Abstract:
A communications system for receiving and transmitting information signals. An electronic processor is adapted to receive information signals from at least one source, operatively connected to the electronic processor. An audible signal generator generates sounds related to the information signals. The source of information signals can be a telephone, cell phone, microphone, PDA, computer, printed document, Internet web site, e-mail or immediate message. The processor has a mechanism for generating an audible signal reminiscent of a celebrity voice, a cartoon voice, or a computer-generated sound.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to voice synthesis and, more particularly, to a system for generating synthetic voices and sounds based on communications provided by individuals and organizations at remote locations. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As electronic devices become more sophisticated, primitive signals and indicators are being replaced by audible signals that provide more information. This trend is likely to continue because consumers and users of equipment will demand more intelligent products and the manufacturing cost of audible signal generators will decrease. 
     Certain products and appliances are equipped with simple visible lights (e.g., incandescent lamps, LEDs, etc.) or audible devices (e.g., beepers, bells, etc.). In the case of automobiles, for example, an icon sometimes referred to as an idiot light, may illuminate when oil pressure drops below a predetermined level. This informs the vehicle driver to add oil to the engine. However, a driver may travel many miles before noticing such an illuminated icon on the dashboard. Similarly, when the door of a vehicle is opened and headlights are on, a bell or buzzer may sound. Unfortunately, the same bell or buzzer may be activated when another condition occurs, such as an unfastened seatbelt or another passenger door ajar. Failure to distinguish such a warning can be annoying at best and dangerous at worst. 
     Appliances with visual or aural indicators need not be vehicles. Most every electronic device from coffee pots and toasters to power generators could benefit from informative warnings and messages. Instead of an idiot light indicating an engine is overheating, for example, an intelligent voice synthesizer could articulate the temperature. 
     Voice synthesis has been used for many years to convey audible messages. From early computerized, mechanical “voices” to sounds more closely associated with humans, such messages have been used generally with relatively expensive products. Recently, however, as computer chips have become more affordable, human-sounding audible signal generators have been found in greeting cards and children&#39;s toys. It is therefore not impossible to imagine their use in the widest variety of electronic devices. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,754,630, issued to Das et al. on Jun. 22, 2004 for SYNTHESIS OF SPEECH FROM PITCH PROTOTYPE WAVEFORMS BY TIME-SYNCHRONOUS WAVEFORM INTERPOLATION discloses a method of synthesizing voiced speech from pitch prototype waveforms by time-synchronous waveform interpolation (TSWI). One or more pitch prototypes is extracted from a speech signal or a residue signal. The extraction process is performed in such a way that the prototype has minimum energy at the boundary. Each prototype is circularly shifted so as to be time-synchronous with the original signal. A linear phase shift is applied to each extracted prototype relative to the previously extracted prototype so as to maximize the cross-correlation between successive extracted prototypes. A two-dimensional prototype-evolving surface is constructed by unsampling the prototypes to every sample point. The two-dimensional prototype-evolving surface is re-sampled to generate a one-dimensional, synthesized signal frame with sample points defined by piecewise continuous cubic phase contour functions computed from the pitch lags and the phase shifts added to the extracted prototypes. A pre-selection filter may be applied to determine whether to abandon the TSWI technique in favor of another algorithm for the current frame. A post-selection performance measure may be obtained and compared with a predetermined threshold to determine whether the TSWI algorithm is performing adequately. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,153, issued to Brittan et al. on Mar. 16, 2004 for VOICE SITE PERSONALITY SETTING discloses a method of setting the voice personality of a voice service site. A user browsing a voice web visits a voice site where the voice output of the site is presented using a set of voice personality characterisers with which the user is particularly comfortable. The user, in subsequently transferring to another voice service site, opts to have the voice personality that was embodied in the set of voice personality characterisers used by the site being left, transfer with the user to the new site. This transfer will typically be subject to permissions set by both the site being left and the site about to be visited. 
