Patents by Inventor Michael Sabourin

Michael Sabourin has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7966176
    Abstract: A system includes an acoustic input engine configured to accept a speech input, to recognize phonemes of the speech input, and to create word strings based on the recognized phonemes. The system includes a semantic engine coupled to the acoustic engine and operable to identify actions and to identify objects by parsing the word strings. The system also includes an action-object pairing system to identify a dominant entry from the identified actions and the identified objects, to select a complement to the dominant entry from the identified actions and the identified objects, and to form an action-object pair that includes the dominant entry and the complement. The system further includes an action-object routing table operable to provide a routing destination based on the action-object pair. The system also includes a call routing module to route a call to the routing destination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2011
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert R. Bushey, Michael Sabourin, Carl Potvin, Benjamin Anthony Knott, John Mills Martin
  • Publication number: 20100040207
    Abstract: A system includes an acoustic input engine configured to accept a speech input, to recognize phonemes of the speech input, and to create word strings based on the recognized phonemes. The system includes a semantic engine coupled to the acoustic engine and operable to identify actions and to identify objects by parsing the word strings. The system also includes an action-object pairing system to identify a dominant entry from the identified actions and the identified objects, to select a complement to the dominant entry from the identified actions and the identified objects, and to form an action-object pair that includes the dominant entry and the complement. The system further includes an action-object routing table operable to provide a routing destination based on the action-object pair. The system also includes a call routing module to route a call to the routing destination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2009
    Publication date: February 18, 2010
    Applicant: AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert R. Bushey, Michael Sabourin, Carl Potvin, Benjamin Anthony Knott, John Mills Martin
  • Patent number: 7627096
    Abstract: A method for processing a call is disclosed. The method receives a speech input via a call and transforms at the speech input into a textual format. The method also creates a list of salient terms of actions and objects from the text, adjusts the confidence level of objects on the list if the dominant term is an action and selects a complimentary object from the list to combine with the action to form an action-object pair. The method further adjusts a confidence level of actions on the list if the dominant term is an object and selects a complementary action from the list to combine with the action to form the action-object pair, and routes the call based on the action-object pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2009
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert R. Bushey, Michael Sabourin, Carl Potvin, Benjamin Anthony Knott, John Mills Martin
  • Publication number: 20060161431
    Abstract: A method for processing a call is disclosed. The method receives a speech input via a call and transforms at the speech input into a textual format. The method also creates a list of salient terms of actions and objects from the text, adjusts the confidence level of objects on the list if the dominant term is an action and selects a complimentary object from the list to combine with the action to form an action-object pair.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2005
    Publication date: July 20, 2006
    Inventors: Robert Bushey, Michael Sabourin, Carl Potvin, Benjamin Knott, John Martin
  • Patent number: 6243680
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for adding a new entry to a speech recognition dictionary, and more particularly a system and method for generating transcriptions from multiple utterances and a textual representation of a given word is provided. The method and apparatus combine acoustic information obtained from each of the training utterances to generate the most likely transcriptions. It also provides a method and apparatus for transcribing multiple utterances into a single transcription that can be added to a speech recognition dictionary. In a first step, a graph representative of possible pronunciation of the word or combination of words is generated on the basis of the textual representation of the word and a letter to phoneme set of rules. Phonemes perceptually close to the phonemes in the transcriptions obtained using the letter to phoneme rules are added on parallel branches in the generated graph.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2001
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventors: Vishwa Nath Gupta, Michael Sabourin
  • Patent number: 6208964
    Abstract: An adaptive speech recognition system is provided including an input for receiving a signal derived from a spoken utterance indicative of a certain vocabulary item, a speech recognition dictionary, a speech recognition unit and an adaptation module. The speech recognition dictionary has a plurality of vocabulary items each being associated to a respective dictionary transcription group. The speech recognition unit is in an operative relationship with the speech recognition dictionary and selects a certain vocabulary item from the speech recognition dictionary as being a likely match to the signal received at the input. The results of the speech recognition process are provided to the adaptation module. The adaptation module includes a transcriptions bank having a plurality of orthographic groups, each including a plurality of transcriptions associated with a common vocabulary item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventor: Michael Sabourin
  • Patent number: 6108627
    Abstract: An automatic transcription tool executing on a computer system includes a text pre-processor, a phrasal parser, a word transcriber, and a phrasal transcription post-processor. Word orthographies are input to the text pre-processor and are then sequentially processed by the phrasal parser, word transcriber, and phrasal transcription post-processor.In general, the text pre-processor performs initial substitution processing on the input orthography sequences, the phrasal parser groups related adjacent input orthographies into clauses, the word transcriber performs phonetic transcription, and the phrasal transcription post-processor performs functions, such as, liasion handling and sanity checking on the output phonetic transcriptions. The phonemic transcription of the input orthography is eventually output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2000
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Corporation
    Inventor: Michael Sabourin
  • Patent number: 6073099
    Abstract: A confusability tool generates a confusability cost associated with two phonemic transcriptions. The confusability cost measures the likelihood that a human or machine hearing the first word will mistakenly hear the second word. The cost calculation is based on a weighting of the Levinstein distance between the transcription pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Sabourin, Marc Fabiani
  • Patent number: 6006182
    Abstract: Systems and methods consistent with the present invention determine whether to accept one of a plurality of intermediate recognition results output by a speech recognition system as a final recognition result. The system first combines a plurality of speech rejection features into a feature function in which weights are assigned to each rejection feature in accordance with a recognition accuracy of each rejection feature. Feature values are then calculated for each of the rejection features using the plurality of intermediate recognition results. The system next computes the feature function according to the calculated feature values to determine a rejection decision value. Finally, one of the plurality of intermediate recognition results is accepted as the final recognition result according to the rejection decision value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 21, 1999
    Assignee: Northern Telecom Limited
    Inventors: Waleed Fakhr, Serge Robillard, Vishwa Gupta, Real Tremblay, Michael Sabourin, Jean-Francois Crespo
  • Patent number: 5839107
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically generating a speech recognition vocabulary for a speech recognition system from a listing that contains a number of entries, each entry containing a multi-word identification data that distinguishes that entry from other entries in the list. The method comprises the steps of creating for each entry in the listing a plurality of orthographies in the speech recognition vocabulary that are formed by combining selected words from the entry. The words combination is effected by applying a heuristics model that mimics the way users formulate requests to the automated directory assistance system. The method is particularly useful for generating speech recognition vocabularies for automated directory assistance systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Northern Telecom Limited
    Inventors: Vishwa Gupta, Michael Sabourin
  • Patent number: 5228335
    Abstract: Dual oxygen sensors before and after the exhaust catalytic converter of a motor vehicle combined with a specialized algorithm to substantially continuously compare the real time electric output of the oxygen sensors and, in response to the comparison, output an indication of the activity of the catalyst and failure of the catalyst. The algorithm in substantially real time "monitors" the continuously changing oxygen content of the before and after catalyst exhaust stream and through a phase comparison or an integration process in the preferred embodiment makes the proper comparison for determination of catalyst acceptability or failure. With a microcomputer equipped motor vehicle the algorithm is suitable for on-board continuous monitoring of the exhaust catalyst for indication to the vehicle operator when catalyst failure occurs. Failure can be total catalyst failure or partial failure to a degree where Federal exhaust emissions regulations are no longer met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 1991
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1993
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
    Inventors: William B. Clemmens, John W. Koupal, Michael A. Sabourin