Method for operating a voice mail system

• US 8,300,774 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2007
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya LLC (Avaya Incorporated), Avaya Management L.P. (Avaya Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Avaya GmbH & Company KG (Avaya Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kochanowska, Dorota
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US11/851,824
• Publication Number:
  US 20080304633A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,880 Days
• Field of Search: 379/32.01, 379/88.03, 379/88.08, 379/88.14, 455/419, 704/235, 704/251, 704/256, 704/260, 709/206, 709/221, 709/227
• US Class Current: 379/88.08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2061 Language aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems

Abstract

A method for operating a voice mail system connected to a telecommunication system, having a recorder with a message storage connected thereto, shall enable a particularly flexible use of a speech message stored in the voice mail system. For this purpose, according to the invention, a speech message collected by the recorder, storable as a speech information in the message storage is converted by means of a speech-to-text conversion module into a text message.

Claims

1. A method for operating a voice mail system connected to a telecommunication system, comprising:

providing a message store, wherein the message store is operable to store both voice mail messages and text messages;

providing a recorder, the recorder connected with the message store;

collecting, by the recorder, a speech message, the speech message being storable as a speech information in the message storage;

storing the collected speech message as speech information in the message storage;

converting, by a speech-to-text conversion module, the collected speech message into a text;

determining a first language of the text message;

the translation module determining a second language of a recipient;

the translation module determining if the first language is unintelligible to the recipient based on the first language; and

if the first language is unintelligible to the recipient, the translation module translating the text message from the first language to the second language.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the text message is stored in the message storage.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein a speech recognition module determines the first language of the speech message and selects a speech-to-text conversion module from among a plurality of speech-to-text modules, each module corresponding to a different language.

4. Method according claim 1, wherein the text message is translated by means of a translation module into a specifiable language.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the translated text message is stored in the message storage.

6. Method according to claim 4, wherein the translated text message is converted by a text-to-speech conversion module into a speech message.

7. Method according to claim 6, wherein the translated speech message is stored in the message storage.

8. Method according to claim 7, wherein the translated speech message is read out and transmitted to a user.

9. Method according to claim 2, wherein a speech recognition module determines the language of the speech message and suitably selects by means of the language the proper speech-to-text conversion module from among a plurality of differing speech-to-text modules, each module corresponding to a different language.

10. Method according to claim 2, wherein the text message is translated by means of a translation module into a specifiable language.

11. Method according to claim 3, wherein the text message is translated by means of a translation module into a specifiable language.

12. Method according to claim 5, wherein the translated text message is converted by a text-to-speech conversion module into a speech message.

13. A computer readable medium comprising processor executable instructions to perform the steps of claim 1.

14. A voice mail system operable to perform the steps of claim 1.