System and method for automatic transcription of conversations

• US 20030050777A1
• Filed: 09/07/2001
• Published: 03/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Walker, William Donald Jr.
• Application Number:
  US09/949,337
• Publication Number:
  US 20030050777A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/235
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/32 Multiple recognisers used in sequence or in parallel; Score combination systems therefor, e.g. voting systems

Abstract

A system and method for automatically transcribing a conversation of a plurality of persons comprises a plurality of speech recognition engines each dedicated to a particular person involved in the conversation for converting the speech of the particular person into text. A transcription service provides a transcript associated with the conversation based on the texts of the plurality of persons.

Claims

1. A method of automatically transcribing a conversation involving a plurality of persons, comprising the steps of:

converting words or phrases spoken by several persons into a transcription entry including text based on a plurality of speech recognition engines each dedicated to a particular person involved in the conversation; and

transcribing the conversation from the transcription entries.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of tagging each transcription entry with the time the phrase associated with the transcription entry was initiated.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of tagging each transcription entry with the time the phrase associated with the transcription entry was ended.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of tagging each transcription entry with the identification of the person associated with the transcription entry.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of synchronizing the time to be applied to the transcription entries.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the step of transcribing includes transcribing each transcription entry in the order of the time each phrase associated with a transcription entry was initiated.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the step of transcribing includes transcribing each transcription entry in the order of the time each phrase associated with a transcription entry was ended.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the step of transcribing includes transcribing the transcription entries associated with a predetermined string of text.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the step of transcribing includes transcribing the transcription entries associated with a predetermined person.

10. A system for automatically transcribing a conversation of a plurality of persons, comprising:

a plurality of speech recognition engines each dedicated to a particular person involved in the conversation for converting the speech of the particular person into text; and

a transcription service for providing a transcript associated with the conversation based on the texts of the plurality of persons.

11. A system as defined in claim 10, further including a plurality of transcription clients each communicating with an associated speech recognition engine for tagging the text generated by the speech recognition engine with the identification of the particular person associated with the text.

12. A system as defined in claim 10, wherein the plurality of the speech recognition engines and the transcription service reside on the same computer.

13. A system as defined in claim 10, wherein the plurality of the speech recognition engines each reside on a distinct computer.

14. A system as defined in claim 10, wherein the plurality of the speech recognition engines and the transcription service each reside on a distinct computer.

15. A system as defined in claim 11, wherein the plurality of speech recognition engines, the plurality of transcription clients and the transcription service reside on the same computer.

16. A system for automatically transcribing a conversation of a plurality of persons, comprising:

a plurality of text-generating means dedicated to a particular person involved in the conversation for converting the speech of the particular person into text;

transcribing means for providing a transcript associated with the conversation based on the texts of the plurality of persons.

17. A system as defined in claim 16, further including a plurality of means each communicating with an associated text-generating means for tagging the text with the identification of the particular person associated with the text.

18. A system as defined in claim 16, wherein the plurality of text-generating means and the transcribing means reside on the same computer.

19. A system as defined in claim 16, wherein the plurality of the text-generating means each reside on a distinct computer.

20. A system as defined in claim 16, wherein the plurality of the text-generating means and the transcribing means each reside on a distinct computer.