EP1649691A1

EP1649691A1 - Apparatus and method for transmitting/receiving voice electrics program guide information

Info

Publication number: EP1649691A1
Application number: EP03781082A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bong-Ho Lee; So-Ra Park; Woo-Suk Kim; Young-Ho Jeong; Jin-Hwan Lee; Young-Kwon Hahm; Soo-In Lee
Original assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute ETRI
Current assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute ETRI
Priority date: 2003-07-11
Filing date: 2003-12-31
Publication date: 2006-04-26
Also published as: EP1649691A4; WO2005006752A1; KR20050009168A; KR100740884B1; AU2003289589A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for transmitting/receiving electronics program guide (EPG) information in voice. The voice EPG information transmitting/receiving apparatus reduces the burden loaded on a receiver by creating a voice EPG document, which is a content, in advance in a broadcasting station system and provides the EPG information to users in a familiar voice or in both voice and graphics.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING/RECEIVING VOICE ELECTRONICS PROGRAM GUIDE INFORMATION

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus for transmitting/receiving voice electronics program guide information and a method thereof; and, more particularly, to a voice electronic program guide information transmitting/receiving apparatus that provides Electronics Program Guide (EPG) information in voice or in voice and graphics .

Background Art

As the demand for the multimedia broadcasting service including moving picture in the mobile environments increases recently- many methods are sought for to accommodate that service. One of them is a Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) system with a strong capability of mobile reception. So, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) service is in preparation for commercial service by adding a multimedia broadcasting service including moving pictures to the conventional DAB system. The most outstanding characteristics of digital broadcasting are that it can provide multichannel, interactive and highly efficient multimedia service and that it can use channels more than 10 times as efficiently as the current analog broadcasting service. In the digital broadcasting service, Electronics Program Guide (EPG) is recognized as a significant application that can provide information for a program a user wishes to watch in a multichannel broadcasting environment and have the user watch the program conveniently. Conventionally, EPG is provided in the form of graphics and/or speech by receiving and processing service information (SI) of each broadcasting system which is transmitted through a broadcasting network in a receiver. However, the conventional EPG providing method has a limitation in providing useful program information to users because each broadcasting terminal has its own EPG processing method and EPG expression engine and the information provided by the SI is limited. Also, when the EPG is provided in voice, the received information is made up into sentences simply and then provided in a Text-To- Speech (TTS) method. Thus, there is a limitation in providing the EPG in sentences that sound natural and familiar to the users. Also, the conventional EPG providing method requires a help of an agent or an expert system to provide intelligent program guide. This make the receiver create voice sentences dynamically, thus bringing burden to the operation of the receiver and causing a problem in stability. The conventional method using extensible Markup

Language (XML) to fulfill EPG database specification (wherein a terrestrial DAB EPG XML specification ) has advantages that it can provide the user with information more useful than a method that processes SI in a terminal directly and that it can provide an ' environment standardized according to a service provider or a terminal manufacturing company by using the XML. However, if EPG information is to be provided in voice by using the method, an additional device is required necessarily to provide the guide information in voice to the users because there is no scenario for providing the guide information in voice. Therefore, a method that can provide the EPG in voice without any additional voice guide scenario providing device is required in the current area of EPG technology for digital broadcasting program viewers in motion or driving and the visually handicapped persons.

Disclosure of Invention

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a voice electronics program guide (EPG) information transmitting/receiving apparatus that can reduce the processing burden loaded on a receiver and provide EPG information in voice (or both voice and graphics) that sounds familiar to users by making up a voice EPG document, i.e., a content, in a transmitting system of a broadcasting station in advance, and to provide a method thereof. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for transmitting EPG information in voice, including: a voice EPG document authoring module for authoring a voice EPG document by receiving program information from other networks or other service providers; a data encoding module for converting data according to a broadcasting protocol to transmit file and directory objects corresponding to the voice EPG document, which is passed from the voice EPG document authoring module, through a broadcasting network periodically; a data multiplexing module for multiplexing voice EPG data obtained through the data conversion in the data encoding unit with other program data inputted from other networks or other service providers; and a transmitting module for transmitting data obtained from the multiplexing in the data multiplexing unit. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for receiving EPG information in voice, including: a receiving module for receiving broadcasting signals which include voice EPG data and other program data; a data demultiplexing module for • extracting desired data related to voice EPG by demultiplexing multiplexed program data delivered from the receiving module; a data decoding module for restoring an original voice EPG document from the data related to voice EPG, which are passed from the data demultiplexing module; and a voice EPG information providing module for providing the user with EPG information in voice by executing files related to voice EPG, which are passed from the data decoding module. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for transmitting voice EPG information to provide the EPG information in voice, including the steps of: a) authoring a voice EPG document by receiving program information from other networks or other service providers in a voice EPG document authoring module; b) converting data according to a broadcasting protocol in a data encoding module to transmit file and directory objects corresponding to the voice EPG- document, which is passed from the voice EPG document authoring module, through a broadcasting network periodically; c) multiplexing the voice EPG data obtained through the data conversion in the data encoding module with other program data inputted from other networks or other service providers in a data multiplexing module; and d) transmitting data obtained from the data multiplexing module in a transmitting module. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for receiving voice EPG to provide the EPG in voice, comprising the steps of: a) receiving broadcasting signals which include voice EPG data and other program data; b) extracting data related to desired voice EPG by demultiplexing multiplexed program data provided from a receiving unit in a data demultiplexing module; c) restoring an original voice EPG document based on the data related to voice EPG, which are provided from the data demultiplexing module in a data decoding module; and. d) providing the user with EPG information in voice by executing files related to voice EPG, which are transmitted from the data decoding module in a voice EPG platform.

