Email application with user voice interface

• US 20050108338A1
• Filed: 11/17/2003
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Simske, Steven J., Yacoub, Sherif, Lin, Xiaofan, Burns, R. John
• Granted Patent: US 8,055,713 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

In at least some embodiments, a system may comprise a user voice interface, a processor coupled to the user voice interface, wherein the processor interprets words spoken by a user, and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores an email application, wherein the email application summarizes email messages and navigates a plurality of email messages according to the words spoken by the user.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a user voice interface;

a processor coupled to the user voice interface, wherein the processor interprets words spoken by a user through the user voice interface; and

a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores an email application executed by the processor, wherein the email application summarizes email messages and navigates a plurality of email messages according to the words spoken by the user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the email application accesses information on a network related to a word spoken by the user and displays the information to the user.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the email application provides content-based re-direction between at least two items selected from the group consisting of emails and email attachments.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the user voice interface is selected from the group consisting of a cell phone, a telephone, and a microphone.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a speaker coupled to the processor, wherein the speaker audibly communicates options provided by the email application to the user.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the speaker further allows written content of emails and email attachments to be communicated audibly to a user of the email application.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the email application controls email content presented to a user according to at least one voice-controlled function selected from a group consisting of expanding a summary sentence to a surrounding paragraph, contracting an email paragraph to a summary sentence, contracting an email to a summary, accessing a next instance of a topic in an email, accessing a next instance of a topic in an email attachment, repeating a sentence of an email, repeating a paragraph of an email, repeating an email, skipping to the end of an email, and accessing emails within an email string.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the email application weights words of a text to generate summaries of emails and email attachments.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the email application allows a user to dictate words for a voice-activated function selected from a group consisting of creating an email message, editing an email attachment, filling in fields of an email, and creating an audio version of an email.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the email application permit a user via voice commands to perform a function selected from a group consisting of adding an attachment to an existing attachment, editing an existing attachment, adding an attachment from a remote server, adding a URL-based attachment, and adding meta-data to a header of an attachment.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving voice commands;

selecting a mode for sequencing through a plurality of emails according to a voice command;

presenting content of a select email to a user according to a voice command; and

accessing an email containing text related to the presented email according to a voice command.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising accessing an email attachment related to the presented content of the selected email according to a voice command.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising activating an interrupt while presenting content of the selected email according to a voice command, wherein the interrupt causes an action selected from a group consisting of:

exiting an email browser;

going to a next email;

going to a previous email;

opening an attachment; and

returning to an email sequencing mode select menu.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the mode for sequencing through a plurality of emails is selected from a group consisting of an entire email mode, an email summary mode, an email subject mode, an email sender mode, and an important emails mode.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising dictating an email message according to a voice command.

16. The method of claim 11 further comprising adding an email attachment according to a voice command.

17. The method of claim 11 further comprising editing an email attachment according to a voice command.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein further comprising searching for information on a network related to text of an email using a voice command.

19. A computer readable medium containing instructions that are executable by a computer system, and when executed the instructions implement a method comprising:

selecting a mode for sequencing a plurality of emails according to a voice command of a user;

dynamically changing content presentation of a select email according to a voice command of the user; and

accessing an email containing text related to the select email according to a voice command of a user.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein executing the instructions implement a method further comprising summarizing emails and email attachments presentable to the user.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein executing the instructions implement a method further comprising:

using voice-based web navigation techniques to perform a search for information related to content of the select email; and

audibly presenting results of said search to the user.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein executing the instructions implement a method further comprising dictating words of an email according to a voice-activated function selected from a group consisting of automatic speech recognition, automatic speech recognition with text-to-speech feedback, automatic speech recognition plus an audio attachment, and audio only.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein executing the instructions implement a method further comprising performing a voice-activated function selected from a group consisting of adding an attachment to an existing attachment, editing an existing attachment, adding an attachment from a remote server, adding a URL-based attachment, and adding meta-data to a header of an attachment.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein executing the instructions implement a method further comprising managing interrupts while an email is being presented, wherein the interrupts are selected from a group consisting of exiting the email application, accessing a next email, accessing a previous email, opening an attachment, returning to an email sequencing menu, accessing another email that contains similar content, and accessing an email attachment that contains similar content.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein executing the instructions implement a method further comprising managing access to related email, wherein the emails are related by at least one item selected from a group consisting of topic, TO field, FROM field, SUBJECT field, temporal cue, and attachments.

26. A system, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor;

means for interpreting voice commands of a user received from a remote communication device;

means for changing an email sequencing mode according to a voice command of the user; and

means for dynamically changing email content presented to a user according to a voice command of the user.

27. The system of claim 26 further comprising means for summarizing text of an email.

28. The system of claim 26 further comprising means for accessing information related to text content of an email wherein the information is accessed from a source selected from a group consisting of emails, email attachments, Internet content, and Intranet content.

29. The system of claim 26 wherein the email sequencing mode allows a user to visually or audibly access text selected from a group consisting of entire emails, email summaries, email senders, email subjects, and important emails.