Down-line transcription system for manipulating real-time testimony

• US 5,740,245 A
• Filed: 11/15/1994
• Issued: 04/14/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: LiveNote Inc. (The Woodbridge Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Engate, Inc.
• Inventors: Jarvis, Lawrence M., Bennett, James D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cain, David C.
• Application Number:
  US08/339,771
• Time in Patent Office: 1,246 Days
• Field of Search: 380/9, 370/17, 370/110.1
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/313 Selection or weighting of terms for indexing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/685 using automatically derived transcript of audio data, e.g. lyrics speech recognition G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7844 using original textual content or text extracted from visual content or transcript of audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/242 Dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/268 Morphological analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/289 Phrasal analysis, e.g. finite state techniques or chunking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/55 Rule-based translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/10 with dictation recording and playback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 : Multiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4341 : Demultiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/073 : for mutually locking plural sources of synchronising signals, e.g. studios or relay stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 : Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 : Conference systems

Abstract

A transcription network having linked computer terminals for a court reporter and for examining, defending, and associate attorneys is disclosed. Real-time transcription text is communicated from the reporter'"'"'s terminal through the network. Secure message interchange between the examining attorneys and between defending attorneys is provided along independent communication links and using encryption. Off-site terminals for clients, experts, or other associate attorneys may be linked to the network. Communication on the network is hierarchically controlled so as not to bombard the examining attorney, and is managed by a protocol for updating disconnected and non-listening terminals. The terminals provide software routines for automatically delivering proposed objections to the form of a question or answer. Stenographic keystrokes that cannot be directly transcribed are converted to a phoneme form for down-line readability. A synchronization scheme provides for automatic play-back of audio and video recordings corresponding to the transcribed text of a specific question or answer.

Claims

1. A transcription system used to transcribe spoken words into a textual form, the transcription system comprising:

transcription means for producing, in real time, transcript signals representative of spoken words;

a terminal capable of performing a predefined function;

the terminal comprising evaluation means for evaluating the transcript signals produced by the transcription means to determine whether the transcript signals contain a predefined word selection; and

the evaluation means initiating the performance of the predefined function if the transcript signals representative of the spoken words contain the predefined word selection.

2. The transcription system of claim 1 wherein the predefined word selection used by the evaluation means comprises word occurrences which when present in the transcript signals constitute objectionable legal form, and wherein the predefined function initiated by the evaluation means comprises the generation of a message indicating the presence of the objectionable legal form.

3. The transcription system of claim 1 wherein the evaluation means evaluates the transcript signals by searching the transcript signals for the predefined word selection as the transcript signals are produced by the transcription means.

4. The transcription system of claim 3 wherein the predefined word selection used by the evaluation means comprises word occurrences which when present in the transcript signals constitute objectionable legal form, and wherein the predefined function initiated by the evaluation means comprises the generation of a message indicating the presence of the objectionable legal form.

5. A transcription network for use by attorneys in the examination of a witness comprising:

transcription means for generating transcript signals representative of spoken words in real time;

a terminal capable of performing a predefined function;

the terminal receiving the transcript signals from the transcription means and comprising evaluation means for evaluating the transcript signals as they are received to determine whether the transcript signals contain a predefined word selection; and

the terminal responding to the evaluation means to perform the predefined function.

6. The transcription network of claim 5 wherein the predefined word selection used by the evaluation means comprises a set of words indicative of a legal objection to the spoken words as represented by the transcript signals, and wherein the predefined function caused by the evaluation means comprises the generation of a message indicating the possibility of the legal objection.

7. A transcription network comprising:

transcription means for generating transcript signals representative of spoken words in real time;

an attorney'"'"'s terminal receiving the transcript signals generated by said transcription means and having a first screen for display of the transcript signals;

an associate'"'"'s terminal receiving the transcript signals generated by said transcription means and having a second screen for display of the transcript signals;

a communication link between said attorney'"'"'s terminal and said associate'"'"'s terminal; and

said associate'"'"'s terminal, via said communication link, providing for selective control of the display on the screen of the attorney'"'"'s terminal.

8. The transcription network of claim 7 wherein said attorney'"'"'s terminal and said associate'"'"'s terminal exchange messages for display via said communication link.