Device independent text captioned telephone service

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

0001This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/695,099 filed Jun. 29, 2005, and hereby incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

0002The present application relates generally to telephone systems and specifically to telephone systems that provide for real-time text captioning for the hard of hearing.

0003Modem telecommunication services provide features to assist those who are deaf or hard of hearing. One such feature is the text telephone (TTY) also known as a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD). TDDs allow for text communication through the telephone system by generating tones that may be transmitted by analog telephone lines in response to a user typing letters on a keyboard.

0004Hearing users may communicate with deaf users who have TDD devices through so-called “relays.” A relay is a service funded by telephone communication surcharges that provides a “call assistant” who intermediates between a deaf user and a hearing user. The call assistant communicates with the deaf user using a TDD and communicates with the hearing user by voice over a standard telephone line.

0005A relay service may also be used to help those who are not deaf, but hard of hearing, by providing a captioned telephone. With a captioned telephone, a user who is hard of hearing may carry on a normal telephone conversation with a hearing user while a text transcription of the words spoken by the hearing user is displayed on the telephone. The text transcription allows the hard of hearing user to confirm his or her understanding of the spoken words. Unlike with a conventional relay service, captioned telephone requires extremely fast text transcription using a computer executed voice recognition system (typically with revoicing by a trained operator) so that the text captioning is as nearly as possible contemporaneous with the spoken words.

0006Text captioned telephones of this type are marketed under the service mark CAPTEL and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,307,921 and 6,075,842 assigned to the assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference.

0007A text captioned telephone system employs a relay service in a mode where the relay transmits both the voice of the hearing user and a text stream of the spoken words by that user. A telephone of the receiving hard of hearing user provides a text display for displaying the captions.

0008In a single-line text captioned telephone, text and voice signals may be received over a single telephone line and separated electronically. The text captioned telephone includes software that automatically dials the relay, and providing the relay with the telephone number of the ultimate destination of the call. For incoming telephone calls, the hard of hearing user must normally hang up and redial the caller through the relay.

0009In a two-line text captioned telephone, a first telephone line communicates with the caller, and a second telephone line communicates exclusively with the relay. The two-line system allows text captioning to be easily used on incoming calls by allowing the text captioned telephone to dial out to the relay when the call is received and forward the necessary voice signal.

0010Many users of text-captioned telephony have jobs requiring significant use of the telephone as made possible by text-captioning. These users face a significant problem when they need to make use of telephone systems outside of their normal work environment where text captioning telephones may not be available or equipment such as cellular telephones that does not support text captioning must be used. Many workplaces use proprietary private branch exchange (PBX) telephone lines that do not support analog text captioning telephones, the latter which require standard telephone connections.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

0011The present inventors have recognized that increased accessibility of workers to the Internet and general purpose computers makes it possible to provide text-captioned telephony independently of specialized telephone terminal hardware intended narrowly for the deaf, hard of hearing, or assisted users. In a first embodiment, a standard telephone may be used in tandem with an Internet-connected computer to allow the conversation on the telephone to be augmented with text displayed on the computer. The voice signal is provided to a captioning service which transmits text captions over the Internet to the computer in near real time. In this way, standard office equipment can provide text-captioning capabilities without the need for specialized telephone equipment.

0012Specifically, in a first embodiment of the invention, text captioning is provided to callers by a combination of a telephone terminal and an Internet appliance such as a browser on a computer. A first caller communicates a voice portion of a telephone call over the telephone network with a second caller, both callers operating telephone terminals on telephone lines. Text transcribing the telephone call is communicated over the Internet to one of the first and second callers for display on the Internet appliance.

0013Thus it is one object of at least one embodiment of the invention to use commonly available office equipment to provide text-captioned telephony.

0014It is another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to permit text-captioned telephony using available telephone equipment, telephone networks, and billing arrangements.

0015The telephone network may include a PBX network.

