Abstract:
A method and apparatus providing voice-interactive access to the internet via wireless networks enabling a subscriber, while driving or performing other tasks, to input commands to the internet using a voice input function, such as voice recognition, and retrieve the information from the internet using a voice output function, such as voice synthesis. The present invention allows a subscriber to enter voice commands at an internet terminal, as well as commands through other external interfaces, such as a key pad or touch screen. The internet terminal can also display and store the received data from the internet. in addition to the output by voice synthesis. The present invention may utilize a hands-free kit, allowing the subscriber to drive a car or perform other tasks and receive the internet information without any additional action on the part of the subscriber.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for accessing the internet via wireless networks and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method providing voice-interactive access to the internet via wireless networks enabling a subscriber, while driving or performing other tasks, to access the internet.  
           [0002]    The internet was originally developed in the 1960&#39;s to provide special types of military communications, but since has become a means for supporting information in many essential areas, such as finance, education and industry. The internet has also become a means for inexpensive international telephone service. Consequently, extensive effort has been expended to improve the speed and types of internet services, especially internet service that is not limited by geographic location or time of day.  
           [0003]    Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional wireless network providing mobile internet access includes a mobile internet terminal unit  100 , a base station  200 , a wireless communication network  210 , a gateway  220 , an internetwork  230 , a Web server  240 , a mobile internet service protocol unit  250 , an intranetwork  260 , and a database unit  270 . The internet terminal unit  100  includes an external interface, such as a key pad or touch screen, through which internet commands are entered into the unit. The terminal unit  100  then modulates and transmits the internet commands in the form of radio frequency (RF) signals to the base station  200 . The base station  200  receives the RF signals from the internet terminal unit  100  and demodulates the signals to retrieve the original internet commands. The wireless communication network  210  then adds an identification number to the internet commands to indicate the particular internet terminal unit  100  from which the commands were received. The internet commands and identification numbers are then converted into a format that is suitable for transmission to the gateway  220 . The gateway  220  then converts the internet commands and identification numbers to an internet protocol, such as TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) or HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol). The internetwork  230  connects the gateway  220  to other networks in response to the internet commands received from the gateway  220 . The Web server  240  provides World Wide Web information for the internetwork  230  and the mobile internet service protocol unit  250  connects the internetwork  230  to the intranetwork  260 . The database unit  270  is connected to the intranetwork  260  to provide information upon request.  
           [0004]    Referring to FIG. 2, the internet terminal unit  100  includes a command processing unit  110 , a data signal processing unit  120 , an RF signal processing unit  130 , and an information processing unit  140 . The command processing unit  110  receives the internet commands through the external interface and converts the commands into a format that is compatible with the protocol used between the wireless communication network  210  and the gateway  220 . The data signal processing unit  120  receives the converted commands from the command processing unit  110  and converts the commands into a frame format. The RF signal processing unit  130  modulates the formatted internet commands to generate RF signals that are transmitted to the base station  200 . The information processing unit  140  displays and stores information received from the internetwork  230 .  
           [0005]    The command processing unit  110  includes a command input unit  111  and a command transformation unit  112 . The command input unit  111  receives the internet commands through the external interface and the command transformation unit  112  converts the commands into a format that is compatible with the protocol used between the wireless communication network  210  and the gateway  220 .  
           [0006]    The information control unit  140  includes an information display unit  141 , an information storage unit  142  and an information control unit  143 . The display unit  141  receives the internet information from the data signal processing unit  120  and displays it in a panel, window, or screen. The storage unit  142  also receives the internet information from the data signal processing unit  120  and stores it in memory for later use. The control unit  143  controls the display unit  141  and the storage unit  142 .  
           [0007]    Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the operation of the conventional wireless network providing mobile internet access will now be described. First, a subscriber inputs internet commands through the external interface, such as a key pad or touch screen, into the command input unit  111 . The internet commands are then transformed by the command transformation unit  112  into a format that is compatible with the protocol used between the wireless communication network  210  and the gateway  220 . The data signal processing unit  120  provides certain processing to ensure reliable transmission of the data across a wireless channel and converts the internet commands into a frame format. The RF signal processing unit  130  modulates the formatted internet commands to generate RF signals that are transmitted to the base station  200 .  
           [0008]    The base station  200  demodulates the received RF signals to retrieve the internet commands. The wireless communication network  210  converts the commands into HDML (HyperData Markup Language), a protocol used to provide internet service through wireless networks. The gateway  220  converts the commands into the TCP/IP format and accesses the internetwork  230  using an internet protocol(IP) address from the ID number of the internet terminal unit  100 .  
