Electronic device for performing voice recognition and operating method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025218444-A1
Application number	US-202418973779-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 9, 2024
Priority date	Dec 27, 2023
Publication date	Jul 3, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electronic device includes: a speaker configured to output an audio signal; a microphone configured to obtain a voice signal of a user; a first memory storing: a first voice recognition engine, a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine, and instructions; a communication interface configured to establish wireless communication connections with a host device and an external electronic device; and at least one processor operatively connected to the speaker, the microphone, the first memory, and the communication interface, the at least one processor being configured to execute the instructions. The first voice recognition engine is commonly stored in the first memory and a second memory of the external electronic device, and the second voice recognition engine is different from voice recognition engines stored in the second memory.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An electronic device comprising:
a speaker configured to output an audio signal; a microphone configured to obtain a voice signal of a user; a first memory storing a first voice recognition engine, a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine, and instructions; a communication interface configured to establish wireless communication connections with a host device and an external electronic device; and at least one processor operatively connected to the speaker, the microphone, the first memory, and the communication interface, the at least one processor being configured to execute the instructions, wherein the first voice recognition engine is commonly stored in the first memory and a second memory of the external electronic device, and wherein the second voice recognition engine is different from voice recognition engines stored in the second memory.

2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first voice recognition engine has a greatest number of uses during a predetermined period, among a plurality of voice recognition engines stored in the first memory and the second memory.

3 . The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to:
count a number of uses of the plurality of voice recognition engines during the predetermined period, and select and store a voice recognition engine with the greatest number of uses during the predetermined period among the plurality of voice recognition engines, as the first voice recognition engine.

4 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to:
receive a command to perform voice recognition from the host device, and identify whether a target voice recognition engine corresponding to the command is among voice recognition engines stored in the first memory.

5 . The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to, based on the target voice recognition engine being in the first memory:
obtain the voice signal of the user based on the target voice recognition engine, based on detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user, deactivate the target voice recognition engine, and transmit information about the keyword to the host device.

6 . The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to, based on the target voice recognition engine not being in the first memory:
transmit the command received from the host device to the external electronic device, receive, from the external electronic device, keyword information detected from the voice signal of the user by using the target voice recognition engine stored in the external electronic device, and transmit the keyword information to the host device.

7 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is configured to:
refer to a primary device configured to operate in response to reception of a command from the host device, and transmit the command to the external electronic device, and wherein the external electronic device is configured to refer to a secondary device configured to operate based on the command received from the electronic device.

8 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to:
identify a remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, compare a remaining battery capacity of the external electronic device received from the external electronic device with the remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, and change the external electronic device to the primary device and change the electronic device to the secondary device, based on a result of the comparison.

9 . An electronic device comprising:
a speaker configured to output an audio signal; a microphone configured to obtain a voice signal of a user; a first memory storing a first voice recognition engine, a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine, and instructions; a communication interface configured to establish wireless communication connections with a host device and an external electronic device; and at least one processor operatively connected to the speaker, the microphone, the first memory, and the communication interface, the at least one processor being configured to execute the instructions, wherein the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine are different from voice recognition engines stored in a second memory of the external electronic device.

10 . The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine are selected from a plurality of voice recognition engines based on any one of a number of uses for each of the plurality of voice recognition engines during a predetermined period, or a user setting.

11 . The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to:
count the number of uses of each of the plurality of voice recognition engines during the predetermined period, sort the plurality of voice recognition engines based on the number of uses of each of the plurality of voice recognition engines, and select and store the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine according to an order of a greatest number of uses among the plurality of voice recognition engines, based on a result of the sorting.

12 . The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to:
receive a command to perform voice recognition from the host device, and identify whether a target voice recognition engine corresponding to the command is among voice recognition engines stored in the first memory.

13 . The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, based on the target voice recognition engine being in the first memory:
obtain the voice signal of the user based on the target voice recognition engine, deactivate the target voice recognition engine in response to detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user, and transmit information about the keyword to the host device.

14 . The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, based on the target voice recognition engine not being in the first memory:
transmit the command received from the host device to the external electronic device, receive, from the external electronic device, keyword information detected from the voice signal of the user by using a target recognition engine stored in the external electronic device, and transmit the keyword information to the host device.

15 . The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the electronic device is configured to:
based on reception of a command from the host device, refer to a primary device configured to operate; and transmit the command to the external electronic device, and wherein the external electronic device is configured to refer to a secondary device configured to operate based on the command received from the electronic device.

16 . The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to:
identify a remaining battery capacity of the electronic device,

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Taehong
• Kim Mihye
• Kim Yongjin

Classifications

• G10L2015/223

  Execution procedure of a spoken command · CPC title

• G10L15/30

  Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications · CPC title

• G10L15/32 Primary

  Multiple recognisers used in sequence or in parallel; Score combination systems therefor, e.g. voting systems · CPC title

• G10L17/24 Primary

  the user being prompted to utter a password or a predefined phrase · CPC title