0016Thus it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to allow users of PBX phones to participate in the benefits of text-captioned telephony normally limited to standard telephone lines.

0017The text may be provided by a relay communicating with the Internet.

0018It is thus another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to allow existing relay services to be used without the need to navigate proprietary calling systems such as PBX or cellular telephone.

0019The relay may receive a portion of the telephone call from the telephone network.

0020Thus it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to present an embodiment in which high speed Internet is not required.

0021The first caller may dial the relay on the telephone network to provide the relay with the telephone number of the second caller, and the relay may call the telephone number of the second caller to complete the call.

0022Thus it is another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to preserve the anonymity or invisibility of the relay in the calling process.

0023The relay may alternatively receive a portion of the telephone call from the Internet in a voice over Internet protocol.

0024It is thus another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to eliminate the need for a separate call to the relay allowing seamless handling of incoming calls as well as the ability to make outgoing calls.

0025The portion of the telephone call may be provided by tapping into the handset of one telephone terminal to communicate a portion of the conversation to the Internet appliance.

0026It is thus another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a wide variety of telephone terminals to be used, with which the user is convenient and familiar, while providing a signal to the Internet appliance without the need for cumbersome or specialized microphones and the like.

0027The Internet appliance may further transmit a video signal to the user over the Internet.

0028Thus it is another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to take advantage of the Internet connection to provide augmented communication between the callers or a caller and the relay.

0029In an alternative embodiment, the invention may provide for text captions to telephone calls by communicating a voice portion of the telephone call between the first caller and the second caller over an Internet telephone using voice over Internet protocol (VOIP). Text captioning of the telephone call can be provided by a relay tapping into the Internet transmission and forwarding captioning information to the Internet telephone also over the Internet.

0030Thus it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to take advantage of the ability of the Internet to make multiple connections among more than one party (e.g., two callers and the relay) to provide text-captioned telephony. It is another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to take advantage of the ubiquity of Internet connections in the office environment to avoid the problems normally inherent in PBX proprietary lines.

0031The Internet telephone may be a computer communicating with the Internet or a dedicated VOIP telephone where the captioning is displayed on the VOIP telephone display.

0032Thus it is another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to take advantage of inherent text communication qualities of VOIP telephone systems, either those using computers or dedicated VOIP phones, to provide for text-captioned telephony without specialized equipment.

0033The user may initiate the communication to the relay to promote text captioning.

0034Thus it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to allow on-demand text captioning only as required.

0035The device may provide for a volume display to one of the first and second users.

0036Thus it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to allow the hard-of-hearing user to have an additional dimension of understanding of the conversation, and thus some assurance that proper text captioning is occurring.

0037The Internet telephone may incorporate a serial number and may use the serial number to validate the user.

0038It is thus another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to prevent misuse of relay services as may occur with the anonymity of the Internet.

0039The Internet telephone may further include a telephone network connection and the telephone may use the telephone network in lieu of the Internet when a telephone number is an emergency number such as 911.

0040Thus it is another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a system that allows for traditional 911 response.

0041These particular objects and advantages may apply to only some embodiments falling within the claims and thus do not define the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

0042<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a representation of a first embodiment of the invention providing text-captioned telephony using a PBX office telephone and Internet-connected computer;

0043<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is a perspective view of a voice-tap connecting the PBX telephone of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> to the computer to allow transfer of voice signals over the Internet to a relay;

0044<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> is a caller interface window as may be displayed on the computer of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> allowing on-demand captioning of the telephone call;

0045<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is a flowchart of the principle steps of a program executed on the computer of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> when captioning is demanded by the caller;

0046<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is a figure similar to that of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, showing an alternative embodiment in which the voice signal is routed through a standard telephone line to the relay and the text is returned to the computer;

0047<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> is a figure similar to that of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> showing the flowchart for the embodiment of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref>;

0048<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> is a figure similar to that of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> showing a caller interface window for entering a PIN number to link captioning text to a particular call;

