Patent Description:
According to developments of networks and multimedia reproducing technologies, many users are using a plurality of electronic devices in one space. The electronic devices include a multimedia reproducing device implemented based on the Internet, an audio system or a speaker having an audio output function, etc..

Also, due to a development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), use of voice recognition devices capable of recognizing a human's voice command is also increasing. Accordingly, studies into AI systems based on a machine learning algorithm and applications thereof are actively being conducted.

When a voice command is input through a voice recognition device, sound or noise output from another electronic device located around the voice recognition device may exist. In this case, a voice command recognition rate of the voice recognition device is reduced.

Accordingly, lately, there is an increasing concern on the technology for reducing or muting sound output from another electronic device located around a voice recognition device when a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device to increase a voice recognition rate. Furthermore, studies into technology for selectively limiting sound output from an electronic device located in the same space as a voice recognition device and another electronic device located in a different space from the voice recognition device are being conducted.

<CIT> discloses an electronic device and a controlling method thereof, that performs an operation corresponding to a user voice.

<CIT> discloses a system capable of controlling multiple entertainment systems and/or speakers using voice commands.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a technique for selectively controlling sound output from an electronic device located in the same space as a voice recognition device and another electronic device located in a different space from the voice recognition device based on a location of the voice recognition device.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description.

According to an aspect of the invention, a sound output control system is provided according to claim <NUM>.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method of controlling a sound output control system is provided according to claim <NUM>.

These and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Hereinafter, like reference numerals will refer to like components throughout this disclosure. This disclosure may not describe all components of the various example embodiments, and general information in the technical field to which the disclosure belongs or overlapping information between the embodiments may not be described. As used herein, the terms "portion", "part, "module, "member" or "block" may be implemented as software, hardware, or any combination thereof, and according to embodiments, a plurality of "portions", "parts, "modules, "members" or "blocks" may be implemented as a single component, or a single "portion", "part, "module, "member" or "block" may include a plurality of components.

It will be understood that when a certain part is referred to as being "connected" to another part, it may be directly or indirectly connected to the other part. When a part is indirectly connected to another part, it may, for example, and without limitation, be connected to the other part through a wireless communication network.

It will be understood that when the terms "includes," "comprises," "including," and/or "comprising," when used in this disclosure, specify the presence of a stated component, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other components.

The terms "first" and "second", as used herein, are used for the purposes of identification and do not imply any order of importance.

Reference numerals used in operations are provided for convenience of description, without describing the order of the operations, and the operations may be executed in a different order from the stated order unless a specific order is definitely specified in the context.

Hereinafter, an operation principle and various example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example sound output control system of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure, and <FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, according to developments of networks and multimedia reproducing technologies, many users may be using a plurality of electronic devices in a given space. The electronic devices may include, for example, and without limitation, a multimedia reproducing device implemented based on the Internet, an audio system, a speaker having an audio output function, etc..

As shown in <FIG>, a plurality of electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be located in a plurality of spaces. For example, in a first region <NUM>, a TV <NUM>, a voice recognition device <NUM>, a computer <NUM>, and an audio system <NUM> may be located, and in a second region <NUM>, a multimedia device such as a sound bar <NUM> may be located.

The electronic devices may include a multimedia reproducing device that outputs sound or a device that outputs no sound. The electronic devices may be connected to a server <NUM> through, for example, an Internet network, and share their operation information and control data with each other through the server <NUM>.

A voice recognition device <NUM> such as an Artificial Intelligence (AI) speaker for recognizing a human's voice command to execute content of the command is widely used. The voice recognition device <NUM> may also communicate with the server <NUM> through a network, the server <NUM> may control other electronic devices based on a voice command recognized by the voice recognition device <NUM>, and the voice recognition device <NUM> may execute content of the voice command.

For example, a user may input a voice command for acquiring weather information through the voice recognition device <NUM>. In this example, the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit content of the voice command to the server <NUM> in response to the received voice command. Thereafter, the voice recognition device <NUM> may receive information about weather from the server <NUM> and output the information about weather, thereby providing the user with weather information.

The user may input a voice command for playing music through the voice recognition device <NUM>. In this example, the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit content of the voice command to the server <NUM> in response to the received voice command. Thereafter, the voice recognition device <NUM> may receive music content from the server <NUM> and output the music content, thereby providing the user with music.

