JPH11202892A - Speech recognizing electric equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a remote control unit small-sized and low-cost and to control an object equipment main body with a voice only when an operator desires. SOLUTION: When a speech recognition start switch of a remote control is operated, an air-conditioner main body 2 receives a speech recognition start signal, A speech recognition part 33 recognizes a word corresponding to a voice inputted through a microphone 34 and a main body control circuit 32 performs specific control. The speech recognition part 33 is all provided on the side of the air-conditioner main body 2, so the remote control is constituted at low cost without increasing in size. Only when the speech recognition start switch is operated, the air-conditioner main body 2 can be controlled with a voice and unnecessary voice control that the operator does not intend is not performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric device remotely controlled by a remote control device (remote control device), and more particularly to a voice recognition electric device in which the main body of the device is controlled by voice input.

[0002]

Conventionally, a remote control device (hereinafter, referred to as a remote control) as a remote control device has been used in order to allow an operator to operate a remote electrical device such as an air conditioner without moving. ) Is provided in a device body.

On the other hand, from a barrier-free point of view, which prevents a physically handicapped person from using the device itself, the protrusion of the remote control is provided so that the function of the main switch can be determined even with a fingertip. It is provided in the operation unit. Furthermore, to make the operation easier for the operator,
Instruct the remote operation by voice input from the microphone,
A remote controller that sends a control signal to the device body in accordance with the result of the voice recognition has also been considered.

[0004] However, such a remote controller analyzes input voice, recognizes input voice as words,
Alternatively, a mechanism for holding data of a word standard pattern required for voice recognition must be formed in the remote controller, which not only increases the cost of the entire remote controller but also makes the remote controller larger and harder to operate. Had the disadvantage that

[0005] In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to reduce the size and cost of a remote control device and to control a target device body by voice only when desired by an operator. Its purpose is to provide equipment.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a voice recognition electrical device comprising a remote control device and a device main body remotely controlled by the remote control device. Comprises a switch circuit for designating a signal transmission function, and a transmission circuit for transmitting a signal in accordance with an instruction of a switch constituting the switch circuit, wherein the switch circuit includes a voice recognition start switch, and the voice recognition start switch Is operated, the transmission circuit is configured to transmit a speech recognition start signal, and the device body receives a signal from the transmission circuit and converts the signal into an electric signal; And a main body control circuit for controlling the main body of the device by receiving an electric signal from the circuit. And outputs a signal to the main body control circuit to accept the control signal of the voice recognition unit, and the voice recognition unit outputs an operation start electric signal from the signal reception conversion circuit. Upon receiving, the voice input to the microphone is analyzed, a word corresponding to the input voice is recognized by comparing with a pre-registered word standard pattern, a control signal corresponding to this word is specified, and the Output.

According to the above configuration, the voice recognition start switch provided on the remote control device is operated, and the voice recognition start signal provided from the remote control device is received only when the device main body receives the voice recognition start signal. The recognition unit recognizes a word corresponding to a voice input from the microphone, and performs predetermined control by the main body control circuit. In this case, since the voice recognition unit that analyzes the input voice, recognizes the input voice as a word, or holds the data of the word standard pattern necessary for voice recognition is provided on the device body side, The remote control device can be configured inexpensively without increasing the size.
Further, only when the operator operates the voice recognition start switch of the remote control device, the target device main body can be voice-controlled, so that useless voice control is not performed against the intention of the operator.

[0008]

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the voice recognition electric device in the present embodiment is an air conditioner as an air conditioner with a cooling and heating function.

