Patent Description:
With development of electronic technology, various types of electronic products are being developed and spread. For example, use of various electronic apparatuses such as a smartphone, a tablet computer, a personal computer (PC) or the like terminal, home appliances, etc. is gradually expanding.

As the use of the electronic apparatuses increases, a user's needs for more various functions have also been increased. Accordingly, manufacturers are trying to meet the user's needs, and thus successively release products with new functions which conventional products did not have before.

At home, many electronic apparatuses such as a television (TV), a refrigerator, a washing machine, an air conditioner and the like home appliances as well as terminal apparatuses are used, and a home network system for connecting and controlling such electronic apparatuses through a network has become commercialized.

Such a home network system is able to support a voice recognition function, so that a user can utter a voice command to thereby make a desired operation be performed by a corresponding electronic apparatus. One example system is shown by <CIT> in which a system of interconnected home devices which collect sensor data and receive voice commands is disclosed.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide an electronic apparatus, which can control a plurality of electronic apparatuses based on a voice command uttered by a user, and a method of controlling the same.

Below, various example embodiments will be described in greater detail with reference to accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like numerals or symbols refer to like elements having substantially the same function, and the size of each element may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of description. However, the configurations and functions illustrated in the following example embodiments do not limit the disclosure and the described configurations and functions. In the following descriptions, details about publicly known functions or features may be omitted if it is determined that they cloud the gist of the disclosure.

In the following example embodiments, terms 'first', 'second', etc. are used simply to distinguish one element from another, and singular forms are intended to include plural forms unless otherwise mentioned contextually. In the following example embodiments, it will be understood that terms 'comprise', 'include', 'have', etc. do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components or combination thereof. In addition, a 'module' or a 'portion' may perform at least one function or operation, be achieved by hardware, software or combination of hardware and software, and be integrated into at least one module. In the disclosure, at least one among a plurality of elements may refer to not only all the plurality of elements but also both each one of the plurality of elements excluding the other elements and a combination thereof.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide an electronic apparatus, which can control a plurality of electronic apparatuses based on a voice command uttered by a user, and a method of is a diagram illustrating an example voice recognition system according to various embodiments.

According to an embodiment, a voice recognition system <NUM> may include a plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, and a server <NUM>.

The plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may refer, for example, to apparatuses which make up a home network system, and may for example include a television (TV), an air conditioner, a washing machine, a refrigerator and the like home appliances. Further, the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may include various kinds of electronic apparatuses provided as things or smart things for example, for healthcare, remote meter reading, smart home, smart car, and the like Internet of things (loT)-based operations.

The plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be connected by predetermined standardized protocols, for example, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, ultra-wideband (UWB), near field communication (NFC), Ethernet, etc. to perform wired or wireless network communication.

The plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may operate based on a voice command uttered by a user. For example, the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may operate based on a control instruction provided from the server <NUM> corresponding to a user's voice command.

According to an embodiment, at least one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may include a microphone as a voice receiver capable of receiving a voice command uttered by a user.

The server <NUM> may perform communication with at least one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the server <NUM> may, as illustrated in <FIG>, perform communication with a first electronic apparatus <NUM> among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be designated as a representative apparatus, and receive a voice command targeted for any one among the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> other than the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

The first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the representative apparatus may serve as a master apparatus that receives a voice command through a microphone (see <NUM> in <FIG>), and other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may serve as a slave apparatus. However, these terms are merely used to conveniently distinguish between the apparatuses according to their roles, and the functions of the apparatuses are not limited by the terms of the apparatuses.

In the voice recognition system <NUM> according to an embodiment, such electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be grouped into the master apparatus or the slave apparatus, thereby receiving a voice command and performing a control operation corresponding to the received voice command. In other words, the master apparatus may be regarded as a representative that is in command of the slave apparatus.

According to an embodiment, the representative apparatus, in other words, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the master apparatus may be configured to store and manage information about the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> corresponding to the slave apparatuses. For example, the storage (refer, for example, to '<NUM>' in <FIG>) of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be configured to store identification (ID) information of a second electronic apparatus <NUM>, the third electronic apparatus <NUM>,. , the Nth electronic apparatus <NUM>. The storage (refer, for example, to '<NUM>' in <FIG>) of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be configured to store a list of grouped apparatuses, e.g., an apparatus list including identification information of the master apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM> and the slave apparatuses grouped with the master apparatus, e.g., the second electronic apparatus <NUM>, the third electronic apparatus <NUM>,. , the Nth electronic apparatus <NUM>.

Further, a microphone <NUM> (refer to <FIG>) of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the master apparatus may be activated, but microphones of the slave apparatus, e.g., the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> other than the first electronic apparatus <NUM> are inactivated. The activation may include turning on the microphone <NUM>, and the inactivation may include turning of the microphone <NUM>.

A voice command targeted for not only the master apparatus but also the slave apparatus is receivable through the microphone of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>. A voice command targeted for the slave apparatus having no microphone is also receivable through the microphone of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

When the first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the master apparatus receives a voice command, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may identify a target apparatus corresponding to the voice command among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> including the master apparatus and the slave apparatuses. The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may transmit information about the received voice command to the server <NUM>.

The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may receive a response signal (or response data) generated corresponding to the voice command from the server <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the response signal may include a response message and a control instruction for the target apparatus. The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may extract the response message and the control instruction from the response signal received from the server <NUM>, and identify the target apparatus with respect to the control instruction. The response message and the control instruction may be received together as a predetermined format, or may be received separately as necessary.

The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may autonomously perform an operation corresponding to the control instruction based on an identification result, or transmit the control instruction to one of other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the representative apparatus may be designated based on at least one space of the voice recognition system <NUM>, in other words, according to regions or areas.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating example electronic apparatuses in a first area, which make up a voice recognition system according to various embodiments, and <FIG> is a diagram illustrating example electronic apparatuses in a second area, which make up a voice recognition system according to various embodiments.

According to an embodiment, the voice recognition system may, as illustrated in <FIG>, include a plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> placed in a first area <NUM>, for example, a living room at home.

<FIG> illustrates an example in which the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> correspond to a TV, an air conditioner, an air cleaner, and a cleaning robot, respectively. However, the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> are not limited to the given example, and may additionally include or exclude at least one electronic apparatus.

According to an embodiment, one, for example, the TV <NUM>, among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> placed in the first area <NUM>, in other words, the living room, may be designated as the representative apparatus, in other words, the master apparatus.

The TV <NUM> designated as the master apparatus may receive a voice command <NUM> uttered by a user through its own microphone or a microphone provided in a remote controller. The received voice command <NUM> may be targeted for one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> including the master apparatus and the slave apparatus.

According to an embodiment, the voice recognition system <NUM> may, as illustrated in <FIG>, include a plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> placed in a second area <NUM>, for example, a kitchen at home.

<FIG> illustrates an example in which the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> correspond to a refrigerator, a microwave oven, and a washing machine, respectively. However, the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> are not limited to the given example, and may additionally include or exclude at least one electronic apparatus.

According to an embodiment, one, for example, the refrigerator <NUM>, among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> placed in the second area <NUM>, in other words, the kitchen, may be designated as the representative apparatus, in other words, the master apparatus.

The refrigerator <NUM> designated as the master apparatus may receive a voice command <NUM> uttered by a user through its own microphone. The received voice command <NUM> may be targeted for one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> including the master apparatus and the slave apparatus.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example process of designating a representative apparatus among a plurality of electronic apparatuses according to various embodiments.

According to an embodiment, a user may use a terminal apparatus <NUM> as an external apparatus capable of communicating with the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> to designate one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> as the representative apparatus, in other words, the master apparatus.

The terminal apparatus <NUM> may be embodied, for example, and without limitation, by a smartphone, a tablet computer, a smart pad, a smart watch, a portable media player, or the like mobile apparatus. However, there are no limits to the embodiment of the terminal apparatus <NUM> according to the disclosure, and the terminal apparatus <NUM> may be embodied by various apparatuses capable of communicating with the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, for example, and without limitation, a desktop computer, a laptop computer or the like personal computer (PC).