Further, the user may input a command for controlling an electronic device through the voice recognition device <NUM>. In this example, the electronic device connected to the voice recognition device <NUM> through the server <NUM> may operate in response to the user's voice command. For example, the user may input a wake up command for an electronic device through the voice recognition device <NUM>, and the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit the wake up command for the electronic device to the server <NUM> in response to the received voice command.

The server <NUM> may transmit the wake up command to the electronic device connected to the server <NUM> in response to the user's voice command received through the voice recognition device <NUM>. The electronic device may receive the wake up command from the server <NUM>, and operate in response to the wake up command. For example, when the electronic device is in a power-off state, the electronic device may be powered on according to the wake up command received from the user through the voice recognition device <NUM>.

The voice recognition device <NUM> may, for example, be a speaker in which a voice inputter (e.g., including voice input circuitry) such as a microphone capable of recognizing voice commands is installed. The voice recognition device <NUM> may be a mobile device such as a smart phone capable of recognizing voice commands. For example, the voice recognition device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may be not limited in view of type and shape, and may be any device capable of receiving voice commands.

In an example in which, when a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device <NUM>, sound is output from electronic devices located in the same space as the voice recognition device <NUM>. In this example, a voice recognition rate of the voice recognition device <NUM> may be reduced. For example, a voice or sound output from an electronic device corresponding to a multimedia reproducing device may act as noise so that a voice command recognition rate of the voice recognition device <NUM> may be reduced.

To prevent and/or reduce deterioration in voice recognition rate of the voice recognition device <NUM>, the server <NUM> connected to the electronic devices on a network may transmit, when a user's voice command is input to the voice recognition device <NUM>, sound output stop commands to electronic devices outputting sound.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, when a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device <NUM>, and the server <NUM> determines that the voice command has been input, the server <NUM> may transmit sound output stop commands to the electronic devices (e.g., the TV <NUM>, the computer <NUM>, and the audio system <NUM>) located in the first region <NUM>, and likewise, the server <NUM> may transmit a sound output stop command to the electronic device (e.g., the sound bar <NUM>) located in the second region <NUM>.

The electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM> may receive the sound output stop commands from the server <NUM> to stop outputting sound, to reduce volumes of sound, or to be powered off, thereby preventing and/or reducing the generation of noise that may deteriorate the voice recognition rate of the voice recognition device <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, when the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the first region <NUM>, sound output from the sound bar <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may not influence the voice recognition rate of the voice recognition device <NUM>. Nevertheless, the sound bar <NUM> may also stop outputting sound according to the sound output stop command received from the server <NUM>.

For example, as described above, the server <NUM> may be connected to a plurality of electronic devices through a network, and the electronic devices may share operation information and control data with each other through the server <NUM>. Therefore, the server <NUM> may transmit the sound output stop commands at once to the plurality of electronic devices connected to the network.

Accordingly, an electronic device located in a space that is different from a space where the voice recognition device <NUM> is located may also stop outputting sound.

The electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure and the control method thereof may selectively control sound outputs from an electronic device located in the same space as the voice recognition device <NUM> and another electronic device located in a different space from the voice recognition device <NUM>, based on a location of the voice recognition device <NUM>.

In an embodiment of the disclosure given below, for convenience of description, the voice recognition device <NUM> is assumed to be a speaker capable of recognizing voice commands, and an electronic device for performing control operations according to an embodiment of the disclosure is assumed to be a TV. However, it will be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> may include a communication device (e.g., including communication circuitry) <NUM> for performing communications with other electronic devices, a storage device <NUM> storing data related to operations and controls of the electronic device <NUM>, and a controller (e.g., including processing circuitry) <NUM> for controlling operations of the electronic device <NUM>, the electronic device may perform communications with the server <NUM> and may detect the voice recognition device <NUM> around the electronic device <NUM>.

The electronic device <NUM> may be connected to the server <NUM> via a network through the communication device <NUM>, and transmit/receive data related to operations and controls of the electronic device <NUM> to/from the server <NUM> through the communication device <NUM>. The electronic device <NUM> may detect the voice recognition device <NUM> located around the electronic device <NUM> through the communication device <NUM>.

