System and method of providing emotive background sound to text

• US 6,385,581 B1
• Filed: 12/10/1999
• Issued: 05/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cufer Asset Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Stanley W. Stephenson
• Inventors: Stephenson, Stanley W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorvil, Richemond
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCFADDEN, SUSAN IRIS
• Application Number:
  US09/459,190
• Time in Patent Office: 879 Days
• Field of Search: 704/251, 704/258, 704/260, 704/270, 704/275, 704/278, 434/178, 434/170, 434/307, 434/169, 434/317
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/10 Logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/18 Comparators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/568 audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants echo suppression in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/02; sound field processing per se H04S7/30

Abstract

A system includes a microprocessor and first and second memories. The microprocessor is programmed to receive a text stream of words and to compare the words received with key words stored in the first memory. The second memory stores data representing musical sounds with one or more of the sounds being associated with a key word stored in the first memory. If there is a match between a word received by the microprocessor and a key word stored in the first memory, an electrical signal representing the corresponding sound stored in the second memory is provided to the microprocessor which then sends same to a speaker or to a display device such as a computer monitor. In one embodiment the data representing the received words is converted into an analog electrical speech signal which is sent to the speaker. The text stream can be generated by a person speaking or from a computer disk which contains words in digital format. If the text stream is generated by a person, then a microphone receives the voice signal and converts same into an electrical signal which is converted from analog to digital form by an analog-to-digital converter which has an output connected to an input of the microprocessor.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

memory apparatus having stored therein key words and/or key nontextual indicia and emotive sounds, each key word and/or nontextual indicia being associated with one of the emotive sounds; and

a processor being programmed to detect words and nontextual indicia received thereby and to compare the received words and nontextual indicia to key words and nontextual indicia stored in the memory, the processor being adapted to generate an output signal representing an emotive sound associated with a key word and/or key nontextual indicia if there is a match with a received word and/or nontextual indicia.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for converting the processor generated output signal to an audio signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the converting means is an audio driver.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising a speaker coupled to an output of the audio driver.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the words and nontextual indicia are in digitized form and the system further comprises means for causing the words and nontextual indicia to converted to an audio format which can be heard with the generated emotive background sound.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the words and nontextual indicia are in digitized form and the system further comprises means for displaying the words and nontextual indicia on a display device while the emotive sound is being generated.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the display is a computer monitor.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the words and nontextual indicia are speech.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processor and memory are part of a computer system.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the text is in digitized form and the system further comprises means for causing the words and nontextual indicia to converted to an audio format which can be heard with the generated emotive background sound.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the text is in digitized form and the system further comprises means for displaying the words and nontextual indicia on a computer monitor while the emotive sound is being generated.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the display is a computer monitor.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the text is in digitized form and the output signal from the microprocessor contains the emotive sound in digitized form as well as the text in digitized form.

14. A system for providing an emotive background sound to a text that includes key words and/or key nontextual indicia, the system comprising:

a first memory having stored therein key words and/or key nontextual indicia;

a second memory having stored therein emotive sounds with each key word and each key nontextual indicia having associated therewith an emotive sound; and

a microprocessor being in communication with the memories and being adapted to compare received words and nontextual indicia of the text with the key words and key nontextual indicia stored in the first memory, and if there is a match between one of more key words and the key nontextual indicia, to generate at an output thereof a signal representative of the emotive sound associated with the matched key word or nontextual indicia.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising means for converting the processor generated output signal to an audio signal.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the converting means is a an audio driver.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a speaker coupled to an output of the audio driver.

18. The system of claim 14 wherein the microprocessor and first and second memories are part of a computer system.

19. The system of claim 14 wherein the text is speech.

20. A system for providing an emotive background sound to a text that includes key words and/or nontextual indicia, the system comprising:

means for recognizing words and/or nontextual indicia in the text;

a first file containing key words and key nontextual indicia;

a second file containing emotive sounds with an emotive sound being associated with a key word and/or key nontextual indicia; and

means for comparing the words and/or nontextual indicia with those contained in the first file, and if there is found to be a match, for causing an emotive sound to be generated which corresponds to the matched key word and/or key nontextual indicia.

21. The system of claim 20 further comprising means for causing the text to be presented on a display device while the emotive sound is being generated.

22. The system of claim 20 further comprising means for causing the words and nontextual indicia of the text to be generated as voice sounds.

