Apparatuses, methods and systems to provide translations of information into sign language or other formats

• US 9,282,377 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2013
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Icommunicator, LLC
• Original Assignee: Icommunicator, LLC
• Inventors: Bruner, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): He, Jialong
• Application Number:
  US14/058,975
• Publication Number:
  US 20140046661A1
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/56 Natural language generation
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/009 Teaching or communicating with deaf persons G09B21/04 takes precedence; deaf and dumb persons G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/06 Transformation of speech into a non-audible representation, e.g. speech visualisation or speech processing for tactile aids G10L15/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/10 Transforming into visible information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234336 by media transcoding, e.g. video is transformed into a slideshow of still pictures or audio is converted into text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38

Abstract

Some embodiments provide methods of providing a translation of information to a translated format comprising: receiving information in a first format; identifying the first format, where in the first format is one of a plurality of different formats configured to be received; processing the information in accordance with the first format and extracting one or more speech elements from the information; identifying, through at least one processor configured to translate the received information, one or more sign language identifiers corresponding the one or more extracted speech elements, wherein at least one of the one or more sign language identifiers directly corresponds to a synonym of at least one of the one or more speech elements; and causing one or more sign language clips corresponding to at least one of the one or more sign language identifiers to be reproduced on a display of a displaying device.

Claims

1. A method of providing a translation of information to a translated format, the method comprising:

receiving information in a first format;

identifying the first format, where in the first format is one of a plurality of different formats configured to be received;

processing the information in accordance with the first format and extracting one or more speech elements from the information;

identifying, through at least one processor configured to translate the received information, one or more sign language (SL) identifiers corresponding the one or more extracted speech elements, wherein at least one of the one or more sign language identifiers directly corresponds to a synonym of at least one of the one or more speech elements; and

causing one or more sign language video clips corresponding to at least one of the one or more sign language identifiers to be reproduced on a display of a displaying device,

wherein at least one of the one or more sign language video clips comprises continuity promoting images including a figure with hands in a neutral position in opening and closing frames of the at least one of the one or more sign language video clips.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving information in the first format comprises receiving the information from over a distributed network from the displaying device, wherein the information is captured directly by the displaying device.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

retrieving, from a video library, one or more sign language video clips corresponding to each of the one or more sign language identifiers; and

wherein the causing the one or more sign language video clips corresponding to the at least one of the one or more sign language identifiers to be reproduced comprises causing the one or more sign language video clips to be streamed over the distributed network to the displaying device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing the one or more sign language clips to be reproduced comprises communicating the one or more sign language video identifiers over a distributed network to the displaying device, wherein the displaying device is configured to retrieve one or more prerecorded sign language video clips corresponding to each of the one or more sign language identifiers.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving one or more avatar codes corresponding to each of the one or more sign language identifiers;

wherein the causing the one or more sign language video clips corresponding to the at least one of the one or more sign language identifiers to be reproduced comprises communicating, over a distributed network to the displaying device, the avatar codes corresponding to each of the one or more sign language identifiers such that the display device implements the avatar codes in rendering an avatar on the display acting out the one or more sign language video clips.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

obtaining a transition avatar code, wherein the transition avatar code defines movement of the avatar between an end position of a first sign language clip of the one or more sign language video clips and a start position of a following second sign language clip of the one or more sign language video clips.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating, from the displaying device, the one or more sign language identifiers to a remote source; and

receiving, from the remote source, one or more prerecorded sign language video clips corresponding to each of the one or more sign language identifiers;

wherein the causing the one or more sign language video clips to be reproduced comprises sequentially playing back, on the displaying device, the one or more prerecorded sign language video clips.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a selection of a first speech element;

receiving a designation of one or more signs that is to directly correspond to the first speech element;

defining a custom translation element to directly correspond to the first speech element comprising associating one or more sign language identifiers of the designated one or more signs that are to directly correspond to the first speech element, wherein the custom translation element is to be used as a translation in subsequent translations of the first speech element.

9. A system for use in translating information, the system comprising:

a non-transitory processor readable memory;

one or more processors disposed in communication with the processor readable memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to implement a plurality of processing instructions stored in the processor readable memory, wherein the instructions when implemented cause the one or more processors to;

receive information in a first format;

identify the first format, where in the first format is one of a plurality of different formats configured to be received;

process the information in accordance with the first format and extract one or more speech elements from the information;

identify one or more sign language (SL) identifiers corresponding the one or more extracted speech elements, wherein at least one of the one or more sign language identifiers directly corresponds to a synonym of at least one of the one or more speech elements; and

cause one or more sign language video clips corresponding to at least one of the one or more sign language identifiers to be reproduced on a display of a displaying device

wherein at least one of the one or more sign language video clips comprises continuity promoting images including a figure with hands in a neutral position in opening and closing frames of the at least one of the one or more sign language video clips.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the information from over a distributed network from the displaying device, wherein the information is captured directly by the displaying device.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors, when implementing the plurality of processing instructions, are further configured to:

retrieve, from a video library, one or more sign language video clips corresponding to each of the one or more sign language identifiers; and

when causing the one or more sign language video clips corresponding to the at least one of the one or more sign language identifiers to be reproduced cause the one or more sign language video clips to be streamed over the distributed network to the displaying device.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors when causing the one or more sign language video clips to be reproduced are further configured to communicate the one or more sign language identifiers over a distributed network to the displaying device, wherein the displaying device is configured to retrieve one or more prerecorded sign language video clips corresponding to each of the one or more sign language identifiers.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors, when implementing the plurality of processing instructions, are further configured to:

retrieve one or more avatar codes corresponding to each of the one or more sign language identifiers; and

when causing the one or more sign language video clips corresponding to the at least one of the one or more sign language identifiers to be reproduced the one or more processors are configured to communicate, over a distributed network to the displaying device, the avatar codes corresponding to each of the one or more sign language identifiers such that the display device implements the avatar codes in rendering an avatar on the display acting out the one or more sign language video clips.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors, when implementing the plurality of processing instructions, are further configured to:

obtain a transition avatar code, wherein the transition avatar code defines movement of the avatar between an end position of a first sign language clip of the one or more sign language video clips and a start position of a following second sign language clip of the one or more sign language video clips.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors, when implementing the plurality of processing instructions, are further configured to:

communicate, from the displaying device, the one or more sign language identifiers to a remote source;

receive, from the remote source, one or more prerecorded sign language video clips corresponding to each of the one or more sign language identifiers; and

when causing the one or more sign language video clips to be reproduced the one or more processors are further configured to sequentially playing back, on the displaying device, the one or more prerecorded sign language video clips.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors, when implementing the plurality of processing instructions, are further configured to:

receive a selection of a first speech element;

receive a designation of one or more signs that is to directly correspond to the first speech element;

define a custom translation element to directly correspond to the first speech element comprising associating one or more sign language identifiers of the designated one or more signs that are to directly correspond to the first speech element, wherein the custom translation element is to be used as a translation in subsequent translations of the first speech element.