JP2003108183A - Voice controller and heating cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform complicated control through easy operation without lowering the recognition rate of a human voice. SOLUTION: A word extraction part 26 extracts a recognized character string that a storage part 27 stores according to state information on a microwave oven that a center control part 18 outputs. A voice analysis part 23 analyzes a voice inputted through a microphone 10 and outputs the analytic result to a matching part 24. The matching part 24 matches the analytic result against the recognized character string extracted by the word extraction part 26 to calculate their similarity and a decision part 25 outputs the recognition result to the center control part 18 according to the similarity. The center control part 18 controls a heating part, a display part, a speaker, etc., according to the inputted recognition result.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice control device for controlling a cooking operation having a plurality of states based on a voice uttered by a human and a heating cooker provided with the voice control device.

[0002]

There is a heating cooker having a voice recognition function for recognizing a voice uttered by a human and performing various operations according to the recognized voice. In the voice recognition system, the voice input through the voice input means is recognized by collating with the recognized character string stored in the storage means. In this case, the smaller the number of character strings to be recognized, the higher the recognition rate, and the more accurately the input voice can be recognized.

However, when the number of recognized character strings is small,
There is a problem that the operation becomes rather troublesome, for example, when a complicated setting is performed, it is necessary to repeatedly input voice input many times.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to control the operation of a heating cooker having a plurality of states by a simple operation without lowering the recognition rate of input voice. It is an object of the present invention to provide a voice control device capable of performing the above and a heating cooker including the voice control device.

[0005]

A voice control device according to claim 1 of the present invention controls the operation of a heating cooker having a plurality of states, and voice input means for voice inputting command information. A storage means for storing a plurality of recognized character strings, a state information input means for inputting information on the state of the heating cooker, and a storage means for storing the state information based on the state information input by the state information input means. Extracting means for extracting a recognized character string corresponding to the state of the heating cooker from among the recognized character strings, and collating the voice input by the voice input means with the recognized character string extracted by the extracting means. And the voice recognition means and the control means for controlling the operation of the heating cooker based on the character string recognized by the voice recognition means.

According to the above construction, the voice recognition means collates the input voice with the recognized character string corresponding to the state of the heating cooker among all the recognized character strings stored in the storage means. To recognize. Therefore, even if the number of recognized character strings is reduced, it is possible to perform voice recognition according to the state of the cooking device. Therefore, even if complicated settings are made, the operation is not troublesome.

When the state of the heating cooker is composed of the execution state of the heating cooking operation, the setting state for setting the operation mode of the heating cooking operation, and the standby state, the recognized character string corresponding to each state is made different. It is good (the invention of claim 2). According to the above configuration, when in the standby state,
It is possible to prevent the operation in a different state from being abruptly started, such as the execution of the heating and cooking operation being started.

In the voice control device according to claim 3 of the present invention, an automatic cooking executing means for executing a heating cooking operation by a heating method, a heating time, a heating output, etc. suitable for the cooking menu, and items related to the cooking menu are provided. A method for controlling the menu setting means of a heating cooker including a menu setting means for setting the cooking menu by executing a plurality of selection processing steps, wherein a selection item of each processing of the menu setting means is recognized. Storage means for storing as a character string, voice input means for voice inputting selection items for each processing of the menu setting means, step information input means for inputting information regarding processing steps of the menu setting means, and the step Based on the step information input by the information input means, the menu character is selected from the recognized character strings stored in the storage means. -Extracting means for extracting a part or all of the recognized character string corresponding to the processing step being executed by the setting means and the recognized character string corresponding to a processing step lower than the processing step; and the voice input means. Voice recognition means for recognizing the inputted voice by collating it with the recognized character string extracted by the extracting means, and controlling the selection processing of the menu setting means based on the recognized character string recognized by the voice recognizing means. And a control means.

The recognized character string recognized by the voice recognition means is
When the menu setting means corresponds to the processing step being executed, the control means causes the processing step to be executed. On the other hand, when the recognized character string recognized by the voice recognition means corresponds to a processing step lower than the processing step being executed by the menu setting means,
The control means causes the menu setting means to execute lower processing steps. That is, the processing steps executed by the menu setting means can be omitted as necessary. Accordingly, the cooking menu setting process can be performed easily and quickly.

When the menu setting means of the cooking device sets the cooking menu in the final step of the selection process, the extracting means selects the menu from the recognized character strings stored in the storage means. The setting means may be configured to extract the recognized character string corresponding to the processing step and the final step being executed (the invention of claim 4). According to the above configuration, when the name of the cooking menu is known, all the processing steps up to the final step can be omitted.

