Voice Enabled Screen reader

• US 20150248887A1
• Filed: 02/28/2014
• Published: 09/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Cook, Michael J., Wlodkowski, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 9,620,124 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04892 Arrangements for controlling cursor position based on codes indicative of cursor displacements from one discrete location to another, e.g. using cursor control keys associated to different directions or using the tab key arrangements for controlling cursor position based on coordinate signals G06F3/038
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/006 using audible presentation of the information
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/04 Details of speech synthesis systems, e.g. synthesiser structure or memory management
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/08 Speech classification or search
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/22 Interactive procedures; Man-machine interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612

Abstract

In some embodiments, a system may process a user interface to identify textual or graphical items in the interface, and may prepare a plurality of audio files containing spoken representations of the items. As the user navigates through the interface, different ones of the audio files may be selected and played, to announce text associated with items selected by the user. A computing device may periodically determine whether a cache offering the interface to users stores audio files for all of the interface'"'"'s textual items, and if the cache is missing any audio files for any of the textual items, the computing device may take steps to have a corresponding audio file created.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

identifying a plurality of textual items in a user interface;

assigning different voice announcement identifiers to different ones of the textual items;

associating different audio files with different ones of the voice announcement identifiers;

receiving, by a computing device, a selection of a selected one of the textual items;

determining a selected item voice announcement identifier corresponding to the selected one of the textual items; and

retrieving an audio file corresponding to the selected item voice announcement identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising playing the audio file in response to the selection of the selected one of the textual items.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a plurality of screens of the user interface;

associating a first screen audio file corresponding to a first one of the plurality of screens; and

in response to displaying the first one of the plurality of screens, retrieving the first screen audio file.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

periodically retrieving a current version of the user interface and determining whether the current version of the user interface contains any textual items for which there is not already a corresponding audio file.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein in response to determining that the current version of the user interface contains one or more textual items for which there is not already a corresponding audio file, transmitting an audio file request for the one or more textual items or which there is not already a corresponding audio file.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining whether the current version of the user interface contains any textual items for which there is not already a corresponding audio file comprises:

transmitting a request for an audio file header;

receiving the requested audio file header; and

determining whether a size indicated in the audio file header is greater than a predetermined minimum size value.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining whether the current version of the user interface contains any textual items for which there is not already a corresponding audio file comprises:

retrieving a voice announcement identifier for a textual item; and

consulting a database containing a listing of voice announcement identifiers and corresponding entries regarding whether listed voice announcement identifiers are associated with audio files.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether an expiration time of any of the different audio files has elapsed.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of textual items include at least one menu item and at least one program guide content item.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting the user interface on a first device at a premises, together with audio and video from an audiovisual program; and

receiving a request to play the audio file on a second device at the premises, and not on the first device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating first and second audio files with a single one of the textual items.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

presenting the user interface on a first device at a premises, together with audio and video from an audiovisual program; and

delivering the first and second audio files for playback on different user devices in response to a selection of the single one of the textual items, without delivering the first and second audio files to the first device at the premises.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first and second audio files correspond to different user expertise levels in navigating a menu corresponding to the single one of the textual items.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first audio file contains a greater amount of explanatory speech than the second audio file.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the different audio files in a cache in advance of receiving the selection of the selected one of the textual items.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in advance of a user accessing a first screen of the user interface, caching a plurality of menu item audio files corresponding to textual labels for menu items in the user interface.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

as a user accesses different screens of the user interface, determining whether menu item audio files corresponding to textual labels for menu items in the different screens of the user interface are cached in advance of user selection of the menu items in the different screens.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of textual items comprise a plurality of video program titles.

19. A method, comprising:

determining whether a memory contains audio files corresponding to textual items in a user interface screen; and

in response to determining that the memory does not contain an audio file corresponding to a first textual item in the interface, requesting that the memory provide a copy of the audio file corresponding to the first textual item in the interface, receiving the audio file, and storing the audio file with an expiration time value in the memory.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the determining comprises:

requesting that the memory provide a header associated with the first textual item; and

comparing a size value in the header with a minimum size value.

21. A method, comprising:

offering a user interface having a plurality of textual items; and

storing, for each of the textual items, a plurality of corresponding audio files, each corresponding audio file containing a different spoken version of a corresponding textual item.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the storing comprises storing, for a first textual item, first and second audio files containing first and second spoken versions of the first textual item, respectively.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first and second spoken versions differ in a speed of speech.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the first and second spoken versions differ in a number of first textual item words that are omitted.