Distributed speech recognition for internet access

• US 20020072916A1
• Filed: 12/08/2000
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Philips Electronics North America Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Friedman, Theodore D.
• Application Number:
  US09/733,880
• Publication Number:
  US 20020072916A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/270.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition 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 search server provides a user address to an information source, to effect an access of the information source by the user. The user sends a request to the search server, and the search server identifies an address (URL) of an information source corresponding to the request. The request may be a verbal request, or model data corresponding to a verbal request, and the search server may include a speech recognition system. Thereafter, the search server communicates a request to the identified information source, using the user'"'"'s address as the “reply-to address” for responses to this request. The user'"'"'s address may be the address of the device that the user used to communicate the initial request, or the address of another device associated with the user.

Claims

1. A search device comprising:

a receiver that is configured to receive a target identifier and a source address from a source device,

a target locator that is configured to identify a target address corresponding to the target identifier, and

a transmitter that is configured to communicate a request to the target address;

wherein

the request includes the source address as an intended recipient of a response to the request from the transmitter of the search device.

2. The search device of claim 1, wherein

the target identifier corresponds to a vocal phrase, and

the search device further includes

a speech recognizer that processes the target identifier to provide an input to the target locator that is used to identify the target address.

3. The search device of claim 1, wherein

the source address corresponds to one of:

the source device, and a destination device that differs from the source device.

4. The search device of claim 1, wherein

the transmitter and receiver are configured to communicate via an Internet connection.

5. The search device of claim 4, wherein

the source address and the target address are Universal Resource Locators (URLs).

6. The search device of claim 1, wherein

the receiver is further configured to receive a subsequent input from the source device,

the target locator is further configured to identify a text string corresponding to the subsequent input, and

the transmitter is further configured to communicate the text string to the target address.

7. The search device of claim 6, wherein

the subsequent input corresponds to a vocal phrase, and

the target locator further includes

a speech recognizer that processes the subsequent input to provide the text string.

8. A user device comprising:

an application that is configured

to receive a user input

to transmit a source address, and a target identifier corresponding to the user input, to a locator device, and

to receive a response from a target source corresponding to the target identifier, without initiating a request directly to the target source.

9. The user device of claim 8, wherein

the application transmits to the locator device, and receives from the target source, via an Internet connection.

10. The user device of claim 8, wherein

the user input corresponds to a vocal input, and

the application is further configured to process the vocal input to provide the target identifier.

11. A method of providing a service to a user comprising

receiving a target identifier from the user, and an associated address,

identifying a target address corresponding to the target identifier, and

transmitting a request to the target address;

wherein

the request includes the associated address as an intended recipient of a response to the request.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein

the target identifier corresponds to a vocal phrase, and

the method further includes

processing the target identifier to provide a search item that is used to identify the target address.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein

the associated address corresponds to one of:

a source device of the target identifier from the user, and a destination device that differs from the source device.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein

the receiving and transmitting are each effected via an Internet connection.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein

the source address and the target address are Universal Resource Locators (URLs).

16. The method of claim 11, further including

receiving a subsequent input from the user,

identifying a text string corresponding to the subsequent input, and

transmitting the text string to the target address.