JP2010055375A - Electronic apparatus operation instruction device and operating method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an interactive electronic apparatus operation instruction device capable of operating a plurality of household electrical appliances. <P>SOLUTION: As the number of operable appliances increases because an interface robot progresses in learning to operate the appliances, the interface robot acquires more information necessary to specify appliances from a user if necessary, and the interface robot generates a question on necessary information to an operation instruction from the user when the interface robot can not specify an appliance any more with the operation instruction performed so far by the user, which thereby, the user can be gradually made to understood that the way of instructing an operation has been changed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an interactive electronic device operation instruction device capable of operating an electronic device such as a home appliance, and an operation method thereof.

  There is a remote control device called a learning remote control that stores a remote control signal for operating home appliances sold in advance by individual companies in a memory or allows a user to operate a plurality of home appliances by inputting a remote control signal. Sold.

Further, a robot has been proposed that acquires a vocabulary corresponding to a remote control signal through a voice dialogue with a user, understands a user's request, and can operate a home appliance (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In addition, when a vocabulary instructing the operation of a device is recognized and there are a plurality of devices that can execute the operation, a remote control device that determines the device to execute the operation from the usage frequency has been proposed. (For example, see Patent Document 2)
JP 2007-11873 A Japanese Patent No. 3683502

  The above-described Patent Document 1 is configured so that a user can register a command vocabulary for instructing operation of home appliances. For example, when a user who learns and uses the robot “Turn on TV” for the operation of turning on the TV of Company A purchases a TV of Company B newly, When ordering an operation to turn on the power, it is often thought that “Turn on TV” is instructed. In this case, the robot cannot determine whether to output the power ON signal of the TV of company A or the power ON signal of the TV of company B in response to the instruction “turn on TV”.

  In such a case, it is possible to solve the problem by changing the operation vocabulary for each device, but it is burdensome for the user to change the instruction for each device in order to operate the television which is the same home appliance.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, a device that performs an operation is determined based on the frequency of use, but the user first utters a keyword for specifying a user and then utters a keyword for specifying a device. The operation has to be done according to the procedure, and the burden is great.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides an interactive electronic device operation instruction device and an operation method thereof according to an area (for example, an individual house) where a plurality of electronic devices are used. For the purpose.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an input unit that inputs an operation command for an electronic device;
An output unit for presenting information issued to a user; a remote control signal transmission / reception unit for receiving a remote control signal transmitted from a remote controller of the electronic device and transmitting a remote control signal to the remote control of the electronic device; and the remote control signal A remote control signal information storage unit for storing remote control information in which the device type, supply source, mode, and operation content of the electronic device are associated with each other; and a remote control signal search unit for searching for the remote control information from the remote control signal information storage unit; The device operation vocabulary storage unit for storing the vocabulary corresponding to the operation for each operation of each device type and the priority order of the identifiers used for distinguishing the electronic device of the same device type are defined for each device type. Device identifier priority order information storage unit that stores information, and operation target device information that stores information for specifying the electronic device to be operated The electronic device to be operated by searching the storage unit, the operation target device information stored in the operation target device information storage unit, and the device identifier priority information stored in the device identifier priority information storage unit The remote control signal received by the remote control signal transmitting / receiving unit is compared with the storage information of the remote control signal information storage unit and the operation target device storage unit, and is detected as an unregistered new electronic device, When registering a new electronic device in the operation target device information storage unit, identifier information necessary for specifying the electronic device according to the storage information of the device identifier priority information storage unit, the output unit and the information An electronic device comprising: an execution unit that is acquired according to a priority order via an input unit and updates information in the operation target device information storage unit The operation instructing device is provided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, an input unit that inputs an operation command for an electronic device, an output unit that presents information issued to a user, and a remote control signal transmitted from a remote controller of the electronic device are received. In addition, a remote control signal transmitting / receiving unit that transmits a remote control signal to the remote control of the electronic device, and a remote control signal that stores remote control information that associates the device type, supply source, mode, and operation content of the electronic device for each remote control signal The same device as the information storage unit, the remote control signal search unit that searches the remote control information from the remote control signal information storage unit, the device operation vocabulary storage unit that stores the vocabulary corresponding to the operation for each operation of each device type A device identifier priority order information storage unit that defines and stores the priority order of identifiers used for distinguishing the types of electronic devices for each device type; An operation target device information storage unit that stores information for specifying the electronic device to be operated, an operation target device information stored in the operation target device information storage unit, and a device identifier priority information storage unit A device determination unit that searches stored device identifier priority information to determine the electronic device to be operated, and the device identifier priority for the device operation instruction command having the device type and the operation content Voice that analyzes the voice information through the input part and the output part and outputs a response to the voice input, in order of priority, until the operation target device is specified according to the information in the information storage part Execution of executing a dialog and instructing the remote control signal transmitting / receiving unit to transmit the remote control signal corresponding to the operation content to the specified electronic device Electronic device operation instruction apparatus comprising the bets is provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electronic device operation instruction | indication apparatus which can acquire the information required for apparatus identification by dialog with a user and can learn operation of an electronic device as the kind of electronic device which can be operated increases is obtained. It is done.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electronic device operation instruction device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This electronic device operation instruction device 100 can be configured as a robot-type remote control device, for example, and is placed in a living room, kitchen, children's room, etc. where a plurality of home electronic devices are used, An operation signal is output to the electronic device through the dialogue.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic device operation instruction device 100 includes an execution unit 101, an input unit 102, an output unit 103, a remote control signal transmission / reception unit 104, a remote control signal search unit 105, a position detection unit 106, a device determination unit 107, and a remote control. A signal information storage unit 108, a device identifier priority information storage unit 109, an operation target device information storage unit 110, and a device operation vocabulary storage unit 111 are provided.

