Patents Examined by Thierry L Pham
  • Patent number: 10002623
    Abstract: A speech-processing apparatus includes: a sound source localization unit that localizes a sound source based on an acquired speech signal; and a speech zone detection unit that performs speech zone detection based on localization information localized by the sound source localization unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Keisuke Nakamura, Kazuhiro Nakadai
  • Patent number: 9997156
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method of facilitating construction of a voice dialog interface for an electronic system. The method includes providing a library of programming interfaces configured to specify one or more of a call-sign and at least one command. Each of the call-sign and the at least one command may be specified in textual form. Additionally, the method includes training a speech recognizer based on one or more of the call-sign and the at least one command. Further, the method may include recognizing, using the speech recognizer, a speech input including a vocal representation of one or more of the call-sign and the at least one command. Additionally, the method includes performing at least one action associated with the at least one command based on recognizing the speech input. Further, the at least one action may include providing a verbal response using an integrated speech synthesizer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: AUDEME, LLC
    Inventors: Gerald Friedland, Bertrand Irissou
  • Patent number: 9997153
    Abstract: An information processing method includes receiving a change instruction to change a voice parameter used in synthesizing a voice for a set of texts, changing the voice parameter in accordance with the change instruction to change the voice parameter, changing, in accordance with the change instruction, an image parameter used in synthesizing an image of a virtual object, the virtual object indicating a character that vocalizes the voice that has been synthesized, synthesizing the voice using the changed voice parameter, and synthesizing the image using the changed image parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Naoki Yamamoto, Yuki Murakami
  • Patent number: 9973655
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an acceptance unit configured to accept entry of a user ID, a setting unit configured to, if authentication of a user based on the user ID is successful, set a remaining portion after deletion of domain information from the user ID as a portion of path information of a folder, which becomes a destination of image data, and a transmission unit configured to transmit the image data to the folder indicated by the path information as the destination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Junichi Hiruma
  • Patent number: 9971769
    Abstract: Methods and/or systems for providing a translation result based on various semantic categories may be provided. A translation result providing method using a computer may include generating translations by translating a source sentence of a source language into a target language, and classifying the translations into semantic categories, respectively, and providing the classified translations to the user terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: NAVER Corporation
    Inventors: Joong-Hwi Shin, Jin-I Park, Jong-Hwan Kim, Kyong-Hee Kwon, Jun-Seok Kim
  • Patent number: 9953633
    Abstract: Various implementations disclosed herein include a training module configured to produce a set of segment templates from a concurrent segmentation of a plurality of vocalization instances of a VSP vocalized by a particular speaker, who is identifiable by a corresponding set of vocal characteristics. Each segment template provides a stochastic characterization of how each of one or more portions of a VSP is vocalized by the particular speaker in accordance with the corresponding set of vocal characteristics. Additionally, in various implementations, the training module includes systems, methods and/or devices configured to produce a set of VSP segment maps that each provide a quantitative characterization of how respective segments of the plurality of vocalization instances vary in relation to a corresponding one of a set of segment templates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: MALASPINA LABS (BARBADOS), INC.
    Inventors: Clarence Chu, Alireza Kenarsari Anhari
  • Patent number: 9947316
    Abstract: A voice input comprising a command word, one or more media variable instances, and one or more zone variable instances is received. A media playback system command which corresponds to the command word is determined. Media content which corresponds to the one or more media variable instances is identified. The media playback system is caused to execute the media playback system command on the media content based on the one or more zone variable instances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas A. J. Millington, Keith Corbin, Mark Plagge
  • Patent number: 9941978
    Abstract: It discloses an acoustic channel-based data communications method which performs channel coding on an original data signal using a CRC coding method and a BCH coding method to obtain a coded sequence; modulates the coded sequence using a preset audio sequence symbol set via a symbol mapping method to obtain a digital audio signal; selects a channel frequency band according to characteristics of a transmitting equipment and interference between frequency bands; and converts the digital audio signal into an analog audio signal through a digital-to-analog converter and transmits the signal to a channel for transmission according to the selected channel frequency band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: SUZHOU REALPOWER ELECTRIC APPLIANCE CO., LTD
    Inventor: Jinghong Chen
  • Patent number: 9934817
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for recording, sharing, and storing an audio segment are provided. A user's audio segment is recorded by a recording device, in response to an audible prompt generated by the recording device. In some embodiments, the recording device provides a signal to the user that a recording session is in progress. Having recorded the audio segment, the recording device provides a reply to the user's recording, simulating a conversation between the recording device and the user. In embodiments, the recording device transfers the recorded audio to a sharing device for playback of the recorded audio segment. Further, the recorded audio segment may be transferred to a storage device, for storage and retrieval of the audio segment at a later date. The components of the recording device may be housed inside a commercial embodiment, such as a stuffed toy, for concealed recording of the user's audio segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: Hallmark Cards, Incorporated
    Inventors: Charles O'Shields, Kevin J. Bridges, Nicholas Pedersen, Amy E. Cecil, Amy J. Kligman, Angela C. Ensminger, Jill M. Klegin, Robert E. Langley
  • Patent number: 9934777
    Abstract: User-specific language models (LMs) that include internal word indexes to a word table specific to the user-specific LM rather than a word table specific to a system-wide LM. When the system-wide LM is updated, the word table of the user-specific LM may be updated to translate the user-specific indices to system-wide indices. This prevents having to update the internal indices of the user-specific LM every time the system-wide LM is updated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Shaun Nidhiri Joseph, Sonal Pareek, Ariya Rastrow, Gautam Tiwari, Alexander David Rosen
  • Patent number: 9930192
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus and method includes inputting user information, setting folder information about a specified user based on the user information as a destination of image data, registering the set folder information, and performing control so as not to register folder information corresponding to a transmission protocol set to be disable from among a plurality of transmission protocols.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroyasu Morita
  • Patent number: 9928831
    Abstract: A speech data recognition method, apparatus, and server are for distinguishing regional accent. The speech data recognition method includes: calculating a speech recognition confidence and/or a signal-to-noise ratio of the speech data, and screening a regional speech data from the speech data based on the speech recognition confidence and/or the signal-to-noise ratio of the speech dat; and determining a region to which the regional speech data belongs based on a regional attribute of the regional speech data. The regional speech data are automatically recognized from the mass speech data by calculating the speech recognition confidence, the signal-to-noise ratio of the speech data or the combination thereof, thereby avoiding manual labeling of the speech data and enhancing the efficiency of the speech data processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: Baidu Online Network Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Dan Su, Zhao Yin
  • Patent number: 9928851
    Abstract: A voice verifying system, which comprises: a microphone, which is always turned on to output at least one input audio signal; a speech determining device, for determining if the input audio signal is valid or not according to a reference value, wherein the speech determining device passes the input audio signal if the input audio signal is valid; and a verifying module, for verifying a speech signal generated from the input audio signal and for outputting a device activating signal to activate a target device if the speech signal matches a predetermined rule; and a reference value generating device, for generating the reference value according to speech signal information from the verifying module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: MEDIATEK INC.
    Inventors: Liang-Che Sun, Yiou-Wen Cheng, Ting-Yuan Chiu
  • Patent number: 9922664
    Abstract: A system for and method of characterizing a target application acoustic domain analyzes one or more speech data samples from the target application acoustic domain to determine one or more target acoustic characteristics, including a CODEC type and bit-rate associated with the speech data samples. The determined target acoustic characteristics may also include other aspects of the target speech data samples such as sampling frequency, active bandwidth, noise level, reverberation level, clipping level, and speaking rate. The determined target acoustic characteristics are stored in a memory as a target acoustic data profile. The data profile may be used to select and/or modify one or more out of domain speech samples based on the one or more target acoustic characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Dushyant Sharma, Patrick Naylor, Uwe Helmut Jost
  • Patent number: 9916304
    Abstract: A translation corpus creation method of the present disclosure includes generating plural paraphrasing candidate sentences for a first original sentence in a first language by paraphrasing one or plural fragments among plural fragments included in the first original sentence into other expressions in the first language by a paraphrasing candidate sentence generation unit, identifying one or plural paraphrasing candidate sentences in the same meaning as the meaning of the first original sentence from the plural paraphrasing candidate sentences as one or plural paraphrasing sentences by a paraphrasing sentence identification unit, and generating a new set of sentences by setting the one or plural identified paraphrasing sentences and a second original sentence translated from the first original sentence as a set of sentences to create a translation corpus with the generated and new set of sentences by a translation corpus creation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Nanami Fujiwara, Masaki Yamauchi
  • Patent number: 9904966
    Abstract: A system, method and computer readable storage medium for retrieving a narrative report for at least one study including a plurality of images of a patient from a memory, determining text structure boundaries to identify and classify each text structure in the narrative report, determining image references in each text structure of the narrative report, extracting image references from text structures classified as including an image reference and determining a study to which an extracted image reference corresponds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Inventors: Thusitha Dananjaya De Silva Mabotuwana, Yuechen Qian
  • Patent number: 9881619
    Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a sound in an acoustical environment includes a microphone array configured to detect an audio signal in the acoustical environment. The apparatus also includes a processor configured to determine an angular location of a sound source of the audio signal. The angular location is relative to the microphone array. The processor is also configured to determine at least one reverberation characteristic of the audio signal. The processor is further configured to determine a distance, relative to the microphone array, of the sound source along an axis associated with the angular location based on the at least one reverberation characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Erik Visser, Wenliang Lu, Lae-Hoon Kim, Yinyi Guo, Shuhua Zhang
  • Patent number: 9881617
    Abstract: In a method of diarization of audio data, audio data is segmented into a plurality of utterances. Each utterance is represented as an utterance model representative of a plurality of feature vectors. The utterance models are clustered. A plurality of speaker models are constructed from the clustered utterance models. A hidden Markov model is constructed of the plurality of speaker models. A sequence of identified speaker models is decoded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: VERINT SYSTEMS LTD.
    Inventors: Oana Sidi, Ron Wein
  • Patent number: 9875225
    Abstract: A meeting summarization method, system, and computer program product, include recording meeting audio of a meeting, capturing notes including a time stamp from each of a plurality of users associated with the meeting, synchronizing the recorded meeting audio of the meeting and each of the notes of each of the plurality of users based on a correlation between the time stamp, and analyzing the synchronized meeting audio and notes to determine highlights of the meeting based on a co-occurrence of notes between the plurality of users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Keith William Grueneberg, Jason Crawford, Jonathan Lenchner, Satya V. Nitta, Christian Makaya, Sharad C. Sundararajan
  • Patent number: 9858920
    Abstract: Adaptation methods and systems are provided for a speech system of a vehicle. In one embodiment a method comprises: receiving speech data; determining a speech pace based on the speech data; determining a user model based on the speech pace; and generating adaptation parameters for at least one of a speech recognition system and a dialog manager based on the user model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Inventors: Peggy Wang, Ute Winter, Timothy J. Grost, Matthew M. Highstrom