Voice recognition apparatus, voice recognition method, map displaying apparatus, map displaying method, navigation apparatus, navigation method and car

• US 5,956,684 A
• Filed: 10/11/1996
• Issued: 09/21/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Minamino, Katsuki, Omote, Masanori, Asano, Yasuharu, Ogawa, Hiroaki, Ishii, Kazuo, Yamamoto, Eiji, Kakuda, Hiroshi, Tanaka, Miyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Hudspeth, David R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): OPSASNICK, MICHAEL N
• Application Number:
  US08/728,910
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270, 704/275, 704/277, 701/200-201
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3608 using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

Voice processing for recognizing a predetermined voice such as a place name is performed by a voice processing section 14 from an audio signal inputted from a microphone 11 on the basis of an operation of a talk switch 18. When a map display is based on the recognized place name is performed, an incorrect reading and a place name commonly mistaken can be also recognized. Accordingly, a high grade operation of a navigation apparatus can be simply performed without obstructing an operator driving while a car.

Claims

1. A voice recognition apparatus comprising:

recognition means for recognizing a voice and providing output data, and

data transforming means for transforming the output data of said recognition means to a predetermined form including memory means in which at least two input entries of said data transforming means result in getting identical output information wherein

said output information is at least one of position information and a name of a geographical location and said at least two input entries are the name of said geographical location expressed by a first language and the name of said geographical location expressed by a second language.

2. A voice recognition method comprising the steps of:

recognizing a voice and providing output data; and

transforming the output data in said recognizing step to a predetermined form in which at least two items of input information in said transforming step result in getting identical output information, wherein

said output information is at least one of position information and a name of a geographical location and said at least two items of input information in said transforming step are the name of said geographical location expressed by a first language and the name of said geographical location expressed by a second language.

3. A map displaying apparatus comprising:

recognition means for recognizing a voice and providing output data,

data transforming means for transforming the output data of said recognition means to a predetermined form in which at least two input entries of said data transforming means result in getting identical output information,

display signal generating means for generating a map display signal from the output information from said data transforming means, and

display means for displaying said map display signal provided by said display signal generating means, wherein

said data transforming means includes memory means in which said at least two input entries of said memory means result in getting identical output information from said memory means and

said output information is at least one of a position information and a name of a geographical location and

wherein said at least two input entries are the name of said geographical location expressed by a first language and the name of said geographical location expressed by a second language.

4. The map displaying apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein

said position information describes a position of a government office in a predetermined area.

5. The map displaying apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein

said position information describes a central position of a predetermined area.

6. The map displaying apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein

said position information describes an edge position of a predetermined area.

7. A map displaying method comprising the steps of:

recognizing a voice and providing output data,

transforming the output data in said recognizing step to a predetermined form in which at least two items of input information in said transforming step result in getting identical output information,

generating a map display signal from an output signal in said transforming step, and

displaying said map display signal provided by said generating step;

wherein said output information is at least one of position information and a name of a geographical location and said at least two items of input information in said transforming step are the name of said geographical location expressed by a first language and the name of said geographical location expressed by a second language.

8. A navigation apparatus comprising:

position detection means for detecting a present position,

recognition means for recognizing a voice and providing output data,

data transforming means for transforming the output data of said recognition means to a predetermined form in which at least two items of input information of said data transforming means result in getting identical output information,

display signal generating means for generating a display signal from at least one of an output signal of said position detection means and an output signal of said data transforming means, and

display means for displaying said display signal provided by said display signal generating means;

wherein said output information is at least one of position information and a name of a geographical location and said data transforming means including memory means in which said at least two items of input information of said memory means result in getting identical output information of said memory means.

9. A navigation apparatus comprising:

position detection means for detecting a present position,

recognition means for recognizing a voice and providing output data,

data transforming means for transforming the output data of said recognition means to a predetermined form in which at least two input entries of said data transforming means result in getting identical output information,

map data storage means for storing map data, reading means for reading the map data stored in said map data storage means;

display signal generating means for generating a display signal from at least one of an output signal of said position detection means and an output signal of said data transforming means based upon the map data read from said map data storage means, and.

display means for displaying said display signal provided by said display signal generating means, wherein

said data transforming means includes memory means in which said at least two input entries of said memory means result in getting identical output information of said memory means, and

said output information is at least one of position information and a name of a geographical location, and

wherein said at least two input entries are the name of said geographical location expressed by a first language and the name of said geographical location expressed by a second language.

10. The navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein

said position information describes a position of a government office in a predetermined area.

11. The navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein

said position information describes a central position of a predetermined area.

12. The navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein

said position information describes an edge position of a predetermined area.

13. A navigation method comprising the steps of:

reading map data from a map data storage means;

detecting a present position;

recognizing a voice and providing output data;

transforming the output data in said recognizing step to a predetermined form in which at least two items of input information in said data transforming step result in getting identical output information;

generating a display signal from at least one of an output signal in said data transforming step and an output signal in said reading step; and

displaying said display signal provided by said display signal generating step;

wherein said output information is at least one of position information and a name of a geographical location and said at least two items of input information in said transforming step are the name of said geographical location expressed by a first language and the name of said geographical location expressed by a second language.

14. A car with a navigation apparatus comprising:

position detection means for detecting a present position of the car;

microphone means located inside said car;

recognition means for recognizing a voice gathered by said microphone means and providing output data;

data transforming means for transforming the output data of said recognition means to a predetermined form in which at least two items of input information of said data transforming means result in getting identical output information;

map data storage means for storing map data;

reading means for reading the map data stored in said map storing means;

display signal generating means for generating a display signal from at least one of an output signal of said position detection means and an output signal of said data transforming means based upon the map data read from said map data storage means; and

display means located inside said car to display said display signal provided by said display signal generating means

wherein said output information is at least one of position information and a name of a geographical location and said at least two items of input information in said transforming step are the name of said geographical location expressed by a first language and the name of said geographical location expressed by a second language.