System enabling audio-based navigation and presentation of a website

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11188199-B2
Application number	US-201815954206-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 16, 2018
Priority date	Apr 16, 2018
Publication date	Nov 30, 2021
Grant date	Nov 30, 2021

Abstract

A website navigation system has an analysis system which receives a request for an Internet web page from a client device. The analysis system receives web page data associated with the web page from the Internet and performs a data analysis process to organize the web page data for use in a virtual conversation with the user in order to present the web page in an audible format. The analysis system identifies separate elements of the web page from the web page data and extracts information from the separate elements based on the web page data. The analysis system groups the separate elements into categories based on the extracted information and sorts the groups of separate elements based on usage statistics. The analysis system then generates a prompt for being output to the user by the client device as audible output based on the sorted groups of separate elements.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method, in a data processing system comprising a processing device and a memory comprising instructions which are executed by the processing device to cause the processing device to enable a website for a virtual conversation, the method comprising:
receiving a request for an Internet web page associated with a website from a client device, the web page including a plurality of links, a plurality of first elements, and a plurality of second elements;
retrieving, by the processing device, web page data associated with the web page from a device connected to the Internet in response to the request;
analyzing, by the processing device, the web page data according to a data analysis process to produce an organized data set associated with the web page,
wherein the data analysis process comprises:
identifying the plurality of links, the plurality of first elements and the plurality of second elements from the web page data, wherein the plurality of first elements include a search bar, a buy button, and a home button that appear frequently across different web pages, and the plurality of second elements include elements that appear only once and only on a particular web page;
naming each link with one or more valid English words extracted from an HTML code corresponding to each link;
naming each first element with a predetermined name;
naming each second element with corresponding link text;

generating, by the processing device, a prompt for being output to the user as audible output based on the organized data set;
receiving input from the client device provided to the client device in response to the prompt; and
performing, by the processing device, an action based on the input received from the client device, the action including retrieving web page data associated with a new web page based on the selection of a link by the user in response to the prompt.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the organized data set comprises categories of links.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the prompt comprises the categories of links as options for the user to select.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data analysis process comprises the links within the web page, obtaining usage statistics for the links, and sorting the links based on the usage statistics.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the prompt comprises the sorted links with more popular links being presented to the user before less popular links.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the input from the client device is received from an audio input device based on captured speech of the user.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data analysis process comprises:
identifying the separate elements of the web page, the separate elements comprising links and inactive content;
categorizing the links into a plurality of groups based on one or more of the associated HTML code or a web page type;
sorting the categories based on usage statistics associated with the links; and
generating a prompt which includes the sorted categories of links for sending to the client device and being output by the client device as an audio prompt.

8. A website navigation system, comprising:
an analysis system connected to an Internet and comprising a processing device configured to execute software instructions to:
receive a request for an Internet web page associated with a website from a client device, the web page including a plurality of links, a plurality of first elements, and a plurality of second elements;
retrieve web page data associated with the web page from a device connected to the Internet in response to the request;
identify, by an identification unit, the plurality of links, the plurality of first elements, and the plurality of second elements from the web page data,

wherein the plurality of first elements include a search bar, a buy button, and a home button that appear frequently across different web pages, and the plurality of second elements include elements that appear only once and only on a particular web page;
name, by a categorization unit, each link, with one or more valid English words from an HTML code corresponding to each link;
name, by the categorization unit, each first element with a predetermined name;
name, by the categorization unit, each second element with corresponding link text;
generate, by a prompting unit, a prompt for being output to a user by the client device as audible output based on the identified links and elements, the prompt comprising a name generated by the categorization unit.

9. The website navigation system of claim 8 , wherein the analysis system is further configured to receive input from the client device provided to the client device in response to the prompt.

10. The website navigation system of claim 9 , wherein the analysis system is further configured to perform, by an action unit, an action based on the input received from the client device, the action including retrieving web page data associated with a new web page based on the selection of a link by the user in response to the prompt.

11. A client device, comprising:
an audio input device configured to receive audio input from a user;
an audio output device configured to provide audio output to the user;
a memory configured to store software instructions; and
a processing device configured to execute the software instructions to:
receive input data from the audio input device based on an audible message from the user;
identify a web page from the input data, the web page including a plurality of links, a plurality of first elements, and a plurality of second elements;
retrieve web page data associated with the web page from a device connected to the Internet in response to the request;
identify the plurality of links, the plurality of first elements, and the plurality of second elements that from the web page data, wherein the plurality of first elements include a search bar, a buy button, and a home button that appear frequently across different web pages, and the plurality of second elements include elements that appear only once and only on a particular web page;
name each link with one or more valid English words extracted from an HTML code corresponding to each link;
name each first element with a predetermined name;
name each second element with corresponding link text; and
provide output data to the audio output device for providing a prompt based on the identified links and elements to the user as an audible message.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Pinel Florian
• Byron Donna K
• Ewen Christian
• Dimascio Carmine
• Johnson Benjamin L

Classifications

• G06F3/0482

  Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus · CPC title

• G06F3/167 Primary

  Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback · CPC title

• G06F3/0483 Primary

  Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor · CPC title