The communication device <NUM> may include various communication circuitry including, for example, and without limitation, at least one of a wireless communication module including various wireless communication circuitry, a short-range communication module including various short-range communication circuitry, or the like, capable of performing communication with the server <NUM> and other electronic devices to transmit/receive data to/from the server <NUM> and the other electronic devices.

The wireless communication module may include various wireless communication circuitry included in at least one of various wireless communication modules that may be connected to an Internet network, through a wireless communication method, such as, for example, and without limitation, Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wireless broadband (Wibro), Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), 4Generaion (<NUM>) mobile communication, 5Generation (<NUM>) mobile communication, etc..

The short-range communication module may include various short-range communication circuitry included in at least one of various short-range communication modules, such as, for example, and without limitation, a Bluetooth module, an Infrared Data Association (IrDA) communication module, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) communication module, a Wireless Local Access Network (WLAN) communication module, a Near Field Communication (NFC) communication module, a Zigbee communication module, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication module, etc..

Although the communication device <NUM> includes various short-range communication modules, the electronic device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure will be described in regard of a non-limiting example case in which the communication device <NUM> includes a BLE module (e.g., including BLE circuitry) 11a. However, it will be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto.

Because a BLE module operates with low power, its battery level may be not greatly influenced by a Bluetooth function although the Bluetooth function is turned on at all times. Accordingly, when the electronic device <NUM> is in a turned-on state, the electronic device <NUM> may transmit/receive data to/from other electronic devices in real time through short-range communication of the BLE module 11a, and detect other electronic devices located within a predetermined distance from the electronic device <NUM>.

The storage device <NUM> may store identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> detected by the communication device <NUM>. The storage device <NUM> may store various data related to controls of the electronic device <NUM>.

The storage device <NUM> may be implemented, for example, and without limitation, as at least one of a non-volatile memory device (for example, a cache, Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), and flash memory), a volatile memory device (for example, Random Access Memory (RAM)), or a storage medium, such as Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), although not limited thereto. The storage device <NUM> may be a memory implemented as a separate chip from a processor described above in regard of the controller <NUM>, or the storage device <NUM> and the processor may be integrated into a single chip.

When the communication device <NUM> receives identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> that has received a voice command from a user from the server <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may compare the received identification information with identification information stored in the storage device <NUM>. When the controller <NUM> determines that the received identification information is identical to the stored identification information, the controller <NUM> may control the electronic device <NUM> to stop outputting sound.

A method for controlling the electronic device <NUM> based on a control flow of the controller <NUM> and a control of the controller <NUM> will be described in greater detail below with reference to <FIG>, below.

<FIG> is a control flowchart illustrating example operations of an example electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. <FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example method of detecting devices around an electronic device to store identification information, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. <FIG> is diagram illustrating an example method of limiting sound that is output from an electronic device located in the same space as a voice recognition device, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. <FIG> is diagram illustrating an example method of limiting sound that is output from an electronic device located in the same space as a voice recognition device, according to another embodiment of the disclosure. <FIG> and <FIG> are diagrams illustrating an example method of limiting sound that is output from an electronic device when a location of a voice recognition device changes, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> and a plurality of electronic devices <NUM> and information related to operations of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the electronic devices <NUM> may have been stored in the server <NUM> connected to the voice recognition device <NUM> and the electronic devices <NUM> through a network.

For example, when the voice recognition device <NUM> and the electronic devices <NUM> are connected to the server <NUM> through the network, the voice recognition device <NUM> and the electronic devices <NUM> may transmit their identification information to the server <NUM>.

The identification information may, for example, and without limitation, be represented as production numbers, serial numbers, etc. of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the electronic device <NUM>, may be data codes arbitrarily set by the server <NUM>, etc. The identification information may include Media Access Control (MAC) addresses assigned to the network when the voice recognition device <NUM> and the electronic device <NUM> access the server <NUM>.

The electronic device <NUM> may detect the voice recognition device <NUM> around the electronic device <NUM> through the communication device <NUM>. As used herein, the term "around" may refer, for example, to being within a specified, given or predetermined distance or distance range of.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may detect the voice recognition device <NUM> and other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM> located within a predetermined distance from the electronic device <NUM>, through short-range communication of the BLE module 11a included in the communication device <NUM>.

Another electronic device (for example, the sound bar <NUM>) located in the second region <NUM> may detect a voice recognition device and other electronic devices located within a predetermined distance from the other electronic device.

