Method and apparatus for the voice control of a device appertaining to consumer electronics

US7136817B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Thomson Licensing · FR

Inventors

• Ernst Schroder · Hannover, DE
• Hans-Joachim Platte · Hemmingen, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 14, 2001
• Grant date: Nov 14, 2006
• Expiry date: Aug 14, 2023

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F3/16
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

In the voice control of a device appertaining to consumer electronics, speech inputs of a user are converted into digitized voice signals. First features, which are characteristic of the individual sounds of the speech, and thus permit recognition of the spoken sounds, are extracted from the digitized voice signals. Furthermore, second features, which permit a characterization of the voice of the respective user and are used for distinguishing between the speech inputs of different users, are extracted from the digitized voice signals. This enables the device being operated to distinguish between speech inputs of the present user, which represent operator-control commands, and utterances by other persons, and to respond only to operator-control commands of the present user. Furthermore, the quality of an analysis of the viewing habits of different users can be improved by a distinction between the users.