The terminal apparatus <NUM> may have stored thereon and be installed with at least one program prepared for providing an loT-based smart home service, for example, a smart home application. The smart home application may run on the terminal apparatus <NUM> so that a user can easily manage and control various home appliances, in other words, a plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, and may provide various services using the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> through interaction with the user.

According to an embodiment, a user executes the smart home application in the terminal apparatus <NUM>, and designates the representative apparatus, in other words, the master apparatus, among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> through a graphic user interface (GUI) displayed on a display.

The display of the terminal apparatus <NUM> may, as illustrated in <FIG>, display the GUI for designating the master apparatuses according to areas at home, for example, a living room, a kitchen, a bed room, etc. <FIG> illustrates an example of the GUI through which the master apparatus is designated for a first area among the plurality of areas, e.g. the living room. In the same manner, a user can use the GUI to designate the master apparatus with respect to at least one different area.

For example, the display of the terminal apparatus <NUM> may display a message <NUM> for guiding the master apparatus to be selected with respect to the first area, in other words, the living room, and a plurality of menu items <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> corresponding to selectable electronic apparatuses.

A user may select one, e.g., <NUM> among the plurality of menu items <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, and designate the electronic apparatus corresponding to the selected item <NUM>, for example, the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, e.g., the TV as the master apparatus. The electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> other than the first electronic apparatus <NUM> in the first area are designated as the slave apparatuses.

The display of the terminal apparatus <NUM> may display a message <NUM> informing that the TV is selected as the master apparatus.

The terminal apparatus <NUM> may transmit a control signal related to activation or inactivation of microphones based on master/slave settings to the electronic apparatuses corresponding to the menu items <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

For example, a control signal for activating the microphone may be transmitted to the TV corresponding to the master apparatus, and a control signal for inactivating the microphone may be transmitted to the air conditioner and the air cleaner corresponding to the slave apparatuses.

Therefore, in the plurality of electronic apparatuses that receives the control signals, the microphone of the master apparatus is activated but the microphones of the slave apparatuses are inactivated, thereby completing the master/slave settings.

When the master/slave settings are completed, the display of the terminal apparatus <NUM> may display a message <NUM> that guides voice commands to be issuable in the master apparatus, e.g., the TV.

According to an embodiment, the foregoing master/slave settings for the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be achieved through any one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

For example, a user may use the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, in other words, the TV to designate the first electronic apparatus <NUM> or one among other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> as the representative apparatus, in other words, the master apparatus.

In this case, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may have stored thereon and be installed with the smart home application. As the smart home application is executed, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may display the GUI for the master/slave settings as shown in <FIG> on the display (refer, for example, to '<NUM>' in <FIG>). The GUI may include the plurality of menu items corresponding to the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

A user may select one among the plurality of menu items through the remote controller or the like user input interface (refer, for example, to '<NUM>' in <FIG>) and thus designate the apparatus corresponding to the selected menu item, for example, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> as the master apparatus for the first area. The other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> other than the first electronic apparatus <NUM> in the first area may be designated as the slave apparatuses.

Further, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the master apparatus may activate its own microphone <NUM> (refer to <FIG>), and transmit a control signal for inactivating the microphones of the other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> to the other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> through an interface circuitry (refer, for example, to '<NUM>' in <FIG>).

Therefore, the microphone of the master apparatus is activated, but the microphones of the slave apparatuses are inactivated in the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, thereby completing the master/slave settings.

According to an embodiment, the GUI of one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> or the external apparatus, e.g., the terminal apparatus <NUM> is convenient for a user to set the master/slave.

It will be described in greater detail below that the first electronic apparatus <NUM> among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> is designated as the representative apparatus (e.g., the master apparatus), receives a user's voice command and transmits the voice command to the server <NUM>,and receives a control instruction from the server <NUM>, thereby carrying out an operation based on the control instruction in a target corresponding to one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> (e.g. at least one of the master apparatus or the slave apparatus). However, the disclosure is not limited to the example embodiment, and therefore it will be appreciated that another electronic apparatus, for example, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> or the third electronic apparatus <NUM> may be designated as the representative apparatus, and the operations of the representative apparatus in this case correspond to those of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a first electronic apparatus according to various embodiments.

<FIG> illustrates example elements of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> operating as the master apparatus, but it will be understood that another electronic apparatus may include the same elements as shown in <FIG> when it operates as the master apparatus.

According to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may include a display apparatus with the display <NUM> capable of displaying an image. However, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> is not limited to this embodiment. According to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may include an image processing apparatus such as a set-top box capable of transmitting a signal to a separate connected display.

According to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> provided as the display apparatus may be embodied, for example, and without limitation, by a TV capable of processing a broadcast image based on at least one of a broadcast signal, broadcast information or broadcast data received from a transmitter of a broadcasting station. In this case, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may include a tuner (not shown) to be tuned to a channel corresponding to a broadcast signal.

When the first electronic apparatus <NUM> is a TV, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may receive broadcast content based on at least one among a broadcast signal, broadcast information or broadcast data from a transmitter of a broadcasting station directly or through an additional apparatus connectable with the first electronic apparatus <NUM> by a cable, for example, through a set-top box (STB), a one-connect box (OC box), a media box, etc. The connection between the first electronic apparatus <NUM> and the additional apparatus is not limited to the cable, but may employ various wired/wireless interfaces.

The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may, for example, wirelessly receive broadcast content as a radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted from the broadcasting station. To this end, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may include an antenna for receiving a signal.

In the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, the broadcast content may be received through a terrestrial wave, a cable, a satellite, etc., and a signal source is not limited to the broadcasting station. For example, any apparatus or station capable of transmitting and receiving data may be included in the image source according to the disclosure.

Standards of a signal received in the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be varied depending on the types of the apparatus, and the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may receive a signal as image content based on high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), HDMI- consumer electronics control (CEC), display port (DP), digital visual interface (DVI), composite video, component video, super video, DVI, Thunderbolt, RGB cable, syndicat des constructeurs d'appareils radiorécepteurs et téléviseurs (SCART), universal serial bus (USB), or the like standards by a cable, according to the interface circuitry <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be embodied, for example, and without limitation, by a smart TV or an Internet protocol (IP) TV. The smart TV may refer, for example, to a TV that can receive and display a broadcast signal in real time, support a web browsing function so that various pieces of content can be searched and consumed through the Internet while a broadcast signal is displayed in real time, and provide a convenient user environment for the web browsing function. Further, the smart TV may include an open software platform to provide an interactive service to a user. Therefore, the smart TV is capable of providing various pieces of content, for example, content of an application for a predetermined service to a user through the open software platform. Such an application may refer, for example, to an application program for providing various kinds of services, for example, a social network service (SNS), finance, news, weather, a map, music, a movie, a game, an electronic book, etc..

However, the disclosure is not limited to the embodiment of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, but the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be applied to various embodiments for processing an image besides the TV, for example, applied to a monitor of a desktop computer, a laptop computer or the like Pc.

The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may process a signal to display a moving image, a still image, an application, an on-screen display (OSD), a user interface (UI) for controlling various operations, etc. on a screen based on a signal/data stored in an internal/external storage medium.

The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may use wired or wireless network communication to receive content from various external apparatuses including a content provider provided to provide content, but there are no limits to the kinds of communication.

For example, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may use the wireless network communication to receive a signal corresponding to standards of Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Zigbee, UWB, NFC, etc. as image content corresponding to the type of the interface circuitry <NUM>. Further, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may use Ethernet or the like wired network communication to receive a content signal.

According to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may, as illustrated in <FIG>, include the display <NUM>, the interface circuitry <NUM>, the user input interface (e.g., including user interface circuitry) <NUM>, the microphone <NUM>, a loudspeaker <NUM>, the storage <NUM> and the processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) <NUM>. The interface circuitry <NUM> may include, for example, wired interface circuitry <NUM> and wireless interface circuitry <NUM>.

