Patent ID: 7822614

Claim:
A device control device for controlling equipment, comprising: speech signal recognition and identification means which recognizes input speech signal, specifies a candidate for a phrase contained in the speech signal, and computes a likelihood of each specified phrase; process-item data storing means which stores a plurality of process items indicated by the candidate for the phrase specified by said speech signal recognition means; transition-definition data storing means (D 5 ) which stores plural pieces of transition definition data defining transition from one process item in the plurality of process items to another process item, in such a way that a process item indicated by the candidate for the phrase is associated with a constant; device control means which determines a process item to be executed subsequent to a currently executed item based on the candidate for the phrase, the likelihood of the specified phase computed by said speech signal recognition and identification means, and the constant indicated by the transition-definition data, the device control means controlling said equipment in accordance with the determined process item; and acquisition means which, when the process item for controlling said equipment, the process item being determined by said device controlling means, and/or the transition-definition data is not stored in said process item data storage means and/or said transition-data storage means, accesses an externally located source of a new process item and/or transition definition data, acquires said new process item and/or transition definition data, and updates an old process item stored in said process-item data storing means or old transition definition data stored in said transition-definition data storing means to said new process item or transition definition data.