Method, apparatus, and computer program product for reducing the load on a text-to-speech converter in a messaging system capable of text-to-speech conversion of e-mail documents
US6600814B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 27, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jul 29, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 27, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04M2203/4536
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A messaging system comprises a storage unit for storing e-mail messages, a text-to-speech converter for converting the different text segments of e-mail messages into speech signals for playback to a user via a telephone handset, and a cache for storing the speech signals of selected ones of previously converted text segments. Upon a subsequent request by a user to convert the text segments of a new e-mail message to speech signals for playback via a telephone handset, the speech signals of previously converted text segments that are identical to any text segments of the new e-mail message are played back from the cache thus avoiding the need for the text-to-speech converter to convert those text segments of the new e-mail message to speech. The load on the text-to-speech converter is thereby reduced.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.