Server-provided user's voice for instant messaging clients
First Claim
1. A method of annotating an instant message by an audible signal comprising:
- establishing by an author one or more text-to-speech control parameters for a voice annotation option during creation of an instant message;
sending said instant message and said control parameters to a recipient device;
receiving said author-established control parameters by said recipient device; and
in conjunction with reviewing said instant message, performing text-to-speech synthesis by said recipient device according to said author-established control parameters such that speech representing a text portion of said instant message is audibly produced according to said author-established control parameters.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method to allow an author of an instant message to enable and control the production of audible speech to the recipient of the message. The voice of the author of the message is characterized into parameters compatible with a formative or articulative text-to-speech engine such that upon receipt, the receiving client device can generate audible speech signals from the message text according to the characterization of the author'"'"'s voice. Alternatively, the author can store samples of his or her actual voice in a server so that, upon transmission of a message by the author to a recipient, the server extracts the samples needed only to synthesize the words in the text message, and delivers those to the receiving client device so that they are used by a client-side concatenative text-to-speech engine to generate audible speech signals having a close likeness to the actual voice of the author.
65 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of annotating an instant message by an audible signal comprising:
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establishing by an author one or more text-to-speech control parameters for a voice annotation option during creation of an instant message;
sending said instant message and said control parameters to a recipient device;
receiving said author-established control parameters by said recipient device; and
in conjunction with reviewing said instant message, performing text-to-speech synthesis by said recipient device according to said author-established control parameters such that speech representing a text portion of said instant message is audibly produced according to said author-established control parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for annotating an instant message by an audible signal comprising:
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one or more text-to-speech control parameters for a voice annotation option, said control parameters being establishing by an author during creation of an instant message;
a message transmitter adapted to send said instant message and said control parameters to a recipient device;
a message receiver adapted to receive said author-established control parameters by said recipient device; and
a recipient device text-to-speech engine adapted to, in conjunction with reviewing said instant message, perform text-to-speech synthesis according to said author-established control parameters such that speech representing a text portion of said instant message is audibly produced according to said author-established control parameters. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer-readable medium encoded with software for annotating an instant message by an audible signal, said software performing steps comprising:
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establishing by an author one or more text-to-speech control parameters for a voice annotation option during creation of an instant message;
sending said instant message and said control parameters to a recipient device;
receiving said author-established control parameters by said recipient device; and
in conjunction with reviewing said instant message, performing text-to-speech synthesis by said recipient device according to said author-established control parameters such that speech representing a text portion of said instant message is audibly produced according to said author-established control parameters. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification