US 5,546,145 AGranted

Camera on-board voice recognition

AssigneeEastman Kodak Company

InventorsBryan D. Bernardi, Dale F. McIntyre, Clay A. Dunsmore, Dana W. Wolcott

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Abstract

In a camera, apparatus and methods for recording or storing voiced in messages in message memory associated with an exposed image frame for reproduction as an annotation with prints made from the exposed image frames. The camera includes a voice recognition system for voice recognition of words spoken by the user before the words are stored in message memory. Fixed and adjustable vocabularies are provided for use in the voice recognition. The adjustable vocabulary may be loaded into the camera by a vocabulary memory card or through an interface with a docking station of a personal computer or vending machine so that an adjustable vocabulary of words of interest to the camera user or related to a scene or event of photographic interest may be employed in the voice recognition. The messages may be recorded on magnetic film layers or stored in camera on-board memory or in detachable message memory modules to be forwarded with the exposed film strip to a photofinisher for read out and printing on the prints. The messages may be stored or recorded by the user in real time with each exposure or at an earlier or later time.

Claims22

Dependent claims

In a photographic camera including an optical lens, a photographic filmstrip transport mechanism for advancing the filmstrip in a path of travel to and through an image frame exposure gate with respect to said optical lens, and an exposure system for making an exposure of the filmstrip image frame in the exposure gate, apparatus for recording a voice message composed by the camera user related to the exposure made or to be made for playback in conjunction with making prints from the photographic images captured in the image frames of the filmstrip to provide for the printing of the voice message therewith comprising:

speech input means into which a camera user may speak words of the message to be stored with respect to the filmstrip image frames;
sound processing means for processing the words spoken into the speech input means as voice digital data;
means for providing reference voice digital data corresponding to a reference word vocabulary;
speech recognition means for comparing the processed voice digital data to the reference voice digital data and recognizing processed voice digital data corresponding to the reference voice digital data while rejecting voice digital data not finding correspondence with the reference voice digital data;
message memory means having memory locations related to each image frame of the filmstrip for storing recognized voice digital data;
and
means for storing the recognized voice digital data in said message memory means, wherein said means for providing reference voice digital data corresponding to a word vocabulary further comprises:
first vocabulary memory means for storing a fixed vocabulary of words that cannot be altered by the user;
and
second vocabulary memory means for storing a adjustable vocabulary of words selected by the user, wherein said first vocabulary memory means comprises a read only memory stored with said fixed vocabulary from which said fixed vocabulary may be read by said speech recognition means;
and
said second vocabulary memory means comprises a read and write memory into which said adjustable vocabulary may be written in and from which said adjustable vocabulary may be read by said speech recognition means;
and further comprising interface mean for receiving said adjustable vocabulary from an external source and for writing said adjustable vocabulary into said second vocabulary memory means.

10 more elements

In a photographic camera including an optical lens, a photographic filmstrip transport mechanism for advancing the filmstrip in a path of travel to and through an image frame exposure gate with respect to said optical lens, and an exposure system for making an exposure of the filmstrip image frame in the exposure gate, a method of recording a voice message related to the exposure made for reproduction in conjunction with making prints from the photographic images captured in the image frames of the filmstrip, including the printing of the associated message, comprising the steps of:

processing spoken words of a message to be stored with respect to each exposure of an image frame into a camera speech input means at the time of making the image frame exposure as voice digital data;
providing reference voice digital data corresponding to a word vocabulary;
in a speech recognition operation, comparing the processed voice digital data to reference voice digital data and recognizing processed voice digital data corresponding to the reference voice digital while rejecting voice digital data not finding correspondence with the reference voice digital data;
and
storing the recognized voice digital data into memory locations related to each image frame of the filmstrip of a memory means detachable from the camera to accompany the filmstrip in the printing of the image frames, wherein said step of providing a reference word vocabulary further comprises the steps of:
providing a fixed vocabulary of words associated with data related to the photographic exposure of filmstrip image frames in a fixed vocabulary memory;
and
providing an adjustable vocabulary of words selected by the user in a adjustable vocabulary memory, wherein said step of providing an adjsutable vocabulary comprises:
providing a vocabulary source in the memory of a docking station for receiving the camera and making a connection with said camera adjustable vocabulary memory;
inserting the camera into the docking station to make the connection between the docking station memory and said camera adjustable vocabulary memory;
and
down loading the adjustable vocabulary from said docking station memory into said camera adjustable vocabulary memory.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/298,014Filed 30 Aug 1994
Granted: 13 Aug 1996
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G03B 31/06
Associated working of cameras or projectors with sound-recording or sound-reproducing means: in which sound track is associated with…
G03B 17/24
Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor: with means for separately producing marks on the film, e.g. title, time of exposure
G10L 15/26
Speech recognition: speech to text systems
G03B 2206/002
Systems for exchange of information between different pieces of apparatus, e.g. for exchanging trimming information, for photo finishing: using…