Method and system for text-to-speech conversion of caller information
First Claim
1. A system for providing audible caller information to a telephony subscriber, comprising:
- a pre-processor having a combination of hardware and software for converting textual caller information from a predetermined caller information database format to a second data format suitable for text-to-speech synthesis, the pre-processor removing at least one irregular character and converting the remaining textual caller information according to at least one set of rules for pre-processing caller name information; and
a text-to-speech synthesizer, in combination with the pre-processor, for generating the audible caller information in response to the textual caller information in the second data format.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system (10) and method (40) for providing audible caller information to telephone service subscribers is presented. The system (10) includes a pre-processor (28) that converts textual caller information from a first data format to a second data format suitable for text-to-speech synthesis (TTS). The pre-processor (28) can be incorporated in a service node/intelligent peripheral (SN/IP) (24) in an advanced intelligent network (AIN). In this configuration, the pre-processor (28) can be used to convert caller-ID with name database entries into a predetermined TTS format. The TTS formatted information can be provided to a TTS synthesized (30) included in the SN/IP (24). In conjunction with a switching service point (SSP) (20), the pre-processor (28) can provide a talking call-waiting feature to subscribers with significantly improved intelligibility.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A system for providing audible caller information to a telephony subscriber, comprising:
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a pre-processor having a combination of hardware and software for converting textual caller information from a predetermined caller information database format to a second data format suitable for text-to-speech synthesis, the pre-processor removing at least one irregular character and converting the remaining textual caller information according to at least one set of rules for pre-processing caller name information; and
a text-to-speech synthesizer, in combination with the pre-processor, for generating the audible caller information in response to the textual caller information in the second data format. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
means for providing the audible caller information to the subscriber on call waiting.
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5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one set of rules includes a first subset of rules for business listings and a second subset of rules for residential listing.
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6. The system of claim 1, wherein the pre-processor includes a plurality of abbreviation expansion tables for expanding abbreviated caller information presented in the predetermined caller information database format.
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7. The system of claim 1, wherein the pre-processor includes separate abbreviation expansion tables for business listings and residential listings.
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8. The system of claim 1, wherein the pre-processor includes an exceptions table for converting predetermined caller information to the second data format.
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9. A telecommunication system, comprising:
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a service switching point (SSP) for providing textual caller information in response to an incoming call; and
a service node, in communication with the SSP, having a pre-processor for removing at least one irregular character and converting the remaining textual caller information from a predetermined caller information database format to a second data format according to at least one set of rules for pre-processing caller name information, and the service node also having a text-to-speech synthesizer for generating audible caller information in response to the converted caller information in the second data format, the audible caller information being transferable from the service node to a subscriber unit via the SSP. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for providing audible caller information to a telephony subscriber, comprising:
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receiving textual caller information in a caller information database format;
removing at least one irregular character from the textual caller information;
converting the remaining textual caller information from the caller information database format to a second data format suitable for text-to-speech synthesis;
performing text-to-speech synthesis of the converted textual caller information to produce the audible caller information; and
providing the audible caller information to the subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
signaling a service signal point (SSP) to cut-through to the subscriber prior to providing the audible caller information thereto.
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17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of converting includes determining whether the textual caller information represents a residential listing or a business listing.
- 18. A computer-usable memory storing a computer program for directing a communication server to remove an irregular character from textual caller information and to convert textual caller information from a predetermined caller information database format to a second data format according to at least one set of rules for pre-processing caller name information, and for directing the communication server to generate audible caller information by performing text-to-speech synthesis of the converted textual caller information.
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21. A system for selectively providing audible caller information to a telephony subscriber, comprising:
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a software flag; and
a pre-processor for removing at least one irregular character from textual caller information and for converting the remaining textual caller information into caller information formatted according to a predetermined text-to-speech synthesis format, the pre-processor selectively outputting converted textual caller information and an audible call-waiting indicator based on the software flag. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. A method for providing audible caller information to a subscriber unit, comprising:
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receiving textual caller information formatted according to a predetermined caller information database format;
removing an irregular character from the textual caller information;
determining whether a flag is set;
converting the remaining textual caller information from the caller information database format to a second data format suitable for text-to-speech synthesis;
performing text-to-speech synthesis of the converted textual caller information to produce the audible caller information;
selectively providing a call-waiting indicator to the subscriber unit based on the setting of the flag; and
providing the audible caller information to the subscriber unit.
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25. A computer-usable memory storing software code for directing a computing device to retrieve from a predetermined caller information database textual caller information and to remove at least one irregular character and then convert the remaining textual caller information into caller information formatted according to a predetermined text-to-speech synthesis format.
Specification