  The execution unit 101 constitutes the main configuration of the electronic device operation instruction device 100 and controls the operation of each block constituting the electronic device operation instruction device. The execution unit 101 controls each unit and performs various arithmetic processes, and can be configured by a CPU and a processing program, for example.

  The input unit 102 acquires an operation command for each electronic device from the user. The input unit 102 includes, for example, a microphone, an A / D conversion unit, and a voice recognition engine. The user's voice command is acquired as a voice signal via the microphone. The input voice signal is A / D converted by the A / D converter and then sent to the voice recognition engine. The speech recognition engine recognizes the input speech data, generates a user's speech command as text information, and outputs the text information to the execution unit 101.

  The output unit 103 presents information output from the execution unit 101 to the user. The output unit 103 includes, for example, a voice output unit, a gesture output unit, and a command interpretation unit. The voice output unit emits voice, and includes, for example, a voice synthesis engine, an amplifier, and a speaker. The gesture output unit expresses a gesture or the like expressed when the electronic device operation instruction apparatus 100 interacts with the user as a gesture, and includes, for example, a gesture generation unit and an actuator.

  The dialog with the user can use a slot filling technique. According to the slot filling technique, information can be acquired by filling a slot along the interactive format by using a plurality of patterned interactive formats. In this embodiment, it is not necessary to continue the dialogue until all slots are filled. If the user can instruct the operation of a given device, some slots in the patterned dialogue form are filled. Is enough.

  The command interpretation unit interprets a command output from the execution unit 101 to the output unit 103. For example, when the sound output command "SPEAK Hi" it is output from the execution unit 101, command interpretation unit interprets the command. Command interpretation section, enter the text "Hello" of the resulting argument part intended to be construed in a voice output unit. The speech engine in the audio output unit, to synthesize the analog signal corresponding to the "Hello". The analog signal is output from the speaker as a voice message "Hello".

  When the gesture output command “BOW” is output from the execution unit 101, the command interpretation unit interprets the command. After interpretation, the command interpretation unit inputs “BOW” to the gesture output unit. A gesture generation unit in the gesture output unit generates a bow motion coordinate sequence, operates each actuator, and outputs a gesture operation.

  The remote control signal transmitting / receiving unit 104 transmits and receives infrared signals. The infrared signal that is generally used for remote control operation of home appliances or the like is suitable. Remote control signal transmission / reception section 104 transmits an infrared signal when a remote control signal is notified from execution section 101. On the other hand, when receiving an infrared signal transmitted from a remote controller such as a home appliance, the remote control signal transmitting / receiving unit 104 notifies the execution unit 101 of the received remote control signal.

  The remote control signal search unit 105 searches for remote control signal information from a remote control signal information storage unit 108, which will be described later, according to an instruction from the execution unit 101. For example, remote control signal information is searched using the remote control signal input from the execution unit 101 as a search key, and the search result is output to the execution unit 101.