0049<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> is a figure similar to that of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1 and 5</figref> showing implementation of a text-captioning using VOIP transmissions;

0050<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> is a figure similar to that of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 7 and 3</figref> showing a caller interface window for a VOIP telephone implemented on a standard computer;

0051<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref> is a flowchart of the principal steps executed by the computer in implementing the text-captioned telephony using VOIP telephones;

0052<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref> is a fragmentary view of the computer of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> showing the addition of a video camera so that voice and video may be transmitted to the other caller; and

0053<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref> is a fragmentary view of the caller interface window of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> showing a video inset possible with the configuration of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref>.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

0054Referring to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, in a first embodiment of the invention, a text captioned telephone system <b>10</b> may be implemented within a typical office having a PBX telephone terminal <b>12</b> and a desk top computer <b>14</b>. The desk top computer <b>14</b> includes a display screen <b>16</b>, a base unit <b>18</b> (including a processor, memory, disk drives and importantly a sound card) and a keyboard or other entry device <b>20</b>.

0055As is understood in the art, the PBX telephone terminal <b>12</b> may be connected through an office wall jack <b>22</b> to a PBX network <b>24</b> using a proprietary communication protocol. The PBX network <b>24</b> communicates with a public switched telephone network <b>26</b> that allows the PBX telephone terminal <b>12</b> to connect to an external telephone terminal <b>28</b> to originate a call to the external telephone terminal <b>28</b> or to receive a call from the external telephone terminal <b>28</b>.

0056The computer <b>14</b> may connect through an Ethernet card to an Ethernet network <b>30</b>, passing to a local router <b>32</b> to connect to the Internet <b>34</b> or may use one of a number of well known wireless standards to connect to the local router <b>32</b>.

0057Referring now also to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>, a voice signal tap <b>36</b> has a short cable stub <b>38</b> terminating in an RJ-12 jack <b>40</b> that may be received in the handset jack for the main body of the PBX telephone terminal <b>12</b>. The tap <b>36</b> also provides a receiving socket for the RJ-12 jack <b>42</b> associated with the handset cord <b>44</b> so that the tap <b>36</b> may be simply interposed between the handset <b>46</b> and the main body of the PBX telephone terminal <b>12</b> to conduct voice signals as analog audio signals therethrough.

0058A tap line <b>48</b> extending from the tap <b>36</b> terminates in a subminiature telephone jack <b>50</b> that may be received by audio input of the sound card of the base unit <b>18</b>. The tap line conducts a portion of the voice signals from the handset <b>46</b> to the sound card of the base unit <b>18</b>.

0059The voice signals received by the computer <b>14</b> may be processed by an internal program of a type well known in the art to encode the voice signals as VOIP signals <b>52</b> that may be sent over the Internet to a server <b>54</b> associated with a relay service <b>56</b>. Programs for transmitting VOIP signal are commercially available from Skype of Luxembourg and Vonage of N.J., USA. At the relay service <b>56</b>, the encoded voice signals may be converted back to an analog signal for transcription by a call assistant who produces corresponding captioning text <b>55</b> that may be relayed through conventional Internet transfer protocols back to the computer <b>14</b> where the text may be displayed.

0060In an alternative embodiment, a headset microphone and earpiece (not shown) may communicate separately with left and right sound card channels. This, along with echo canceling software in the computer <b>14</b> allows the relay service <b>56</b> to separate the voice of the caption user from the other party for improved transcription and anonymity.

0061The relay service <b>56</b> may provide for human operators working with speech recognition engines to rapidly translate voice signals into text streams. The operation of such a relay is described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,567,503, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference.

0062By placing the tap <b>36</b> in the path of the handset <b>46</b>, analog audio signals may be obtained, greatly simplifying the acquisition of the audio signal without the need to contend with the PBX standard or the need or awkward or unfamiliar computer associated microphones.

