Method and apparatus for executing a user function using voice recognition

• US 10,347,246 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2013
• Issued: 07/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Dongyeol, Park, Sehwan
• Primary Examiner(s): Tzeng, Feng-Tzer
• Application Number:
  US13/739,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20130179173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,370 Days
• Field of Search: 704246, 704251, 704257, 704270, 704275, 704E15001
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/00 Speech recognition G10L17/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for executing a user function using voice recognition. The method includes displaying a user function execution screen; confirming a function to be executed according to voice input; displaying a voice command corresponding to the confirmed function on the user function execution screen; recognizing a voice input by a user, while a voice recognition execution request is continuously received; and executing the function associated with the input voice command, when the recognized voice input is at least one of the displayed voice command.

Claims

1. A method for executing a function by an electronic device using voice recognition, the method comprising:

identifying a plurality of executable functions that are activatable by a voice input and a voice command corresponding to each of the plurality of executable functions from among registered commands;

while a voice recognition execution key input or a voice recognition touch input is continuously received by a held key input or touch input, displaying the identified voice command corresponding to each of the plurality of executable functions and receiving the voice input;

determining whether the received voice input corresponds to at least one of the displayed voice command and removing the identified voice command corresponding to each of the plurality of executable functions from the display, when the voice recognition key input or the voice recognition touch input is no longer received; and

performing the executable function associated with the voice input, when the received voice input corresponds to at least one of the displayed voice command,

wherein the voice recognition is limited to the displayed voice commands.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice command is displayed around an image component displayed on a screen or in a blank area of the screen.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice command is displayed around an icon associated with the executable function corresponding to the identified voice command.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice command is displayed around a mounted location of a key input unit receiving a key input, when a function executed according to the voice input is a function executed by the key input.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprises identifying, on a screen, an executable function for which a voice command for voice recognition is not registered, and allocating a voice command for voice recognition to the executable function for which the voice command for voice recognition is not registered.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the function includes one of a function executed when a touch input and a key input are received, and a preset function of a certain application.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

testing similarity of the identified voice commands; and

changing at least one of similar voice commands, according to a result of the testing, before displaying the voice command.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein removing the displayed voice command from an execution screen terminates the voice recognition.

9. An apparatus for executing a user function using voice recognition, the apparatus comprising:

a display unit;

an input that receives a voice recognition key input;

an touch panel that receives a voice recognition touch input;

an audio processor that collects and records voice input; and

a controller that;

identifies a plurality of executable functions that are activatable by the voice input and a voice command corresponding to each of the plurality of executable functions from among registered commands,

controls the display unit to display the identified voice command corresponding to the each of the plurality of executable functions and recognizes the voice input while a voice recognition execution key input or a voice recognition touch input is continuously received by a held key input or touch input,

determines whether the received voice input corresponds to at least one of the displayed voice command and removes the identified voice command corresponding to each of the plurality of executable functions from the display, when the voice recognition key input or the voice recognition touch input is no longer received, and

performs the executable function associated with the voice input, when the received voice input corresponds to at least one of the displayed voice command,

wherein the voice recognition is limited to the displayed voice commands.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the voice command is displayed around an image component displayed on a screen or in a blank area of screen.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to identify, on a screen, an executable function for which a voice command for voice recognition is not registered, and allocate a voice command for voice recognition to the executable function for which the voice command for voice recognition is not registered.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the voice command is displayed on a side of a screen in a direction of a touch input received by the touch panel.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the voice command is displayed in a start location of a touch input received by the touch panel among a screen.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the voice command is displayed in a tool tip, a pop-up window, or a list form.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller identifies the function executed according to the voice input, calls a voice command display map including a display location of a voice command associated with a plurality of icons displayed on a screen, and controls the display unit to display corresponding voice commands on the screen.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller stores a display location of the voice command associated with a plurality of icons displayed on a screen.

17. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller determines whether the voice input by the user is at least one of the displayed voice command.

18. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the function executed according to the voice input includes one of a function executed according to a touch input for the user function, and a key input and a preset function of a certain application.

19. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein removing the displayed voice command terminates the voice recognition.

20. An apparatus comprising:

a display;

an audio input;

a memory; and

a controller that provides a voice recognition system in which;

an application layer has applications which provide one or more objects; and

a platform layer has a user interface framework which;

outputs a screen configured by the objects collected from the one or more applications in the application layer which are associated with the screen;

identifies a voice command associated with the each of the collected objects from among registered commands to determine any candidate currently available voice commands for displaying on the screen,

transfers any found candidate currently available voice commands to a voice recognition engine,

changes and searches voice commands associated with a displayed screen as a candidate recognition target each time a displayed screen is changed, and

receives a voice input while a voice recognition key input or a voice recognition touch input is continuously received by a held key input or touch input,

wherein the identified voice command corresponding to each of the plurality of collected objects are displayed while the voice recognition key input or the voice recognition touch input is continuously received by the held key input or touch input, and are removed from the display when the voice recognition key input or the voice recognition touch input is no longer received,

wherein removing the identified voice command from the display terminates the voice recognition, and

wherein the voice recognition is limited to the displayed voice commands.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the user interface framework reconfigures the screen to display any found candidate currently available voice commands.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the platform layer further comprises:

a multimedia framework which records a user voice with the audio input; and

a voice framework having the voice recognition engine receiving recorded voice data from the multimedia framework, and determining whether the recorded voice data accords with at least one of any found candidate currently available voice commands.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program of instructions configured to be readable by at least one processor for instructing the at least one processor to execute:

identifying a plurality of executable functions that are activatable by a voice input and a voice command corresponding to each of the plurality of executable functions from among registered commands;

while a voice recognition execution key input or a voice recognition touch input is continuously received by a held key input or touch input, displaying the identified voice command corresponding to the each of the plurality of executable functions and receiving the voice input;

determining whether the received voice input corresponds to at least one of the displayed voice command and removing the identified voice command corresponding to each of the plurality of executable functions from the display, when the voice recognition key input or the voice recognition touch input is no longer received;

performing the executable function associated with the voice input, when the received voice input corresponds to at least one of the displayed voice command,

wherein removing the identified voice command from the display terminates the voice recognition, and

wherein the voice recognition is limited to the displayed voice commands.