Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for extracting speech spurts from voice and reproducing voice from extracted speech spurts

US6078882A · kind A · utility

24Cited by
9References
7Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 9, 1998
Grant dateJun 20, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 9, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG10L19/012
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Identification information of a speech spurt, hangover and pause is used to indicate that a digital voice signal is the speech spurt, hangover or pause. While the identification information of a speech spurt, hangover and pause is indicative of the speech spurt, a voice level adjuster does not attenuate the digital voice signal, and the voice signal/third signal combiner mixes it with a third signal which undergoes the maximum attenuation through a third signal level adjuster. While the identification information of a speech spurt, hangover and pause is indicative of the hangover, the voice level adjuster gradually attenuates the digital voice signal. This is because the level of the voice signal is expected to be high in the first half of the hangover period, but to decay in its latter half to such a level that it is dispensable for speech recognition. A third signal (noise), on the other hand, is gradually increased in the latter half of the hangover period to preserve the continuity in the transition from the speech spurt to a pause, thus achieving smooth transition to the pause. This makes it possible to reduce as much as possible the unnaturalness involved in switching between…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.