Techniques for marking and manipulating voice message segments through a telephone user interface

• US 8,000,456 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2006
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Khouri, Joseph, Jain, Mukul, Kumar, Sanjeev, Patel, Labhesh, Shaffer, Shmuel
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang; Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): ISLAM, MOHAMMAD K
• Application Number:
  US11/408,697
• Publication Number:
  US 20070263793A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,944 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.26, 379/67.1, 379 8822- 8823, 379/88.27, 379/76, 704/235
• US Class Current: 379/88.26
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/303 Marking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4554 Sender-side editing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53383 Message registering commands or announcements; Greetings

Abstract

In one embodiment, techniques for manipulating a voice message using a telephone user interface are provided. The telephone user interface receives a mark begin segment command from a telephonic device through a voice modality. The mark begin segment command indicates a beginning point for a voice message segment in the voice message. The telephone user interface then receives a mark end segment command from the telephonic device through the voice modality. The mark segment command indicates an ending point for the voice message segment in the voice message. An action command from the telephonic device is received and an action based on the action command for the voice message segment is performed. The voice message segment is a portion of the voice message determined based on the indicated beginning point of the voice message segment and the indicated ending point of the voice message segment in the voice message.

Claims

1. A method for manipulating a voice message using a telephone user interface (TUI), the method comprising:

rendering, using the TUI, a voice message to a telephonic device;

receiving a mark begin segment command representing input from a first physical control at the telephonic device via the TUI, the mark begin segment command indicating a beginning point for a voice message segment in the voice message;

storing a first time value corresponding to the beginning point based on receiving the mark begin segment command, wherein the first time value is stored separately from the voice message;

receiving a mark end segment command representing input from a second physical control that differs from the first physical control at the telephonic device through the voice modality via the TUI, the mark end segment command indicating an ending point for the voice message segment in the voice message;

storing a second time value corresponding to the ending point of the voice message segment based on receiving the mark end segment command, wherein the second time value is stored separately from the voice message;

determining the voice message segment based on receiving the mark begin segment command and the mark end segment command, the voice message segment being a section of the voice message, the voice message segment having a duration being defined by the beginning point indicated by the first time value and the ending point indicated by the second time value, the first time value and the second time value being determined based on receiving respectively the mark begin segment command and the mark end segment command, wherein the mark begin segment command is a type of command that is different from a type of command of the mark end segment command;

receiving, in response to a prompt at the telephonic device for a selection of an action from a menu of possible actions, an action command from the telephonic device via the TUI; and

performing, by a computer processor, an action on the voice message segment based on the action command received from the telephonic device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mark begin segment command comprises at least one of a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) command and a voice command, and the mark end segment command comprises at least one of a DTMF command and a voice command.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the action comprises at least one of saving the voice message segment, replaying the voice message segment, forwarding the voice message segment, deleting the voice message segment from the voice message, and sending the voice message segment.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the mark begin segment command and the mark end segment command while the voice message is being rendered by the telephone user interface.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the mark begin segment command comprises a first spoken word and the mark end segment command comprises a second spoken word, the method further comprising:

using speech recognition software to determine a first point where the first spoken word is in the voice message, the first point being the beginning point of the voice message segment; and

using the speech recognition software to determine a second point where the second spoken word is in the voice message, the second point being the ending point of the voice message segment in the voice message.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

saving a segment begin index when the mark begin segment command is received;

saving a segment end index when the mark end segment command is received, wherein the segment begin index and the segment end index are stored separately from the voice message; and

determining the voice message segment using the segment begin index and the segment end index.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

sending a prompt to the telephonic device for the action command for the action to take for the voice message segment.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second action to take for a second voice message formed from the voice message with the voice message segment deleted from the voice message; and

performing the second action for the second voice message.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying a recipient of the voice message segment that an edited version of the voice message is being provided.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice message comprises at least one of a voicemail message, an email message translated into voice, and an instant message translated into voice.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice modality comprises at least one of a plain old telephone service (POTS), cellular, voice over internet protocol (VOIP), and instant messaging modality.

