System comprising a remote controlled apparatus and voice-operated remote control device for the apparatus

• US 6,762,692 B1
• Filed: 03/07/2001
• Issued: 07/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Thomson Multimedia Incorporated (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing SA (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Tazine, Nour-Eddine, Diehl, Eric, Mingot, Jacques, Shao, Jiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shimizu, Matsuichiro
• Application Number:
  US09/786,660
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• Field of Search: 704/275, 704/251, 273/2, 273/84, 348/735, 348/14.05, 348/14.07, 348/687, 348/734, 348/769, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 340/825.24, 340/825.25, 345/705, 345/714, 345/716, 345/728, 398/106, 367/97
• US Class Current: 340/12.54
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue

Abstract

The system includes a remote controlled apparatus furnished with a display device or adapted to be linked to such a device; a remote control device comprising a microphone; voice recognition circuit adapted to receive the signal emanating from the microphone and to generate a signal for controlling a functional feature of the apparatus corresponding to the word or group of words picked up by the microphone. The system comprises means for displaying on the said screen a list of the words or groups of words corresponding to the functional features of the apparatus which can be accessed by voice control in a window of the screen so as to enable the user to ascertain the key words which he has to utter in order to trigger these functional features.

Claims

1. System comprising:

a remote controlled apparatus furnished with a display device or adapted to be linked to such a device;

a remote control device comprising a microphone;

voice recognition means adapted to receive the signal emanating from the microphone and to generate a signal for controlling a functional feature of the apparatus corresponding to the word or group of words picked up by the microphone,

in which the functional features of the apparatus are accessible by the remote control device through a tree of menus adapted to be displayed on a screen of the said display device,

wherein it comprises means for displaying on the said screen a list of the words or groups of words corresponding to the functional features of the apparatus which can be accessed by voice control, the said list being adapted to be displayed independently of the display of the menus.

2. System according to claim 1, wherein the list of functional features which can be accessed by voice control is different depending on what context the apparatus is in.

3. System according to claim 1, wherein the list of functional features which can be accessed by voice control is specific to each menu or submenu.

4. System according to claim 3, wherein functional features of the apparatus can be accessed by voice control by traversing several branches of the tree of menus simultaneously.

5. System according to claim 1, wherein the display means are adapted to display the list of functional features which can be accessed by voice control in a window of the screen, the words or groups of words corresponding to the said functional features scrolling through the said window.

6. System according to claim 5, wherein voice controls are provided for stopping and for triggering the scrolling of the list through the window.

7. System according to claim 1, wherein a functional feature of the apparatus can be accessed by voice control by a word or group of words cited in the list and as appropriate by at least one synonym of this word or group of words.

8. System according to claim 1, in which the remote control device comprises a switch which can be actuated by the user so as to authorize the transmission, by a transmitter, of signals originating from the microphone, wherein the displaying of the list of functional features which can be accessed by voice control is proposed to the user when the said switch is actuated.

9. System according to claim 1, wherein the remote controlled apparatus comprises an apparatus from the group consisting of a television receiver, a video recorder and a decoder of the video signal received from a satellite or via cable.

10. Remote controlled apparatus furnished with a display device or adapted to be linked to such a device and comprising voice recognition means adapted to receive a signal emanating from a microphone and to generate a signal for controlling a functional feature of the apparatus corresponding to the word or group of words picked up by the microphone,

wherein it comprises means (54) for displaying on the said screen a list of the words or groups of words corresponding to the functional features of the apparatus which can be accessed by voice control, the said list being adapted to be displayed independently of the display of the menus, the said functional features of the apparatus can be accessed by the remote control device via a tree of menus adapted to be displayed on a screen of the said display device.