Electronic device and method for providing voice recognition function

• US 10,283,116 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2017
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Ko, Jae-Jeong, Park, Hae-Young, Kim, Nam-Kun, Kim, Moung-Sub, Son, Dong-Hyoun, Lee, Gun-Ho, Heo, Sung-Hye
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Huyen X
• Application Number:
  US15/399,373
• Publication Number:
  US 20170206896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 852 Days
• Field of Search: 704 1- 10, 704230-257, 704270-277
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/088 Word spotting
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/225 Feedback of the input speech
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Disclosed is a method providing voice recognition by an electronic device, including receiving a first signal including a request for triggering voice recognition from one or more external devices, triggering a program supporting the voice recognition in response to the first signal, receiving a second signal including voice data corresponding to a user'"'"'s voice, performing voice recognition on the received voice data, determining an operation corresponding to the recognized voice, determining one or more performing devices which perform the determined operation, and enabling the one or more determined performing devices to perform the determined operation.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a housing;

a wireless communication module located within the housing;

a microphone;

a speaker;

a display exposed through at least a part of the housing;

a memory; and

a processor electrically connected to the memory,

wherein the memory stores a program supporting voice recognition, and stores instructions that instruct the processor to;

receive a voice signal through the wireless communication module or through the microphone,

detect a first signal including a request for triggering the voice recognition from the voice signal by comparing the voice signal with a database regarding a predetermined trigger voice,

detect a second signal including voice data corresponding to a user'"'"'s speaking by excluding the first signal from the voice signal, the speaking including at least one verb but not including a target associated with the verb,

perform the voice recognition on a voice included in the detected voice data,

determine an operation corresponding to the recognized voice based on at least a part of the verb,

receive information related to a state of at least one external device, wherein the state of the at least one external device is variable,

determine a state of each of the electronic device and the at least one external device based on the information,

determine one or more performing devices which perform the determined operation based on the state of each of the electronic device and the at least one external device, and

enable the one or more determined performing devices to perform the determined operation when the instructions are executed,

wherein the one or more performing devices includes at least one of the electronic device and an external device that has transmitted the voice signal, the external device being included in the at least one external device.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the target associated with the verb includes the one or more performing devices which perform the determined operation.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions that instruct the processor to determine the one or more performing devices which perform the determined operation corresponding to a characteristic of the verb when the instructions are executed.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions that instruct the processor to determine the one or more performing devices which perform the determined operation corresponding to a characteristic of the determined operation when the instructions are executed.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one external device includes an external device that has not transmitted the voice signal.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the determined performing device is the electronic device, and the memory further stores instructions that instruct the processor to cause the display to perform an operation corresponding to the determined operation when the instructions are executed.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the determined performing device is the at least one external device, which has transmitted the voice signal, and the memory further stores instructions that instruct the processor to transmit a feedback signal including at least one of audio data and voice data to the at least one external device that has transmitted the voice signal when the instructions are executed.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions that instruct the processor to provide a plurality of candidate devices, which can perform the determined operation, through at least one of the display and the wireless communication module, to acquire an input for selecting one or more of the plurality of candidate devices, and to determine the one or more performing devices which perform the determined operation among the one or more selected candidate devices when the instructions are executed.

9. A method operating an electronic device communicating with one or more external devices, the method comprising:

receiving a voice signal from the one or more external devices;

detecting a first signal including a request for triggering voice recognition from the voice signal by comparing the voice signal with a database regarding a predetermined trigger voice;

detecting a second signal including voice data corresponding to a user'"'"'s voice by excluding the first signal from the voice signal;

performing, through the triggered program, the voice recognition on the detected voice data;

determining an operation corresponding to the recognized voice;

receiving information related to a state of at least one external device, wherein the state of the at least one external device is variable;

determining a state of each of the electronic device and the at least one external device based on the information;

determining one or more performing devices which perform the determined operation based on the state of each of the electronic device and the at least one external device; and

enabling the one or more determined performing devices to perform the determined operation,

wherein the performing device includes at least one of the electronic device and the one or more external devices, and

wherein the one or more external devices includes an external device that has transmitted the voice signal.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more external devices includes an external device that has not transmitted the voice signal.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the determined performing device is the electronic device, and performing the determined operation comprises performing an operation corresponding to the determined operation by a display of the electronic device.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the determined performing device is the at least one external device that has transmitted the voice signal, and the method further comprises transmitting a feedback signal including at least one of audio data and voice data to the at least one external device that has transmitted the voice signal.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the one or more performing devices comprises:

providing a plurality of candidate devices, which can perform the determined operation, through at least one of a display of the electronic device and the one or more external devices;

acquiring an input for selecting one or more of the plurality of candidate devices; and

determining one or more performing devices which perform the determined operation among the one or more selected candidate devices.

14. An electronic device comprising:

a memory;

a wireless communication module that communicates with one or more external devices; and

a memory; and

a processor electrically connected to the memory,

wherein the memory stores instructions that instruct the processor to receive a voice signal from the one or more external devices through the wireless communication module, to detect a trigger voice from the voice signal by comparing the voice signal with a database regarding a predetermined trigger voice, to activate a voice function based on the trigger voice, to detect a command voice by excluding the trigger voice from the voice signal, to recognize the command voice based on the activated voice function, to determine a function corresponding to the recognized command voice, to receive information related to a state of the one or more external devices, to determine a state of each of the electronic device and the one or more external devices based on the information, to determine one or more performing devices which perform the determined function based on the state of each of the electronic device and the one or more external devices, and to perform the determined function operation when the instructions are executed in response to determining that the electronic device is the performing device,

wherein the state of the at least one external device is variable,

wherein the one or more performing devices includes at least one of the electronic device and the one or more external devices, and

wherein the one or more external devices includes an external device that has transmitted the voice signal.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the memory further stores instructions that instruct the processor to determine one or more candidate devices corresponding to the determined function among a plurality of candidate devices, which can perform the determined operation, as the one or more performing devices when the instructions are executed.

16. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the memory further stores instructions that instruct the processor to determine a state of each of the plurality of candidate devices which can perform the determined operation and to determine the one or more performing devices to perform the determined function based on the state of each of the determined candidate devices when the instructions are executed.

17. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the memory further stores instructions that instruct the processor to transmit a feedback signal for performing the determined function to the one or more determined performing devices when the instructions are executed.