Speech controlled phonetic typewriter

Claim 2

Speech-to-writer apparatus comprising: a detection and analysis transducer module receiving an oral and a throat signal input and having sound separation means for detecting, differentiating, processing and producing speech sound signals according to at least the following stated categories: (1) vowels and semivowels, (2) nasals, (3) unvoiced fricatives, (4) voiced fricatives, (5) unvoiced stops, and (6) voiced stopS, said sound separation means (FIG. 2) having sensors responsive to the oral signal and throat signal inputs, a stops-or-silence means responsive to said sensors, ratiometer circuits fed by said sensors and said stops-orsilence means to produce an output signal, and a plurality of logic gate means selectively responsive to outputs from said sensors, said stops-or-silence means, said ratiometer circuits, for singularly passing processed speech.

Claim 3

The invention according to claim 1 wherein said sound signals produced by said transducer module are fed separately to a transcriber module having a syllable storage and a word-vocabulary storage.

Claim 4

The invention according to claim 1 wherein a printout signal means for said transcriber module is connected to a typographic unit producing a written output of either conventionally spelled words or syllabic utterances.

Claim 5

The invention according to claim 1 wherein said sound separation means (FIG. 2) has: an oral sensor gate receiving an input of said oral signal and producing digital outputs indicative of oral ON and oral OFF, a throat sensor gate and low-pass filter receiving an input of throat signal and producing digital outputs indicative of throat ON and throat OFF signal, differentiator means responsive to said oral sensor, throat differentiator responsive to said throat sensor, said stops-or-silence unit receiving inputs of said oral signal, said oral ON and said oral OFF signals, said throat ON and OFF signals, and said oral and throat differentiator outputs, said ratiometer circuits receiving inputs from said oral and throat sensor gates, said oral and throat differentiator outputs and producing ratioed output signals, and each said logic gate means receiving said oral signal, including an unvoiced stop gate receiving outputs from said stop-or-silence unit, a voiced stop gate receiving outputs from said unvoiced stop gate and said stop-or-silence unit, an unvoiced fricative gate receiving said oral ON signals and said throat OFF signal, a voiced fricative gate receiving said throat ON signal and one of said ratioed output signals, and a vowel gate receiving outputs from said oral gate and one of said ratioed output signals.

Claim 6

The invention according to claim 4 wherein (FIG. 4) said unvoiced stop gate provides an output to a stop unit comprised of a terminal for receiving signals indicative of an unvoiced stop that is undifferentiable as to whether it is /p/, /t/ or /k/, first, second and third band-pass filters for passing 1,800-2, 200, 3,800-4,600 and 3,400-3,800 cycles, respectively, and receiving the outputs of said unvoiced stop gate and said stops-or-silence unit producing filter output signals, and a first, second and third comparator, said first comparator receiving output signals from said first and second filters, said second comparator receiving output signals from said second and third filters, and said third comparator receiving output signals from said first and third filters.

Claim 7

The invention according to claim 1 wherein (FIG. 3) said stops-or-silence means for voiced stops, unvoiced stops, and for silence, comprises a comparator 146 receiving outputs from said oral and throat differentiators and producing output when the amplitude of said throat differentiator output is equal to or greater than the amplitude of said oral differentiator output, a switch means 126 receiving said produced output, said throat ON signal, and an output from a second circuit indicating the presence of a stop, said second circuit having a timer 140 receiving inputs of said oral OFF and throat OFF signals and producing a delay gate output, a switch 141 receiving inputs of said oral differentiator and said delay gate output producing complementary outputs identified as silence signal without dt and stop with dt, a timer gate (0.15 seconds max.) 134 rEceiving inputs of said oral ON and OFF and oral differentiator signals, to pass a predetermined delayed signal representing undifferentiated unvoiced stops, a silence timer gate 130 receiving inputs of said silence signal without dt and said oral ON signal producing a silence signal, an unvoiced stop gate 142 receiving inputs from said throat OFF signal and said stop with dt signal, a timer (0.01) delay gate 132 receiving inputs of said oral signal from said oral differentiator and from said second circuit means producing mutually exclusive outputs of greater or less than 0.01-second delay duration, a timer (0.06) 136 receiving inputs of said less than 0.01-second delay duration and said oral signal, and also from the said oral differentiator, producing an output direct to the unvoiced stops transducers, a delay switch (0.03) 144 receiving inputs of said more than 0.01-second delay duration, and said oral differentiator, and producing outputs direct to both voiced and unvoiced stops transducers.

Claim 8

The invention of claim 1 wherein said detection and analysis transducer module comprises a nasal unit (FIG. 6) responsive to oral and throat inputs, a plurality of filter comparators, one of said comparators deriving an /1/ signal and one deriving an undifferentiated nasal sound as a result of said added throat input.

Claim 9

The invention of claim 1 wherein said detection and analysis transducer module comprises a vowel detection unit (FIG. 7) responsive to oral input to provide detection and differentiation of single vowels from each other by ratio comparison of first and second formant peaks to total signal strength deriving vowel signals therefrom.

Claim 10

The invention of claim 8 wherein are means for deriving (FIG. 7A) second formant peak amplitude signals without reference to its frequency which is accomplished by heterodyning.

Claim 11

The invention of claim 9 wherein said transducer module operates substantially as well with oral input signals from either a male or female voice.

Claim 12

The invention of claim 8 wherein said vowel detection unit includes a transducer 340 receiving an oral input signal and a signal indicative of the presence of an identified vowel, said transducer producing an output signal indicative of an undifferentiated vowel.

Claim 13

The invention of claim 11 wherein said transducer module comprises a diphthong transducer (FIG. 8) that distinguishes diphthong sound signals from single vowel sound signals (371-376) by a differentiated oral signal applied to a memory, and a first formant quotient signal and from a signal from the ratio comparison of first formant peaks to total signal strengths (claim 9), said memory acting upon a comparator to condition diphthong gates (461-466) to pass a diphthong signal, said memory also acting on a switch (434) to shunt nondiphthong sound signals to a transcriber module.

Claim 14

The invention of claim 2 wherein said transcriber module (FIG. 9) comprises a phoneme sequence sensor and designator (490) for receiving signals indicative of fricatives, stops, vowels, diphthongs, nasals, and a silence signal; a regrouper and storage means 494 of preselected phoneme groupings responsive to the output of the designator, a syllable retainer 510 having a storage capacity of syllables to be actuated by the regrouper means output, and a word vocabulary 516 cumulatively responsive to the consecutive output of the syllable retainer for producing print out signals of the longest word forms provided by spoken input.

Claim 15

The invention of claim 13 wherein said transcriber module in response to receiving said silence signal produces a spacing indication in the printout signal, indicating spacing between words and punctuation, said printout signal providing either (a) dot signals for a typographic unit, or (b) punctuation signals responsive to specific voiced inputs, e.g., ''''comma,'''' ''''semicolon.''''

Claim 16

The invention of claim 14 Wherein the transcriber module (FIG. 9) comprises storage of phoneme sequences responsive to (a) an indication of stress in the oral input signal, (b) output from the regrouper means, and (c) the output of the syllable retainer, for producing a printout signal for short words and symbols in capital letters showing said stress.

Claim 17

The invention of claim 15 wherein the transducer module produces printout signals for driving a Braille printing device.