Apparatus, system and method for providing silently selectable audible communication

• US 8,229,086 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2003
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Silent Communication Ltd
• Original Assignee: Silent Communication Ltd
• Inventors: Bluvband, Zigmund
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Joseph T
• Application Number:
  US10/403,078
• Publication Number:
  US 20040196964A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,402 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.13, 455/412.1
• US Class Current: 379/88.13
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/645 with speech synthesis
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72409 by interfacing with external accessories hands-free H04M1/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72433 for voice messaging, e.g. dictaphones for answering incoming calls H04M1/64

Abstract

An apparatus and method for providing silently selectable audible communication. The apparatus may include a memory unit for storing a plurality of pre-recorded messages, and a messaging module for selecting, editing and/or transmitting selected messages to a second party for receipt in a voice mode, whereby a conversation may be implemented in a silent mode by at least one party. A method is also provided for adding new messages (or editing old ones) to a silently selectable audible communication system, and for conducting a silently selectable audible conversation.

Claims

1. A cellular telephone which silently generates and transmits audio signals to a distant telephone during a telephone conversation and which is adapted to receive voice generated audio signals from said distant telephone over a communication channel that carries said telephone conversation comprising:

a memory for storing a plurality of pre-recorded audible records and a plurality of pre-stored text messages, wherein said pre-recorded audible records and said pre-stored text messages are selectable via a user input circuit of said cellular telephone;

a text to speech module adapted to convert into audible messages;

(1) one or more of said pre-stored text messages selected by a user; and

(2) text messages manually typed into the telephone during the telephone conversation;

a conversation module adapted to selectively transmit, during the conversation, to said distant telephone;

(1) one or more of said pre-recorded audible records, and (2) one or more of said text to speech converted audible messages, both pre-stored and manually typed during the conversation;

a testing mechanism enabling review of said text to speech converted audible messages before sending them;

a synthesizer module adapted to generate audio message signals from source texts, which audio signals represent human speech of the source texts; and

said synthesizer module is further adapted to silently generate, during a given conversation, second audio message signals from second source texts, which second source texts are input into a keyboard of the cellular telephone, by a user of the telephone, during the given conversation, and wherein said audio signals represent human speech of the second source texts and said conversation module is further adapted to transmit one or more of said second audio message signals during the given conversation, over a communication channel which carries the given conversation.

2. A cellular telephone according to claim 1 wherein said testing mechanism further enabling review of said text to speech converted audible messages after said messages are inputted.

3. The module according to claim 1, wherein said source texts include pre-stored text messages.

4. The module according to claim 1, wherein said synthesizer module is further adapted to generate third audio message signals from a combination of one or more of the source texts with one or more of the second source texts, which third audio message signals represent human speech of the combination, and wherein said conversation module is further adapted to transmit one or more of the third audio message signals during the given conversation, over a communication channel which carries the given conversation.

5. The telephone according to claim 1, wherein said text to speech module is further adapted to convert one or more selected combinations of pre-stored text messages and messages that are inputted by operating a keyboard during the telephone conversation, into second text to speech converted audible messages.