When the voice recognition means erroneously recognizes the input voice, the setting means executes a selection process which is not intended by the user. Therefore, it is preferable to provide returning means for returning the processing step being executed by the menu setting means to the higher processing step (the invention of claim 5).
According to the above configuration, it is possible to easily redo the selection processing that the menu setting unit has erroneously executed.

[0012] For example, in a heating cooker capable of performing range cooking using a magnetron, the cooking menu "curry" may include warm cooking and simmering cooking, and the user simply inputs "curry" by voice. Then
The control content based on the recognized character string cannot be specified. On the other hand, if the voice input is "warm the curry" or "cook the curry", the voice to be input becomes complicated and the voice recognition process becomes difficult. Therefore, if a determining means for determining the control content of the control means based on the recognized character string is provided (the invention of claim 6). According to the above configuration, the control content based on the recognized character string can be specified even when a simple voice is input.

There may be provided notifying means for notifying a message relating to the recognized character string extracted by the extracting means (the invention of claim 7). In this case, the notification means can be composed of a display means and a voice notification means (the invention of claim 8). According to the above configuration, the voice that the user should input can be recognized.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a microwave oven with a heater as a heating cooker will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. The microwave oven according to the present embodiment has a built-in voice control device.

First, FIG. 1 shows an external view of a microwave oven according to this embodiment. Inside a cabinet 1, a heating chamber 2 having an open front surface is arranged. A door 3 that opens and closes the front opening of the heating chamber 2 is rotatably attached to the front surface of the cabinet 1. A turntable 4 is provided at the bottom of the heating chamber 2. The turntable 4 is configured to be rotated by an RT motor 5 (only shown in FIG. 2) arranged below the bottom surface of the heating chamber 2. Further, on the left and right side walls of the heating chamber 2, there are provided supporting portions 6 for supporting a square plate (not shown). At the time of cooking with heat, food is placed on the turntable 4 or the square plate.

On the other hand, a machine room (not shown) is provided on the right side of the heating room 2 in the cabinet 1, and a magnetron 7 (see FIG. 2) as a microwave generator is arranged in the machine room. It is set up. The magnetron 7 is for microwave cooking the food in the heating chamber 2 by supplying microwaves into the heating chamber 2. Further, an oven and a heater 8 for grill cooking (see FIG. 2) are provided on the ceiling of the heating chamber 2.

Further, an operation panel 9 is arranged at the right end portion of the front surface of the cabinet 1 in FIG. A microphone 10 as a voice input means is provided on the upper part of the operation panel 9, and a display unit 11 made of, for example, a liquid crystal display is provided on the lower part thereof. Further, an operation unit 13 having a large number of operation keys 12 is provided below the display unit 11 of the operation panel 9, and a speaker 14 is provided at the lower left part of the operation unit 13. As will be described later in detail, the operation keys 12 include an arrow key 12a for moving the cursor displayed on the display unit 11 in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a confirmation key 12b (confirmation means) for confirming the selection state by the cursor. Return key (corresponding to return means) 12 for returning the display screen of the display unit 11 to the previous screen.
c and a cancel key 12d are included.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic electric configuration of the microwave oven according to the present embodiment, focusing on a portion related to the gist of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the control device 15
Is composed of a circuit mainly including a microcomputer, and has a voice recognition unit 16 as a voice recognition unit, a key input detection unit 17, a central control unit 18, a voice synthesis unit 19, a display control unit 20, a heating control unit 21. It is configured to include.
The control unit 15 is connected with a heating unit 22 including a microphone 10, operation keys 12, a display unit 11, a magnetron 7, a heater 8 and an RT motor 5.

The central control unit 18 monitors the operations of the microphone 10, the operation keys 12, the display unit 11, the heating unit 22 and the like, and outputs information regarding the operating state thereof and information regarding the processing steps of the setting work described later. Therefore, the central control unit 18 constitutes a state information input means and a step information input means.

The voice synthesizing unit 19 is composed of a limited vocabulary voice synthesizing system for outputting voices of a predetermined vocabulary, and is provided with a memory for storing voice information.
The display control unit 20 has a function of controlling the display of the display unit 11, and includes a display control program and a memory for storing necessary data. The heating control unit 21 has a function of controlling all cooking operations, and includes a memory for storing a cooking operation program corresponding to each of a large number of cooking menus and necessary data. The heating control unit 21 and the heating unit 22 function as automatic cooking execution means.