The storage device <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> may store identification information <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM>, the detected voice recognition device <NUM> and the detected other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, each of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the plurality of electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may store identification information.

For example, identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> implemented as a speaker may be detected as '12ab', identification information of the TV <NUM> may be detected as '34cd', identification information of the PC <NUM> may be detected as '56ef', and identification information of the audio system <NUM> may be detected as '78gh'.

The electronic device <NUM> may store the detected identification information in the storage device <NUM>, and the detected identification information may include, for example, '12ab' which is the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> located in the first region <NUM>.

The identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may also be stored in the computer <NUM> and the audio system <NUM>.

The electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may also store its own identification information <NUM> detected in the second region <NUM>.

The electronic device <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may detect the voice recognition device <NUM> and the other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM> located within the predetermined distance, through the BLE module 11a included in the communication device <NUM>.

When the voice recognition device <NUM> receives a voice command from a user, the electronic device <NUM> may transmit the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM> detected in real time to the server <NUM>. Also, when the voice recognition device <NUM> receives a voice command from a user, the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM> detected in real time to the other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM> around the voice recognition device <NUM> through short-range communication.

For example, when the voice recognition device <NUM> receives a voice command from a user, the voice recognition device <NUM> may inform the server <NUM> that the voice command has been input from the user.

The server <NUM> may inform the electronic device <NUM> that the voice command has been received from the user, and the electronic device <NUM> may transmit the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM> detected in real time to the server <NUM> or the other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM>.

Likewise, when another voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the second region <NUM> as illustrated, for example, in <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may detect the voice recognition device <NUM> located around the electronic device <NUM> in real time.

When the voice recognition device <NUM> receives a voice command from a user, the electronic device <NUM> may transmit identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> detected in real time to the server <NUM> or directly to the voice recognition device <NUM>.

According to another embodiment of the disclosure, the voice recognition device <NUM> may detect identification information of the other electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> located in the same space, in real time. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the voice recognition device <NUM> may detect the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> and being adjacent to or within a predetermined distance of the voice recognition device <NUM>, at regular time intervals or in real time, through a BLE module or another short-range communication, and store identification information of the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> in a memory.

In this example, the voice recognition device <NUM> may store the identification information of the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, and the electronic device <NUM> may not store the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> or the other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM>.

Likewise, as shown in <FIG>, when the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the second region <NUM>, the voice recognition device <NUM> may detect the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> through short-range communication and store identification information of the electronic device <NUM>.

The voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit an identification information list for electronic devices to the server <NUM> or directly to the electronic devices.

Meanwhile, referring to <FIG>, the voice recognition device <NUM> may be located in the second region <NUM>.

When the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the second region <NUM>, the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may detect the voice recognition device <NUM> located around the electronic device <NUM>, and store identification information <NUM> including information about the voice recognition device <NUM> detected in the second region <NUM> as a detected result.

For example, the plurality of electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> implemented as multimedia reproducing devices that output sound may store the identification information of the voice recognition devices <NUM> and <NUM> located around the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> to limit output sound when a voice command is input to the voice recognition devices <NUM> and <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, when the voice recognition device <NUM> receives a voice command from a user, the voice recognition device <NUM> may inform the server <NUM> that the voice command has been input from the user.

The server <NUM> may transmit the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> to which the voice command has been input from the user and sound output stop commands for the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, when a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device <NUM> implemented as a speaker, the server <NUM> may transmit '12ab' corresponding to the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM>, information about a type of the voice recognition device <NUM>, and sound output stop commands for the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM>.

When the communication device <NUM> receives the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> that has received the voice command from the user and the sound output stop commands for the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> from the server <NUM>, the controller <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> may compare the received identification information with the identification information <NUM> stored in the storage device <NUM>.

When the controller <NUM> determines that the identification information received from the server <NUM> is identical to the identification information <NUM> stored in the storage device <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may control the electronic device <NUM> to stop outputting sound. Meanwhile, when the controller <NUM> determines that the identification information received from the server <NUM> is not identical to the identification information <NUM> stored in the storage device <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may control the electronic device <NUM> to keep outputting sound so that a current sound output state of the electronic device <NUM> may be maintained.