It will be understood that <FIG> merely illustrates example elements of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment, and the first electronic apparatus according to an embodiment may include elements different from those of <FIG>. In other words, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may include another element besides the elements shown in <FIG>, or may exclude at least one element from the elements shown in <FIG>. Further, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be embodied by changing some elements of those shown in <FIG>.

There are no limits to the types of the display <NUM>, and the display <NUM> may be embodied by various display types such as, for example, and without limitation, liquid crystal, plasma, a light-emitting diode, an organic light-emitting diode, a surface-conduction electron-emitter, a carbon nano-tube, nano-crystal, etc. According to an embodiment, the display <NUM> may include a display panel for displaying an image thereon, and further include additional elements, for example, a driver according to its types.

According to an embodiment, the display <NUM> may display the GUI for the master/slave settings of the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. The plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be placed in predetermined areas at home, for example, the living room, the kitchen, the bed room, etc. The GUI may include a plurality of menu items corresponding to the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, and selectable by a user. When a user makes a user input for selecting one among the plurality of menu items, the electronic apparatus corresponding to the selected menu item may be designated as a master, in other words, representative apparatus.

According to an embodiment, the display <NUM> may display a response message received from the server <NUM> in response to a voice command. The response message may, for example, include a GUI for informing a user of a result from processing the voice command. Thus, the process result of the voice command is provided as an image to a user through the first electronic apparatus <NUM> operating as the master, even though the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> operating as the slaves do not include the display <NUM>.

The interface circuitry <NUM> may include circuitry configured to allow the first electronic apparatus <NUM> to communicate with various external apparatuses including other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, the server <NUM> or the terminal apparatus <NUM>.

The interface circuitry <NUM> may include, for example, wired interface circuitry <NUM>. The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may include a connector for transmitting/receiving a signal/data based on the standards such as, for example, and without limitation, HDMI, HDMI-CEC, USB, Component, DP, DVI, Thunderbolt, RGB cables, etc. Here, the wired interface circuitry <NUM> may include at least one connector, terminal or port respectively corresponding to such standards.

The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may be embodied to include an input port to receive a signal from an image source or the like, and further include an output port as necessary to interactively transmit and receive a signal.

The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may include a connector, a port, etc. based on video and/or audio transfer standards such as, for example, and without limitation, HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, Thunderbolt, Composite video, Component video, super video, SCART, etc. to connect with an antenna for receiving a broadcasting signal based on terrestrial/satellite or the like broadcasting standards, or connect with a cable for receiving a broadcast signal based on a cable broadcasting standards. The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may include a built-in antenna for receiving a broadcast signal.

According to an embodiment, when a video/audio signal received through the interface <NUM> is a broadcast signal, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may further include a tuner to be tuned to the channels corresponding to the received broadcast signals. The tuner may include a demodulator that demodulates a broadcast signal of a certain tuned channel and outputs a signal in the form of a transport stream (TS). In other words, the tuner and the demodulator may be designed as a single integrated chip, or may be respectively designed as separated two chips.

The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may include a connector, a port, etc. based on universal data transfer standards such as a USB port, etc. The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may include a connector, a port, etc. to which an optical cable based on optical transfer standards is connectable. The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may include a connector, a port, etc. which connects with an external microphone or an external audio apparatus having a microphone, and receives an audio signal from the audio apparatus. The interface circuitry <NUM> may include a connector, a port, etc. which connects with a headset, an earphone, an external loudspeaker or the like audio apparatus, and transmits or outputs an audio signal to the audio apparatus. The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may include a connector or a port based on Ethernet and the like network transfer standards. For example, the wired interface circuitry <NUM> may be embodied by a local area network (LAN) card or the like connected to a router or a gateway by a cable.

The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may connect with a set-top box, an optical media player or the like external apparatus, an external display apparatus, a loudspeaker, a server by <NUM>:<NUM> or <NUM>:N (where, N is a natural number) by a cable through the connector or the port, thereby receiving a video/audio signal from the corresponding external apparatus or transmitting a video/audio signal to the corresponding external apparatus. The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may include connectors or ports to respectively transmit video/audio signals.

The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may be embodied by a communication circuitry including wireless communication modules (e.g. an S/W module, a chip, etc.) corresponding to various kinds of communication protocols.

According to an embodiment, the wired interface circuitry <NUM> may be internally provided in the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, or may be provided in the form of a dongle or a module to be detachably connected to the connector of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

The interface circuitry <NUM> may include wireless interface circuitry <NUM>. The wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may be variously embodied corresponding to the embodiments of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>. For example, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may use wireless communication based on RF, Zigbee, Bluetooth (BT), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, UWB, NFC or the like.

The wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may be embodied by communication circuitry including wired or wireless communication modules (e.g. an S/W module, a chip, etc.) corresponding to various kinds of communication protocols.

According to an embodiment, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may include a wireless local area network (WLAN) unit. The WLAN unit may be wirelessly connected to external apparatuses through an access point (AP) under control of the processor <NUM>. The WLAN unit includes a Wi-Fi communication module.

According to an embodiment, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may include a wireless communication module supporting one-to-one direct communication between the first electronic apparatus <NUM> and the external apparatus wirelessly without the AP. The wireless communication module may be embodied to support Wi-Fi direct, BT, BLE, or the like communication method. When the first electronic apparatus <NUM> performs direct communication with the external apparatus, the storage <NUM> may be configured to store identification information (e.g. media access control (MAC) address or Internet protocol (IP) address) about the external apparatus with which the communication will be performed.

In the first electronic apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may be configured to perform wireless communication with the external apparatus by at least one of the WLAN unit and the wireless communication module according to its performance.

According to an embodiment, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may further include a communication module based on various communication methods such as, for example, and without limitation, long-term evolution (LTE) or the like mobile communication, electromagnetic (EM) communication including a magnetic field, visible light communication (VLC), etc..

The wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may include an IR transmitter and/or an IR receiver to transmit and/or receive an infrared (IR) signal according to IR communication standards. For example, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may receive or input a remote-control signal from a remote controller or other external apparatuses or transmit or output a remote-control signal to other external apparatuses through the IR transmitter and/or IR receiver. The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may exchange a remote-control signal with the remote controller or other external apparatuses through the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> based on another method such as Wi-Fi, BT, etc..

According to an embodiment, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may transmit predetermined data as information about a voice command received through the microphone <NUM> to the server <NUM> or the like external apparatus. There are no limits to the format/kind of data to be transmitted, and the data may, for example, include an audio signal corresponding to a voice uttered by a user, voice features extracted from the audio signal, etc..

Further, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may receive a response signal corresponding to a process result of a corresponding voice command from the server <NUM> or the like external apparatus. The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may display an image corresponding to the voice process result on the display <NUM>, or output a sound corresponding to the voice process result through an internal or external loudspeaker, based on the received signal.

In the first electronic apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may transmit information of a received voice command targeted for one among the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, e.g., the master apparatus and other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, e.g., the slave apparatuses to the server <NUM>, and receive a response signal corresponding to a process result of the voice command from the server <NUM>.

Apparatus information, for example, identification information of at least one of a target apparatus or a representative apparatus may be transmitted together with the information of the voice command to the server <NUM>, and thus both the response signal and the identification information of the target apparatus may be received from the server <NUM>. The response signal may include at least one of a response message that informs a user of a result from processing the voice command or a control instruction for the target apparatus.

It will be understood that the foregoing embodiment is merely an example, and the information of the voice command may be processed by the first electronic apparatus <NUM> without being transmitted to the server <NUM>. In other words, according to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be embodied to serve as a speech-to-text (STT) server.

Example processes related to the foregoing voice recognition will be described in greater detail below with reference to <FIG>.

The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may communicate with the remote controller or the like input device through the wireless interface circuitry <NUM>, and receive a sound signal corresponding to a user's voice from the input device.

In the first electronic apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment, a communication module for communicating with the external server <NUM> or the like and a communication module for communicating with the remote controller may be different from each other. For example, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may use an Ethernet modem or a Wi-Fi module to communicate with the server <NUM>, and use a Bluetooth module to communicate with the remote controller.