  The position detection unit 106 detects the current position of the electronic device operation instruction device 100. As a position detection method, for example, GPS (positioning method using a global positioning system), a mobile phone base station positioning method that acquires position information of a mobile phone base station as current location position information, or image processing technology is used. You can use a method that roughly recognizes which room you are in. Further, a switch disposed at the bottom of the gyroscope or electronic device operation instruction device detects that the electronic device operation instruction device 100 may have been moved by the user, notifies the execution unit 101, and inputs the input unit 102. The position can be determined by a method of confirming the current position through a dialog with the user via the output unit 103.

  The remote control signal information storage unit 108 stores information related to each remote control signal in association with each other, and can be configured by a hard disk device, for example.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of remote control signal information. As information related to the remote control signal, items necessary for the electronic device operation instruction device 100 to instruct the operation of each electronic device can be selected. In this example, as shown in FIG. 2, “device type”, “supplier” (for example, manufacturer name), “mode”, and “operation content” are information related to the remote control signal. Each row in the table of FIG. 2 represents one remote control signal information. The first column is a remote control signal, the second column is a device type indicating the type of electronic device operated by the remote control signal, and the third column is the remote control. The name of the manufacturer of the device operated by the signal, and the fourth column is a mode number prepared for changing the remote control signal when multiple devices are assumed to be used, such as a video device. In the column, details of operations performed by the device in accordance with the remote control signal are stored in advance.

  The device operation vocabulary storage unit 111 stores vocabulary information representing each operation for each device type used in the dialog with the user regarding the operation of the electronic device, and can be configured by a hard disk device, for example. FIG. 3 shows an example of device operation vocabulary information. As the device operation vocabulary information, for example, “device type”, “operation content”, “target vocabulary”, and “operation vocabulary” are preferable. The “target vocabulary” is how the user calls each electronic device, and the “operation vocabulary” is how the operation of each electronic device is expressed. The “target vocabulary” and the “operation vocabulary” usually have different personalities in how they are named and expressed. For example, an air conditioner is called an “air conditioner” or a “cooler”. There is an example of “turning on” when the power is turned on, and there is a case of “turning on”. Therefore, it is preferable to collect and store all vocabulary information acquired through dialogue with the user.

  Each row in the table of FIG. 3 represents one device operation vocabulary information, and a vocabulary representing each operation is stored for each device type. For example, “TV” is registered as the target vocabulary and “attach” is registered as the operation vocabulary for the operation of turning on the power of the television. The target vocabulary and action vocabulary stored in the device operation vocabulary storage unit 111 are transferred to the input unit 102 via the execution unit 101 and reflected in the recognition dictionary of the speech recognition engine. When the execution unit 101 causes the remote control signal transmission / reception unit 104 to transmit a remote control signal, the vocabulary corresponding to the device operation to be executed is searched from the stored contents of the device operation vocabulary storage unit 111. Based on the search result, the text of the message to be presented to the user is generated and used to output the voice.

  The operation target device information storage unit 110 stores the electronic device detected by the electronic device operation instruction device 100.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the operation target device information. As information for specifying the electronic device to be operated, “device type”, “manufacturer name”, “mode”, “installation location”, “size”, “model name”, “rank” are suitable. is there. Each row in the table of FIG. 4 represents one electronic device to be operated. The first column is an ID number that is different for each device assigned when registering operation target device information. The device type in the second column, the manufacturer name in the third column, and the mode in the fourth column are specified by the remote control signal information from the remote control signal that triggered the device detection, and are stored at the time of registration. The location in the 5th row is the installation location of the device, the size in the 6th row is the size of the device, the model name in the 7th row is the brand name and model number of the device, the rank in the 8th row is the 1st unit, the 2nd unit And the vocabulary representing the input order such as input 1 and input 2 are acquired and stored as necessary through dialogue with the user.

  The device identifier priority order information storage unit 109, when a plurality of electronic devices of the same device type are to be operated, is an attribute of a device used when specifying a target device when operating the electronic device according to a command from the user Is stored.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the device identifier priority information. As elements for determining the priority order, “device type”, “location”, “maker name”, “size”, “model name”, and “order” are preferable. For example, when the electronic device to be operated is a TV, first specify the “place” where it is installed, and then specify the “manufacturer name” if multiple TVs are placed in the same “place” To do. In this way, the electronic device is specified according to the order stored in the device identifier priority information.

