Method for phonetizing a data list and voice-controlled user interface

• US 9,405,742 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2013
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Walther, Jens
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Paras D
• Assistant Examiner(s): THOMAS-HOMESCU, ANNE L
• Application Number:
  US14/378,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20150012261A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,268 Days
• Field of Search: 704/252, 704/209, 704/260, 704/254, 704/275, 704/211, 704/251, 704/236, 704/2, 704/258, 704/235, 704/243, 704/10, 704/220, 704/266, 704/231, 704/257
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/30 of unstructured textual data document management systems G06F16/93
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/205 Parsing
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/08 Text analysis or generation of parameters for speech synthesis out of text, e.g. grapheme to phoneme translation, prosody generation or stress or intonation determination
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/187 Phonemic context, e.g. pronunciation rules, phonotactical constraints or phoneme n-grams
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/285 Memory allocation or algorithm optimisation to reduce hardware requirements
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context

Abstract

A method for phonetizing a data list having text-containing list entries, each list entry in the data list being subdivided into at least two data fields for provision to a voice-controlled user interface, includes: converting a list entry from a text representation into phonetics; storing the phonetics as phonemes in a phonetized data list; inserting a separating character into the text of a list entry between the respective data fields of the list entry, concomitantly converting the inserted separating character into phonetics and concomitantly storing the converted separating character as a phoneme symbol; and storing the phonemes in a phonetic database, the phonetized data list being produced from the phonemes stored in the phonetic database.

Claims

1. A method on a voice-controlled user interface (1) having a voice recognizer (5), a data interface (3), and a computing unit (4) configured to control the voice recognizer (5) and the data interface (3), the method comprising:

the data interface (3) receiving a data list (2) having text-containing list entries by transmission from a storage device, each list entry in the received data list (2) having been subdivided into at least two sortable data fields;

the computing unit al converting a received list entry from a text representation into phonetics;

the computing unit (4) storing the phonetics as phonemes in a phonetized data list (6);

the computing unit (4) inserting a separating character into the text of a list entry between the respective sortable data fields of the list entry, concomitantly converting the inserted separating character into phonetics and concomitantly storing the converted separating character as a phoneme symbol;

the computing unit (4) assigning a respectively different separating character to each sortable data field of a list entry, concomitantly converting the assigned separating character into phonetics, and concomitantly storing in a phonetic database (7) the converted assigned separating character as a respectively different phoneme symbol along with the position of the phoneme symbol;

the computing unit (4) storing the phonemes in the phonetic database (7), the phonetized data list (6) being produced from the phonemes stored in the phonetic database (7);

resorting the list entries with respect to a selected one of the at least two sortable data fields based on identifying a separating character, where the resorting results in reorganizing the phonemes stored in the phonetic database (7) with the phoneme symbol symbolizing the separating character associated with the selected one of the at least two sortable data fields and storing them as a new phonetized data list replacing the phonetized data list;

receiving at the voice recognizer (5) a voice command from a user, wherein the voice command comprises a name of a person;

recognizing the voice command based on the new phonetized data list; and

controlling the user interface based on the recognized voice command by dialing a telephone number associated with the name of the person.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage position of the phoneme symbol corresponding to the separating character converted into phonetics is determined in the phonemes corresponding to a list entry and the storage contents before and after the determined storage position are interchanged.

3. A voice-controlled user interface having a voice recognition system (5), a data interface (3) for connecting a data list (2) having text-containing list entries, and a computing unit configured to control the voice-controlled user interface (1), wherein the voice-controlled user interface is configured to carry out the method as claimed in claim 1.

4. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing program code that, when executed, controls a voice-controlled user interface (1) to carry out the method as claimed in claim 1.