12. A method for manipulating a voice message using a telephone user interface (TUI) the method comprising:

receiving a mark segment set command indicating that a set of segments for a voice message is desired to be entered from a telephonic device through a voice modality;

receiving a first mark begin segment command and a first mark end segment command from the telephonic device through the voice modality using the TUI to form a first voice message segment, and a second mark begin segment command and a second mark end segment command from the telephonic device through the voice modality via the TUI to form a second voice message segment, the second mark begin segment command being a type of command that is different from a type of command of the first mark end segment command, the beginning point for the second voice message segment being different from the ending point of the first voice message segment such that the first voice message segment and the second voice message segment are segments with an intermittent section of the voice message positioned between the first voice message segment and the second voice message segment;

receiving a mark end segment set command through the voice modality indicating an end to the set of segments being entered;

receiving an action command from the telephonic device using the TUI; and

performing an action based on the action command for the set of segments for the voice message,

wherein the first mark begin segment command indicates a beginning point for the first voice message segment in the voice message and the first mark end segment command indicates an ending point for the first voice message segment in the voice message, and

wherein the second mark begin segment command indicates a beginning point for the second voice message segment in the voice message and the second mark end segment command indicates an ending point for the second voice message segment in the voice message.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising combining the set of segments to form a single voice message segment.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the action is performed for one of the single voice message segments.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the first mark begin segment command, the second mark begin segment command, the first mark end segment command, and the second mark end segment command, are received while the voice message is being rendered by the telephone user interface.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein one of the mark begin segment commands comprises at least one of a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) command and a voice modality command and the mark end segment command corresponding to the mark begin segment command comprises at least one of a DTMF command and a voice modality command.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the action comprises at least one of saving the voice message segments, replaying the voice message segments, deleting the voice message segments from the voice message, forwarding the voice message segments, sending the voice message segments, joining the voice message segments into a single message segment and performing an action on the joined message segment, and sending the first message segment to a first user while sending the second message segment to a second user.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising utilizing the voice message having at least one of a voicemail message, an email message translated into voice, and an instant message translated into voice.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising utilizing the voice modality having at least one of a plain old telephone service (POTS), cellular, voice over internet protocol (VOIP), and instant messaging modality.

35. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

storing a plurality of time values corresponding to the beginning points and ending points based on receiving the first mark begin segment command and second mark begin segment command and the first mark end segment command and second mark end segment command, wherein the plurality of time values are stored separately from the voice message; and

determining the first voice message segment and the second voice message segment using the stored plurality of time values for the beginning points and the ending points.

36. The method for manipulating a voice message using a telephone user interface (TUI) of claim 12, wherein the first voice message segment is adjacent the second voice message segment.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the first voice message segment and second voice message segment are segments without intermittent segments defined by commands positioned there between.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the first voice message segment and second voice message segment are separated in time but not separated by other mark begin or mark end segments.

20. An apparatus for manipulating a voice message, the apparatus comprising:

one or more processors; and

logic encoded in one or more tangible media for execution by the one or more processors, and when executed operable to;

render a voice message to a telephonic device;

receive a mark begin segment command from the telephonic device through a voice modality, the mark begin segment command indicating a beginning point for a voice message segment in the voice message;

storing a first time value corresponding to the beginning point based on receiving the mark begin segment command, wherein the first time value is stored separately from the voice message;

receive a mark end segment command from the telephonic device through the voice modality, the mark end segment command indicating an ending point for the voice message segment in the voice message;

store a second time value corresponding to the ending point of the voice message segment based on receiving the mark end segment command, wherein the second time value is stored separately from the voice message;