In the first electronic apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment, a communication module for communicating with the external server <NUM> or the like and a communication module for communicating with the remote controller may be the same with each other. For example, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may use the Bluetooth module to communicate with the server <NUM> and the remote controller.

The user input interface <NUM> may include various user input circuitry and transmits various preset control instructions or unrestricted information to the processor <NUM> in response to a user input.

The user input interface <NUM> may include, for example, and without limitation, a keypad (or an input panel) including a power key, a numeral key, a menu key or the like buttons provided in the main body of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the user input interface <NUM> may include an input device including circuitry that generates a command/data/information/signal previously set to remotely control the first electronic apparatus <NUM> and transmits it to the first electronic apparatus <NUM>. The input device may include, for example, and without limitation, a remote controller, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. and receive a user input as separated from the main body of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>. The remote controller may include a touch sensor for receiving a user's touch input and/or a motion sensor for detecting its own motion caused by a user. The input device includes a terminal such as a smartphone in which a remote-control application is installed. In this case, the input device can receive a user's touch input through the touch screen.

The input device may be used as an external apparatus that performs wireless communication with the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, in which the wireless communication is based on Bluetooth, IrDA, RF communication, WLAN, or Wi-Fi direct.

The microphone <NUM> may receive a sound, in other words, a sound wave.

According to an embodiment, the microphone <NUM> may receive a sound wave corresponding to a voice uttered by a user.

According to an embodiment, the microphone <NUM> may support far-field voice recognition, and be embodied in the form of a plurality of microphone arrays.

A sound input to the microphone <NUM> may be converted into an electric signal by a signal converter (not shown). According to an embodiment, the signal converter may include an analog-to-digital (AD) converter to convert an analog sound wave into a digital signal.

According to an embodiment, the microphone <NUM> is provided in the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, and there are no limits to the number, shape and position of microphones provided in the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may include the microphone <NUM> provided in a separate apparatus. For example, when the first electronic apparatus <NUM> is a display apparatus like a TV, a sound wave may be received through the microphone <NUM> provided in the remote controller capable of receiving a user input, and a sound signal corresponding to the sound wave may be transmitted from the remote controller to the first electronic apparatus <NUM>. An analog sound wave received through the microphone <NUM> of the remote controller may be converted into a digital signal and transmitted to the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

A voice command uttered by a user may, for example, be targeted for the master apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, but may be targeted for one of the slave apparatuses, e.g., the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. In other words, a user can issue a voice command through the first electronic apparatus <NUM> operating as the master, even though the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> operating as the slaves do not include the microphone <NUM>.

The loudspeaker <NUM> may, for example, be embodied by at least one loudspeaker capable of outputting a sound having an audible frequency range of <NUM> to <NUM>. The loudspeaker <NUM> may output a sound corresponding to audio signal/sound signals corresponding to the plurality of channels.

According to an embodiment, the loudspeaker <NUM> may output a sound generated based on a process of a sound signal corresponding to the voice command received in the microphone <NUM>.

The sound signal corresponding to the sound output from the loudspeaker <NUM> may be included in the response message received from the server <NUM> as a result from processing the voice command received in the microphone <NUM>. The output sound may, for example, correspond to a control instruction targeted for the master apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, but may correspond to a control instruction targeted for one of the slave apparatuses, e.g., the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. In other words, a result from processing the voice command may be provided as a sound to a user through the first electronic apparatus <NUM> operating as the master, even though the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> operating as the slaves may not include the loudspeaker <NUM>.

The storage <NUM> may be configured to store various pieces of data of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

The storage <NUM> may be embodied by a nonvolatile memory (or a writable read only memory (ROM)) which can retain data even though the first electronic apparatus <NUM> is powered off, and mirror changes. For example, the storage <NUM> may include one among a flash memory, an HDD, an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) or an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM). The storage <NUM> may further include a volatile memory such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM), of which reading or writing speed for the first electronic apparatus <NUM> is faster than that of the nonvolatile memory.

Data stored in the storage <NUM> may for example include not only an OS for driving the first electronic apparatus <NUM> but also various programs, applications, image data, appended data, etc. executable on the OS.

For example, the storage <NUM> may be configured to store a signal or data input/output corresponding to operations of the elements under control of the processor <NUM>. The storage <NUM> may be configured to store a control program for controlling the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, an application provided by the manufacturer or downloaded from the outside, a relevant user interface (UI), images for providing the UI, user information, documents, databases, or the concerned data.

According to an embodiment, the storage <NUM> may be stored and installed a voice recognition application for performing a voice recognition function. The voice recognition application is activated, for example, switched over from a background mode to a foreground mode in response to a user's input/utterance of a previously defined starting word (hereinafter, referred to as a trigger word or a wake-up word (WUW)), thereby starting an operation for voice recognition.

According to an embodiment, the application stored in the storage <NUM> may include a machine learning application or a deep learning application which operates based on previously performed learning.

The storage <NUM> may be configured to further store learning data with which the processor <NUM> performs calculation based on a predetermined learning algorithm. Here, as an example of the learning data, a model that has learned a user's voice command based on the algorithm may be stored in the storage <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be embodied to perform an Al operation in an on-device environment in which learning based on the data of the storage <NUM> embedded in the apparatus itself and calculation using the algorithm model based on the learning are performed. However, according to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> is not limited to the on-device Al apparatus. According to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be embodied to perform learning based on data stored in a database provided in a separate server connectable through the interface circuitry <NUM> and calculation using the algorithm model based on the learning.

According to an embodiment, the storage <NUM> of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> operating as the representative apparatus may be configured to store identification (ID) information of at least one slave apparatus grouped by a grouping, for example, the second electronic apparatus <NUM>, the third electronic apparatus <NUM>,. , the Nth electronic apparatus <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, an image displayed in the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be based on data stored in a flash memory, a hard disk, or the like nonvolatile storage <NUM>. The storage <NUM> may be provided inside or outside the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, and the storage <NUM> provided outside may be connected to the first electronic apparatus <NUM> via the wired interface circuitry <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the term 'storage' may include the storage <NUM>, the ROM (not shown) in the processor <NUM>, a RAM (not shown) or a memory card (not shown, e.g. a micro SD card, a memory stick, etc.) mountable to the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may include various processing circuitry and performs control for operating general elements of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may include a control program (or an instruction) to perform such a control operation, a nonvolatile memory in which the control program is installed, a volatile memory to which at least a part of the installed control program is loaded, and at least one of general-purpose processors such as a microprocessor, an application processor or a central processing unit (CPU) that executes the loaded control program.

The processor <NUM> may include a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or the like multiple-core processor. The processor <NUM> may include a plurality of processors, for example, a main processor and a sub processor that operates in a sleep mode (e.g. when the display apparatus is supplied with only standby power and does not serve to display an image). Further, the processor, the ROM, and the RAM may be connected to one another through an internal bus.

According to an embodiment, the processor <NUM> may include an image processor that performs various preset processes with regard to content data received from various external apparatuses. The processor <NUM> outputs an output signal generated or combined by performing an image process to the display <NUM>, so that an image corresponding to an image signal can be displayed on the display <NUM>.

The image processor may include a decoder for decoding an image signal to have an image format of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, and a scaler for adjusting the image signal to correspond to the output standards of the display <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the decoder may for example be embodied by an H. <NUM> decoder, but not limited thereto. In other words, the video decoder in this embodiment may for example be embodied by a moving picture experts group (MPEG) decoder, a high efficiency video codec (HEVC) decoder, or the like decoders corresponding to various compression standards.

Further, there are no limits to the kinds of content to be processed by the image processor according to the disclosure. For example, the content to be processible in the image processor may include not only a moving picture like a video, but also a picture of joint photographic experts group (JPEG) file, a background image, and the like still image, a graphic user interface (GUI), etc..

There are no limits to the kinds of video processing process performed in the image processor. For example, the image processor may for example perform at least one of various processes such as de-interlacing for converting an interlaced broadcast signal into a progressive broadcast signal, noise reduction for improving image quality, detail enhancement, frame refresh rate conversion, line scanning, etc..

