Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at same station – Radiotelephone equipment detail
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-21
2004-02-10
Appiah, Charles (Department: 2682)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at same station
Radiotelephone equipment detail
C455S569200, C704S246000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06690954
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable telephone with a voice recognition function.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional voice dial function in which a dial number or voice data relating to the dial number is input according to a voice recognition function is known as a technique in which the load on a push-down operation on dial buttons of a portable telephone is reduced.
In general, during the voice dial function, a screen image, a voice signal or a tone of a portable telephone instructs a user to emit a voice input while using a specific key input indicating a start as a trigger. Thereafter, a voice input by the user is converted in analog-to-digital, an acoustic/language processing is performed for the converted voice signal, a highest likelihood recognized candidate is searched according to the similarity between the voice signal and data registered in advance by the user or data registered in advance in the portable telephone. Thus a dial number relating to the voice signal is retrieved. This retrieval result expressed by a screen image or a voice signal is indicated to the user, and the procedure proceeds to a call access operation automatically or in response to a further key input of the user.
In the above steps of the procedure, in cases where a call access operation is finally performed, there are following call access operations mainly according to a user's subjective reliance on a voice recognition function.
In one call access operation, the portable telephone is placed in front of the user to enable the user to see a screen image indicating the retrieved dial number, and the user ascertains the retrieval result expressed by the screen image. Thereafter, the user performs a further key input, and the procedure proceeds to the call access operation.
In another call access operation, to enable the user to immediately perform a voice conversation, the user ascertains the retrieval result expressed by a voice signal while putting the portable telephone close to one ear of the user, and the procedure automatically proceeds to the call access operation.
When the above-described call access operations are finally performed, in cases where a call access is performed in response to the key input performed after the display of the screen image, an error phone call caused by an erroneous recognition as a result of background noise or the like, can be easily prevented. However, even though the user desires to immediately perform a call access, unless the user performs a further key input, a call access operation is not performed. In contrast, in cases where a call access is automatically performed, a telephone operation is not complicated by the condition that the recognition result is correct. However, due to the fact that a user may want to confirm a recognition result or to use the portable telephone in environments often resulting in erroneous recognition, there is a high probability that an error phone call is performed due to the automatic performance of call access. Therefore, there is a problem that a call access processing adapted to use conditions and/or use environments of the user's portable telephone cannot be performed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide, with due consideration to the drawbacks of the conventional portable telephone, a portable telephone in which a call access processing adapted to use conditions and use environments of the portable telephone of a user is performed by automatically performing a call access operation without a further key input, in cases where the user desires to automatically perform a call access or in cases where the portable telephone is used in an environment in which an erroneous recognition hardly occurs, and by performing a call access operation in response to a call access request of a user in cases where the user desires to perform the call access operation after the confirmation of a recognition result or in cases where the portable telephone is used in an environment in which an erroneous recognition easily occurs.
A portable telephone according to the present invention comprises a for-recognition voice data storing unit for storing for-recognition voice data, a relation-to-dial information storing unit for storing pieces of dial information respectively to be used to perform a call access, a voice inputting unit for receiving a voice signal, a voice recognizing unit for recognizing the voice signal received in the voice inputting unit according to the for-recognition voice data stored in the for-recognition voice data storing unit and extracting dial information corresponding to a recognition result from the relation-to-dial information storing unit, a position detecting unit for detecting a position of the portable telephone relative to a user, and a control unit for performing a call access operation according to position information, which is relative to the user and is detected in the position detecting unit, by using the dial information extracted in the voice recognizing unit.
Therefore, because a call access operation is performed according to the position information of the portable telephone relative to the user, a call access processing adapted to use conditions of the user can be performed.
In a portable telephone according to the present invention, the position of the portable telephone relative to the user is detected in the position detecting unit by detecting whether or not the portable telephone is in proximity to the ear of the user.
Therefore, because it is detected whether or not the portable telephone is in proximity to the ear of, a call access processing adapted to use conditions of the user can be performed.
In a portable telephone according to the present invention, the call access operation using the dial information extracted in the voice recognizing unit is performed in the control unit in cases where it is detected in the position detecting unit that the portable telephone is in proximity to the ear of the user, and the call access operation using the dial information extracted in the voice recognizing unit is performed in the control unit after the reception of a call access request of the user in cases where it is detected in the position detecting unit that the portable telephone is not in proximity to the ear of the user.
Therefore, in cases where the portable telephone is in proximity to the ear of the user, a call access operation is automatically performed. Accordingly, inconvenience associated with key input operations can be eliminated. Also, in cases where the portable telephone is not in proximity to the ear of the user, a call access operation is performed after the reception of a call access request of the user. Accordingly, an error phone call can be prevented, and a call access processing adapted to use conditions of the user can be performed.
A portable telephone according to the present invention further comprises an external voice input/output apparatus detecting unit for detecting whether or not an external voice input/output apparatus is connected with the portable telephone, and the call access operation using the dial information extracted in the voice recognizing unit is performed in the control unit according to both the position information, which is relative to the user and is detected in the position detecting unit and information which is detected in the external voice input/output apparatus detecting unit and indicates whether or not the external voice input/output apparatus is connected with the portable telephone.
Therefore, a call access operation is performed according to both the position information relative to the user and information indicating whether or not the external voice input/output apparatus is connected with the portable telephone. Accordingly, a call access processing adapted to use conditions of the user can be performed.
In a portable telephone according to the present invention, the call access operation using the dial infor
Appiah Charles
Mitsubishi Denki & Kabushiki Kaisha
Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck
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