System and methods for storing and presenting personal information

• US 20060217967A1
• Filed: 03/22/2004
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kodak Graphic Communications Canada Company (Eastman Kodak Company), Kodak Graphic Communications Company (Eastman Kodak Company)
• Original Assignee: Kodak Graphic Communications Company (Eastman Kodak Company)
• Inventors: Goertzen, Doug, Kauffman, David
• Application Number:
  US10/549,514
• Publication Number:
  US 20060217967A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context

Abstract

A user can interact with a portable device (10, 10A) to store and receive information using a voice-driven interface. Single utterance spoken commands can be used to perform functions such as making calendar entries, generating reminders, generating ToDo items and the like. A portable device (10, 10A) may automatically identify devices which are nearby at the time of an event and store a list of those other devices. Speech recognition and speech synthesis may be performed at a computer system which is remote from the portable device. The portable device may be in only sporadic communication with the computer system.

Claims

1-73. -73. (canceled)

74. Apparatus for controlling a function provided at least in part by way of a portable electronic device, the apparatus comprising:

a portable device comprising;

means for obtaining speech data by receiving and digitizing a spoken command the command comprising a request to generate an event at the portable device;

means for transferring the speech data to a computer system; and

means for providing an audible signal on the occurrence of a trigger specified by control data; and

,

a computer system comprising;

means for performing speech recognition on the speech data;

means for identifying at least a desired trigger for an event based upon a result of the speech recognition;

means for generating control data corresponding to the desired trigger; and

,

means for transferring the control data from the computer system to the portable device.

75. Apparatus according to claim 74 wherein the means for transferring the speech data to the computer system and the means for transferring the control data to the portable device comprise a wireless communication channel.

76. Apparatus according to claim 74 wherein the portable device comprises a clock and a means for comparing a current time to a time specified by the control data.

77. Apparatus according to claim 74 wherein the computer system comprises a speech synthesizer.

78. Apparatus according to claim 77 wherein the speech synthesizer comprises a plurality of synthesized voices and the computer system comprises a means for selecting one of the plurality of synthesized voices based upon a result of the speech recognition.

79. Apparatus according to claim 74 wherein the computer system comprises means for identifying one of a plurality of functions based upon an output of the means for speech recognition.

80. Apparatus according to claim 78 wherein the computer system comprises means for identifying one of a plurality of functions based upon an output of the means for speech recognition and means for selecting one of the plurality of voices based upon the identified function.

81. Apparatus according to claim 79 wherein the computer system comprises a calendar facility.

82. Apparatus according to claim 74 wherein the portable device comprises means for automatically detecting one or more other devices that are proximate to the portable device and means for associating a list of the one or more other devices with the speech data.

83. Apparatus according to claim 82 wherein the computer system comprises:

a database comprising records of one or more events associated with speech data and corresponding lists of other devices; and

,

means for searching the database for records at least in part according to the corresponding lists of other devices.

84. Apparatus according to claim 83 comprising a plurality of other devices each having a fixed location.

85. Apparatus according to claim 74 wherein the computer system comprises:

means for identifying one of a plurality of functions based upon a output from the means for speech recognition; and

,

means for parsing the output of the means for speech recognition according to a rule selected on the basis of the identified function.

86. Apparatus according to claim 85 wherein the means for identifying the one of the plurality of functions comprises means for recognizing a keyword in the speech data.

87. Apparatus according to claim 86 wherein the means for recognizing a keyword comprises means for identifying a keyword occurring at a beginning of the speech data.

88. Apparatus for automatically associating context information with an event, the apparatus comprising:

portable device comprising a wireless data transceiver and means for recording an event;

means for saving a list of other devices detected by way of the wireless data transceiver in response to recording the event; and

means for associating the list with the recorded event.

89. Apparatus according to claim 88 comprising means for uploading the recorded event and the saved list to a computer system.

90. Apparatus according to claim 89 comprising a computer system, the computer system comprising means for storing the recorded event and the saved list in a data store and maintaining an association between the recorded event and the saved list.

91. Apparatus according to claim 90 wherein the computer system comprises means for conducting a search for the recorded event in the data store based at least in part on information in the stored list.

92. Apparatus according to claim 88 wherein the portable device comprises means for digitally recording sound.

93. Apparatus for maintaining calendar data in a computer based calendar, the apparatus comprising:

a portable device comprising;

a microphone;

a digitizer coupled to receive and digitize speech signals captured by the microphone; and

, a speaker;

means for performing speech recognition on a spoken command digitized by the digitizer, the spoken command comprising a request to add data to a computer-based calendar;

means for identifying at least a time for an event based upon an output from the means for performing speech recognition;

means for entering the time for the event as calendar data in a computer calendar; and

,

means for providing an audible signal by way of the speaker of the portable device at the time for the event.

94. Apparatus according to claim 93 wherein the audible signal comprises digitized speech.

95. Apparatus according to claim 94 wherein the digitized speech comprises at least a portion of the digitized spoken command captured by the microphone.

96. Apparatus according to claim 93 wherein the means for performing speech recognition is located at a computer system outside of the portable device.

97. Apparatus according to claim 96 wherein the computer system comprises a calendar database and the means for entering the time for the event is configured to store the time for the event in the calendar database.

98. Apparatus according to claim 96 comprising a wireless data link linking the portable device and the computer.

99. Apparatus according to claim 94 comprising a computer system outside of the portable device wherein the computer system comprises a speech synthesizer connected to generate at least some of the digitized speech.

100. (canceled)

101. (canceled)