Abstract:
A mobile communications terminal, and particularly, a device for sending and receiving voice call contents capable of sending and storing the voice call contents, and a method thereof, wherein the device for sending and receiving voice call contents comprises a first mobile communications terminal for converting voice call contents into text information and sending the converted text information; and a second mobile communications terminal for receiving the text information from the first mobile communications terminal and storing the received text information.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(a), this application claims the benefit of earlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application No. 10-2005-0050017, filed Jun. 10, 2005, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a mobile communications terminal, and particularly, to a device and method for sending and receiving voice call contents which is capable of sending and storing voice call contents.  
         [0004]     2. Background of the Invention  
         [0005]     In general, a voice recognition is executed such that a speaker&#39;s voice waveform is analyzed to extract the characteristic of the waveform as an information element and to regard a timely change in the waveform as a pattern, thereby recognizing voice. That is, the voice recognition is executed so that reference patterns of voice related to words which have previously been analyzed and registered can be compared with a pattern obtained by analyzing an unknown input voice, to thusly find the most similar pattern from which the corresponding information element is then extracted.  
         [0006]     The related art mobile communications terminal uses the voice recognition to analyze a user&#39;s voice and extracts an information element from the analyzed voice to thereafter use the extracted information in a phone number registration.  
         [0007]     In the related art mobile communications terminal, a voice recognition apparatus is operated such that a user&#39;s voice is received to perform the voice recognition therefor, and a voice-recognized string is compared with a certain string, whereby if the two strings are equal to each other, a number extracted by recognizing the voice is displayed on a screen. However, in the related art voice recognition apparatus, the voice recognition is performed by receiving every voice (audio) signal generated during a call, and accordingly a load is generated in the mobile communications terminal, which causes a performance degradation and unnecessary voice recognition.  
         [0008]     Furthermore, every voice is analyzed during the call and information related to the analyzed voice is stored, and thereby unnecessary information may also be stored. As a result, the mobile communications terminal having a limited processing capability may inefficiently use its memory or storage unit for the voice recognition operation.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a device and method for sending and receiving voice call contents which is capable of storing and sending voice information inputted during a call, if necessary.  
         [0010]     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided an device for sending and receiving voice call contents comprising: a first mobile communications terminal for converting voice call contents into text information and sending the converted text information; and a second mobile communications terminal for receiving the text information from the first mobile communications terminal and storing the received text information.  
         [0011]     According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a device for sending voice call contents comprising: a keypad having a voice recognition button; and a controller for analyzing voice inputted by activating a voice recognition function by operating the voice recognition button during a call, and for then sending text information corresponding to the analyzed voice to another party&#39;s mobile communications terminal.  
         [0012]     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, there is provided a method for sending and receiving voice call contents comprising: converting voice inputted during a call into text information and thereafter sending the converted text information to another party&#39;s mobile communications terminal; and receiving and storing the text information in the another party&#39;s mobile communications terminal.  
         [0013]     According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for sending and receiving voice call contents comprising: activating a voice recognition function by operating a voice recognition button; and converting voice inputted during a call into text information in the state that the voice recognition function has been activated to thus send the converted text information to another party&#39;s mobile communications terminal.  
         [0014]     The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
         [0016]     In the drawings:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is an exemplary view schematically illustrating a device for sending and receiving voice call contents in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a device for sending and receiving voice call contents in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is an exemplary view illustrating a position of a voice recognition button provided on a keypad;  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is an exemplary view implementing a voice recognition button as a soft button;  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a method for sending and receiving voice call contents in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is an exemplary view illustrating a screen conversion by a voice recognition in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0023]     Call comments may denote voice call contents transmitted and received between mobile communications terminals during a call.  
         [0024]     Description will now be given in detail of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0025]      FIG. 1  is an exemplary view schematically illustrating a device for sending and receiving voice call contents in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0026]     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , first and second mobile communications terminals  100  and  200  are in a call state. Here, a user of the first mobile communications terminal  100  or of the second mobile communications terminal  200  sends certain voice call contents in a format of text information during the call.  
