Speech processing for telephony API

• US 7,533,021 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2004
• Issued: 05/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Quinton, Mary Michelle
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz; Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): El-Zoobi; Maria
• Application Number:
  US10/882,960
• Publication Number:
  US 20040240630A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,776 Days
• Field of Search: 379/197, 379/88.04, 379/106.02, 379/93.15, 379/88.14, 368/73, 704/275, 704/260, 704/258, 704/270, 370/352
• US Class Current: 704/258
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2473 Telephone terminals interfacing a personal computer, e.g. using an API (Application Programming Interface) details of API H04M7/0021
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2478 Telephone terminals specially adapted for non-voice services, e.g. email, internet access centralized arrangements where telephones services are combined H04M7/0024; for recording text messages H04M3/5322; for accessing Internet H04M3/4938
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42323 PBX's with CTI arrangements

Abstract

Systems, methods, and structures are discussed that enhance media processing. One aspect of the present invention includes a data structure to enhance media processing. The data structure includes a terminal data structure to instantiate terminal objects and a speech recognition terminal data structure that extends the terminal data structure. Another aspect of the present invention includes a data structure to enhance media processing. This data structure includes a terminal data structure to instantiate terminal objects and a speech generation terminal data structure that extends the terminal data structure. These data structures may be used to implement an internet protocol interactive voice response system, an internet protocol unified message system, and speech-enabled Web applications.

Claims

1. A computing device to enhance media processing of a text stream, comprising:

a terminal data structure to instantiate terminal objects;

a speech generation terminal data structure that extends the terminal data structure;

a module to instantiate, based on the terminal data structure and the speech generation terminal data structure, terminal objects including a speech terminal object to generate speech; and

a telephony API provided by a TAPI application component to form a connection with a client and to process the text stream by selecting the speech terminal object from among a group of registered terminal objects adhering to a uniform interface and by providing the text stream to the selected speech terminal object, wherein various programmers can provide registerable telephony services using terminal objects that rely on the telephony API, the TAPI application component for registering terminal objects selectable for instantiation with a terminal manager by providing a terminal class name, a media type, and a procedure of signaling events and for providing a list of registered terminal objects including the media type of a registered terminal object.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes voice method members that are selected from a group including a method member set voice for setting a voice to be used for speech generation and a method member get voice for getting the voice used in speech generation.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes priority method members that are selected from a group including a method member set priority for setting a priority for a voice and a method member get priority for getting a priority for a voice, wherein a voice with a higher priority may interrupt a voice with a lower priority.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes volume method members that are selected from a group including a method member set volume for setting a volume of speech synthesized by a speech generation engine and a method member get volume for getting a volume of speech synthesized by a speech generation engine.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes rate method members that are selected from a group including a method member set rate for setting a rate of speech synthesized by a speech generation engine and a method member get rate for getting a rate of speech synthesized by a speech generation engine.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes time out method members that are selected from a group including a method member set time for setting a time for a speech synthesis to time out and a method member get time for getting a time for a speech synthesis to time out.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes a method member speak for synthesizing text of the text stream to audio.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes a method member get status for getting a status on synthesizing of output audio.

9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes a method member skip for skipping to a specific point in the text stream.

10. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes a method member wait for blocking other executions until the method member speak has been executed to completion.

11. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes a method member enumerate voices for obtaining a list of voices for the speech generation engine.

12. A computer-readable storage medium to enhance media processing, comprising:

a terminal data structure to instantiate terminal objects;

a speech generation terminal data structure that extends the terminal data structure, wherein the speech generation terminal data structure includes a method member speak for synthesizing text to audio; and

a telephony API provided by a TAPI application component to form a connection with a client in response to receiving a call from the client, and to process text by selecting a speech terminal object from among a group of registered terminal objects adhering to a uniform interface and by providing the text to the selected speech terminal object for converting text to speech that is provided to the client via the received call, the TAPI application component for registering terminal objects selectable for instantiation with a terminal manager by providing a terminal class name, a media type, and a procedure of signaling events and for providing a list of registered terminal objects including the media type of a registered terminal object.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the method member speak is receptive to a text stream with voice markup to be synthesized.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the method member speak is receptive to an offset that represents an offset into a text stream where the voice should start speaking.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the method member speak is receptive to a speakover flag so as to blend the voice output over any currently playing audio output.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the method member speak is receptive to a punctuation flag so as to allow a speech generation engine to speak each punctuation of a text stream.

17. A method for enhancing media processing, comprising:

invoking a telephony API to listen for incoming calls, wherein the telephony API is provided by a TAPI application component, the TAPI application component for registering terminal objects that are selectable for instantiation with a terminal manager by providing a terminal class name, a media type, and a method of signaling events and for providing a list of registered terminal objects including the media types of the registered terminal objects;

receiving a call from a client;

upon receiving the call, invoking the telephony API to form a connection with the client and to select a speech generation terminal object from among a group of registered terminal objects adhering to a uniform interface, the selected speech generation terminal object for generating speech from a text stream;

invoking a method of the terminal object to generate speech; and

invoking the telephony API to communicate the generated speech to the client.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein generating includes generating the speech from a text stream that includes voice markup.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising selecting a voice.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein selecting includes enumerating a list of available voices.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein selecting includes identifying a desired voice from the list of available voices.

22. A system to enhance processing of a text stream, comprising:

a terminal object to render the text stream into speech; and

a telephony API provided by a TAPI application component to form a connection with a client and to process the text stream by selecting the speech terminal object from among a group of registered terminal objects adhering to a uniform interface and by providing the text stream to the selected speech terminal object, the TAPI application component for registering terminal objects that are selectable for instantiation with a terminal manager by providing a terminal class name, a media type, and a procedure of signaling events and for providing a list of registered terminal objects including the media type of a registered terminal object.