Method for processing initially recognized speech in a speech recognition session

• US 7,072,837 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2001
• Issued: 07/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lewis, James R., Zabolotskaya, Margarita, Kemble, Kimberlee A., Michelini, Vanessa V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Young, Wayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): Opsasnick, Michael N.
• Application Number:
  US09/809,904
• Publication Number:
  US 20020133346A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,936 Days
• Field of Search: 704/254, 704/256, 704/251, 704/257, 704/252, 704/255
• US Class Current: 704/257
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/19 Grammatical context, e.g. disambiguation of the recognition hypotheses based on word sequence rules
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/32 Multiple recognisers used in sequence or in parallel; Score combination systems therefor, e.g. voting systems

Abstract

In a speech recognition session, a method of speech processing utilizing a plurality of grammars can include a series of steps. The method can include spawning a separate thread of execution corresponding to each one of a plurality grammars and allocating a post-processing recognition task to each separate thread of execution. Each post-processing recognition task can produce a possible recognition result using the corresponding grammar. A possible recognition result produced by one of the post-processing recognition tasks can be identified.

Claims

1. In a speech recognition session, a method of speech processing utilizing a plurality of grammars, said method comprising:

spawning a separate thread of execution corresponding to each one of said plurality of grammars;

allocating a speech recognition task to each separate thread of execution for processing a user-spoken utterance to support a pre-selected application, each said speech recognition task producing a possible recognition result using said corresponding grammar;

assigning to each of said plurality of grammars a unique priority code based on a contextual relevance of each grammar to the pre-selected application, said unique priority code being an ordinal measure of the likelihood that a particular word accurately reflects a corresponding user-spoken utterance; and

identifying a possible recognition result produced by one of said speech recognition tasks.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a confidence score for each said possible recognition result.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said identifying step identifies a possible recognition result having the highest confidence score.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying step identifies a possible recognition result produced using one of said plurality of grammars having a particular unique priority code.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said grammar is a grammar subset.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said grammar is a group of grammar subsets.

7. A machine readable storage for use in a speech recognition session, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:

for a plurality of grammars, spawning a separate thread of execution corresponding to each one of said plurality grammars;

allocating a speech recognition task to each separate thread of execution for processing a user-spoken utterance to support a pre-selected application, each said speech recognition task producing a possible recognition result using said corresponding grammar;

assigning to each of said plurality of grammars a unique priority code based on a contextual relevance of each grammar to the pre-selected application, said unique priority code being an ordinal measure of the likelihood that a particular word accurately reflects a corresponding user-spoken utterance; and

identifying a possible recognition result produced by one of said speech recognition tasks.

8. The machine readable storage of claim 7, further comprising determining a confidence score for each said possible recognition result.

9. The machine readable storage of claim 8, wherein said identifying step identifies a possible recognition result having the highest confidence score.

10. The machine readable storage of claim 7, wherein said identifying step identifies a possible recognition result produced using one of said plurality of grammars having a particular unique priority code.

11. The machine readable storage of claim 7, wherein said grammar is a grammar subset.

12. The machine readable storage of claim 7, wherein said grammar is a group of grammar subsets.

13. In a speech recognition session, a method of speech processing utilizing a plurality of grammars, the method comprising:

spawning a separate thread of execution corresponding to each one of the plurality of grammars;

allocating a speech recognition task to each separate thread of execution, each speech recognition task producing a possible recognition result based on a corresponding grammar;

assigning a unique priority code to each of the plurality of grammars, the unique priority code being an ordinal measure of the likelihood that a particular recognition result reflects a corresponding user-spoken utterance;

determining a confidence score for each of the possible recognition results, each confidence score corresponding to a likelihood that a possible recognition result correctly corresponds to the user-spoken utterance; and

selecting a likely recognition result produced by one of the speech recognition tasks by identifying a recognition result having a highest confidence score, wherein, if a difference between any two or more of the recognition results is within a predetermined threshold, a recognition result produced using a grammar having a highest priority code.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein each grammar has no grammar rule that duplicates a grammar rule of any other of the plurality of grammars.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein each grammar is a subset of a larger unified grammar.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein at least one grammar comprises a plurality of subsets of the larger unified grammar.