Voice browser system

• US 7,251,602 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2001
• Issued: 07/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Yuji, Fujii, Kenichi, Ito, Fumiaki, Ueda, Takaya
• Primary Examiner(s): Harper; V. Paul
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vo; Huyen X.
• Application Number:
  US09/817,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20010049604A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,317 Days
• Field of Search: 704/275, 704/270.1, 704/258, 704/260, 704/251, 704/231, 704/257, 704/259, 704/266, 704/270, 709/219, 709/206, 709/218
• US Class Current: 704/270
• 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: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML

Abstract

To provide a browser apparatus with the contents of data provided on a network in a form of voice data, voice data indicating a part or the whole of the contents of the data provided on the network is formed and stored on a gateway, on the basis of the data. Data is formed by adding to the data provided on the network an identifier <VOICEOUT . . . > indicating a location where the voice data is stored. This data is provided to the browser apparatus. The browser apparatus receives the voice data from the location indicated by the identifier.

Claims

1. A data processing apparatus capable of communicating with a server and a browser apparatus via a network, comprising:

means for obtaining data from the server according to a request from the browser apparatus;

means for creating synthetic voice data indicating a part or the whole of the contents of the obtained data;

means for storing the synthetic voice data;

means for forming data by adding to the obtained data an identifier which is comprised of text data and which indicates a location where the synthetic voice data is stored; and

means for providing said browser apparatus with the formed data.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the obtained data is described in a markup language, and the identifier is added to the obtained data as a tag corresponding to the markup language.

3. A browser system comprising a browser apparatus, a server, and a data processing apparatus capable of communicating with said browser apparatus and said server via a network, wherein said data processing apparatus comprises:

means for obtaining data from the server according to a request from the browser apparatus;

means for creating synthetic voice data indicating a part or the whole of the contents of the obtained data;

means for storing the synthetic voice data;

means for forming data by adding to the obtained data an identifier which is comprised of text data and which indicates a location where the synthetic voice data is stored; and

means for providing said browser apparatus with the formed data,

wherein said browser apparatus comprises means for acquiring the synthetic voice data from the location indicated by the identifier and outputting a voice related to the synthetic voice data.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the obtained data is described in a markup language, and the identifier is added to the obtained data as a tag corresponding to the markup language.

5. A data processing method of a data processing apparatus capable of communicating with a server and a browser apparatus via a network, said method comprising the steps of:

obtaining data from the server according to a request from the browser apparatus;

creating synthetic voice data indicating a part or the whole of the contents of the obtained data;

storing the synthetic voice data;

forming data by adding to the obtained data an identifier which is comprised of text data and which indicates a location where the synthetic voice data is stored; and

providing the browser apparatus with the formed data.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the obtained data is described in a markup language, and the identifier is added to the obtained data as a tag corresponding to the markup language.

7. A recording medium recording having program instructions recorded thereon to allow a computer capable of communicating with a server and a browsers apparatus via a network to function as:

means for obtaining data from the server according to a request from the browser apparatus;

means for creating synthetic voice data indicating a part or the whole of the contents of the obtained data;

means for storing the synthetic voice data;

means for forming data by adding to the obtained data an identifier which is comprised of text data and which indicates a location where the synthetic voice data is stored; and

means for providing the browser apparatus with the formed data.

8. The medium according to claim 7, wherein the obtained data provided on said network is described in a markup language, and the identifier is added to the obtained data as a tag corresponding to the markup language.