23. A system for providing an emotive background sound to a text that includes key words and/or key nontextual indicia, the system comprising:

a processor system that includes a processor, first and second memory sections, and sound generating circuitry;

the first memory section storing key words and key nontextual indicia;

the second memory storing emotive sounds with each emotive sound corresponding to a key word or key nontextual indicia stored in the first memory section;

the processor being adapted to detect words and nontextual indicia in the text and to compare same to the key words and the key nontextual indicia stored in the first memory section and to cause the sound generating circuitry to generate an emotive sound if there is a match of a key word and/or key non-text indicia of the text with one in the first memory.

24. A system for providing an emotive background sound to a text that includes key words and/or key nontextual indicia, the system comprising:

a store of key words and key nontextual indicia; and

a store of background sounds that is controlled by the key words or key nontextual indicia whereby as key words and/or nontextual indicia of the text are recognized, the store of background sounds provides an emotive background sound appropriate to the key word or nontextual indicia.

25. A system which generates a background emotive sound in response to speech which contains words and sounds, said system comprising:

a microphone which is adapted to be in communication with the speech and which generates an analog electrical representative of the speech in communication therewith;

an analog-to-digital converter in communication with the microphone and which converts an electrical signal representative of speech in communication with the microphone into a digital format;

a microprocessor in communication with the analog-to-digital converter;

a first memory having stored therein key words and key sounds;

a second memory having stored therein emotive sounds with each key word and each key sound having associated therewith an emotive sound; and

the microprocessor being in communication with the memories and being adapted to compare received words and sounds of the speech with the key words and key sounds stored in the first memory, and if there is a match between one or more of the key words and/or the key sounds, to generate at an output thereof a signal representative of the emotive sound associated with the matched key word or key sound.

26. The system of claim 25 further comprising a speaker coupled to the output of the microprocessor, said speaker generating an emotive sound which serves a back ground to the speech.

27. The system of claim 25 further comprising a mixer circuit in communication with the microphone and the microprocessor for mixing together the speech and the generated emotive sound.

28. The system of claim 27 further comprising a speaker located at a remote location to the speech and being in communication with the mixer circuit such that the speech and emotive background sound can be heard at the remote location.

29. A system which, in response to digitized words and sounds, generates speech and a background emotive sound, said system comprising:

first and second microprocessors;

a first memory having stored therein key words and key sounds;

a second memory having stored therein emotive sounds with each key word and each key sound having associated therewith an emotive sound; and

the first microprocessor being adapted to receive the digitized words and sounds and in communication with the memories and being adapted to compare the digitized words and sounds with the key words and key sounds stored in the first memory, and if there is a match between one or more of the key words and/or the key sounds, to generate at an output thereof a signal representative of the emotive sound associated with the matched key word or key sound;

the second microprocessor being adapted to receive the digitized words and sounds and to generate at an output thereof a signal representative of the words and sounds;

first and second sound drivers;

the first sound driver being in communication with the first microprocessor;

the second sound driver being in communication with the second microprocessor;

a sound mixer being in communication with the first and second sound drivers; and

a speaker being in communication with the sound mixer.

30. The system of claim 29 further comprising:

a third memory having stored therein a grammar library and being in communication with the second microprocessor; and

a fourth memory having stored therein a phonetic library and being in communication with the second microprocessor.

31. An emotive dictionary useful for providing emotive background sound to either a text in digitized form or speech comprising a memory having stored therein key words and/or equivalent and associated data corresponding to an emotive sound.

32. A method of providing an emotive background sound to a given text which includes at least one key word and/or key nontextual indicia comprising the steps of:

providing a source of key words and/or key nontextual indicia with an emotive sound appropriate to each key word or key nontextual indicia being associated with each key word or nontextual indicia;

sensing the text to determine if a key word or key nontextual indicia is present therein; and

generating an emotive sound associated with a key word and/or key nontextual indicia found in the text.

33. A method of providing an emotive background sound to speech which includes at least one key word and/or key sound comprising the steps of:

sensing the words and sounds contained within the speech;

comparing the words and sounds contained within the speech to key words and key sounds stored within a file with each key word or key sound contained within the file having an emotive sound appropriate thereto associated therewith; and

generating an emotive sound appropriate to a key word and/or key sound found within the speech such that the emotive sound occurs during the speech.

34. A method of providing an emotive background sound to a given text which includes at least one key word and/or key nontextual indicia comprising the steps of:

providing a source of key words and/or key nontextual indicia with an emotive sound appropriate to each key word or key nontextual indicia being associated with each key word or nontextual indicia;

sensing the text to determine if a key word or key nontextual indicia is present therein; and

generating a file containing said text and emotive sound parameters associated with a key word and/or key nontextual indicia found in the text.