0063Referring now to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>, an office user wishing to avail themselves of text captioning may start a text-captioning program <b>58</b> on the computer <b>14</b> to provide a caller interface window <b>60</b> on the display screen <b>16</b>. The caller interface window <b>60</b> may provide simple mouse or keyboard operated controls including a caption button <b>62</b> that may be actuated by the caller to begin the program's operation.

0064Referring to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>, upon pressing of the caption button <b>62</b>, as indicated by process block <b>64</b>, the computer <b>14</b> may initiate an Internet connection to the relay service <b>56</b> by invoking a stored URL of the relay server <b>54</b>. At this time, the computer <b>14</b> may provide some information to the relay including a serial number of the caller to validate the caller's location for the purpose of identifying the particular public authority responsible for the relay call. The caller can be required to register the program with a relay service database and the serial number can be used to authorize their use of the service, thus limiting fraudulent use of the relay service and allowing for local 911 service by providing information about the geographic location of the user.

0065As indicated by process block <b>66</b>, the program <b>58</b> may then forward the tapped voice signals as VOIP signals to the relay server <b>54</b>, and receive text as indicated by process block <b>68</b> which may be displayed in text box <b>70</b> of the caller interface window <b>60</b>. The text box <b>70</b> includes conventional scroll-type controls <b>73</b> allowing text to be reviewed after it has been received. The program <b>58</b> may also provide for normal file operations <b>75</b> including saving of text files, e-mailing text files, and the like.

0066Upon completion of the call, the caller may press the caption button <b>62</b> again to disconnect the call as indicated by process block <b>71</b>. The caption button <b>62</b> may include an animation visually indicating its state as being depressed or released or may change its label from “caption” to “end caption” indicating its changing function.

0067Importantly, this system allows for convenient and intuitive voice communication between a PBX telephone terminal <b>12</b> and telephone terminal <b>28</b>, either for making outgoing calls or ingoing calls, while allowing either type of call to be captioned on demand without interruption of the telephone call or the need for specialized telephone equipment. This system will also work without a PBX exchange and can work for a variety of different telephone types not intended for text captioning.

0068Referring now to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref>, in a second embodiment, a standard desk top computer <b>14</b> may work in conjunction with a standard telephone (i.e., not text captioned), in this case a cell telephone <b>72</b>, the latter of which communicates through a cellular service <b>74</b> with the public switched telephone network <b>26</b>, without a direct connection between the cell telephone <b>72</b> and the computer <b>14</b>.

0069In this embodiment, the caller using the cell telephone <b>72</b> first calls the relay service <b>56</b> as indicated by process block <b>76</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref>. The relay service <b>56</b>, per standard practice, receives telephone calls over the public switched telephone network <b>26</b>. The relay service <b>56</b> may provide an automated answering system that requests a telephone number from the caller of the ultimate destination of the telephone call, in this case, telephone terminal <b>28</b>. As indicated by process block <b>78</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref>, the caller may enter the requested telephone number by using the caller's keypad on the cell telephone <b>72</b>.

0070In the case where the relay service remains anonymous, in the sense that the call assistant does not speak directly with the caller, the answering system may provide the caller with a personal identification number (PIN) as indicated in process block <b>80</b>. The relay service <b>56</b> links the caller's particular incoming line to the PIN in an internal database <b>57</b>.

0071The caller, using a conventional browser on the desk top computer <b>14</b>, then enters the URL of the server <b>54</b> of the relay service <b>56</b>, as indicated by process block <b>82</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref>. This may also be done before initiating the call to the relay service <b>56</b>.