         [0027]     For example, when the first mobile communications terminal  100  sends voice call contents to desirably send to the second mobile communications terminal  200  in a format of text information, the first mobile communications terminal  100  sends to the second mobile communications terminal  200  voice call contents in the text information from a voice recognition function being activated to the voice recognition function being deactivated. The text information may preferably be able to be sent by using a short messaging service.  
         [0028]     Then, the text information sent from the first mobile communications terminal  100  is received and stored in the second mobile communications terminal  200 . Here, the second mobile communications terminal  200  receives text information and displays the received text information, which is similar to an operation for receiving and displaying typical short messages, explanation for which will thusly be omitted.  
         [0029]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a device for sending and receiving voice call contents in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0030]     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a keypad  10  is provided with keys for inputting numerals and text information and function buttons for setting various functions. The keypad  10  also has a voice recognition button.  
         [0031]     A controller  20  controls an overall operation of the mobile communications terminal. The controller  20  analyzes by use of a voice recognizing unit  30  voice call contents inputted during a call in a state that a voice recognition function has been activated by operating the voice recognition button. The controller  20  then controls an overall operation of the mobile communications terminal to send text information corresponding to the analyzed voice to another party&#39;s mobile communications terminal. The controller  20  also controls an operation for composing a message including the text information to then send it to the another party&#39;s terminal. In addition, the controller  20  may include the voice recognizing unit  30  and a message transceiver  50 .  
         [0032]     The voice recognizing unit  30  analyzes voice during a call in a state that the voice recognition function has been activated.  
         [0033]     A display  40  displays messages generated while performing a program under control of the controller  20 . The display  40  also displays user data according to an operation of the mobile communications terminal. In addition, the display  40  displays screen data according to a process for composing and sending a message including text information by use of the voice recognition function. The display  40  also displays a message including text information received from the another party&#39;s terminal. The received message denotes a message including text information corresponding to voice recognized during the call. Here, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) may commonly be used as the display  40 . In this case, the display  40  may include an LCD controller, a memory for storing image data and an LCD device. Here, when the LCD may be implemented in a touch screen manner, the keypad  10  and the LCD may be used as an input unit.  
         [0034]     The message transceiver  50  is used to send the message to the another party&#39;s terminal or to receive a message sent by the another party&#39;s terminal.  
         [0035]     When the voice recognition function is activated by operating a voice recognition button, the mobile communications terminal having such configuration composes a message including text information corresponding to the recognized voice to send it to the another party&#39;s terminal.  
         [0036]     The mobile communications terminal has the voice recognition button on the keypad  10 . When the voice recognition button on the keypad  10  is entered, the voice recognition function is activated. However, upon entering the voice recognition button in a state that the voice recognition function has been activated, the voice recognition function is deactivated. The keypad  10  outputs key data generated by entering the voice recognition button to the controller  20 . The conversion of activation/deactivation of the voice recognition function depends on the state of the voice recognition function.  
         [0037]      FIG. 3  is an exemplary view illustrating a position of a voice recognition button provided on a keypad.  
         [0038]     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , a voice recognition button  11  provided on the keypad  10  is allocated to one of function buttons to thus make it convenient to use the voice recognition button  11  during a call. The voice recognition button  11  may be represented by displaying a hot logo on the voice recognition button  11 . Also, the voice recognition button  11  may be arranged at a position where it does not interrupt the call to conveniently operate the button during the call.  
         [0039]     In stead of arranging the voice recognition button  11  on the keypad  10 , a side key may be used as the voice recognition button  11 .  
         [0040]     In another embodiment, the voice recognition button may not be arranged on the keypad  10  of the mobile communications terminal, but a voice recognition soft button may rather be displayed at a lower end of a call screen to activate/deactivate the voice recognition function by operating the soft button.  
         [0041]      FIG. 4  is an exemplary view implementing a voice recognition button as a soft button.  