According to an embodiment, the image processor may be embodied by a video board including circuit elements such as various chipsets for performing respective processes, a memory, electronic parts, wirings, etc. which are mounted on to a printed circuit board (PCB). In this case, the processor <NUM> including a tuner and an image processor of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be provided on a single video board. Of course, this is merely an example, and they may be arranged on a plurality of PCBs connecting and communicating with each other.

According to an embodiment, the processor <NUM> may include a signal processor that processes an audio, in other words, sound signal. The sound signal processed in the signal processor may be output through the loudspeaker <NUM>.

There are no limits to the embodiments of the image processor and the signal processor. According to an embodiment, the image processor or the signal processor may be embodied by microprocessors separated from the processor <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the processor <NUM> may be embodied as included in the main SoC mounted to the PCB internally provided in the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

The control program may include a program(s) achieved by at least one of a BIOS, a device driver, an OS, a firmware, a platform, or an application. According to an example embodiment, the application program may be previously installed or stored in the first electronic apparatus <NUM> when the first electronic apparatus <NUM> is manufactured, or may be installed in the first electronic apparatus <NUM> on the basis of application data received from the outside when it is required in the future. The application data may for example be downloaded from an external server such as an application market to the first electronic apparatus <NUM>. Such an external server is merely an example of the computer program product according to the disclosure, but not limited thereto.

The control program may be recorded in a storage medium readable by a computer or the like machine. Such a machine-readable storage medium may be given in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. The 'non-transitory storage medium' is tangible excluding a signal (e.g. an electromagnetic wave), and this term does not distinguish between a case where data is semi-permanently stored in the storage medium and a case where data is transitorily stored in the storage medium. For example, the 'non-transitory storage medium' may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored.

According to an embodiment, the foregoing operations of the processor <NUM> may be embodied by a computer program stored in the computer program product (not shown) provided separately from the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

In this case, the computer program product includes a memory in which an instruction corresponding to a computer program is stored, and a processor. When executed by the processor, the instruction includes transmitting information of a voice command and information of an apparatus corresponding to the voice command to the server through the interface circuitry <NUM>, receiving a response message to the voice command from the server <NUM> through the interface circuitry <NUM>, and outputting the received response message through the apparatus corresponding to the voice command. The apparatus corresponding to the voice command may include at least one of the target apparatus that performs the operation corresponding to the voice command or the representative apparatuses that receives the voice command, and the response message may correspond to a message output format of the apparatus corresponding to the voice command among a plurality of formats.

Therefore, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may download and execute a computer program stored in a separate computer program product, and perform the operations of the processor <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a second electronic apparatus according to various embodiments.

<FIG> illustrates example elements of the second electronic apparatus <NUM> operating as the slave apparatus, but it will be understood that another electronic apparatus may include the same elements as shown in <FIG> when it operates as the slave apparatus. For example, the elements of the third electronic apparatus <NUM> shown in <FIG> may correspond to the elements of the second electronic apparatus <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

According to an embodiment, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may include, for example, an air conditioner. However, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> is not limited to this embodiment. According to an embodiment, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may include an air cleaner, a refrigerator, a TV, or the like other home appliances.

According to an embodiment, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may, as shown in <FIG>, include a display <NUM>, interface circuitry <NUM>, a user input interface (e.g., including user interface circuitry) <NUM>, a microphone <NUM>, a loudspeaker <NUM>, a storage <NUM> and a processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) <NUM>. The interface circuitry <NUM> may include a wired interface circuitry <NUM> and a wireless interface circuitry <NUM>.

However, <FIG> merely illustrates example elements of the second electronic apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment, and the first electronic apparatus according to an embodiment may include elements different from those of <FIG>. In other words, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may include another element besides the elements shown in <FIG>, or may exclude at least one element from the elements shown in <FIG>. Further, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may be embodied by changing some elements of those shown in <FIG>.

According to the disclosure, elements, which perform the same operations as those of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> shown in <FIG>, among the elements of the second electronic apparatus <NUM> shown in <FIG>, will be equally named, and repetitive descriptions thereof may not be repeated here.

The display <NUM> may display an image. There are no limits to the types of the display <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the display <NUM> may include a touch screen for receiving a user's touch input.

According to an embodiment, the display <NUM> may display the GUI for the master/slave settings of the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. The plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be placed in predetermined areas at home, for example, the living room, the kitchen, the bed room, etc..

The GUI may include a plurality of menu items corresponding to the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, and selectable by a user. When a user makes a user input for selecting one among the plurality of menu items, the electronic apparatus corresponding to the selected menu item may be designated as a master, in other words, representative apparatus.

The interface circuitry <NUM> allows the second electronic apparatus <NUM> to communicate with various external apparatuses including the first electronic apparatus <NUM> or the terminal apparatus <NUM>.

The interface circuitry <NUM> may include wired interface circuitry <NUM>.

The wired interface circuitry <NUM> may include a connector, a port, etc. based on universal data transfer standards such as a USB port, etc..

The interface circuitry <NUM> may include wireless interface circuitry <NUM>. The wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may be variously embodied corresponding to the embodiments of the second electronic apparatus <NUM>. For example, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may use wireless communication based on RF, Zigbee, BT, BLE, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, UWB, NFC or the like.

The wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may be embodied by a communication circuitry including wired or wireless communication modules (e.g. an S/W module, a chip, etc.) corresponding to various kinds of communication protocols.

According to an embodiment, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> includes a WLAN unit. The WLAN unit may be wirelessly connected to external apparatuses through an AP under control of the processor <NUM>. The WLAN unit includes a Wi-Fi communication module.

According to an embodiment, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> includes a wireless communication module supporting one-to-one direct communication between the second electronic apparatus <NUM> and the external apparatus wirelessly without the AP. The wireless communication module may be embodied to support Wi-Fi direct, BT, BLE, or the like communication method. When the second electronic apparatus <NUM> performs direct communication with the external apparatus, the storage <NUM> may be configured to store identification information (e.g. MAC address or IP address) about the external apparatus with which the communication will be performed.

In the second electronic apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> is configured to perform wireless communication with the external apparatus by at least one of the WLAN unit and the wireless communication module according to its performance.

The wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may include an IR transmitter and/or an IR receiver to transmit and/or receive an IR signal according to IR communication standards. For example, the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> may receive or input a remote-control signal from a remote controller or other external apparatuses or transmit or output a remote-control signal to other external apparatuses through the IR transmitter and/or IR receiver. The second electronic apparatus <NUM> may exchange a remote-control signal with the remote controller or other external apparatuses through the wireless interface circuitry <NUM> based on another method such as Wi-Fi, BT, etc..

In the second electronic apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment, a communication module for communicating with the external server or the like and a communication module for communicating with the remote controller may be different from each other. For example, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may use an Ethernet modem or a Wi-Fi module to communicate with the server, and use a Bluetooth module to communicate with the remote controller.

In the second electronic apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment, a communication module for communicating with the external server or the like and a communication module for communicating with the remote controller may be the same with each other. For example, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may use the Bluetooth module to communicate with the server and the remote controller.

According to an embodiment, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may receive a control instruction targeted for the second electronic apparatus <NUM> from the first electronic apparatus <NUM> through the interface circuitry <NUM>. The control instruction may include a control code for controlling operations of the target apparatus, for example, the second electronic apparatus <NUM>, and be included in the response signal generated by the server <NUM> based on the voice command.

According to an embodiment, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may further receive an audio signal corresponding to a sound output from the loudspeaker <NUM> or a GUI that informs a user of a result from processing the voice command, as a process result of the voice command from the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

The user input interface <NUM> may include various user input interface circuitry and transmits various preset control instructions or unrestricted information to the processor <NUM> in response to a user input.

