PROVISIONAL APPLICATION COVER SHEET
`This is a request for filing a PROVISIONAL APPLICATION under 37 C.F.R. § 1.53 (b)(2)
`
`~1 - f
`0
`
`Docket No.
`
`I
`
`WEBL:028PZ1
`
`Type a plus sign(+) inside this box (cid:157)
`
`+
`
`LAST NAME
`
`FIRST NAME
`
`MIDDLE INITIAL
`
`INVENTOR(s)/APPLICANT(s)
`
`RESIDENCE (CITY AND STA TE OR COUNTRY)
`
`~~--0
`
`fl.I'- .. ~ .c::>
`_.,......
`
`Kurganov
`
`Alex
`
`Buffalo Grove, Illinois, USA
`
`Personal Voice-Based lnfonnat10n Retrieval System
`
`TITLE OF THE INVENTION (280 characters max)
`
`CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS
`
`Steve Z. Szczepanski
`Jenkens & G:Ilchrist
`1445 Ross Avenue
`Suite 3200
`DalJas
`
`STATE I Texas
`
`[g] Specification
`[g] Drawing(s)
`
`ZIP CODE
`
`I 75202
`
`COUNTRY I USA
`
`ENCLOSED APPLICATION PARTS (check all that apply)
`[g] Small Entity Statement
`
`Number of Pages:
`
`6
`
`Number of Sheets:
`
`1
`
`(cid:143) Other (specify)
`
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`
`[g]
`A check or money order is enclosed to cover the Provisional filing fees.
`~
`The Commissioner is hereby authorized to charge deficiencies and credit
`Deposit Account Number: 10-0447/WEBL·028PZ1
`
`METHOD OF PAYMENT (check one)
`
`PROVISIONAL FILING FEE AMOUNT
`
`$150
`
`The invention was made by an agency of the United States Government or under a contract with an agency of the United States
`Government.
`[g]
`0
`
`Yes, the name of the U.S. Government agency and the Government contract number are:
`
`No.
`
`Date z/f;bo
`
`1445 Ross Avenue
`Suite 3200
`Dallas, Texas 75202
`(312) 744-0090
`
`EXPRESS MAIL LABEL NO:
`DA TE OF DEPOSIT:
`
`EM340963632US
`February 4, 2000
`
`I hereby certify that this transrruttal and the documents referred to as enclosed therein are being deposited with the United
`States Postal Service in an envelope as "Express Mail Post Office to Addressee," under 37 CFR 1.10 on the date indicated
`to Assistant Commissioner fi
`tent Attn: Box Provisional Application, Washington, D.C. 20231.
`above and is add
`
`C: 98056(23NS0J!.DOC)
`
`EX. 1047
`APPLE INC. / Page 1 of 10
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`

`

`..
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`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`PROVISIONAL
`
`In re Application of:
`Alex Kurganov
`
`Serial No.: Unknown
`
`Filed: February 4, 1999
`
`For: Personal Voice~Based Information Retrieval
`System
`
`Group Art Unit: Unknown
`
`Examiner: Unknown
`
`Atty. Dkt. No.: WEBL:028PZ1
`
`VERIFIED STATEMENT {DECLARATION) CLAIMING SMALL ENTITY STATUS
`(37 CFR §§ 1.9(F) AND l .27(C)) - SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN
`
`I hereby declare that 1 am
`
`the owner of the small business concern identified below:
`an official of the small business concern empowered to act on behalf of the concem
`identified below:
`
`:::·~
`
`NAME OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN:
`ADDRESS OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN:
`
`Webley Systems, Inc.
`570 Lake Cook Road
`Deerfield, Illinois 60015
`
`I hereby declare that the above identified small business conccm qualifies as a small
`business concem as defined in 13 CFR § 121.3-18, and reproduced in 37 CFR § l.9(d), for
`purposes of paying reduced fees to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, in that the
`number of employees of the concern, including those of its affiliates, does not exceed 500
`persons. For purposes of this statement, ( 1) the number of employees of the business concern
`is the average over the previous fiscal year of the concern of the persons em.ployed on a full(cid:173)
`time, part-time or temporary basis during each of the pay periods of the fiscal year, and (2)
`concems are affiliates of each other when either, directly or indirectly, one concern controls
`or has the power to control the other, or a third party or parties controls or has the power to
`control both.
