Computer-aided transcription system using pronounceable substitute text with a common cross-reference library

• US 7,761,295 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2006
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LiveNote Inc. (The Woodbridge Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Engate LLC
• Inventors: Jarvis, Lawrence M., Bennett, James D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chawan; Vijay B
• Application Number:
  US11/559,236
• Publication Number:
  US 20070265846A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,345 Days
• Field of Search: 704/235, 704/257, 704/3, 704/2, 704/9, 704/277
• US Class Current: 704/235
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/313 Selection or weighting of terms for indexing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/685 using automatically derived transcript of audio data, e.g. lyrics speech recognition G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7844 using original textual content or text extracted from visual content or transcript of audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/242 Dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/268 Morphological analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/289 Phrasal analysis, e.g. finite state techniques or chunking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/55 Rule-based translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/10 with dictation recording and playback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 : Multiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4341 : Demultiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/073 : for mutually locking plural sources of synchronising signals, e.g. studios or relay stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 : Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 : Conference systems

Abstract

A transcription network having linked computer terminals for a court reporter and for examining, defending, and associate attorneys is disclosed. Cross-reference libraries, phoneme libraries, phoneme dictionaries, and pronunciation indices are used by a reporter terminal to generate readable text transcripts which are communicated to the other terminals for real-time review. Cross-reference libraries provide for the bulk of the transcription while stenographic keystrokes that cannot be directly transcribed are converted to phoneme text or other pronounceable form for down-line readability. A common cross-reference library is provided to supplement local cross-reference libraries to aid transcription and to provide for standardization. The reporter terminal provides for update and preparation of the local cross-reference libraries using case law and evidence prior to a proceeding, as well as provides key-stroke training for the court reporter. Foreign language tables are also provided to service proceedings involving two or more languages.

Claims

1. A method for translating between different languages during testimonial proceedings, comprising:

receiving from a transcription system, in real-time, one or more stenographically coded representations of words spoken in a first language during a testimonial proceeding, without requiring confirmation of the stenographically coded representations;

converting, in real-time, the stenographically coded representations to text in the first language;

translating, in real-time, the text in the first language to text in a second language; and

transmitting the text in the second language to a terminal for real-time display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein converting the stenographically coded representations to the text in the first language in real-time includes replacing one or more of the stenographically coded representations with phoneme text in the first language and transcribing one or more of the stenographically coded representations to textual words in the first language.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising displaying, in real-time, one or more of the phoneme text or the textual words on the terminal.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein replacing the stenographically coded representations with the phoneme text in the first language includes identifying the phoneme text in the first language in a phoneme library.

5. A system for transcribing testimonial proceedings, comprising:

a transcription system in operative communication with a stenographic recorder, wherein the transcription system is configured to;

receive, in real-time, one or more stenographic key-stroke codes from the stenographic recorder, wherein the one or more stenographic key-stroke codes represent words spoken during a testimonial proceeding;

transcribe the one or more stenographic key-stroke codes into exact text that represents the words spoken during the testimonial proceeding; and

replace the one or more stenographic key-stroke codes with phoneme text that represents the words spoken during the testimonial proceeding in response to failing to transcribe the stenographic key-stroke codes into the exact text; and

a display device in operative communication with the transcription system, wherein the display device displays one or more of the exact text or the phoneme text that represents the words spoken during the testimonial proceeding.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the transcription system transcribes the stenographic key-stroke codes into the exact text using a cross-reference library that associates a plurality of stenographic key-stroke codes with exact text that represents a plurality of words.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the transcription system replaces the stenographic key-stroke codes with the phoneme text using a phoneme library that associates a plurality of stenographic key-stroke codes with phoneme text that represents a plurality of pronounceable strings.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the exact text represents the words in a first language, and wherein the transcription system is further configured to:

translate the exact text representing the words in the first language to text in a second language; and

transmit the text in the second language to a second display device for real-time display.

9. A system for transcribing testimonial proceedings, comprising:

an input device that generates one or more coded representations of words spoken during a testimonial proceeding in real-time;

a transcription system in operative communication with the input device, wherein the transcription system is configured to;

receive the one or more coded representations of the words spoken during the testimonial proceeding from the input device;

transcribe the coded representations into exact alphabetic and numeric text that represents the words spoken during the testimonial proceeding; and

replace the coded representations with phoneme text that includes one or more pronounceable substitute strings sounding substantially similar to the words spoken during the testimonial proceeding in response to failing to transcribe the coded representations into the exact alphabetic and numeric text; and

one or more display devices in operative communication with the transcription system, wherein the one or more display devices display one or more of the exact alphabetic and numeric text that represents the words spoken during the testimonial proceeding or the phoneme text sounding substantially similar to the words spoken during the testimonial proceeding.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the transcription system replaces the coded representations with the phoneme text using a phoneme library that associates a plurality of coded representations with phoneme text that represents a plurality of pronounceable substitute strings.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the transcription system further replaces the coded representations with the phoneme text using a pronunciation index that associates a plurality of character groups with the plurality of pronounceable substitute strings.

12. The reporting system of claim 9, the transcription system further configured to receive, from a terminal in operative communication with the transcription system, an identification of one of a plurality of languages, wherein the exact alphabetic and numeric text represents the words in the identified language.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the pronounceable substitute strings sound substantially similar to the words in the identified language.

14. The system of claim 13, the transcription system further configured to receive, from the terminal, an identification of one of a plurality of speakers speaking the words during the testimonial proceeding, wherein the identified speaker speaks in the identified language.