP/IP network, said web pages comprising HTML code that can be transmitted via TCP/IP packets to said access system over said TCP/IP network, said access system being able to receive said TCP/IP packets and to parse said HTML code into text and non-text portions;

memory coupled to said access system including computer executable instructions for;

(a) retrieving a web page via a network browser including a parser, a converter and a player;

(b) selecting at least one audio advertisement; and

(c) playing said selected at least one audio advertisement to a user of said telephone;

a telephone system coupling said telephone to said access system for interactive communication with said access system; and

a text-to-speech system associated with said access system for reading at least some of said text to a user of said telephone.

2. A voice web browser system as recited in claim 1 wherein said telephone is a touch-tone telephone, and wherein said access system can be provided with commands in the form of DTMF signals.

3. A voice web browser system as recited in claim 1 further comprising a speech recognition system responsive to spoken commands from said telephone user and operative to provide operational commands to said access system.

4. A voice web browser system as recited in claim 1 wherein said access system consists of a unitary computer system.

5. A voice web browser system as recited in claim 1 wherein said access system comprises an interface computer system coupled to said telephone user by said telephone system, and a server system coupling said interface computer system to said TCP/IP network.

6. A voice web browser as recited in claim 1 wherein said access system is responsive to commands from said telephone user for navigating both within a web page and between web pages of said TCP/IP network.

7. A computer implemented process for obtaining web page information over a TCP/IP network comprising:

implementing a connection of a telephone user to an access system that is coupled to a TCP/IP network;

detecting a selection of at least one navigation command by said telephone user to access a web page accessible over said TCP/IP network; and

navigating over said TCP/IP network to said web page in response to said navigation command, resulting in a verbal communication of at least some information derivable from said web page to said telephone user;

selecting at least one audio advertisement; and

playing said at least one selected audio advertisement to said telephone user.

8. A computer implemented process as recited in claim 7 further comprising making an initial verbal contact with said telephone user after implementing a connection.

9. A computer implemented process as recited in claim 8 wherein said initial verbal contact includes providing a plurality of options to the telephone user.

10. A computer implemented process as recited in claim 9 wherein said plurality of options includes navigating the TCP/IP network and the sending or receiving of e-mail.

11. A computer implemented process as recited in claim 10 wherein said plurality of options further includes creating a web page on said TCP/IP network.

12. A computer readable media encoded with the computer implemented process of claim 7.

16. A voice web browser as recited in claim 12 further comprising means for creating a web page accessible via said TCP/IP network.

13. A voice web browser comprising:

connection means for implementing a connection of a telephone user to an access system that is coupled to a TCP/IP network;

means for detecting a selection of at least one navigation command by said telephone user to access a web page accessible over said TCP/IP network;

means for navigating over said TCP/IP network to said web page in response to said navigation command, resulting in a verbal communication of at least some information derivable from said web page to said telephone user;

means for selecting at least one advertisement; and

means for playing said at least one selected advertisement.

14. A voice web browser as recited in claim 13 further comprising means for making an initial verbal contact with said telephone user after implementing a connection.

15. A voice web browser as recited in claim 13 wherein said means for making an initial verbal contact includes means for providing a plurality of options to the telephone user.

17. A method for retrieving e-mail that was sent over a TCP/IP network comprising:

calling by a user from a user telephone to an access computer coupled to a TCP/IP network;

providing user identification by said user to said access computer;

playing an audio advertisement to said user over said user telephone under the control of said access computer;

receiving an indication at said access computer that said user would like to have e-mail that was transmitted over said TCP/IP network read via a text-to-speech process and;

reading said e-mail as retrieved by said access computer to said user utiliziing a text-to-speech system.

18. A method for retrieving e-mail as recited in claim 17 further comprising providing at least one command to said access computer via a DTMF signal developed by said user telephone.

19. A computer readable media encoded with software instructions and data to implement the method of claim 17.

20. A system for retrieving e-mail that was sent over a TCP/IP network comprising:

an access computer means coupled to a TCP/IP network, said access computer means being accessible by a user via a user telephone;

means for providing user identification to said access computer means;

means for retrieving e-mail via said access computer means that was sent over said TCP/IP network and addressed to said user;

means for selecting at least one advertisement;

means for playing said at least one selected advertisement; and

means for reading said e-mail to said user of said user telephone.