`
`I hereby declare that rights under contract or law have been conveyed to and remain
`with the small business concem identified above.
`
`If the rights held by the above identified small business concern are not exclusive,
`each individual, concern or organization having rights to the invention is listed bdow * and no
`rights to the invention are held by any person, other than the inventor, who could not qualify
`as an independent inventor under 37 CFR § l.9(c) if that person made the invention, or by
`any concem which would not qualify as a small business concern under 37 CPR§ l.9(d), or a
`nonprofit organization under 37 CFR § 1.9(e).
`
`CH!C'AGO 27.>68, l 99999-00001
`
`EX. 1047
`APPLE INC. / Page 2 of 10
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`..
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`*NOTE. Separate verified statements are required from each named person, concern or
`organization having rights to the invention averring to their status as small entities.
`(37 CFR § 1 27)
`
`FULL NAME:
`ADDRESS:
`0 INDIVIDUAL
`ORGANIZATION
`
`FULL NAME:
`ADDRESS:
`0 INDIVIDUAL
`ORGANIZATION
`
`0 SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN O NONPROFIT
`
`0 SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN O NONPROFIT
`
`I acknowledge the duty to file, in this application or patent, notification of any cha11ge
`in status resulting in loss of entitlement to small entity status prior to paying, or at the time of
`paying, the earliest of the issue fee or any maintenance fee due after the date on which status
`as a small entity is no longer appropriate. (3 7 CFR § 1.28(b )).
`
`I hereby declare that all statements made herein of my own knowledge are true and
`that all statements made on infom1ation and belief are believed to be hue; and further that
`these statements were made with the knowledge that willful false statements and the like so
`made are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under Section 1001 of Title 18 of the
`United States Code, and that such willful false statements may jeopardize the validity of the
`application, any patent issuing thereon, or any patent to which this verified statement is
`directed.
`
`Signature: --------------
`Name: Robert McConnell
`Title: Chief Financial Officer
`Webley Systems, Inc.
`
`DATE: _ 2~/2_11-+-/2_6_b ____ _
`
`CHICAGO 27368v I 99999-0000 l
`
`EX. 1047
`APPLE INC. / Page 3 of 10
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`1
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`PATENT
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`[WEBL:028]
`
`PROVISIONAL APPLICATION FOR UNITED STATES LETTERS PATENT
`
`UNDER 37 C.F.R. § 153 (b) (2)
`
`for
`
`PERSONAL VOICE-BASED INFORMATION RETRIEVAL SYSTEM
`
`by
`
`Alex Kurganov
`
`EXPRESS MAIL NO.:
`DATE OF DEPOSIT:
`
`EXPRESS MAIL MAILING LABEL
`EM340963632US
`February 4, 2000
`
`I hereby certify that this paper or fee is being deposited with the United States Postal Service "EXPRESS
`MAIL POST OFFICE TO ADDRESSEE" service under 37 C.F.R. 1.10 on the date indicated above and
`is addressed to:
`Box Patent Application, Washington DC.
`20231.
`
`Signature: -~~~:id~'l=.~~{____::._:'__,,6-4(::b.,:Lf,,£_~:a::,,,,...L.... _ _ _ _ _ _ _
`James M. Skle
`
`C: 103360(27R401!.DOC)
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`EX. 1047
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`2
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`PERSONAL VOICE-BASED INFORl\llATION RETRIEVAL SYSTEM
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`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
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`The present invention relates generally to the field of providing information
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`5
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`access.
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`In particular, the invention relates to a personalized system for accessing
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`information from the Internet or other information sources.
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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`Popular methods of information access and retrieval using the Internet or other
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`IO
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`computer networks can be time-consuming and complicated. A user must frequently
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`wade through vast amounts of information to get to a small bit of relevant information.
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`This can be time-consuming, frustrating, and, depending on the access method, costly.
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`A user needs to continuously identify reliable sources of information and, if these
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`information sources are used frequently, repeatedly access these sources.