Brief Description of Drawings

The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating voice electronics program guide (EPG) information transmitting/ receiving apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a block diagram describing a voice EPG document authoring module 11 of a voice EPG information transmitting apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a hierarchical structure of a terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) voice EPG application document that can be authored in a scenario template forming block 22 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a diagram depicting a VoiceEPG XML application document forming block 23 of the voice EPG document authoring block 11 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a flowchart describing a voice EPG document authoring method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. β is a diagram showing a dialog structure of a voice EPG application document produced in the voice EPG data transmitter side in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a voice EPG platform of the voice EPG information receiving apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 8 presents an example of service guide scenario of the voice EPG information receiving apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Other objects and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, which is set forth hereinafter. Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating voice electronics program guide (EPG) information transmitting/ receiving apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the voice EPG information transmitting apparatus of the present invention includes a voice EPG document authoring module 11, a data encoding module 12, a data multiplexing module 13, and a transmitting module 14. The voice EPG document authoring portion 11 makes up a voice EPG document based on program information inputted from a network or by an operator to make up a voice EPG document to be transmitted through a digital broadcasting system. The data encoding module 12 converts data based on a corresponding broadcasting network protocol to transmit file and directory objects corresponding to the voice EPG document, which is transmitted from the voice EPG document authoring module 11, periodically through the broadcasting network. The data multiplexing module 13 receives voice EPG data which are obtained by converting the data in the data encoding module '12 and multiplexes them with other program data inputted from the other networks or other service providers. The transmitting module 14 transmits data obtained from the multiplexing in the data multiplexing module 13. The voice EPG information receiving apparatus of the present invention includes a receiving module 15, a data demultiplexing module 16, a data decoding module 17, and a voice EPG platform 18. The receiving module 15 receives radio frequency signals transmitted through the broadcasting network-, that is, broadcasting signals including voice EPG data and other program data. The data demultiplexing module 16 demultiplexes multiplexed program data transmitted from the receiving module 15 and separates desired data related to the voice EPG. The data decoding module 17 restores the original voice EPG document based on the data related to the voice EPG which are passed from the data demultiplexing module 16. The voice EPG platform 18 provides user with EPG information in voice or both in voice and graphics by executing files related to voice EPG passed from the data decoding module 17. Hereafter, the structure and operation of each component will be described in detail. The voice EPG document authoring module 11 of the present invention will be described later on with reference to Fig. 2. The data .encoding module 12 encodes voice EPG documents. The encoding method used here should be suitable to the type of the digital broadcasting system. If data are to be transmitted through a digital video broadcasting (DVB) network, which is one of digital video broadcasting system, the file and directory objects corresponding to the voice EPG documents are encoded in accordance with Object Carousel protocol. If data are to be transmitted through an Advanced Television System Committee (ATSC) broadcasting network, they are encoded based on Data Carousel protocol. If data are to be transmitted through a terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) - network or a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) network, they are encoded based on Multimedia Object Transfer (MOT) protocol respectively. If necessary, the data encoded in the data encoding module 12 can be transmitted out repeatedly based on Carousel protocol. Also, the voice EPG documents can be converted into an Internet Protocol (IP) and transmitted based on the protocol of each broadcasting system. In case of the DVB and ASTC, they can be encapsulated and transmitted as IP data based on Multiprotocol Encapsulation (MPE) . The data multiplexing module 13 receives the voice EPG data obtained from, the conversion in the data encoding module 12 and multiplexes them with other program data inputted from the other networks or other service providers . Here, the data multiplexing module 13 produces multiplex configuration information (MCI) and service information (SI) by receiving program information for the programs from- the network or a user and multiplexes them with main service program data. For example, in a digital video broadcasting system using a Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) -2, an MPEG-2 multiplexer and/or remultiplexer can be used as the data multiplexing module 13. In a digital audio broadcasting system or a digital multimedia broadcasting system that satisfies the Eureka-147 specification, a digital audio broadcasting packet multiplexer or an ensemble multiplexer can be used as the data multiplexing module 13. The transmitting module 14 transmits the data from the data multiplexing module 13 in the form of broadcasting signals. It includes a modulator, a radio frequency converter, and a high-power amplifier. Meanwhile, the receiving module 15 receives the broadcasting signals that include the voice EPG data and other program data. That is, the receiving module 15 comprises a tuner, a demodulator and a channel decoder to process baseband signals and receives radio frequency signals (broadcasting signals) transmitted through the broadcasting network. The data demultiplexing module 16 separates data related to desired voice EPG by demultiplexing the multiplexed program data passed from the receiving module 15. The data decoding module 17 receives streams or packet data that form the voice EPG from the data demultiplexing module 16 and restores the voice EPG document through decoding process. Here, the restored document is a document that actually provides voice EPG service, that is, it is a file. For example, in a digital video broadcasting system, a data carousel decoder or an object carousel decoder corresponds to the data decoding module 17. So, directories and files that are part of voice EPG documents are restored by decoding a digital storage media command and control (DSM-CC) section based on data carousel and object carousel protocol. This function is embodied by a Multimedia Object Transfer (MOT) decoder in the digital audio