Information processor

• US 9,002,715 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2010
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: MEL NavIP LLC (Ni, Wang & Massand, PLLC)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Seto, Yusuke, Suzuki, Tadashi, Iwamiya, Ryo
• Primary Examiner(s): COLUCCI, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US13/698,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20130066637A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,702 Days
• Field of Search: 704/7, 704/275, 704/270, 704/270.1, 704/2, 709/206, 709/224, 455/557, 382/224, 379/88.22, 379/210.01, 178/18.04, 705/26.1
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context

Abstract

Information processor 1 includes display unit 30 for displaying an interface screen having function execution key unit 23 indicating a prescribed function for each function type, and interface screen change key unit 22 for switching each function type; interface screen control unit 20 for controlling display switching of the screen on the display unit 30 in response to an input operation signal; interface screen operation history recording unit 110 for recording, as continuous operation information, operation time and operation contents of the function execution key unit 23 or interface screen change key unit 22 in response to the input operation signal; likelihood value providing unit 120 for calculating and adding, to each function the function execution key unit 23 indicates, a likelihood value indicating a degree of a user desire from the continuous operation information recorded; priority recognition word setting unit 130 for outputting word information corresponding to the function whose likelihood value is not less than a prescribed value; voice recognition unit 60 for recognizing input voice by referring to the word information; and function executing unit 70 for executing the function of the function execution key unit 23 operated via interface screen operating unit 40 or the function corresponding to the word passing through the voice recognition by the voice recognition unit 60.

Claims

1. An information processor comprising:

a display unit for displaying an interface screen having a function execution key unit indicating a prescribed function for each function type, and an interface screen change key unit for switching the interface screen for the each function type;

an interface screen operating unit for accepting an operation for the function execution key unit or for the interface screen change key unit displayed on the display unit;

an interface screen control unit for receiving an operation signal corresponding to an operation made from the interface screen operating unit to the interface screen change key unit, and for controlling display switching of the interface screen on the display unit in response to the operation signal;

an interface screen operation history recording unit for recording, in response to the operation signal which corresponds to the operation of the function execution key unit or of the interface screen change key unit and which is received from the interface screen operating unit, operation time of the function execution key unit or of the interface screen change key unit and operation contents resulting from continuous operations of the interface screen change key unit at intervals not greater than the prescribed time period as continuous operation information;

a likelihood value providing unit for calculating and adding, to each function the function execution key unit indicates, a likelihood value indicating a degree of a desire of a user in accordance with the continuous operation information recorded in the interface screen operation history recording unit;

a priority recognition word setting unit for storing word information for each function in advance, and for outputting the word information corresponding to the function whose likelihood value which is set by the likelihood value providing unit is not less than a prescribed value;

a voice recognition unit for carrying out voice recognition of an input voice by referring to the word information supplied from the priority recognition word setting unit; and

a function executing unit for executing the function of the function execution key unit operated via the interface screen operating unit or the function corresponding to the word which passes through the voice recognition by the voice recognition unit.

2. The information processor according to claim 1, wherein

the likelihood value providing unit determines display duration of the function execution key unit from current continuous operation information indicating operation contents according to which the interface screen change key unit is continuously operated without any operation of the function execution key unit up to now, and for calculating and adding, to each function the function execution key unit indicates, the likelihood value in a manner that the degree of the desire increases as the display duration reduces.

3. The information processor according to claim 1, wherein

the priority recognition word setting unit sets the word information corresponding to the function whose likelihood value, which is set by likelihood value providing unit, is not less than the prescribed value in a manner that the word information is subjected to the voice recognition preferentially.

4. The information processor according to claim 1, wherein

the interface screen operation history recording unit, which records past continuous operation information indicating operation contents according to which the interface screen change key unit is operated continuously until the function execution key unit is operated, records in the past continuous operation information the likelihood value of the function executed;

and

the likelihood value providing unit compares the past continuous operation information with current continuous operation information indicating operation contents according to which the interface screen change key unit is continuously operated without any operation of the function execution key unit up to now, and provides the likelihood value of a function, which is executed according to the past continuous operation information having operation contents similar to the current continuous operation information, as the likelihood value to the function corresponding to the function execution key unit operated in a current operation.

5. The information processor according to claim 1, wherein

the likelihood value providing unit compares the past continuous operation information with current continuous operation information indicating operation contents according to which the interface screen change key unit is continuously operated without any operation of the function execution key unit up to now, and provides as the likelihood value a degree of agreement between the current continuous operation information and the past continuous operation information when the function execution key unit is operated in the present operation which corresponds to the function executed by the past continuous operation information.

6. The information processor according to claim 1, further comprising:

a cost calculating unit for calculating, as a cost value indicating user'"'"'s labor required before executing a function, a difference between a time period in which the interface screen change key unit is continuously operated in the present operation and an average of elapsed time periods until the function execution key unit is operated in the past, which are determined from plural pieces of the past continuous operation information, by using the past continuous operation information which is recorded in the interface screen operation history recording unit and indicates the operation contents according to which the interface screen change key unit is continuously operated until the function execution key unit is operated and by using the current continuous operation information indicating operation contents according to which the interface screen change key unit is operated continuously without any operation of the function execution key unit up to now, wherein

the priority recognition word setting unit, when the cost value calculated by the cost calculating unit is not less than the prescribed value, sets release so as to prevent the voice recognition of the word information corresponding to the function whose likelihood value, which is set by the likelihood value providing unit, is less than a prescribed value.

7. The information processor according to claim 6, wherein

the cost calculating unit calculates the cost value by using the past continuous operation information similar in the operation contents to the current continuous operation information.

8. The information processor according to claim 6, wherein

the cost calculating unit weights the elapsed time periods until the function execution key unit is operated, which are determined from the past continuous operation information, by the likelihood values which are set to the functions of the function execution key unit, and calculates, as the cost value indicating user'"'"'s labor required before executing the function, a difference between the time period in which the interface screen change key unit is continuously operated in the present operation and an average of the elapsed time periods which are derived from the plurality of pieces of the past continuous operation information and pass through the weighting.

9. The information processor according to claim 1, wherein

the interface screen operation history recording unit records, in response to the operation signal of each user corresponding to the operation on the function execution key unit or the interface screen change key unit input from the interface screen operating unit, the operation time of the function execution key unit or of the interface screen change key unit and the operation contents according to which the interface screen change key unit is continuously operated at intervals not greater than the prescribed time period as the continuous operation information for each user, and the information processor further comprising:

an operation history selecting unit for selecting and outputting for each user the continuous operation information which is recorded in the interface screen operation history recording unit.

10. The information processor according to claim 6, further comprising:

a voice guidance information generating unit for outputting voice guidance for prompting a user to give utterance when the cost value fed from the cost calculating unit is not less than a prescribed value.