Graphics user interface for controlling text-to-speech conversion
First Claim
1. A text-to-speech controller for controllably feeding a text file from a text buffer to a text-to-speech converter, the text file being comprised by text characters organized into words, including:
- an interface for inputting user commands which indicate how the text characters in the text file are fed from the text buffer to the text-to-speech converter; and
a controller for effectuating the user commands at interword text boundaries such that the text characters are fed at interword text boundaries from the text buffer to the text-to-speech converter in accordance with the user commands.
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Abstract
A system for controlling how text is fed to a text-to-speech converter. Text is controllably fed from a text buffer to a text-to-speech converter, the control being based on operator commands which are effectuated at text boundaries, such as word boundaries or sentence boundaries. Operator commands can include commands to advance through the text in a file, in which case text is fed to the text-to-speech converter on a selectable level of granularity, for example, next word, next sentence, next paragraph, etc. It is also possible to advance through the text file rapidly in which case only a sampling of text segments, for example, three words out of twenty, are fed to the text-to-speech converter. Text segments can be repeated, and text segments can be searched for.
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Citations
70 Claims
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1. A text-to-speech controller for controllably feeding a text file from a text buffer to a text-to-speech converter, the text file being comprised by text characters organized into words, including:
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an interface for inputting user commands which indicate how the text characters in the text file are fed from the text buffer to the text-to-speech converter; and a controller for effectuating the user commands at interword text boundaries such that the text characters are fed at interword text boundaries from the text buffer to the text-to-speech converter in accordance with the user commands. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A text-to-speech controller, comprising:
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a text buffer for storing a text file comprised by text characters organized into words; a controller for controllably feeding text characters in the text file from said text buffer to a text-to-speech converter; and command means including a graphical user interface for accepting input commands to alter how said controller feeds text characters from said text buffer to the text-to-speech converter; wherein said controller sequentially feeds text characters from said text buffer to said text-to-speech converter in the absence of commands from said command means, and wherein said controller alters how text characters are fed from said text buffer to the text-to-speech converter in response to commands from said command means which are effectuated at interword text boundaries. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A text-to-speech processor comprising:
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an input buffer for storing files that include text characters organized into words; an output buffer for storing text characters and embedded speech style commands; a text parser for parsing the text characters in said input files, for generating speech style commands, and for storing parsed text characters and embedded speech style commands in said output buffer; a text-to-speech converter for converting text characters in said output buffer into speech styled in accordance with the speech style commands embedded in said text characters; command means including a graphical user interface for accepting input commands; and a controller including a pointer to text characters in said input buffer for controllably feeding text characters from said input buffer at the position of said pointer to said text parser, said controller automatically advancing the position of said pointer in the absence of input commands and said controller altering the position of said pointer in response to input commands which are effectuated at interword text boundaries. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A text-to-speech processing apparatus comprising:
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a processing unit including a computer for executing stored program process steps; command means by which an operator can issue commands; a memory for storing plural files including at least some files which contain text characters organized into words, and for storing process steps for execution by said processing unit; and a text-to-speech converter for converting text characters into speech styled in accordance with speech style commands; wherein said process steps include steps to select one of the files stored in said memory, to provide text characters from the selected file to said text-to-speech converter, and to alter how text characters are provided from the selected file to said text-to-speech converter in accordance with operator commands from said command means which are effectuated at interword text boundaries, whereby text characters in the selected file are converted to speech in an operator-controllable order. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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Specification