Voice alert methods, systems and processor-readable media

• US 8,265,938 B1
• Filed: 12/13/2011
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verna IP Holdings, LLC (Ortiz & Lopez PLLC)
• Original Assignee: Verna IP Holdings, LLC (Ortiz & Lopez PLLC)
• Inventors: Ortiz, Luis M., Lopez, Kermit D., Verna, Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Sked, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US13/324,118
• Time in Patent Office: 273 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 704/274
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/56 Natural language generation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/012 using recorded signals, e.g. speech G08B25/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/006 with transmission via telephone network
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/59 for emergency or urgency
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

Methods, systems and processor-readable media for providing instant/real-time voice alerts automatically to remote electronic devices. An activity can be detected utilizing one or more sensors. A text message indicative of the activity can be generated and converted into a digitized voice alert. The activity can also be a live utterance (e.g., a live announcement), which can then be instantly converted into a digitized voice alert for automatic delivery in a selected series of languages following the base language (e.g., English). The combined digitized voice alert can then be instantly transmitted through a network for broadcast of consecutive alerts (e.g., English followed by Spanish followed by Vietnamese, etc.) to one or more remote electronic devices that communicate with the network for an automatic audio announcement of the digitized voice alert through the one or more remote electronic devices.

Claims

1. A method for automatically providing instant emergency voice alerts automatically to wireless hand held device users in a specified region, said method comprising:

determining an emergency situation affecting a specified region and requiring emergency notification of said emergency situation to wireless hand held device users in said specified region;

generating and converting a text message indicative of said emergency situation into a digitized voice alert;

converting said digitized voice alert into more than one language from among a plurality of languages for broadcast of said digitized voice alert in consecutively different languages through said at least one wireless hand held device; and

transmitting said digitized voice alert through specific towers of a cellular communications network in said specified region for distribution of an automatic emergency announcement about said emergency situation provided by said digitized voice alert to at least one wireless hand held device in communication with said specific towers of said cellular communications network in said specified region.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising broadcasting said digitized voice alert through said at least one wireless hand held device in at least one language based on a language setting in a particular user profile.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising pre-selecting said at least one language in said particular user profile.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising establishing said particular user profile as a user preference via a server that communicates with said cellular communications network.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising establishing said particular user profile as a user preference via an intelligent router.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising selecting said at least one language from among a plurality of different languages.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

automatically interrupting a current call of said at least one wireless hand held device in order to push said digitized voice alert through to said at least one wireless hand held device for automatic playback of said digitized voice alert via said at least one hand held device.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising converting said digitized voice alert into more than one language from among a plurality of languages for broadcast of said digitized voice alert in consecutively different languages through said at least one wireless hand held device in communication said cellular communications network.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

automatically opening said digitized voice alert in response to receipt of said digitized voice alert at said at least one wireless hand held device in communication with said cellular communications network; and

automatically playing said digitized voice alert through a speaker associated with said at least one wireless hand held device in response to automatically opening said digitized voice alert.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

pre-selecting at least one language in a particular user profile based on a language setting;

establishing said particular user profile as a preference via a server during a set up of said at least one wireless hand held device;

broadcasting said digitized voice alert through said at least one wireless hand held device in said at least one language based on said language setting in said particular user profile.

11. A system for automatically providing instant emergency voice alerts automatically to wireless hand held device users in a specified region, said system comprising:

a processor;

a data bus coupled to said processor; and

a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, said computer-usable medium being coupled to said data bus, said computer program code comprising instructions executable by said processor and configured for;

determining an emergency situation affecting a specified region and requiring emergency notification of said emergency situation to wireless hand held device users in said specified region;

generating and converting a text message indicative of said emergency situation into a digitized voice alert;

converting said digitized voice alert into more than one language from among a plurality of languages for broadcast of said digitized voice alert in consecutively different languages through said at least one wireless hand held device; and

transmitting said digitized voice alert through specific towers of a cellular communications network in said specified region for distribution of an emergency announcement about said emergency situation provided by said digitized voice alert to at least one wireless hand held device in communication with said specific towers of said cellular communications network in said specified region.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein said instructions are further configured for broadcasting said digitized voice alert through said at least one wireless hand held device in at least one language based on a language setting in a particular user profile.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein said instructions are further configured for pre-selecting said at least one language in said particular user profile.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein said instructions are further configured for establishing said particular user profile as a user preference via a server that communications said cellular communications network at least one sensor communicates with said at least one remote electronic device through said network.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein said instructions are further configured for establishing said particular user profile as a user preference via an intelligent router.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein said instructions are further configured for selecting said at least one language from among a plurality of different languages.

17. The system of claim 12 wherein said instructions are further configured for during a set up of said at least one wireless hand held device, selecting said at least one language from a plurality of different languages.

18. A processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions to cause a processor to perform a process to automatically provide instant voice alerts to wireless hand held device users in a specified region, said code comprising code to:

determine an emergency situation affecting a specified region and requiring emergency notification of said emergency situation to wireless hand held device users in said specified region;

generate and convert a text message indicative of said emergency situation into a digitized voice alert;

convert said digitized voice alert into more than one language from among a plurality of languages for broadcast of said digitized voice alert in consecutively different languages through said at least one wireless hand held device; and

transmit said digitized voice alert through specific towers of a cellular communications network in said specified region for distribution of an automatic emergency announcement about said emergency situation provided by said digitized voice alert to at least one wireless hand held device in communication with said specific towers of said cellular communications network said specified region.