         [0042]     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a mobile communications terminal displays a voice recognition menu at a lower end of a call screen. When the voice recognition menu is selected by operating the soft button, the mobile communications terminal executes the voice recognition during a call. Upon executing the voice recognition, the mobile communications terminal displays the recognition stopping menu at the lower end of the call screen.  
         [0043]     It is assumed that a user enters the voice recognition button  11  in a call state with another party, and converts his voice into text information to send a message including the converted text information to the another party.  
         [0044]     When it is certified that the user has entered the voice recognition button  11  on the keypad  10  of the mobile communications terminal, a voice recognition request is transferred to the controller  20 . The controller  20  then receives the voice recognition request and sends a voice recognition activation signal to the voice recognizing unit  30 .  
         [0045]     The controller  20  then displays on the display  40  that the voice recognition function has been activated, and displays a voice recognition activation message on a screen. In another embodiment, the controller  20  may output through a speaker a signal (e.g., a sound, a message, etc.) indicating that the voice recognition has been activated to thus inform it to the user.  
         [0046]     The voice recognizing unit  30  analyzes a waveform of the user&#39;s voice by the voice recognition activation signal and compares the analyzed waveform characteristic with a reference pattern, to thus extract text information. The voice recognizing unit  30  then transfers the extracted text information to the display  40  to display the text information on a screen by the display  40 . The user confirms the text information displayed on the screen to be informed of the result of the voice recognition.  
         [0047]     Afterwards, it is assumed that the user stops the voice recognition function by entering the voice recognition button  11  and transfers text information to the another party.  
         [0048]     When it is certified that the voice recognition button  11  on the keypad  10  has been entered in the activated state that the voice recognition function, a voice recognition stopping request is transferred to the controller  20 . The controller  20  receives the voice recognition stopping request and transfers a voice recognition deactivation signal to the voice recognizing unit  30 .  
         [0049]     When receiving the voice recognition deactivation signal, the voice recognizing unit  30  stores the voice-recognized text information in a storage unit. The controller  20  informs the display  40  and the message transceiver  50  that the voice recognition function has been deactivated. The display  40  displays a voice recognition deactivation message on the screen. The controller  20  outputs a voice recognition deactivation message through the speaker rather than the deactivation message on the screen, to inform the user of the voice recognition stopping.  
         [0050]     The message transceiver  50  composes a message including the text information voice-recognized by the voice recognizing unit  30 , and sends it to the another party&#39;s terminal currently in the call state.  
         [0051]     The message transceiver  50  displays the message received from the another party&#39;s terminal on the screen to output the voice-recognized text information. The message transceiver  50  certifies a phone number of the another party&#39;s terminal currently in the call state, and designates the phone number as a target to which a message is to be sent. The message transceiver  50  then sends the message including the voice-recognized text information.  
         [0052]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a method for sending and receiving voice call contents in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0053]     As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a method for sending and receiving voice call contents in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise activating/deactivating a voice recognition function by entering a voice recognition button, executing a voice recognition by receiving a user&#39;s voice in an activated state of the voice recognition function, displaying a voice recognition executing message on a call screen upon executing the voice recognition, stopping the voice recognition when it is certified that a voice recognition button has been entered in the activated state of the voice recognition, storing voice-recognized text information in a memory and displaying on a screen that the voice recognition has been deactivated, and composing a message including the voice-recognized text information to send it to another party&#39;s terminal currently in a call state.  
         [0054]     The method for sending and receiving voice call contents will now be explained in detail. In order to explain in detail the steps, it may be assumed that a user is being communicated with another party and the user uses a voice recognition function when sending his phone number information to the another party.  
         [0055]     The mobile communications terminal may regarded as the controller  20  for controlling the overall operation of the mobile communications terminal herebelow.  
         [0056]     First, when it is certified that a voice recognition button has been entered during a call in the mobile communications terminal, a voice recognition function is activated. When the voice recognition button is entered in the activated state of the voice recognition function, the voice recognition function is deactivated.  
