Navigated menuing for industrial human machine interface via speech recognition

• US 20040181414A1
• Filed: 03/11/2003
• Published: 09/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Square D Company (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Square D Company (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Pyle, Michael W., Thurmond, Michael Jason
• Granted Patent: US 7,249,023 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

An industrial human-machine interface device that permits speech-controlled navigation through a menu using a speech-recognition processor. The speech-recognition processor is coupled to a microcontroller and a display. The microcontroller is interfaced with a power metering device which monitors a power signal in a circuit. To obtain a reading of a characteristic of the power signal, the operator speaks a spoken keyword into a microphone of the human-machine interface device. The speech-recognition processor converts the keyword into an identification word which is outputted by the processor to the microcontroller. The microcontroller polls the output of the processor, and upon detection of an identification word, executes a function associated therewith. Menu navigation among consecutive or nonconsecutive menu levels is performed by speaking one or more predetermined keywords. The speech-recognition processor can recognize the keywords independent of the speaker or may be trained for speaker-dependent recognition.

Claims

1. An industrial human-machine interface device, comprising:

a speech-recognition processor adapted to convert a speech pattern to an identification word representing said speech pattern;

a microcontroller operatively coupled to said speech-recognition processor to receive said identification word from said speech-recognition processor;

a display operatively coupled to said microcontroller; and

a first memory storing instructions, said first memory being coupled to said microcontroller, said instructions when executed by said microcontroller causing said display to be altered in response to one or more predetermined spoken keywords recognized by said speech-recognition processor.

2. The industrial human-machine interface device of claim 1, further comprising an interface operatively coupled between said microcontroller and an external industrial device, said instructions when executed by said microcontroller causing a predetermined characteristic of a power signal associated with said external industrial device to be provided to said microcontroller via said interface.

3. The industrial human-machine interface device of claim 2, wherein said predetermined characteristic of a power signal includes one of power, voltage, current, energy, frequency, and total harmonic distortion.

4. The industrial human-machine interface device of claim 1 in combination with an external industrial device interfaced with said industrial human-machine interface device, said external industrial device including at least one sensor adapted to detect a predetermined characteristic of a power signal and to produce a sensor signal corresponding to said predetermined characteristic of a power signal.

5. The industrial human-machine interface device of claim 1, wherein said predetermined spoken keyword is a custom spoken keyword for a particular application.

6. The industrial human-machine interface device of claim 1, further comprising a second memory coupled to said speech-recognition processor, said second memory storing information indicative of custom spoken keywords.

7. The industrial human-machine interface device of claim 1, wherein said predetermined spoken keywords are generally speaker-independent.

8. The industrial human-machine interface device of claim 1, further comprising a keypad operatively coupled to said microcontroller.

9. The industrial human-machine interface device of claim 1, wherein said industrial human-machine interface device is a power metering device.

10. The industrial human-machine interface device of claim 1, further comprising a microphone operatively coupled to said speech-recognition processor to convert audio signals into digital signals corresponding to said speech pattern.

11. A method of providing speech-controlled navigation in an industrial human-machine interface device, comprising:

coupling a microcontroller to a speech-recognition processor and a display;

converting, via said speech-recognition processor, a speech pattern representing one or more predetermined spoken keywords into an identification word;

associating said identification word with a function to be executed by said microcontroller;

providing said identification word from said speech-recognition processor to said microcontroller; and

responsive to said providing, executing said function to display, on said display, a predetermined characteristic of a power signal provided from an external device interfaced with said industrial human-machine interface device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said converting is generally speaker-independent.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising training said speech-recognition processor to recognize a custom spoken keyword.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising word spotting said speech pattern to recognize a sequence of more than one predetermined spoken keywords.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said predetermined characteristic of a power signal includes one of power, voltage, current, energy, frequency, and total harmonic distortion.

16. A method of speech-controlled navigation through a multilevel menu in an industrial human-machine interface device, comprising:

organizing a set of predetermined spoken keywords into a multilevel menu, associating each of said predetermined spoken keywords with a corresponding identification word and with a function;

converting, in a speech-recognition processor, a speech pattern representing a predetermined spoken keyword into a corresponding identification word; and

executing the function associated with said identification word.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising navigating from one level to a nonconsecutive level in said multilevel menu.

18. The method of claim 16, displaying a predetermined characteristic of a power signal provided from an external device interfaced with said industrial human-machine interface device.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing one of an audible and visual confirmation that said speech pattern was converted by said speech-recognition processor into an identification word.