Relay for personal interpreter

• US 6,493,426 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2001
• Issued: 12/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ultratech Incorporated (Veeco Instruments Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Ultratech Incorporated (Veeco Instruments Incorporated)
• Inventors: Vitek, Troy D., Gritner, Kurt M., Engelke, Robert M., Colwell, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eng, George
• Application Number:
  US09/783,337
• Publication Number:
  US 20010005411A1
• Time in Patent Office: 664 Days
• Field of Search: 379/52, 379/88.14, 379/93.05, 379/93.09, 379/93-4-, 340/825.19, 704/235, 704/246, 704/270-271
• US Class Current: 379/52
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2475 for a hearing impaired user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/066 Telephone sets adapted for data transmision
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/10 with dictation recording and playback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42391 where the subscribers are hearing-impaired persons, e.g. telephone devices for the deaf

Abstract

A relay is described to facilitate communication through the telephone system between hearing users and users who need or desire assistance in understanding voice communications. To overcome the speed limitations inherent in typing, the call assistant at the relay does not type most words but, instead, re-voices the words spoken by the hearing user into a computer operating a voice recognition software package trained to the voice of that call assistant. The text stream created by the computer and the voice of the hearing user are both sent to the assisted user so that the assisted user can be supplied with a visual text stream to supplement the voice communications. A time delay in the transmission of the voice of the hearing user through the relay is of assistance in the assisted user comprehending the communications session.

Claims

1. A method of operating a relay system using a call assistant to facilitate communication between a hearing user and an assisted user by telephone comprising the steps of transmitting the voice of the hearing user when speaking to the ear of the call assistant;

the call assistant speaking in voice the same words that the call assistant hears spoken by the hearing user into a microphone connected to a digital computer;

the digital computer using voice recognition computer software trained to the voice of the call assistant to translate the words of the voice spoken by the call assistant into a digital text message stream containing the words spoken by the call assistant;

transmitting both the digital text message stream and the voice of the hearing user by telephone connection to the assisted user;

displaying the digital text message stream to a captioned telephone display device within sight of the assisted person; and

broadcasting the voice of the hearing user to the assisted user;

wherein the transmission of the voice of the hearing user through the relay is delayed by a time period which has the effect of making the text and the voice received by the assisted user closer to synchrony that would be the case without the delay.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the delay in the transmission of the voice of the hearing person is for a fixed time period.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the delay in the transmission of the voice of the hearing user is variable depending on the speed of the conversation through the relay.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the time period of the delay is shrunk when it exceeds a threshold by shrinking pauses in the conversation.

6. A relay as claimed in claim 4 wherein the delay in the transmission of the voice of the hearing person is for a fixed time period.

7. A relay as claimed in claim 4 wherein the delay in the transmission of the voice of the hearing user is variable depending on the speed of the conversation through the relay.

5. A relay to facilitate communications between an hearing user and an assisted user, the relay operated by a call assistant, the relay comprising:

a speaker connected to receive voice communications from the hearing user and to transmit that voice to the ear of the call assistant;

a microphone connected to pick up the voice of the call assistant;

a digital computer connected to the microphone, the computer programmed to use a voice recognition computer software package to translate the words spoken by the call assistant into a digital text stream;

telephonic connections to transmit both the digital text stream and the voice of the hearing user over a telephonic connection to the location of the assisted user; and

a voice delay buffer to introduce a delay in the transmission of the voice of the hearing user through the relay to allow the text message stream and the voice of the hearing user to be closer to synchrony when perceived by the assisted user.