VERBAL LABELS FOR ELECTRONIC MESSAGES

• US 20100057460A1
• Filed: 11/13/2009
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Michael H. Cohen
• Inventors: COHEN, MICHAEL H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,831,951 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/235
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages

Abstract

Verbal labels for electronic messages, as well as systems and methods for making and using such labels, are disclosed. A verbal label is a label containing audio data (such as a digital audio file of a user'"'"'s voice and/or a speaker template thereof) that is associated with one or more electronic messages. Verbal labels permit a user to more efficiently manipulate e-mail and other electronic messages by voice. For example, a user can add such labels verbally to an e-mail or to a group of e-mails, thereby permitting these messages to be sorted and retrieved more easily.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving an audio input from a user;

performing speech recognition on the audio input from the user to generate text corresponding to the audio input;

creating a unified label comprising

the text corresponding to the audio input, and

data representing the audio input from the user; and

labeling one or more electronic messages using the unified label, wherein the unified label is used to identify the one or more electronic messages.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic messages are e-mail messages.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the text corresponding to the audio input is identified by a reference in the unified label.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data representing the audio input from the user is stored in a digital audio file.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the unified label comprises digital audio data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the unified label comprises a speaker template of digital audio data representing the audio input from the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the unified label comprises digital audio data representing the audio input from the user and a speaker template of the digital audio data.

8. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving a request for electronic messages associated with a unified label;

identifying electronic messages labeled with the unified label, wherein the unified label comprises

data representing audio input by a user, and

text corresponding to the audio input by the user; and

returning a response including information corresponding to at least one of the identified electronic messages labeled with the unified label.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the text corresponding to the audio input by the user is determined by performing speech recognition on the audio input from the user.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the request is generated by voice input.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the request is generated by text input.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the identified messages associated with the unified label has the same label as the unified label.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the identified messages associated with the unified label has information in a header that corresponds to the unified label.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the identified messages associated with the unified label has content that corresponds to the unified label.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifying includes searching for messages selected from the group comprising messages having the same label as the unified label, messages having information in a header that corresponds to the unified label, and messages having content that corresponds to the unified label.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the request more closely corresponds to a speaker-template label for the identified messages than to a garbage model.

17. A memory containing a data structure, the data structure comprising:

a unified label used to label one or more electronic messages, the unified label comprising

data that represents audio input from a user, and

text corresponding to the audio input by the user;

wherein the unified label is used to identify the one or more electronic messages.

18. The memory of claim 17, wherein the text corresponding to the audio input by the user is determined by performing speech recognition on the audio input from the user.

19. A system comprising at least one server, the at least one server comprising:

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

receiving an audio input from a user;

performing speech recognition on the audio input from the user to generate text corresponding to the audio input;

creating a unified label comprising

the text corresponding to the audio input, and

data that represents the audio input from the user; and

labeling one or more electronic messages using the unified label, wherein the unified label is used to identify the one or more electronic messages.

20. A system comprising at least one server, the at least one server comprising:

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

receiving a request for electronic messages associated with a unified label;

identifying electronic messages labeled with the unified label, wherein the unified label comprises

data representing audio input by a user, and

text corresponding to the audio input by the user; and

returning a response including information corresponding to at least one of the identified electronic messages labeled with the unified label.

21. A machine readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

receive an audio input from a user;

perform speech recognition on the audio input from the user to generate text corresponding to the audio input;

create a unified label comprising

the text corresponding to the audio input, and

data that represents the audio input from the user; and

label one or more electronic messages using the unified label, wherein the unified label is used to identify the one or more electronic messages.

22. A machine readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

receive a request for electronic messages associated with a unified label;

identify electronic messages labeled with the unified label, wherein the unified label comprises

data representing audio input by a user, and

text corresponding to the audio input by the user; and

return a response including information corresponding to at least one of the identified electronic messages labeled with the unified label.

23. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving an audio input from a user;

performing speech recognition on the audio input from the user to generate text corresponding to the audio input;

creating a unified label comprising

the text corresponding to the audio input, and

data representing the audio input received from the user;

labeling one or more electronic messages using the unified label, wherein the unified label is used to identify the one or more electronic messages; and

retrieving one or more of the electronic messages using the unified label.

24. The computer-implemented method of claim 23, wherein the unified label comprises a speaker template of the data representing the audio input received from the user.

25. The computer-implemented method of claim 23, wherein retrieving further comprises:

receiving a request for retrieval of electronic messages that are labeled with a specified label;

determining that the unified label corresponds to the specified label; and

identifying the one or more electronic messages using the unified label.

26. The computer-implemented method of claim 25, wherein the request is a voice input request, the determining further comprising:

performing speech recognition on speaker templates included in a plurality of unified labels to identify that the unified label corresponds to the specified label.

27. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving an audio input from a user for a unified label;

performing speech recognition on the audio input from the user to generate text corresponding to the audio input;

creating the unified label comprising

a digital audio file including audio data representing the audio input from the user,

the text corresponding to the audio input, and

a speaker template of the digital audio file; and

labeling one or more electronic messages using the unified label, wherein the unified label is used to identify the one or more electronic messages.