  The device determination unit 107 displays the operation target device information stored in the operation target device information storage unit 110 and the device identifier priority information stored in the device identifier priority information storage unit 109 in accordance with an instruction from the execution unit 101. By searching, an electronic device to be operated is determined. The device determination unit 107 registers operation target device information in the operation target device information storage unit 110 and priority order information in the device identifier priority order information storage unit 109, respectively.

  Next, a function in which the electronic device operation instruction apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention acquires information necessary for specifying an electronic device in accordance with the installation state of the electronic device will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation flow in the execution unit 101.

  A description will be given from a state in which the electronic device operation instruction apparatus 100 has not yet acquired any information regarding device operation. That is, information is not yet accumulated in the operation target device information storage unit 110 and the device operation vocabulary storage unit 111. Further, it is assumed that the current position of the electronic device operation instruction apparatus 100 is specified as a living room from the detection result by the position detection unit 106.

  For example, it is assumed that the user performs an operation of turning on the television using a remote control device attached to the television.

  First, the remote control signal transmitting / receiving unit 104 receives a remote control signal (step S601), and notifies the execution unit 101 of, for example, a remote control signal “0100011110.

  The execution unit 101 that has received the remote control signal instructs the remote control signal search unit 105 to search for remote control signal information for the received “remote control signal: 0000111110...”. The remote control signal search unit 105 refers to the remote control signal information storage unit 108 and refers to the remote control signal information of “remote control signal: 0100011110..., Device type: TV, manufacturer: T company, mode: 1, operation: power ON”. Is returned to the execution unit 101 as a search result.

  The execution unit 101 checks the registered device search command Search Dev (“TV”) with respect to the device determination unit 107 in order to check whether an electronic device whose device type is television and whose manufacturer is company T is already registered as an operation target device. , “Company T”, “1”, “Living”, “”, “”, “”). The device determination unit 107 refers to the operation target device information storage unit 110 and searches for operation target device information in which the device type is TV, the manufacturer is T company, the mode is 1, and the place is living, and the search result is executed by the execution unit 101. (Step S602). Since no electronic device has been registered yet, 0 search results are returned here.

  Since there are no search results, an additional registration procedure is performed as an operation target device in the operation target device information storage unit (step S603).

  If an already registered device is searched, the process proceeds to step S610 in order to obtain a vocabulary acquisition procedure for the remote control operation.

  The execution unit 101 instructs the device determination unit 107 to perform a device registration command Add Dev (“TV”, “Company T”, “1”, “Living”, “”, “”, “”). The device determination unit 107 performs device registration in the operation target device information storage unit 110. FIG. 7 shows the operation target device information registered in the operation target device information storage unit 110.

  The execution unit 101 checks the registered device search command Search Dev (“TV”, “”, “”) with respect to the device determination unit 107 in order to confirm whether a plurality of devices with the device type “TV” are registered. , "", "", "", ""). The device determination unit 107 that has received the search command Search Dev searches the operation target device information whose device type is “TV” with reference to the operation target device information storage unit 110, and returns the search result to the execution unit 101 (step S 100). S604).

  Here, as is clear from the information shown in FIG. 7, one piece of operation target device information is returned to the execution unit 101. If there are a plurality of pieces of operation target device information, the process proceeds to step S605 in order to obtain information necessary for specifying the device. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S610 to obtain a vocabulary acquisition procedure for the remote control operation.

  Since there are a plurality of devices of the same device type, a procedure for acquiring information necessary for specifying the device is started. The execution unit 101 instructs the device determination unit 107 to search the device identifier priority information search command Search Priority (“TV”) in order to check the device identifier priority information when the device type is “TV”. . The device determination unit 107 refers to the device identifier priority information storage unit 109 to search for device identifier priority information whose device type is “TV” and returns the search result to the execution unit 101. Here, a priority list of (location, manufacturer, size, model name, rank) is returned from the device identifier priority information shown in FIG. The execution unit 101 sets the priority pointer to the device identifier with the highest priority (step S605).

  Whether or not there is information corresponding to the device identifier pointed to by the priority order pointer is checked for the operation target device information searched in step S604 (step S606).

  If there is no information corresponding to the device identifier pointed to by the priority order pointer, the process proceeds to step S607 to acquire the corresponding information. If there is information corresponding to the device identifier pointed to by the priority order pointer, the process advances to step S608.

  In order to acquire information corresponding to the device identifier pointed to by the priority order pointer, that is, identification information necessary for device identification, the execution unit 101 executes a dialog with the user using the input unit 102 and the output unit 103 ( Step S607).

