1. A circuit, comprising:
a power transistor having a first current electrode coupled to a first power supply terminal, a second current electrode as an output of the circuit, and a control electrode;
a driver control circuit having an output coupled to the control electrode of the power transistor for controlling the power transistor during an active mode of the circuit;
a variable clamp circuit coupled between the output of circuit and the first power supply terminal; and
a turn-off control circuit coupled to the variable clamp circuit that selects a plurality of clamping levels of the variable clamp circuit during a transition from the active mode to an inactive mode of the circuit, wherein the plurality of clamping levels are sequentially applied at predetermined intervals of time during the transition, and wherein the power transistor is on during the active mode and off during the inactive mode.
2. The circuit of claim 1 further wherein the variable clamp circuit comprises:
a plurality of zener diodes coupled in series and having first end coupled to the first power terminal and a second end coupled to the output of the circuit; and
a plurality of transistors coupled to the plurality of zener diodes and the turn-off control circuit.
3. The circuit of claim 2 wherein the plurality of transistors is further characterized as comprising:
a first transistor for shorting a first group of zener diodes of the plurality of zener diodes to provide the clamping level at a first level;
a second transistor for shorting a second group of zener diodes of the plurality of zener diodes to provide the clamping level at a second level; and
a third transistor for shorting a third group of zener diodes of the plurality of zener diodes to provide the clamping level at third level.
4. The circuit of claim 3, wherein the first, second, and third transistors comprise P channel transistors.
5. The circuit of claim 2, wherein the variable clamp circuit further comprises a current mirror coupled between the first power terminal and the plurality of transistors having a first signal terminal coupled to the plurality of transistors and the first end of the plurality of zener diodes and a second signal terminal coupled to the control electrode of the power transistor.
6. The circuit of claim 5 wherein the current mirror comprises bipolar transistors.
7. The circuit of claim 5 further comprising a negative voltage clamp coupled to the output of the circuit.
8. The circuit of claim 7, wherein the negative voltage clamp is coupled to a second power supply terminal and clamps the output at a level that is negative in relation to the second power supply terminal.
9. The circuit of claim 1 further comprising a negative voltage clamp coupled to the output of the circuit and to a second power supply terminal that is negative and fixed in relation to the second power supply terminal.
10. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the clamping levels are fixed in relation to the first power supply terminal.
11. A method of operating a circuit coupled to a first power supply terminal and a second power supply terminal and having an output at a source of a power transistor, comprising:
using the power transistor to provide an output signal during an active mode of the circuit, wherein the power transistor is on during the active mode and off during an inactive mode of the circuit; and
clamping the output at a plurality of discrete values during a transition of the circuit from the active mode to the inactive mode, wherein the discrete values of the plurality of discrete values increase in magnitude in relation to the first power terminal and descend in value in relation to the second power terminal during the transition and are sequentially applied at predetermined intervals of time during the transition.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the clamping is further characterized by each discrete value of the plurality of discrete values is fixed in relation to the first power terminal.
13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:
providing a negative clamp value that is fixed in value and negative in value in relation to the second power terminal, wherein the negative clamp value is functioning to clamp the output to the negative clamp value to complete the transition from the active mode to the inactive mode.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the clamping comprises:
providing a plurality of series-connected zener diodes between the first power supply terminal and the output; and
shorting groups of the plurality of series-connected zener diodes during the transition from the active mode to the inactive mode.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the shorting comprises:
providing a plurality of transistors coupled to the groups; and
selectively enabling transistors of the plurality of transistors during the transition from the active mode to the inactive mode.
16. The method of claim 11, comprising coupling the output to a motor.
17. A circuit, comprising:
a power transistor having a first current electrode coupled to a first power supply terminal, a second current electrode as an output of the circuit, and a control electrode;
a driver control circuit having an output coupled to the control electrode of the power transistor for controlling the power transistor during an active mode of the circuit;
a plurality of series-connected zener diodes coupled between the output and the first power supply terminal;
a plurality of transistors coupled across groups of the series-connected zener diodes; and
a control circuit for selectively enabling the transistors of the plurality of transistors to selectively short the groups of the series-connected zener diodes, wherein the transistors are sequentially enabled for a predetermined amount of time during a transition from an active mode in which the power transistor is on to an inactive mode in which the power transistor is off.
