Effortless association between services in a communication system and methods thereof

• US 7,831,656 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2004
• Issued: 11/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cazzolla, John J., Haenel, Walter, Ghasemi, Reza, Hansen, Joseph A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phillips; Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Daftuar; Saket K
• Application Number:
  US11/025,736
• Publication Number:
  US 20060143308A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,141 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/226
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• 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 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers

Abstract

A communication system (100) includes a portal (110), a subscriber (108), a service processor (112), and a communication network (102-104, 107) for providing communication between the portal (110), the subscriber (108) and the service processor (112). The components (108-112) of the communication system (100) are programmed to transmit registration information from the subscriber (108) to the portal (110), transmit from the portal (110) to the subscriber (108) a coupling application (212), corresponding controllable content, and a ticket identifying a communication session between the subscriber and the portal, invoke the coupling application (212) in response to a content type of the controllable content selected at the subscriber (108), transmit the ticket and the content type from the coupling application (212) to the service processor (112), transmit the ticket and the content type from the service processor (112) to the portal (110), transmit supplementary content corresponding to the content type from the portal (110) to the service processor (112), and transmit synthesized content corresponding to the supplementary content from the service processor (112) to the subscriber (108).

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of association between services in a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a communication system including a portal, a plurality of subscriber devices using different communication connections including a wired communication connections and a wireless communication connections, and a service processor, wherein the portal, the plurality of subscriber devices, and the service processor are communicatively linked through a communication network;

transmitting registration information from a subscriber device to the portal, the subscriber device having a browser for interpreting controllable content and a communication application;

authenticating the subscriber at the portal according to the registration information;

transmitting from the portal to the subscriber device a coupling application, corresponding controllable content, and a ticket identifying a communication session between the subscriber device and the portal, wherein the corresponding controllable content includes a content choice element associated with a content type and the coupling application;

invoking the coupling application in response to a content type of the corresponding controllable content selected at the subscriber device by selecting the content choice element;

transmitting the ticket and the selected content type from the coupling application to the service processor, the service processor including a synthesis browser;

transmitting the ticket, a device identifier, and the selected content type from the service processor to the portal;

authenticating the service processor at the portal according to the ticket and the device identifier;

transmitting supplementary content corresponding to the selected content type from the portal to the service processor, wherein the supplementary content is one among a group consisting of pre-synthesized text-to-speech content and pre-synthesized speech-to-text content;

synthesizing by the synthesis browser the supplementary content into synthesized content representative of the selected content type;

establishing by the communication application a communication link according to the selected content type between the subscriber device and the service processor; and

transmitting the synthesized content from the service processor to the subscriber device via the established communication link.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication steps take place for each communication exchange between the subscriber, the service processor and the portal, respectively.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the communication link does not interrupt communications between the portal and the subscriber.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the service processor further comprises a call registry, and the portal further comprises a synthesis processor, a content processor, and a routing element coupled thereto, the method further comprising the steps of:

storing the ticket and content type at the call registry;

determining at the routing element according to the device identifier and content type a select one of the synthesis and content processors;

routing the content type to the select one of the synthesis and content processors;

generating at the select one of the synthesis and content processors the supplementary content according to the content type;

transmitting from the selected one of the synthesis and content processors the supplementary content to the service processor;

synthesizing at the synthesis browser the supplementary content into synthesized content;

transmitting from the synthesis browser the synthesized content to the subscriber; and

repeating all or a portion of the steps above until all content associated with the content type has been synthesized and transmitted to the subscriber.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of transmitting from the service processor to the coupling application a reference to the entry in the call registry corresponding to the ticket and content type.

6. A communication system, comprising:

a memory;

a portal;

a plurality of subscriber devices using different communication connections including

a wired communication connection and a wireless communication connection, each subscriber device having a browser for interpreting controllable content and a communication application;

a service processor having a synthesis browser; and

a communication network for providing communication between the portal, the subscriber devices and the service processor;

wherein the components of the communication system are programmed to;

transmit registration information from the subscriber device to the portal;

authenticate the subscriber at the portal according to the registration information;

transmit from the portal to the subscriber device a coupling application, corresponding controllable content, and a ticket identifying a communication session between the subscriber device and the portal, wherein the corresponding controllable content includes a content choice element associated with a content type and the coupling application;

invoke the coupling application in response to a content type of the controllable content selected at the subscriber device by selecting the content choice element;

transmit the ticket and the selected content type from the coupling application to the service processor;

transmit the ticket, a device identifier, and the selected content type from the service processor to the portal;

authenticate the service processor at the portal according to the ticket and the device identifier;

transmit supplementary content corresponding to the selected content type from the portal to the service processor, wherein the supplementary content is one among the group consisting of pre-synthesized text-to-speech content and pre-synthesized speech-to-text content;

synthesize by the synthesis browser the supplementary content into synthesized content representative of the selected content type;

establish by the communication application a communication link according to the selected content type between the subscriber device and the service processor; and

transmit synthesized content corresponding to the supplementary content from the service processor to the subscriber device via the established communication link.

7. The communication system of claim 6, wherein the authentication steps take place for each communication exchange between the subscriber, the service processor and the portal, respectively.

8. The communication system of claim 6, wherein the service processor further comprises a call registry, and the portal further comprises a synthesis processor, a content processor, and a routing element coupled thereto, and wherein the components of the communication system are further programmed to:

store the ticket at the call registry;

determine at the routing element according to the device identifier and content type a select one of the synthesis and content processors;

route the content type to the select one of the synthesis and content processors;

generate at the select one of the synthesis and content processors the supplementary content according to the content type;

transmit from the selected one of the synthesis and content processors the supplementary content to the service processor;

synthesize at the synthesis browser the supplementary content into synthesized content;

transmit from the synthesis browser the synthesized content to the subscriber; and

repeat all or a portion of the steps above until all content associated with the content type has been synthesized and transmitted to the subscriber.

9. The communication system of claim 6, wherein the components of the communication system are further programmed to transmit from the service processor to the coupling application a reference to the entry in the call registry corresponding to the ticket and content type.