U.S. patent application number 11/290513 was filed with the patent office on 2006-09-14 for interactive conversational speech communicator method and system.
Invention is credited to David G. Curry, Jason R. Curry.
Application Number | 20060206309 11/290513 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25329902 |
Filed Date | 2006-09-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060206309 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Curry; David G. ; et
al. |
September 14, 2006 |
Interactive conversational speech communicator method and
system
Abstract
The invention relates to a compact and portable interactive
system for allowing person-to-person communication in a typed
language format between individuals experiencing language barriers
such as the hearing impaired and language impaired. According to
the present invention, the sComm system includes a custom laptop
configuration having a display screen and one keyboard on each side
of the laptop; and data translations means for translating the
original typed data from a first language to a second language. The
display screen will further have a split configuration, i.e., a
double screen, either top/bottom or left/right depicting chat
boxes, each chat box dedicated to a user. The sComm system will be
able to support multilingual text-based conversations. In
particular, a user will be able to translate, using existing
translating technology, the typed text into other languages
including, but not limited to, English, Spanish, Chinese, German
and French. As such, one chat box can display a text in a first
language and the other chat box can display the same text but in a
second language.
Inventors: |
Curry; David G.; (Sedalia,
MO) ; Curry; Jason R.; (Kansas City, MO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NIXON PEABODY, LLP
401 9TH STREET, NW
SUITE 900
WASHINGTON
DC
20004-2128
US
|
Family ID: |
25329902 |
Appl. No.: |
11/290513 |
Filed: |
December 1, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09859059 |
May 17, 2001 |
6993474 |
|
|
11290513 |
Dec 1, 2005 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
704/8 ;
704/3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 40/58 20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
704/008 ;
704/003 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/28 20060101
G06F017/28 |
Claims
1. A method for providing multilingual text-based dialogue between
two opposing communicants in a self-contained portable environment,
the method comprising: selecting a dialogue language for each of
the two opposing communicants; receiving text-based data based on
the dialogue language from at least one of the two communicants;
transmitting the text-based data to an opposing display in the
opposing communicant's selected language; and displaying the
text-based data in the selected languages simultaneously and in
real time.
2. A system for multilingual text-based dialogue between two
opposing communicants in a self-contained portable environment, the
system comprising: an I/O interface for selecting a dialogue
language for each of the two opposing communicants; a dialogue
processor for receiving text-based data based on the dialogue
language from at least one of the two communicants; a translation
control processor for transmitting the text-based data to an
opposing display in the opposing communicant's selected language;
and a display screen for displaying the text-based data in the
selected languages simultaneously and in real time.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates generally to a portable interactive
conversational speech communicator. In particular, an exemplary
embodiment of this invention relates to a portable interactive
conversational speech communicator with split screens and a
keyboard on each side allowing at least two individuals to
communicate without the use of a human translator.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Over 28 million people in the United States experience some
degree of hearing loss. Approximately four million of those are
profoundly deaf. Many of these hearing impaired individuals, in
addition to individuals speaking a language different from that of
their surroundings, are confronted with barriers which impede their
ability to effectively communicate with others. Such barriers
include the inability to use spoken language, the inability of
others to use and understand sign language, and the inability to
understand the language being spoken to them.
[0005] Conversations with the hearing impaired are becoming
increasingly limited due to the lack of sign language skills of
most individuals. Those individuals who do not have a broad range
of sign language skills are faced with a limited amount of
resources available in order to effectively communicate with the
hearing impaired. For example, the use of hand written notes, the
use of gestures and closed captioning devices are commonly used.
Lip reading is also commonly used. However, all of these techniques
are limiting for the hearing impaired because intricate, involved
conversations are not possible without the aid of a human
interpreter, or the time consuming and frustrating necessity of
passing notes back and forth.
[0006] As for the case of not being able to communicate in a
foreign language, many individuals resort to laboriously looking up
words in a foreign language dictionary if one is available and if
the other listener is willing to spend the time waiting. For both
the hearing impaired and the individual incapable of speaking a
foreign language, a human interpreter has been the best resource
available. However, the use of a human interpreter is often
difficult to arrange as well as expensive.