         [0057]     That is, by pressing the voice recognition button, the mobile communications terminal controls the conversion into the activation and deactivation of the voice recognition function, so as to initiate or stop the voice recognition.  
         [0058]     In order for the user to enter the voice recognition button while he is calling without stopping the call, the voice recognition button is arranged in a function button to make it convenient to use the voice recognition button during the call. In addition, the voice recognition button may be represented by displaying a hot logo on the voice recognition button, and the user confirms the position of the voice recognition button by the hot logo displayed on the keypad.  
         [0059]     In another embodiment, the voice recognition button may not be arranged on the keypad  10  of the mobile communications terminal, but a voice recognition soft button may rather be displayed at a lower end of a call screen to activate/deactivate the voice recognition function by operating the soft button.  
         [0060]     When a call connection is successfully performed between a user and another party, the mobile communications terminal displays a voice recognition soft button at a lower end of a call screen, and activates or deactivates the voice recognition function by determining whether the soft button has been inputted.  
         [0061]     In still another embodiment, the mobile communications terminal activates the voice recognition function by determining whether the voice recognition button has been entered longer than a certain time, and deactivates the voice recognition function by pressing a voice recognition stopping button. In order to prevent an erroneous input of the voice recognition button during the call, the mobile communications terminal determines whether the voice recognition button has been entered (pressed) longer than a certain time. If it has been pressed longer than the certain time, the mobile communications terminal activates the voice recognition function.  
         [0062]     It is assumed that the user enters the voice recognition button while being communicating with the another party and converts his voice into text information to thereafter send a message including the converted text information to the another party. The user activates the voice recognition function by entering the voice recognition button before speaking his phone number to notify it to the another party.  
         [0063]     The mobile communications terminal confirms whether the voice recognition button has been entered. If it is confirmed that the voice recognition button has been entered, the mobile communications terminal activates the voice recognition function to execute the voice recognition by receiving the user&#39;s voice. Upon executing the voice recognition, the mobile communications terminal displays a voice recognition executing message on the call screen. The mobile communications terminal, in another embodiment, informs the user of the execution of the voice recognition by outputting a signal (or a sound, a message, etc.) indicating the execution of the voice recognition.  
         [0064]     The mobile communications terminal displays a time taken by executing the voice recognition from the moment when the voice recognition is initiated, and then displays on the screen the voice-recognized result obtained during the voice recognition being executed. The mobile communications terminal analyzes a waveform of the user&#39;s voice, and compares the characteristic of the analyzed waveform with a reference pattern, thereby extracting text information. The mobile communications terminal then displays the extracted text information on a screen. The user confirms the text information displayed on the screen to acknowledge the voice recognition result.  
         [0065]     It is then assumed that the user stops the voice recognition by entering the voice recognition button during the voice recognition being executed, and sends the voice-recognized result to the another party.  
         [0066]     The mobile communications terminal stops the voice recognition when the voice recognition button is entered in the activated state of the voice recognition function. Here, the mobile communications terminal displays on the screen that the voice recognition function has been deactivated, and stores the voice-recognized text information in the memory. The mobile communications terminal, in another embodiment, outputs a voice recognition deactivation message through a speaker rather than outputting the deactivation message onto the screen, thereby informing the user of the voice recognition stopping.  
         [0067]     Afterwards, the mobile communications terminal composes a message including the voice-recognized text information and sends it to the another party&#39;s terminal currently in the call state. That is, the mobile communications terminal sends the message including the text information to the phone number of the another party&#39;s terminal currently in the call state.  
         [0068]     Then, the another party&#39;s terminal displays the received message on the screen and outputs the voice-recognized text information.  
         [0069]     In stead of sequentially performing deactivating the voice recognition function, storing the voice-recognized text information in the memory, informing the deactivation message to the user, and composing the message including the text information to send it to the another party&#39;s terminal, the mobile communications terminal may previously send the message and then deactivate the voice recognition function. For example, the mobile communications terminal previously sends the message including the voice-recognized text information, and then performs the operation of deactivating the voice recognition function.  
