US6870828B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for iconifying and automatically dialing telephone numbers which appear on a Web page
Assignee: Cisco Technology Inc
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Filing: 1997-06-03
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Granted: 2005-03-22
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Expires: 2017-06-03
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus are provided for recognizing and accessing telephone numbers from a Web page. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, an HTML code of an accessed Web page is parsed and converted. A parsing algorithm applied to the text in the HTML document pattern-recognizes telephone numbers. Coding is added to iconify the recognized telephone numbers. The user's Internet-capable telephone displays the iconified telephone numbers. All previously-active links and graphical displays supported by the Internet-capable telephone are maintained in this display. To call a phone number, the user selects the icon, and the Internet-capable phone determines how to initiate the call. For a two-line phone, the Internet-capable telephone initiates a telephone call to the selected number. For a one-line phone, the Internet-capable telephone determines whether the line is available for a call. If the line is not currently being used, the Internet-capable telephone initiates a voice call to the selected number. However, if the user is connected to the Web, the Internet-capable telephone optionally transparently disconnects from the Internet and initiates a voice call to the selected telephone number. At the conclusion of the telephone call, the Internet-capable telephone optionally transparently re-connects to the Web.
Inventors
- 👤 Joseph Giordano, III
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 17:49
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04M; H04M1/00; H04M1/247; H04M1/2478; H04M1/253; H04M1/2535; H04M1/26; H04M1/27; H04M1/274; H04M1/2745; H04M1/27467; H04M1/27475; H04M1/2753; H04M1/2757; H04M7/00; H04M7/0024; H04M7/003
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 42
Claim 1
Independent Claim
139 words
A method performed on a Web page containing text-based information other than previously iconified information, said method performed by a communication system including a Web page server containing said Web page, an access server, and an access device capable of communicating with said Web page server through said access server, said method performed during a communication session and comprising: at said access server: retrieving said Web page contained on said Web page server; parsing said text-based information within said Web page; recognizing a text-based telephone number contained within said text-based information of said parsed Web page, said text-based telephone number including a plurality of number symbols and at least one text symbol interspersed with said plurality of number symbols; converting an HTML code representation of said Web page; and adding a representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
139 words
A method performed on a Web page containing text-based information other than previously iconified information, said method performed by a communication system including a Web page server containing said Web page, an access server, and an access device capable of communicating with said Web page server through said access server, said method performed during a communication session and comprising: at said access server: retrieving said Web page contained on said Web page server; parsing said text-based information within said Web page; recognizing a text-based telephone number contained within said text-based information of said parsed Web page, said text-based telephone number including a plurality of number symbols and at least one text symbol interspersed with said plurality of number symbols; converting an HTML code representation of said Web page; and adding a representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising: at said access device, transparently disconnecting from said communication session upon selection of said representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number to initiate a telephone call session.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 2 , further comprising at said access device: recognizing the termination of said telephone call session; and transparently re-connecting to said communication session.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising at said access server: transmitting said Web page with said iconic representation of said recognized text-based telephone number to said access device.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein said access device is an Internet-capable telephone.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said iconified telephone number is identified by one of a button surrounding the number, font appearance, underlining, or highlighting.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein all recognized telephone numbers are iconified.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein telephone numbers meeting a specific criteria are iconified.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
108 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said parsing and recognizing further comprises: developing a set of Picture Formats for the patterns of telephone numbers; reading an accessed Web page; checking every character in said text-based information within said Web page to determine if said character is a numeric character; applying a pattern-recognition algorithm to sequentially check a character following an identified numeric character to determine if said following character is any of a numeric or an interspersed text or punctuation character; caching a series of consecutive identified numeric characters; and comparing said cached series to said Picture Formats; wherein a matching format indicates a text-based telephone number.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
124 words
The method of claim 2 , wherein said transparently disconnecting from said communication session upon selection of said iconified text-based telephone number and calling said telephone number further comprises at said access device: selecting said representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number in a display of said access device; initiating a telephone call with said access device to said selected recognized text-based telephone number if a telephone line or sufficient bandwidth is available; transparently disconnecting said access device from said session if a telephone line is not available, and thereupon initiating a telephone call to said selected recognized text-based telephone number; recognizing with said access device the termination of said telephone call; and optionally transparently re-connecting said access device to said communication session.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 4 , further comprising at said access device: automatically storing said representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number in an address book.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
145 words
