Patent ID: 7110946

Claim:
A speech to visual aid translator assembly comprising: an acoustic sensor for detecting word sounds and transmitting the word sounds; a sound amplifier for receiving the word sounds from said acoustic sensor and raising the sound signal level thereof, and transmitting the raised sound signal; a speech sound analyzer for receiving the raised sound signal from said sound amplifier and determining, (a) frequency thereof, (b) relative loudness Variations thereof, (c) suprasegmental information thereof, (d) intonational contour information thereof, and (e) time sequence thereof; converting (a)–(e) to data in digital format and transmitting the data in the digital format; a phoneme sound correlator for receiving the data in digital format and comparing the data with a phoneticized alphabet; a phoneme library in communication with said phoneme sound correlator and containing all phoneme sounds of the selected phoneticized alphabet; a match detector in communication with said phoneme sound correlator and said phoneme library and operative to sense a predetermined level of correlation between an incoming phoneme and a phoneme resident in said phoneme library; a phoneme buffer for (i) receiving phonetic phonemes from said phoneme library in time sequence, and for (ii) receiving from said speech sounds analyzer data indicative of the relative loudness variations, suprasegmental information, intonational information, and time sequences thereof, and for (iii) arranging the phonetic phonemes from said phoneme library and attaching thereto appropriate information as to relative loudness, supra-segmental and intonational characteristics, for use in a format to actuate combinations of phonemes and intensities thereof; and a display for presenting the phonemes.