           [0009]    The internetwork  230  accesses the Web server  240  using HTML (HyperText Markup Language), a protocol used for Web service. The Web server  240  is connected to the intranetwork  260  by way of the mobile internet service protocol unit  250  using the TCP/IP protocol, thus allowing a subscriber on the intranetwork  260  to request Web information. Information can also be retrieved by the internetwork  230  from the database unit  270  of the intranetwork  260 .  
           [0010]    Transmission of information from the internetwork  230  to the internet terminal unit  100  is accomplished in reverse. First, after information from the Web server  240  or the intranetwork  260  is received, the internetwork  230  sends the information to the gateway  220 . The gateway  220  sends the information to the wireless communication network  210  using the HDML protocol. The wireless communication network  210  transmits the information to the internet terminal unit  100  by way of the base station  200  using the ID number of the internet terminal unit  100 .  
           [0011]    The RF signal processing unit  130  in the internet terminal unit  100  demodulates the RF signals from the base station  200  and reconstructs the original data by decoding the demodulated data. The data is displayed in the information display unit  141  and stored in the storage unit  142  under the control of the information control unit  143 .  
           [0012]    Therefore, when a subscriber desires access to the internet using a conventional wireless network, the subscriber must use an external interface to request a connection to the internet or to enter a command. This is particularly difficult when the subscriber is driving an automobile or performing other tasks. Accordingly, there has been a need for an improved method and apparatus for accessing the internet using wireless networks. The present invention clearly fulfills this need.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    A method and apparatus providing voice-interactive access to the internet via wireless networks enabling a subscriber, while driving or performing other tasks, to input commands to the internet using a voice input function, such as voice recognition, and retrieve the information from the internet using a voice output function, such as voice synthesis. The present invention allows a subscriber to enter voice commands at an internet terminal, as well as commands through other external interfaces, such as a key pad or touch screen. The internet terminal can also display and store the received data from the internet in addition to the output by voice synthesis. The present invention may utilize a hands-free kit, allowing the subscriber to drive a car or perform other tasks and receive the internet information without any additional action on the part of the subscriber.  
           [0014]    It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the present invention represents a significant advance in the field of internet access using wireless networks. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional wireless network providing mobile internet access;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an internet terminal unit used to provide mobile internet access;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an apparatus providing voice-interactive access to the internet via wireless networks in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an apparatus providing voice-interactive access to the internet via wireless networks in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of an apparatus providing voice-interactive access to the internet via wireless networks. The apparatus of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a command control unit  150 , a data transceiver unit  160 , and an information processing unit  170 . A subscriber enters internet commands into the command control unit  150  through voice or other external interfaces. The command control unit  150  converts the commands into a format that is compatible with the protocol used between the wireless communication network  210  and the gateway  220  (shown in FIG. 1). The data transceiver unit  160  converts the internet commands into a frame format and transmits the commands to the base station  200  as radio frequency (RF) signals. The information retrieved from the internetwork  230  in response to the internet commands is transmitted back to the data transceiver unit  160  from the internetwork  230 . The information retrieved from the internetwork  230  is displayed and stored in the information processing unit  170 . The information is converted into a voice signal though voice synthesis in the information processing unit  170  and output to the subscriber by the data transceiver unit  160 .  
         [0020]    The command control unit  150  includes a voice interface unit  151 , an external command input unit  152 , a voice recognition unit  153 , a command conversion unit  154 , and a protocol conversion unit  155 . The voice interface unit  151  converts the voice commands requesting an internet connection or internet information into a digital format. The voice interface unit  151  also converts voice communications from the subscriber into a digital format, such as when the subscriber uses the internet for conventional telephony. The voice interface unit  151  sends the converted voice commands to the voice recognition unit  153  and the converted voice communications to the data transceiver unit  160 . The command input unit  152  receives the commands entered by the subscriber through other external interfaces. The voice recognition unit  153  receives the voice commands from the voice interface unit  151  and uses voice recognition to convert the commands into a text format. The command conversion unit  154  converts the digital voice commands from the voice recognition unit  153  into commands that are compatible with the internet service. The protocol conversion unit  155  receives the commands from the external command input unit  152  and the command conversion unit  154  and converts the commands into a format that is compatible with the protocol used between the wireless communication network  210  and the gateway  220 . The converted commands are then sent to the data transceiver unit  160 .  
