System and method for providing multi-modal bookmarks

• US 8,238,881 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2002
• Issued: 08/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mind Fusion, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Waloomba Tech Limited LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Mumick, Inderpal Singh, Sibal, Sandeep
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Yuwen
• Application Number:
  US10/211,117
• Publication Number:
  US 20030032456A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,658 Days
• Field of Search: 455/556, 455/412.1, 455/412, 455/163, 455/566, 709217-219
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/36 Memories
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML

Abstract

A system for enabling multi-modal bookmarks comprises a bookmark repository coupled to two browsers. A user bookmarks content using a first browser, and a bookmark is stored in the bookmark repository. The user subsequently uses a second browser and requests that the bookmark be de-referenced to point the second browser to the bookmarked content. The second browser accesses the bookmark in the content repository and is directed to the bookmarked content. The first and second browsers may be visual and voice browsers that render Wireless Markup Language (WML) and Voice Extensible Markup Language (VXML) content, respectively, wherein a mapping is provided that links a given piece of visual content to an equivalent piece of voice content.

Claims

1. A method of synchronizing bookmarks comprising:

receiving a request to save a first bookmark identifying a first web document in a first mode, the first bookmark received from a first browser executing in the first mode, the first mode being one of a visual mode and a voice mode;

receiving, from the first browser, the first bookmark comprising data indicative of the first web document;

storing the first bookmark in a bookmark repository on a multimodal platform, the bookmark repository operable for storing one or more bookmarks in a multimodal format and accessible to a plurality of browsers regardless of whether the browsers are executing in the visual or voice mode;

receiving, from a second browser executing in a second mode, the second mode being one of the visual or voice mode, a request to access the first bookmark;

linking the first bookmark with a second web document in the second mode containing substantially equivalent content of the first web document, the second web document compatible with the second browser based on a relationship between the first web document and the second web document; and

sending a second bookmark identifying the second web document to the second browser, wherein the second browser executing in the second mode is operable to navigate to the second web document using the second bookmark.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein web documents of the first browser are linked to corresponding second web documents of the second browser, the corresponding second web documents containing substantially equivalent content of the first web documents.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein there is no canonical relationship between the first web document of the first mode and the second web document of the second mode.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a universal resource locator points to a plurality of pages written in a plurality of markup languages, and the request to access the first web document is associated with an identification of a type of browser that generated the request.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the bookmark repository comprises a hierarchical structure of bookmarks comprising folders in the first mode, and wherein the second browser is operable to render menus based on the hierarchical structure in the second mode.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second browser menus are configured to be bypassed.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first bookmark specifies a preferred mode for interacting with the second web document, further comprising, upon re-directing and the second browser is directed to the second web document operating in the mode specified in the first bookmark.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising overriding the preferred mode of interacting with the second web document based on one of unavailability of the preferred mode, overriding instructions generated by an application that provides the second web document, and an overriding instruction from a user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the preferred mode is the mode that is operative at the time the first bookmark is accessed.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a textual annotation describing the bookmark.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the bookmark repository further stores annotative data descriptive of the first web document.

12. A system for storing bookmarks, the system comprising a processor and memory, the system configured to:

receive a request to save a first bookmark identifying a first web document in a first mode, the first bookmark received from a first browser executing in the first mode, the first mode being one of a visual mode and a voice mode;

receive, from the first browser, the first bookmark comprising data indicative of the first web document;

store the first bookmark in a bookmark repository on a multimodal platform, the bookmark repository operable for storing one or more bookmarks in a multimodal format and accessible to a plurality of browsers regardless of whether the browsers are executing in the visual or voice mode;

receive, from a second browser executing in a second mode, the second mode being one of the visual or voice mode, a request to access the first bookmark;

link the first bookmark with a second web document in the second mode containing substantially equivalent content of the first web document, the second web document compatible with the second browser based on a relationship between the first web document and the second web document; and

send a second bookmark identifying the second web document to the second browser, wherein the second browser executing in the second mode is operable to navigate to the second web document using the second bookmark.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving a request to save a first bookmark identifying a first web document in a first mode, the first bookmark received from a first browser executing in the first mode, the first mode being one of a visual mode and a voice mode;

instructions for receiving, from the first browser, the first bookmark comprising data indicative of the first web document;

instructions for storing the first bookmark in a bookmark repository on a multimodal platform, the bookmark repository operable for storing one or more bookmarks in a multimodal format and accessible to a plurality of browsers regardless of whether the browsers are executing in the visual or voice mode;

instructions for receiving, from a second browser executing in a second mode, the second mode being one of the visual or voice mode, a request to access the first bookmark;

instructions for linking the first bookmark with a second web document in the second mode containing substantially equivalent content of the first web document, the second web document compatible with the second browser based on a relationship between the first web document and the second web document; and

instructions for sending a second bookmark identifying the second web document to the second browser, wherein the second browser executing in the second mode is operable to navigate to the second web document using the second bookmark.