[0007] Individuals who can not speak or hear, or individuals who
are not versed in the language at hand, experience difficulties in
performing everyday tasks such as communicating with retail clerks,
law enforcement officials, teachers, neighbors, communicating with
co-workers, or the like. Both the personal family scenario and the
professional scenario are hampered by the language barriers.
[0008] In addition, professionals traveling internationally
constantly are confronted with business associates who speak
different languages. In this instance, the use of language
interpreters are an expensive necessity. However, the need to have
private interactive conversations with foreign associates without a
third party present, i.e. an interpreter, particularly
conversations of a sensitive nature, is a growing concern. Even
casual international travelers wish to have social conversations
with those speaking a different language.
[0009] Medical professionals are bombarded everyday with patients
who do not speak the language of the attending personnel. In this
time sensitive and sometimes life threatening situation, there is
not always enough time to find a human interpreter in order to
diagnose the problem at hand.
[0010] Hence, there is a need to provide a portable interactive
conversational speech communicator which allows two or more
individuals to converse without regard to the individual's language
capabilities or language origin.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention has been developed with the view to
substantially changing the way individuals communicate on a global
scale by using an interactive Speech Communicator (sComm) system.
The sComm system is a tool especially useful for people who are
deaf, hard of hearing, or for those speaking a foreign language.
The hearing or speaking impaired will be able to seamlessly
converse with others without the need for a translator. Businessmen
of different cultures and languages will be able to converse in
conference rooms around the world without the necessity of having a
human interpreter by using the sComm system.
[0012] The sComm system provides a system for breaking down
barriers in communication for people with hearing loss or for those
who speak foreign languages by allowing such individuals to
comprehend typed language in an interactive two-way environment,
without the need for a human translator.
[0013] Broadly speaking, the invention relates to a compact and
portable interactive system for allowing person-to-person
communication in a typed language format between individuals.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the
sComm system comprises: a custom laptop configuration having a
display screen and one keyboard on each side of the laptop; and
data translations means for translating the original typed data
from a first language to a second language. The exemplary display
screen will further have a split configuration, i.e., a double
screen, either top/bottom or left/right depicting chat boxes, each
chat box dedicated to a user.
[0014] Further in accordance with an exemplary embodiment the
present invention, users of the portable sComm system will be able
to communicate directly with each other by utilizing the double
screen/double keyboard configuration and typing written text. The
typed text can be displayed, for example, in respective chat boxes
in either the originally typed language or a selected translated
language. The sComm system will be able to support multilingual
text-based conversations. In particular, a user will be able to
translate, using existing translating technology, the typed text
into other languages including, but not limited to, English,
Spanish, Chinese, German and French. As such, one chat box can
display English text and the other chat box can display the same
text but in Spanish.
[0015] Further in accordance with an exemplary embodiment the
present invention, the keyboards used in the sComm system can be a
standard keyboard or a custom keyboard. The custom keyboard can
include special shortcut keys, sign language characters, or foreign
language symbols.
[0016] Further in accordance with an exemplary embodiment the
present invention, the double screen/double keyboard laptop
configuration of the sComm will allow communicants to stand/sit
across from each other to communicate rather than attempting to
alternate use of one keyboard and screen.
[0017] Further in accordance with an exemplary embodiment the
present invention, the split screen configuration of the sComm will
allow each communicant to read what the other is saying
simultaneously as it is being typed for rapid communication.
[0018] The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including
a system, a method, or as a computer readable medium.
[0019] As a portable system for supporting multilingual text-based
conversations between two communicants, an exemplary embodiment of
the invention includes: a conversation processor, residing in the
portable sComm, for receiving and relaying the text-based messages
on the split screens; and a translation control processor, residing
in the portable sComm, for translating a text-based message from a
first language to a second language, if necessary.
[0020] As a computer-implemented method for providing multilingual
text-based conversations between two communicants, an exemplary
embodiment of the invention performs the operations of displaying a
message in a first communicant's language in one of the dialogue
boxes; determining whether the first communicant's language needs
to be translated; translating the message, if necessary, from the
first communicant's language to the second communicant's language;
and displaying the translated message in another of the dialogue
boxes.