broadcasting multimedia broadcasting system and it restores the directories and files that correspond to the voice EPG object after decoding multimedia object transmission (MOT) section. Also, the data decoding module 17 decodes voice EPG data outputted from the data demultiplexing module 16 and restores documents, but it restores only the documents that are changed or updated by checking the versions of documents transmitted periodically and provides the update information of a document to the voice EPG platform 18. The voice EPG platform 18 of the present invention will be described later with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 2 is a block diagram describing a voice EPG document authoring module 11 of a voice EPG information transmitting apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, the voice EPG document authoring module 11 of the present invention includes an EPG data receiving block 21, a scenario template forming block 22, a voice EPG XML application document forming block 23, and a document transmitting block 24. The EPG data receiving block 21 receives EPG data related to a digital or Internet broadcast program scheduling list information. The scenario template forming block 22 defines a scenario template by defining a method of creating a document, a method of forming information of a document, a method of linking documents or dialogs, and the type of user interface to create a^' voice EPG application document. The VoiceEPG XML application document forming block 23 receives EPG data, analyzes the EPG data, and creates a voice EPG application document in an extensive markup language (XML) , which defines a voice EPG scenario, based on a scenario template. The document transmitting block 24 transmits the voice EPG application document through a broadcasting network or a communication network. Hereinafter, VoiceEPG XML, a markup language for defining a voice EPG scenario, will be described in detail to help understanding. The VoiceEPG XML is a markup language contrived to generate a dialog-based scenario which is characterized by an interaction, i.e., dialog, between a system and a user to provided EPG information in voice. To be specific, it is a voice EPG scenario markup language created by adding elements for controlling a receiver, such as <tuning>, <watch>, and <reservation> to VoiceXML 2.0 contrived to describe a scenario and operated that are required to provide program guide information (functions and elements related to call are not used) . The file name extension of a document drawn up in the VoiceEPG XML is ".vexml" and an application begins with the element <vexml> unconditionally. A Voice EPG application can be composed of one or more documents and each of the documents also can contain one or more dialogs according to a pre-defined scenario. Dialogs have two types: <form> and <menu> . The dialog <form> is a core structural element of the VoiceEPG XML. It prompts program guide information to the user and conversely responds to the requests from the users. The dialog <menu> provides various options to the users and provides a transition to another dialog or document based on the option. The user inputs of the VoiceEPG XML include voice input and Dual Tone Multifrequency (DTMF) input, and the VoiceEPG XML has a voice grammar and DTMF grammar. The system outputs of the VoiceEPG XML include synthesized speech and pre-recorded audio and a dialog <prompt> element is used herein. Besides, the VoiceEPG XML includes following elements to control a receiver. The receiver is controlled through a receiver control module situated in the lower part of an interpreter as a component when a user want tuning into another band or ensemble (in a case of DAB or DMB) or when the user want to watch or reserve a specific service or program. The receiver control includes an element <tuning> for tuning into another band or ensemble, an element <watch> for selecting a service or a program, and an element <reservation> for making a reservation. First, the receiver controlling element <tuning> for moving into another band or ensemble has following characteristics . The <tuning> element is positioned only in <filled> or <block> within a dialog <form> element which defines program guide information on the tuned ensemble. An identifier and frequency that are passed to the receiver control module through the <tuning> element can be specified in the attributes of the <tuning> element. That information can be passed indirectly to the receiver control module just by giving a relevant information of external EPG data, such as DMB EPG XML, which -describes the identifier and frequency information. Here, in the case of that the information is to be provided directly, then in the <tuning> element the identifier and frequency attributes are to be defined. The attributes are to be defined respectively according to each digital broadcasting system protocol. If the information is to be provided indirectly, the required identifier and frequency information can be provided indirectly by providing only the relevant information in connection with external data. To take an example of the indirect provision, if a terrestrial DMB EPG XML is used, what needs to be provided is information on the type of the elements of EPG XML and the identifiers of the elements. Meanwhile, the receiver controlling element <watch> gives the identifier of an item (herein, an item is a program or a service component) to the receiver control module when the user wants to see a service (including service components) or a program. The element <watch> has following characteristics. The <watch> element is positioned only in <filled> or <block> within the dialog <form> element which presents service and program guide information. An identifier of an item that is transmitted to the receiver control module through the <watch> element can be defined in a form of attributes of <watch> element. That information can be passed indirectly to the receiver control module by giving a relevant information of external EPG data, such as DMB EPG XML, which describes the identifier and frequency information. Here, if the identifier of a service or a program is to be provided directly to the receiver control module, the <watch> element has the identifier of that item as its attributes. The attributes of <watch> element are defined respectively according to each digital broadcasting system protocol. For example, in case where a program is received optionally in a terrestrial DMB system, "<Ecc>, <Eid>, and <Sid>" are provided to the receiver control module. Also, if the information is to be provided indirectly, only the relevant linking information with the external EPG data is specified just as clearly as the <tuning> element. The receiver controlling element <reservation> passes an identifier of an item and time information to the receiver control module when the user wants to reserve a service (including service component) or a program. The <reservation> element has following characteristics. The <reservation> element is positioned only in <filled> or <block> within the dialog <form> which presents service and program guide information. The identifier of an item and the time information, which are delivered to the receiver control module through the <reservation> element, can be specified clearly in the form of attributes of <reservation> element. Identical