Method and apparatus for providing extended capability telephone services via an automated server

Abstract

Automated servers can provide a wide-variety of services and information to users via communications vehicles such as telephones. Such servers are often designed to interact specifically with an abstract model of user input/output equipment having well-defined features, such as telephones having text screens and programmable “softkeys”. A web interface apparatus adapts communications between server logic and a web browser, wherein data exchanged with the server logic is associated with features of an abstract model of user input/output equipment, and wherein the web browser lacks at least one of the features of the abstract model of the user input/output equipment. In one embodiment, data packets received from the server logic are converted into web pages. In another aspect of the invention, the web interface apparatus itself models some aspects of the abstract model of the user input/output equipment (such as softkeys) which are not otherwise supported by the web browser. This may be performed by having the web interface apparatus store an expected response or service, and by inserting a hyperlink and associated tag into the web page for the purpose of detecting when a user of the web browser has selected the function to be performed by the softkey.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.