Patent ID: 6075843
Filing Date: 2000-06-13
Classification: H04M

Abstract:
A method for enabling an exchange of information between a population of users and a common user device-independent system, each of said users communicating with the system through a remote user device, each user device having specific communication formats and media with which it is compatible and selected from among a plurality thereof characterized by a diversity among said specific communication formats and media, multiple users further disposed to exchange information concurrently with the system through user devices compatible with different specific communication formats and media, the method comprising the steps of:establishing a regime of user device-independent information transactions, the regime disposed to allow the user to exchange information with the system in a series of said transactions;creating a plurality of transaction templates, each of said transactions represented by a corresponding transaction template having a common structure, said information exchange in each of said transactions defined in user device-independent form and enabled by said corresponding transaction template;for each user device, recognizing communication formats and media with which the user device is compatible;responsive to said recognizing step, associating at least one corresponding user device template with each transaction template, wherein said associated user device templates are disposed, for each transaction template associated therewith, to (1) script said information exchange enabled by said associated transaction template to take place in formats and media compatible with the user device, (2) condition output from the system to be delivered to the user in formats and media compatible with the user device, and (3) condition the system to expect input from the user in formats and media in which the user device communicates; andexecuting a series of said transaction templates.