Audio-Based Text Messaging

• US 20110143718A1
• Filed: 12/11/2009
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Engelhart, Robert Lee SR.
• Granted Patent: US 8,737,975 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0048 where the text-based messaging service is a Short Message Service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

A device that enable users to send and receive a message in different formats may include a text message gateway, an audio message gateway, and a processor. The text message gateway may include a Short Message Service (SMS) gateway. The audio message gateway may include an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) unit and/or a client application interface that receives audio from a client application of a mobile communications device. The processor may be configured to convert text messages received at the text-message gateway into audio messages and then to send the audio messages via the audio message gateway. The processor may also be configured to convert audio messages received at the audio message gateway into text messages and then to send the text messages via the text message gateway.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first computing device, an audio message comprising an audio-version destination and an audio-version body from a first mobile communications device;

converting, at the first computing device, the audio message into a properly formatted Short Message Service (SMS) text message that contains a text-version body that is a translation of the audio-version body, wherein the text message is addressed to a destination that corresponds to the audio-version destination;

sending, from the first computing device, the text message to the destination.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the audio message comprises receiving the audio message via a telephone call to an Interactive Response Unit (IVR).

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the interactive response unit is part of a voicemail system.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising establishing a chat session through the voicemail system for sending and receiving multiple messages with a second mobile communications device associated with the destination.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the audio message comprises receiving the audio message from a client application of the first mobile communications device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting comprises a machine speech-to-text translating.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting comprises looking-up in a contact list associated with the first mobile communications device a destination mobile telephone number of a contact whose name corresponds to a translation of the audio-version destination, and populating the destination with the destination mobile telephone number.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting comprises translating audio of spoken digits from the audio-version destination into a destination mobile telephone number and populating the destination with the destination mobile telephone number.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first computing device, a text-based message addressed to a mobile communications device;

converting, at the first computing device, the text-based message to an audio-based message;

signaling to the mobile communications device that the audio-based message is ready for consumption.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the text message is a Short Message Service (SMS) message.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the converting comprises machine text-to-speech translating.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the converting comprises batching the text for human translating.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein signaling to the mobile communications device that the audio-based message is ready for consumption comprises sending the audio-based message to a client application at the mobile communications device.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein signaling to the mobile communications device that the audio-based message is ready for consumption comprises making the audio-based message available at a voicemail inbox accessible via an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) unit.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the text-based message comprises intercepting the text-based message, by rerouting a destination address of the mobile communications device for SMS message types.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the text-based message comprises receiving the text-based message, as forwarded, from a client application of the mobile communications device, after it was received by the mobile communications device and before it was displayed to the user.

17. A device, comprising:

a text message gateway;

an audio message gateway;

a processor configured to convert a first text message received at the text-message gateway into a first audio message and to send the first audio message via the audio message gateway and configured to convert a second audio message received at the audio message gateway into a second text message and to send the second text message via the text message gateway.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the text message gateway comprises a Short Message Service (SMS) gateway.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the audio message gateway comprises an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) unit.

20. The device of claim 17, wherein the audio message gateway comprises a client application interface that receives data representing audio from a client application of a mobile communications device.