Further, the voice recognition unit 16 comprises a voice analysis unit 23, a collation unit 24, a judgment unit 25, a word extraction unit 26, and a storage unit 27 as shown in FIG. A large number of recognized character strings are stored in the storage unit 27, which is a storage unit. The word extraction unit 26 as an extraction unit extracts a recognized character string corresponding to the state of the microwave oven from the recognized character strings in the storage unit 27 based on the microwave oven state information input from the central control unit 18. . In this embodiment, the recognized character strings corresponding to each state are set to be different.

Further, the voice analysis unit 23 outputs the analysis result of the voice signal input through the microphone 10. The collation unit 24 collates the analysis result of the voice analysis unit 23 with the standard pattern of the recognized character string extracted by the word extraction unit 26 to calculate the similarity between the two. The determination unit outputs the recognized character string of the most similar standard pattern based on the similarity calculated by the matching unit 24 as a recognition result. Based on the recognition result, the central control unit 18 controls the speaker 14, the display unit 11, and the heating unit 22 through the voice synthesis unit 19, the display control unit 20, and the heating control unit 21, respectively. Therefore, the central control unit 18 functions as a control means, and the control device 15 functions as a voice control device.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the state of the microwave oven will be described. The microwave oven according to the present embodiment has an execution state of the heating and cooking operation by the heating unit 22, a setting state in which various settings regarding the heating and cooking operation are performed, and a predetermined time after the power is turned on or after the heating and cooking operation is completed. It is provided with a standby state from the passage of time until the start of the next operation.

The microwave oven according to this embodiment has a manual cooking mode in which the heating unit 22 is driven according to heating conditions such as heating method, heating output, and heating time set by the user, and a cooking menu set by the user. The heating cooking operation is executed in the automatic cooking mode in which the heating unit 22 is driven according to the corresponding control program.

Therefore, the user needs to set the heating conditions in the cooking mode and the manual cooking mode before executing the heating and cooking operation.
The cooking menu for the automatic cooking mode will be set.
The operation command in the setting work and the standby state, the setting state, and the execution state of the heating and cooking operation can be performed by either the input operation of the operation key 12 or the voice input through the microphone 10.

Next, FIG. 4 showing the display screen of the display unit 11.
The control of the display unit 11 and the heating unit 22 performed by the control device 15 based on the key input and the voice input will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows a display screen (standby screen) when the microwave oven is in a standby state.
In the standby state, the central control unit 18 causes the display unit 11 to display, for example, the current time and a message “Please call me a moving range” regarding voice input together with the current time. At this time, the word extracting unit 26 of the voice recognition unit 16 selects the recognized character string (corresponding to the standby state) from the recognized character strings stored in the storage unit 27 based on the state information output from the central control unit 18. "Move range") is extracted and stored.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the display unit 11 and the display control unit 20.
Functions as display means and notification means.

Here, the enter key 1 of the operation keys 12
When the input operation of 2b is performed, the key input detection unit 17 detects that the enter key 12b is input, and gives the detection signal to the central control unit 18. Further, when the voice input “moving range” is input through the microphone 10, the voice analysis unit 23 and the matching unit 2
4. The voice recognition result is output to the central control unit 18 via the determination unit 25.

The central control unit 18 switches the standby state of the microwave oven to the set state based on the input detection signal or voice recognition result. At this time, the word extracting unit 26 of the voice recognition unit 16 selects the recognized character string corresponding to the set state from the recognized character strings stored in the storage unit 27 based on the state information output by the central control unit 18. Extract and store. The recognized character string corresponding to the set state will be described later.

In the set state, various display screens related to the cooking operation are displayed on the display unit 11. The user selects an item relating to the cooking mode or the cooking menu by key input or voice input while looking at this display screen. In response to this, the central control unit 18 performs a plurality of steps of selection processing of items related to the cooking mode and the cooking menu, and sets the cooking mode, the cooking menu, and the like. Therefore, in this embodiment, the menu setting means is composed of the display unit 11, the operation keys 12, the central control unit 18, and the like.

FIG. 5 shows the display screens corresponding to each selection process arranged according to the steps. The numbers in parentheses at the upper left of the respective display screens shown in FIG. 5 indicate step IDs, and among the numbers arranged on the left and right, the steps whose left numbers are the same are in the same hierarchy. Further, the arrows extending from each display screen show the flow of steps, and the display screens on the base end side and the tip end side of the arrows correspond to the front and rear steps, respectively.

First, the selection and setting work based on the key input will be described with reference to FIG. When the standby state is switched to the setting state, the display unit 11 displays ID (0)
The display screen (initial screen) of is displayed. On this initial screen, "warm", "manual", and "cookbook" are displayed as menus indicating the types of cooking modes. “Warm” is a menu corresponding to a relatively simple heating cooking mode (that is, warm cooking using the magnetron 7) of the automatic cooking modes. “Cookbook” is a menu corresponding to the relatively complicated heating and cooking mode of the automatic cooking modes. "Manual" is a menu corresponding to the manual cooking mode.