The user input interface <NUM> may include a keypad (or an input panel) including a power key, a numeral key, a menu key or the like buttons provided in the main body of the second electronic apparatus <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the user input interface <NUM> may include a remote controller or the like input device that generates a command/data/information/signal previously set to remotely control the second electronic apparatus <NUM> and transmits it to the second electronic apparatus <NUM>. The input device includes a terminal such as a smartphone in which a remote-control application is installed. In this case, the input device can receive a user's touch input through the touch screen.

The input device may be used as an external apparatus that performs wireless communication with the second electronic apparatus <NUM>, in which the wireless communication is based on Bluetooth, IrDA, RF communication, WLAN, or Wi-Fi direct.

The microphone <NUM> may receive a sound, in other words, a sound wave. According to an embodiment, the microphone <NUM> may receive a sound wave corresponding to a voice uttered by a user. However, <FIG> illustrates an example in which the second electronic apparatus <NUM> operates as the slave apparatus, in which the microphone <NUM> of the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may become inactivated.

The loudspeaker <NUM> outputs a sound. The loudspeaker <NUM> may, for example, be embodied by at least one loudspeaker capable of outputting a sound having an audible frequency range of <NUM> to <NUM>. The loudspeaker <NUM> may output a sound corresponding to audio signal/sound signals corresponding to the plurality of channels.

According to an embodiment, the loudspeaker <NUM> may output a sound generated based on a process of a sound signal corresponding to the voice command. Here, the sound signal corresponding to the sound output from the loudspeaker <NUM> may be included in the response signal/data transmitted from the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

The storage <NUM> may be configured to store various pieces of data of the second electronic apparatus <NUM>.

Data stored in the storage <NUM> may for example include not only an OS for driving the second electronic apparatus <NUM> but also various programs, applications, image data, appended data, etc. executable on the OS.

The processor <NUM> may include various processing circuitry and performs control for operating general elements of the second electronic apparatus <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may include a control program (or an instruction) to perform such a control operation, a nonvolatile memory in which the control program is installed, a volatile memory to which at least a part of the installed control program is loaded, and at least one of general-purpose processors such as a microprocessor, an application processor or a CPU that executes the loaded control program.

Below, it will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings that a voice recognition system including a plurality of electronic apparatuses receives a voice command and performs operations based on the voice command according to the disclosure.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an example method of designating a representative apparatus according to various embodiments.

According to an embodiment, one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> placed in a predetermined area at home, for example, the first area, e.g., the living room may be designated as the representative apparatus (<NUM>), in other words, the master apparatus. Such designation of the representative apparatus may be carried out by the external apparatus, for example, a smartphone or the like terminal apparatus <NUM> or by one of the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, for example, the first electronic apparatus <NUM>. Below, it will be described by way of example that such designation is performed by the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the processor <NUM> of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may receive a user's selection for designating one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> as the representative apparatus (<NUM>).

At operation <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may control the display <NUM> to display the plurality of menu items corresponding to the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> and selectable by a user as shown in <FIG>, and identify whether a user's choice for selecting one among the plurality of menu items is received in the user input interface <NUM>.

The electronic apparatus corresponding to the selected menu item, for example, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> is designated as the representative apparatus, in other words, the master apparatus, and the other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> are designated as the slave apparatuses.

At operation <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may control the storage <NUM> to store information about the slave apparatuses, for example, the second electronic apparatus <NUM>, the third electronic apparatus <NUM>,. , the Nth electronic apparatus <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may control the microphone <NUM> to be activated in the representative apparatus, in other words, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the master apparatus in the operation <NUM>, and control the microphones to be inactivated in the other apparatuses, in other words, the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> designated as the slave apparatus (<NUM>). The processor <NUM> may control the interface circuitry <NUM> to transmit a control signal including a command to inactivate the microphones to the electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

In operation <NUM>, only the microphone <NUM> of the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, e.g., the master apparatus among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> is activated, and the microphones of the other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> are inactivated.

Therefore, when a user utters a voice including the wake-up word (WUW) in one area, it is possible to prevent and/or avoid the microphones in the plurality of apparatuses from responding simultaneously or prevent and/or reduce increased misrecognition of the wake-up word or the like confusion from being intensified.

Further, the processor <NUM> may receive a voice command uttered by a user through the microphone <NUM> activated in the operation <NUM> (<NUM>).

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an example method of receiving a voice command and outputting a response message corresponding to the voice command according to various embodiments.

According to an embodiment, the representative apparatus, in other words, the electronic apparatus designated as the master apparatus among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may receive a user's voice command. Below, it will be described by way of example that the first electronic apparatus <NUM> receives the voice command.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the processor <NUM> of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may transmit information about a voice command uttered by a user and information about the apparatus corresponding to the voice command to the server <NUM> (<NUM>).

The first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the master apparatus may receive the voice command targeted for itself and the voice command targeted for one among the other grouped apparatuses, e.g., the slave apparatuses through the microphone <NUM>.

Based on a voice command uttered by a user received in the microphone <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may transmit the information of the voice command and information of the apparatus corresponding to the voice command, in other words, at least one piece of information about the target apparatus that performs an operation corresponding to the voice command or the representative apparatus that receives the voice command, to the server <NUM> through the interface circuitry <NUM>.

For example, the processor <NUM> may transmit at least one of the information about the target apparatus that performs the operation corresponding to the voice command (e.g., the information of the slave apparatus) or the information about the representative apparatus that receives the voice command (e.g., the information of the master apparatus) to the server <NUM> through the interface circuitry <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the processor <NUM> may transmit a list of grouped apparatuses including the master and slave apparatuses as the information about the apparatuses corresponding to the voice command, along with the information of the received voice command, to the server <NUM>. The list of grouped apparatuses may include identification information about the master apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM> and the slave apparatuses connected to the master apparatus, e.g., the second electronic apparatus <NUM>, the third electronic apparatus <NUM>,. , the Nth electronic apparatus <NUM>. In this case, the server <NUM> may identify the target apparatus in the apparatus list, based on a recognition result of a user's intention to the voice command.

According to an embodiment, the processor <NUM> may transmit the identification information about the master apparatus as the information about the apparatus that receives the voice command, to the server <NUM> through the interface circuitry <NUM>. Further, the processor <NUM> may further transmit the identification information about the target apparatus as the information about the apparatus that performs the operation corresponding to the voice command to the server <NUM> through the interface circuitry <NUM>. Here, the target apparatus may be one of the master apparatus or the slave apparatuses.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example process of transmitting information about a voice command to a server and obtaining a response message based on the information according to various embodiments, and <FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example process of analyzing detailed intention of the voice command in the embodiment of <FIG> according to various embodiments.

According to an embodiment, the server <NUM> provided to process information about a voice command received from the master apparatus may include a voice recognizing module (e.g., including processing circuitry and/or executable program elements) <NUM>, a domain identifying module (e.g., including processing circuitry and/or executable program elements) <NUM>, and an intention analyzing module (e.g., including processing circuitry and/or executable program elements) <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, a plurality of servers <NUM> may be prepared, and the voice recognizing module <NUM>, the domain identifying module <NUM>, and the intention analyzing module <NUM> may be distributed to the plurality of servers.

According to an embodiment, at least one among the voice recognizing module <NUM>, the domain identifying module <NUM>, and the intention analyzing module <NUM>, for example, the voice recognizing module <NUM> may be provided in the master apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, and thus the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may serve as an STT server.

As shown in <FIG>, the information of the voice command output from the first electronic apparatus <NUM> and the information of the apparatus corresponding to the voice command may be transmitted to the voice recognizing module <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the voice recognizing module <NUM> may include various processing circuitry and/or executable program elements, including an automatic speech recognition (ASR) engine, and perform STT conversion for converting a voice command uttered by a user into a text, thereby generating a text corresponding to the voice command.

The voice recognizing module <NUM> may refer, for example, to a module for converting a voice signal into a text, and employs various ASR algorithms to convert a voice signal into a text.

The voice recognizing module <NUM> may for example be embodied as included in the server <NUM> of a cloud form.

However, without limitations, the voice recognizing module <NUM> may be provided in the master apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM> as described above, and thus make the first electronic apparatus <NUM> serve as the STT server. In this case, the processor <NUM> of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may include the voice recognizing module embodied by one of hardware, software or combination thereof, and a STT obtained by converting the voice command into the text in the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may be transmitted together with the information of the apparatus corresponding to the voice command to the server <NUM>.

The information of the voice command converted into the text in the voice recognizing module <NUM>, in other words, the STT and the information of the apparatus corresponding to the voice command are transmitted to the domain identifying module <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the voice recognizing module <NUM> may extract one or more utterance elements from the voice command converted into the text, and transmit the extracted utterance element as the STT to the domain identifying module <NUM>. The utterance element may refer, for example, to a keyword for performing an operation requested by a user in the voice command, and may for example include a first utterance element indicating a user action and a second utterance element indicating features.

According to an embodiment, the STT may be output as data of a previously defined format, for example, a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format, or the like.

The domain identifying module <NUM> may include various processing circuitry and/or executable program elements and recognize the STT of the voice command obtained from the voice recognizing module <NUM>, and identify a category corresponding to a user's intention. The domain identifying module <NUM> may, for example, analyze at least one utterance element as the STT of the voice command, thereby identifying a category.

The domain identifying module <NUM> may include a domain classifier (DC) that, for example, employs a decision tree technique for the STT of the voice command, and classifies a rough category, in other words, a domain based on a user's intention.

According to an embodiment, the DC may perform primary read-out to classify rough content of the voice command by analyzing a pattern of the STT of the voice command, for example, one or more utterance elements. Based on a result of such primary read-out, the DC identifies a category of inquiry with respect to the received voice command, and thus identifies the corresponding category.

Each category may match one or more electronic apparatuses. For example, a weather category (or a weather domain) may match a TV, an air conditioner, and an air purifier. A news category (or a news domain) may match the TV. A broadcast program, a movie and the like image content category (or an image content domain) may match the TV.

According to an embodiment, the domain identifying module <NUM> may identify a category corresponding to a user's intention by recognizing the STT of the voice command obtained from the voice recognizing module <NUM>, and select an apparatus matching the identified category from the apparatus list.

Based on a recognition result of the STT, the domain identifying module <NUM> transmits the STT of the voice command and the apparatus information to the intention analyzing module <NUM>. The apparatus information may include at least one of the information about the representative apparatus, e.g., the master apparatus or the information about the target apparatus, e.g., the slave apparatus, as the information of the apparatus corresponding to the received voice command.

According to an embodiment, the STT of the voice command may be output as data of a previously defined format, for example, JSON format, or the like.

According to an embodiment, the STT of the voice command may be output as one or more utterance elements.

The intention analyzing module <NUM> may include a detailed intention analyzer (e.g., including processing circuitry and/or executable program elements) <NUM>, a voice model (e.g., including processing circuitry and/or executable program elements) <NUM>, and a response generator (e.g., including processing circuitry and/or executable program elements) <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the intention analyzing module <NUM> may, as shown in <FIG>, be managed as classified according to categories, e.g., domains corresponding to a user's intention based on the recognition result of the STT, and include a detailed intention analyzer <NUM>, a voice model <NUM>, and a response generator <NUM> with respect to each domain.

Each domain may, as illustrated in <FIG>, match one or more target apparatuses.

According to an embodiment where the intention analyzing module <NUM> is embodied to be managed as classified corresponding to a user's intention and according to target apparatuses, a plurality of domains, for example, a first domain, a second domain, a third domain, a fourth,. , the nth domain may be referred to, for example, as capsules, respectively.

Based on a STT recognition result, the domain identifying module <NUM> may transmit the STT of the voice command and the information of the apparatus to the detailed intention analyzer <NUM> provided corresponding to a domain corresponding to a category identified corresponding to a user's intention among a plurality of domains, for example, a second domain (or capsule).

According to an embodiment, as described above, the detailed intention analysis may be performed using the domains/capsules classified according to the target apparatuses, corresponding to a user's intention, and it is thus possible to increase efficiency in voice recognition based on a quick voice process and improve accuracy of voice recognition.

According to an embodiment, the detailed intention analyzer <NUM> may include various processing circuitry and/or executable program elements, including natural language understanding (NLU) to perform detailed analysis for the STT of the voice command.

The detailed intention analyzer <NUM> may be configured to grasp detailed intention with regard to the voice command using a voice model (or language model (LM)) provided for the corresponding domain (or capsule).

The response generator <NUM> may include various processing circuitry and/or executable program elements and generate a response signal (or response data) based on the analysis result of the detailed intention analyzer <NUM>. The response signal may be output as a previously defined format, for example, the JSON format, or the like.

The response signal may include a response message and a control instruction for the target apparatus. The control instruction may include a control instruction of an apparatus corresponding to a category classified according to a user's intention based on the STT recognition result of the received voice command.

The response message and the control instruction may be included in single data having a predetermined format, or may be generated as separate data as necessary.

The response message may include an audio signal corresponding to a sound output as a process result of the voice command through the loudspeaker <NUM>, <NUM> or an image, for example, a GUI displayable on the display <NUM>, <NUM>.

The sound/image given as the response message may be output through the loudspeaker <NUM>/the display <NUM> of the representative apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, or may be output through the loudspeaker <NUM>/the display <NUM> of the target apparatus, e.g. the second electronic apparatus <NUM> as necessary.

The sound/image is output through the loudspeaker <NUM>/the display <NUM> of the representative apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM> even though the target apparatus does not have the loudspeaker/the display.

The response generator <NUM> may include various processing circuitry and/or executable program elements, including a user interface (UI) layout module configured to transmit a response signal including a response message optimized for the output types of an apparatus that corresponds to a voice command, in other words, the representative apparatus that receives the voice command, or the target apparatus that performs an operation corresponding to the voice command. The UI layout module makes the response message to the voice command be generated suitable for a category of inquiry and the target device.

According to an embodiment, the response generator <NUM> may generate a response message having a format corresponding to a message output format of the representative apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM>.

For example, when the representative apparatus is a TV, the response message may include a GUI displayable on the display <NUM> and a sound to be output through the loudspeaker <NUM>. When the representative apparatus is an Al loudspeaker, the response message may include a sound.

According to an embodiment, the response generator <NUM> may generate a response message corresponding to the message output format of the target apparatus. In this case, the representative apparatus may serve to receive a response message from the server <NUM> and deliver the response message to the target apparatus.

The response signal including the response message and the control instruction may be output together with the apparatus information to the master apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM>. The apparatus information may include the identification information about the target apparatus.

Therefore, as shown in <FIG>, the processor <NUM> of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the master apparatus may receive the response signal of the voice command from the server <NUM> through the interface circuitry <NUM> (<NUM>). The received response signal may include the response message and the control instruction.

The processor <NUM> may control the response message included in the response signal received in the operation <NUM> to be output through at least one of the apparatus corresponding to the voice command, in other words, the target apparatus carrying out the operation corresponding to the voice command or the representative apparatus receiving the voice command (<NUM>).

For example, when the response message includes an audio signal, the processor <NUM> may extract the audio signal from the response message and output a sound corresponding to the extracted audio signal through the loudspeaker <NUM> of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the representative apparatus. Further, when the response message includes a video signal, the processor <NUM> may extract the video signal from the response message and display an image, e.g. a GUI corresponding to the extracted video signal on the display <NUM> of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the representative apparatus.

The processor <NUM> may control the target apparatus to perform an operation based on the control instruction included in the response signal received in the operation <NUM> (<NUM>).

According to an embodiment, when the target apparatus is the master apparatus, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may perform a control operation based on the received control instruction. In other words, the processor <NUM> may extract a control instruction from the response signal, and perform an operation based on the extracted control instruction.

According to an embodiment, when the target apparatus is the slave apparatus, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> extracts a control instruction from the received response signal, and transmit the extracted control instruction to the target apparatus through the interface circuitry <NUM>.