with the <tuning> and <watch> element, Those parameters can be passed indirectly to the receiver control module by giving a relevant information of external EPG data, such as DMB EPG XML, which describes the identifier and frequency information. Here, if the identifier of a service or a program and the time information are to be provided directly to the receiver control module, the <reservation> element can have the identifier of the item and the time information as its attributes. The attributes of the <reservation> are defined respectively according to each digital broadcasting system protocol. For example, in case where a program is reserved in the terrestrial DMB system, <Ecc>, <Eid>, <Sid>, and second:minute : hour : date" data are provided to the receiver control module. The structure and operation of each component of the voice EPG document authoring module will be described in detail hereafter. The EPG data receiving block 21 receives EPG data provided from the other networks or other service providers. The EPG data are a list of program schedule that is currently on air and to be broadcasted. They are specified from the System Information (SI) of each broadcasting system or they can be expressed in another data form obtained by the filtering and analyzing process of the SI. For example, for the Eureka-147 DAB or terrestrial DMB, the EPG information is described in the XML form according to the EPG XML specification. The scenario template forming block 22 defines a template to create a voice EPG application document. That is, it defines a styling of a document, a styling information of each document, a linking method of documents or dialogs, and the type of user interface. The scenario template forming block 22 can provide a varity of forms of templates depending on the special usage and purpose for the same data. With reference to Fig. 3, a hierarchical structure of a terrestrial DMB voice EPG application document that can be formed through the scenario template forming block 22 is described hereafter. As shown in Fig. 3, the terrestrial DMB voice EPG application having an ensemble document as a top-level document, a schedule document for providing time base program information, a service document for providing each service base program information, a search document for searching a service or a program demanded by a user, and a preference document for providing user preference program guide information. The ensemble document provides guide information for a low-level item (herein, the item is a document or a dialog) using one or more dialogs, responds to the user request for transiting to other items, and then eventually provides a link to the item. Also, in the schedule document, each document is formed by classifying programs based on time slot (generally, one slot is four times) and by specifying the links to transit to other documents or dialogs defined therein. The service document provides users with service base program information scheduled in a current time slot. It specifies the program information relevant to a specific service. The search document provides a search mean to the user for a particular service or a program by using the method of speech input. It includes programs classified into genre or particular program groups. The preference document accumulates and classifies the user preference programs or services and then let the user know previously or periodically. Referring back to Fig. 2, the VoiceEPG XML application document forming block 23 receives and analyzes EPG data from the EPG data receiving block 21 and forms a voice EPG application document by using dialogs (including forms and menus) defined in the VoiceEPG XML and other elements based on a scenario template provided in the scenario template forming block 22. To describe the VoiceEPG XML application document forming block 23 more in detail with reference to Fig. 4, the VoiceEPG XML application document forming block 23 includes a template analyzing unit 41, an EPG data analyzing unit 42, a controlling and managing unit 43, an EPG data converting unit 44, and a validity examining unit 45. The EPG data analyzing unit 42 analyzes the type of EPG data and protocol turned in from the EPG data receiving block 21. The template analyzing unit 41 analyzes a template inputted from the scenario template forming block 22. The controlling and managing unit 43 receives requests from the user and performs controlling and managing during the formation of the voice EPG application document. The EPG data converting unit 44 receives the analyzed EPG information and the analyzed template information from the EPG data analyzing unit 42 and the template analyzing unit 41 under the control/management of the controlling and managing unit 43 and forms the voice EPG application document based on the VoiceEPG XML. The validity examining unit 45 examines a document whether the document is well formed in conformity with the data type defined in the VoiceEPG XML. The EPG data analyzing unit 42 analyzes the EPG data handed over from the EPG information receiving apparatus 10, such as data type and protocol, to make a database and sends the analysis result to the EPG data converting unit 44. The template analyzing unit 41 analyzes a template inputted from the scenario template forming block 22 and then sends the analyzed template information to the EPG data converting unit 44 or displays the analyzed template information on the. monitor for the sake of convenience in the creation of the document. The controlling and managing unit 43 receives the requests from the user and performs controlling and managing during the creation of a voice EPG application document . The EPG data converting unit 44 receives the analyzed EPG information and the analyzed template information and creates a document in the VoiceEPG XML based on a scenario of the analyzed template. The validity examining unit 45 checks out the document validity in conformity with the data type defined in the VocieEPG XML and, if necessary, generates events. Meanwhile, the document transmitting block 24 is a server that stores and transmits documents that are drawn up. For example, if the documents are to be transmitted through a terrestrial DMB network, the stored documents, i.e., files, are delivered to an MOT carousel server and, at the same time, if they are to be transmitted through a DMB interactive network, the documents are transmitted to a DMB receiver or a communication terminal through a mobile communication network or a terrestrial return network. Generally, the documents that need to be transmitted through an interactive network are those demanded by particular users among the voice EPG documents. Thus, transmitting document through the interactive network makes it possible to provide customized or personalized EPG • service. Fig. 5 is a flowchart describing a voice EPG document authoring method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. First, at step S501, EPG data (i.e., information on the programs currently on air or to be broadcasted later) provided from the other networks or other service providers are received in the EPG data receiving block 21. At step S502, a template for creating a voice EPG application document is created in the scenario template forming block 22. While the template is formed, a method of forming a document, a method