US 10,649,726 B2Granted

Navigation and orientation tools for speech synthesis

OwnerDror Kalisky, Sharon Carmelinventors

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Abstract

TTS is a well known technology for decades used for various applications from Artificial Call centers attendants to PC software that allows people with visual impairments or reading disabilities to listen to written works on a home computer. However to date TTS is not widely adopted for PC and Mobile users for daily reading tasks such as reading emails, reading pdf and word documents, reading through website content, and for reading books. The present invention offers new user experience for operating TTS for day to day usage. More specifically this invention describes a synchronization technique for following text being read by TTS engines and specific interfaces for touch pads, touch and multi touch screens. Nevertheless this invention also describes usage of other input methods such as touchpad, mouse, and keyboard.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A method for synchronizing speech output and display output of a text, said text being synthesized to the speech output, the method comprising:

a. receiving a text portion of the text, wherein display of an entirety of said text portion requires at least two text areas;
b. receiving a start event indicating a next text unit of said text portion to be displayed and synthesized, wherein the start event comprises moving a time indicator to a new position on a time line indicating a corresponding position of said next text unit in the text portion to be synthesized;
c. in response to the new position in a time line, calculating display parameters associated with said next text unit, wherein said display parameters are designated to synchronize, on the basis of phonemes, the speech output and the display output of said next text unit, said display parameters including:
1) a position of the next text unit in the text portion, and
2) a position of the next text unit on a time line indicating a respective point in time of the next text unit in an entire playback time of the speech output of the text portion, wherein said entire playback time is calculated by multiplying an average time required to play back synthesized speech output of a single character by a number of total characters in the text portion;
d. synchronizing, on the basis of phonemes, the speech output and the display output of the next text unit, including:
displaying an indication of the next text unit according to said display parameters, executing a text to speech synthesis of the next text unit indicated by the new position on the time line, and outputting the speech output of the next text unit, said displaying including:
i. portraying a text indicator indicating the position of the next text unit in the text portion, and
ii. portraying said time indicator indicating the position of the next text unit on the time line;
and
e. repeating steps (c)-(d) with a subsequent text unit following the next text unit, the subsequent text unit becoming the next text unit of (c) upon repetition thereof.

8 more elements

A method for synchronizing speech output and display output of a text, said text being synthesized to the speech output, the method comprising:

a) providing a display of a time line indicating an entire playback time of the speech output of the text, wherein said entire playback time is calculated by multiplying an average time required to play back synthesized speech output of a single character by a number of total characters in the text;
b) providing a display of a time indicator on the time line, wherein a position of the time indicator on the time line indicates a point in time within the entire playback time of the speech output of the text;
c) synchronizing the display of a text unit within the text that is next to be synthesized to the speech output, constituting a next text unit, with the position of the time indicator on the time line such that changing the displayed next text unit will cause the time indicator to be moved to the point on the time line corresponding to the time of the speech output corresponding to that of the next text unit and changing the position of the time indicator on the time line will cause the displayed next text unit to be that which occurs at the indicated position on the time line;
d) displaying a selected next text unit;
e) feeding the selected next text unit to a text-to-speech engine and executing a text to speech synthesis of the selected next text unit, as indicated by the position of the time indicator on the time line, thereby generating a speech output of the next text unit;
f) outputting said speech output, and
g) repeating steps (d)-(f) with a subsequent text unit following the next text unit, the subsequent text unit becoming the selected next text unit of (d) upon repetition thereof.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/678,615Filed 16 Aug 2017 · continuation
Priority: 25 Jan 2010
Published: US 2018/0032309 A11 Feb 2018
Granted: 12 May 2020
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G06F 3/167
Sound input; Sound output: audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
G06F 3/04883
Using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures: for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
G10L 13/00
Speech synthesis
G09B 5/062
With both visual and audible presentation of the material to be studied: combinations of audio and printed presentations, e.g. magnetically…

Family

Application61/297,921Us provisional application · filed 25 Jan 2010
Application61/347,575Us provisional application · filed 24 May 2010
Application13/012,989Parent of this continuation · filed 25 Jan 2011
US 2018/0032309 A1Pre-grant publication · published 1 Feb 2018
US 2011/0184738 A1Published application
US 10,649,726 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.