Text-to-Speech Network Address Pronunciation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional screen readers poorly pronounce network addresses, such as email addresses and SIP URIs, either mispronouncing them as 'sss-jones at work dot us' or spelling out each character individually, which is tedious and inconvenient for users.

Innovation Solution

A method for facilitating text-to-speech conversion of network addresses by retrieving a user's name and determining its pronunciation based on whether the name forms part of the username, using a dictionary to identify recognized words and phrases, and calculating the likelihood of pronounceability for leftover characters to generate a phonetic representation that mimics human pronunciation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If conventional screen readers pronounce network addresses character by character or as random sounds, then each character is covered, but the pronunciation is tedious and inconvenient for users

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconvenience of network address pronunciationVSAvoidtime required for pronunciation
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by retrieving the user's actual name from a database before pronouncing the network address. The username is parsed to identify which portion corresponds to the user's name, and this name is retrieved in advance to enable natural pronunciation instead of character-by-character reading.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary process between the network address and its pronunciation. A mediation system parses the username, retrieves the corresponding actual name from a database, and uses this intermediate name to generate the final pronunciation. This intermediary step transforms the mechanical character-reading process into natural speech.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If conventional screen readers spell out each character individually, then complete coverage is achieved, but the process becomes tedious for listeners

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccuracy of character representationVSAvoidlistener convenience
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by treating different portions of the network address differently. The username portion is processed specially by retrieving the user's actual name for natural pronunciation, while other portions of the address (domain, TLD) are handled with conventional pronunciation methods. This localized special treatment improves listener convenience without sacrificing accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of applying the same character-by-character pronunciation to the entire network address, the patent applies partial action by only retrieving and using the user's actual name for the username portion. This partial application of the name-retrieval process strikes a balance between accuracy and convenience, avoiding the tedium of full character spelling while maintaining reliability for the critical user identifier portion.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Device complexity

If screen readers use phonetic conversion without considering user names, then processing is simple, but pronunciation does not match conventional human pronunciation

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesimplicity of pronunciation processingVSAvoidnatural pronunciation meaning
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by retrieving the user's actual name from a database before pronouncing the network address. The username is parsed to identify which portion corresponds to the user's name, and this name is retrieved in advance to enable natural pronunciation instead of character-by-character reading.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces dynamics by making the pronunciation process adaptive rather than static. The system dynamically determines whether to retrieve a user name based on parsing the username structure, and adjusts the pronunciation method accordingly. This dynamic approach allows the system to maintain simplicity for standard cases while achieving natural pronunciation when user names are available.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP2144227B8Facilitating text-to-speech conversion of a username or a network address containing a username
Publication Date: 2010.06.23 BLACKBERRY LTD

AI summary

To facilitate text-to-speech conversion of a username, a first or last name of a user associated with the usemame may be retrieved, and a pronunciation of the usemame may be determined based at least in part on whether the name forms at least part of the usemame. To facilitate text-to-speech conversion of a domain name having a top level domain and at least one other level domain, a pronunciation for the top level domain may be determined based at least in part upon whether the top level domain is one of a predetermined set of top level domains. Each other level domain may be searched for one or more recognized words therewithin, and a pronunciation of the other level domain may be determined based at least in part on an outcome of the search. The usemame and domain name may form part of a network address such as an email address, URL or URI.