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`15
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`Current methods of information access and retrieval on the Internet and other
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`computer networks generally require user access to a computer. While computers are
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`becoming increasingly smaller and easier to transport, computer access is still more
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`difficult than simply using a phone to retrieve information. As voice recognition
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`routines allow a user to convert his voice into a computer-usable message, phone
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`20
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`access to digital information is becoming more and more feasible. Voice recognition
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`technology is growing stronger in its ability to allow a wide variety of users to use a
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`wide vocabulary, and is already quite accurate when a single, known user only needs to
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`use a small vocabulary. One object of the present invention is to solve the difficulties
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`of information retrieval from the Internet or other computer networks and eliminate
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`25
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`the need for computer access. A need exists for an information access and retrieval
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`method that combines efficient information selection by the user with easy-to-use voice
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`commands.
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`SUN1MARY OF THE INVENTION
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`30
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`In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, these and other
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`objectives are realized by a customized, voice-activated information access method. A
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`C l 03360(27R40 I I.DOC)
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`EX. 1047
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`user uses a "clipping client" to access his own personal selection of content. At each
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`selected content location, the user identifies specific information he would like to
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`access in the future, and cuts and pastes the content from the content location into the
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`clipping client. The user then assigns a pronounceable name to the selected content
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`5
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`and this pronounceable name is saved on the clipping client along with a resource
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`locator for the location holding the selected content. Next, the user may call into a
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`voice server having access to the information saved via the clipping client and give the
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`voice server verbal commands based on the predefined, pronounceable names he has
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`assigned. The voice server associates the predefined name with the selected locator,
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`10
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`retrieves the information from that locator, and, using a text-to-voice conversion
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`method, returns a voice message with the desired information to the user.
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`One object of this invention is to allow customized, voice-activated information
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`retrieval from the Internet or other computer networks.
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`Another object of this invention is to provide secure and reliable retrieval of
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`15
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`information over the Internet or other computer networks using pre-defined verbal
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`commands set by a user.
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`FIG. 1 displays a personal information selection system for use with the present
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`20
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`invention; and
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`FIG. 2 displays a voice server's interaction with a user and the Internet for use
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`in one embodiment of the present invention.
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
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`25
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`The present invention uses various forms of signal and data transmission to
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`allow a user to retrieve customized information using audio communication. In the
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`present invention, a user associates information found on the Internet or other
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`computer networks with a pronounceable term. Later, the user telephones a voice
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`server that is able to retrieve the associated information when it gets the respective
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`30
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`pronounceable term as a voice message from the user.
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`C: !03360(27R401 !.DOC)
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`EX. 1047
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`A user may begin interacting with the system of the present invention by using
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`a "clipping client" to access the Internet. Once on the Internet, the user selects specific
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`information sources he knows will be useful in the future and clips these sources to the
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`clipping client. The clipping client associates the clipped sources with the resource
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`5
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`from which the information can be obtained. After clipping the information, the user
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`associates the information source with a pronounceable term.
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`For example, the user might clip information on Chicago weather from a
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`weather web page, then associate the pronounceable term, "Chicago weather" with the
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`Chicago weather information. The clipping client stores the pronounceable term and
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`10
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`links the pronounceable term to the information source identified by the user, using the
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`appropriate locator_
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`The clipping client is capable of allowing the user to clip information from a
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`wide variety of sources. The clipping client can also parse content using a robust
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`middleware package, so that when information changes location or format, the
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`15
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`information will still be available to the user through the present invention. For
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`example, the middleware package is capable of tracking information sources coded in
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`Hypertext Markup Language ("HTML,,) or Wireless Markup Language ("WML") so
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`that even if the format or location changes, the information will still be available to the
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`user.
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`20
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`To access the desired information after making the necessary associations via
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`the clipping client, the user accesses a voice server. The voice server may be accessed
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`via a standard voice phone call or via any voice-based communication method. After
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`connecting with the voice server, the user states the pronounceable term he associated
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`with the desired information. The voice server then associates the pronounceable term
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`25 with the locator where the information is located, and sends an appropriate request for
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`the information to the information source identified by the user. The information
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`source returns the information to the voice server in text form. The voice server uses a
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`text-to-speech conversion program to convert this computer-readable text to a speech
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`message which will be understood by the user. Next, the voice server transmits the
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`30
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`information in understandable speech form to the user. The user may make several
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`verbal information requests during one interaction with the voice server, and the voice
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`C: 103360(27R401!.DOC)
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`server simply repeats the above-described procedure for each information request.