A method for utilizing an access server to recognize and iconify telephone numbers from a Web page, said method comprising: retrieving said Web page during an Internet session linking a Web page server to an access device, wherein said Web page is retrieved by said access server from said Web page server at the request of said access device; parsing the HTML code of said Web page; applying a parsing algorithm to text-based information other than previously iconified information within said Web page to pattern-recognize a text-based telephone number contained therein; converting said HTML code to a representation of said Web page; adding coding to said representation of said Web page to produce a selectable telephone number icon associated with said recognized text-based telephone number; and transmitting said representation of said Web page with said selectable telephone number icon to said access device for display.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
145 words
A method for utilizing an access server to recognize and iconify telephone numbers from a Web page, said method comprising: retrieving said Web page during an Internet session linking a Web page server to an access device, wherein said Web page is retrieved by said access server from said Web page server at the request of said access device; parsing the HTML code of said Web page; applying a parsing algorithm to text-based information other than previously iconified information within said Web page to pattern-recognize a text-based telephone number contained therein; converting said HTML code to a representation of said Web page; adding coding to said representation of said Web page to produce a selectable telephone number icon associated with said recognized text-based telephone number; and transmitting said representation of said Web page with said selectable telephone number icon to said access device for display.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
113 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein said applying said parsing algorithm further comprises: developing a set of Picture Formats for the patterns of text-based telephone numbers; reading an accessed HTML document using a software program on said access server; checking every character in said text-based information of said HTML document to determine if said checked character is a numeric character; using pattern-recognition algorithm to sequentially check a character following an identified number to determine if said character is any of numeric or interspersed text or punctuation character; caching a series of consecutive numeric characters; and comparing said cached series to said Picture Formats; wherein a matching format indicates a text-based telephone number.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein said selectable telephone number icon is identified by one of a button surrounding the number, font appearance, underlining, or highlighting.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein all recognized telephone numbers are iconified.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein telephone numbers meeting a specific criteria are iconified.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
164 words
A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for utilizing an access server to recognize and iconify telephone numbers from a Web page, said method comprising: retrieving said Web page during an Internet session linking a Web page server to an access device, wherein said Web page is retrieved by said access server from said Web page server at the request of said access device; parsing the HTML code of said Web page; applying a parsing algorithm to text-based information other than previously iconified information within said Web page to pattern-recognize a text-based telephone number contained therein; converting said HTML code to a representation of said Web page; adding coding to said representation of said Web page to produce a selectable telephone number icon associated with said recognized text-based telephone number; and transmitting said representation of said Web page with said selectable telephone number icon to said access device for display.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
164 words
A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for utilizing an access server to recognize and iconify telephone numbers from a Web page, said method comprising: retrieving said Web page during an Internet session linking a Web page server to an access device, wherein said Web page is retrieved by said access server from said Web page server at the request of said access device; parsing the HTML code of said Web page; applying a parsing algorithm to text-based information other than previously iconified information within said Web page to pattern-recognize a text-based telephone number contained therein; converting said HTML code to a representation of said Web page; adding coding to said representation of said Web page to produce a selectable telephone number icon associated with said recognized text-based telephone number; and transmitting said representation of said Web page with said selectable telephone number icon to said access device for display.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
105 words
The device of claim 17 , wherein said applying said parsing algorithm further comprises: developing a set of Picture Formats for the patterns of text-based telephone numbers; reading an accessed HTML document; checking every character in said text-based information of said HTML document to determine if said checked character is a numeric character; using pattern-recognition algorithm to sequentially check a character following an identified number to determine if said character is any of numeric or interspersed text or punctuation character; caching a series of consecutive numeric characters; and comparing said cached series to said Picture Formats, wherein a matching format indicates a text-based telephone number.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
29 words
The device of claim 17 , wherein said selectable telephone number icon is identified by one of a button surrounding the text-based telephone number, font appearance, underlining, or highlighting.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
14 words
The device of claim 17 , wherein all recognized text-based telephone numbers are iconified.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
15 words
The device of claim 17 , wherein text-based telephone numbers meeting specific criteria are iconified.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
145 words
A system for processing a Web page containing text-based information other than previously iconified information, said system including a Web page server containing said Web page, an access server, and an access device capable of communicating with said Web page server through said access server, said processing performed during a communication session, said system comprising: said access server comprising: means for retrieving said Web page contained on said Web page server; means for parsing said text-based information within said Web page; means for recognizing a text-based telephone number contained within said text-based information of said parsed Web page, said text-based telephone number including a plurality of number symbols and at least one text symbol interspersed with said plurality of number symbols; means for converting an HTML code representation of said Web page; and means for adding a representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
145 words
A system for processing a Web page containing text-based information other than previously iconified information, said system including a Web page server containing said Web page, an access server, and an access device capable of communicating with said Web page server through said access server, said processing performed during a communication session, said system comprising: said access server comprising: means for retrieving said Web page contained on said Web page server; means for parsing said text-based information within said Web page; means for recognizing a text-based telephone number contained within said text-based information of said parsed Web page, said text-based telephone number including a plurality of number symbols and at least one text symbol interspersed with said plurality of number symbols; means for converting an HTML code representation of said Web page; and means for adding a representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