  For example, if the information as shown in FIG. 9 is stored as the operation target device information, and there are two T company televisions in the living room, it is necessary to acquire “size” information from the priority list. is there. So, “Tell me about the size of the TV you ’ve just operated?” Like “Tell me about the size of the TV you ’ve just operated?” Generate text. The generated text is presented to the user from the output unit 103, and a response such as “32 type” is obtained from the input unit 102. In addition, the text “Okay, what is the size of the usual TV?” Like “Okay, + (device type) +” + (the item pointed to by the priority pointer) + “?” Generate. The generated text is presented to the user from the output unit 103, and a response such as “24 type” is acquired from the input unit 102.

  The acquired information is added to the operation target device information, and the registered device update command Renew Dev (“1”, “TV”, “Company T”, “1”, “Living”, “24”) is sent to the device determination unit 107. Type "," "," ") Renew Dev (" 4 "," TV "," Company T "," 1 "," Living "," 32 Type "," "," ").

  Next, the operation target device information corresponding to the device type and identification information can be uniquely determined, and it is confirmed whether the operation target device information can be identified from the highest priority item to the item pointed to by the priority pointer. (Step S608). If it can be specified, the process returns to step S601. If it cannot be specified, the pointer is set to the device identifier of the next priority in order to acquire further item values (step S609). For example, if “TV” of company P is newly added as the operation target device information as shown in FIG. 4, it cannot be specified simply by specifying the “location” item, so the priority order pointer is advanced, It can be understood that the device can be specified by specifying up to “manufacturer name”. After the priority point has been moved to the next lower priority device identifier, the process proceeds to step S606.

  The execution unit 101 refers to the device operation vocabulary storage unit 111 and confirms whether the device type and operation vocabulary corresponding to the device type and operation of the received remote control signal are stored (step S610). If not yet acquired, the process proceeds to step S611 to acquire a vocabulary (step S611). If acquired, the process returns to step S601.

  In step S611, the execution unit 101 executes a dialog with the user using the input unit 102 and the output unit 103 in order to acquire a vocabulary representing a device operation corresponding to the remote control signal. For example, a question is asked to the user from the output unit 103, “Which device did you operate now?”, And “TV” is acquired from the input unit 102 as a user response. Next, by asking the user “What did you do with the TV?” And getting a response such as “I turned on”, I got “TV” as the target vocabulary and “Turn” as the action vocabulary, and the device operation vocabulary It memorize | stores in the memory | storage part 111, and returns to step S601. By repeating the above procedure, information can be acquired when it becomes necessary as learning of the device to be operated progresses.

  Next, a procedure will be described in which the electronic device operation instruction apparatus 100 acquires information for specifying the operation target device as necessary, and then operates the target electronic device according to a user instruction. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an operation flow for operating the device in accordance with a command from the user.

  The user speaks toward the electronic device operation instruction device 100, for example, “Turn on TV”. The electronic device operation instruction device inputs an operation instruction command from the microphone of the input unit 102 (step S801), and processes the voice data by the voice recognition engine, thereby acquiring the text “Turn on TV” and the execution unit 101 is notified.

  The execution unit 101 performs morphological analysis on the text “Television on” and obtains the vocabulary “Television” as a noun and “On” as a verb. The execution unit 101 assigns a noun to the target vocabulary and a verb to the operation vocabulary, and searches the operation vocabulary information storage unit 111 for operation vocabulary information that matches the target vocabulary and the operation vocabulary (step S802). If there is operation vocabulary information, the process proceeds to step S803, and if not, the content of the user's operation instruction is confirmed, and the process proceeds to step S806 in order to re-input as a command.

  It is confirmed whether or not there is a plurality of device operation vocabulary information (step S803). If there are not, the process proceeds to step S805. The user speaks toward the electronic device operation instruction device 100, for example, “increase volume”. In this case, there are a plurality of device operation vocabulary information corresponding to the target vocabulary “volume” and the operation vocabulary “raise”. Examples of the operation device target include “television” and “radio”. The execution unit 101 confirms whether or not the noun vocabulary extracted from the user utterance in step S802 includes a noun corresponding to the device type of the searched device operation vocabulary information. If there is a noun that matches the device type, device operation vocabulary information whose device type matches the noun is selected, and the process proceeds to step S805. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S804 to confirm the device type.

  The execution unit 101 confirms the device type with the user using the input unit 102 and the output unit 103 (step S804). For example, in the case of “TV” and “Radio”, the user is asked via the output unit 103 “TV or radio?” And a response such as “TV” is obtained from the input unit 102. Then, the device operation vocabulary information is specified, and the process proceeds to step S805.

  Using the specified device type and the current position (for example, a living room) of the electronic device operation instruction device 100 obtained from the position detection unit 106 as a search key, the device determination unit 107 is notified of a registered device search command Search Dev ( "TV", "", "", "Living", "", "", ""). The device determination unit 107 searches the operation target device information storage unit 110, checks whether there is an operation target device corresponding to the device type (step S805), and returns the search result to the execution unit 101. If there is searched operation target device information, the process proceeds to step S807. If there is no operation target device information, the process proceeds to step S806 in order to have the user's command re-input.

  Since the user utterance input from the input unit 102 could not be interpreted, in order to confirm the content of the operation instruction to the user (step S806), re-input is presented to the user via the output unit 103, and step S801 is performed. Return to.

  It is checked whether or not there is only one operation target device information searched in step 805 (step S807). If there is only one, the device has been specified, so the process proceeds to step S813 to execute the device operation. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S808 to perform a procedure for identifying the device.

  The execution unit 101 instructs the device determination unit 107 to search for a device identifier priority information corresponding to the device type, Search Priority (“TV”). The device determination unit 107 returns a priority order list (location, manufacturer, size, model name, order) to the execution unit 101 from FIG. The execution unit 101 sets the priority pointer to the device identifier with the highest priority (step S808).

  Next, from the operation target device information retrieved in step S805, the vocabulary contained in the value of the item indicated by the priority order pointer is not included in the command, that is, the user utterance text previously acquired in step S802 is stored. It is confirmed whether it is not included in the content (step S809). If it is included, the process proceeds to step S811, and if it is not included, the process proceeds to step S810.

  In order to acquire identification information necessary for specifying the device from the user, the execution unit 101 executes a dialog with the user using the input unit 102 and the output unit 103 (step S810). For example, if the item pointed to by the priority pointer is a manufacturer, a question sentence is created as “where” + (device type) + “??” and presented to the user from the output unit 103 for input. A response such as “Company T” is acquired from the unit 102.

  The acquired item value (for example, the manufacturer is “T company”) is added to the device determination unit 107 and the registered device search command Search Dev (“TV”, “T company”, “”, “Living”, “”, “”) , ””). The operation target device information corresponding to the device type and identification information can be uniquely determined. Check whether the operation target device information can be specified on the condition from the highest priority item to the item indicated by the priority pointer. The determination unit 107 returns the search result to the execution unit 101 (step S811). The execution unit 101 proceeds to step S813 if the searched operation target device information is one, and executes the operation of the device, and proceeds to step S812 if there is a plurality.

  The priority order pointer is moved to the next item in the priority order list (step S812), and the process returns to step S809.

  The remote control signal search unit 105 is instructed to search for the remote control signal information corresponding to the operation determined in step S802, and the device type, manufacturer, and mode of the determined operation target device information. The remote control signal transmission / reception unit 104 is instructed to transmit the remote control signal of the remote control signal information returned by the remote control signal search unit 105 to execute the operation of the device (step S813), and the process returns to step S801.

  As electronic device operation instruction apparatus 100 learns how to operate the device and the number of devices that can be operated increases, information necessary to identify the device is acquired from the user as necessary, and the user has performed so far. When a device cannot be specified by the operation instruction that has been given, a question of information necessary for the operation instruction from the user is generated, so that the user can gradually understand that the method of operation instruction has changed. To. The user can understand what information should be increased and commanded through the dialogue with the electronic apparatus operation instruction device 100.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the electronic device operation instruction | indication apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of remote control signal information. It is a figure which shows the example of apparatus operation vocabulary information. It is a figure which shows the example of operation target apparatus information. It is a figure which shows the example of apparatus identifier priority information. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flow of the information acquisition regarding apparatus operation. It is a figure which shows the example of the operation target apparatus information acquired by the operation | movement flow of FIG. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flow which operates an apparatus with the command from a user. It is a figure which shows the example of the operation target apparatus information used by the operation | movement flow description of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Electronic device operation instruction | indication apparatus, 101 ... Execution part, 102 ... Input part,
103 ... Output unit, 104 ... Remote control signal transmission / reception unit,
105 ... Remote control signal search unit, 106 ... Position detection unit, 107 ... Device determination unit,
108: Remote control signal information storage unit, 109: Device identifier priority information storage unit, 110: Operation target device information storage unit, 111: Device operation vocabulary storage unit