         [0021]    The data transceiver unit  160  includes a data signal processing unit  161 , a voice processing unit  162 , a data processing unit  163 , and a voice output unit  164 . The data signal processing unit  161  converts the commands from the command control unit  150  into a frame format and also reconstructs the internet information received from the base station  200 . The voice processing unit  162  converts the voice communications from the command control unit  150  into a frame format and converts the voice communications received from the base station  200  into a digital format. The data processing unit  163  modulates the internet commands/voice communications received from the data signal processing unit  161  and the voice processing unit  162  and transmits these signals as RF signals to the base station  200 . The data processing unit  163  also demodulates the RF signals received from the base station  200 . The voice output unit  164  receives the voice communications from the voice processing unit  162  and the voice-synthesized internet information from the information processing unit  170 , converts these voice signals into an analog format, and outputs the signals to an external voice interface, such as a speaker.  
         [0022]    The information processing unit  170  includes an information processing control unit  171 , an information display  172 , a voice synthesis unit  173 , and an information storage unit  174 . The information processing control unit  171  controls the information processing unit  170  using the internet information from the data signal processing unit  161 . The information display unit  172  receives the internet information from the data signal processing unit  161  and control messages from the information processing control unit  171 . The internet information is displayed on a display interface, such as a panel, window, or screen. The voice synthesis unit  173  receives the internet information from the data signal processing unit  161  and control messages from the information processing control unit  171 . The voice synthesis unit  173  then synthesizes the text data into a voice signal for output to the subscriber by the voice output unit  164 . The information storage unit  174  stores the internet information from the data signal processing unit  161  in memory for later use in response to control messages from the information processing control unit  171 .  
         [0023]    The operation of the preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described. First, a subscriber enters an internet command either by a key pad, a pen mouse or a touch screen, or by speaking into the microphone. The internet commands entered through the microphone are converted from an analog into a digital signal by the voice interface unit  151 . The voice interface unit  151  sends the converted voice commands to the voice recognition unit  153 . Voice communications are also converted from an analog into a digital format by the voice interface unit  151  and sent to the voice processing unit  162 .  
         [0024]    The internet commands are converted into a text format using voice recognition by the voice recognition unit  153  and converted into commands that are compatible with the internet service by the command conversion unit  154 . Then, the converted voice commands and the commands entered through the external interface are converted by the protocol conversion unit  155  into a format supported by the internet protocol. The converted commands are then sent to the data transceiver unit  160 .  
         [0025]    The internet commands/voice communications are transmitted to the base station  200  as RF signals by the data transceiver unit  160 . The data signal processing unit  161  receives the internet commands from the command control unit  150  and converts the commands into a frame format. The data processing unit  163  then modulates and transmits the internet commands and voice communications to the base station  200 . The remaining operation of the wireless network is the same as previously described.  
         [0026]    The operation in reverse will now be described. The RF signals transmitted by the base station  200  containing internet information and voice communications are demodulated by the data processing unit  163 . The internet information and voice communications are converted into their original digital format. The internet information is then sent to the data signal processing unit  161  and the information processing unit  170 , while the voice communications are sent to the voice processing unit  162 . The information processing unit  170  applies voice synthesis to the internet information. The synthesized internet information and the voice communications are then converted from a digital to an analog format in the voice output unit  164  and output to an external voice interface, such as a speaker.  
         [0027]    The information processing unit  170  receives the internet information from the internetwork  230  and the information display unit  172  displays the information in a display interface, such as a panel, window, or screen. The information storage unit  174  stores the internet information in memory for later use. The information display unit  172  and the information storage unit  174  are under the control of the information processing control unit  171 .  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating another preferred embodiment of an apparatus providing voice-interactive access to the internet via wireless networks. This preferred embodiment utilizes a hands-free kit for accessing the internet. The apparatus of the present invention includes a hands-free kit unit  180  and a mobile transceiver unit  190 . A subscriber enters internet commands into the hands-free kit  180  through voice or other external interfaces. The mobile transceiver unit  190  converts the internet commands from the hands-free kit unit  180  into a format that is compatible with the protocol used between the wireless communication network  210  and the gateway  220  (shown in FIG. 1). The mobile transceiver unit  190  then transmits the commands to the base station  200  as RF signals. The internet information retrieved from the internetwork  230  in response to the commands is displayed and stored by the hands-free kit  180 . The internet information is also converted into a voice signal by voice synthesis and output to an external voice interface, such as a speaker.  