The air conditioner according to the present embodiment has a remote control device or remote control 1 whose electric configuration is shown in FIG. 1 and whose plan view is shown in FIG. And 2. Remote control 1
The air conditioner main body 2 is remotely controlled, and a signal transmission to the air conditioner main body 2 uses infrared rays. And FIG.
, A switch circuit 3 for specifying a signal transmission function
A microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as a microcomputer) 4 for outputting a signal corresponding to an instruction of each of the switches 11 to 22 constituting the switch circuit 3, and a signal from the microcomputer 4 as an infrared signal to the air conditioner main body 2 side. An infrared signal transmitting circuit 5 as a transmitting circuit for transmitting, and a power supply circuit 6 for supplying a predetermined operating voltage to the microcomputer 4 and the infrared signal transmitting circuit 5 are provided. A display unit 7 (see FIG. 2) composed of a liquid crystal display or the like is connected to the output side of the microcomputer 4, and the display unit 7 allows the operation status of the air conditioner main body 2, the set temperature or the set air volume, and the like. Is displayed as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 2, the remote controller 1 has an operation panel 8 comprising a display unit 7 and some switches 11 and 12 of the switch circuit 3, and other switches 13 to 22 of the switch circuit 3, and a casing. 9 are provided on the upper surface. And the casing 9 which forms the outer shell of the remote controller 1
It is formed in such a size that the operator can hold it with one hand.
Temperature setting switches 11 and 12 provided in operation panel 8
Is for instructing the setting of the room temperature in which the air conditioner main body 2 is installed. When one of the temperature setting switches 11 is pushed and operated, the set temperature increases, and when the other temperature setting switch 12 is pushed and operated, the set temperature is increased. Descend. Reference numeral 13 denotes a run / stop switch for instructing operation or stop of the air conditioner main body 2, and the air conditioner main body 2 is operated or stopped each time the switch is pushed. Reference numeral 14 denotes an air volume switch, and 15 denotes an air direction switch. When the air volume switch 14 is pushed, the setting of the air volume blown out from the air conditioner main body 2 is switched, and when the air direction switch 15 is pushed, the setting of the air direction is switched. . Reference numeral 16 denotes a mellow operation switch.
A signal that keeps the air-conditioning temperature of the air conditioner main body 2 at a predetermined temperature of, for example, 19 ° C. or more and does not become too warm in winter and not too cold in summer is sent to the infrared signal transmitting circuit 5 through the microcomputer 4.
Sent from Reference numeral 17 denotes a voice recognition start switch. When this switch is pressed, a voice recognition start signal is transmitted from the infrared signal transmission circuit 5 via the microcomputer 4. Reference numeral 18 denotes an operation changeover switch, which switches operation such as cooling or heating each time the operation switch is pushed. Reference numerals 19 to 22 denote switches related to the timer function of the air conditioner body 2. When the ON switch 19 is pressed and operated, a signal for starting the operation of the air conditioner main body 2 at the timer time is transmitted from the infrared signal transmitting circuit 5. Conversely, when the off switch 20 is pressed, a signal for stopping the operation of the air conditioner main body 2 is transmitted from the infrared signal transmitting circuit 5 at the timer time. These timer times are changed by the temperature setting switches 11 and 12. Reference numeral 21 denotes a reservation confirmation switch, and when this switch is pressed, a timer setting status is displayed on the display unit 7. Reference numeral 22 denotes a cancel switch. When this switch is pressed, the timer function is released.

Among these switches 11 to 22, the voice recognition start switch 17 has a projection 23 formed on a flat upper surface to be touched by a finger as shown in FIG. It is configured to be distinguishable from other switches 11 to 16 and 18 to 22 in shape. As another example, the voice recognition start switch 17 is set to the other switches 11 to 16, 18
Alternatively, it may be formed higher than 2222, or may be formed in a different external shape, for example, a square. Thereby, even if the person is physically handicapped or the room is dark, the voice recognition start switch 17 for performing voice control can be reliably operated.

Next, the configuration of the air conditioner body 2 will be described. Reference numeral 31 denotes an infrared signal receiving / converting circuit as a signal receiving / converting circuit for receiving an infrared signal from the remote controller 1 and converting it into an electric signal. This infrared signal receiving / converting circuit 31
Receives an infrared signal other than the voice recognition start signal,
An electric signal corresponding to this is output to the main body control circuit 32.When a voice recognition start signal is received, an electric signal for starting operation is output to a voice recognition unit 33 different from the main body control circuit 32. It is composed.