[0021] As a computer readable medium containing program
instructions for providing multilingual text-based conversations
between two communicants, an embodiment of the invention includes:
computer readable code devices for enabling two communicants to
engage in a conversation group; computer readable code devices
providing a first message in a first communicant's language;
computer readable code devices for translating the first message
from the first communicant's language to a second communicant's
language when the two communicant's languages is not the same; and
computer readable code devices for displaying the messages on
appropriate dialogue boxes.
[0022] These and other features and advantages of this invention
are described in or are apparent from the following detailed
description of this invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] Various exemplary embodiments of this invention will be
described in detail, with reference to the following figures,
wherein:
[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a full out
view with dimensions of the sComm system in accordance with the
systems and methods of the invention;
[0025] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the sComm
system opening in accordance with the systems and methods of the
invention;
[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a closed sComm
case in accordance with the systems and methods of the
invention;
[0027] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the side view
of the sComm system in accordance with the systems and methods of
the invention;
[0028] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of one side which
is viewed by one communicant seeing both conversations
simultaneously in accordance with the systems and methods of the
invention;
[0029] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary interactive conversational
sComm device in accordance with the systems and methods of the
invention; and
[0030] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a flowchart of
a method for two-way conversation without an human translator in
accordance with the systems and methods of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0031] For a general understanding of the features of the present
invention, reference is made to the drawings, wherein like
reference numerals have been used throughout to identify identical
or similar elements. While the present invention will be described
in terms of an illustrative embodiment or embodiments, it will be
understood that he invention is adaptable to a variety of
translation applications, such that the present invention is not
necessarily limited to the particular embodiment or embodiments
shown and described herein. To the contrary, the following
description is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications,
and equivalents, as may be included within the spirit and scope of
the invention. Specially, it will be understood that the instant
invention applies to all various types of translation applications
and is not intended to be limited by the manner in which the
conversations are relayed and/or translated.
[0032] As for the principles, the specific operation of the sComm
system relates to a portable language communicator having language
translation techniques for text-based
[0033] The processors used in the sComm system 10 need not be a
single contiguous entity. Instead, the processors 602, 610, and 612
can be implemented, at least in part, as a plurality of general
purpose data processors and/or a single special purpose integrated
circuit (e.g., ASIC) or an array of ASICs each having a main or
central processor section for overall system-level control, and
separate sections dedicated to performing various specific
computations, functions and other processes under the control of
the central processor section. According to the invention, a
particular function of the processor 610 is to perform real-time or
near real-time language translation for text-based conversations. A
speech synthesizer (not shown) can also be incorporated into the
present invention giving the communicants who can not speak an
artificial voice.
[0034] The keyboard 609 is used by a user to at least input
commands and other instructions to the sComm system 10. The
keyboard controller 612 is used at least to detect and recognize
input commands, including special character keys, from the keyboard
and relay this information to the dialogue processor 602. The
dialogue processor 602 operates to at least process incoming and
outgoing textual messages in accordance with the invention so that
real-time multilingual conversations can be implemented.
[0035] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a flowchart of
a method for two-way conversation without a human translator in
accordance with the systems and methods of the invention. As shown
in FIG. 7, the process begins in step S100, and continues to step
S110, where language selection is detected on each communicants'
side. If no language selection is detected before the input of
text-data, the process defaults to the English language.
[0036] The disclosed method may be readily implemented in software
using object or object-oriented software development environments
that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of
computer hardware language characters, Japanese characters and
shortcut characters representing, for example, commonly used
expressions.
[0037] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of one
perspective of the sComm system which is viewed by one communicant
seeing both conversations simultaneously. Each communicant is able
to view both dialogue boxes and see the messages as they are typed
by each user. However, one communicant's perspective may relay the
messages in English while the other communicant's perspective may
relay the same message in another language, such as Spanish. This
allows both communicants to have a conversation even if they speak
different languages.
