Multimedia Search Application for a Mobile Device

• US 20140108009A1
• Filed: 12/19/2013
• Published: 04/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chang, Harry
• Granted Patent: US 9,536,520 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/231
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/08 Speech classification or search
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739

Abstract

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method selects a program from a library of programs. A user selection is determined based upon a voice command, and the program is presented at a display device in accordance with the voice command. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a system selects a program from a library of programs. The system includes a processor that determines a user selection based upon a voice command, and also includes a display device that presents the program in accordance with the voice command. In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, a computer-readable medium contains a set of instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to determine a user selection based upon a voice command and to command a display device to present the program, in accordance with the voice command.

Claims

1-25. -25. (canceled)

26. A mobile device, comprising:

a display screen configured to display multimedia content;

a microphone to detect speech of a user and provide an audio signal indicative of the speech;

an automated speech recognition engine, coupled to the microphone; and

an application that supports voice recognition, coupled to the microphone and the automated speech recognition engine, configured to identify content in a multimedia content library in accordance with the speech.

27. The mobile device of claim 26, wherein the application provides a search query based on the speech to a network search engine coupled to the multimedia content library.

28. The mobile device of claim 27, wherein the application is configured to transmit the search query to the network search engine wirelessly, via a wireless network.

29. The mobile device of claim 28, wherein the network search engine resides on a provider network configured to provide multimedia content services to the user and deliver multimedia content to a set top box associated with the user via a broadband network.

30. The mobile device of claim 29, wherein the application is configured to provide identification information identifying at least one of the mobile device and the user to a registry maintained on the provider network.

31. The mobile device of claim 26, wherein the application supports a rating guard configured to block multimedia content that violates a rating restriction.

32. The mobile device of claim 26, wherein the application is configured to query the user by generating and displaying menus.

33. The mobile device of claim 32, wherein the application is configured to generate the search query based, at least in part, on a keypad entry provided by the user in response to at least one of the menus.

34. The mobile device of claim 26, wherein the mobile device is configured to:

receive a multimedia content program from the multimedia content library; and

display the multimedia content program on the display screen.

35. The mobile device of claim 34, wherein the multimedia content library includes a first version of the multimedia content program and a second version of the multimedia content program, wherein the first version is suitable for a smaller display screen and the second version is suitable for a larger display screen and wherein the mobile device is configured to receive and display the first version in response to sending the search query.

36. The mobile device of claim 26, wherein the automated speech recognition engine is configured to record the speech.

37. The mobile device of claim 26, wherein the application is configured to automatically update a search result obtained from voice browsing the multimedia content library.

38. The mobile device of claim 26, further comprising:

a locally stored speech recognition grammar indicative of previously recognized speech.

39. The mobile device of claim 38, wherein the application is configured to update the locally stored speech recognition grammar based on a phrase recognized during voice browsing of the multimedia content library.

40. The mobile device of claim 26, further comprising:

a locally stored videobook including data indicative of multimedia content titles previously accessed.

41. The mobile device of claim 40, wherein the automated speech recognition engine is initially inactive and is subsequently activated responsive to a number of entries in the videobook exceeding an activation threshold.

42. The mobile device of claim 41, wherein the automated speech recognition engine, once activated, attempts to recognize the speech of the user.

43. The mobile device of claim 26, wherein the mobile device includes a voice library and wherein a search result obtained during voice browsing is based, at least in part, on matching the speech of the user with a voice included in the voice library.

44. A computer readable medium including processor executable program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations, comprising:

receiving, from a microphone of a mobile device, an audio signal indicative of user speech, including a search term, associated with a user and detected by the microphone;

providing the audio signal to an automated speech recognizer to identify the search term;

sending the search term to a multimedia search engine configured to search, based on the search term, a multimedia content library of a multimedia service provider; and

receiving a search result indicating a multimedia content program associated with the search term; and

displaying the search result on a display screen of the mobile device.

45. The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein the operations include:

requesting delivery of the multimedia content program.

46. The computer readable medium of claim 45, wherein requesting the delivery of the multimedia content program includes identifying a display device and requesting delivery of the multimedia content program to the display device.

47. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the display device is selected from:

a set top box associated with a multimedia service provider and a wireless device associated with a wireless service provider.

48. The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein providing the audio signal to the automated speech recognizer includes:

determining a status of a local speech recognizer;

responsive to determining an active status of the local speech recognizer, providing the audio signal to the local speech recognizer; and

responsive to determining an inactive status of the local speech recognizer, providing the audio signal to a network speech recognizer via a communication network.

49. The computer readable medium of claim 48, wherein the network speech recognizer and the multimedia search engine are included in a network server of the multimedia service provider.

50. The computer readable medium of claim 49, wherein the communication network comprises a wireless communication network.

51. The computer readable medium of claim 50, wherein the wireless communication network comprises a wireless telephone network operated by a wireless telephone service provider.

52. The computer readable medium of claim 51, wherein a common provider includes the wireless service provider and the multimedia service provider.

53. The computer readable medium of claim 48, wherein the operations include:

initializing the local speech recognizer with an inactive status;

recording vocabulary entries, based on words and phrases in at least one of;

the search term and the search result, to a local vocabulary; and

activating the local speech recognizer when a number of the vocabulary entries exceeds a vocabulary threshold.

54. The computer readable medium of claim 53, wherein the local vocabulary includes videobook data indicative of previously identified multimedia programs.

55. The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein the operations include:

requesting an initial voice search page from a web server associated with the search engine; and

receiving the initial voice search page from the web server.

56. The computer readable medium of claim 55, wherein:

a request for the initial voice search page includes identification information identifying at least one of;

the user, the mobile device, a wireless service account associated with the mobile device, and a multimedia service account associated with the user; and

receipt of the initial voice search page is indicative of a verification of the identification information.

57. The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein:

the search result comprises an intermediate search result and wherein the operations include;

sending a subsequent search query to the search engine; and

receiving a subsequent search result based on the subsequent search query.

58. The computer readable medium of claim 57, wherein the intermediate search result comprises a menu page.

59. The computer readable medium of claim 57, wherein the intermediate search is indicative of categories of multimedia content.

60. The computer readable medium of claim 57, wherein the operations include:

generating the search query based on a combination of;

an intermediate audio signal indicative of intermediate user speech; and

a keypad user input indicative of an entry by the user of an element of a keypad of the mobile device.

61. The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein the multimedia search engine resides on a provider network configured to provide multimedia content services to the user and deliver multimedia content to a set top box associated with the user via a broadband network.

62. The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein operations include blocking multimedia content that violates a predetermined rating restriction.

63. The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein the operations include:

storing the multimedia program locally for viewing.

64. The computer readable medium of claim 63, wherein the operations include:

determining whether to permit local viewing of the multimedia program based on a condition selected from;

a time period condition and number of viewings condition.

65. The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein the operations include:

automatically updating the search result.

66. A multimedia search method, comprising:

receiving, from a microphone of a mobile device, an audio signal indicative of user speech, including a search term, associated with a user and detected by the microphone;

providing the audio signal to an automated speech recognizer to identify the search term;

sending the search term to a multimedia search engine configured to search, based on the search term, a multimedia content library of a multimedia service provider; and

receiving a search result indicating a multimedia content program associated with the search term; and

displaying the search result on a display screen of the mobile device.