CONTROLLING A SET-TOP BOX VIA REMOTE SPEECH RECOGNITION

• US 20090030681A1
• Filed: 07/23/2007
• Published: 01/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Data Services India Pvt Limited (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Subramanian, Sathish K., Basu, Sidhartha, Verma, Indivar, Sureka, Ashutosh K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,175,885 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/235
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/193 Formal grammars, e.g. finite state automata, context free grammars or word networks
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/16 Transforming into a non-visible representation devices or methods enabling ear patients to replace direct auditory perception by another kind of perception A61F11/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• 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 21/42222 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 21/440236 by media transcoding, e.g. video is transformed into a slideshow of still pictures, audio is converted into text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB

Abstract

A device may receive over a network a digitized speech signal from a remote control that accepts speech. In addition, the device may convert the digitized speech signal into text, use the text to obtain command information applicable to a set-top box, and send the command information to the set-top box to control presentation of multimedia content on a television in accordance with the command information.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, over a network, a digitized speech signal from a remote control that accepts speech;

converting the digitized speech signal into text;

using the text to obtain command information applicable to a set-top box; and

sending the command information to the set-top box to control presentation of multimedia content on a television in accordance with the command information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a digitized speech signal includes:

receiving, over the network, the digitized speech signal from the remote control via one of the set-top box and a customer router.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the program command to a set-top box includes:

sending the command information to a content provider device that forwards the command information to the set-top box.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein converting the digitized speech signal into text includes:

retrieving an extensible markup language document that specifies a speech grammar; and

performing speech recognition on the digitized speech signal based on the extensible markup language document.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

generating the speech grammar based on at least one of the program guide information and set-top box command information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein using the text to obtain command information includes at least one of:

obtaining program guide information and selecting a number of program guide entries from the program guide information based on the text and set-top box command information, and

obtaining set-top box command information and selecting a set-top box command based on the text.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein using the text to obtain command information includes:

using the text to formulate a search query, submitting the search query to a database, and obtaining the command information as a result of the search query.

8. A device comprising:

a speech processing application, configured to;

obtain input speech from a remote control;

perform speech recognition on the input speech;

identify words as a result of performing the speech recognition;

obtain information associated with the identified words; and

cause a television to play a portion of the information or perform an action in accordance with the instructions in the information.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the device includes:

at least one of a set-top box and a voice application facility.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the speech recognition application is further configured to:

receive the document from a server device.

11. The device of claim 8, wherein the document includes:

an extensible markup language (XML) document.

12. The device of claim 8, wherein the speech recognition application includes:

a voice browser.

13. The device of claim 8, further comprising:

a database that stores documents that specify a speech grammar.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the speech recognition application is further configured to:

download program guide information from a content provider; and

generate the speech grammar based on the program guide information; and

store the speech grammar in the database.

15. The device of claim 8, wherein the portion of the information includes:

information for displaying television schedules.

16. The device of claim 8, wherein the information includes:

results of performing a search at a database that contains program guide information.

17. The device of claim 8, wherein the instructions includes:

an instruction for a set-top box to show selected content at the television;

or

an instruction for the set-top box to change audio or visual properties associated with the television.

18. A method, comprising:

receiving, over a wireless communication channel, a digitized speech signal from a remote control that accepts speech;

converting the digitized speech signal into text using a speech recognition facility, the speech recognition facility using a number of speech grammars based on program guide information;

using the text to obtain a matching set of program guide entries related to the text; and

generating at a set-top box a display including identifications of the matching set.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein using the text to obtain the matching set is performed by the set-top box.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein using the text to obtain the matching set is performed by a device external to the set-top box, and wherein the method further includes:

sending to the set-top box indications of the matching set.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the display includes at least one of an indication that the matching set was generated based on the digitized speech signal, and the text.

22. A system comprising:

a set-top box;

a remote control including a microphone, an audio digitizing facility and a wireless network interface;

a voice application facility in communication with the remote control via the wireless network interface, the voice application facility configured to receive digitized audio signals from the remote control and convert the digitized audio signals into text; and

a content provider device in communication with the set-top box and the voice application facility, the content provider device providing television programming and program guide information,

wherein the voice application facility converts the digitized audio signals into text based on speech grammars generated from the program guide information, and wherein the content provider device receives the text from the voice application facility and provides the text to the set-top box.