| Method and apparatus for accessing a wide area network -> Monitor Keywords |
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  Method and apparatus for accessing a wide area networkRelated Patent Categories: Telephonic Communications, Telephone Line Or System Combined With Diverse Electrical System Or Signalling (e.g., Composite), Having Transmission Of A Digital Message Signal Over A Telephone Line, Access RestrictingThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070206737. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/633,497, filed Aug. 8, 2000, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/847,921, filed Apr. 28, 1997, which claims the benefits of U.S. Ser. No. 60/016,680, filed May 1, 1996 and U.S. Ser. No. 60/016,873, filed May 6, 1996, and is related to U.S. Ser. No. 08/847,816, filed Apr. 28, 1997, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This invention relates generally to computer networks and, more particularly to wide area networks such as the Internet. BACKGROUND ART [0003] The origins of the Internet date back several decades to a U.S. government sponsored military/educational/business wide area network (WAN) that was designed to remain operational even in the event of the catastrophe, e.g. a major earthquake or a nuclear war. To accomplish this goal, robust protocols and systems were developed which allowed a geographically distributed collection of computer systems to be connected as a WAN such that the loss of a particular computer, or group of computers, would not preclude the continued communication among the remaining computers. [0004] While the use of the Internet has been prevalent for many years now, its use has been limited by the arcane and difficult commands required to access the various computers on the network. To address this problem, a protocol known as the "World Wide Web" or "WWW" was developed to provide an easier and more user-friendly interface for the Internet. With the World Wide Web an entity having a domain name creates a "web page" which provides information and, to a limited degree, some interaction with the entity's "web site." [0005] A computer user can "browse", i.e. navigate around, the WWW by utilizing a suitable web browser and an Internet service provider. For example, UUNET, America Online, and Global Village all provide Internet access. Currently, the most popular web browser, known as the Netscape.RTM. Navigator.RTM. is made by Netscape Corporation of Mountain View, Calif. The web browser allows a user to specify or search for a web page on the WWW, and then retrieves and displays the home page of the desired web page on the user's computer screen. [0006] While the Internet, in general, and the World Wide Web, in particular, are extremely popular, the computer apparatus typically used to access the services is quite expensive. For example, a contemporary Pentium.RTM. or Macintosh.RTM. computer system capable of running state-of-the-art web browsers costs many thousands of dollars. There are many potential users of the World Wide Web and other Internet services who simply do not wish to pay that much for access to those services. [0007] To partially address the cost problem, at least one company has announced a "Web Appliance" which permits web browsing when coupled to either a television receiver or to a computer monitor. More particularly, Japan Computer Corporation, USA (JCC) announced in a news release entitled "JCC Announces `Web Toaster` and `Web Copier` Home/Office Universal Internet Access Devices" on Feb. 20, 1996 that the iBOX Communicator series would be demonstrated at the Email World, Web World, and Internet Expo shows at the San Jose Convention Center on Feb. 20-21, 1996. However, both the Web Toaster and the Web Copier still cost many hundreds of dollars, and must be used with other expensive equipment such as a television receiver or video monitor. Therefore, a user must still invest in hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars worth of hardware and software in order to access the World Wide Web and other Internet services when using a Web Appliance. [0008] In a news release dated Mar. 4, 1996, downloaded from the WWW on May 1, 1996, NetPhonic Communications, Inc. announced "Web-On-Call Voice Browser" which reportedly will be able to access certain Web documents with a touch-tone telephone, cellular telephone, or facsimile machine. The browser reportedly uses text-to-speech technology that can play back Web documents over the telephone. It is also said to "support documents retrieved via fax, e-mail and postal mail service." The Web-On-Call Voice Browser was said to be available in "mid-1996." The news release reported that "NetPhonic Communications will be demonstrating Web-On-Call Voice Browser in Booth #2027 at Computer Telephony Expo 96 at the LA Convention Center in Los Angeles Mar. 12-14, 1996." [0009] A reading of the NetPhonic materials, downloaded from the WWW, reveals a database management system that runs on a web server. More specifically, the software [0010] "turns a Web document database into a `Unified Information Store` that serves as the single repository of information to be distributed over the Internet, phone connection, wireless delivery, fax transmission or postal mail system. A Web server then becomes a paradigm-independent unified server that can supply information to telephone callers and e-mail users as well as Web browser users--all from one low-maintenance database." [0011] As is evident from the foregoing, the NetPhonic Web-On-Call Voice Browser therefore allows a telephone user to call-in to a web site and to access data stored in the `Unified Information Store`, where that information is also available through the WWW. Therefore, the NetPhonic software would not appear to be a true web browser, in that it does not appear to permit a telephone user to access any web page on the WWW. The NetPhonic software is, in essence, a web server manager, in that it creates a database dedicated to a particular web server and allows telephone and other access to that web server's database. Furthermore, the NetPhonic software does not permit telephone users to create their own web pages, or perform certain other common Internet functions. [0012] In consequence, heretofore it was necessary for a user to purchase, rent, lease or borrow expensive computer equipment, and learn how to use it properly, in order to access and make use of the many capabilities of the Internet. The resultant cost and technical sophistication barriers excluded millions of users from accessing the WWW and other Internet features such as electronic mail (e-mail), electronic publishing, electronic news services, etc. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [0013] The present invention uses an ordinary touch-tone telephone to provide access to many of the features of the Internet, including e-mail, the ability to "cruise" the World Wide Web, and the ability to create and edit web pages. Since virtually everyone has access to a telephone (which can cost as little as $15-$20 to purchase), the many resources of the Internet are much more universally accessible due to of the methods, apparatus and systems of the present invention. [0014] Briefly, the invention includes an Internet Interface Computer coupled to one or more telephone lines, and an Internet Server coupling the Internet Interface Computer to an Internet Service Provider. Alternatively, the Internet Interface Computer and the Internet Server can be provided as a single computer system. Still more alternatively, the Internet Interface Computer, Internet Server, and Internet Service Provider can be provided as a single computer system. The incoming telephone lines can be normal toll telephone lines, 1-800-telephone lines, 1-900-telephone lines, 1-976-telephone lines, or any other type of analog or digital telephone line supported by the local telephone system. [0015] The Internet Interface Computer serves as an interface between audio (e.g. voice and DTMF) communication with a telephone and digital communication with an Internet Server. In particular, the Internet Interface Computer provides text-to speech capabilities which allows text derived from TCP/IP packets that were received via the Internet to be "read" to a telephone user. The Internet Interface Computer is also responsive to DTMF tones of the telephone when a user of the telephone presses telephone buttons. One embodiment of the Internet Interface Computer also provides speech recognition to convert spoken commands of the telephone user to a format that can be understood by the Internet Interface Computer. [0016] Preferably, the Internet Interface Computer waits in an "event loop" for a telephone user to "call-in" to the service. Once a call has been detected, the Internet Interface Computer "picks-up" the phone line and "reads" a series of options to the telephone user. By "read", "speak", and the like it is meant herein that the computer uses text-to-speech software to convert machine-readable text stored in its memory to a spoken (audio) output. The Internet Interface Computer then enters an event loop waiting for a response from the telephone user. This response can take the form of a dual-tone, multi-frequency ("DTMF") signal made by pressing a key on the touch-tone pad of telephone, or can be the spoken command of the telephone user. Such commands include creating a World Wide Web ("WWW") page, editing a WWW page, accessing a WWW page, to "cruising" or "browsing" the Internet, or to sending electronic mail ("e-mail") to a designated address on the Internet. The Internet Interface Computer is capable of handling multiple telephone input lines simultaneously, thereby providing simultaneous access to the Internet by a number of telephone users. [0017] By using the apparatus and processes of the present invention, a telephone user has audio access to the World Wide Web, Internet e-mail, and other Internet services. For example, a telephone user can send voice mail and e-mail to other Internet users, can receive voice mail and e-mail from other Internet users, can create an "audio" web page which can be accessed by anyone having a web browser, can "cruise" or "browse" on the World Wide Web by having the Internet Interface Computer convert the text of web pages to a synthesized reading of the text, can have pre-arranged telephone conversations with other Internet users, etc. The apparatus of the present invention can be accessed from any type of telephone, including home telephones, business telephones, pay telephones, cellular telephones, air telephones, marine telephones, etc. This provides inexpensive and nearly universal access to the Internet and to the World Wide Web. [0018] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a caller's telephone number is used as an identification of the identity of that caller. This permits the apparatus of the present invention to automatically recognize a user from the "caller-ID" provided by many telephone systems. Alternatively, a user can enter their telephone number to provide a caller-ID. If multiple users use the same telephone number, extensions can be provided to identify a particular individual. In any case, a password ("keyword") is preferably used to confirm the identity of the user. [0019] The precise implementations of the systems, methods, and apparatus of the present invention are dependent upon the business model that is chosen. For example, if a centralized 1-900 number is used as the entry to the Internet Interface Computer, allowing country-wide toll-plus-service-charge access to the computer, users across the country are automatically billed by their local telephone company for access to the service. If 1-976 numbers (which are similar to 1-900 number but which are regional in nature) are used, then local "feeder servers" are preferably used to access a database of a "master server." If regular toll-lines are used (where the telephone user is charged only for the telephone tolls), the use of "feeder servers" and a "master server" is again preferable. With regular toll-lines, the present invention preferably takes a two-tier model, where a first-tier of service allows Internet browsing and is supported by the sale of audio commercials "narrowcast" ("read") to the telephone user, and where a second-tier of service that allows for the creation of web pages, the use of voice-mail and e-mail, and is supported by monthly telephone user payments. [0020] Major advantages of the present invention therefore include nearly universal access to the Internet and World Wide Web at a relatively low cost. For example, virtually every person can, by using a telephone, add their own web page to the World Wide Web. Furthermore, anyone with a telephone will be able to receive Internet e-mail. In addition, users of the system will be able to communicate verbally with other users at, potentially, a fraction of the cost of normal telephone charges. [0021] These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed descriptions and studying the various figures of the drawings. Continue reading... Full patent description for Method and apparatus for accessing a wide area network Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Method and apparatus for accessing a wide area network patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. 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