     A voice recognition facility is provided with a communication system allowing a human voice to be provided to the system via a microphone in U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,202, issued to Kato et al. on Jul. 17, 2001 for COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION TERMINAL DEVICE USED THEREIN. A communication system is disclosed whereby desired information can be transmitted in accordance with conditions and the application. The communication system includes a PHS terminal and a provider system that is capable of information communication with this terminal. The PHS terminal has a voice recognition section that receives voice from a microphone and recognizes the received voice signal, an input device that selects the output form of the voice signal, a conversion section that converts the recognized voice signal with the selected output form, and a transceiver that transmits the converted voice signal to the provider equipment; the converted voice signal is further transferred from the provider system to another destination wireless communication terminal device. This output form includes for example “dialect,” “intonation/imitated voice of a celebrity etc.” or “modulation.” Conversion filters convert the voice signal in accordance with these. 
     While the aforementioned patents disclose methods of receiving audible information and generating a synthesized signal responsive thereto, they fall short of describing a truly universal system that can be used by individuals and organizations at remote locations. 
     It would be advantageous to provide a communications system that could be accessed by individuals from remote locations. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a plurality of information signal facilities (e.g., voice recognition, document scanning, etc.) to convey such information signals. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a system that could synthesize voices equivalent to, or reminiscent of human voices, celebrity voices, cartoon voices, computer-generated voices and the like. 
     It would further be advantageous to provide electronic devices and appliances with facilities to receive information signals and to generate audible signals related thereto. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a method of converting a human voice or document to an audible signal reminiscent or imitative of a celebrity&#39;s voice or a computer-generated voice. 
     It would further be advantageous to provide a method for an individual to program his or her electronic device from a remote location. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a communications system for receiving and transmitting information signals. An electronic processor is adapted to receive information signals from at least one source. At least one source of information signals is operatively connected to the electronic processor. An audible signal generator generates sounds related to the information signals. The source of information signals can be a telephone, cell phone, PDA, computer, printed document, Internet web site, email or immediate message. The processor has a mechanism for generating an audible signal reminiscent of a celebrity voice, a cartoon voice, or a computer-generated voice. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of the communications system in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the processor shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the inventive system that permits audio input directly to a speech processor; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart depicting the process for a user to generate an audible message in the voice of a celebrity. 
     
    
    
     For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the FIGURES. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Generally speaking, the invention features a system and method for processing audible or written information and generating a stylized sound therefrom. The stylized sound may be a vocal output reminiscent or imitative of a celebrity&#39;s voice, a cartoon voice, or a computer-generated voice. A user can call via telephone or cell phone, or may otherwise provide a vocal input to the system of the invention. In addition, the user can email a message, or can mail a written document which is recognized, received or scanned. Regardless of whether an audio signal or a document is provided as input, that input is processed and converted to a vocal audio output having tone, pitch, timbre, cadence, emphasis and emotion similar to those of the voice of a celebrity or similar stylized sound. The system can be disposed in electronic devices or appliances to provide audible warnings, instructions or status conditions to the user. 
     Referring first to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a simplified block diagram of a first embodiment of the system of the invention, generally at reference numeral  100 . A text-to-speech (TTS) converter  102  is supplied with a textual input  104  and, under the control of control information  106  provides a stylized audio (i.e., speech) output  108 . TTS conversion systems have been available for some time, some provided on stand-alone microchips, not shown. Such microchips have typically provided a small number of program-selectable output voices, for example, a male or female voice. Text supplied to such TTS conversion devices results in a spoken vocal audio output whose quality varies from comical to acceptable to declarative depending primarily upon the age and cost of the TTS converter. 
     Another way the TTS conversion is accomplished is using software running in a general-purpose microprocessor or computer. The sophistication again depends primarily upon the sophistication of the TTS algorithm(s) and the amount of processing resource available to execute it. If, for example, the inventive system  100  is intended to be used with a commercial telephone system incorporating voice mail and other telephonic services for a great number of subscribers, speech processor  102  will probably be implemented as one or more mainframe computer systems, not shown. 
     Sophisticated TTS algorithms, whether embodied in stand-alone microchips or executed on general-purpose microprocessors, typically allow great control of the overall “sound” of the vocal output. Tone, pitch, timbre, cadence, emphasis, and emotion are some of the characteristics used to describe the quality of an artificially generated vocal output. These and other vocal characteristics may be controlled by providing a set of control information  106  to the TTS converter  102 . By customizing the control information  106 , the vocal output of TTS  102  may be customized to produce the desired voice, be it a celebrity, cartoon, or machine-like voice. Das et al., discussed hereinabove, provide one such method of controlling voice synthesis based on pitch prototype waveforms using a time-synchronous waveform interpolation method. The motivation for the Das et al. system is to provide authentic reproductions of speech compressed for the purpose of minimizing transmission bandwidth in a communications system. 
     Other control strategies are known to those of skill in the art. Therefore, the method of the present invention is not considered limited to any particular control strategy but covers any and all methods for controlling the voice characteristics of a TTS or other speech synthesis apparatus. 
     Referring now also to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a more complete block diagram of the system of the invention, generally at reference numeral  120 . Text input to TTS converter  102  may be provided in a wide variety of ways. An audio signal may be provided via a telephone  109   a , a directly connected microphone  109   b , or from any other speech source  109   c  such as but not limited to a tape recorder. When an audio signal is supplied, it is necessary to process the speech through a speech recognition system  110 . The output of speech recognition system  110  is text in the preferred embodiment, although other forms of output may be used. 
     Input may also be supplied from any typed, printed or other recognizable document  111 . When a document  111  is supplied, it is generally scanned by scanner  112  and the scanned image is provided to an optical character recognition (OCR) system  114  for conversion to text. 
     A machine-readable text file  116  may also be used as input to TTS converter  102 . A machine-readable file may also be supplied from a network connection  118  or in the form of e-mail  122 . A wireless connection  124  may also be used to receive a machine-readable text file as input for TTS converter  102 . 
     It will be recognized that machine-readable text files  116  may be obtained from or generated by a wide number of sources and/or devices. Typical sources for machine-readable text files  116  include but are not limited to: diskettes, hard drives, USB-connected storage devices, ZIP disks, CDs, DVDs, Braille document readers, punched cards, paper tape, magnetic tape, memory devices such as flash memory cards, etc., not shown. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , in other embodiments of the inventive system an audio input may be directly processed. In other words, the speech to text conversion performed by speech recognition system  104  is no longer required. Rather, an audio signal  162  is directly processed by the inventive system.  FIG. 3  is a simplified block diagram of such a system, generally at reference numeral  160 . Speech in audio form  162  is provided as input to speech processor  164  which, in accordance with control information  166 , provides stylized sound output  168 . 
     It will be recognized that the function of either speech processor  164  or TTS  102  may be implemented in many ways ranging from stand-alone microchips to main frame computers, the actual implementation of the functions of either forming no part of the instant invention. Rather the invention includes any implementation of the function of either speech processor  164  or TTS  102 . 
     The stylized sound output  108  provided by either TTS  102  or speech processor  164  has many uses. Electronic or mechanical devices and appliances, which may be with or without interactivity with the user, can incorporate the inventive stylized sound output  108 . Such devices and appliances include but are not limited to: 
     telephones (answering machines) 
     cellular phones (voice mail) 
     computers and peripherals 
     vehicles (automobiles, trucks, boats, buses) 
     aircraft and spacecraft 
     kitchen devices (dishwashers, microwave ovens, stoves, garbage disposals, toasters, refrigerators, freezers, can openers, mixers, blenders, juicers) 
     laundry appliances (washing machines, dryers) 
     household appliances (vacuum cleaners, ironing devices, clocks, radios, stereos, TVs, cameras, DVD players, VCRs) 
     outdoor equipment (lawn mowers, mulchers, tractors, trimmers) 
     robots and cybernetic devices 
     commercial building equipment (HVAC units, elevators, compressors, lighting). 
