Speech controls for use with a speech system

• US 20030177013A1
• Filed: 02/04/2002
• Published: 09/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Falcon, Stephen Russell, Miller, David Michael, Banay, Dan, Pong Yip, Clement Chun
• Granted Patent: US 7,188,066 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/193 Formal grammars, e.g. finite state automata, context free grammars or word networks

Abstract

Systems and methods are described for a speech system that includes one or more speech controls incorporated into one or more speech-enabled applications that run on the speech system. The controls allow applications to be developed with minimal programming effort to incorporate common speech-enabled application functions. A question control provides a customizable template for requesting information from a user. An announcer control allows a speech-enabled application to provide a user with information without having to re-create an entire announcer process each time it is used. A command control provides a simple way to attach command and control functions to speech-enabled applications. A word trainer control provides a way to associate user-selected voice tags with certain information. Providing the controls for use with speech-enabled applications ensures standardized user interfaces across multiple speech-enabled applications.

Claims

1. A speech-enabled application, comprising one or more of the following:

a question control configured to provide a question function in the speech-enabled application;

an announcer control configured to provide an announcer function in the speech-enabled application;

a command control configured to provide a command and control function in the speech-enabled application;

a word trainer control configured to provide a word trainer function in the speech-enabled application; and

wherein each of the one or more controls utilizes a grammar to communicate with a speech system and each of the one or more controls may be utilized in more than one speech-enabled application to provide a standardized speech user interface to the speech-enabled applications.

2. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the grammar utilized by a control further comprises a global grammar, terms for which the speech system always listens for unless the global grammar is de-activated by the control.

3. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the grammar utilized by a control further comprises a yielding grammar that may be de-activated by the speech system to allow another grammar to be active over the yielding grammar.

4. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the grammar utilized by a control further comprises a persistent grammar that enables a speech-enabled application utilizing the persistent grammar to be launched by the speech system when the speech system recognizes a term that is included in the persistent grammar.

5. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the question control is further configured to receive a custom prompt and to play the prompt in a question from the speech system to a user.

6. The speech system as recited in claim 5, wherein the question control is further configured to receive a custom verbose prompt and, in the event that an interaction using the custom prompt is interrupted, to play the verbose prompt in a question from the speech system to the user when the interaction resumes processing.

7. The speech system as recited in claim 6, wherein the question control is further configured to repeat the custom prompt in place of the verbose prompt if the verbose prompt has a null value.

8. The speech system as recited in claim 5, wherein the question control comprises an earcon property that, when utilized by a speech-enabled application, causes a sound file to be played before the custom prompt is played.

9. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the question control comprises an interrupting property that, when utilized by a speech-enabled application, causes an interaction created by the question control to be processed immediately upon being submitted to the speech system.

10. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the question control is further configured to provide a list of possible answers to the question after the custom prompt is played.

11. The speech system as recited in claim 10, wherein:

the list of possible answers is programmed into the question control, and

at least one of the possible answers is specified to play a pre-recorded string.

12. The speech system as recited in claim 10, wherein:

the list of possible answers is programmed into the question control, and

at least one of the possible answers is specified to play a distinct TTS string.

13. The speech system as recited in claim 10, wherein the list of possible answers is programmed into the question control.

14. The speech system as recited in claim 10, wherein the list of possible answers is provided by the speech-enabled application that incorporates the question control.

15. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the question control is further configured to provide audible feedback after receiving a user response to a question to indicate that a valid response to the question was received.

16. The speech system as recited in claim 15, wherein the audible feedback is a tone.

17. The speech system as recited in claim 15, wherein the audible feedback is an announcement that repeats the valid response.

18. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcer control is further configured to translate an electronic mail message to speech.

19. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcer control is further configured to play an announcement regarding an occurrence of an event upon occurrence of the event.

20. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcer control is further configured to repeat an announcement in response to a repeat command from a user.

21. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcer control is further configured to interrupt a currently processing interaction when an interaction created by the announcer control is submitted to the speech system.

22. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcer control is further configured to abort an announcement interaction created by the announcer control when the announcement interaction is interrupted by another interaction.

23. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcer control is further configured to restart an announcement interaction created by the announcer control after the announcement interaction is interrupted by another interaction.

24. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcer control is further configured to play a sound file before playing an announcement.

25. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcer control is further configured to provide a delay after playing an announcement.

26. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the command control is further configured to provide a way for a speech-enabled application to specify a speech grammar for the speech-enabled application to use.

27. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the command control is further configured to provide a method for supporting a dynamic grammar.

28. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the command control is further configured to provide a method for supporting a global grammar.

29. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the command control is further configured to provide a method for supporting a yielding grammar.

30. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the command control is further configured to provide a method for supporting a persistent grammar.

31. The speech system as recited in claim 1, wherein the word trainer control is further configured to cause the speech system to:

play a custom prompt to a user;

wait for a response from the user; and

record the response from the user.

The speech system as recited in claim 31, wherein the word trainer control is further configured to cause the speech system to associate the recorded response from the user with a string stored in memory of the speech system.

32. The speech system as recited in claim 31, wherein the word trainer control is further configured to cause the speech system to play a sound file after playing the custom prompt.

33. The speech system as recited in claim 31, wherein the word trainer control is further configured to cause the speech system to provide user feedback after recording the response from the user.

34. A speech control, comprising:

a grammar that is used by a speech-enabled application containing the speech control to communicate with a speech system on which the speech-enabled application executes;

computer-executable instructions that are portable between speech-enabled applications;

wherein the speech control provides standardized user interface behavior to each speech-enabled application in which it is included.

35. The speech control as recited in claim 34, wherein the grammar used by the speech control is a global grammar that takes precedence over yielding grammars used with the speech system, the global grammar being active unless it is de-activated by the speech-enabled application that includes the speech control.

36. The speech control as recited in claim 34, wherein the grammar used by the speech control is a persistent grammar that the speech system uses to launch the speech-enabled application that includes the speech control when an utterance belonging to the persistent grammar is recognized and the speech-enabled application that includes the speech control is not loaded into the speech system.

37. The speech control as recited in claim 34, wherein the speech control further comprises a question control that provides a standardized way of interacting with the user through standard question formats.

38. The speech control as recited in claim 34, wherein the speech control further comprises an announcer control that provides a standardized way of interacting with the user through standard announcement formats.

39. The speech control as recited in claim 34, wherein the speech control further comprises a word trainer control that provides a standardized way of interacting with the user through standard word training formats.

40. The speech control as recited in claim 34, wherein the speech control further comprises a command control that provides a standardized way of interacting with the user through standard command and control formats.