Apparatus and method for providing browser audio control for voice enabled web applications

• US 8,448,059 B1
• Filed: 12/14/1999
• Issued: 05/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dodrill, Lewis Dean, Joshi, Satish, Danner, Ryan Alan, Martin, Steven J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hutton, Jr., Doug
• Application Number:
  US09/459,926
• Time in Patent Office: 4,907 Days
• Field of Search: 715/513, 715/501.1, 704/275, 704/270.1, 369/50
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A unified web-based voice messaging system provides voice application control between a web browser and an application server via an hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) connection on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The web browser receives an HTML page from the application server having an XML element that defines data for an audio operation to be performed by an executable audio resource. The web browser selectively executes the audio operation based on whether the web browser detects the presence of the executable audio resource. If the web browser does not have the executable audio resource, then the web browser ignores the XML element, and merely presents any other recognized HTML tags. However if the web browser has access to an executable audio resource that understands the XML element, then the web browser executes the audio operation based on enhanced audio control specified by the XML element. Hence, a web browser can be used to provide enhanced voice control for voice enabled web applications, merely by possession of an executable audio resource that recognizes the XML element that specifies the enhanced audio control required for the audio operation to be performed.

Claims

1. A method in a device configured for executing a web browser according to hypertext transport (HTTP) protocol, the method comprising:

receiving a hypertext markup language (HTML) page, from an HTTP connection, having at least one extensible markup language (XML) element for controlling execution of an audio operation by an executable audio resource; and

selectively executing by the web browser the audio operation based on detection of the executable audio resource in the device by the web browser, including interpreting the at least one XML element by the executable audio resource in the device for the controlled execution of the audio operation;

wherein the selectively executing step includes executing the audio operation based on execution of the executable resource within the HTML page;

wherein the executable resource is a Java resource, the executing step including instantiating the Java resource by the web browser in response to parsing the XML element embedded within the HTML page.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectively executing step includes executing the audio operation based on detection of the executable audio resource in the device as an executable plug-in resource registered with the web browser.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the XML element specifies playing a plurality of prescribed audio files as a prompt for a user, the selectively executing step including playing the prescribed audio files in a sequence specified by the XML element.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the playing step includes playing the prescribed audio files as concatenated prompts according to the sequence specified by the XML element.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the playing step further includes interrupting the concatenated prompts in response to a detected user input, the method further including:

posting the detected user input via the HTTP connection to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) specified in the HTML page;

receiving a second HTML page from the HTTP connection having a second XML element for controlling a second audio operation to be performed by the executable audio resource; and

selectively executing the second audio operation based on detection of the executable audio resource.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the HTML page includes a second XML element for controlling execution of one of a plurality of audio operations to be performed by the executable audio resource based on a corresponding user input, the method further including executing the one audio operation by the executable audio resource based on the corresponding user input.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of executing the one audio operation includes initiating execution of the one audio operation in response to receiving a prescribed single key input as the user input.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of initiating execution of the one audio operation includes submitting the prescribed single key input according to HTTP protocol to a destination specified in the second XML element.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of executing the one audio operation includes initiating execution of the one audio operation in response to collection of a prescribed number of key inputs as the user input.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of initiating execution of the one audio operation includes recording a voice input and sending the recorded voice input according to HTTP protocol to a destination specified in the second XML element.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising posting a user input, that describes the recorded voice input, by the browser to a second destination specified by the HTML page in a prescribed sequence relative to the sending of the recorded voice input.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selectively executing the audio operation includes recording, by the executable audio resource, a voice input and sending the recorded voice input according to HTTP protocol to a destination specified in the XML element.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising posting a user input, that describes the recorded voice input, by the browser to a second destination specified by the HTML page in a prescribed sequence relative to the sending of the recorded voice input.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectively executing step includes associating the XML element to the executable audio resource in response to detecting the XML element inlined into the HTML page.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the associating step includes determining an association between the XML element and the executable audio resource based on accessing stored configuration settings for the web browser.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectively executing step includes instantiating the executable audio resource by the browser in response to an embedded tag in the HTML page.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectively executing step includes ignoring by the web browser the XML element based on an absence of the executable audio resource by the device.

18. A computer readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions for executing a web browser by a device according to hypertext transport (HTTP) protocol, the sequences of instructions including instructions for performing the steps of:

receiving a hypertext markup language (HTML) page, from an HTTP connection, having at least one extensible markup language (XML) element for controlling execution of an audio operation to be performed by an executable audio resource; and

selectively executing by the web browser the audio operation based on detection of the executable audio resource in the device by the web browser, including interpreting the at least one XML element by the executable audio resource in the device for the controlled execution of the audio operation;

wherein the selectively executing step includes executing the audio operation based on execution of the executable resource within the HTML page;

wherein the executable resource is a Java resource, the executing step including instantiating the Java resource by the web browser in response to parsing the XML element embedded within the HTML page.