Also, when the voice recognition device <NUM> informs the server <NUM> that a voice command has been input from a user, the server <NUM> may transmit the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> received directly from the electronic device <NUM> and an identification information list for the other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM> located around the electronic device <NUM> to the plurality of electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> through an Associated Press (AP). At the same time, the server <NUM> may transmit sound output stop commands to the plurality of electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

When an identification information list including the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the identification information of the plurality of electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> is received from the server <NUM>, the controller <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> may compare the identification information included in the received identification information list with the identification information <NUM> stored in the storage device <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> may determine whether both the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> including the controller <NUM> are included in the identification information list received from the server <NUM>.

When the controller <NUM> determines that both the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> are included in the identification information list received from the server <NUM>, the controller <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> may control the electronic device <NUM> to stop outputting sound.

When the controller <NUM> determines that the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> are not included together in the identification information list received from the server <NUM>, the controller <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> may control the electronic device to keep outputting sound so that a current sound output state of the electronic device <NUM> may be maintained.

For example, the electronic device <NUM> may determine whether the voice recognition device <NUM> and the electronic device <NUM> are located in the same region, based on the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> and the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> included in the identification information list received from the server <NUM>, and the controller <NUM> may control the electronic device <NUM> to stop outputting sound based on a determined result.

As shown in <FIG>, because the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the first region <NUM>, not in the second region <NUM>, the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may have stored identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> detected as described above with reference to <FIG>.

Accordingly, when the electronic device <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> receives the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> that has received a voice command from a user and a sound output strop command, the electronic device <NUM> may stop outputting sound according to a control of the controller <NUM> because the identification information <NUM> stored in the electronic device <NUM> includes '12ab' which is identification information received from the server <NUM>.

The electronic device <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may reduce a volume of sound being output to a predetermined volume according to a control setting value set in advance by a user or according to a type of the electronic device <NUM>, or the electronic device <NUM> may be powered off.

The other electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may also operate in the same way according to a control of the controller <NUM>.

As such, when a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device <NUM> located in the first region <NUM>, the electronic device <NUM> located in the same space as the voice recognition device <NUM> may reduce a volume of sound being output or stop outputting sound, thereby improving a voice recognition rate.

Meanwhile, as shown in <FIG>, because the voice recognition device <NUM> is not located in the second region <NUM>, the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may not have stored '12ab' which is the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM>, as described above with reference to <FIG>.

Accordingly, when the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> receives the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> that has received the voice command from the user and a sound output stop command, the electronic device <NUM> may keep outputting sound because the identification information <NUM> stored in the electronic device <NUM> does not include '12ab' which is the received identification information.

According to another embodiment, as shown in <FIG>, when the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the first region <NUM> and the voice recognition device <NUM> receives a voice command from a user, the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit the stored identification information of the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> to the server <NUM> or directly to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. That is, the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit the identification information of the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> detected in the first region <NUM> to the server <NUM> or the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

For example, in some cases, when the voice recognition device <NUM> receives a voice command from a user, the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit an identification information list for electronic devices around the voice recognition device <NUM> and voice output stop commands directly to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> through short-range communication, not via the server <NUM>.

The voice command received by the voice recognition device <NUM> from the user may, for example, be a wake up command for the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

The server <NUM> may transmit the identification information of the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> received from the voice recognition device <NUM> and the sound output stop commands for the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

When a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device <NUM>, the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit an identification information list including '34cd', '56ef', and '78gh' corresponding to the identification information of the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> to the server <NUM>.

In this example, the server <NUM> may transmit the identification information list for the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> received from the voice recognition device <NUM> to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM> through an AP.

The electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may determine whether their own identification information is included in the identification information received from the server <NUM>.

The identification information generated by the voice recognition device <NUM> may include the identification information of the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM>. Therefore, when the server <NUM> transmits the identification information and the sound output stop commands to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM>, the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be able to determine whether the identification information received from the server <NUM> is identical to their own identification information.

For example, the controller <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may determine whether the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> is included in the identification information received from the server <NUM>, and when the controller <NUM> determines that the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> is identical to one of the identification information received from the server <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may control the electronic device <NUM> to stop outputting sound based on the sound output stop command received from the server <NUM>.

When identification information of the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> is not included in the identification information received from the server <NUM>, the electronic device <NUM> may keep outputting sound without stopping outputting the sound.

