Abstract:
A communication unit, a voice input unit, a storage unit, and a processor are included in a communication device. The communication unit enables communication between the device and other communication devices. The voice input unit receives voice signals, which may correspond to one stored speech command and an related operation. The processor detects a match, and executes the desired operation. A related communication method is also provided.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to communication devices and, particularly, to a communication device capable of executing communication operations based on speech recognition and communication method thereof. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Commonly, when a communication device, for example a mobile phone, receives an incoming call, a user can press an answer button or touch an answer icon displayed on a touch-sensitive screen to answer the call. This conventional method of answering a call depends on physical action by the user, which may be troublesome if it is not convenient to answer the call, for example, if the user is driving. 
         [0005]    Therefore, it is desirable to provide a communication device and a communication method thereof to solve the problems mentioned above. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The components of the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a communication device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart of a communication method in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0009]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a communication device  100  includes a processor  10 , a communication unit  20 , a voice input unit  30 , a storage unit  40 , and a voice output unit  50 . The communication unit  20  enables communication between the device  100  and other communication devices (not shown). The communication device  100  may be a mobile phone. The voice input unit  30  receives voice signals, and the voice input unit  30  may be a microphone. The storage unit  40  stores a first relationship between speech commands and communication operations. Each command corresponds to one operation. In this embodiment, the speech command “OK” or “Yes” corresponds to “answer the call”, and a speech command “No” corresponds to “reject the call”. The relationship between speech commands and communication operations may be recorded in different ways, for example, the relationship may be recorded in a table (shown below). 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 SPEECH COMMANDS 
                 COMMUNICATION OPERATIONS 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 OK 
                 Answer the call 
               
               
                   
                 Yes 
                 Answer the call 
               
               
                   
                 No 
                 Reject the call 
               
               
                   
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0010]    The storage unit  40  further stores a detecting application  401 , a processing application  402 , a determining application  403 , and an executing application  404 . The detecting application  401  includes various software components which may be implemented by the processor  10  to detect when the device  100  receives an incoming call from another communication device. The processing application  402  includes various software components which may be implemented by the processor  10  to process voice signals received from the voice input unit  30  to identify and determine a spoken command when the device  100  receives an incoming call. The determining application  403  includes various software components which may be implemented by the processor  10  to determine whether the recognized spoken command matches a speech command stored in the storage unit  40 , and if a match is determined, further to determine an operation corresponding to the matched speech command according to the first relationship. The executing application  404  includes various software components which may be implemented by the processor  10  to execute the operation so determined. For example, if the determined speech command is “OK” or “Yes”, the device  100  determines that the user wishes to answer the call, thus the device  100  answers the call. In this embodiment, when the device  100  answers the call, the device  100  enters a handfree mode, thus the user can talk without picking up the communication device  100 . 
         [0011]    The storage unit  40  further stores a second relationship between telephone numbers and personal information. Personal information corresponding to one telephone number may include a name, a group or category the name belongs to, and other information. The detecting application  401  is further implemented by the processor  10  to determine the telephone number of a caller. The determining application  403  is further implemented by the processor  10  to retrieve personal information corresponding to the telephone number of the caller according to the second relationship, when an incoming call is received. The executing application  404  is further implemented by the processor  10  to output information concerning the personal information through the voice output unit  50 . For example, if the stored personal information corresponding to the telephone number “1234” is “Jack, family”, when the communication unit  20  receives an incoming call from the telephone number “1234”, the executing application  404  outputs a spoken statement “your family Jack is calling you”. 
         [0012]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a flowchart of a communication method used in the communication device  100  is shown. 
         [0013]    In step S 101 , the detecting application  401  is implemented by the processor  10  to detect when the device  100  receives an incoming call from another communication device. When it does, the procedure goes to step S 102 . Until it does, the detecting application  401  is implemented by the processor  10  to continue to execute the step S 101 . 
         [0014]    In step S 102 , the processing application  402  is implemented by the processor  10  to process voice signals received from the voice input unit  30 , to identify and determine a spoken command. 
         [0015]    In step S 103 , the determining application  403  is implemented by the processor  10  to determine whether the recognized spoken command matches a speech command stored in the storage unit  40 . If there is a match, the procedure goes to step S 404 , if not, the procedure returns to step S 101 . 
         [0016]    In step S 104 , the determining application  403  is further implemented by the processor  10  to determine the operation which corresponds to the stored speech command according to the first relationship. 
         [0017]    In step S 105 , the executing application  404  is implemented by the processor  10  to execute the determined operation. 
         [0018]    In this embodiment, the communication method further includes the following steps. When an incoming call is answered, the determining application  401  is further implemented to determine the telephone number of the caller, and the determining application  403  is further implemented to retrieve personal information corresponding to the telephone number of the caller, according to the second relationship, and the executing application  404  is further implemented to output information concerning the personal information through the voice output unit  50 . 
         [0019]    Although the present disclosure has been specifically described on the basis of the exemplary embodiment thereof, the disclosure is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various changes or modifications may be made to the embodiment without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure.