U.S. patent application number 13/768918 was filed with the patent office on 2013-06-20 for methods and apparatuses related to text caption error correction.
This patent application is currently assigned to Sorenson Communications, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Sorenson Communications, Inc.. Invention is credited to Scot Lorin Brooksby, Brian Chevrier, Robert Cochran Puzey, Joseph N. Romriell, Shane Arthur Roylance.
Application Number | 20130158995 13/768918 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44062075 |
Filed Date | 2013-06-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130158995 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Romriell; Joseph N. ; et
al. |
June 20, 2013 |
METHODS AND APPARATUSES RELATED TO TEXT CAPTION ERROR
CORRECTION
Abstract
Systems and methods related to providing error correction in a
text caption are disclosed. A method may comprise displaying a text
caption including one or more blocks of text on each of a first
device and a second device remote from the first device. The method
may also include generating another block of text and replacing a
block of text of the text caption with the another block of text.
Furthermore, the method may include displaying the text caption on
the second device having the block of text of the first text
caption replaced by the another block of text.
Inventors: |
Romriell; Joseph N.; (Salt
Lake City, UT) ; Brooksby; Scot Lorin; (Highland,
UT) ; Roylance; Shane Arthur; (Farmington, UT)
; Chevrier; Brian; (Highland, UT) ; Puzey; Robert
Cochran; (North Ogden, UT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Sorenson Communications, Inc.; |
Salt Lake City |
UT |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Sorenson Communications,
Inc.
Salt Lake City
UT
|
Family ID: |
44062075 |
Appl. No.: |
13/768918 |
Filed: |
February 15, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12624973 |
Nov 24, 2009 |
8379801 |
|
|
13768918 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
704/235 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 12/66 20130101;
G10L 15/26 20130101; G06F 40/232 20200101; G06F 40/279 20200101;
G09B 21/009 20130101; G06F 40/166 20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
704/235 |
International
Class: |
G10L 15/26 20060101
G10L015/26 |
Claims
1. A method of providing error correction in a text caption, the
method comprising: displaying a text caption on a communication
device, the text caption including one or more blocks of text
representing a text transcription of a real-time voice signal;
receiving another block of text, wherein the another block of text
is a correction for an error in a first block of text within the
text caption; and displaying the another block of text within the
text caption on the communication device at a location within the
text caption that corresponds to a proper location within the text
caption as produced by the real-time voice signal, wherein
displaying the another block of text includes indicating that the
another block of text is the correction for the error in the first
block of text.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein further comprising replacing the
first block of text with the another block of text such that the
another block of text is displayed in place of the first block of
text within the text caption.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein indicating that the another block
of text is the correction for the error in the first block of text
includes tagging the another block of text within the text
caption.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein tagging the another block of text
comprises highlighting the another block of text within the text
caption.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the
real-time voice signal from a first additional communication device
and transmitting the real-time voice signal to a second additional
communication device.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising receiving the text
caption from the second additional communication device, wherein
receiving another block of text includes receiving the another
block of text from the second additional communication device.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving the real-time voice
signal and receiving one or more blocks of text for the text
caption occurs at least substantially simultaneously.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving the real-time voice
signal and receiving one or more blocks of text for the text
caption occurs within three seconds of each other.
9. A method of providing error correction in a text caption, the
method comprising: receiving a voice signal; generating a text
transcription of the voice signal in real-time as the voice signal
is being received; transmitting at least a portion of the text
transcription to a communication device as the voice signal is
being received; identifying an error within the at least a portion
of the text transcription that has been transmitted to the
communication device; and transmitting a block of text to the
communication device as an inline correction for the error for the
communication device to indicate that the block of text is a
correction for another block of text within the portion of the text
transcription that has been transmitted to the communication
device.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the error is a disagreement
between the text transcription and what was stated in the voice
signal.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein identifying an error includes a
call assistant inputting the block of text to be transmitted to the
communication device.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein identifying an error occurs for
a most recent block of text of the text transcription that has been
transmitted to the communication device.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein identifying an error occurs for
a block of text of the text transcription that has been transmitted
to the communication device after one or more subsequent blocks of
text have been transmitted to the communication device.
14. A captioning apparatus, comprising: an electronic display; and
a processor operably coupled with the electronic display, the
processor programmed to: receive and display, on the electronic
display, a text caption corresponding to a text transcription of a
voice signal during communication between at least two parties; and
receive and display, on the electronic display, corrected text for
at least one block of text within the text caption during
communication between the at least two parties, the corrected text
being displayed within blocks of text of the text caption that have
previously been displayed with an indication that the corrected
text has been added to the text caption.
15. The captioning apparatus of claim 14, wherein the corrected
text is displayed on the electronic display as a replacement for a
first block of text within the text caption.
16. The captioning apparatus of claim 14, wherein processor is
programmed to display, on the electronic display, the corrected
text with an identifier that the corrected text has been
subsequently added within blocks of text of the text caption that
have previously been displayed.
17. The captioning apparatus of claim 16, wherein the identifier is
selected from the group consisting of a mark, a tag, and
highlighted text.
18. The captioning apparatus of claim 14, further comprising at
least one of a captioned telephone and a telephone enabled for
text-enhanced telephony that includes the electronic display and
the processor.
19. A captioning apparatus, comprising: an electronic display; and
a processor operably coupled with the electronic display, the
processor programmed to: generate a text transcription of a voice
signal during real-time communication between at least two parties;
transmit at least a portion of the text transcription to a
communication device; identify an error within the at least a
portion of the text transcription that has been transmitted to the
communication device; and transmit another block of text to the
communication device during the real-time communication as an
inline correction for the error for the communication device to
indicate that the another block of text is a correction for a first
block of text within the portion of the text transcription that has
been transmitted to the communication device.
20. The captioning apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first block
of text and the another block of text are selected from the group
consisting of at least one word, at least one sentence, and at
least one line of text.
21. The captioning apparatus of claim 19, wherein the inline
correction includes the another block of text being a replacement
for the first block of text.
22. The captioning apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a
relay service including a communication device that includes the
electronic display and the processor.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/624,973, filed Nov. 24, 2009, pending,
which will issue as U.S. Pat. No. 8,379,801 on Feb. 19, 2013, the
disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference
in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] Embodiments of the disclosure relate generally to text
captioning and more specifically to correction of errors within a
text caption.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Modern telecommunication services provide features to assist
those who are deaf or hearing-impaired. One such feature is a
telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD). Hearing-capable users
communicate with hearing-impaired users who are users of TDD
devices through so-called "relays." A relay is a telecommunication
intermediary service, which is intended to permit a deaf or a
hearing-impaired person to utilize a normal telephone network. A
relay service may include an operator, referred to as a "call
assistant," who serves as a human intermediary between a hearing
user and a hearing-impaired user. The call assistant communicates
with the hearing-impaired user using a TDD and communicates with
the hearing user by voice over a standard telephone line.
[0004] A text captioned telephone system employs a relay service in
a mode where the relay transmits both the voice of the hearing user
and a text stream of the words spoken by the hearing user. A
hearing-impaired user using a text captioned telephone, or
telephone enabled to do text enhanced telephony, may carry on a
normal telephone conversation with a hearing user while a text
transcription of the words spoken by the hearing user is displayed
on the text captioned telephone. The text transcription may allow
the hearing-impaired user to confirm his or her understanding of
the words spoken by the hearing user.
[0005] More specifically, during a communication session, a call
assistant may listen to the voice signal of a hearing user and
"revoice" the words to a speech recognition computer program tuned
to that call assistant's voice. A text transcription output from
the speech recognition computer is then transmitted to the text
captioned telephone being used by the hearing-impaired user. Even
with revoicing provided by a trained call assistant, the text
transcription received by the hearing-impaired user may include
errors. Therefore, correction of the errors within the text
transcription may be required.
[0006] According to various conventional methods, errors within a
text caption are corrected by either backspacing an error in a text
caption and displaying corrected text or providing a corrected
portion (e.g., a word or a sentence) at the end of a previously
provided text caption. Although, backspacing an error in a text
caption and displaying corrected text may provide a
hearing-impaired user with a context for the correction, this
method is distracting to a hearing-impaired user and interrupts the
continuity of a conversation between a hearing-impaired user and a
hearing user. Further, providing a corrected portion at the end of
a previously provided text caption not only interrupts the
continuity of a conversation but also fails to provide context of
the correction to the hearing-impaired user. Therefore, a
hearing-impaired user must determine where the corrected text
should be inserted into the previously provided text caption.
[0007] A need exists to improve text correction of a text
captioning system. Specifically, there is a need for methods of
providing text caption correction while providing a user with
context of a correction and without distracting the user or
interrupting the continuity of a conversation between a
hearing-impaired user and a hearing user.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0008] In one embodiment of the disclosure, a method of providing
error correction in a text caption is disclosed. The method may
comprise displaying a text caption including one or more blocks of
text on each of a first device and a second device remote from the
first device. The method may also include generating another block
of text and replacing a block of text of the text caption with the
another block of text. Furthermore, the method may include
displaying the text caption on the second device having the block
of text of the first text caption replaced by the another block of
text.