18. The circuit of claim 17 further comprising:
a voltage clamp coupled to the output of the circuit and to a second power supply terminal that clamps at a value fixed in relation to the second power supply terminal.
19. The circuit of claim 17, further comprising: a current mirror coupled between the first power terminal and the plurality of series-connected zener diodes having a first signal terminal coupled to a first end of the plurality of series-connected zener diodes and a second signal terminal coupled to the control electrode of the power transistor.
20. The circuit of claim 17 further comprising a resistance coupled between the output and the control electrode of the power transistor.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A system for providing cues from a device to a user while capturing an utterance, the system comprising:
a backend server; and
a hand-held mobile communication device in communication with the backend server over a network, the hand-held communication device configured to:
capture a first portion of a user utterance; and
communicate to the backend server, data representative of the first portion of the user utterance;
the backend server being configured to:
receive the data representative of the first portion of the user utterance;
process the data representative of the first portion of the user utterance, said processing including determining a metric associated with the first portion of the user utterance; and
communicate to the hand-held mobile communication device, data representative of the metric associated with the first portion of the user utterance;
the hand-held mobile communication device being further configured to:
receive from the backend server, the data representative of the metric associated with the first portion of the user utterance;
provide to the user, a cue based at least in part on the received data representative of a metric associated with the first portion of the user utterance;
capture a second portion of the user utterance; and
communicate to the backend server, data representative of the second portion of the user utterance;
the backend server being further configured to:
receive the data representative of the second portion of the user utterance;
process the data representative of the second portion of the user utterance, said processing including determining a metric associated with the second portion of the user utterance; and
communicate to the hand-held mobile communication device, data representative of the metric associated with the second portion of the user utterance;
the hand-held mobile communication device being further configured to:
receive from the backend server, the data representative of the metric associated with the second portion of the user utterance; and
provide to the user, a cue based on the received data representative of the metric associated with the second portion of the user utterance;
wherein said providing to the user, a cue based at least in part on the received data representative of a metric associated with the first portion of the user utterance, occurs prior to said capturing, by the hand-held mobile communication device, a second portion of the user utterance.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein:
the hand-held mobile communication device is further configured to:
capture a third portion of the user utterance; and
communicate to the backend server, data representative of the third portion of the user utterance;
the backend server is further configured to:
receive the data representative of the third portion of the user utterance;
process the data representative of the third portion of the user utterance, said processing including determining a metric associated with the third portion of the user utterance; and
communicate to the hand-held mobile communication device, data representative of the metric associated with the third portion of the user utterance; and
the hand-held mobile communication device is further configured to:
receive from the backend server, the data representative of the metric associated with the third portion of the user utterance; and
provide to the user, a cue based at least in part on the received data representative of the metric associated with the third portion of the user utterance;
wherein said providing to the user, a cue based at least in part on the received data representative of a metric associated with the second portion of the user utterance, occurs prior to said capturing, by the hand-held mobile communication device, a third portion of the user utterance.
3. A computer-implemented method of providing cues to a user while capturing an utterance, the computer-implemented method comprising:
capturing, by an electronic communication device, a user utterance; and
providing, by the electronic communication device to the user in at least near real-time, one or more cues associated with the user utterance, wherein said providing includes, for each portion of a plurality of portions of the user utterance:
communicating, from the electronic communication device, data representative of the respective portion of the user utterance to a remote electronic device,
in response to the communication of data representative of the respective portion of the user utterance, receiving, at the electronic communication device, data representative of at least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance, and
providing, by the electronic communication device to the user, at least one cue based at least in part on the at least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance;
wherein at least one cue of the one or more cues is provided by the electronic communication device to the user prior to completion of capturing the user utterance.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein said communicating, from the electronic communication device, data representative of each respective portion of the user utterance comprises streaming, from the electronic communication device, data representative of the user utterance.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein said receiving, at the electronic communication device, data representative of at least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance comprises receiving, at the electronic communication device, a token comprising data representative of at least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein each respective portion of the user utterance consists of a word, each respective portion of the user utterance consists of a syllable, each respective portion of the user utterance consists of a phrase, or each respective portion of the user utterance consists of a sentence.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein each respective portion of the user utterance comprises a word, each respective portion of the user utterance comprises a syllable, each respective portion of the user utterance comprises a phrase, or each respective portion of the user utterance comprises a sentence.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the at least one parameter associated with each respective portion of the user utterance comprises at least one metric associated with each respective portion of the user utterance.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the at least one parameter associated with each respective portion of the user utterance comprises a confidence level corresponding to a transcription result of the respective portion of the user utterance.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising receiving, for each respective portion of the plurality of portions, at the electronic communication device, together with the data representative of at the least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance, data representative of a transcription result of the respective portion of the user utterance.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the at least one parameter associated with each respective portion of the user utterance comprises a volume level of the utterance or a background noise level of the user utterance.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein said providing, by the electronic communication device to the user, at least one cue, comprises displaying, via the electronic communication device, a graphical cue.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the graphical cue comprises an emoticon.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein said providing, by the electronic communication device to the user, at least one cue, comprises outputting, via the electronic communication device, an auditory cue, verbal cue, or optical cue.
15. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein said providing, by the electronic communication device to the user, at least one cue, comprises providing, by the electronic communication device to the user, a plurality of cues, each cue being based at least in part on a different parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance.
16. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein said providing, by the electronic communication device to the user, at least one cue, comprises providing, by the electronic communication device to the user, a combination cue based at least in part on a plurality of parameters associated with the respective portion of the user utterance.
17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the combination cue is configured to be perceivable as representative of at least two different parameters associated with the respective portion of the user utterance.
18. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising adjusting, by the user, his or her speech pattern based at least in part on at least one provided cue.
19. A system for providing cues to a user while capturing an utterance, the system comprising:
a local computing device, the local computing device configured to:
capture a user utterance;
provide to the user in at least near real-time one or more cues associated with the user utterance, wherein said providing includes, for each portion of a plurality of portions of the user utterance:
transmitting, to a remote computing device over a network, data representative of the respective portion of the user utterance;
receiving, from the remote computing device, data representative of at least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance; and
providing to the user at least one cue based at least in part on the at least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance;
wherein at least one cue of the one or more cues is provided to the user prior to completion of capturing the user utterance; and
a data storage device in communication with the local computing device, the data storage device configured to store data representative of one or more parameters received from the remote computing device.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein each respective portion of the user utterance comprises at least one of a syllable, a word, a phrase, or a sentence.
21. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one parameter associated with each respective portion of the user utterance comprises a confidence level corresponding to a transcription result of the respective portion of the user utterance.
22. The system of claim 19, wherein, for each respective portion of the plurality of portions of the user utterance, the local computing device is further configured to receive from the remote computing device, together with the data representative of the at least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance, data representative of a transcription result of the respective portion of the user utterance.
23. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one parameter associated with each respective portion of the user utterance comprises at least one of a one of a volume level of the respective portion of the user utterance or a background noise level of the respective portion of the user utterance.
24. The system of claim 19, wherein the provided at least one cue comprises at least one of a graphical cue, an optical cue, a verbal cue, or an auditory cue.
25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a computer-executable component for providing cues to a user while capturing an utterance, the computer-executable component comprising:
a cue-providing component configured to:
cause an electronic communication device to capture a user utterance; and
cause the electronic communication device to provide to the user in at least near real-time one or more cues associated with the user utterance, wherein said providing includes, for each portion of a plurality of portions of the user utterance:
causing the electronic communication device to communicate data representative of the respective portion of the user utterance to a remote electronic device;
in response to the communication of data representative of the respective portion of the user utterance, causing the electronic communication device to receive data representative of at least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance; and
causing the electronic communication device to provide at least one cue based at least in part on the at least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance;
wherein the electronic communication device is caused to provide at least one cue of the one or more cues prior to completion of capturing the user utterance.
26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein each respective portion of the user utterance comprises at least one of a syllable, a word, a phrase, or a sentence.
27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the at least one parameter associated with each respective portion of the user utterance comprises a confidence level corresponding to a transcription result of the respective portion of the user utterance.
28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the cue-providing component is further configured to cause the electronic communication device to receive, together with the data representative of the at least one parameter associated with the respective portion of the user utterance, data representative of a transcription result of the respective portion of the user utterance.
29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the at least one parameter associated with each respective portion of the user utterance comprises at least one of a volume level of the respective portion of the user utterance or a background noise level of the respective portion of the user utterance.
30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the provided at least one cue comprises at least one of a graphical cue, an optical cue, a verbal cue, or an auditory cue.