Method and apparatus for information search using voice recognition

• US 10,403,277 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2016
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEO House Company Incorporated
• Original Assignee: AMADAS Co. Ltd
• Inventors: Park, Eun-Min, Jung, Sang-Woo, Kim, Gi-Young
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Jonathan C
• Application Number:
  US15/570,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20180137859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,278 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/61 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/683 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• 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 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for information search and, specifically, to a method and an apparatus for information search using voice recognition, which, when voice data inputted through a microphone is present in a user-defined database and is repeatedly inputted, searches for information corresponding to the voice data and provides the information to a user. To this end, the method for information search using voice recognition according to the present invention comprises the steps of: when voice data is inputted through a microphone, comparing the inputted voice data with voice data stored in a user-defined voice database; when coincident voice data is present as a result of the comparison, determining whether a repeated voice data input is set; when the repeated voice data input is set as a result of the determination, ascertaining whether voice data coincident with the inputted voice data is present in an internal memory; and when the coincident voice data is present as a result of the ascertainment, outputting an event and requesting information corresponding to the voice data from a search server.

Claims

1. A method for searching information corresponding to voice data in a voice recognition-based information search apparatus, the method comprising the steps of:

when voice data for searching information is inputted through a microphone, comparing, by a processor, the inputted voice data and voice data stored in a user-defined voice database;

when matching voice data is present as a result of the comparing, determining, by the processor, whether a repeated input setting option of the voice data is set through a user device;

when the repeated input setting option of the voice data is set as a result of the determining, determining whether or not the voice data is repeatedly inputted within a predetermined time by determining, by the processor, whether voice data matching the inputted voice data for searching information is present in an internal memory;

deleting the voice data from the internal memory when the predetermined time elapses after the voice data inputted through the microphone is stored;

when matching voice data is present as a result of the determining, outputting, by the processor, a signal for requesting information corresponding to the voice data for searching information from a search server;

receiving the information corresponding to the voice data for searching information from the search server; and

presenting the information corresponding to the voice data for searching information to the user device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of, when the repeated input setting option of the voice data is not set as a result of the determining, outputting, by the processor, the signal for requesting the information corresponding to the voice data for searching information from the search server.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

when the matching voice data is not present as a result of the determining, storing the inputted voice data in the internal memory; and

when the predetermined time elapses after the inputted voice data is stored, deleting the voice data from the internal memory.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of deleting the voice data stored in the internal memory after requesting information from the search server.

5. An apparatus for searching information using voice recognition, the apparatus comprising:

a user-defined voice database (DB) configured to store voice data which is a target for searching information;

a memory configured to temporarily store the voice data for searching information inputted through the microphone; and

a processor configured to implement;

a voice comparison unit configured to compare voice data for searching information inputted through a microphone and voice data stored in the user-defined voice DB;

a communication unit configured to exchange data with a search server; and

a controller connected to the voice comparison unit, and configured to

determine whether or not the voice data is repeatedly inputted within a predetermined time by determining whether voice data matching the voice data for searching information inputted through the microphone is present in the memory, when matching voice data is present in the user-defined voice DB and a repeated input setting option of the voice data is set through the apparatus, and

to delete the voice data from the memory when the predetermined time elapses after the voice data inputted through the microphone is stored,

wherein the controller generates a signal for requesting information corresponding to the voice data from the search server, when the matching data is present in the memory,

the communication unit is further configured to receive the information corresponding to the voice data from the search server, and

the apparatus further comprises a device configured to present the information corresponding to the voice data.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to delete the voice data from the memory after requesting the information from the search server.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to, when the repeated input setting option of the voice data is not set, generate the signal for requesting information corresponding to the voice data from the search server.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to, when voice data matching the voice data inputted through the microphone is not present in the memory, store the voice data inputted through the microphone in the memory, and when the predetermined time elapses after the voice data inputted through the microphone is stored, to delete the voice data from the memory.