Abstract:
A video device with a voice-assisted system is provided by using a voice command to adjust the images. The voice-assisted system includes a voice recognition engine and a control unit. The voice recognition engine receives a voice command and outputting a voice signal based on the voice command to the control unit. The control unit based on the voice signal performs the adjustment actions to adjust image. The user only requires inputting a single voice command. The voice recognition engine then can perform a series of actions to adjust image. Therefore, the voice-assisted system can enhance the convenience of adjusting the image of the video device and reduce the operation complexity for the user.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 93102895, filed on Feb. 9, 2004.  
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention generally relates to a video device with a voice-assisted system and a method thereof for adjusting images, and more particularly to a video device based on voice input to adjust images and a method thereof.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     As the technology advances, the electronic appliance in our daily life, the automated equipment in the working places, and the electronic devices for the entertainment purposes show that people highly rely on the electronic devices over time. Among them, video devices are widely used and become indispensable either in daily life or for work. The most common video devices are for example television sets, computer, projectors, etc.  
         [0006]     To provide video enjoyment for the users, the video devices generally provide on-screen display (OSD) function to display the image parameters on the screen so that the users can adjust the parameters as needed. As the technology advances, the functions provided by the video devices increase significantly. Hence, it is necessary to classify those functions and video parameters on the OSD into different categories.  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a conventional method for adjusting images in a video device with OSD. Referring to  FIG. 1 , there are several levels in the OSD menu. Even if the user would like to slightly adjust one image parameter, she/he has to use the button to enter into several levels of architecture in order to reach the very level the parameter is located. For example, when the user wants to adjust one image parameter, she/he has to push the button to select entering into the second level from the main menu. Then she/he has to set the command in the second level based on what she/he wants to adjust and the menu goes to the third level. Then the user has to do the corresponding action based on the command she/he selected. For example, if the user wants to adjust the brightness, the user has to select “Brightness” in the main menu. Under the directory of “Brightness”, there are two sub-directories “brightness” and “contrast”. After selecting “brightness”, the user finally can adjust the brightness under the sub-directory of “brightness”. In addition, there is no universal standard for classifying image parameters. I.e., the same parameter may be classified into different directories in products manufactured by different companies. For those who are not familiar with the adjustment operation, it is very inconvenient to go through so many levels of directories in order to adjust the image parameters.  
         [0008]     To solve the above problem, it would be helpful for the users to adjust the parameters based on voice command. By using the voice command control procedure, the users can make the commands directly to the video device so that the voice device can automatically perform the actions corresponding to the voice commands without pushing any button. However, in the conventional voice command control system, a single voice only corresponds to one action. I.e., if the user want the voice device to perform a series of actions, she/he has to make several voice commands, which still lacks flexibility.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0009]     An object of the present invention is to provide a video device with a voice-assisted system and a method thereof by using a voice command to adjust images.  
         [0010]     Another object of the present invention is to provide a video device with a voice-assisted system and a method thereof for adjusting images so that it is more convenient for the user to adjust images without giving a series of commands and worrying about the voice recognition error.  
         [0011]     The present invention provides a method for adjusting images, suitable for adjusting a video device with a voice-assisted system, the video device providing an on-screen display function, the method comprising: receiving a voice command; recognizing the voice command and outputting a voice signal based on a result of recognizing the voice command; and identifying the voice command as one of a specific command and a fuzzy command based on the voice signal.  
         [0012]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein if the voice command is the specific command, the method further comprises performs one adjustment action corresponding to the voice command.  
         [0013]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the fuzzy command, the method further comprises performs a plurality of adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command.  
         [0014]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, before the identifying step, further comprising: performing a confidence measure of the voice signal, outputting an estimation level based on the confidence measure, and comparing the estimation level with a predetermined estimation threshold. The comparing step includes: if the estimation level is higher than the predetermined estimation threshold, directly going to the step of identifying the voice command as a specific command or a fuzzy command based on the voice signal; if the estimation level is lower than the predetermined estimation threshold, displaying a plurality of commands based on the voice signal, the similarity of the plurality of commands to the voice signal is higher than a predetermined value, selecting one of the plurality of commands, and going to the step of identifying the voice command as the specific command or the fuzzy command based on the voice signal.  