The voice recognition unit 33 operates only when an electric signal for starting operation is output from the infrared signal receiving / converting circuit 31. At this time, the voice recognition unit 33
It outputs a signal to accept 33 control signals. Then, a microphone 34 serving as a voice input unit, a sound analysis unit 35 that receives a sound input to the microphone 34 and performs sound analysis, and a word standard pattern stored and registered in advance in the word standard pattern storage unit 36 to compare the sound The word recognition unit 37 recognizes a word corresponding to the input voice analyzed by the analysis unit 35, and the word recognition unit 37 based on the word-control signal correspondence table stored and registered in the word-control signal correspondence table storage unit 38 in advance. And a control recognition unit 39 that outputs a control signal corresponding to the word recognized by the control unit 32 to the main body control circuit 32. The main body control circuit 32 receives an electric signal from the infrared signal reception / conversion circuit 31 or a control signal from the control recognition unit 39 to control a main body load 40 of the air conditioner main body 2 such as a compressor motor. Make up.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When it is desired to control the operation of the air conditioner body 2 by voice, first, a voice recognition start switch 17 provided on the remote controller 1 is pressed. Then, on the remote control 1 side, a voice recognition start signal is transmitted from the infrared signal transmission circuit 5 via the microcomputer 4. Infrared signal receiving / converting circuit of air conditioner body 2
When the voice recognition start signal is received by the voice recognition unit 31,
An operation start signal is output to 33, and the operation of the voice recognition unit 33 starts to enter a voice standby state. At the same time, the voice recognition unit 33
Outputs a signal to the main body control circuit 32 to accept the control signal output from the voice recognition unit 33.

In this state, when an instruction such as "start operation", "lower temperature", "strong wind" or the like is given to the microphone 34 by voice, the sound analysis unit 35 constituting the voice recognition unit 33 transmits this instruction. The input voice is analyzed, and a word corresponding to the input voice is recognized by the subsequent word recognition unit 37. The word recognized by the word recognition unit 37 is converted into a specific control signal by the word-control signal correspondence table stored and registered in the word-control signal correspondence table storage unit 38, and is sent to the main body control circuit 32. . In response to the control signal, the main body control circuit 32 causes the main body load 40 to perform an operation that matches the content instructed by the voice of the operator.

On the other hand, when the operation control of the air conditioner main body 2 is not performed by voice, the voice recognition start switch 17 is used.
Press again. As a result, on the remote controller 1 side, the voice recognition stop signal is transmitted from the infrared signal transmission circuit 5 via the microcomputer 4. When the infrared signal receiving / converting circuit 31 of the air conditioner body 2 receives the voice recognition stop signal, an operation stop signal is output to the voice recognition unit 33, the operation of the voice recognition unit 33 stops, and the input from the microphone 34 Stop accepting audio. Thereafter, the operation of the air conditioner body 2 is controlled by the switches 11-22.
When the infrared signal is transmitted from the infrared signal transmission circuit 5 via the microcomputer 4 in accordance with the instructions of the switches 11 to 16 and 18 to 22, the infrared signal of the air conditioner body 2 receiving the signal is transmitted. The signal receiving / converting circuit 31 sends out an electric signal to the main body control circuit 32, and the operation of the main body load 40 is controlled.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the remote control 1 as a remote control device and the air conditioner main body 2 as a device main body remotely operated by the remote control 1 are different from each other. A switch circuit 3 for designating a function; and an infrared signal transmission circuit 5 as a transmission circuit for transmitting a signal in accordance with an instruction from the switches 11 to 22 constituting the switch circuit 3. The switch circuit 3 is a voice recognition start switch. When the voice recognition start switch 17 is operated, the infrared signal transmitting circuit 5 is configured to transmit a voice recognition start signal.
Includes an infrared signal receiving / converting circuit 31 as a signal receiving / converting circuit for receiving a signal from the infrared signal transmitting circuit 5 and converting the signal into an electric signal; and an air conditioner receiving the electric signal from the infrared signal receiving / converting circuit 31. The infrared signal reception / conversion circuit 31 outputs an electric signal for starting operation to the voice recognition unit 33 when the voice recognition start signal is received, and the main body control circuit 32 A signal is output so as to accept the control signal of the voice recognition unit 33, and the voice recognition unit 33 outputs the infrared signal reception / conversion circuit 31.
When receiving the electric signal for starting the operation from the microphone, the voice input to the microphone 34 is analyzed, the word corresponding to the input voice is recognized by comparing with a pre-registered word standard pattern, and the control signal corresponding to this word is recognized. Is specified and output to the main body control circuit 32.

With this configuration, the voice recognition start switch 17 provided on the remote controller 1 is operated to
Only when the air conditioner main body 2 receives the voice recognition start signal from the air conditioner main body 2, the voice recognition section 33 provided in the air conditioner main body 2 recognizes a word corresponding to the voice input from the microphone 34, and the main body control circuit 32 Is controlled. In this case, the voice recognition unit 33 that analyzes the input voice, recognizes the input voice as a word, or retains a word standard pattern necessary for voice recognition is provided in the air conditioner main body 2 side. Therefore, the remote controller 1 can be configured at a low cost without increasing the size. Further, only when the operator operates the voice recognition start switch 17 of the remote controller 1, the target air conditioner main body 2 can be voice-controlled, so that unnecessary voice control is not performed against the operator's intention. Therefore, the basic configuration of the remote controller 1 is almost the same as that of the conventional remote controller, and the air conditioner to be used only when the operator desires (when the voice recognition start switch 17 is operated) while making the remote controller 1 small and inexpensive. The main body 2 can be controlled by voice.

In this embodiment, the microphone 34 is provided on the air conditioner main body 2, but it may be provided on the remote controller 1.
By doing so, it is possible to instruct various operation contents from the remote controller 1 relatively close to the operator without uttering a voice toward the air conditioner main body 2, thereby improving usability.
However, in order to achieve miniaturization and cost reduction of the remote controller 1, the configuration of the voice recognition unit 33 other than the microphone 34 is entirely provided on the air conditioner main body 2 side, and the input voice from the microphone 34 is directly converted into an infrared signal. Only the means of transport,
It is provided on the remote control 1 side.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, in addition to the air conditioner in the embodiment, various AV (audiovisual) devices having a remote control device,
The present invention can also be applied to various voice recognition electric devices such as car navigation devices and electric toilet seats. Further, the signal transmission method of the remote control device may be not only a wireless communication method such as radio waves including infrared rays, laser light, and sound waves but also a wired communication method.

[0021]

According to the present invention, there is provided a voice recognition electrical device comprising a remote control device and a device main body remotely operated by the remote control device, wherein the remote control device includes a switch circuit for designating a signal transmission function, A transmission circuit for transmitting a signal according to an instruction of a switch constituting the switch circuit, wherein the switch circuit includes a voice recognition start switch,
When the voice recognition start switch is operated, the transmission circuit is configured to transmit a voice recognition start signal, and the device body receives a signal from the transmission circuit and converts the signal into an electric signal. And a main body control circuit that receives the electric signal from the signal reception / conversion circuit and controls the main body of the device. The signal reception / conversion circuit receives the voice recognition start signal, and instructs a voice recognition unit to start operating the electric signal. And outputs a signal to the main body control circuit so as to accept the control signal of the voice recognition unit, and the voice recognition unit inputs the signal to the microphone when receiving the operation start electric signal from the signal reception conversion circuit. The input voice is analyzed to recognize a word corresponding to the input voice by comparing it with a pre-registered word standard pattern, and a control signal corresponding to this word is specified, and To output the result to the circuit, while reducing the size and cost of the remote control device, only when the operator desires, it is possible to control the apparatus main body to be in voice.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a remote controller showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the remote controller.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the air conditioner main body.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a main part of the remote controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Remote control (remote control device) 2 Air conditioner main body (device main body) 3 Switch circuit 5 Infrared signal transmission circuit (transmission circuit) 11-22 switch 17 Voice recognition start switch 31 Infrared signal reception / conversion circuit (signal reception conversion circuit) 32 main body Control circuit 33 Voice recognition unit 34 Microphone

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A remote control device comprising: a remote control device; and a device main body remotely controlled by the remote control device. The remote control device includes a switch circuit for designating a signal transmission function and an instruction for a switch constituting the switch circuit. And a transmission circuit for transmitting a signal according to, the switch circuit includes a voice recognition start switch, when the voice recognition start switch is operated, the transmission circuit is configured to transmit a voice recognition start signal, The device body includes a signal reception conversion circuit that receives a signal from the transmission circuit and converts the signal into an electric signal, and a body control circuit that receives the electric signal from the signal reception conversion circuit and controls the device body, The signal reception conversion circuit outputs an operation start electric signal to a voice recognition unit upon receiving the voice recognition start signal, and outputs the voice recognition signal to the main body control circuit. The voice recognition unit outputs a signal so as to accept the control signal of the recognition unit, and the voice recognition unit analyzes the voice input to the microphone upon receiving the operation start electric signal from the signal reception conversion circuit, and stores a word registered in advance. A speech recognition electrical device for recognizing a word corresponding to an input voice by comparing with a standard pattern, identifying a control signal corresponding to the word, and outputting the control signal to the main body control circuit.