[0009] In another embodiment of the disclosure, a communication
system is provided. The communication system may include a
plurality of devices, wherein each device of the plurality includes
a processor and a computer-readable medium coupled to the
processor. The communication system may further include a plurality
of application programs, wherein each application program is stored
in an associated computer-readable medium. When executed by the
processor, one or more application programs are configured to
display a text caption including one or more blocks of text on a
display device of each of a first device of the plurality of
devices and a second device of the plurality of devices. One or
more application programs may be configured to generate another
block of text and replace one block of text of the text caption
with the another block of text. Furthermore, one or more
application programs may be configured to display the corrected
text caption on the display device of the second device, wherein
the at least one block of text of the text caption is replaced by
the another block of text.
[0010] Another embodiment of the disclosure may include a
computer-readable media storage medium storing instructions that
when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform
instructions in accordance with one or more embodiments of the
disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a hearing-impaired communication system,
in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the communication system of
FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates a text caption including errors;
[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates a corrected block of text;
[0015] FIG. 5 illustrates a corrected text caption including
corrected text and further including identified corrected words, in
accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure; and
[0016] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of providing
error correction within a text caption, according to an embodiment
of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] In the following detailed description, reference is made to
the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and, in which is
shown by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the
invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in
sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to
practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other
embodiments may be utilized, and that structural, logical, and
electrical changes may be made within the scope of the
disclosure.
[0018] In this description, functions may be shown in block diagram
form in order not to obscure the disclosure in unnecessary detail.
Furthermore, specific implementations shown and described are only
examples and should not be construed as the only way to implement
the disclosure unless specified otherwise herein. Block definitions
and partitioning of logic between various blocks represent a
specific implementation. It will be readily apparent to one of
ordinary skill in the art that the various embodiments of the
disclosure may be practiced by numerous other partitioning
solutions. For the most part, details concerning timing
considerations, and the like, have been omitted where such details
are not necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the
disclosure in its various embodiments and are within the abilities
of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.
[0019] Referring in general to the following description and
accompanying drawings, various aspects of the disclosure are
illustrated to show its structure and method of operation. Common
elements of the illustrated embodiments are designated with like
numerals. It should be understood the figures presented are not
meant to be illustrative of actual views of any particular portion
of the actual structure or method, but are merely idealized
representations which are employed to more clearly and fully depict
the disclosure.
[0020] When executed as firmware or software, the instructions for
performing the methods and processes described herein may be stored
on a computer readable medium. A computer readable medium includes,
but is not limited to, magnetic and optical storage devices such as
disk drives, magnetic tape, CDs (compact disks), DVDs (digital
versatile discs or digital video discs), and semiconductor devices
such as RAM, DRAM, ROM, EPROM, and Flash memory.
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates a communication system 100 configured to
facilitate a communication session between a hearing-impaired user
and a hearing-capable user, in accordance with one or more
embodiments of the disclosure. Communication system 100 may include
communication device 120, communication device 190, and a relay
service 110. Communication device 190 may be coupled to
communication device 120 via a network 180 and communication device
120 may be coupled to relay service 110 via a network 170. For
example only, network 170 and network 180 may each be implemented
according to the standards and bandwidth requirements of a
telephone network such as the Public Switch Telephone Network
(PSTN). The use of the term "telephone network" as used herein also
contemplates networks that are compatible and configured to provide
communications using digital standards, an example of which
includes Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). By way of example and
not limitation, enhanced bandwidth requirements of various
communication devices may be better accommodated by providing high
bandwidth networks and connections thereto through various
enhanced-bandwidth networking technology including DSL, Cable,
Ethernet, etc.
[0022] As described more fully below, relay service 110 may be
configured to provide interpretive services to hearing-impaired
user 140. More specifically, a human "call assistant" within relay
service 110 may be employed to facilitate a communication session
between a hearing-impaired user 140 and a hearing-capable user 160.
By way of example only, communication device 190 may comprise a
conventional voice phone. As such, hearing-capable user 160 may
interact in a conventional manner with communication device 120
through the use of a voice-based dialogue conveyed over
communication device 190. The voice of hearing-capable user 160 may
be conveyed over communication device 190 and may be transmitted
over network 180 to communication device 120. Furthermore, the
voice conveyed over communication device 190 may be transmitted
through communication device 120, over network 170, and to relay
service 110.
[0023] By way of example, communication device 120 may include a
captioned telephone, a telephone enabled for text enhanced
telephony, or any other suitable communication device configured to
receive and display text. Hearing-impaired user 140 may interact in
a conventional manner with communication device 190 through the use
of a voice-based dialogue conveyed over communication device 120.
