IP Verse

Translational Bot For Group Communication

Patent No. US11328130 (titled "Translational Bot For Group Communication") was filed by Orion Labs Tech Llc on Nov 6, 2018.

What is this patent about?

’130 is related to the field of group voice communication, specifically addressing the challenge of real-time communication among users with different language preferences. Existing voice over IP (VoIP) systems struggle to facilitate seamless conversations when participants speak different languages, often requiring human translators which slows down the communication flow.

The underlying idea behind ’130 is to automatically translate speech in real-time for group communication participants based on their individual language preferences. The system identifies the language of the speaker, determines the preferred languages of the recipients, and then uses a translation engine to convert the speech into the appropriate languages before delivering it to each recipient.

The claims of ’130 focus on a remote management server that manages group communications. The server registers communication devices, associating them with a language preference and group communication settings. Upon receiving speech input from a device, the server identifies the intended recipients based on the group settings, determines their preferred languages, translates the speech as needed, and then sends the translated audio to each recipient.

In practice, a user initiates a voice communication on their device, which sends the audio to a remote server. The server identifies the user's communication group and the preferred languages of each member. If a recipient's preferred language differs from the speaker's, the server uses a translation bot to convert the audio. The translated audio, along with the original audio for those sharing the speaker's language, is then sent to the respective devices for playback.

This system differentiates itself by automating the translation process within a group communication context. Instead of relying on manual translation or pre-configured language settings for entire groups, it dynamically adapts to each user's individual language preference. The system uses device identifiers to access user-specific language settings and distribution groups, enabling personalized and seamless multilingual communication.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical landscape at the time

In the late 2010s when ’130 was filed, voice over IP (VoIP) was typically implemented using client-server architectures, at a time when systems commonly relied on centralized servers to handle media processing and routing rather than distributed peer-to-peer approaches. Hardware or software constraints made real-time language translation in group communication scenarios non-trivial, often requiring dedicated translation services or human interpreters.

Novelty and Inventive Step

The examiner allowed the application because the applicant amended the independent claims to clarify the claimed invention. Specifically, the applicant clarified that a remote management server determines whether to translate a first group communication from a first language to a second language, which distinguished the invention from prior art where the client device made that determination. The examiner agreed that the proposed amendment was sufficient to distinguish the invention from the prior art of record.

Claims

This patent includes 20 claims, with independent claims 1, 11, and 16. The independent claims are directed to a method, a system, and a memory device, respectively, all generally focused on providing real-time translation for group communications between multiple communication devices. The dependent claims generally elaborate on and refine the features of the independent claims.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)Support for SpecificationInterpretation
First language preference
(Claim 1, Claim 11, Claim 16)		“Each group communication device may be associated with a corresponding user. For example, each user may register a corresponding group communication device with a group communication service implemented on a remote management platform, and personalize information related to their accounts and/or devices, including a preferred reception language (i.e., a language that they would like to receive voice communications in from the device and from other users), a preferred outgoing language (i.e., a language they are likely to input into their corresponding group communication device), one or more communication groups and corresponding users/devices associated with a primary group communication setting on the group communication device (i.e., one or more users that the account user would like her voice communications to be transmitted to when a primary setting is in effect), and one or more communication groups and corresponding users/devices associated with one or more secondary group communication settings on the group communication device (i.e., one or more users that the account user would like her voice communications to be transmitted to when a secondary setting is in effect).”A language setting associated with the first communication device, indicating the language the user of that device prefers to use for outgoing communications.
Preferred language
(Claim 1, Claim 11, Claim 16)		“Each group communication device may be associated with a corresponding user. For example, each user may register a corresponding group communication device with a group communication service implemented on a remote management platform, and personalize information related to their accounts and/or devices, including a preferred reception language (i.e., a language that they would like to receive voice communications in from the device and from other users), a preferred outgoing language (i.e., a language they are likely to input into their corresponding group communication device), one or more communication groups and corresponding users/devices associated with a primary group communication setting on the group communication device (i.e., one or more users that the account user would like her voice communications to be transmitted to when a primary setting is in effect), and one or more communication groups and corresponding users/devices associated with one or more secondary group communication settings on the group communication device (i.e., one or more users that the account user would like her voice communications to be transmitted to when a secondary setting is in effect).”A language setting associated with a communication device, indicating the language the user of that device prefers to receive communications in.
Primary group communication setting
(Claim 1, Claim 11, Claim 16)		“Each group communication device may be associated with a corresponding user. For example, each user may register a corresponding group communication device with a group communication service implemented on a remote management platform, and personalize information related to their accounts and/or devices, including a preferred reception language (i.e., a language that they would like to receive voice communications in from the device and from other users), a preferred outgoing language (i.e., a language they are likely to input into their corresponding group communication device), one or more communication groups and corresponding users/devices associated with a primary group communication setting on the group communication device (i.e., one or more users that the account user would like her voice communications to be transmitted to when a primary setting is in effect), and one or more communication groups and corresponding users/devices associated with one or more secondary group communication settings on the group communication device (i.e., one or more users that the account user would like her voice communications to be transmitted to when a secondary setting is in effect).”A setting that identifies a first set of communication devices that are part of a primary communication group for the first communication device.
Real-time translation
(Claim 1, Claim 11)		“Non-limiting examples of the present disclosure describe systems, methods, and devices for providing real-time translation for group communications. Generally, the present disclosure is directed to systems, methods and devices for providing real-time translation for group speech communications. In determining one or more account settings for each user in the at least one group of users to provide the recorded sound to, the remote management platform may determine a preferred reception language for each user, and process the recorded audio utilizing one or more language translation engines, or translation bots, such that recorded speech from the transmitting user is translated, if need be, into a preferred language for each user of the one or more groups.”The process of translating speech input from one language to another, substantially simultaneously with the speech being received, to facilitate group communications.
Secondary group communication setting
(Claim 1, Claim 11, Claim 16)		“Each group communication device may be associated with a corresponding user. For example, each user may register a corresponding group communication device with a group communication service implemented on a remote management platform, and personalize information related to their accounts and/or devices, including a preferred reception language (i.e., a language that they would like to receive voice communications in from the device and from other users), a preferred outgoing language (i.e., a language they are likely to input into their corresponding group communication device), one or more communication groups and corresponding users/devices associated with a primary group communication setting on the group communication device (i.e., one or more users that the account user would like her voice communications to be transmitted to when a primary setting is in effect), and one or more communication groups and corresponding users/devices associated with one or more secondary group communication settings on the group communication device (i.e., one or more users that the account user would like her voice communications to be transmitted to when a secondary setting is in effect).”A setting that identifies a second set of communication devices that are part of a secondary communication group for the first communication device.

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US11328130

ORION LABS TECH LLC
Application Number
US16182474
Filing Date
Nov 6, 2018
Status
Granted
Expiry Date
Nov 6, 2038
External Links
Slate, USPTO, Google Patents