of forming information for each document, a method of connecting documents or dialogs, and a user interface type are defined. Subsequently, at step S503, the VoiceEPG XML application document forming block 23 analyzes the type of EPG data delivered from the EPG data receiving block 21 in the EPG data analyzing unit 42, and analyzes the template inputted from the scenario template forming unit 22 in the template analyzing unit 41 to draw up a voice EPG scenario, i.e., a voice EPG application document, based on the VoiceEPG XML. Then, at step S504, the analyzed EPG information and the interpreted template information are inputted from the EPG data analyzing unit 42 and the template interpreting unit 41 and the voice EPG application document is drawn up by using the VoiceEPG XML based on the scenario of the template in the EPG data converting unit 44. At step S505, it is checked whether the document which is drawn up or being drawn is in conformity with the data type defined in the VoiceEPG XML in the validity examining unit 45. Finally, the created document is transmitted in the document transmitting block 24 to a digital broadcasting receiver . Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a dialog structure of a document made in the voice EPG information transmitting portion in accordance with an embodiment of the present , invention. As shown in Fig. 6, the voice EPG document of the present invention includes a top-level document 61 necessarily. The top-level document 61, a document which should be executed first and^* foremost when a voice EPG browser of the voice EPG platform 18 is operated, includes global variables and codes shared by other documents. Also, the top-level document 61 includes a plurality of sub- documents 62. The VoiceEPG XML application document forming block 23 classifies the EPG information as upper- level information and lower-level information and creates the top-level document and the sub-documents based on the classified information. The sub-documents 62 have many forms according to how they are created. For example, the sub-documents may be classified by genre. Each of the sub-documents 62 is composed of one or more dialogs 63. ■ The dialog 63 means a finite state generated constantly at an arbitrary time for the communication between 'the user and the voice EPG platform. Each dialog is executed by another dialog and each dialog 63 is formed of a combination of sub-dialogs 63 and executed. Herein, a sub-dialog 64 is a definite dialog. Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a voice EPG platform 18 of the voice EPG information receiving apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The voice EPG platform 18 provides the user with EPG guide information as speech and receives user speech requests and it has a structure similar to a conventional web browser. However, unlike the conventional web browser, it can receive the user requests by using voice or other input devices and output the EPG information as speech. In addition, the voice EPG platform 18 can provide EPG information which is written in texts in a document in the form of speech by using Text-To-Speech (TTS) technology capable of converting text into speech. Meanwhile, in the case of the frequently used sentences or dialogs the voice EPG platform can play a pre recorded audio file rather than TTS technology. The voice EPG platform 18 has following general functions. The voice EPG platform 18 is executed and terminated by the user. When the voice EPG platform 18 is executed, program information is provided by speech in the form of interactive dialogs. When the session is opened between the user and the EPG platform, the voice EPG platform has an initiative of that session. The term "initiative" means that the start and end of a session is flowed according to a predetermined order and a predetermined dialog sequence. Also, the voice EPG platform 18 outputs^' the program information as speech and simultaneously has graphical presentation on a display screen. Besides,^' when the user selects a program he/she wants, the voice EPG platform 18 can tune the program automatically. As illustrated in Fig. 7, the voice EPG platform 18 includes a document storing unit 71, an operation and management unit 72, a user request processing unit 74, a user preference processing unit 75, a receiver controlling unit 76, a graphic output unit 77, a speech output unit 78, and a voice EPG interpreting unit 73. The document storing unit 71 stores files related to voice EPG delivered from the data decoding module 17 or an external device. The operation and management unit 72 controls and manages the voice EPG interpreting unit 73. The user request processing unit 74 receives user requests through a variety of input devices, processes them based on a function of voice recognition and a function of request extraction, and transmits them to the voice EPG interpreting unit 73 to provide the user with the EPG information as speech or both speech and graphics. The user preference processing unit 75 searches a program preferred by the user automatically and guide the user to the program by receiving the user requests from the user request processing unit 74, collecting and analyzing information on the programs the user watches for a predetermined period, and transmitting the result to the voice EPG interpreting unit 73. The receiver controlling unit 76 controls an actual digital broadcasting receiver to tune in to the program selected by the user under the control of the voice EPG interpreting unit 73 based on the information of the user request processing unit 74 or the user preference processing unit 75. The graphic output unit 77 provides the user with the EPG information as speech through the speech output unit 78 and, at the same time, it receives the EPG information from the voice EPG interpreting unit 73 and outputs it in graphics. The speech output unit 78 receives the EPG information from the voice EPG interpreting unit 73 and outputs it as speech. The voice EPG interpreting unit 73 interprets files (markup language) related to EPG under the control of the operation and management unit 72, controls the receiver controlling unit 76 by receiving user requests from the user request processing unit 74 and user preference information from the user preference processing unit 75, and transmits EPG information to the speech output unit 78 and the graphic output unit 77. The document storing unit 71, is a hard disk or detachable storing medium, such as flash memory and micro drive and the like. It stores the files related to voice EPG documents from the data decoding module or an external device. That is, the document storing unit 71 stores files corresponding to the voice EPG documents transmitted directly from a broadcasting network and stores documents and files from an external device. Through an external device the database file for the TTS output or the compressed and pre-recoded audio clips could be stored in. The operation and management unit 72 controls and manages the voice EPG interpreting unit 73. To be specific, it initializes and monitors the voice EPG interpreting unit 73 and defines an initial document or manages environmental variables and system option setup. The voice EPG interpreting unit 73 has a function similar to a conventional web browser interpreter. It interprets a voice EPG markup language