         [0070]     In another embodiment, when the stopping button is entered while the voice recognition is being executed, the mobile communications terminal composes the message including the voice-recognized text information and sends it to the another party&#39;s terminal to thereafter deactivate the voice recognition function. The mobile communications terminal then stores the text information in the storage unit (i.e. the memory) and displays on the screen that the voice recognition function has been deactivated. The mobile communications terminal composes the message including the voice-recognized text information immediately when receiving a request for stopping the voice recognition, and accordingly the mobile communications terminal can fast send the voice recognition result to the another party&#39;s terminal.  
         [0071]     In still another embodiment, the mobile communications terminal deactivates the voice recognition function by entering the stopping button in the activated state of the voice recognition, stores the voice-recognized text information in the storage unit, composes and sends the message including the text information, and then displays on the screen that the voice recognition function has been deactivated. The mobile communications terminal composes and sends the message including the text information from the initiation of the voice recognition to the stopping thereof, and accordingly can correctly transfer the result of the voice recognition executed for a time duration for which the voice recognition is activated to the another party&#39;s terminal.  
         [0072]     The mobile communications terminal may execute the voice recognition for the another party&#39;s voice rather than the user&#39;s voice and store the voice recognition result in the storage unit to thus allow the user to utilize it, embodiment for which will now be explained.  
         [0073]     The mobile communications terminal may have a user voice recognition button and a separate another party voice recognition button as soft buttons. When it is confirmed that the another party voice recognition button has been entered, the mobile communications terminal inputs the another party&#39;s voice to execute the voice recognition therefor. The mobile communications terminal stops the voice recognition for the another party&#39;s voice according to a voice recognition stopping request, and stores the voice recognition result in the memory. The user completes his call and utilizes the voice recognition result stored in the memory to extract useful data included in the voice call content.  
         [0074]      FIG. 6  is an exemplary view illustrating a screen conversion by a voice recognition in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0075]     As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the voice recognition screen is used to inform the user of the initiation of the voice recognition and to output an elapsed time for the voice recognition being executed and a voice recognition result. An operational state of the voice recognition during the call is displayed on the voice recognition screen to thus display whether the voice recognition is correctly being performed. The voice recognition screen is also used to previously display the voice recognition result to be transferred to the another party so as to prevent an erroneous information sending.  
         [0076]     When stopping the voice recognition and sending the voice recognition result to the another party in a massage format, a sent state of the message is displayed on the voice recognition screen to enable a confirmation of whether the message has correctly been sent. Whether the message has correctly been sent is displayed on the voice recognition screen, and accordingly the message may be modified, thereby preparing an incorrect sending of the message, resulting in enabling a determining whether to re-send the message.  
         [0077]     When storing the voice recognition result in the storage unit, a file name for the voice recognition result is displayed on the voice recognition screen. Accordingly, the user can refer to the file name to be able to use the voice recognition result.  
         [0078]     As described above, in the present invention, the voice recognition for the user&#39;s voice is performed, when necessary, during the call, the voice recognition result can be transferred to the another party in the message format. Accordingly, the another party can receive part of the voice call content, and check the message after terminating the call, thereby certifying the voice recognition result. In addition, the voice recognition can be activated by the voice recognition request to thereafter be performed, when necessary, whereby it is efficient to prevent an unnecessary execution of the voice recognition and to improve performance of the terminal by efficiently managing the processing capability of the terminal. Furthermore, although the another party&#39;s terminal does not support the voice recognition, the voice recognition result can be sent from the user&#39;s terminal to the another party&#39;s terminal as the message, and accordingly the another party can receive the voice-recognized voice call content from the user. Also, by storing the typical text information as well as the phone number during the call therebetween, the user can open the stored information after terminating the call to thus reconfirm an important part of the voice call content.  
         [0079]     As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.