Likewise, as shown in <FIG>, there may be an example in which the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the second region <NUM>. In this example, when the voice recognition device <NUM> receives a voice command from a user, the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit identification information of the electronic device <NUM> detected in advance and stored therein to the server <NUM> or directly to the electronic device <NUM>. For example, the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> detected in the second region <NUM> to the server <NUM> or to other electronic devices.

The server <NUM> may transmit the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> received from the voice recognition device <NUM> and sound output stop commands for the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

For example, when a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device <NUM>, the voice recognition device <NUM> may transmit '96MK' corresponding to the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> to the server <NUM>.

In this example, the server <NUM> may transmit the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> received from the voice recognition device <NUM> to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM> through an AP.

The identification information generated by the voice recognition device <NUM> may include the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM>. Therefore, when the server <NUM> transmits the identification information and the sound output stop commands to all of the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM>, the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be able to determine whether the identification information received from the server <NUM> is identical to their own identification information.

A controller of the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may determine whether the identification information received from the server <NUM> includes the identification information of the electronic device <NUM>. When the controller determines that the identification information of the electronic device <NUM> is identical to one of the identification information received from the server <NUM>, the controller may control the electronic device <NUM> to stop outputting sound based on the sound output stop command received from the server <NUM>.

The electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may keep outputting sound without stopping outputting the sound, because their own identification information is not included in the identification information received from the server <NUM>.

For examle, the electronic device <NUM> may detect and store the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> located in the same region, and when a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device <NUM>, the electronic device <NUM> may stop outputting sound. However, it may also be possible that the voice recognition device <NUM> generates an identification information list for the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the same region and transmits the identification information list to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> through the server <NUM> so that the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> included in the identification information list may stop outputting sound when a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, when the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the second region <NUM>, the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may detect the voice recognition device <NUM> located around the electronic device <NUM>, and store identification information <NUM> including '24yj' which is identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> detected in the second region <NUM>, as a detected result.

For example, there may be an example in which the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the first region <NUM> and the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the second region <NUM>. In this example, when a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition devices <NUM> and <NUM> implemented as speakers, the server <NUM> may transmit '12ab' and '24yj' corresponding to the identification information of the voice recognition devices <NUM> and <NUM>, information about types of the voice recognition devices <NUM> and <NUM>, and sound output stop commands for the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> to the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM>.

In this example, limiting sound that is output from the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> has been described above with reference to <FIG>.

Because the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the second region <NUM>, the identification information <NUM> of the voice recognition device <NUM> acquired through detection may have been stored in the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM>, as described above.

Accordingly, when the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> receives the identification information <NUM> of the voice recognition device <NUM> that has received a voice command from a user and a sound output stop command, the electronic device <NUM> may stop outputting sound because the identification information <NUM> stored in the electronic device <NUM> includes '24yj' which is identification information received from the server <NUM>.

The electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may reduce a volume of sound being output to a predetermined volume according to a control setting value set in advance by a user or according to a type of the electronic device <NUM>, or the electronic device <NUM> may be powered off.

For example, by limiting sound that is output from an electronic device located in the same space as the voice recognition device <NUM> receiving a voice command from a user, a voice recognition rate of the voice recognition device <NUM> may be improved, and sound that is output from another electronic device located in a space that is different from a space where the voice recognition device <NUM> is located may be maintained.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, a voice recognition device <NUM> may be implemented as a type that is movable without being fixed at a predetermined space. For example, the voice recognition device <NUM> may be implemented as a mobile device such, for example, and without limitation, as a smart phone, and a user may input a voice command while moving the voice recognition device <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, when the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the first region <NUM>, the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may be able to detect the voice recognition device <NUM>, and '28xy' which is detected identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> may be stored in the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM>.

Meanwhile, the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may be unable to detect the voice recognition device <NUM>, and therefore, '28xy' which is the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> may be not stored in the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, when the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the second region <NUM>, the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may be able to detect the voice recognition device <NUM>, and '28xy' which is the detected identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> may be stored in the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM>.

Meanwhile, the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may be unable to detect the voice recognition device <NUM>, and therefore, '28xy' which is the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> may be not stored in the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM>.

When a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device <NUM> in the first region <NUM>, sound that is output from the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may be limited, and sound that is output from the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may be not limited.

Meanwhile, when a user inputs a voice command through the voice recognition device <NUM> in the second region <NUM>, sound that is output from the electronic device <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may be limited, and sound that is output from the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may be not limited.

