EP0465058A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Written language parser system
Assignee: AT&T Inc
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Filing: 1991-06-20
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-06-20
Abstract
Abstract An enhanced text-to-speech synthesizer accepts freely generated text sequences of words and synthesizes the received sequences with proper emphasis and with properly placed pauses. In combination with other elements, the synthesizer provides for an enhanced Dual Party Relay Service where the text generated by the sound-impaired party is synthesized without an attendant's intervention. The text generated by users is made more intelligible by interpreting abbreviations, correcting errors (misspellings and "noise"), translating special terms that are used by the community of users, de-emphasizing words based on syntactic considerations and inserting pauses to enhance intelligibility.
Inventors
- 👤 Joan C. Bachenko
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 05:11
CPC Classifications
G; G10; G10L; G10L13/00; G10L13/08; H; H04; H04M; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/487; H04M3/493; H04M3/4938
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
130 words
A converter for synthesizing free formed text into a speech signal comprising: a word detector responsive to a free formed text signal for detecting individual words in said text signal and developing thereby a string of words to be synthesized; categorizing means, responsive to words detected by said word detector, for analyzing each word in the string of words received by to the categorizing means with reference to N neighboring words in the received string, where N is an integer, and for determining thereby the categories to which each of the analyzed words belongs; and syntax augmenting means responsive to said categorizing means for inserting pause generation signals before or after selected words that are categorized by said means for categorizing where said words are selected based on their categories.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
130 words
A converter for synthesizing free formed text into a speech signal comprising: a word detector responsive to a free formed text signal for detecting individual words in said text signal and developing thereby a string of words to be synthesized; categorizing means, responsive to words detected by said word detector, for analyzing each word in the string of words received by to the categorizing means with reference to N neighboring words in the received string, where N is an integer, and for determining thereby the categories to which each of the analyzed words belongs; and syntax augmenting means responsive to said categorizing means for inserting pause generation signals before or after selected words that are categorized by said means for categorizing where said words are selected based on their categories.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
The converter of claim 1 wherein said words are selected on the basis of their categories and on the categories of adjacent words.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The converter of claim 1 wherein said words are selected on the basis of their categories and on the categories of words following said chosen words.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
43 words
The converter of claim 1 wherein said syntax augmenting means associates de-emphasis generation signals with chosen words that are categorized by said means for categorizing, based on the categories of the chosen words and on the categories of words neighboring said chosen words.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
44 words
The converter of claim 1 wherein said categorizing means includes an N word shift register for passing words through said shift register to form an N word sliding window for analyzing the words in said string of words received by to said categorizing means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
42 words
The converter of claim 1 wherein said categorizing means includes word storage means and word access means for creating an N word window that slides through said string of words to enable analyzes of the words received by to said categorizing means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
29 words
The converter of claim 1, further including a speech synthesizer, responsive to words detected by said word detector and to said pause generation signals, for developing a speech signal.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
The converter of claim 4, further including a speech synthesizer, responsive to words detected by said word detector, to said pause generation signals and to said de-emphasis signals, for developing a speech signal.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
27 words
The converter of claim 1, further including a FIFO memory interposed between said word detector and said categorizing means for storing words detected by said word detector.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The converter of claim 9, wherein said FIFO memory stores words under control of said word detector and outputs words under control of said categorizing means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
31 words
The converter of claim 1, further including an output FIFO memory for storing said words detected by said word detector and said pause generation signals developed by said syntax augmentation means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
36 words
The converter of claim 7, further including an output FIFO memory interposed before said synthesizer for storing said words detected by said word detector means and said pause generation signals developed by said syntax augmentation means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The converter of claim 7 wherein said output FIFO memory delivers signals to said synthesizer under control of said pause generating signals.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
The converter of claim 7, having the output signal of said synthesizer connected to a communications network for sending speech signals to said communications network.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
26 words
The converter of claim 14, further comprising a speech-to-text converter connected to said communications network for receiving speech signals and converting received speech signals to text.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
36 words
The converter of claim 1 further comprising word modification means within said word categorizing means for recognizing words that are abbreviated forms of full words and for replacing the abbreviated forms with their corresponding full words.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
24 words
The converter of claim 1 further comprising word modification means within said word categorizing means for recognizing and deleting words that are noise words.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
35 words
The converter of claim 1 further comprising word modification means within said word categorizing means for recognizing the absence of words that are necessary for a chosen degree of intelligibility and injecting the missing words.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
28 words
The converter of claim 1 further comprising word modification means within said word categorizing means for recognizing word phrases and categorizing each word phrase as a single unit.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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