0072As shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref>, the relay server <b>54</b> provides the caller with webpage <b>86</b> offering a text box <b>88</b> allowing entry of the PIN received at process block <b>80</b>. The caller, by entering that PIN and press a captioning initiation button <b>90</b>, causes the relay service <b>56</b> to complete the call by connecting the incoming audio from the cell telephone <b>72</b> to the telephone terminal <b>28</b>. The relay service <b>56</b> then forwards captioning text <b>55</b> over the Internet <b>34</b> to the caller through a text box <b>92</b> as indicated by process block <b>94</b>. The text box <b>92</b> may use, for example, a browser plug-in or instant messaging program to provide for a consistent updating of the text as it is received, but otherwise requires no specialized software on computer <b>14</b>.

0073Alternatively and preferably, the caller may first contact the webpage <b>86</b> using the computer <b>14</b> to provide the relay server <b>54</b> with both the number the caller wishes to dial and also the caller's own telephone number. The relay server <b>54</b> then calls the caller over the cell phone <b>72</b>. Once a connection is established with captions, the relay server <b>54</b> dials to the other party. This automatically links the IP address to the telephone connections without the need for PIN. The phone number of the caller may be entered on the webpage <b>86</b> in text box <b>87</b> and the destination phone number may be entered in text box <b>89</b> similar to those described for the PIN.

0074The use of a web page and browser plug in to avoid the need for specialized software to be on the desktop computer <b>14</b> is also applicable to the earlier embodiment of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>.

0075At the end of the call as indicated by process block <b>96</b>, the caller may press the captioning initiation button <b>90</b> again to terminate the call. The captioning initiation button <b>90</b> may reflect this new purpose, of terminating the captioning, by changing its label.

0076Again, in this embodiment, no specialized text captioning equipment is required, but the system makes use of commonly available office and telephone equipment to provide for text captioning that is not limited to a particular location, but which may be used in any location where Internet and telephone access may be had. In this regard, computer <b>14</b> may, for example, be any Internet appliance, for example, a wireless mobile laptop or the like. Thus a caller may work from a hot spot using a cell telephone and a wireless laptop to obtain competent text captioning.

0077In a variation on this embodiment, set-up of the call (e.g. providing the relay service <b>56</b> with the destination phone number) may be accomplished using the desktop computer <b>14</b> rather than via telephone <b>72</b>. When the caller calls the relay service <b>56</b>, the caller enters a pin number to connect the call to the captioning or the connection may be made by linking the callers phone number with a number previously entered on the computer <b>14</b>.

0078In this embodiment, identification of the particular governmental entity responsible for reimbursement for the captioning can be obtained from the information of the public switched telephone network <b>26</b> per standard practice.

0079In a variation on this embodiment, new 3G cellular services allow the use of both cellular voice and data connections simultaneously using a cellular phone. In this case, the browser on a desktop computer <b>14</b> may be replaced with a browser on the cell phone which provides a telephone and Internet appliance, all in one.

0080Referring now to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> in a third embodiment, a single advanced Internet appliance may be used to replace the need for a telephone. That Internet appliance, for example, may be a standard computer <b>14</b> equipped with a microphone and headphone assembly <b>100</b> for making VOIP calls or a VOIP telephone <b>102</b> providing for display capabilities on screen <b>104</b>. Many PBX systems now allow for the connection of VOIP phones.

0081Referring also to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 9 and 10</figref>, in a first variation on this embodiment, a program <b>108</b> executed by the computer <b>14</b> provides a caller interface window <b>110</b> on the display screen <b>16</b> of the computer allowing the initiation of a VOIP connection as indicated by process block <b>112</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref>. The caller interface window <b>110</b> provides a standard virtual telephone keypad <b>114</b> by which a telephone number of a telephone terminal <b>28</b> on the public switched telephone network <b>26</b> may be entered and displayed in text box <b>116</b>. Pressing of a call button <b>120</b> initiates a VOIP telephone call. The basic process of initiating a VOIP call is well understood in the art.

