DEVICE CONTROL METHOD, DISPLAY CONTROL METHOD, AND PURCHASE SETTLEMENT METHOD

• US 20150302857A1
• Filed: 07/01/2015
• Published: 10/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: YAMADA, MARIKO
• Granted Patent: US 9,852,733 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/00 Speaker identification or verification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/22 Interactive procedures; Man-machine interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command

Abstract

A device control method includes acquiring voice information, obtaining a spoken command indicating a control instruction as to a device based on the acquired voice information, identifying speaker information relating to a speaker which has uttered the acquired voice information, based on the acquired voice information, identifying, out of a plurality of devices, a device to be controlled, based on the spoken command and the speaker information, and controlling the identified device to be controlled.

Claims

1. A device control method, comprising:

acquiring voice information;

obtaining a spoken command indicating a control instruction as to a device based on the acquired voice information;

identifying speaker information relating to a speaker which has uttered the acquired voice information, based on the acquired voice information;

identifying, out of a plurality of devices, a device to be controlled, based on the spoken command and the speaker information; and

controlling the identified device to be controlled.

2. The device control method according to claim 1,

wherein the speaker information includes information relating to age of the speaker.

3. The device control method according to claim 1,

wherein, in the identifying of the device to be controlled, a first table storing the speaker information and candidate devices indicating candidates of the devices to be controlled in a correlated manner, and a second table storing the spoken command and the candidate devices in a correlated manner, are each referenced, and the candidate device matching both the first table and the second table are identified as the device to be controlled.

4. The device control method according to claim 3,

wherein, in the identifying of the device to be controlled, in a case where there is no candidate device matching both the first table and the second table, notification is made to the effect that there is no device to be controlled.

5. The device control method according to claim 1,

wherein, in the identifying of the device to be controlled, a third table that stores the speaker information and a usage history of devices by the speaker corresponding to the speaker information in a correlated manner is referenced, and the device to be controlled is identified based on the usage history of the device by the speaker corresponding to the speaker information, and the spoken command.

6. The device control method according to claim 5,

wherein, in the identifying of the device to be controlled, a device regarding which the usage frequency by the speaker at the time-of-day of acquisition of the voice information is high is identified as the device to be controlled with priority, using history information relating to the time-of-day at which devices have been used.

7. The device control method according to claim 1,

wherein a fourth table in which individuals of each group and voice modes are correlated is referenced in the identifying of speaker information,

and wherein, in a case where identification is made that speaker information is of a person not belonging to the groups, the controlling is not performed.

8. The device control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring speaker location information indicating the location of the speaker, and device location information indicating the location of each of the plurality of devices,

wherein, in the identifying of a device to be controlled, the device to be controlled is identified based on the spoken command, the speaker information, the speaker location information, and the device location information.

9. The device control method according to claim 8,

wherein, the speaker location information and the device location information are acquired, based on the voice information acquired at each of the multiple devices.

10. The device control method according to claim 1,

wherein, the content of the controlling regarding the identified device to be controlled is changed according to the speaker information.

11. The device control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

controlling the display device to display a list of first information relating to the plurality of devices which can be controlled by voice; and

controlling the display device to display second information, indicating that control of the device by voice is not accepted with regard to a particular speaker, at a predetermined position from the first information corresponding to the device regarding which control is not accepted.

14. The display control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a control command, to perform audio output to the effect that the identified device to be controlled will be controlled, to an output unit that outputs audio.

15. The display control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

controlling the device to be controlled, where a light-emitting unit, provided to each identified device to be controlled, is caused to emit light.

12. A display control method of controlling a display device that displays information relating to a plurality of devices controlled based on voice from a speaker, the method comprising:

controlling the display device to display a list of first information relating to a plurality of devices that can be controlled by voice; and

controlling the display device to display second information, indicating that control of the device by voice is not accepted with regard to a particular speaker, at a predetermined position from the first information corresponding to the device regarding which control is not accepted.

13. The display control method according to claim 12,

wherein the display device is a touch panel display,

wherein the display screen of the display device displays the first information, and the second information displayed at a position different from the first information,

wherein the display control method further comprising:

controlling the display device to display the second information at a predetermined position from the first information, by the user touching a display region displaying the second information, dragging the second information toward the first information, and dropping the second information on the first information; and

changing, in a case where the second information is displayed at a predetermined position from the first information, settings regarding the particular speaker so that control by voice of a device corresponding to the first information is not accepted.

16. A purchase settlement method comprising:

acquiring voice information;

obtaining a spoken command indicating a control instruction as to a device based on the acquired voice information;

identifying, in a case where the spoken command is a spoken command relating to purchase settlement, speaker information relating to the speaker who has spoken the acquired voice information, based on the acquired voice;

determining whether or not the identified speaker information is speaker information of a speaker permitted to perform purchase settlement by referencing a table in which is correlated speaker information of speakers permitted to perform purchase settlement, and information necessary for purchase settlement; and

performing purchase settlement processing, in a case of determining that the identified speaker information is speaker information of a speaker permitted to perform purchase settlement, using the spoken command and the information necessary for purchase settlement.

17. The purchase settlement method according to claim 16,

wherein the purchase settlement processing is performed, in case where the price of the goods to be purchased is equal to or below a predetermined price,

wherein the purchase settlement method further comprising:

controlling, in a case where the price of the goods to be purchased is equal to or above the predetermined price, the device to output audio prompting speaking of a password to perform the purchase settlement processing.

18. The purchase settlement method according to claim 16, further comprising:

acquiring speaker location information indicating the location of the speaker;

wherein determination is made regarding the whether or not the speech is of a speaker permitted to perform purchase settlement, based on the speaker location information.