A method of limiting sound that is output from an electronic device has been described above with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, and therefore, redundant descriptions may not be repeated here.

As such, even when a location of the voice recognition device <NUM> changes, sound that is output from an electronic device located in the same space as the voice recognition device <NUM> may be limited.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example method of limiting illumination that is output from a lamp located in the same space as a voice recognition device, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Electronic devices according to an embodiment disclosed in <FIG> are assumed, for convenience, to be lamps <NUM> and <NUM>. However, it will be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto.

Referring to <FIG>, the lamp <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may be able to detect the electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> and the voice recognition device <NUM> located in the first region <NUM>, and store identification information <NUM> of the detected electronic devices <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> and the detected voice recognition device <NUM>.

The lamp <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may be able to detect the electronic device <NUM> and any voice recognition device located in the second region <NUM>, and store identification information <NUM> of the detected electronic device <NUM>.

The identification information <NUM> stored in the lamp <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may include '12ab' which is the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM>. Meanwhile, the identification information <NUM> stored in the lamp <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may not include'12ab' which is the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM>.

When the voice recognition device <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> receives a voice command from a user, the voice recognition device <NUM> may inform the server <NUM> that the voice command has been input from the user.

The user may input a command for turning off the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> through the voice recognition device <NUM>, and the server <NUM> may transmit the command for turning off the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> to the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM>, based on identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> that has received the voice command from the user and content of the voice command input by the user.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, when the user inputs a command for turning off the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> through the voice recognition device <NUM> implemented as a speaker, the server <NUM> may transmit '12ab' corresponding to the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM>, information about a type of the voice recognition device <NUM>, and the command for turning off the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> to the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM>.

The lamps <NUM> and <NUM> may compare the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> received from the server <NUM> with the pre-stored identification information <NUM> and <NUM>.

When each of the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> determines that the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> received from the server <NUM> is included in the pre-stored identification information <NUM> and <NUM>, each of the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> may be turned off. When each of the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> determines that the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> received from the server <NUM> is not included in the pre-stored identification information <NUM> and <NUM>, each of the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> may be maintained in a turned-on state.

Because the voice recognition device <NUM> is located in the first region <NUM>, not in the second region <NUM>, the lamp <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> may have stored the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM>, and the lamp <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> may not have stored the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM>.

Accordingly, when the lamp <NUM> located in the first region <NUM> receives the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> that has received the voice command from the user and a turn-off command, the lamp <NUM> may be turned off because the identification information <NUM> stored in the lamp <NUM> includes '12ab' which is the identification information received from the server <NUM>.

When the lamp <NUM> located in the second region <NUM> receives the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> that has received the voice command from the user and a turn-off command, the lamp <NUM> may be maintained in a turned-on state because the identification information <NUM> stored in the lamp <NUM> does not include '12ab' which is the identification information received from the server <NUM>.

For example, according to an embodiment of the disclosure, when a user inputs a command for turning off the lamps <NUM> and <NUM> through the voice recognition device <NUM>, the lamp <NUM> located in the same space as the voice recognition device <NUM> may be turned off, and the lamp <NUM> located in a different space from the voice recognition device <NUM> may be maintained in a turned-on state, thereby thoroughly reflecting an intention of the user who has input the voice command.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an example method of controlling an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> may detect the voice recognition device <NUM> around the electronic device <NUM> through the communication device <NUM>, in operation <NUM>, and the storage device <NUM> may store identification information <NUM> of the detected voice recognition device <NUM>, in operation <NUM>.

When the voice recognition device <NUM> receives a voice command from a user, the voice recognition device <NUM> may inform the server <NUM> that the voice command has been input from the user.

The server <NUM> may transmit identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> to which the voice command has been input from the user and sound output stop commands for a plurality of electronic devices to the electronic devices.

The communication device <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> may receive the identification information of the voice recognition device <NUM> that has received the voice command from the user and the sound output stop commands for electronic devices from the server <NUM>, in operation <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may compare the received identification information with the identification information <NUM> stored in the storage device <NUM>, in operation <NUM>.

When the controller <NUM> determines that the identification information received from the server <NUM> is identical to the identification information <NUM> stored in the storage device <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may control the electronic device <NUM> to stop outputting sound, to reduce a volume of sound being output, or to be powered off, in operation <NUM>.

