Apparatus and method for providing messages in a social network

• US 8,914,295 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2014
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chang, Hisao, Renger, Bernard S.
• Primary Examiner(s): YEN, ERIC L
• Application Number:
  US14/256,549
• Publication Number:
  US 20140229176A1
• Time in Patent Office: 242 Days
• Field of Search: 704/9, 704270-275
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/377 for mixing or overlaying two or more graphic patterns G09G5/02, G09G5/397 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/28 Constructional details of speech recognition systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/00 Speaker identification or verification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server including a controller to receive audio signals and content identification information from a media processor, generate text representing a voice message based on the audio signals, determine an identity of media content based on the content identification information, generate an enhanced message having text and additional content where the additional content is obtained by the controller based on the identity of the media content, and transmit the enhanced message to the media processor for presentation on the display device, where the enhanced message is accessible by one or more communication devices that are associated with a social network and remote from the media processor. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A server comprising:

a memory to store instructions; and

a processor coupled with the memory, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the instructions, performs operations comprising;

receiving a voice message and content identification information, the voice message being received from a computing device, the content identification information being associated with media content;

generating text representing the voice message;

determining an identity of the media content based on the content identification information;

determining a context of the voice message;

obtaining additional content based on the identity of the media content and the context of the voice message;

generating an enhanced message comprising the text and the additional content; and

providing a group of communication devices with access to the enhanced message, wherein the group of communication devices and the computing device are associated with each other by a social network server managing a social network website, and wherein the group of communication devices are remote from the computing device.

2. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying an unclear word in the voice message; and

determining an identity of the unclear word based on the context of the voice message.

3. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

selecting a speech recognition grammar from a group of speech recognition grammars based on the identity of the media content, wherein the text is generated according to the speech recognition grammar.

4. The server of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of the additional content comprises generating the additional content based on the context of the voice message, wherein the additional content comprises additional text that is related to the text of the voice message.

5. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise accessing a user profile associated with the computing device, wherein the obtaining of the additional content is based on the user profile, and wherein the group of communication devices and the computing device are associated with each other by the social network server according to membership in a social network wherein the membership enables access to the social network website.

6. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise providing the media content to a first communication device of the group of communication devices, wherein the first communication device is not subscribed to receive the media content.

7. The server of claim 6, wherein the media content is available for presentation by the first communication device for a limited duration.

8. The server of claim 1, wherein the computing device provides voice communication services.

9. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting the enhanced message to a gateway for presentation on a display device.

10. A computer-readable storage device comprising instructions which, responsive to being executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

transmitting a voice message to a server to enable the server to generate text based on the voice message;

transmitting content identification information associated with media content to the server to enable the server to identify the media content to obtain an identity of the media content and to enable the server to generate an enhanced message comprising the text and additional content, wherein the additional content is obtained by the server based on the identity of the media content; and

receiving the enhanced message from the server, wherein a group of communication devices is provided with access to the enhanced message, wherein the group of communication devices and the processor are associated with each other by a social network server managing a social network website, and wherein the group of communication devices are remote from the processor.

11. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the additional content is obtained by the server based on a determination of a context of the voice message.

12. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the voice message via a remote control device in communication with the processor.

13. The computer-readable storage device of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

wirelessly receiving control signals from the remote control device;

controlling presentation of the media content on a display device operably coupled with the processor based on the control signals; and

transmitting a portion of the media content to the server.

14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise presenting the enhanced message on a display device in communication with the processor, and wherein the content identification information comprises time information and a channel being viewed when the voice message is received by the processor.

15. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise presenting the media content when the voice message is received by the processor, and wherein a context of the voice message is determined to enables the server to identify unclear words in the voice message.

16. A method comprising:

receiving, by a system including a processor, a voice message from a computing device;

determining, by the system, a context of the voice message;

obtaining, by the system, additional content according to the context of the voice message;

generating, by the system, an enhanced message comprising the additional content and text representing the voice message; and

providing, by the system, access to the enhanced message for a group of communication devices, wherein the group of communication devices and the computing device are associated with each other by a social network server managing a social network website, and wherein the group of communication devices is remote from the computing device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the obtaining of the additional content by the system is according to an identity of media content, and wherein the voice message is associated with the media content being presented by the computing device at a time the voice message was captured.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising:

applying, by the system, speech recognition to the voice message;

detecting, by the system, an unclear word in the voice message according to the speech recognition;

determining, by the system, a clarified word representative of the unclear word based on the context of the voice message and the identity of the media content; and

generating, by the system, the text representing the voice message based on the speech recognition and the determining of the clarified word.

19. The method of claim 16, comprising providing the enhanced message to the computing device for presentation on a display device operably coupled with the computing device, wherein the providing of the enhanced message causes the computing device to present a graphical user interface super-imposed over a portion of second media content being presented by the computing device, wherein the graphical user interface includes a picture-in-picture window for presenting the media content, wherein the graphical user interface includes the additional content and the text representing the voice message, and wherein the context of the voice message comprises a subject matter of the media content.

20. The method of claim 16, comprising:

receiving, by the system from the computing device, media content that was being presented by the computing device at a time the voice message was captured, wherein the media content was recorded by the computing device; and

comparing, by the system, the media content to a sample of media content to determine an identity of the media content, wherein the determining of the context of the voice message is based on the identity of the media content, and wherein the sample of media content is stored among a group of samples of media content accessible to the system.