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`The voice server is also capable of identifying changes in the location or format of the
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`information, so that the information is consistently available to the user via the present
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`invention.
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`The present invention will now be described in connection with the preferred
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`embodiment shown in the drawings. These drawings are provided to illustrate the
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`invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention.
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`Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of the information source
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`identification and pronounceable term assignment functions of the present invention is
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`10
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`shown. The invention will be described in reference to a typical information
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`assignment. The user 10 will assign information on Chicago weather to the spoken
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`term, "Chicago weather." First, the user uses the clipping client 12 to access a desired
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`website 16 via the internet 14.
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`In the example, the user will access a website with
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`inf onnation on Chicago weather. When the user finds a desired site using familiar
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`15
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`web-surfing methods, the user "clips" information from that site using a cut-and-paste
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`method. The clipping client 12 records the URL of the website 16 holding the desired
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`information and stores the URL. For example, the website accessed by the user 10
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`may have a lJRL such as: "http://www.chicagoweathersite.com." Next, the user 10
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`associates a pronounceable term with the URL that the clipping client 12 has recorded.
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`20
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`For example, the user IO could associate the term "Chicago weather" with the URL
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`"http://www.chicagoweathersite.com." The web-clipping server then "remembers"
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`that when it is given an information request in the form of "Chicago weather," it must
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`link that request to the URL "http://www.chicagoweathersite.com."
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`After surfing the Internet as shown in FIG. 1, the user l O may retrieve the
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`25
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`desired information using only voice commands as shown in FIG. 2. To begin
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`retrieving desired information, the user 1 0 may place a standard telephone call to a
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`voice server 20 call using a standard telephone 18. Once reaching the voice server 20,
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`the user 10 may simply speak the term he has associated with the information he
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`wants. In this case, if the user wants information on the weather in Chicago, the user
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`30 will say, "Chicago weather" into the telephone 18. This message is sent to the voice
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`C: l03360(27R40l!.DOC)
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`server 20 that uses a speech-to-text conversion program (for example, Nuance™) to
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`convert the voice request into a computer-readable text format.
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`Fallowing this conversion, the voice server 20 finds the converted text in a
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`pronounceable name list 22 which it receives from the clipping client 12. Upon finding
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`5
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`the correct term in the pronounceable name list 22, the voice server associates the
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`pronounceable name with the assigned information source in an information source list
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`24.
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`In
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`this
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`case,
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`it would
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`find
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`that
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`the
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`correct
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`association
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`1s
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`http://www.chicagoweathersite.com. The voice server 20 then uses the associated
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`URL to retrieve the desired information from the Internet. Since the voice server 20
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`10
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`uses the URL and retrieves new information from the Internet each time a request is
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`made, the requested information is always updated.
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`The requested information then travels back to the voice server 20, where it is
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`converted from text to speech by a text-to-speech conversion program. Finally, the
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`voice server 20 sends a voice message containing the requested information back to
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`15
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`the user 10.
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`While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more
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`preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may
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`be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
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`C l03360(27R401 !.DOC)
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`EX. 1047
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`-~-"-·---····-·······----
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`-1-
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`24
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`114 INTERNET
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`14
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`14
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`...J.
`.........
`....I.
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`PRONOUNCEABLE I INFORMATION
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`SOURCE LIST
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`NAME LIST
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`22,,.
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`l ~---• ~~
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`~ >
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`VOICE SERVER
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`20
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`Fig. 2
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`j INTERNET 1~-----.J WEB
`Fig. 1 16
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`14
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`SITE
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`CLIENT
`CLIPPING
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`10 "-...-
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`12
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`'<HI'
`"'"l(
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`"
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`H l!
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`EX. 1047
`APPLE INC. / Page 10 of 10
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