Conversation controller

• US 7,949,530 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2006
• Issued: 05/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Entertainment Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ptopa, Inc., Universal Entertainment Corporation
• Inventors: Katukura, Hiroshi, Huang, Shengyang
• Primary Examiner(s): YEN, ERIC L
• Application Number:
  US11/581,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20070094003A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,680 Days
• Field of Search: 704270-275, 704/251, 704/257
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/35 Discourse or dialogue representation
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue

Abstract

A conversation controller outputs a reply sentence according to a user utterance. The conversation controller comprises a conversation database and a conversation control unit. The conversation database stores a plurality of plans. Each plan has a reply sentence and one or more pieces of next plan designation information for designating a next candidate reply sentence to be output following the reply sentence. The conversation control unit selects one of the plans stored in the conversation database according to a user utterance and outputs a reply sentence which the selected plan has. Then, the conversation control unit selects one piece of the next plan designation information which the plan has according to a next user utterance and outputs a next candidate reply sentence on the basis of the selected piece of the next plan designation information. Some plans have a series of questions as the reply sentences.

Claims

1. A conversation controller configured to output a reply sentence according to a user utterance, comprising:

a plan memory unit, comprising a memory that stores a plurality of plans, wherein each plan has a reply sentence and one or more pieces of next candidate designation information for designating a next candidate reply sentence to be output following the reply sentence;

a plan conversation unit, comprising a processor that selects one of the plurality of plans stored in the plan memory unit according to a first user utterance and outputs a reply sentence which the selected plan has, and selects one piece of the next candidate designation information which the plan has according to a second user utterance and outputs a next candidate reply sentence corresponding to the selected piece of the next candidate designation information, wherein the plan conversation unit withholds an output of the next candidate reply sentence when a second user utterance is received, which is not related to the next candidate reply sentence or it is unclear whether or not there is a relation between the second user utterance and the next candidate reply sentence;

a discourse space conversation unit that outputs a reply sentence about a topic which is not related to the withheld next candidate reply sentence according to the second user utterance;

a morpheme extracting unit that extracts, based on a character string corresponding to the second user utterance, at least one morpheme comprising a minimum unit of the character string, as first morpheme information; and

a conversation database that stores a plurality of pieces of topic identification information for identifying a topic, a plurality of pieces of second morpheme information, each of which includes a morpheme including a character, a string of characters or a combination of the character and the string of characters, and a plurality of reply sentences, wherein one piece of topic identification information is associated with one or more pieces of second morpheme information, and at least one piece of second morpheme information is associated with one reply sentence,

wherein the discourse space conversation unit comprises;

a topic identification information retrieval portion that compares, based on first morpheme information extracted by the morpheme extracting unit, the first morpheme information with the plurality of pieces of topic identification information, and when the topic identification information retrieval portion retrieves topic identification information including a part of the first morpheme information from among the plurality of pieces of topic identification information and the retrieved topic identification information includes second morpheme information including a part of the first morpheme information, the topic identification information retrieval portion outputs the second morpheme information to the reply retrieval portion;

an elliptical sentence supplementation portion that, when the retrieved topic identification information does not include second morpheme information including a part of the first morpheme information, adds topic identification information previously retrieved by the topic identification information retrieval portion to the first morpheme information to provide supplemented first morpheme information;

a topic retrieval portion that compares the supplemented first morpheme information with one or more pieces of second morpheme information associated with the retrieved topic identification information, and retrieves second morpheme information associated with the retrieved topic identification information including a part of the supplemented first morpheme information from among the one or more pieces of second morpheme information, and outputs the retrieved second morpheme information to the reply retrieval portion; and

a reply retrieval portion that retrieves, based on the second morpheme information from one of the topic identification information retrieval portion and the topic retrieval portion, a reply sentence associated with the retrieved second morpheme information,

wherein some plans have a series of questions for guiding a user to take desired information as the reply sentences.

2. The conversation controller according to claim 1, wherein the plan conversation unit outputs the withheld next candidate reply sentence when receiving a third user utterance which is related to the withheld next candidate reply sentence.

3. The conversation controller according to claim 1, further comprising a conversation continuation unit that outputs a reply sentence for drawing out a further utterance from a user when not outputting the reply sentence about the topic which is not related to the withheld next candidate reply sentence.

4. A conversation controller configured to output a reply sentence according to a user utterance, comprising:

a plan memory unit, comprising a memory that stores a plurality of plans, wherein each plan has a reply sentence and one or more pieces of next candidate designation information for designating a next candidate reply sentence to be output following the reply sentence;

a plan conversation unit, comprising a processor that selects one of the plurality of plans stored in the plan memory unit according to a first user utterance and outputs a reply sentence which the selected plan has, and selects one piece of the next candidate designation information which the plan has according to a second user utterance and outputs a next candidate reply sentence corresponding to the selected piece of the next candidate designation information, wherein the plan conversation unit withholds an output of the next candidate reply sentence when the second user utterance is received, which is not related to the next candidate reply sentence or it is unclear whether or not there is a relation between the second user utterance and the next candidate reply sentence;

a discourse space conversation unit that outputs a reply sentence about a topic which is not related to the withheld next candidate reply sentence according to the second user utterance;

a morpheme extracting unit that extracts, based on a character string corresponding to the second user utterance, at least one morpheme comprising a minimum unit of the character string, as first morpheme information; and

a conversation database that stores a plurality of pieces of topic identification information for identifying a topic, a plurality of pieces of second morpheme information, each of which includes a morpheme including a character, a string of characters or a combination of the character and the string of characters, and a plurality of reply sentences, wherein one piece of topic identification information is associated with one or more pieces of second morpheme information, and at least one piece of second morpheme information is associated with one reply sentence,

wherein the discourse space conversation unit comprises;

a topic identification information retrieval portion that compares, based on first morpheme information extracted by the morpheme extracting unit, the first morpheme information with the plurality of pieces of topic identification information, and when the topic identification information retrieval portion retrieves topic identification information including a part of the first morpheme information from among the plurality of pieces of topic identification information and the retrieved topic identification information includes second morpheme information including a part of the first morpheme information, the topic identification information retrieval portion outputs the second morpheme information to the reply retrieval portion;

an elliptical sentence supplementation portion that, when the retrieved topic identification information does not include second morpheme information including a part of the first morpheme information, adds topic identification information previously retrieved by the topic identification information retrieval portion to the first morpheme information to generate supplemented first morpheme information, retrieves second morpheme information including a part of the supplemented first morpheme information, and outputs the retrieved second morpheme information to the reply retrieval portion; and

a reply retrieval portion that retrieves, based on the second morpheme information from one of the topic identification information retrieval portion and the elliptical sentence supplementation portion, a reply sentence associated with the retrieved second morpheme information,

wherein some plans have a series of questions for guiding a user to take desired information as the reply sentences.