Claims (8)

An input unit for inputting an operation command to the electronic device;
An output unit for presenting information to the user;
A remote control signal transmission / reception unit for receiving a remote control signal transmitted from the remote control of the electronic device and transmitting a remote control signal to the remote control of the electronic device;
A remote control signal information storage unit for storing remote control information that associates the device type, supply source, mode, and operation content of the electronic device for each remote control signal;
A remote control signal search unit for searching the remote control information from the remote control signal information storage unit;
A device operation vocabulary storage unit for storing a vocabulary corresponding to an operation for each operation of each device type;
A device identifier priority information storage unit that defines and stores the priority order of identifiers used for distinguishing the electronic devices of the same device type for each device type;
An operation target device information storage unit that stores information for specifying the electronic device to be operated;
A device that searches the operation target device information stored in the operation target device information storage unit and the device identifier priority information stored in the device identifier priority information storage unit to determine the electronic device to be operated A decision unit;
The remote control signal received by the remote control signal transmission / reception unit is collated with the stored information of the remote control signal information storage unit and the operation target device storage unit, detected as a new unregistered electronic device, and stored in the operation target device information storage unit When registering a new electronic device, the identifier information necessary for specifying the electronic device according to the storage information of the device identifier priority information storage unit is given priority through the output unit and the input unit. An electronic device operation instruction apparatus, comprising: an execution unit that acquires the information according to the request and updates the information in the operation target device information storage unit. An input unit for inputting an operation command to the electronic device;
An output unit for presenting information to the user;
A remote control signal transmission / reception unit for receiving a remote control signal transmitted from the remote control of the electronic device and transmitting a remote control signal to the remote control of the electronic device;
A remote control signal information storage unit for storing remote control information that associates the device type, supply source, mode, and operation content of the electronic device for each remote control signal;
A remote control signal search unit for searching the remote control information from the remote control signal information storage unit;
A device operation vocabulary storage unit for storing a vocabulary corresponding to an operation for each operation of each device type;
A device identifier priority information storage unit that defines and stores the priority order of identifiers used for distinguishing the electronic devices of the same device type for each device type;
An operation target device information storage unit that stores information for specifying the electronic device to be operated;
A device that searches the operation target device information stored in the operation target device information storage unit and the device identifier priority information stored in the device identifier priority information storage unit to determine the electronic device to be operated A decision unit;
In response to a device operation instruction command having the device type and the operation content, the identifier information is input to the input unit in order of priority until an operation target device is specified according to information in the device identifier priority information storage unit. And through the output unit, performs voice dialogue for analyzing voice input and outputting a response to the voice input, and transmits the remote control signal corresponding to the operation content to the specified electronic device. An electronic device operation instruction apparatus comprising: an execution unit that instructs a signal transmission / reception unit.   The input unit performs voice identification of a microphone for acquiring a voice signal, an A / D conversion unit for A / D converting the voice signal acquired by the microphone, and voice data after A / D conversion as text information. The electronic device operation instruction device according to claim 1, further comprising a voice recognition engine that generates the electronic device operation instruction device.   The output unit includes a speech synthesis engine, an amplifier, and a speaker. The output unit includes a speech output unit that emits speech, a gesture generation unit, and an actuator. A gesture expressed when the apparatus interacts with a user is used as a gesture. The electronic device operation instruction device according to claim 1, further comprising a gesture output unit for expressing and a command interpretation unit for interpreting an instruction output from the execution unit.   The device identifier priority information includes at least a place, a supplier, a size, a model name, and a rank as elements for determining a priority, and is stored for each device type. The electronic device operation instruction device described.   3. The device operation vocabulary information includes a target vocabulary used for naming the electronic device and an operation vocabulary expressed when operating the electronic device. Electronic device operation instruction device.   The electronic device operation instruction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a position detection unit that detects a current position of the apparatus. Input operation command commands for electronic devices,
Search operation vocabulary information for the electronic device including the target vocabulary and action vocabulary,
Check the device type that received the operation instruction,
Search for information about the operation target device corresponding to the device type,
When the operation target device is identified, the device operation is executed,
When the operation target device cannot be specified, the device operation is executed after identifying a device corresponding to the device type and obtaining a prioritized device identifier according to the priority order. Operation method of electronic device operation instruction device.

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