         [0029]    The hands-free kit unit  180  includes a command control unit  181 , an information processing unit  182 , and a voice output unit  183 . The command control unit  181  receives the internet commands from the subscriber through voice or other external interfaces and converts the commands into a format that is compatible with the internet service. The information processing unit  182  displays the internet information from the mobile transceiver unit  190  in a text format and converts the information into a voice signal by voice synthesis. The voice output unit  183  receives voice communications from the mobile transceiver unit  190  and the voice-synthesized information from the information processing unit  182 , converts these signals into an analog format, and outputs the signals to an external voice interface, such as a speaker.  
         [0030]    The command control unit  181  includes a voice interface unit  181 - 1 , a voice recognition unit  181 - 2 , and a command conversion unit  181 - 3 . The voice interface unit  181 - 1  converts the voice commands requesting an internet connection or internet information into a digital format. The voice interface unit  181 - 1  also converts voice communications form the subscriber into a digital format and sends these signals to the mobile transceiver unit  190 . The voice recognition unit  181 - 2  converts the voice commands from the voice interface unit  181 - 1  into a text format using voice recognition. The command conversion unit  181 - 3  converts the voice commands from the voice recognition unit  181 - 2  into a format that is compatible with the internet service.  
         [0031]    The information processing unit  182  includes an information processing control unit  182 - 1 , an information display unit  182 - 2 , a voice synthesis unit  182 - 3 , and an information storage unit  182 - 4 . The information processing control unit  182 - 1  controls the information processing unit  182  using the internet information received from the mobile transceiver unit  190 . The information display unit  182 - 2  receives the internet information from the mobile transceiver unit  190  and control messages from the information processing control unit  182 - 1  and displays the internet information in a display interface, such as a panel, window, or screen. The voice synthesis unit  182 - 3  receives the internet information from the mobile transceiver unit  190  and control messages from the information process control unit  182 - 1  and converts the text data into a voice signal using voice synthesis. The voice signal is then sent to the voice output unit  183 . The information storage unit  182 - 4  stores the internet information from the mobile transceiver unit  190  in memory for later use in accordance with control messages from the information processing control unit  181 - 1 .  
         [0032]    The mobile transceiver unit  190  includes a protocol conversion unit  191 , a data signal processing unit  192 , a voice processing unit  193 , and an RF signal processing unit. The protocol conversion unit  191  receives the internet commands from the command conversion unit  181 - 3  and converts the commands into a format compatible with the protocol used between the wireless communication network  210  and the gateway  220 . The data signal processing unit  192  converts the commands from the protocol conversion unit  191  into a frame format. The data signal processing unit  192  also reconstructs the internet information received from the base station  200  and sends the information to the information processing unit  182 . The voice processing unit  193  converts the voice communications from the command control unit  181  into a frame format and converts the voice communications received from the base station  200  into a digital format. The RF signal processing unit  194  modulates the internet commands/voice communications received from the data signal processing unit  192  and the voice processing unit  193  and transmits these signals to the base station  200  as RF signals. The RF signal processing unit  194  also demodulates the RF signals received from the base station  200  and converts the demodulated signals into a frame format.  
         [0033]    The operation of the preferred embodiment of the present invention using the hands-free kit unit  180  will now be described. First, a subscriber enters an internet command by speaking into the microphone. The internet commands are then converted into a digital format by the voice interface unit  181 - 1  and sent to the voice recognition unit  181 - 2 . Voice communications are also converted into a digital format by the voice interface unit  181 - 1  and sent to the voice processing unit  193 . The voice commands are converted into a text format using voice recognition by the voice recognition unit  181 - 2  and converted into commands that are compatible with the internet service by the command conversion unit  181 - 3 .  
         [0034]    The protocol conversion unit  191  then converts the internet commands into a format supported by the internet protocol. The data signal processing unit  192  converts the internet commands from the protocol conversion unit  191  into a frame format and sends the converted commands to the RF signal processing unit  194 . The internet commands from the data signal processing unit  192  and the voice communications from the voice processing unit  193  are transmitted to the base station  200  as RF signals by the RF signal processing unit  194 .  
         [0035]    The operation in reverse will now be described. The RF signals received from the base station  200  include internet information and voice communications and are demodulated by the data signal processing unit  192 . The internet information is sent to the information display unit  182  and the voice communications are sent to the voice processing unit  193 . The voice processing unit  193  converts the voice communications into a digital format. The information processing unit  182  receives the internet information from the mobile transceiver unit  190 , displays and stores the internet information, and converts the internet information into a voice signal by voice synthesis. The information display unit  182 - 2  displays the internet information in a display interface, such as a panel, window, or screen. The information storage unit  182 - 4  stores the internet information in memory for later use.  
         [0036]    While there have been illustrated and described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made, and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof, without departing from the true scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention is not be limited, except as by the following claims.