TERMINAL APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

• US 20130339015A1
• Filed: 06/06/2013
• Published: 12/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: LEE, Yui-yoon, CHO, Sung-kil, CHA, Tae-hwan
• Application Number:
  US13/911,541
• Publication Number:
  US 20130339015A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/235
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/033 Voice editing, e.g. manipulating the voice of the synthesiser
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/00 Speech or voice signal processing techniques to produce another audible or non-audible signal, e.g. visual or tactile, in order to modify its quality or its intelligibility G10L19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/003 Changing voice quality, e.g. pitch or formants
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234336 by media transcoding, e.g. video is transformed into a slideshow of still pictures or audio is converted into text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64753 directed to the client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts

Abstract

A terminal apparatus is provided. The terminal apparatus includes a voice collecting unit which collects a user'"'"'s voice, a communicating unit which transmits the collected user'"'"'s voice to an external server and which receives response information in response to the user'"'"'s voice, a voice converting unit which converts the response information into voice signals, a voice outputting unit which outputs the converted voice signals, and a controller which analyzes at least one of a frequency and a tone of the collected user'"'"'s voice, and controls so that the response information is converted to have the voice signals having the voice features corresponding to the analyzed result.

Claims

1. A terminal apparatus, comprising:

a voice collecting unit which collects a user'"'"'s voice, and generates a first voice signal;

a communicating unit which transmits the first voice signal to an external server, and which receives response information based on the transmitted first voice signal;

a voice converting unit which converts the received response information into second voice signals;

a voice outputting unit which outputs the second voice signals; and

a controller which analyzes at least one of a frequency and a tone of the collected user'"'"'s voice, and controls so that the response information is converted to have the second voice signals which have voice features which correspond to a result of the analyzing.

2. The terminal apparatus of claim 1, wherein the external server comprises a first server and a second server, and

the communicating unit comprises a first communicating unit which transmits the first voice signal to the first server and receives text information which corresponds to the first voice signal from the first server, and a second communicating unit which transmits the received text information to the second server and receives response information which corresponds to the text information from the second server.

3. The terminal apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller analyzes at least one of the frequency and the tone of the user'"'"'s voice, determines at least one of a gender and an age of the user, and converts the response information into the second voice signals which have an output frequency which corresponds to a result of the determination.

4. The terminal apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

a storage which stores first information which comprises at least one of the gender and the age of the user which corresponds to at least one of the frequency and the tone of the user'"'"'s voice, and second information which comprises output frequency information which corresponds to at least one of the gender and the age of the user, wherein

the controller compares at least one of the frequency and the tone of the user'"'"'s voice with the first information, determines the at least one of the gender and age of the user, compares the determined at least one of the gender and the age of the user with the second information, and determines the output frequency.

5. The terminal apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

a photographing unit which photographs an image of the user, wherein

the controller analyzes the photographed image and determines at least one of the gender and the age of the user.

6. The terminal apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a storage which stores at least one of the frequency and the tone of the analyzed user'"'"'s voice, and corresponding voice features, wherein

the controller converts the received response information into the second voice signals which have the voice features stored in the storage, if at least one of the frequency and the tone of the collected user'"'"'s voice is the same as at least one of the frequency and the tone of the user'"'"'s voice stored in the storage.

7. The terminal apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a display which displays the response message based on the response information, wherein

the controller controls so that the response message is displayed in a form which corresponds to the a result of the analyzing.

8. The terminal apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller controls so that at least one of an object size, an object color, an object shape, and an object form which constitutes the response message, is outputted in a manner which corresponds to the result of the analyzing.

9. A control method of a terminal apparatus, the method comprising:

collecting a user'"'"'s voice and generating a first voice signal;

transmitting the first voice signal to an external server and receiving response information based on the transmitted first voice signal;

analyzing at least one of a frequency and a tone of the collected user'"'"'s voice;

converting the received response information into second voice signals which have voice features corresponding to a result of the analyzing; and

outputting the second voice signals.

10. The control method of claim 9, wherein the external server comprises a first server and a second server, and

the transmitting the first voice signal and receiving the response information based on the transmitted first voice signal comprises,

transmitting the first voice signal to the first server,

receiving text information corresponding to the first voice signal from the first server,

transmitting the received text information to the second server, and

receiving response information corresponding to the text information from the second server.

11. The control method of claim 9, wherein the analyzing comprises analyzing at least one of the frequency and the tone of the user'"'"'s voice, and determining at least one of a gender and an age of the user, and

the converting comprises converting the response information into the second voice signals having an output frequency corresponding to a result of the determining.

12. The control method of claim 11, further comprising:

storing first information comprising at least one of the gender and the age of the user corresponding to at least one of the frequency and the tone of the user'"'"'s voice, and second information which comprises output frequency information corresponding to the at least one of the gender and the age of the user, wherein

the analyzing comprises comparing at least one of the frequency and the tone of the user'"'"'s voice with the first information, and determining at least one of the gender and the age of the user, and

the converting comprises comparing the at least one of the determined gender and age of the user with the second information, and determining the output frequency.

13. The control method of claim 11, further comprising analyzing the photographed user'"'"'s image and determining the at least one of the gender and the age of the user.

14. The control method of claim 9, further comprising storing at least one of the frequency and the tone of the analyzed user'"'"'s voice, and corresponding voice features, wherein

the converting comprises converting the received response information into the second voice signals having the voice features stored in the storage, if at least one of the frequency and the tone of the collected user'"'"'s voice is the same as at least one of the frequency and the tone of the user'"'"'s voice stored in the storage.

15. The control method of claim 9, further comprising:

displaying the response message according to the response information in a

form corresponding to a result of the analyzing.

16. The control method of claim 15, wherein the displaying comprises displaying at least one of an object a size, an object color, an object shape, and an object form constituting the response message in a manner corresponding to the result of the analyzing.

17. A control method of an interactive system, the method comprising:

collecting a user'"'"'s voice;

generating response information based on the user'"'"'s voice;

analyzing at least one of a frequency and a tone of the user'"'"'s voice;

converting the response information into a voice signal which has voice features corresponding to the analysis result; and

outputting the converted voice signal.

18. The control method of claim 17, wherein the generating comprises:

generating text information corresponding to the user'"'"'s voice; and

generating response information corresponding to the text information.

19. A method for providing, to a terminal apparatus, response information corresponding to a user'"'"'s uttered voice, the method comprising:

collecting a user'"'"'s voice at the terminal apparatus and generating a voice signal of the collected user'"'"'s voice;

transmitting the voice signal to a first server;

converting, by the first server, the voice signal to text information;

transmitting, by the first server, the text information to the terminal apparatus;

transmitting, by the terminal apparatus, the text information to a second server, and

receiving, from the second server, response information corresponding to the transmitted text information.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the response information is outputted in a voice form or a text form.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the terminal apparatus performs a function based on the response information.