Control aparatus

• US 20100229116A1
• Filed: 03/04/2010
• Published: 09/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Murase, Fumihiko, Niwa, Shinji, Akahori, Ichiro
• Application Number:
  US12/659,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20100229116A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3608 using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue

Abstract

A control apparatus includes a voice recognition unit for recognizing user utterance to output a recognized word, a function storage unit for determining and storing a desired function that corresponds to the recognized word, a detector for detecting a preset user operation, a button display unit for displaying on a screen a shortcut button that instructs execution of the desired function stored in the storage unit when the detector detects the preset user operation, and a control unit for controlling execution of the desired function when the shortcut button is operated. By storing the desired function in association with the recognized word and by detecting user instruction, the control apparatus displays a shortcut button for a necessary function only.

Claims

1. A control apparatus comprising:

a voice recognition unit for recognizing a user voice to output a word or a string of words;

a function storage unit for determining and storing a function that corresponds to the word or the string of words recognized by the voice recognition unit;

a detector for detecting a preset user operation;

a button display unit for displaying on a screen a shortcut button that instructs execution of the function stored in the function storage unit when the detector detects the preset user operation; and

a control unit for controlling execution of the function when the shortcut button is operated.

2. The control apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a menu storage unit for storing a menu that has a tree structure of multiple menu items, each of which displays the function; and

a menu display unit for displaying a relevant menu according to an operation by a user, wherein

the button display unit displays on the screen the shortcut button that instructs execution of the function stored in the function storage unit if both of the following two conditions (a) and (b) are fulfilled;

(a) the detector detects as the preset operation the user operation of the menu, and

(b) the function stored in the function storage unit is a function of a lower menu item of a menu item that is displayed by the menu display unit.

3. The control apparatus of claim 2 wherein

the user operation of the menu is a voice instruction of a specific menu item, and

the menu display unit displays the specific menu item by voice-recognizing the voice instruction of the specific menu item.