         [0015]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the similarity of the plurality of commands to the voice signal is higher than a predetermined value, the step of selecting one of the plurality of commands includes selecting one of the plurality of commands by a voice input or by a button input.  
         [0016]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the fuzzy command, the method further comprises finding the plurality of adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command from a command database.  
         [0017]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the fuzzy command, the method further comprises displaying the performed adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command via the on-screen display function. After the step of displaying the performed adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command, further comprising a selectively image modification process.  
         [0018]     The present invention provides a video device with a voice-assisted system, comprising: a voice recognition engine receiving a voice command and outputting a voice signal based on the voice command; an on-screen display control interface, coupled to the voice recognition engine for receiving the voice signal; a display control unit, coupled to the on-screen display control interface; and a display unit coupled to the display control unit, the on-screen display control interface based on the voice signal identifying the voice command as one of a specific command and a fuzzy command.  
         [0019]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the specific command, the display control unit performs an adjustment action corresponding to the voice command to adjust an image displayed on the display unit.  
         [0020]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the fuzzy command, the display control unit performs a plurality of adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command to adjust the image displayed on the display unit.  
         [0021]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it further comprises a confidence measure unit performing a confidence measure of the voice signal, outputting an estimation level based on the confidence measure, and comparing the estimation level with a predetermined estimation threshold. When comparing the estimation level with the predetermined estimation threshold, if the estimation level is higher than the predetermined estimation threshold, the on-screen display control interface directly identifies the voice command as one of a specific command and a fuzzy command based on the voice signal; if the estimation level is lower than the predetermined estimation threshold, the on-screen display control interface displays a plurality of commands based on the voice signal, the similarity of the plurality of commands to the voice signal is higher than a predetermined value, the on-screen display control interface selects one of the plurality of commands, and the on-screen display control interface identifies the voice command as one of the specific command and the fuzzy command based on the voice signal.  
         [0022]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the similarity of the plurality of commands to the voice signal is higher than a predetermined value, the on-screen display control interface selects one of the plurality of commands via a voice input through the voice recognition engine, or via a button input of the video device.  
         [0023]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the fuzzy command, the voice recognition engine finds the plurality of adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command from a command database.  
         [0024]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the fuzzy command, the on-screen display control interface displays performed adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command via the on-screen display function. After displaying the performed adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command via the on-screen display function, the on-screen display control interface performs a selectively image modification process.  
         [0025]     The present invention provides a video device with a voice-assisted system, comprising: a voice recognition engine receiving and recognizing a voice command and outputting a recognition result, the voice recognition engine including a confidence measure unit performing a confidence measure of the voice signal, outputting an estimation level based on the confidence measure, comparing the estimation level with a predetermined estimation threshold to output a voice signal; an on-screen display control interface, coupled to the voice recognition engine, receiving the voice signal; a display control unit coupled to the on-screen display control interface; and a display unit coupled to the display control unit, the on-screen display control interface based on the voice signal identifying the voice command as one of a specific command and a fuzzy command.  
         [0026]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the specific command, the display control unit performs an adjustment action corresponding to the voice command to adjust an image displayed on the display unit.  
         [0027]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the fuzzy command, the display control unit performs a plurality of adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command to adjust the image displayed on the display unit.  
         [0028]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when comparing the estimation level with the predetermined estimation threshold, if the estimation level is higher than the predetermined estimation threshold, the on-screen display control interface directly identifies the voice command as a specific command or a fuzzy command based on the voice signal; if the estimation level is lower than the predetermined estimation threshold, the on-screen display control interface displays a plurality of commands based on the voice signal, the similarity of the plurality of commands to the voice signal is higher than a predetermined value, the on-screen display control interface selects one of the plurality of commands, and the on-screen display control interface identifies the voice command as one of the specific command and the fuzzy command based on the voice signal.  
         [0029]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the similarity of the plurality of commands to the voice signal is higher than a predetermined value, the on-screen display control interface selects one of the plurality of commands via a voice input through the voice recognition engine, or via a button input of the video device.  
         [0030]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the fuzzy command, the voice recognition engine finds the plurality of adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command from a command database In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the voice command is the fuzzy command, the display control unit displays performed adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command via the on-screen display function. After displaying the performed adjustment actions the plurality of adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command via the on-screen display function, the on-screen display control interface performs a selectively image modification process.  
         [0031]     The video device with a voice-assisted system and the method thereof for adjusting images of the present invention can use a single voice command to perform the image adjustments. Hence, it is more convenient for the users to operate. Further, when the user gives the voice command but video device does not act responsive to the voice command, the present invention can make the video device perform a series of actions for adjusting images by analyzing and comparing the voice command. After performing the image adjustment, those actions performed by the video device will be shown on the screen for the user to fine-tune the image parameters. Hence, the method for adjusting images of the present invention is more flexible than the conventional method and thus can effectively reduce the operation complexity for the users.  
         [0032]     In addition, because the voice-assisted system of the present invention includes a confidence measure unit to evaluate the recognition result performed by the voice recognition engine, it can prevent wrong actions due to the low recognition rate so that the reliability of the system can be significantly improved.  
         [0033]     The above is a brief description of some deficiencies in the prior art and advantages of the present invention. Other features, advantages and embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, accompanying drawings and appended claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0034]      FIG. 1  is a conventional method for adjusting images in a video device with OSD.  
         [0035]      FIG. 2  is block diagram of a video device with a voice-assisted system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0036]      FIG. 3 a  flow chart of a method for adjusting images in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0037]      FIG. 4  is block diagram of a video device with a voice-assisted system in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0038]     The present invention provides a video device with a voice-assisted system and a method thereof for adjusting images, which perform the image adjustment via a voice command. Unlike the conventional art, the video device with a voice-assisted system and the method thereof are more convenient for the user to adjust images without giving a series of commands and worrying about the voice recognition error.  
         [0039]     The video device with a voice-assisted system of the present invention comprises a voice recognition engine, an OSD control interface, a display control unit and a display unit. The voice recognition engine receives a voice command from the user and outputs a voice signal based on the voice command to the OSD control interface. The on-screen display control interface is coupled to the voice recognition engine. The display control unit is coupled to the on-screen display control interface. The display control unit controls the display of the display unit.  
         [0040]     The method for adjusting images via the video device with a voice-assisted system comprises: receiving a voice command from the user; recognizing the voice command and outputting a voice signal based on a result of recognizing the voice command; and identifying the voice command as a specific command or a fuzzy command based on the voice signal. If the voice command is the specific command, then it performs one adjustment action corresponding to the voice command. If the voice command is the fuzzy command, it performs a plurality of adjustment actions corresponding to the voice command and displays the performed adjustment actions. Further, if the adjusted image does not meet users expectation, the user can further modify the image based on the performed adjustment actions. The image modification process can be performed by voice command or button command.  
         [0041]     In the method for adjusting images via the video device with a voice-assisted system of the present invention, the specific command means a specific operating action. This operating action can adjust a specific category of the image. Those specific categories can be stored in for example the voice recognition engine or the OSD control interface, depending on the design requirement. If this specific command, for example, is “increase the brightness”, then this specific command can directly adjust the brightness. In an embodiment of the present invention, the specific command can also include the adjustment amount of the parameter. For example, the voice command is “increase the brightness by 10%”. Such a specific command can directly increase the brightness by 10%.  
         [0042]     In the method for adjusting images via the video device with a voice-assisted system of the present invention, the fuzzy command means a plurality of adjustment commands. Those commands correspond a plurality of operating actions. Those operating actions can be stored in the voice recognition engine, the OSD control interface, or an independent command database, depending on the design requirement. For example, if the fuzzy command is “the image is blurring”, this fuzzy command can refer to the command set stored in the command database and perform a series of actions such as adjusting brightness, color, etc. In an embodiment of the present invention, the series of actions can also include the adjustment step value of the parameters. For example, for the brightness, it will be increased by 5% (or other value depending on the design) each time.  
         [0043]      FIG. 2  is block diagram of a video device with a voice-assisted system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 2 , the video device  200  comprises a voice recognition engine  210 , an OSD control interface  220 , a display control unit  230  and a display unit  240 . The voice recognition engine  210  is coupled to the OSD control interface  220 . The display control unit  230  is coupled to the on-screen display control interface  220 . The display control unit  230  controls the display of the display unit  240 .  
