Method to select and send text messages with a mobile

• US 6,934,552 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2002
• Issued: 08/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Huber, Karin, Holley, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Corsaro, Nick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zewdu, Meless
• Application Number:
  US10/106,982
• Publication Number:
  US 20020142787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,246 Days
• Field of Search: 704/201, 704/236, 704270-277, 704/235, 704246-247, 455/550.1, 455563-566, 455/569.1, 455/569.2, 455/412.1, 455/413, 455/414.4, 455/422.1, 455/466, 379/88.01, 379/88.03, 379/88.04
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/088 Word spotting
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/70 methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation methods for entering alphabetical characters per se G06F3/0237
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00

Abstract

To send text messages, a text together with a transmit address is input into a transmitting device by voice input, where the voice input is processed in a speech recognition unit and compared with predefined text patterns stored in memory means. A predefined text pattern which is the closest match to the is text selected and displayed. The user must confirm that the displayed text is the intended, for the text message to be sent.

Claims

1. A method of sending text messages, including the steps of:

inputting to a transmitting device, by voice input, spoken text by a user, the spoken text including;

     1) a content of a desired text communication and

     2) an address to which the desired text communication will be sent;

processing the inputted spoken text within a speech recognition unit to generate a generated text pattern representative from the spoken text;

comparing the generated text pattern with stored, predefined text patterns, such that predefined text pattern which is the closest match is selected;

displaying the selected predefined text pattern;

confirming by user input that the displayed, selected predefined text pattern is the desired text communication;

sending the confirmed predefined text pattern as, the text message.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of comparing includes that predefined text patterns with variable text portions are used.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of comparing further includes that variable text portions are replaced by corresponding portions of the spoken text, e.g., place and/or time information.

4. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of comparing further includes in that variable text portions are replaced by data, e.g., names, taken from a database.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the step of comparing further includes that, for data taken from the database and representing a name, transmit address data associated with these data are automatically read from the database and displayed for confirmation by the user.

6. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of comparing further includes that variable text portions are replaced by manually input text.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of comparing further includes that the spoken text is examined in the speech recognition unit for keywords, which keywords are compared with stored keywords to determine the predetermined text pattern which is the respective closest match.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of comparing further includes that the spoken text in the speech recognition unit is processed in speaker-dependent manner.

9. A device for sending a text message to a transmit address, comprising:

text input means, comprising voice input means for inputting a user'"'"'s spoken text voice input;

a speech recognition unit connected to the voice input means for receiving the spoken text and converting the spoken text to text data;

a comparison unit including a memory means for storing predefined text patterns, such that comparison unit compares the text data with the predefine text patterns and selects a predefined text pattern which is the closest match to the text or the text data;

display means connected to the comparison unit for displaying the predefined text pattern which is the closest match to the text or text data; and

transmission means for sending the displayed predefined text pattern after confirmed by the user to be the spoken text for transmission.

10. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the comparison unit takes the form of a processor.

11. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the memory means comprises a memory for storing predefined text patterns with variable text portions.

12. A device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the comparison unit may function to replace variable text portions with corresponding portions of the spoken text, e.g., place and/or time information.

13. A device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the comparison unit may function to replace variable text portions with data taken from a database and representing a name.

14. A device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the database contains a database field for storing transmit address data associated with the name, which transmit address data are displayed on the display for confirmation by the user, and, upon confirmation, are supplied to the transmission means.

15. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the speech recognition unit functions to derive keywords from the input spoken text and the memory means contains a memory for keywords, and the comparison unit compares the keywords derived from the speech recognition unit with the stored keywords.

16. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the speech recognition unit and the comparison unit are constructed with the text or voice input means, and the display means as an integrated apparatus.

17. A device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the apparatus is a cell phone apparatus.