# US 9,519,455 B2 · Image processing apparatus having a voice control function and control method thereof > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,519,455 B2 - Document ID: US9519455B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/494,183 - Filed: 2014-09-23 - Published: 2015-04-16 - Granted: 2016-12-13 - Earliest claimed: 2013-10-15 - Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Chan-hee Choi; Kyung-mi Park; Hee-seob Ryu; Chan-sik Bok - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9519455B2 ## CPC - G10L 15/22: Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue - G06F 3/167: {Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback} - G10L 15/28: Constructional details of speech recognition systems - G10L 15/30: Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications - H04N 21/23418: {involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics (television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59)} - H04N 21/42203: {sound input device, e.g. microphone} - H04N 21/42204: {User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor (constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205)} - H04N 21/4331: {Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback} - H04N 21/4415: using biometric characteristics of the user, e.g. by voice recognition or fingerprint scanning {(cryptography using biological data H04L9/3231; authentication in networks using biometric H04L63/0861)} - G10L 2015/223: {Execution procedure of a spoken command} - G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract An image processing apparatus, which includes a voice input receiver configured to receive a voice input of user, a signal processor configured to recognize and process the received voice input received through the voice input receiver, a buffer configured to store the voice input, and a controller configured to determine whether a voice recognition function of the signal processor is activated and control the signal processor to recognize the voice input stored in the buffer in response to the voice recognition function being determined to be activated. The controller is further configured to store the received voice input in the buffer in response to the received voice input being input through the voice input receiver while the voice recognition function is not activated, so that the received voice input is recognized by the signal processor when the voice recognition function is activated. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An image processing apparatus comprising: a voice input receiver configured to receive a voice input of user; a signal processor configured to recognize and process the received voice input received through the voice input receiver; a buffer configured to store the voice input; and a controller configured to generate a preset event for activating a voice recognition function in which the received voice input is converted into a command for the image processing apparatus, from an inactivated state and control the signal processor to recognize the voice input stored in the buffer in response to the voice recognition function being activated, wherein the controller is further configured to store the received voice input in the buffer in response to the received voice input being input through the voice input receiver while the voice recognition function is in the inactivated state, so that the received voice input is recognized by the signal processor when the voice recognition function is activated and the image processing apparatus is controlled based on the command. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a communication interface configured to communicate with a server performing a recognition process of the received voice input, wherein the voice recognition function comprises an internal processing method function in which the recognition of the received voice input is performed by the signal processor, and an external processing method in which the recognition of the received voice input is performed by the server, and wherein the controller is further configured to activate each of the internal processing method function and the external processing method function according to activation of the voice recognition function. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to activate the external processing method function by a communication connection between the image processing apparatus and the server. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to activate the internal processing method function by collecting a plurality of commands previously registered and used in at least one application being executed in the image processing apparatus or at least one external device being connected to the image processing apparatus, from at least one of the at least one application and the at least one external device, based on a current state of an execution environment of the image processing apparatus, and by providing a list of commands with the collected commands. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the commands comprise a previously defined command for a specific operation used by the at least one external device or the at least one application for supporting the voice recognition. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a size of data which corresponds to the voice input being stored in the buffer in accordance with a progress of activating the voice recognition function during a preparatory period for the voice recognition, the preparatory period ranging from a time when a starting event for activating the voice recognition occurs to a time when the voice recognition structure is activated. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to set up the size in the buffer to be a first size in response to determining that the progress is at a first speed, and set up the size in the buffer to be a second size in response to determining that the progress is at a second speed, wherein the first size is smaller than the second size and wherein the first speed is faster than the second speed. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, under the external processing method function, the controller is further configured to increase the size in the buffer in response to determining that a network response speed with respect to the server has decreased. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, under the internal processing method function, the controller is further configured to provide a list of commands by collecting a plurality of commands previously registered and used in at least one application being executed in the image processing apparatus or at least one external device being connected to the image processing apparatus, from at least one of the at least one application and the at least one external device, and increase the size in the buffer in response to a number of the commands in the list of commands being increased. ### Claim 10 (depends on 2) The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to determine whether one of the internal processing method function and the external processing method function is activated in response to a total size of the data stored in the buffer exceeding the determined size in the buffer, and the controller is further configured to process the data of the buffer according to the one activated method function and delete the processed data from the buffer in response to determining that one method function of the internal processing method function and the external processing method function is activated. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to delete the data in the buffer in response to determining that any one method function of the internal processing method function and the external processing method function is not activated. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a temporary storage memory configured to store data to be processed by the signal processor or the controller temporarily, wherein the controller is further configured to form the buffer in a preset storing space of the temporary storage memory. ### Claim 13 A control method of an image processing apparatus, the method comprising: generating a preset event for activating a voice recognition function in which a voice input is converted into a command for the image processing apparatus, from an inactivated state; recognizing and processing the voice input by the activated voice recognition function; and controlling the image processing apparatus based on the command, wherein the recognizing and processing the voice input by the voice recognition function activated comprises: storing data of the voice input in a buffer in response to the voice input being received while the voice recognition function is not activated, so that the received voice input is recognized when the voice recognition function is activated. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13, wherein the voice recognition function comprises an internal processing method function in which the translating of the voice input is performed by the image processing apparatus, and an external processing method in which the translating of the voice input is performed by an external server communicating with the image processing apparatus, and each of the internal processing method function and the external processing method function is activated according to activation of the voice recognition function. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method according to claim 14, wherein the external processing method function is activated by a communication connection between the image processing apparatus and the server. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The method according to claim 14, wherein the internal processing method function is activated by collecting a plurality of commands previously registered and used in at least one application being executed in the image processing apparatus or at least one external device being connected to the image processing apparatus, from at least one of the at least one application and the at least one external device, based on a current state of an execution environment of the image processing apparatus, and by providing a list of commands with the collected commands. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method according to claim 16, wherein the commands comprise a previously defined command for a specific operation used by the at least one external device or the at least one application for supporting the voice recognition. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The method according to claim 14, further comprising determining a size of the voice input being stored in the buffer by determining a preset buffer size of the buffer in accordance with a progress of activating the voice recognition function during a preparatory period for the voice recognition, wherein the preparatory period ranges from a time when a starting event for activating the voice recognition occurs to a time when the voice recognition structure is activated. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method according to claim 18, wherein the determining the size in the buffer comprises setting up the size in the buffer to be a first preset size in response to determining that the progress is at a first speed, and setting up the size in the buffer to be a second preset size in response to determining that the progress is at a second speed, wherein the first preset size is smaller than the second preset size and wherein the first speed is faster than the second speed. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The method according to claim 18, wherein, under the external processing method function, the determining the size in the buffer comprises increasing the size in the buffer in response to determining that a network response speed with respect to the server is slower. ### Claim 21 (depends on 18) The method according to claim 18, wherein, under the internal processing method function, the determining the size in the buffer comprises providing a list of commands by collecting a plurality of commands previously registered and used in at least one application being executed in the image processing apparatus or at least one external device being connected to the image processing apparatus, from at least one of the at least one application and the at least one external device, and increasing the size in the buffer to in response to a number of the commands in the list of commands being increased. ### Claim 22 (depends on 14) The method according to claim 14, wherein the storing the data of the voice input in the buffer comprises: determining whether one of the internal processing method function and the external processing method function is activated in response to a total size of the data stored in the buffer exceeds the determined size in the buffer; and processing the data of the buffer according to the one activated method function and deleting the processed data from the buffer in response to determining that one method function of the internal processing method function and the external processing method function is activated. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The method according to claim 22, wherein the storing the data of the voice input in the buffer comprises deleting the data in the buffer in response to determining that any one method of the internal processing method function and the external processing method function is not activated.