         [0044]     When the user gives a voice command, the voice recognition engine  210  will recognize the voice command. After recognition, the voice recognition engine  210  will output a voice signal  212  based on the recognition result to the OSD control interface  220 . When the OSD control interface  220  receives the voice signal  212 , it will give a command to the display control unit  230  based on the voice signal  212  in order to adjust the image as the user desires. In an embodiment of the present invention, the video device  200  further includes a command database  250  coupled to the OSD control interface  220 . The OSD control interface  220  can find the commands corresponding to the voice signal  212  from the command database  250 .  
         [0045]     The method for adjusting images via the video device with a voice-assisted system of the present invention can use the structure of the video device  200  as shown in  FIG. 2 . For example, when the voice recognition engine  210  determines that the voice signal  212  is a specific command such as “increase the contrast to 60%”, the OSD control interface  220  based on the received voice signal directly gives a command to the display control unit  230  asking it to perform the corresponding adjustment action to adjust the image. I.e., the display control unit  230  of the video device  200  will adjust the contrast to 60% based on the voice command.  
         [0046]     On the other hand, when the voice recognition engine  210  determines that the voice signal  212  is a fuzzy command such as “the image is blurring”, the OSD control interface  220  will analyze and compare the command, and then refers to the command set stored in the command database  250  in order to generate a series of commands. The display control unit  230  then based on the series of commands performs a plurality of adjustment actions such as adjusting the contrast, brightness, color, and the size of the image, etc. In an embodiment of the present invention, it can display the performed actions on the display unit  240  for the users reference. In another embodiment of the present invention, if the adjusted image does not meet the users expectation, the user can modify the image based on the displayed actions.  
         [0047]     It should be noted that currently the voice recognition technology still couldn&#39;t reach 100% recognition rate. Hence, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention in  FIG. 2 , a confidence measure unit  225  can selectively be added for evaluating the recognition result in order to raise the reliability of the system. The function and the purpose of the confidence measure unit  225  will be described as follows.  
         [0048]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , in an embodiment of the present invention, the confidence measure unit  225  can be designed into the OSD control interface  220 . The voice recognition engine  210  will output the recognition result “score” to the OSD control interface  220  via the voice signal  212 . The confidence measure unit  225  then evaluates the recognition result from the voice recognition engine  210  and outputs an estimation level corresponding to the recognition result. The estimation level then will be compared to the estimation threshold. The estimation level represents the similarity of recognition result to the corresponding voice signals in the command database.  
         [0049]     If the estimation level is higher than the estimation threshold, then the OSD control interface  220  determines whether it is a specific command or a fuzzy command. If it is a specific command, the display control unit  230  performs the subsequent adjustment action corresponding to this specific command.  
         [0050]     If the estimation level is lower than the estimation threshold, then the OSD control interface  220  via the display control unit  230  displays on the display unit  240  several similar recognition results previously inputted by the user (i.e., the recognition results having higher similarity to this command) for the users choice. The user can give a voice command and press the button to select the correct recognition result. The present invention is not limited those two methods of selection. After the user makes the selection, if it is a specific command, the display control unit  230  performs the subsequent adjustment action corresponding to this specific command. If it is a fuzzy command, the OSD control interface  220  will find, from the command database  250 , the command set corresponding to the fuzzy command. Then the display control unit  230  performs the subsequent adjustment actions corresponding to this fuzzy command.  
         [0051]     In light of the above, the video device with a voice-assisted system can easily adjust the images. The method for adjusting images by using the voice-assisted system will be described as follows.  
         [0052]      FIG. 3 a  flow chart of a method for adjusting images in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. First, the user gives a voice command (S 300 ). Then, the voice command is recognized and a recognition result is outputted via a voice signal (S 302 ). After that, a confidence measure on the recognition result is performed and an estimation level is outputted (S 304 ). Then the estimation level is compared to the predetermined estimation threshold (S 306 ).  
         [0053]     If the estimation level is higher than the estimation threshold, then the system will directly determine whether the voice command is a specific command (S 308 ). If the estimation level is lower than the estimation threshold, then the system will display several similar recognition results previously inputted by the user (i.e., the recognition results having higher similarity to this command) for the users choice (S 310 ). The user then selects the correct command (S 312 ) and the flow chart goes to S 308 . If the recognized command (by the system) or selected command (by the user) is a specific command, the system performs the subsequent adjustment action corresponding to this specific command. (S 314 ).  