According various example embodiments, the representative apparatus receives the response signal including the response message and the control instruction from the server <NUM>, and the target apparatus performs an operation based on the control instruction. However, as necessary, the target apparatus according to the disclosure may be embodied to directly receive the response message or the control instruction from the server <NUM>. In other words, an embodiment may include a case where the representative apparatus receives the voice command on behalf of the target apparatus, but the response signal generated by analyzing the voice command is directly transmitted to the target apparatus.

<FIG> is a signal flow diagram illustrating example control operations based on a voice command according to various embodiments.

As shown in <FIG>, a user may utter a voice command <NUM> targeted for one among the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, it will be described on the assumption that the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be placed in the first area, for example, the living room at home, in which the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, e.g., the TV is designated as the representative apparatus (e.g., the master apparatus), and the other electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> are designated as the slave apparatus.

There are no limits to the content of the voice command <NUM> uttered by a user. For example, as shown in <FIG>, when a voice command of "turn the temperature of the air conditioner up" is issued, the target apparatus may be the second electronic apparatus <NUM>, e.g., the air conditioner. When a voice command of "let me know movie channels" is issued, the target apparatus may be the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, e.g., the TV. In other words, embodiments involve both the case where the target apparatus is the same as the representative apparatus and the case where the target apparatus and the representative apparatus are different from each other.

In <FIG>, the uttered voice command <NUM> may be received in the microphone <NUM> of the representative apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM> (<NUM>).

The representative apparatus, in other words, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may transmit the received voice command and the apparatus information to the server <NUM> (<NUM>). The apparatus information may for example include a list of grouped apparatus including a master and slaves. At least one of the identification information of the representative apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM> or the identification information of the target apparatus, e.g., the second electronic apparatus <NUM> may be transmitted to the server <NUM>.

The server <NUM> may generate a text by applying the STT to the voice command received from the representative apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM> (<NUM>). Such STT may be performed by the voice recognizing module <NUM> embodied to include an ASR engine.

The embodiment shown in <FIG> illustrates that the STT is implemented in the server <NUM>, but this is merely an example. According to an embodiment, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may serve as the STT server. In this case, the STT may be implemented in the representative apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM>, and the information of the voice command converted into the text may be transmitted from the first electronic apparatus <NUM> to the server <NUM>.

The server <NUM> may identify a category, in other words, a domain corresponding to a user's intention, based on information of the voice command converted into the text, e.g., the STT (<NUM>). The identification of the category/the domain may be performed by the domain identifying module <NUM> including a domain classifier (DC).

The server <NUM> may control the intention analyzing module <NUM> to perform a detailed intention analysis based on the STT of the voice command with respect to the category, in other words, the domain identified corresponding to a user's intention (<NUM>). Such detailed intention analysis is provided with respect to the corresponding domain (or capsule) to grasp detailed intention to the STT of the voice command, which may be achieved by the detailed intention analyzer <NUM> including natural language understanding (NLU) with reference to a corresponding language model (LM) <NUM>.

The server <NUM> may generate a response signal based on the detailed intention analysis with respect to the voice command (<NUM>). The generation of the response signal may be carried out by the response generator <NUM> including the UI layout module for transmitting the optimized response signal corresponding to the output method of the representative apparatus or the target apparatus. The generated response signal may include at least one of the response message and the control instruction.

The response message may correspond to a message output method of at least one of the apparatus corresponding to the voice command, in other words, the target apparatus carrying out an operation corresponding to the voice command or the representative apparatus receiving the voice command. In the embodiment of <FIG>, the type of the response message may correspond to the message output method of the representative apparatus receiving the voice command.

The server <NUM> may transmit the response signal together with the apparatus information to the representative apparatus, in other words, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> (<NUM>).

The representative apparatus, in other words, the first electronic apparatus <NUM> may output the response message (<NUM>).

According to an embodiment, when the representative apparatus, e.g., the first electronic apparatus <NUM> is a TV, the response message may include a video signal to be displayed on the display <NUM> and an audio signal to be output through the loudspeaker <NUM>.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, when a voice command of "turn the temperature of the air conditioner up" is uttered, a GUI showing that the corresponding command was delivered to the air conditioner may be displayed on the display <NUM> of the first electronic apparatus <NUM> and a sound of "the command was delivered to the air conditioner" or "the setting temperature of the air conditioner will be changed to <NUM>" may be output through the loudspeaker <NUM> as the response message.

The first electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the representative apparatus may transmit the control instruction included in the response signal to the apparatus, e.g., the target apparatus which will follow the control instruction (<NUM>). The first electronic apparatus <NUM> may extract the control instruction from the received response message, and transmit the extracted control instruction to the target apparatus, e.g., the second electronic apparatus <NUM>.

The control instruction may include a control code capable of controlling the operation of the target apparatus, for example, the second electronic apparatus <NUM>. For example, the control instruction may include a control code for controlling the second electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the target apparatus, for example, the air conditioner to perform a corresponding operation.

The second electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the target apparatus may perform the operation corresponding to the received control instruction (<NUM>). For example, the second electronic apparatus <NUM> designated as the target apparatus, for example, the air conditioner may receive a control instruction and increase its setting temperature as a corresponding operation based on the control instruction.

As described above, according to an embodiment, the plurality of electronic apparatuses <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be grouped, and the representative apparatus <NUM> receives a voice uttered by a user and controls the target apparatus <NUM> to operate based on the voice, thereby improving convenience of a user because even the electronic apparatus having no voice input functions is controllable with the voice command.

Further, the response message is output through the representative apparatus <NUM>, and it is advantageously possible to give feedback on the voice command, which is issued to the target apparatus that does not include the display or the loudspeaker, to a user.

Further, the microphone of the apparatus(es) other than the representative apparatus <NUM> within one area becomes inactivated, thereby preventing and/or reducing confusion caused as the plurality of apparatuses having the microphones from simultaneously responding to the voice uttered by a user.

Further, the detailed intention analysis for the voice command is performed using the domains/capsules classified according to the target apparatuses, corresponding to a user's intention, and it is thus possible to increase efficiency in voice recognition based on a quick voice process and improve accuracy of voice recognition.

According to an embodiment, a method according to various embodiments may be provided as a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as goods a commodity between a seller and a purchaser. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g. a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed (e.g. downloaded or uploaded) directly between two user devices (e.g. smartphones) through an application store (e.g. The Play Store™) or through the Internet. In a case of the Internet distribution, at least a part of the computer program product (e.g. a downloadable app) may be at least transitorily stored or temporarily generated in a machine-readable storage medium such as a server of a manufacturer, a server of the application store, or a memory of a relay server.

As described above, according to an embodiment, a plurality of electronic apparatuses may be grouped, and a representative apparatus may receive a voice and controls a target apparatus to operate based on the voice, thereby improving convenience of a user because even the electronic apparatus having no voice input functions is controllable with a voice command.

Claim 1:
A first electronic apparatus (<NUM>) comprising:
interface circuitry (<NUM>) configured to connect the first electronic apparatus to a server (<NUM>) and to at least one second electronic apparatus (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), wherein each of the at least one second electronic apparatuses comprises a display (<NUM>) and a loudspeaker;
a microphone (<NUM>) configured to receive voice commands;
a display (<NUM>);
a loudspeaker (<NUM>); and
a processor (<NUM>) configured to control the first electronic apparatus to:
based on receiving a voice command (<NUM>, <NUM>) , control the interface circuitry (<NUM>) to transmit, to the server (<NUM>), information of the received voice command (<NUM>, <NUM>), identification information of the first electronic apparatus (<NUM>) and identification information of each of the at least one second electronic apparatuses (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), wherein each of the at least one second electronic apparatuses is either not provided with a microphone or has its microphone inactivated,
receive, from the server (<NUM>) through the interface circuitry (<NUM>), a control instruction corresponding to the voice command (<NUM>, <NUM>) and a response message including an audio signal and/or a video signal corresponding to a sound and an image, respectively, to be output as a process result of the voice command,
identify one of the first electronic apparatus and the at least one second electronic apparatus as a target apparatus with respect to the control instruction, and
output the received response message through the target apparatus.