Patent ID: 6434526
Filing Date: 2002-08-13
Classification: G10L

Abstract:
A speech recognition system for network provided services comprising:a private network permitting access to only network subscribers, which private network contains an application software service application specific software, located at a central location, that is provided through a network server to multiple independent clients at various client locations, each client location connected to the network through a client computer; a first transducer in each client location for transduction of voice messages by users of the computers; a second transducer in the client location for transcription of digital print character message by users of the computers; analog to digital data conversion software in each client location for converting analog voice messages into digital speech data and combining the digital speech data with linkage information identifying the digital data as speech data and the client and user source of the digital speech data; a data link connecting the client computer to a network server at the central location to transfer digital data to the network; a speech server containing speech recognition software at the central location for the simultaneous receipt and handling of the digital speech data from the client locations and converting the digital speech data to digital data representative of print messages, said speech recognition software including a speech engine, a speech library and a speech template for each of the users of the speech recognition software; speech manager at the central location for providing speech services to multiple users at the same time by dividing digital speech data from the various client locations into packets at the central location on the basis of the traffic pattern of users trying to use the speech server, each packet containing digital speech data and an ID identifying the user said speech manager interleaving the packets containing the digital speech data from multiple simultaneous users and transferring the packets to the speech engine so that the packets from users share the speech engine on a first in first out basis; decoding circuitry at the central location responsive to the linkage information in the packets to provide the speech data to the speech engine and to select the proper speech template for the user to be used with the speech library in converting digital speech data to digital data representative of print; and routing circuitry using the linkage information to direct the printed message data to an appropriate client computer location so that the independent clients can be provided with the textual transmission of their voice messages.