0082In the present invention, however, at any time, a captioning initiation button <b>122</b> may be pressed, causing initiation of a second VOIP telephone call directly to the relay service <b>56</b> through the relay server <b>54</b> as indicated by process block <b>124</b>. At this time, the VOIP signals <b>52</b> exchanged between the computer <b>14</b> and telephone terminal <b>28</b> (optionally via the public switched telephone network <b>26</b>) may be multicast to the server <b>54</b> to be interpreted as voice signals by the relay service <b>56</b>. The server <b>54</b> may also receive a serial number <b>125</b> identifying the caller and assisting in allocation of relay service fees among governmental entities. The relay service <b>56</b> returns captioning text <b>55</b> transcribing the VOIP signals <b>52</b> back to the computer <b>14</b> to be displayed in text box <b>92</b> as indicated by process block <b>126</b>.

0083The caller interface window <b>110</b> may also provide a volume meter <b>130</b> aiding the caller in speaking to obtain sufficient signal strength for proper relay interpretation.

0084Alternatively, the call may be initiated as a captioned call by pressing the captioning initiation button <b>122</b>, then dialing the telephone number, in which case, setup information <b>123</b> (e.g., the destination telephone number) together with a serial number <b>125</b>, are forwarded to the relay service <b>56</b> which may then initiate the VOIP call to the telephone terminal <b>28</b> patching through signals received from computer <b>14</b> to the telephone terminal <b>28</b>.

0085As indicated by process block <b>132</b>, the call may be terminated by pressing the call button <b>120</b> and/or captioning may be terminated by pressing the captioning initiation button <b>122</b>.

0086When the computer <b>14</b> is used, a connection to the public switched telephone network <b>26</b> may also be provided for interception of emergency calls, for example, to 911, routing those through the publicly-switched telephone network rather than through the Internet so as to provide for the benefits of rapid identification of geographic location of the caller inherent in calls made through the publicly-switched telephone network and not always provided currently with the VOIP services.

0087Referring again to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>, the identical steps may be accomplished by a specially programmed VOIP telephone <b>102</b>, which requires only a modification in software to implement the same functions as those described above. The captioning initiation button in this case can be implemented in software keystroke combinations without the need for additional switches with the standard screen <b>104</b> on the VOIP telephone serving as the text display and optional volume meter.

0088General purpose Internet appliances such as computer <b>14</b> make it possible to expand the previous embodiments to the addition of a video camera <b>140</b> providing video signals <b>142</b> to the Internet as well as the VOIP signals <b>52</b> and the receipt of captioning text <b>55</b>. Referring to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref>, the addition of video signals allows a video inset box <b>144</b> to be added to the caller interface window <b>136</b>, allowing viewing of the other party to the conversation or the relay operator also having an Internet appliance such as a computer <b>14</b>. This embodiment allows face-to-face conversations, but also may allow, for example, the use of American Sign Language or lip reading between users together with the captioning provided by the text box <b>92</b>. In other respects, the caller interface window <b>136</b> may be identical to caller interface window <b>110</b> described above.

0089In a variation on this embodiment, a standard videophone may be used as may be connected over a broadband Internet connection (or corporate LAN) to provide video and voice. Videophones are popular with both hearing people and deaf people that use sign language and provide a built in camera and display screen for the picture of the other party.

0090In this embodiment, the videophone user or video conference system user can connect with the captioning service website and the service can send the captions not as IP text but as an IP video signal formatted to be compatible with the videophone. The captions are transmitted instead of the image of the caller, as video images of letters using standard captioning software that converts text to a video signals or as overlaid on the image of one caller using a video merging technique. In the case where a videophone provides a separate text display, this can alternatively be used for the captioning, as described above with the Internet phone, with the text being transmitted as IP text, that is, character data such as ASCII or Baudot. Alternatively, IP text may be converted at the videophone into image data to be displayed on a video screen as a caption. When IP text is recieved, the videophone may elect how the text is to be displayed, either as captions on a video image or as text with no other image. The IP text may be uniquely marked to identify it to the videophone.

0091It is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein, but include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims.