Abstract: An Internet Access Device (IAD) is pre-configured with first, generic configuration information designating the address of a configuration server with which it will establish a communication session when the IAD is first powered up and connected to the Internet. The configuration server then downloads a second, specific configuration to the IAD, such as a hotline number designating a specific speech server, and creates a network data record to link a unique identifier for the IAD, such as a serial number, with a user account. When the IAD goes off-hook, the IAD connects directly to a speech server using the second configuration. The speech server provides a smart dial tone, such as a voice prompt. The speech server responds to a verbal request spoken by a user by performing a corresponding activity, such as placing a telephone call or providing voicemail access.

Abstract: A method of communication using voice commands is described where a user's address book is automatically kept up-to-date by gleaning information from contacts listed in the address book and where information in the address book is used for voice dialing and for other communication services.

Abstract: A harmonic coding arrangement where the magnitude spectrum of the input speech is modeled at the analyzer by a relatively small set of parameters and, significantly, as a continuous rather than only a line magnitude spectrum. The synthesizer, rather than the analyzer, determines the magnitude, frequency, and phase of a large number of sinusoids which are summed to generate synthetic speech. Rather than receiving information explicitly defining the sinusoids from the analyzer, the synthesizer receives the small set of parameters and uses those parameters to determine a spectrum, which, in turn, is used by the synthesizer to determine the sinusoids for synthesis.

Abstract: Apparatus for detecting a fundamental frequency in speech in a changing speech environment by using adaptive statistical techniques. A statistical voice detector detects changes in the voice environment by classifiers that define certain attributes of the speech to recalculate weights that are used to combine the classifiers in making the unvoiced/voiced decision that specifies whether the speech has a fundamental frequency or not. The detector is responsive to classifiers to first calculate the average of the classifiers and then to determine the overall probability that any frame will be unvoiced. In addition, the detector forms two vectors, one vector represents the statistical average of values that an unvoiced frame's classifiers would have and the other vector represents the statistical average of the values of the classifiers for a voiced frame.

Abstract: A harmonic speech coding arrangement where vector quantization is used to improve speech quality. Parameters are determined at the analyzer of an illustrative coding arrangement to model the magnitude and phase spectra of the input speech. A first codebook of vectors is searched for a vector that closely approximates the difference between the true and estimated magnitude spectra. A second codebook of vectors is searched for a vector that closely approximates the difference between the true and the estimated phase spectra. Indices and scaling factors for the vectors are communicated to the synthesizer such that scaled vectors can be added into the magnitude and phase spectra for use at the synthesizer in generating speech as a sum of sinusoids.

Abstract: Statistically analyzing a discriminant variable generated by a discriminant voiced detector is done to determine the presence of the fundamental frequency in a changing speech environment. The detector is responsive to the discriminant variable to first calculate the average of all of the values of the discriminant variable over the present and past speech frames and then to determine the overall probability that any frame will be unvoiced. In addition, the detector calculates two values, one value represents the statistical average of discriminant values that an unvoiced frame's discriminant variable would have and the other value represents the statistical average of the discriminant values for voice frames. These latter calculations are performed utilizing not only the average discriminant value but also a weight value and a threshold value which are adaptively determined from frame to frame. The unvoiced/voiced decision is made by utilizing the weight and threshold values.

Abstract: Apparatus for detecting a fundamental frequency in speech utilizing a plurality of voiced detectors and selecting one of those detectors to make the voicing decision utilizing distance measurement values with each value generated by one of the voiced detectors. The voiced detector selected is the one which generated the best distance measurement value. The distance measurement value may be the Mahalanobis distance value or Hotelling's two-sample T.sup.2 statistic. Two types of voiced detectors are disclosed: statistical voiced detectors and discriminant voiced detectors. The disclosed statistical voiced detector adapts to changing speech environments by detecting changes in the voice environment in response to classifiers that define certain attributes of the speech.

Abstract: A speech analysis and synthesis system where pitch information for excitation is transmitted during voice segments of speech and pulse excitation or noise excitation is transmitted during unvoiced speech segments along with linear predictive coding (LPC) parameters. The decision of whether to transmit noise excitation or pulse excitation is performed by comparing the variance of the residual to the square of the mean amplitude of the rectified residual for each frame. If the result of this comparison is greater than a threshold value, pulse excitation is utilized otherwise noise excitation is used. The pulse excitation comprises a subset of samples of the LPC residual as determined by the relative amplitudes and spacing of the local maxima in the LPC residual.

Abstract: Improved significant sample detection for a pitch detector for use with speech analysis and synthesis methods by performing a reverse order search and a forward order search of digitized speech samples. A reverse search detector is responsive to segmented digital samples for determining a set of candidate samples by initially selecting one of the digitized samples as a present candidate sample and comparing in reverse order each of the digitized samples with the present candidate sample until a digitized sample is found whose amplitude is greater than the present candidate sample or the compared sample is greater than a predefined number of samples from the present candidate sample. When either of the previous conditions occurs, the compared digital sample becomes the new present candidate sample and the reverse search continues. After the reverse search has been performed and a set of candidate samples has been determined, a forward search detector then initially determines a present significant sample.