Furtherer more, as described more fully below, communication device
120 may be configured to receive and display a text transcription
of a voice signal sent from relay service 110 via network 170.
[0024] In various embodiments of the disclosure, instructions
implementing an "application program" may be tangibly embodied in a
computer-readable medium which may include one or more fixed or
removable data storage devices, such as a zip drive, floppy disc
drive, hard drive, CD-ROM drive, tape drive, flash memory device,
etc. Further, an application program may include instructions that,
when read and executed by a processor, may cause the processor to
perform the steps necessary to implement and/or use embodiments of
the disclosure. An application program and/or operating
instructions may also be tangibly embodied in a memory and/or data
communications devices, thereby making a computer program product
or article of manufacture according to an embodiment the
disclosure. As such, the term "application program" as used herein
is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any
computer readable device or media. Furthermore, portions of an
application program may be distributed such that some of the
application program may be included on a computer readable media
within a processor-based device (e.g., device 102 or device 152)
and some of the application program may be included in a removable
data storage device.
[0025] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of communication system
100. As illustrated, relay service 110 may include a display device
132 coupled to a processor-based device 102 comprising a processor
104 and a memory 106, such as random access memory (RAM). Device
102 may also implement a compiler (not shown) that allows an
application program 108 written in a programming language to be
translated into processor 104 readable code. Application program
108 may be configured to access and manipulate data stored in
memory 106 of device 102 using relationships and logic that are
generated using the compiler.
[0026] Communication device 120 may include a display device 134
and a processor-based device 152 comprising a processor 154 and a
memory 156, such as random access memory (RAM). Device 152 may also
implement a compiler (not shown) that allows an application program
118 to be translated into processor 104 readable code. Application
program 118 may be configured to access and manipulate data stored
in memory 156 of device 152 using relationships and logic that are
generated using the compiler.
[0027] During a contemplated operation of communication system 100,
hearing-capable user 160 (see FIG. 1) may convey speech into
communication device 190, which may then transmit an associated
voice signal to communication device 120 over network 180.
Communication device 120 may then transmit the voice signal to
relay service 110. Upon receipt of a voice signal, a human call
assistant (not shown) positioned within relay service 110, may
listen to the voice signal transmitted from communication device
120 and "revoice" the words to a speech recognition computer
program (not shown) within relay service 110. As will be understood
by one having ordinary skill in the art, revoicing is an operation
in which the call assistant repeats the words she or he hears upon
receipt of the voice signal. The speech recognition program may
then output a text transcription of the call assistant's spoken
words and, thereafter, the text transcription may be transmitted to
communication device 120 via network 170. Hereinafter, a text
transcription output from a speed recognition program may also be
commonly referred to as a "block" of text. For example, a block of
text may comprise one or more words, one or more sentences, one or
more lines of text, or any combination thereof.
[0028] Hearing-impaired user 140 (see FIG. 1) positioned proximate
communication device 120 may receive, via network 180, the voice
signal transmitted from communication device 190. Furthermore, a
block of a text output from the speech recognition program and
associated with the transmitted voice signal may be displayed
within a text caption on display device 134 as it is sent from
relay service 110 and received by communication device 120. As a
result, hearing-impaired user 140 may listen to the voice signal
transmitted from communication device 190 and, immediately
thereafter, receive a block of text associated with the voice
signal. In order to enhance the effectiveness of communication
system 100, it is desirable for hearing-impaired user 140 to either
receive the block of text as close to real-time as possible, or as
close as possible to simultaneous receipt of the voice signal. For
example only, hearing-impaired user 140 may listen to the voice
signal transmitted from communication device 190 and, within three
second or less, receive a block of text associated with the voice
signal.
[0029] Furthermore, it should be noted that a block of text, as
output from the speech recognition program and as transmitted to
and displayed within a text caption on display device 134, may also
be displayed within a text caption displayed on display device 132.
As a result, the call assistant may view the text caption,
including one or more blocks of text, as displayed on display
device 134 and as viewed by hearing-impaired user 140. Therefore,
any errors that may exist in the text caption displayed on display
device 134 may also be visible to the communication assistant on
display device 132.