     Typical warnings, instructions and status conditions include, but are not limited to: 
     Wake up 
     Hot 
     Milk is sour 
     Two minute warning 
     Open from top 
     Please leave a message 
     Seventy-one degrees 
     Laundry is finished 
     Fasten seat belt 
     Monday, October 25 
     For example, an alarm clock could be programmed to wake a sleeping user in the emulated voice of Marilyn Monroe, saying “Good morning, Mr. President.” Alternatively, the user&#39;s toaster could warn him or her in Julia Child&#39;s emulated voice, “Now don&#39;t burn that toast!” On the other hand, the user&#39;s voice mail could announce the number of new messages in the emulated voice of James Dean. Similarly, Tellulah Bankhead&#39;s emulated voice could be used on a telephone answering machine to invite callers to leave a message for the user. 
     As can be appreciated from the foregoing description, the invention provides a convenient way in which an individual or organization can emulate a celebrity&#39;s voice or computer-generated sound from a remote location to provide warnings, greetings, instructions or status conditions from or of electronic devices and appliances. 
     In use, the function of either TTS  102  or speech processor  164  depends upon the control information  106 ,  166 , respectively provided thereto. Emulation of a celebrity voice or generation of an original stylized sound both require the unique control information  106 ,  166  to provide the desired stylized sound output. This control information  106 ,  166  may be derived in a wide variety of ways. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a flow chart of a method for creating control information corresponding to a desired voice, generally at reference numeral  200 . First, the voice sample is obtained, step  202 . The obtained voice sample must be sufficient for a computer analysis to be performed, step  204 . Optionally, the voice sample may be stored, step  206 . Next, analysis of the voice sample is performed, step  208 . Finally, the necessary control information  106 ,  166  is created, step  210 , based upon the analysis, step  208 , and predetermined information regarding the specific requirements of a particular TTS  102  or voice processor  164 . A plurality of celebrity or other voice or electronic sound samples may be stored in a suitable memory device, not shown. 
     A second way to generate control information signals  106 ,  166  is to manually create or to modify existing, similar control signals. This may be performed by a technician utilizing appropriate hardware and/or software. Totally original stylized sounds may be created or stylized voices similar to existing voices may be produced. 
     Once the necessary control information  106 ,  166  is created, modified, and/or refined, that control information may be utilized in commercial applications. For example, the necessary control information  106 ,  166  for a single stylized voice may be packaged on a read-only memory (ROM) for inclusion, along with the necessary TTS  102  or voice processor  164 , in one of aforementioned appliances or devices. 
     For devices requiring a set of fixed messages, necessary text or other files may also be provided on a ROM device. It will be recognized that both control information  106 ,  166  and message text  104  could be packaged within the same ROM device. 
     For devices requiring changeable messages, dependent, for example, on detection of events by sensors presently existing or as yet unrealized cybernetic detectors, input text may be stored on a programmable read-only memory device (PROM) or other updateable storage device. The PROM can be updated by an end user or a service/support technician on an as-needed basis. Apparatus and methods for re-writing PROMs or the like are known to those of skill in the art. It will also be recognized in applications for which a large user base requires identical, periodic updates, that downloadable updates can be made available or new ROMs or PROMs may be shipped to the end user&#39;s site for installation by the end user. This process would be similar to users of postage meters who typically receive new ROMs or the like when postage rates change. 
     Control information  106 ,  166  could be provided in a library and distributed to potential end users on CD, DVD, or any other suitable media. The library, of course, could be made accessible for selective downloading via the Internet or other publicly or privately accessible network. Control information  106 ,  166  could be provided for a fee or could be made available without charge. 
     It is recognized that for certain (e.g., celebrity) voices a license might be required for use of that voice, if protected. An owner/manager of a library could manage any clearance required for using voices. 
     Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes or disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention. 
     Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.