and operates as a main control loop. Particularly, it analyzes the structure of the voice EPG document by using a built-in XML parser, interprets the content of the document, and executes a control structure according to the content. When it analyzes and controls the structure of the voice EPG document, it controls the sequential flow of document execution based on the functions set up in each tag of the XML for voice EPG and makes commands required for voice platform by determining the contents of voice input/output. It analyzes the internal structure of the tags of the document and performs a validity checking with Document Type Definition (DTD) . Also, the voice EPG interpreting unit 73 controls the general execution of the voice EPG document such as loading resources from the data decoding portion 17 or transiting to another document, controls voice input/output of the voice platform, processes various types of events generated from the voice platform, and performs general control related to transition to a new working document. The user request processing unit 74 receives requests related to voice EPG from the user through diverse input devices, such as a key board, mouse, speech input -device, touch screen and touch pad, and then analyzes the user requests using the voice recognition engine or command analyzer, and finally sends the result to the voice EPG interpreting unit 73. Here, the voice recognizer includes an additional voice recognition engine and it receives the requests from the user as speech, analyzes the requests by extracting key words, and sends the result to the voice EPG interpreting unit 73. The speech output unit 78 includes a speech synthesis engine and an audio file player and it provides EPG information as speech by using the speech synthesis engine and the audio file player. The voice synthesis engine outputs EPG sentences and dialog sentences in the EPG document to the user as speech, and the audio file player plays a pre-recorded audio file. For example, the typical greetings and the guide sentences are pre-recorded into audio files and then those are reproduced through the audio file player. The graphic output unit 77 outputs EPG information to the user graphically along with the speech content, which is outputted from the speech output unit) , and it has the same function as a conventional graphic device. The user preference processing unit 75 receives user requests from the user request processing unit 74, collects and analyzes programs are preferred by the user for a predetermined period to obtain user preference, and transmits the user preference information to the voice EPG interpreting unit 73. As a consequence, the voice EPG interpreting unit 73 searches the programs preferred by the user automatically and, if exists, narrates the programs information to the user. In order for the voice EPG interpreting unit 73 to search the programs preferred by the user and guide the user to the preferred programs, programs should be classified and drawn up in advance based on genre or characteristics. The receiver controlling unit 76 receives information (or preferred channel information) on a channel (service or a program) selected by the user through the voice EPG interpreting unit 73 and practically controls the digital broadcasting receiver to tune the channel. Here, the provided channel information, a physical or logical channel that should be selected by the digital broadcasting receiver, is an identifier of a channel or frequency information to be tuned or be selected. Therefore, if the receiver controlling .unit 76 receives information on the channel (service or program) selected by the user, it commands the digital broadcasting receiver to move to the frequency or the channel and to receive the desired data through a channel change message or channel selection message. Fig. 8 presents a service guide scenario of the voice EPG information receiving apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. More particularly, it provides an example of an interface between the voice EPG platform and the user. As shown in Fig. 8, a message "the current ensemble provides four services. Do you want sequential program information, or genre? If you have any favorite program, please say .your program" is outputted in the voice EPG platform. Accordingly, if the user selects a "sports channel," a message "a sports channel is requested. Current ensemble provides one sports channel. It is a soccer channel. Do you want more information or want to move to the channel?" is outputted in the voice EPG platform. If the user selects "more information," the voice EPG platform outputs a message "you have selected a soccer channel. It is a live broadcasting channel and shows a goodwill match between the Korean team and the Japanese team. It is a farewell match of Korean football player Hong, Myung-Bo. At present, Korea is a little ahead of Japan in the past match results with 6 wins 2 ties and 5 defeats. Do you want event information or want to watch the channel? Please, say "event" for event or "watch" to watch the channel." If the user input "event," the voice EPG platform outputs "event information for the channel is as follows. The present program has begun at 10 and will end at 1. The next match of the soccer channel is scheduled at 2 p.m. tomorrow and the match is between Spain teams: R. Madrid vs. Barcelona. Do you want to watch the channel, or move to an upper-level menu? Please, input "watch" to watch the channel or "move" to move to upper-level menu." If the user inputs "watch," the voice EPG platform outputs a message "going to the requested channel. For EPG, input EPG or press EPG button. Hope you will enjoy the program. This is the end of EPG" and ends the EPG. As described above, the technology of the present invention can provide the user in walking or driving with stability and convenience as well as constant mobility by making the transmitting part create the voice EPG document in advance and transmit it, and making the receiving part receive the voice EPG document and provide EPG information in voice. Also, the present invention can overcome the shortcoming that the graphic EPG is meaningless to the visually handicapped or illiterate people and it has an excellent effect that meaningful EPG information can be transmitted in voice. In addition, the present invention can provide the user with a specific EPG document through an interactive network so it can provide a customized EPG service. While the present invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for transmitting electronics program guide (EPG) information in voice, comprising: a voice EPG document authoring means for authoring a voice EPG document by receiving program information from other networks or other service providers; a data encoding means for converting data according to a broadcasting protocol to transmit file and directory objects corresponding to the voice EPG document, which is transmitted from the voice EPG document authoring means, through a broadcasting network periodically; a data multiplexing means for multiplexing voice EPG data obtained through the data conversion in the data encoding means with other program data inputted from other networks or other service providers; and a transmitting means for transmitting data obtained from the multiplexing in the data multiplexing means.

2. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the voice EPG document authoring means includes: an EPG data receiving means for receiving EPG data on a broadcast program scheduling list; a scenario template forming means for forming a scenario template by defining a method of forming a document, a method of forming information for each document, a method of connecting documents or dialogs, and the type of user interface in order to form a voice EPG application document; a voice EPG application document authoring means for authoring a voice -EPG application document based on the scenario template by receiving and analyzing the EPG data; and a document transmitting means for transmitting the voice EPG application document.

3. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the voice EPG application document authoring means creates the voice EPG application document based on extensive Markup Language (XML) .

4. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the voice EPG application document authoring means is based on VoiceEPG XML.

5. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 4, wherein the voice EPG application document authoring means includes : an EPG data analyzing unit for analyzing the type and protocol of the EPG data transmitted from the EPG data receiving means; a template analyzing unit for analyzing the template transmitted from the scenario template forming means; a controlling and managing unit for receiving a request from a user and performing control and management during the creation of the voice EPG application document; an EPG data converting unit for receiving the analyzed EPG information and template information and authoring the voice EPG application document based on the template scenario by using the VoiceEPG XML under the control/management of the controlling and managing unit; and a validity examining unit for checking whether a document authored or being authored conforms to the data type defined in the VoiceEPG XML.

6. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the XML includes tags for speech input/output and related attributes, tags for expressing and defining service related to voice EPG, event, program schedule and genre-based information and relevant data, and tags for providing a link to a channel when the user selects the channel, other than tags defined in the voiceXML.

7. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the voice EPG application document authoring means divides voice EPG information into top-level information and lower-level information and creates documents with a top-level document and various levels of lower-level documents based on the classification information.

8. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein the top-level document includes variables and codes shared by other lower-level documents and the top-level. document is composed of a plurality of lower-level documents, and each of the lower-level documents includes one or more dialogs and each dialog is composed of a combination of sub-dialogs .

9. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the EPG data provide a broadcast program scheduling list of programs having a format of service information (SI) or a format derived from the SI, which is EPG XML, the programs being shown or to be shown through a digital broadcasting network or the Internet.

10. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the scenario template creates documents and dialogs hierarchically and provides a link between documents and between dialogs .

11. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the voice EPG application document authoring means authors a voice EPG application document based on VoiceEPG XML; wherein the voice EPG application document authoring means receives and analyzes the EPG data and makes up a voice EPG document based on dialogs including forms and menus defined in the VoiceEPG XML, receiver controlling elements including <tuning>, <watch> and <reservation>, and other elements according to the scenario template.

12. The transmitting apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein if an authored document is to be transmitted through a broadcasting network, the document transmitting means transmits stored files, that is, documents, to a carousel server for data carousel transmission; and if a document is to be transmitted through an interactive- network to transmit a document desired by a particular user, the document is transmitted to a digital broadcasting receiver having a digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) or digital audio broadcasting (DAB) or to a communication terminal through a mobile communication network or a terrestrial return network.

13. An apparatus for receiving electronics program guide (EPG) information in voice, comprising: a receiving means for receiving broadcasting signals which include voice EPG data and other program data; a data demultiplexing means for extracting desired data related to voice EPG by demultiplexing multiplexed program data transmitted from the receiving means; a data decoding means for restoring an original voice EPG document from the data related to voice EPG, which are transmitted from the data demultiplexing means; and a voice EPG information providing means for providing the user with EPG information in voice by executing files related to voice EPG, which are transmitted from the data decoding means .

14. The receiving apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein the voice EPG information providing means includes: a document storing -means for storing the files related to voice EPG which are transmitted from the data decoding means or an external device; an operation and management means for controlling and managing a voice EPG interpreting means; a user request processing means for receiving user requests, processing the user request based on functions of voice recognition and request extraction, and transmitting the processing result to the voice EPG interpreting means; a user preference processing means for receiving user requests from the user request processing means, collecting and analyzing information on programs watched by the user for a predetermined period, and transmitting the analysis result to the voice EPG interpreting means; a receiver controlling means for controlling a receiver according to the control of the voice EPG interpreting means which is based on information of the user request processing means or information of the user preference processing means to move to another program; a speech outputting means for receiving EPG information from the voice EPG interpreting means and outputting the EPG information in voice; and the voice EPG interpreting means for interpreting voice EPG related files, which are based on markup language, under the control of the operation and management means and controlling the receiver controlling means by receiving user requests from the user request processing means and user preference information from the user preference processing means, and transmitting the EPG information to the speech outputting means.

15. The receiving apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the voice EPG information providing means further includes a graphic outputting means for providing the EPG information transmitted from the voice EPG interpreting means in graphics as well as providing the EPG information to the user in voice by using the speech outputting means simultaneously.

16. The receiving apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the document storing means stores files corresponding to a voice EPG-related document transmitted directly from the broadcasting network or stores a voice database for outputting synthesized voice or audio clips compressed and recorded in advance by receiving the database or the audio clips through an external device.