48 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein said access device comprises: means for transparently disconnecting from said communication session upon selection of said representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number; and means for automatically dialing said selected recognized text-based telephone number to initiate a telephone call session.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 23 , wherein said access device further comprises: means for recognizing the termination of said telephone call session; and means for transparently re-connecting to said communication session.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein said access server further comprises: means for transmitting said Web page with said iconic representation of said recognized text-based telephone number to said access device.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system of claim 25 , wherein said access device is an Internet-capable telephone.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein said representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number is identified by one of a button surrounding said recognized text-based number, font appearance, underlining, or highlighting.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein all recognized text-based telephone numbers are each converted to an iconic representation.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein recognized text-based telephone numbers meeting specific criteria are each converted to iconic representations.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
119 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein said means for parsing and means for recognizing further comprise: means for developing a set of Picture Formats for the patterns of telephone numbers; means for reading an accessed Web page; means for checking every character in said text-based information within said Web page to determine if said character is a numeric character; means for sequentially checking a character following an identified numeric character to determine if said following character is any of a numeric or an interspersed text or punctuation character; means for caching a series of consecutive identified numeric characters; and means for comparing said cached series to said Picture Formats; wherein a matching format indicates a text-based telephone number.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
121 words
The system of claim 23 , wherein said means for transparently disconnecting and said means for automatically dialing further comprise: means for selecting said representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number in a display of said access device; means for initiating a telephone call with said access device to said selected recognized text-based telephone number if a telephone line or sufficient bandwidth is available; means for transparently disconnecting said access device from said session if a telephone line is not available, and thereupon initiating a telephone call to said selected recognized text-based telephone number; means for recognizing with said access device the termination of said telephone call; and means for optionally transparently re-connecting said access device to said communication session.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 25 , wherein said access device further comprises: means for automatically storing said representation that iconifies said recognized text-based telephone number in an address book.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
154 words
An access server apparatus for recognizing and iconifying telephone numbers from a Web page, said apparatus comprising: means for retrieving said Web page during an Internet session linking a Web page server to an access device, wherein said Web page is retrieved by said access server from said Web page server at the request of said access device; means for parsing the HTML code of said Web page; means for applying a parsing algorithm to text-based information other than previously iconified information within said Web page to pattern-recognize a text-based telephone number contained therein; means for converting said HTML code to a representation of said Web page; means for adding coding to said representation of said Web page to produce a selectable telephone number icon associated with said recognized text-based telephone number; and means for transmitting said representation of said Web page with said selectable telephone number icon to said access device for display.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
154 words
An access server apparatus for recognizing and iconifying telephone numbers from a Web page, said apparatus comprising: means for retrieving said Web page during an Internet session linking a Web page server to an access device, wherein said Web page is retrieved by said access server from said Web page server at the request of said access device; means for parsing the HTML code of said Web page; means for applying a parsing algorithm to text-based information other than previously iconified information within said Web page to pattern-recognize a text-based telephone number contained therein; means for converting said HTML code to a representation of said Web page; means for adding coding to said representation of said Web page to produce a selectable telephone number icon associated with said recognized text-based telephone number; and means for transmitting said representation of said Web page with said selectable telephone number icon to said access device for display.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
116 words
The apparatus of claim 33 , wherein said means for applying said parsing algorithm further comprises: means for developing a set of Picture Formats for the patterns of text-based telephone numbers; means for reading an accessed HTML document; means for checking every character in said text-based information of said HTML document to determine if said checked character is a numeric character; means for sequentially checking a character following an identified number to determine if said character is any of numeric or an interspersed text or punctuation character; means for caching a series of consecutive numeric characters; and means for comparing said cached series to said Picture Formats; wherein a matching format indicates a text-based telephone number.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus of claim 33 , wherein said selectable telephone number icon is identified by one of a button surrounding the text-based telephone number, font appearance, underlining, or highlighting.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 33 , wherein all recognized text-based telephone numbers are iconified.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus of claim 33 , wherein text-based telephone numbers meeting specific criteria are iconified.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2008-03-21 | 2008-09-20 | 2009-03-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2012-03-21 | 2012-09-20 | 2013-03-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2016-03-21 | 2016-09-20 | 2017-03-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |