System and method for access to multimedia structures

• US 7,885,815 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2002
• Issued: 02/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation), Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Loquendo SpA (Microsoft Corporation), Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Inventors: Cociglio, Mauro, Zerba, Nadia, Anselmetti, Pierpaolo, Toniolo, Simone, Zanin, Diego
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorvil; Richemond
• Assistant Examiner(s): GODBOLD, DOUGLAS
• Application Number:
  US10/469,379
• Publication Number:
  US 20040076274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,275 Days
• Field of Search: 704/258, 704/270, 379/88.16, 379/88.18
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0051 where the data service is a multimedia messaging service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/128 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables

Abstract

A system for access to multimedia structures has telephone sets capable of connecting to a telephone network, a storage device capable of storing a plurality of multimedia structures representing messages and/or data and/or commands, and a network access server that can be associated with the telephone sets and is capable of selectively instantiating the multimedia structures via an interconnection network. There is also a voice-recognition and speech-synthesis system that can be associated with the network access server and that comprises modules for reading files in XML format and for processing the files so as to obtain files in a format that can be synthesized by a speech synthesizer.

Claims

1. A system for access to multimedia structures, the system comprising:

telephone sets configured to connect to a telephone network;

a storage device configured to store a plurality of multimedia structures representing at least one of messages, data and commands;

a network access server that is associated with the telephone sets and is separate from the storage device and is comprises;

a processor; and

;

memory storing at least one program that, when executed by the processor, causes the network access server to;

receive a telephone call from one of the telephone sets;

receive a number from the one telephone set after receiving the telephone call, wherein the number represents a remote hosting site in which the storage device is located;

selectively instantiate the multimedia structures via an interconnection network by determining a network address of the remote hosting site using the received number;

selectively instantiate the multimedia structures in a directory;

download the multimedia structures contained in the directory; and

instantiate a voice-recognition and speech-synthesis system that comprises modules for reading files in XML format, for associating these files with an XSL processing module, and for selectively mapping the XML files into the XSL processing module to obtain files in a format that is configured to be interpreted by the voice-recognition and speech-synthesis system.

2. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the telephone sets are configured to connect to the network access server via a telephone network.

3. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the multimedia structures comprise at least one voice prompt to provide options for selectively accessing the at least one of messages, data and commands in the multimedia structures.

4. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the network access server comprises a speech synthesis module configured to synthesize prompts and messages.

5. The system defined in claim 4 wherein the multimedia structures comprise messages that are configured to be interpreted by the speech synthesis module and provide options for selectively accessing the at least one of messages, data and commands in the multimedia structures.

6. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the interconnection network is the internet.

7. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the multimedia structures comprise at least one element having an address for selectively instantiating further devices configured to store multimedia structures.

8. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the multimedia structures comprise at least one element having a telephone number for activating telephone calls with further telephone sets via the interconnection network.

9. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the multimedia structures comprise at least one element having a set of commands that are configured to be activated by the telephone set in order to conduct e-commerce or respond to questionnaires.

10. The system defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a development device connected to the interconnection network and configured to produce and store the multimedia structures on the storage device through the interconnection network.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein selectively instantiating the multimedia structures via an interconnection network by determining, using the received number, the network address of the remote hosting site further includes:

identifying the network address of the remote hosting site in a look-up table based on the received number, wherein the received number is specific to the remote hosting site; and

instantiating, using the identified network address, a service provider directory at the remote hosting site in which the multimedia structures are stored.

12. A method of accessing multimedia structures, the method comprising the steps of:

producing multimedia structures that represent at least one of messages, data, and commands;

storing the structures via an interconnection network in a device configured to store the multimedia structures;

receiving a telephone call from a telephone set;

receiving a number from the telephone set after receiving the telephone call, wherein the number represents a remote hosting site in which the device is located; and

selectively instantiating the multimedia structures in a directory through the interconnection network by determining a network address of the remote hosting site using the received number and downloading the multimedia structures contained in the directory, a network access server separate from the device configured to store the multimedia structures, and a voice-recognition and speech-synthesis system that reads files in XML format, associates the read XML files with an XSL processing module, and selectively maps the XML files into the XSL processing module.

13. The method defined in claim 12 wherein the instantiating step comprises the steps of:

actuating at least one key on the telephone set; and

instantiating at least one element of the multimedia structures through the network access server.

14. The method defined in claim 12 wherein the instantiating step comprises the steps of:

sending a voice message through the telephone set; and

instantiating at least one element of the multimedia structures through the network access server.

15. The method defined in claim 12, further comprising:

receiving from the telephone set an indication that a call is complete; and

responsive to receiving the indication that the call is complete, terminating the instantiation of the multimedia structures at the network access server.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein selectively instantiating the multimedia structures through the interconnection network using a telephone set by determining, using the received number, a network address of the remote hosting site includes:

identifying the network address of the remote hosting site in a look-up table based on the received number, wherein the received number is specific to the remote hosting site; and

instantiating, using the identified network address, a service provider directory at the remote hosting site in which the multimedia structures are stored.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising identifying the service provider directory in the look-up table based on the received number.