17. The receiving apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the operation and management means initializes or monitors the voice EPG interpreting means, and designates an initial document or manages the setup of environmental variables and system options .

18. The receiving apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the voice EPG interpreting means analyzes the structure of a voice EPG document based on an extensive Markup Language (XML) parser, interprets what is instructed in the document, and performs control based on the instruction, wherein the voice EPG interpreting means controls a sequential flow of document execution based on functions established in the tags of the XML by analyzing internal structures of document tags; makes a command needed for a voice platform by determining voice input/output contents; controls the general execution of a voice EPG document including the loading of resources transmitted from the data decoding means and transferring into another document; controls voice input/output of the voice platform; processes various events generated in the voice platform; and performs general control related to the transfer into anew work document.

19. The receiving apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the speech outputting means includes : a voice synthesizing engine for outputting an EPG sentence and dialog sentences within the voice EPG document to the user in voice; and an audio file player for restoring and outputting prerecorded audio files.

20. The .receiving apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the graphic outputting means provides the EPG information to the user in graphics as well as providing the EPG information in voice by using the speech outputting means simultaneously.

21. The receiving apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the user preference processing means that forms the voice EPG platform collects and analyzes programs watched by the user for a predetermined period, and searches and provides the program preferred by the user during voice EPG automatically.

22. The receiving apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the receiver controlling means that forms the voice EPG platform controls the digital broadcasting receiver by receiving information on programs provided through a voice EPG browser to move to a program selected by the user.

23. A method for transmitting voice electronics program guide (EPG) information to provide the EPG information in voice, comprising the steps of: a) authoring a voice EPG document by receiving program information from other networks or other service providers in a voice EPG document authoring unit; b) converting data according to a broadcasting protocol in a data encoding unit to transmit file and directory objects corresponding to the voice EPG document, which is transmitted from the voice EPG document authoring unit, through a broadcasting network periodically; c) multiplexing the voice EPG data obtained through the data conversion in the data encoding unit with other program data inputted from other networks or other service providers in a data multiplexing unit; and d) transmitting data obtained from the data multiplexing unit in a transmitting unit.

24. The transmitting method as recited in claim 23, wherein the step a) includes the steps of: al) receiving EPG data on a broadcast program scheduling list; a2) defining a scenario forming template by defining a method of forming a document, a method of forming information for each document, a method of connecting documents or dialogs, and the type of user interface in order to author a voice EPG application document; a3) authoring a voice EPG application document in the VocieEPG XML based on the scenario template by receiving and analyzing the EPG data; a4) checking whether a document created or being created conforms to the data type defined in the VoiceEPG XML; and a5) transmitting the valid voice EPG application document through a broadcasting network or a communication network.

25. The transmitting method as recited in claim 24, wherein the EPG data provides broadcast program scheduling list information on programs being shown or to be shown, the programs having a format of system information (SI) or another format derived from the SI, such as EPG XML, "and the scenario template forms documents and dialogs hierarchically and provides a link between documents and between dialogs .

26. The transmitting method as recited in claim 25, wherein, in the step a3) , the voice EPG application document is created in the VoiceEPG XML by using dialogs defined by the VoiceEPG XML, such as forms and menus, receiver controlling elements, such as <tuning>, <watch> and <reservation> and other elements after the EPG data are received and analyzed.

27. 'A method for receiving voice electronics program guide (EPG) to provide the EPG in voice, comprising the steps of: a) receiving broadcasting signals which include voice

EPG data and other program data; b) extracting data related to desired voice EPG by demultiplexing multiplexed program data transmitted from a receiving unit in a data demultiplexing unit; c) restoring an original voice EPG document based on the data related to voice EPG, which are transmitted from the data demultiplexing unit in a data decoding unit; and d) providing the user with EPG information in voice by executing files related to voice EPG, which are transmitted from the data decoding unit in a voice EPG information platform.

28. The receiving method as recited in claim 27, wherein the step d) includes; dl) storing the files related to voice EPG which are transmitted from the data decoding unit or an external device in a document storing unit; d2) controlling and managing a voice EPG interpreting unit in an operation and management unit; d3) receiving user requests, processing the user request based on functions of voice recognition and request extraction, and transmitting the processing result to the voice EPG interpreting unit in a user request processing unit ; d4) receiving user requests from the user request processing unit, collecting and analyzing information on programs watched by the user for a predetermined period, and transmitting the analysis result to the voice EPG interpreting unit in a user preference processing unit; d5) interpreting voice EPG related files, which are based on markup language, according to the control of the operation and management unit, and controlling the receiver controlling unit by receiving user requests from the user request processing unit and user preference information from the user preference processing unit, and transmitting the EPG information to the speech outputting unit in the voice EPG interpreting unit d6) controlling a receiver based on user preference information from the user request processing unit or information of the user preference processing unit to move to another program in a receiver controlling unit; and d7) receiving and outputting EPG information from the voice EPG interpreting unit in voice in a speech outputting unit .

29. The receiving method as recited in claim 28, wherein the step d) further includes a step of: d8) providing the EPG information transmitted from the voice EPG interpreting unit in graphics as well as providing the EPG information to the user in voice by using the speech outputting unit simultaneously in a graphic outputting unit.