Meanwhile, when the controller <NUM> determines that the identification information received from the server <NUM> is not identical to the identification information <NUM> stored in the storage device <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may control the electronic device <NUM> to keep outputting sound without stopping outputting the sound.

As such, the electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure, the control method thereof, and the sound output control system of the electronic device may limit sound that is output from an electronic device located in the same space as the voice recognition device <NUM> that receives a voice command from a user, thereby improving a voice recognition rate of the voice recognition device <NUM> while maintaining sound that is output from another electronic device located in a space that is different from the space where the voice recognition device <NUM> is located.

Meanwhile, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented and applied by an AI system based on a machine learning algorithm.

The AI system may refer, for example, to a computer system for implementing human-level intelligence, in which a machine itself learns, judges, and obtains a higher recognition rate the more it is used.

AI technology may include, for example, machine learning (deep learning) technology and element technology based on a machine learning algorithm.

The machine learning technology may use an algorithm that itself classifies/learns the characteristics of input data. The element technology may use a machine learning algorithm to imitate a human brain's functions such as recognition and determination.

Element technologies may include, for example, and without limitation, at least one of linguistic comprehension for recognizing human languages/characters, visual comprehension for recognizing objects as done in human vision, inference/prediction for determining information to logically infer and predict it, knowledge representation for processing a human's experience information as knowledge data, motion control for controlling autonomous driving of vehicles, motions of robots, etc..

The linguistic comprehension may refer, for example, to technology for recognizing and applying/processing human languages/characters, and includes natural language processing, machine translation, a dialogue system, query response, voice recognition/synthesis, etc..

The visual comprehension may refer, for example, to technology for recognizing and processing objects as done in human vision, and includes object recognition, object tracking, image detect, human recognition, scene understanding, spatial understanding, and image enhancement.

The inference/prediction may refer, for example, to technology for judging and logically inferring and predicting information, and includes knowledge/probability-based inference, optimization prediction, preference-based planning, recommendation, etc..

The knowledge representation may refer, for example, to technology for automating human experience information as knowledge data, and includes knowledge construction (data creation/classification), knowledge management (use of data), etc..

The motion control may refer, for example, to technology for controlling autonomous driving of vehicles, motions of robots, etc., and includes motion control (navigation, collision avoidance, driving), operating control (behavior control), etc..

The electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure, the control method thereof, and the sound output control system of the electronic device may be implemented as an AI system described above, and accuracy may increase through application of machine learning to the disclosed embodiments.

Meanwhile, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in the form of recording medium that stores instructions executable by a computer. The instructions may be stored in the form of program codes, and when executed by the processor, the instructions may generate a program module to perform the operations of the disclosed embodiments. The recording medium may be implemented as computer-readable recording medium.

The computer-readable recording medium includes all types of recording media storing instructions that may be decrypted by a computer. For example, the computer-readable recording medium may, for example and without limitation,
include a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, flash memory, an optical data storage device, or the like.

By limiting a sound that is output from an electronic device located in the same space as a voice recognition device, a voice recognition rate of the voice recognition device may be improved while maintaining a sound that is output from another electronic device located in a space that is different from a space in which the voice recognition device is located.

Claim 1:
A sound output control system, comprising:
at least one voice recognition device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>);
a plurality of electronic devices (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), each configured:
to output sound,
to detect voice recognition devices (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) that are around the respective electronic device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) within a predetermined distance, and
to store the identification information of the detected voice recognition devices (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>); and
a server (<NUM>) configured:
to receive identification information from each of the voice recognition devices (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) and the plurality of electronic devices (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>),
to receive information from one of the voice recognition devices (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) that has received a voice command from the user, and
to transmit the identification information of the voice recognition device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) that has received a voice command from the user to the plurality of electronic devices (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>);
wherein, on receiving the identification information from the server (<NUM>), each of the plurality of electronic devices (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) is configured:
to determine whether the voice recognition device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) that has received a voice command from the user and the electronic device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) are located in the same region based on the identification information received from the server (<NUM>) and on the identification information stored on the respective electronic device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), and
based on the voice recognition device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) that has received a voice command from the user and the electronic device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) being located in the same region, to reduce the volume of the sound or stop outputting the sound being output from the respective electronic device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>).