         [0054]     If the recognized command (by the system) or selected command (by the user) is not a specific command, the recognition result will be analyzed and compared to the database to find a corresponding command set corresponding to a series of adjustment actions (S 316 ). Then the system performs the subsequent adjustment actions corresponding to this command set to adjust the images. (S 318 ). The system then displays the performed adjustment actions (S 320 ). The user can accept the adjusted image or can further adjust the images based on the performed adjustment actions.  
         [0055]     It should be noted that in step S 312 , the user can give a voice command or press the button to select the correct command. However, the present invention is not limited to those two methods of selection.  
         [0056]     In step S 308 , if it is determined that the recognition result is a specific command such as “adjust the brightness to 30”, then the system performs the subsequent adjustment action corresponding to this specific command to adjust the images (S 314 ). On the other hand, in step S 308 , if it is determined that the recognition result is a fuzzy command such as “the image is blurring”, then the recognition result will be analyzed and compared to the database to find a corresponding command set corresponding to a series of adjustment actions (S 316 ). Then the system performs the subsequent adjustment actions such as adjust the contrast, brightness, color, size of the image, etc., corresponding to this command set to adjust the images. (S 318 ). The system then displays the performed adjustment actions (S 320 ). If the adjusted image does not meet users expectation, the user can further modify the image based on the performed adjustment actions.  
         [0057]     The image modification process (S 322 ) can be performed by voice command or button command, depending on the desire of the user. However, the present invention is not limited to these two image modification processes.  
         [0058]      FIG. 4  is block diagram of a video device with a voice-assisted system in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 4 , the video device  400  comprises a voice recognition engine  410 , an OSD control interface  420 , a display control unit  430  and a display unit  440 . The voice recognition engine  410  is coupled to the OSD control interface  420 . The display control unit  430  is coupled to the on-screen display control interface  420 . The display control unit  430  controls the display of the display unit  440 .  
         [0059]     Unlike the embodiment in  FIG. 2 , the confidence measure unit  475  is designed in the voice recognition engine  410 . The voice recognition engine  410  directly evaluates the recognition result “score” via the confidence measure unit  475  and outputs an estimation level. The estimation level then will be compared to the estimation threshold. The estimation level represents the similarity of recognition result to the corresponding voice signals in the command database. If the estimation level is higher than the estimation threshold, then it determines whether it is a specific command or a fuzzy command. If it is a specific command, then the command is sent to the OSD control unit  420  via the voice signal  412  and the display control unit  430  performs the subsequent adjustment action corresponding to the voice signal  412 .  
         [0060]     If the estimation level is lower than the estimation threshold, then voice recognition engine  410  via the OSD control interface  420  and the display control unit  430  displays on the display unit  440  several similar recognition results previously inputted by the user (i.e., the recognition results having higher similarity to this command) for the users choice. The user can give a voice command and press the button to select the correct recognition result. The present invention is not limited those two methods of selection.  
         [0061]     After the user makes the selection, if it is a fuzzy command, the voice signal  412  is sent to the OSD control interface to find, from the command database  450 , the command set corresponding to the fuzzy command. Then the display control unit  430  performs the subsequent adjustment actions corresponding to this fuzzy command.  
         [0062]     In light of the above, the video device with a voice-assisted system can easily adjust the images. Hence, it is more convenient for the users to operate. Further, when the user gives the voice command but video device does not act responsive to the voice command, the present invention can make the video device perform a series of actions for adjusting images by analyzing and comparing the voice. After performing the image adjustment, those actions performed by the video device will be shown on the screen for the user to fine-tune the image parameters. Hence, the present invention is more flexible than the conventional method and thus can effectively reduce the operation complexity for the users.  
         [0063]     In addition, because the voice-assisted system of the present invention includes a confidence measure unit to evaluate the recognition result performed by the voice recognition engine, i.e., to reassure the accuracy of the voice command. Hence, it can prevent wrong actions due to the low recognition rate so that the reliability of the system can be significantly improved.  
         [0064]     The above description provides a full and complete description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Various modifications, alternate construction, and equivalent may be made by those skilled in the art without changing the scope or spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the above description and illustrations should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention which is defined by the following claims.