Claims:We Claim:
1. A method of providing access to content, comprising;
a. receiving a request for content from a client device,
b. the identifier of an accessibility tool that is necessary for compensating for a disability of a user of the client device, and the request is directed to a first content provider that provides first content;
c. determining an accessibility tool to be used in providing the content to the user of the client device based on the identifier of the accessibility tool;
d. redirecting the request for content to a second content provider that provides second content based on the determined accessibility tool, wherein the second content is the same as the first content, but the second content is formatted for use with the determined accessibility tool;
e. retrieving the second content from the second content provider;
f. processing the second content using the accessibility tool to produce processed content; and
g. outputting the processed content to the client device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying a supplier of the accessibility tool and determining an amount of funds to be transferred to the supplier of the accessibility tool.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining an amount of funds includes calculating a percentage of an amount of funds generated by the first content provider based on the request for content.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessibility tool is one of a plug-in devices to a web browser application, an applet, and an accessibility tool on a server.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessibility tool is one or more of automatic speech recognition, a screen reader, and an intelligent agent.
, Description:Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an improved data processing system and is directed to an apparatus and method for providing web accessibility services.
Background of the Invention
As the ADA becomes widely applied to Internet Web sites and other online properties, accessibility to these Internet Web sites, by persons having a different set of abilities becomes mandated by law. Online service providers and electronic businesses (e-businesses) need help in meeting these requirements and ensuring that they serve all their customers. As Web sites begin to differentiate themselves based on service, online businesses that offer service tailored to the customer's needs are more likely to be favored by customers with disabilities, or customers with a different set of abilities, than those Web sites that do not offer such tailored service. Until now, the industry has focused on designing shrink-wrapped client-side accessibility solutions ranging from screen-readers to self-voicing Web browsers like IBM Home Page Reader™ (HPR). IBM Home Page Reader™ is an IBM product that turns Internet Explorer into a talking browser.
Selling shrink-wrapped solutions like HPR into the support-intensive accessibility market at an affordable price is a difficult proposition. Products like IBM's Via Voice™, which uses speech recognition to type documents, for example, may be very helpful to people that cannot move or are otherwise unable to use a keyboard. Because Via Voice™ is relatively cheap, and the market of persons having special needs is relatively small when compared to the overall market, selling the Via Voice™ application to mobile-impaired users as a client product is not a profitable venture. For this reason, companies that sell speech recognition products are not given an incentive to market their products to a relatively small market of mobile-impaired users. Thus, it would be beneficial to have an apparatus and method for providing accessibility products to persons having special needs that is both relatively cheap for the end user as well as profitable for the supplier of the accessibility product.
Object of the Invention
The object of the present invention is to makes use of this model to provide a Web accessibility apparatus and method to users having special needs.
Summary of the Invention
Today's mainstream Internet, such as the World Wide Web, is characterized by the user agents being free, with revenue being made primarily on the server-side. This business model can be applied to providing Web accessibility to persons with special needs as a service. The accessibility service provider provides expertise on accessible information design along with technology offerings like speech tools. However, instead of selling this expertise, information and technology as a packaged one-time, one-size fits all solution, the present invention provides an accessibility service based on a per-access revenue model.
With such a per-access revenue model, a services provider may offer accessibility as a service to major content providers. As an example, major airlines may use the present invention to contract with an accessibility service provider to provide an access friendly view of their Web site. Under such a contract, the accessibility service provider may be paid, for example, based on the number of hits received by the accessibility service provider. For example, a company may supply speech recognition to mobile-impaired users through an accessibility services provider such that profit is generated not through the purchase of the speech recognition product, but rather when the product is used, through the accessibility services provider, to browse the Internet.
Payment may be received not just through the Internet. A mobile-impaired user may order a movie on the television or browse through different channels through the use of speech recognition technology and voice commands. In these cases, a television or cable company may contract with the accessibility services provider to pay the accessibility service provider for the use of a service that adds customers that otherwise may not use the product sold by the television or cable company.
In another example, a hearing-impaired person may use an accessibility service provider that consists of speech recognition or a human operator, to call a store and order goods. In such a case the store or company may pay the service provider that allowed the transaction to exist.
In view of the above, the present invention provides an accessibility service apparatus and method for providing an accessibility service to users so that these users may gain access to content on a data network, such as the Internet. The apparatus and method provide a mechanism by which a user may request content from the data network from a content provider. The request for content may then be intercepted by an intelligent agent on the user's client device, a proxy server, or the like, which redirects the request to a mirror content provider. The mirror content provider provides the same content as the original content provider however, it is formatted for use with one or more accessibility tools.
The requested content is then transmitted from the mirror web site to the intelligent agent, or proxy server, where the content is then input to an accessibility tool. The accessibility tool performs various functions, depending on the type of accessibility tool, to generate a modified content output that is tailored to the specific needs of the user. For example, the accessibility tool may be a screen reader tool that reads the text presented on the client device display so that a visually impaired user may be informed of content being displayed.
The present invention further includes mechanisms by which the provider of the accessibility tool is compensated for the user of the accessibility tool. In a preferred embodiment, a fixed fee, or a portion of the revenue generated by a user using the accessibility tool is reapportioned to the provider of the accessibility tool. For example, if a user makes use of an accessibility tool to select a banner ad on a web page, the web site providing the banner ad is paid a fee from the owner of the banner ad and a portion of that fee may be redirected to the provider of the accessibility tool. The transfer of such funds may be performed in any known manner, such as by electronic fund transfer, mail, or the like. Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in or will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of, the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.
Brief Description of Drawings
FIG. 1 is an example implementation of the present invention when used by visually impaired people
Detailed Description of Invention
FIG. 1 is an example of the accessibility service for visually impaired people. In this example, visually impaired user is attempting to access the Yahoo website. This user is using a computer that has an intelligent agent that activates a mirror website that was created earlier. The mirror website created earlier is described in the incorporated issued. The mirror web site gives the user the ability to access the same information as on the original website but is enhanced for use with the accessibility tools provided by the present invention. The user may click on the Yahoo banners through the screen reader website. This is connected to the payment system server. Through the payment system server, the provider of mirror website receives a payment for each click that a user makes on banners on the website, or a percent from all the user's purchases on the website.
Thus, the present invention provides a mechanism by which a supplier of an accessibility tool may provide the tool to disabled users on a per-use basis and receive a portion of the revenue obtained from the user of the accessibility tool. This provides the user with much needed tools to aid the user in obtaining access to content on the data network. In addition, the supplier is able to provide the accessibility tool at a relatively cheap cost to the supplier.
It is important to note that while the present invention has been described in the context of a fully functioning data processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions and a variety of forms and that the present invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a RAM, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and transmission-type media, such as digital and analog communications links, wired or wireless communications links using transmission forms, such as, for example, radio frequency and light wave transmissions. The computer readable media may take the form of coded formats that are decoded for actual use in a particular data processing system.
The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.