Apparatus and method for wireless communication

• US 6,901,270 B1
• Filed: 11/17/2000
• Issued: 05/31/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Beach, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Corsaro, Nick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gantt, Alan T.
• Application Number:
  US09/715,926
• Time in Patent Office: 1,656 Days
• Field of Search: 455/564, 455/563, 704/270, 704/275, 704/246, 704/243, 704/251
• US Class Current: 455/563
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00

Abstract

A mobile device is arranged to receive first voice commands to be interpreted by a digital signal processor in said device having a limited vocabulary voice recognition program and to receive second voice commands which are converted to voice representative data signals to be sent by a WLAN to a remote computer for interpretation using a large vocabulary voice recognition program. The mobile device provides voice control of the remote computer and can also provide voice activated voice communications.

Claims

1. A method for operating a system by voice command, comprising:

providing a mobile unit having a microphone, a digital signal processor and a radio module for providing wireless data communications to a computer;

receiving first voice commands having a limited vocabulary in said mobile unit, recognizing said first voice commands in said digital signal processor and controlling said mobile unit in response to said first voice commands;

receiving second voice commands in said mobile unit, converting said second voice commands to digital data signals comprising a digital representation of said second voice commands in said mobile unit and sending said digital data signals to said computer using said radio module; and

operating said computer to recognize said second voice commands using said digital data signals and a large vocabulary voice recognition program to derive computer control signals therefrom, wherein computer control signals provide instructions for operation of said computer or at least one of its attached peripheral devices.

2. A method as specified in claim 1 wherein said controlling said mobile unit in response to said first voice commands comprises controlling said mobile unit to communicate with said computer.

3. A method as specified in claim 1 further including operating said computer in response to said computer control signals.

4. A method as specified in claim 1 wherein said first voice commands have a fixed limited vocabulary.

5. A mobile device, comprising:

a microphone for receiving sound signals;

an interface, connected to said microphone for converting received sound signals from said microphone to data signals;

a radio module for sending wireless data communication signals; and

a digital signal processor, said processor including a program for (1) recognizing a limited number of digital data signals from said interface and operating in response thereto to control said radio, (2) operating said radio module to send digital data signals, and (3) providing digital data signals corresponding to sounds from said microphone as data packets to said radio module, wherein said digital data signals provide instructions for a remote computer and its peripheral devices.

6. A mobile device as specified in claim 5 wherein said digital processor is further programmed to compress said digital data signals corresponding to sounds.

7. A mobile device as specified in claim 5 wherein said processor includes a program for recognizing a fixed limited number of digital data signals.

8. A method for operating a system by voice command, comprising:

providing a mobile unit having a microphone and a speaker, a digital signal processor and a radio module for providing wireless data communications to a computer;

receiving first voice commands having a limited vocabulary in said mobile unit, recognizing said first voice commands in said digital signal processor and controlling said mobile unit in response to said first voice commands;

receiving second voice commands in said mobile unit, converting said second voice commands to digital data signals in said mobile unit and sending said digital data signals to said computer using said radio module;

operating said computer to recognize said second voice commands using a large vocabulary voice recognition program to derive computer control signals therefrom;

operating said computer or one of its peripheral devices in response to said computer signals;

wherein said operating said computer comprises retrieving data from a memory of said computer, converting said retrieved data into voice data, sending said voice data to said mobile unit; and

converting said voice data to analog signals using said digital signal processor in said mobile unit and supplying said analog signals to said speaker.

9. A method for operating a system by voice command, comprising:

providing a mobile unit having a microphone and a speaker, a digital signal processor and a radio module for providing wireless data communications to a computer;

receiving first voice commands having a limited vocabulary in said mobile unit, recognizing said first voice commands in said digital signal processor and controlling said mobile unit in response to said first voice commands;

receiving second voice commands in said mobile unit, converting said second voice commands to digital data signals in said mobile unit and sending said digital data signals to said computer using said radio module;

operating said computer to recognize said second voice commands using a large vocabulary voice recognition program to derive computer control signals therefrom; and

operating said computer or one of its peripheral devices in response to said computer control signals;

wherein said computer control signals are arranged to establish a voice communications channel between said mobile unit and at least one other voice communicating device, and wherein said computer is operated to establish said voice communications channel to transfer voice communication data between said mobile unit and said other voice communications device.

10. A method as specified in claim 9 wherein establishing said voice communications channel includes converting said voice communications data between digital and analog form.

11. A mobile device, comprising:

a microphone for receiving sound signals;

a speaker;

an interface, connected to said microphone for converting received sound signals from said microphone to data signals and for converting digital data signals into sound signals and providing said sound signals to said speaker;

a radio module for sending wireless data communication signals; and

a digital signal processor, said processor including a program for (1) recognizing a limited number of digital data signals from said interface and operating in response thereto to control said radio, (2) operating said radio module to send digital data signals, (3) providing digital data signals corresponding to sounds from said microphone as data packets to said radio module and (4) providing digital data signals received by said radio to said interface for conversion to sound signals, wherein two-way communication between a remote computer and said radio module utilize said digital data signals.

12. A mobile device as specified in claim 11 wherein said digital processor is further programmed to compress said digital data signals from said interface and to decompress digital data signals received by said radio.

13. A mobile device as specified in claim 12 wherein said digital processor controls said interface to have a first sampling rate for voice signals corresponding to commands and to have a second sampling rate for voice signals corresponding to voice communications.

14. A mobile device as specified in claim 11 wherein said digital processor is interfaced to a host processor for transferring data signals to be sent or received using said radio module.

15. A mobile device as specified in claim 11 wherein said digital processor is interfaced to a bar code scanner for receiving bar code signals from said scanner, and wherein said digital processor is further programmed to convert said bar code signals to digital data signals.

16. A mobile device as specified in claim 11 wherein said digital processor is programmed to receive data signals from said interface and to alternately supply said data signals to first and second buffer memories during alternating first and second time intervals by direct memory access, and wherein said processor is programmed to process data in one of said data buffers while said data signals are supplied to the other of said data buffers.

17. A mobile device as specified in claim 16 wherein said processor is programmed to process said data using a compression algorithm.