[0030] In accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure,
application program 108 may be configured to provide in-line
correction of any errors that may be detected within a text caption
displayed on display device 134. Stated another way, application
program 108 may be configured to replace any detected errors within
a displayed text caption with corrected text. More specifically, in
the event the call assistant notices one or more errors within a
block of text of the text caption as displayed on each of display
device 134 and display device 132, the call assistant may edit the
block of text including the one or more errors through input into
device 102 to correct the one or more errors. For example only, the
call assistant may edit a block of text through input into a
keyboard (e.g., selecting and replacing text, inserting text,
and/or deleting text). As a result, a corrected block of text
including one or more corrected words may be generated. Thereafter,
the corrected block of text including the one or more corrected
words may be sent to communication device 120. Upon receipt of the
corrected block of text at communication device 120, application
program 118 may be configured to replace the block of text
including the one or more errors with the associated corrected
block of text. Furthermore, substantially simultaneously upon
replacing the block of text including the one or more errors with
the associated corrected block of text, application program 118 may
be configured to display the corrected text caption on display
device 134.
[0031] Furthermore, in order to make a correction more obvious to a
hearing-impaired user reading the text caption, application program
108 may further be configured to identify each corrected word
within the text caption with an identifier (e.g., a mark or a tag).
By way of example and not by way of limitation, application program
108 may be configured to identify each corrected word by
highlighting each corrected word displayed in a text caption on
display device 134.
[0032] With reference to FIG. 3, a text caption 310 including a
plurality of errors is depicted. Furthermore, as illustrated, text
caption 310 includes blocks of text 312, 314, and 316. For example,
each block of text 312, 314, and 316 may be generated by a speech
recognition program and subsequently transmitted from relay service
110 and received by and displayed within text caption 310 displayed
on display device 134 (see FIG. 2). Furthermore, text caption 310
may be displayed on display device 132 within relay service 110
(see FIG. 2) visible to a call assistant. In the event the call
assistant notices one or more errors within text caption 310, the
call assistant may edit the text displayed on display device 132
through input into device 102 to correct the one or more errors
and, as a result, may generate a corrected block of text including
one or more corrected words. For example, with reference to FIGS. 3
and 4, a call assistant may recognize one or more errors within
block 314 and, thereafter, generate a corrected block of text 414
including one or more corrected words 414 and 416. Thereafter,
corrected block of text 414 may be transmitted from relay service
110 and received by communication device 120. Block of text 314 may
then be replaced by corrected block of text 414, as illustrated in
text caption 510 (see FIG. 5). Further, as illustrated in FIG. 5,
application program 118 (see FIG. 2) may be configured to display
corrected words (i.e., words 414 and 416) within text caption 510
with a marking (i.e., a tag), such as a highlight 520.
[0033] It should be noted that a block of text including one or
more corrected words may be sent at any suitable time after the
call assistant has identified one or more errors and made
associated corrections. For example, the call assistant may notice
one or more errors in the most recently sent block of text, correct
the one or more errors, and transmit a corrected block of text
including one or more corrected words prior to sending another
block of text. On the other hand, the call assistant may not notice
one or more errors in a block of text until after one or more
blocks have subsequently been sent. In any event, any block of text
displayed on a display device 134 (see FIG. 2) may be replaced with
a corrected block of text including one or more corrected
words.
[0034] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method 600 of
correcting one or more textual errors within a text caption, in
accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure. Method
600 may include displaying a text caption including one or more
blocks of text on each of a first device and a second device 612.
Moreover, method 600 may include identifying one or more errors
within a block of text within text caption 602 and generating a new
block of text having corrected word for each identified error 604.
Method 600 may further include replacing the block of text having
the one or more errors with the new block of text in the text
caption 606. In addition, method 600 may include displaying the
text caption on the second device wherein the block of text having
the one or more errors is replaced by the new block of text 608. In
addition, method 600 may include tagging each corrected word
displayed within the text caption 610.
[0035] As described above in various embodiments of the disclosure,
an error detected in a text caption may be replaced with corrected
text (i.e., "in-line" correction) and, therefore, in comparison to
conventional text caption correction methods, a user viewing the
text caption may be provided with a context of the error
correction. Stated another way, upon completion of an error
correction within a text caption, a reader may understand how the
correction relates to the text caption as a whole and will not be
required to guess as to where the correction belongs within the
text caption or how the correction applies to the text caption.
Furthermore, in comparison to conventional text caption correction
methods, in-line correction of a text caption may reduce
distractions to a hearing-impaired user and, therefore,
interruptions in the flow of conversation between a hearing-capable
user and a hearing-impaired user may be reduced.
[0036] While the disclosure has been described herein with respect
to certain preferred embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the
art will recognize and appreciate that it is not so limited.
Rather, many additions, deletions, and modifications to the
preferred embodiments may be made without departing from the scope
of the invention as hereinafter claimed. In addition, features from
one embodiment may be combined with features of another embodiment
while still being encompassed within the scope of the invention as
contemplated by the inventors.
* * * * *