Communication system having user selectable features

Abstract

A communication system comprising a server capable of establishing telephone communications between at least two users of a communication network and transcribe audio and/or voice communication signals of either or both users of a telephone call established by the server and the transcription is done in accordance with user selectable feature information entered by the users during a registration procedure to the communication system at a website residing in a registration server in communication with the communication system. The communication system may be part of the PSTN or the Internet or both.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A communication system comprising:
 A server forming part of one or more communication networks and for receiving user selected feature information through a user accessible communication portal, user database information, and user profile information and applies at least the received user selected feature information and one or more requests received from users of the communication system to establish communications between said users.   
     
     
         2 . The communication system of  claim 1  where the server comprises a communication switch, a registration server, a transcription engine and a user database coupled to each other within and/or through one or more communication networks and where the user accessible communication portal is coupled to or is part of the registration server to allow the server to process communication signals of the established communications based on at least the user selected feature information received from the user accessible communication portal. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2  where the transcription engine comprises a computer system having at least one processor for executing voice recognition software and/or speech tuning algorithms to transcribe voice and/or audio communication signals, automatically and in real time, into associated text based on at least user selected feature information. 
     
     
         4 . The communication system of  claim 2  where the communication switch establishes the communications in accordance with protocols and/or communication standards of the one or more communication networks to which the communication switch is coupled. 
     
     
         5 . The communication system of  claim 2  where the user accessible communication portal is a toll free number accessible via the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) or the Internet. 
     
     
         6 . The communication system of  claim 2  where each user first registers for service via the user accessible communication portal and enters user profile information into the registration server and where the communication switch routes receive communication signals of the established communications in accordance with the received user selectable feature information from at least one of the users. 
     
     
         7 . The communication system of  claim 2  where the one or more communication networks is the Internet and the user accessible communication portal is an Internet website residing in the registration server and where the user selected feature information relates to one or more requests for automatic and real time transcription of communication signals received by the registration server. 
     
     
         8 . The communication system of  claim 7  where the one or more requests for transcription of received communication signals is specified for a certain period of time. 
     
     
         9 . The communication system of  claim 7  where the one or more requests for transcription of received communication signals is specified for a certain number of communication sessions, 
     
     
         10 . The communication system of  claim 7  where the one or more requests for transcription of received communication signals is specified for a certain number of telephone calls over the Internet. 
     
     
         11 . The communication system of  claim 7  where the one or more request for transcription of received communication signals is specified for a particular user. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 7  where the registration server contains received user profile information, user login and password information and user selectable feature information and where said registration server is coupled to a publicly accessible communication network. 
     
     
         13 . The communication system of  claim 6  where the user database contains information associated with users of a communication network to which the switch is coupled and said information relates to identity of a user or user equipment as defined by communication standards and protocols of one or more communication networks to which the communication switch is coupled. 
     
     
         14 . A method of communication by a server comprising a communication switch, a transcription engine, a user database and a registration server, the method comprising:
 establishing, by the communication switch, communications based on received requests for communication services;   transcribing, by the transcription engine, received communication signals of the established communications into associated text in real time and automatically in accordance with at least user selectable feature information received by the registration server; and   transmitting, by the communication switch, communication signals and associated text to one or more parties of the established communications.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  where the step of transcribing comprises routing of received voice and/or audio communication signals to a transcription engine based on at least received user selectable feature information received the registration server. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14  where the transcription engine comprises a computer system having one or more processors capable of executing voice recognition software and/or speech tuning algorithms to automatically transcribe audio and/or voice communication signals in real time. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14  where the established communications is a telephone call. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14  where the step of establishing communications comprises receiving user profile information by the registration server during user registration; and retrieving user database information from the database and routing said database information to the communication switch. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  where the user selectable feature information and the user profile information are received by an Internet website residing in the registration server. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14  where audio and/or voice communication signals and associated text are transmitted by the communication switch in accordance with the user selectable feature information received by the registrar server.