determine the voice message segment based on receiving the mark begin segment command and the mark end segment command, the voice message segment being a section of the voice message and having a duration defined by the beginning point indicated by the first time value and the ending point indicated by the second time value, the first time value and the second time value being determined based on receiving respectively the mark begin segment command and the mark end segment command, with the mark begin segment command being a type of command that is different from a type of command of the mark end segment command;

receive, in response to a prompt to the telephonic device for selecting an action from a menu of possible actions, an action command from the telephonic device; and

perform an action on the voice message segment based on the action command received from the telephonic device.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the mark begin segment command comprises at least one of a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) command and a voice command, and the mark end segment command comprises at least one of a DTMF command and a voice command.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the logic when executed that is operable to perform the action comprises at least one of logic when executed that is operable to save the voice message segment, logic when executed that is operable to replay the voice message segment, logic when executed that is operable to forward the voice message segment, logic when executed that is operable to delete the voice message segment from the voice message, and logic when executed that is operable to send the voice message segment.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the apparatus is configured to receive the mark begin segment command and the mark end segment command while the voice message is being rendered by a telephone user interface accessed via the telephonic device.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising logic when executed that is operable to:

save a segment begin index when the mark segment begin command is received;

save a segment end index when the mark segment end command is received, wherein the segment begin index and the segment end index are stored separately from the voice message; and

determine the voice message segment using the segment begin index and the segment end index.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the mark begin segment command comprises a first spoken word and the mark end segment command comprises a second spoken word, the logic when executed being further operable to:

use speech recognition software to determine a first point where the first spoken word is in the voice message, the first point being the beginning point of the voice message segment; and

use the speech recognition software to determine a second point where the second spoken word is in the voice message, the second point being the ending point of the voice message segment in the voice message.

26. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the logic when executed is further operable to send a prompt to the telephonic device for an action to take for the voice message segment.

27. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the logic when executed is further operable to notify a recipient of the voice message segment that an edited version of the voice message is being provided.

28. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a second action to take for a second voice message formed from the voice message with the voice message segment deleted from the voice message; and

an action performer configured to perform the second action for the second voice message.

29. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the voice message comprises at least one of a voicemail message, an email message translated into voice, and an instant message translated into voice.

30. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the voice modality comprises at least one of a plain old telephone service (POTS), cellular, voice over internet protocol (VOIP), and instant messaging modality.

31. A system, comprising:

a telephonic device; and

a telephonic user interface (TUI) accessed using the telephonic device, the TUI compromising;

logic configured to receive a mark begin segment command from the telephonic device through a voice modality using the TUI, the mark begin segment command indicating a beginning point for a voice message segment in a voice message;

logic configured to store a first time value corresponding to the beginning point of the voice message segment based on receiving the mark begin segment command, the first time value being stored separately from the voice message;

logic configured to receive a mark end segment command from the telephonic device through the voice modality using the TUI, the mark segment command indicating an ending point for the voice message segment in the voice message;

logic configured to store a second time value corresponding to the ending point of the voice message segment based on receiving the mark end segment command, wherein the second time value is stored separately from the voice message;

logic configured to determine the voice message segment based on receiving the mark begin segment command and the mark end segment command, the voice message segment being a section of the voice message, the voice message segment having a duration being defined by the beginning point indicated by the first time value and the ending point indicated by the second time value, the first time value and the second time value being determined based on receiving respectively the mark begin segment command and the mark end segment command, with the mark begin segment command being a type of command that is different from a type of command of the mark end segment command;

logic configured to receive, in response to a prompt to the telephonic device for selecting an action from a menu of possible actions, an action command from the telephonic device using the TUI; and

logic configured to perform an action on the voice message segment based on the action command received from the telephonic device.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the telephonic device comprises at least one of a plain old telephone service (POTS) telephone, cellular telephone, and a voice client on a computing device.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the TUI is part of a unified messaging system or voice messaging system.

34. The system of claim 31, wherein the voice modality comprises at least one of a POTS, cellular, voice over internet protocol (VOIP), and instant messaging modality.