Voice input device

• US 8,831,952 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2012
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Fujisawa, Yuki
• Primary Examiner(s): COLUCCI, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US13/447,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20120271636A1
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270, 704/9, 704/275, 704/272, 704/270.1, 704/235, 704/231, 704/200, 715/835, 455/575.2, 375/130
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/227 of the speaker; Human-factor methodology

Abstract

A voice input device includes: a mastery level identifying device identifying a mastery level of a user with respect to voice input; and an input mode setting device switching a voice input mode between a guided input mode and an unguided input mode. In the guided input mode, preliminary registered contents of the voice input are presented to the user. The input mode setting device sets the voice input mode to the unguided input mode at a starting time when the voice input device starts to receive the voice input. The input mode setting device switches the voice input mode from the unguided input mode to the guided input mode at a switching time. The input mode setting device sets a time interval between the starting time and the switching time in proportion to the mastery level.

Claims

1. A voice input device for receiving a voice input from a user and for executing an operation command based on the voice input, comprising:

a mastery level identifying device identifying a mastery level of the user with respect to the voice input; and

an input mode setting device switching and setting a voice input mode between a guided input mode and an unguided input mode,

wherein, in the guided input mode, preliminary registered contents of the voice input are presented to the user,

wherein, in the unguided input mode, the preliminary registered contents of the voice input are not presented,

wherein the input mode setting device sets the voice input mode to the unguided input mode at a starting time when the voice input device starts to receive the voice input,

wherein the input mode setting device switches the voice input mode from the unguided input mode to the guided input mode at a switching time, and

wherein the input mode setting device sets a time interval between the starting time and the switching time in proportion to the mastery level;

the voice input device further comprising;

a switching timing storing device storing switching timing information,

wherein the switching timing information represents a relationship between the mastery level and the time interval, and

wherein the input mode setting device switches the input mode based on the switching timing information.

2. The voice input device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a voice input unit receiving the voice input from the user and inputting the voice input to the voice input device,

wherein the user inputs voice for a predetermined time interval so that the voice input unit receives the voice input for the predetermined time interval, which is defined as voice input acceptance time, and

wherein the mastery level identifying device identifies the mastery level in such a manner that the mastery level is in proportion to a total time of the voice input acceptance time.

3. The voice input device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a voice input unit receiving the voice input from the user and inputting the voice input to the voice input device,

wherein the mastery level identifying device identifies the mastery level in such a manner that the mastery level is in proportion to a total number of times the voice input device starts to receive the voice input.

4. The voice input device according to claim 1,

wherein the mastery level in the switching timing information includes a plurality of discrete levels,

wherein each discrete level is in association with the time interval.

5. The voice input device according to claim 1,

wherein the mastery level is a continuous level, and

wherein the switching timing information represents a continuous relationship between the mastery level and the time interval in such a manner that the mastery level is in proportion to the time interval.

6. The voice input device according to claim 4,

wherein the switching timing information represents the relationship between the mastery level and the time interval in such a manner that the time interval becomes constant when the mastery level is equal to or higher than a predetermined level.

7. The voice input device according to claim 4,

wherein the switching timing information represents the relationship between the mastery level and the time interval in such a manner that the time interval is zero when the mastery level is the lowest mastery level.

8. The voice input device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a user registering device carrying out user registration by registering user information;

a registered user identifying device identifying a registered user; and

a mastery level storing device storing the mastery level of each registered user,

wherein the mastery level identifying device identifies the mastery level of one of users, which is identified by the registered user identifying device, and

wherein the input mode setting device switches the input mode based on the mastery level of an identified user and the switching timing information.

9. The voice input device according to claim 1,

wherein the input mode setting device corrects the switching timing information based on predetermined correction information, and switches the voice input mode from the unguided input mode to the guided input mode at the switching time, which is determined by corrected switching timing information and the mastery level.

10. The voice input device according to claim 9,

wherein the preliminary registered contents of the voice input have a hierarchical structure, which includes a plurality of operation hierarchical layers,

wherein each operation hierarchical layer includes one or more operation command items that are executable according to the voice input when the input mode setting device switches the voice input mode to the guided input mode,

wherein each operation hierarchical layer includes a hierarchical layer transition operation command item for transiting a current operation hierarchical layer to an upper or lower operation hierarchical layer,

wherein the operation hierarchical layers are switchable from the highest operation hierarchical layer to any one of lowest operation hierarchical layers via one or more branch operation hierarchical layers by repeating to execute a hierarchical layer transition operation command item in each operation hierarchical layer, and

wherein the predetermined correction information is defined in each operation hierarchical layer.

11. The voice input device according to claim 9, further comprising:

a voice input performance identifying device identifying voice input performance of the user,

wherein the correction information is determined according to the voice input performance.

12. The voice input device according to claim 9, further comprising:

an operating situation identifying device identifying a predetermined operating situation of the user among a plurality of operation situations,

wherein the correction information is defined in each operating situation.

13. The voice input device according to claim 9,

wherein the user is the driver of a vehicle,

the voice input device further comprising:

a vehicle situation identifying device identifying a predetermined vehicle situation of the vehicle driven by the user among a plurality of vehicle situations,

wherein the correction information is defined in each vehicle situation.