Voice controlled remote control with downloadable set of voice commands

• US 20020071577A1
• Filed: 08/21/2001
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Joerg Nowack, Wim Lemay
• Original Assignee: Joerg Nowack, Wim Lemay
• Inventors: Nowack, Joerg, Lemay, Wim
• Application Number:
  US09/933,842
• Publication Number:
  US 20020071577A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/110
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/31 Voice input
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42208 Display device provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications

Abstract

A remote control for controlling an electronic device, comprising a microphone for detecting spoken command data, a processor for executing a speech recognition algorithm using template data to recognize spoken commands detected by said microphone and for controlling said electronic device, a receiver to receive template data from an external storage or network to enable the remote control to recognize spoken commands, a memory to store said selected and received template data.

Claims

1. Remote control for controlling an electronic device, comprising:

a microphone for detecting spoken command data;

a processor for executing a speech recognition algorithm using template data to recognize spoken commands detected by said microphone and for controlling said electronic device;

a receiver to receive template data from an external database to enable the remote control to recognize spoken commands;

a memory to store said selected and received template data.

2. Remote control according to claim 1, wherein the database is accessible by an access device like a PC, TV-Set, Set-Top-Box or directly by the remote control.

3. Remote control according to claim 2, wherein the access device has a storage device or memory for storing the database.

4. Remote control according to claim 2, wherein the database is accessible via a network, like the internet or any other wide area network by the access device.

5. Remote control according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein new template data needed to recognize new spoken commands, are first selected out of a group of commands stored in the database, and then downloaded and stored in the remote control.

6. Remote control according to claim 5, wherein the database can be displayed by a television set which is linked to the internet and that the selected templates are downloaded through the internet and send wireless from the television set to the remote control.

7. Remote control according to claim 1, wherein alphanumerical representations for each detectable spoken command are stored in a memory of the remote control.

8. Remote control according to claim 7, wherein the remote control comprises a display to display said alphanumerical representations of the detectable spoken commands.

9. Remote control according to claim 8, wherein the user can scroll through the displayed list of detectable spoken commands and delete no longer needed commands, whereby the affiliated template data is erased out of said memory.

10. Remote control according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said electronic device is a television set, Set-Top-Box, VCR or the access device;

11. Remote control according to claim 1, wherein said selectable commands are powering on or off said electronic device, tuning said electronic device to a channel, increasing and decreasing volume;

12. Remote control according to claim 1, wherein each said template data can be linked to a special command which can be executed by the remote control.

13. Method for downloading template data from an external database into a memory of a remote control in accordance with one of the previous claims comprising the following steps:

a) needed template data to recognize new spoken commands is selected out of a group of commands stored in a database;

b) the needed template data is then transmitted from the database to the remote control and stored in the remote control.

14. Method according to claim 13, wherein the template data is supplied via a network, e.g. the Internet or any other wide area network.