SMS MESSAGING WITH VOICE SYNTHESIS AND RECOGNITION
First Claim
1. An apparatus that provides a voice interaction service with SMS and text messages for subscribing voice terminals comprising:
- a) a means for processing SMS messages sent to the subscribing mobile stations;
b) a SMS receiver which receives the processed SMS messages;
c) a data store which stores profiles for subscribers to the service, including their personal grammar and syntax preferences, recorded human voices and other sounds, and rules for controlling a voice recognition module;
d) a jargon engine which recognizes jargon such as abbreviations commonly used in text messaging and replaces such jargon with plain language;
e) a text-to-speech module, which assembles fragments of recorded human speech;
f) a voice recognition module, which is activated by subscribers'"'"' speech;
g) a call server which provides a means of sending a synthesized voice message or other messages to the subscribing mobile station through the signaling and control of an audio channel or call path; and
h) a control program connected to the SMS receiver, the data store, the jargon engine, the text-to-speech module, the call server and the voice recognition module, for (i) receiving a SMS message from the SMS Receiver;
(ii) analyzing and processing the SMS message by querying the data store subscriber profile record for translating jargon into plain text in the jargon engine;
iii) using the results of the query to replace any jargon with plain language via the jargon engine;
(iv) establishing a connection with the subscribing mobile station through the call server;
v) using the text-to-speech processor, once the subscribing mobile station answers the call, to read the processed message with the synthesized voice;
(vi) following the conversion of the text to speech, informing the call server to prompt the subscriber to vocalize a command;
(vii) informing the voice recognition module to collect any utterances received from the subscriber;
viii) further analyzing the received utterances by querying the data store record of the subscriber-specific rules for personal grammar and syntax preferences, to derive text therefrom; and
ix) receiving results from the voice recognition module indicating whether the results should be converted into an SMS message via the text to speech engine for transmission to its intended recipient or whether the results should be sent to a human agent for further processing into a SMS message.
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Accused Products
Abstract
When a subscriber'"'"'s phone is sent a SMS message from any other Public Switch Telephone Network user, a voice call to the subscriber'"'"'s phone is placed, and upon answering, the SMS message is translated into speech. A jargon translator is employed to convert SMS language into corresponding words. Once the message has been played, the subscriber receiving it may verbally request the opportunity to send a reply to the message by audibly speaking a response. The response is matched against an internal phrasebook to accurately transcribe the message. Transcription performance is improved by allowing each subscriber to provide a personal phrasebook which is combined with the internal one. However, if the spoken message is complex or not recognized, the message can be automatically relayed to a human agent for manual transcription.
25 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus that provides a voice interaction service with SMS and text messages for subscribing voice terminals comprising:
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a) a means for processing SMS messages sent to the subscribing mobile stations; b) a SMS receiver which receives the processed SMS messages; c) a data store which stores profiles for subscribers to the service, including their personal grammar and syntax preferences, recorded human voices and other sounds, and rules for controlling a voice recognition module; d) a jargon engine which recognizes jargon such as abbreviations commonly used in text messaging and replaces such jargon with plain language; e) a text-to-speech module, which assembles fragments of recorded human speech; f) a voice recognition module, which is activated by subscribers'"'"' speech; g) a call server which provides a means of sending a synthesized voice message or other messages to the subscribing mobile station through the signaling and control of an audio channel or call path; and h) a control program connected to the SMS receiver, the data store, the jargon engine, the text-to-speech module, the call server and the voice recognition module, for (i) receiving a SMS message from the SMS Receiver;
(ii) analyzing and processing the SMS message by querying the data store subscriber profile record for translating jargon into plain text in the jargon engine;
iii) using the results of the query to replace any jargon with plain language via the jargon engine;
(iv) establishing a connection with the subscribing mobile station through the call server;
v) using the text-to-speech processor, once the subscribing mobile station answers the call, to read the processed message with the synthesized voice;
(vi) following the conversion of the text to speech, informing the call server to prompt the subscriber to vocalize a command;
(vii) informing the voice recognition module to collect any utterances received from the subscriber;
viii) further analyzing the received utterances by querying the data store record of the subscriber-specific rules for personal grammar and syntax preferences, to derive text therefrom; and
ix) receiving results from the voice recognition module indicating whether the results should be converted into an SMS message via the text to speech engine for transmission to its intended recipient or whether the results should be sent to a human agent for further processing into a SMS message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for providing a voice interaction service with SMS and text messages for subscribing mobile stations comprising:
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a) receiving a SMS message from the SMS Receiver; b) analyzing and processing the SMS message by querying the data store subscriber profile record for translating jargon into plain text in the jargon engine; c) using the results of the query to replace any jargon with plain language via the jargon engine; d) establishing a connection with the subscribing mobile station through the call server; e) using the text-to-speech processor, once the subscribing mobile station answers the call, to read the processed message with the synthesized voice; f) following the conversion of the text to speech, informing the call server to prompt the subscriber to vocalize a command; g) informing the voice recognition module to collect any utterances received from the subscriber; h) further analyzing the received utterances by querying the data store record of the subscriber-specific rules for personal grammar and syntax preferences, to derive text therefrom; and i) receiving results from the voice recognition module indicating whether the results should be converted into an SMS message via the text to speech engine for transmission to its intended recipient or whether the results should be sent to a human agent for further processing into a SMS message.
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Specification