19. The medium of claim 18, wherein the selectively executing step includes executing the audio operation based on detection of the executable audio resource in the device as an executable plug-in resource registered with the web browser.

20. The medium of claim 19, wherein the XML element specifies playing a plurality of prescribed audio files as a prompt for a user, the selectively executing step including playing the prescribed audio files in a sequence specified by the XML element.

21. The medium of claim 20, wherein the playing step includes playing the prescribed audio files as concatenated prompts according to the sequence specified by the XML element.

22. The medium of claim 21, wherein the playing step further includes interrupting the concatenated prompts in response to a detected user input, further including:

posting the detected user input via the HTTP connection to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) specified in the HTML page;

receiving a second HTML page from the HTTP connection having a second XML element for controlling execution of a second audio operation to be performed by the executable audio resource; and

selectively executing the second audio operation based on detection of the executable audio resource.

23. The medium of claim 20, wherein the HTML page includes a second XML element for controlling execution of one of a plurality of audio operations to be performed by the executable audio resource based on a corresponding user input, the medium further including instructions for executing the one audio operation by the executable audio resource based on the corresponding user input.

24. The medium of claim 23, wherein the step of executing the one audio operation includes initiating execution of the one audio operation in response to receiving a prescribed single key input as the user input.

25. The medium of claim 24, wherein the step of initiating execution of the one audio operation includes submitting the prescribed single key input according to HTTP protocol to a destination specified in the second XML element.

26. The medium of claim 23, wherein the step of executing the one audio operation includes initiating execution of the one audio operation in response to collection of a prescribed number of key inputs as the user input.

27. The medium of claim 23, wherein the step of initiating execution of the one audio operation includes recording a voice input and sending the recorded voice input according to HTTP protocol to a destination specified in the second XML element.

28. The medium of claim 27, further comprising posting a user input, that describes the recorded voice input, by the browser to a second destination specified by the HTML page in a prescribed sequence relative to the sending of the recorded voice input.

29. The medium of claim 18, wherein the step of selectively executing the audio operation includes recording, by the executable audio resource, a voice input and sending the recorded voice input according to HTTP protocol to a destination specified in the XML element.

30. The medium of claim 29, further comprising posting a user input, that describes the recorded voice input, by the browser to a second destination specified by the HTML page in a prescribed sequence relative to the sending of the recorded voice input.

31. The medium of claim 18, wherein the selectively executing step includes associating the XML element to the executable audio resource in response to detecting the XML element inlined into the HTML page.

32. The medium of claim 31, wherein the associating step includes determining an association between the XML element and the executable audio resource based on accessing stored configuration settings for the web browser.

33. The medium of claim 18, wherein the selectively executing step includes instantiating the executable audio resource by the browser in response to parsing an embedded tag in the HTML page.

34. The medium of claim 18, wherein the selectively executing step includes ignoring by the web browser the XML element based on an absence of the executable audio resource by the device.

35. A processor-based device configured for executing audio operations based on a hypertext markup language (HTML) page received from a server according to hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), the device comprising:

a web browser configured for selectively interpreting the HTML page, the HTML page including HTML tags and an XML element for controlling execution of an audio operation by an executable audio resource, the web browser selectively executing the audio operation specified by the XML element based on a determined presence of the executable audio resource in the device by the web browser, and based on the executable audio resource interpreting the XML element for the controlled execution of the audio operation;

wherein the web browser executes the audio operation based on detection of the executable audio resource embedded in the HTML page;

wherein the executable audio resource is a Java resource, the web browser instantiating the Java resource in response to parsing the XML element as an embedded tag within the HTML page.

36. The device of claim 35, further comprising an executable plug-in resource registered with the web browser as said executable audio resource, the web browser initiating a call to the plug-in resource in response to detecting the XML element inlined into the HTML page.

37. The device of claim 35, wherein the web browser is configured for playing a plurality of prescribed audio files, specified by the XML element, in a sequence specified by the XML element.

38. The device of claim 37, wherein the web browser is configured for playing the prescribed audio files as concatenated prompts based on concatenation data specified by the XML element.

39. The device of claim 35, wherein the web browser is configured for executing the audio operation by recording a voice input, and sending the recorded voice input according to HTTP protocol to a destination specified by the XML element.

40. The device of claim 39, wherein the web browser is configured for posting a user input, that describes the recorded voice input, by the browser to a second destination specified by the HTML page in a prescribed sequence relative to the sending of the recorded voice input.