SPEECH RECOGNITION APPARATUS, SPEECH RECOGNITION METHOD, AND TELEVISION SET

• US 20140181865A1
• Filed: 09/26/2013
• Published: 06/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: KOGANEI, Tomohiro
• Application Number:
  US14/037,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20140181865A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1407 General aspects irrespective of display type, e.g. determination of decimal point position, display with fixed or driving decimal point, suppression of non-significant zeros
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/08 Speech classification or search
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/22 Interactive procedures; Man-machine interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4222 Remote control device emulator integrated into a non-television apparatus, e.g. a PDA, media center or smart toy remote control device for a television receiver integrated into a mobile phone H04M1/72415
• 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 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4363 Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8405 represented by keywords

Abstract

A speech recognition apparatus includes: a speech acquisition unit which acquires speech uttered by a user; a recognition result acquisition unit which acquires a result of recognition performed on the acquired speech; an extraction unit which, when the recognition result includes a keyword and a selection command that is used for selecting one of selectable information items, extracts a selection candidate that includes the keyword; a selection mode switching unit which, when more than one selection candidate is extracted, switches a selection mode from a first selection mode that allows selection among the selectable information items to a second selection that allows selection among the selection candidates; a display control unit which changes a display manner of the display information, according to the second selection mode switched from the first selection mode; and a selection unit which selects one of the selection candidates, according to an entry from the user.

Claims

1. A speech recognition apparatus which assists a user to select one of selectable information items when display information including the selectable information items is being outputted, the speech recognition apparatus comprising:

a speech acquisition unit configured to acquire speech uttered by the user;

a recognition result acquisition unit configured to acquire a result of recognition performed on the speech acquired by the speech acquisition unit;

an extraction unit configured, when the recognition result includes a keyword and a selection command that is used for selecting one of the selectable information items, to extract at least one selection candidate that includes the keyword, from the selectable information items;

a selection mode switching unit configured to switch a selection mode from a first selection mode to a second selection mode when the at least one selection candidate extracted by the extraction unit comprises a plurality of selection candidates, the selection mode causing one of the selectable information items to be selected, the first selection mode allowing a selection to be made from among the selectable information items, and the second selection mode allowing the selection to be made from among the selection candidates;

a display control unit configured to change a display manner in which the display information is displayed, according to the second selection mode switched from the first selection mode by the selection mode switching unit; and

a selection unit configured to select one of the selection candidates, according to an entry made by the user after the display control unit changes the display manner in which the display information is displayed.

2. The speech recognition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

an operation receiving unit configured to receive an operation from the user,

wherein the operation receiving unit is configured to receive (i) a free cursor operation in the first selection mode, and (ii) a predetermined command operation or a swipe operation performed in a predetermined direction, in the second selection mode.

3. The speech recognition apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, when the selection mode is the second selection mode, the display control unit is configured to display a unique identifier for each of the selection candidates to identify the selection candidate.

4. The speech recognition apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein, when the selection mode is the second selection mode and the recognition result acquired by the recognition result acquisition unit includes (i) a keyword indicating the identifier assigned to the selection candidate or a keyword allowing one of the selection candidates to be identified and (ii) the selection command, the selection unit is configured to select one of the selection candidates that is identified by the keyword.

5. The speech recognition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a search unit configured, when the recognition result acquired by the recognition result acquisition unit includes a keyword and a search command that is associated with a preset application, to perform a search by the keyword using the preset application,

wherein the display control unit is configured to display, as the selectable information items, results of the search performed by the search unit.

6. The speech recognition apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the preset application is an Internet search application or an electronic program guide application.

7. The speech recognition apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein, when the recognition result acquired by the recognition result acquisition unit includes the keyword and a search command that is not associated with the preset application, the search unit is configured to perform a search by the keyword using search applications including all applications capable of performing the search by the keyword, and

the display control unit is configured to display, as the selectable information items, results of the search by the keyword performed using the search applications.

8. The speech recognition apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the display information includes a hypertext, and

the display control unit is configured to display, as the selectable information items, a plurality of the hypertexts displayed as webpages.

9. A television set comprising:

a tuner which receives a broadcast;

a display unit configured to display a broadcast image related to the broadcast received by the tuner; and

a processor which assists a user to select one of selectable information items when the display unit displays the selectable information items in each of which reference information for referencing related information is embedded,

wherein the processor includes;

a speech acquisition unit configured to acquire speech uttered by the user;

a recognition result acquisition unit configured to acquire a result of recognition performed on the speech acquired by the speech acquisition unit;

an extraction unit configured, when the recognition result includes a keyword and a selection command that is used for selecting one of the selectable information items, to extract at least one selection candidate that includes the keyword, from the selectable information items;

a selection mode switching unit configured to switch a selection mode from a first selection mode to a second selection mode when the at least one selection candidate extracted by the extraction unit comprises a plurality of selection candidates, the selection mode causing one of the selectable information items to be selected, the first selection mode allowing a selection to be made from among the selectable information items, and the second selection mode allowing the selection to be made from among the selection candidates;

a display control unit configured to change a display manner in which the display information is displayed, according to the second selection mode switched from the first selection mode by the selection mode switching unit; and

a selection unit configured to select one of the selection candidates, according to an entry made by the user after the display control unit changes the display manner in which the display information is displayed.

10. A speech recognition method used by a speech recognition apparatus which assists a user to select one of selectable information items when display information including the selectable information items is being outputted, the speech recognition method comprising:

acquiring speech uttered by the user;

acquiring a result of recognition performed on the speech acquired in the acquiring of speech;

extracting, when the recognition result includes a keyword and a selection command that is used for selecting one of the selectable information items, at least one selection candidate that includes the keyword, from the selectable information items;

switching a selection mode from a first selection mode to a second selection mode when the at least one selection candidate extracted in the extracting comprises a plurality of selection candidates, the selection mode causing one of the selectable information items to be selected, the first selection mode allowing a selection to be made from among the selectable information items, and the second selection mode allowing the selection to be made from among the selection candidates;

changing a display manner in which the display information is displayed, according to the second selection mode switched from the first selection mode in the switching; and

selecting one of the selection candidates, according to an entry made by the user after the display manner in which the display information is displayed is changed in the changing.