Method and system for providing a central repository for client-specific accessibility

• US 7,062,547 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2001
• Issued: 06/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Schwerdtfeger, Richard Scott, Fairweather, Peter Gustav, Detweiler, Samuel R., Tibbitts, Beth Rush, Crayne, Susan, Hanson, Vicki Lynne, Trewin, Sharon Mary, Brown, Frances C
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Joo, Joshua
• Application Number:
  US09/961,919
• Publication Number:
  US 20030061317A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,723 Days
• Field of Search: 709/246, 717/173, 715/865
• US Class Current: 709/221
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents

Abstract

A method and system that provide a central repository for client specific accessibility applications to a user from an accessible server. The repository is updated on a periodic basis with new solutions provided by the service provider, who also manages licensing agreements between the user and the owner of the accessibility application. Accessibility programs, such as page magnification, screen readers, background changes, input modification, etc., are downloaded into the client device being used by the user customer by clicking link buttons from a web page generated by the service provider'"'"'s server. The accessibility programs downloaded are then resident on the client device until changed by the user. In a preferred embodiment, the service provider also provides a universal transcoding service to apply the user selected accessibility transformations to any type of client device used by the user.

Claims

1. A method for providing a central repository of accessibility applications on a computer network, said method comprising:

connecting a proxy machine to a client device;

sending to the client device, from the proxy machine, a centralized list of accessibility applications on a web page, wherein said web page comprises a plurality of links capable of downloading the accessibility applications, and wherein at least one of the accessibility applications is a computer transformer program that is specifically capable of identifying input errors that are caused by a disability of a specific user of the client device, and wherein said input error is identifiable and auto-correctable through a combination of timing criteria and logical auto-correction algorithms that are specific for the disability of the specific user, and wherein the timing criteria identify input errors for a specific user according to a single key being repeatedly struck within a time period described by the timing criteria;

activating at the client device at least one of the plurality of links to download said computer transformer program into the client device; and

auto-correcting said input error using said downloaded computer transformer program.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising entering into the web page a device type of the client device that is downloading said at least one of the accessibility applications.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessibility application is a computer program capable of transforming a content style to be received by the client device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising transcoding a content format of a web page being received by the client device into a format understandable by the client device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one of the accessibility applications is a client-specific accessibility application for enhancing accessibility of the client operating system.

6. A system for providing a central repository of accessibility applications on a computer network, said system comprising:

means for connecting a proxy machine to a client device;

means for sending to the client device, from the proxy machine, a centralized list of accessibility applications on a web page, wherein said web page comprises a plurality of links capable of downloading the accessibility applications, and wherein at least one of the accessibility applications is a computer transformer program that is specifically capable of correcting input errors that are caused by a disability of a specific user of the client device, and wherein said input error is correctable through a combination of timing criteria and logical auto-correction algorithms that are specific for the disability of the specific user, and wherein the timing criteria identify input errors for a specific user according to a single key being repeatedly struck within a time period described by the timing criteria;

means for activating at the client device at least one of the plurality of links to download said computer transformer program into the client device; and

means for correcting said input error using said downloaded computer transformer program.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising means for entering into the web page a device type of the client device that is downloading said at least one of the accessibility applications.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the accessibility application is a computer program capable of transforming a content style to be received by the client device.

9. The system of claim 6, further comprising means for transcoding a content format being received by the client device into a format understandable by the client device.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein said at least one of the accessibility applications is a client-specific accessibility application for enhancing accessibility of the client operating system.

11. A computer-readable recording medium having a stored computer program product for providing a central repository of accessibility applications on a computer network, said computer program product comprising:

computer program code for connecting a proxy machine to a client device;

computer program code for sending to the client device, from the proxy machine, a centralized list of accessibility applications on a web page, wherein said web page comprises a plurality of links capable of downloading the accessibility applications, and wherein at least one of the accessibility applications is a computer transformer program that is specifically capable of correcting input errors that are caused by a disability of a specific user of the client device, and wherein said input error is correctable through a combination of timing criteria and logical auto-correction algorithms that are specific for the disability of the specific user, and wherein the timing criteria identify input errors for a specific user according to a single key being repeatedly struck within a time period described by the timing criteria;

computer program code for activating at the client device at least one of the plurality of links to download said computer transformer program into the client device; and

computer program code for correcting said input error using said downloaded computer transformer program.

12. The computer-readable recording medium of claim 11, further comprising program code for entering into a web page a device type of the client device that is downloading at least one of the accessibility applications.

13. The computer-readable recording medium of claim 11 wherein the accessibility application is a computer program capable of transforming a content style to be received by the client device.

14. The computer-readable recording medium of claim 11, further comprising computer program code capable of transcoding a content format being received by the client device into a format understandable by the client device.

15. The computer-readable recording medium of claim 11, further comprising computer program code for said at least one of the accessibility applications being a client-specific accessibility application for enhancing accessibility of the client operating system.