Hyper text control through voice synthesis

• US 5,983,184 A
• Filed: 07/29/1997
• Issued: 11/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Noguchi, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hudspeth, David R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAX, ROBERT L
• Application Number:
  US08/902,559
• Time in Patent Office: 833 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270, 704/275, 704/258, 707/501
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/006 using audible presentation of the information
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/08 Text analysis or generation of parameters for speech synthesis out of text, e.g. grapheme to phoneme translation, prosody generation or stress or intonation determination
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command

Abstract

The present invention enables a visually impaired user to freely and easily control hyper text. A voice synthesis program orally reads hyper text on the Internet. In synchronization with this reading, the system focuses on a link keyword that is most closely related to the location where reading is currently being performed. When an instruction "jump to link destination" is input (by voice or with a key), the program control can jump to the link destination for the link keyword that is being focused on. Further, the reading of only a link keyword can be instructed.

Claims

1. Apparatus for use with an HTML file that includes a plurality of link keywords, wherein position information and destination information are associated with each of the link keywords, and wherein each the link keywords is bounded by a start tag and an end tag, the apparatus comprising:

a communication controller for receiving an HTML file;

means for producing a word list that includes link keywords from the HTML file, and corresponding position information for each of the link keywords;

means for converting the start tag and the end tag of each of the link keywords into voice attribute information, and for correlating the voice attribute information with the position information of the corresponding link keyword to produce a voice attribute embedded command file;

a voice synthesizer for converting, using the voice attribute information in the voice attribute embedded command file, the link keywords into speech;

means for obtaining voice synthesis pointer information that corresponds to the link keyword currently being synthesized;

means for determining the destination information corresponding to the voice synthesis pointer information;

means for detecting a user input; and

means for accessing, in response to the user input, the link destination currently selected by the means for determining the destination information.

2. Apparatus for use with hyper text that includes a plurality of link keywords, wherein each of the link keywords includes corresponding link destination information, the apparatus comprising:

means for producing a word list that includes link keywords and corresponding position information for the link keywords in the hyper text;

means for producing voice synthesis input information that includes voice attribute information for the link keywords in the hyper text;

synthesizing means for synthesizing, using the voice attribute information, the link keywords into speech;

means for obtaining voice synthesis pointer information corresponding to the link keyword currently being synthesized;

means for determining, using the voice synthesis pointer information, the destination information that corresponds to the link keyword currently being synthesized;

means for detecting a user input instruction to jump to the link destination of the link keyword currently being systhesized; and

means for accessing, in response to the user input, the link destination currently selected by the means for determining.

3. Apparatus for synthesizing a sentence including a plurality of special words, comprising:

means for producing a word list managing information for specifying the plurality of special words and position information for specifying a position of the plurality of special words in the sentence;

means for producing voice synthesis input information by relating a voice attribute with each of the special words, and by converting the sentence;

means for synthesizing the voice synthesis input information;

means for obtaining a voice synthesis pointer information related to a position in the sentence related to a position currently synthesized;

means for determining a special word related to a position currently synthesized by searching a position information in the sentence related to the voice synthesis pointer information in the word list;

means for detecting user input instructing to change the voice synthesis position;

means for obtaining, in response to the user input, from the word list a position information for special word adjacent to a specific word related to a position currently synthesized; and

means for synthesizing at a position related to the position information adjacent to special word.