[0038] Each communicant will select a language before initiating
the dialogue. English can be the default language unless otherwise
noted. The dialogue boxes can be configured in a side by side
configuration, a top and bottom configuration, or alternating user
configuration. As an exemplary example, the side by side dual
screen configuration is shown in FIG. 5. Any screen configuration
which serves to enhance the dialogue between the two communicants
is within the scope of this invention. However, by having the
screens in a back to back configuration, whereas each communicant
can only see his or her side in his or her language, the
communicants are able to oppose each other thereby allowing each of
the communicant to view the expressions of the other as the
dialogue is going on.
[0039] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary interactive conversational
sComm device in accordance with the systems and methods of the
invention. The sComm device includes a dialogue processor 602, an
I/O interface 604, a memory 606, a display 608, a keyboard 609, a
translation control processor 610, and a keyboard controller 612.
While FIG. 6 shows the conversation the dialogue processor 602, the
translation control processor 610, and the keyboard controller 612
as separate units, the functions performed by these units may be
combined or may be further divided among specified processors such
as digital signal processors and/or performed by dedicated hardware
such as application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) or other
hardware implementations integrated into existing translators, for
example. The above components are coupled together through a
control/signal bus 614. While FIG. 6 shows a bus architecture,
other hardware configurations may also be possible as is well known
in the art.
[0040] In an example of utilizing the invention, a text-based
conversation initiated between an English-speaking user and a
French-speaking user can be accomplished by the English-speaking
user typing in the English message, and the message would be
translated from English to French and then sent to the opposing
display of the French-speaking user in French. When the
French-speaking user types in and sends a message, the French
message would be received by the opposing display translated and
displayed in English. Various combinations of language translation
can be utilized by this invention.
[0041] The processors used in the sComm system need not be a single
contiguous entity. Instead, the processors 602,610,612 can be
implemented, at least in part, as a plurality of general purpose
data processors and/or a single special purpose integrated circuit
(e.g., ASIC) or an array of ASICs each having a main or central
processor section for overall system-level control, and separate
sections dedicated to performing various specific computations,
functions and other processes under the control of the central
processor section. According to the invention, a particular
function of the processor 610 is to perform real-time or near
real-time language translation for text-based conversations. A
speech synthesizer (not shown) can also be incorporated into the
present invention giving the communicants who can not speak an
artificial voice.
[0042] The keyboard 609 is used by a user to at least input
commands and other instructions to the sComm system. The keyboard
controller 612 is used at least to detect and recognize input
commands, including special character keys, from the keyboard and
relay this information to the dialogue processor. The dialogue
processor 602 operates to at least process incoming and outgoing
textual messages in accordance with the invention so that real-time
multilingual conversations can be implemented.
[0043] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a flowchart of
a method for two-way conversation without an human translator in
accordance with the systems and methods of the invention. As shown
in FIG. 7, the process begins in step S100, and continues to step
S110, where language selection is detected on each communicant's
side. If no language selection is detected before the input of
text-data, the process defaults to the English language.
[0044] In step S120 the process receives the text-based data from
at least one communicant. Then the process proceeds to step S130
where the text-based data is transmitted to the opposing side in
the selected language. Then in step S140, the text-based data is
displayed in the selected language. In step S150, the process
checks for more data. If text data is detected the process jumps to
step S120, otherwise the process proceeds to step S160. In step
S160 the process ends.
[0045] The disclosed method may be readily implemented in software
using object or object-oriented software development environment
that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of
computer hardware platforms. Alternatively, the disclosed sComm
operations may be implemented partially or fully in a hardware
using standard logic circuits or VLSI designs. Whether software or
hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance with this
invention is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirements
of the system, the particular function, and the particular software
or hardware systems or microprocessors or microcomputer systems
being utilized.
[0046] The invention has been described with particularity in
connection with the embodiments. However, it should be appreciated
that many alternates, modifications and variations may be made to
the embodiments of the invention without departing from the spirit
and inventive concepts contained herein. Accordingly, the present
invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives,
modifications, and variations.
* * * * *