A black circle cursor 28 is displayed on the left side of the selected menu on the display screen. The user can move the cursor 28 by operating the arrow keys. Further, the display screen can be scrolled up and down by continuing the vertical movement of the cursor 28. Then, the menu in the selected state is confirmed by operating the confirm key 12b.

When the "warm" menu is selected (confirmed) on the initial screen, the display screen of the display unit 11 displays ID (3.
The display screen is switched to that shown in 1). On this screen, a large number of cooking menus for performing warm cooking using the magnetron 7 are displayed. When each cooking menu is selected on this display screen, a warm cooking screen (not shown) corresponding to the cooking menu is displayed on the display unit 11. Here, when the enter key 12b is operated, the microwave oven shifts to the heating and cooking operation execution state and executes automatic cooking suitable for the set cooking menu.

When the "manual" menu is selected on the initial screen, the display screen indicated by ID (1.1) is displayed on the display unit 1.
It is displayed in 1. On this screen, "range", "oven",
"Grill" is displayed. When each menu is selected on this display screen, a screen for setting various conditions required for the heating method is displayed. That is, when the "range" menu is selected, the screen sequentially shifts to the heating output (range output) display screen indicated by ID (2.1) and the heating time setting screen indicated by ID (3.2). If you select the "Oven" menu, I
The heating temperature (oven temperature) setting screen shown in D (2.2) and the heating time setting screen shown in ID (3.3) are sequentially displayed. When you select the "Grill" menu, ID
The screen changes to the heating time setting screen shown in (3.4).

In each of these setting screens, for example, the arrow keys are operated to input specific numerical values relating to output, temperature, and time, and then the decision key 12b is operated to shift to the next step. Then, at the final step, enter key 1
When 2b is operated, a manual cooking screen (not shown) is displayed on the display unit 1.
It is displayed in 1. Here, when the enter key 12b is operated, the microwave oven shifts to a heating and cooking operation execution state, and drives the heating unit 22 according to the set heating conditions.

Further, when the "cookbook" menu is selected on the initial screen, the display screen indicated by ID (1.2) is displayed on the display unit 11. On this screen, "classification" and "ingredients" are displayed as a selection menu for setting the cooking menu. “Classification” is a method of finding a cooking menu from the type of cooking menu, and “material” is a method of finding from a material name used in the cooking menu.

When "classification" is selected on the display screen ID (1.2), the display screen indicated by ID (2.3) in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display unit 11. On this screen, "Okashi (sweets)", "Sozai (side dish)", "Nikomi (simmered)", etc. are displayed as menus indicating the types of cooking menus. When each menu is selected on this setting screen, a display screen I displaying a large number of cooking menus corresponding to the selected type
D (3.5) to (3.7) are displayed.

When "material" is selected on the display screen ID (1.2), the display screen indicated by ID (2.4) in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display unit 11. On this screen, "potato", "eggplant", "pumpkin", etc. are displayed as a menu showing materials. When each menu is selected on this display screen, display screen IDs (3.8) to (3.10) displaying a large number of cooking menus using the material are displayed.

These display screen IDs (3.5) to (3.
When each menu is selected in 10), an automatic cooking screen (not shown) corresponding to the cooking menu is displayed on the display unit 11. Here, when the enter key 12b is operated,
The microwave oven shifts to the heating cooking operation execution state and executes automatic cooking suitable for the set cooking menu.

At the same time that each of the above-mentioned display screens is displayed on the display unit 11, the voice synthesizing unit 19 outputs a voice message from the speaker 14 regarding the setting method. For example, when the display screen ID (0) is displayed on the display unit 11, a message "Please select a cooking mode" and each menu (warming, manual, cookbook) are output by voice. When the display screen ID (1.2) is displayed on the display unit 11, a message "Please select classification or material" is output by voice. When the display screen IDs (3.1) and (3.5) to (3.10) are displayed on the display unit 11, the message "Select a cooking menu" and the name of each cooking menu are output by voice. To be done.

As described above, the microwave oven according to this embodiment is
When various settings are made by the input operation of the operation keys 12, the settings necessary for executing the heating and cooking operation are made in a plurality of steps. Further, the selection and setting work can be performed according to the message output from the speaker 14.

Next, the selection and setting work based on the voice input will be described with reference to FIGS. Figure 6
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a recognized character string corresponding to the setting state extracted by the word extracting unit 26. The recognized character string in the set state is stored together with the step ID of the selection process, and in FIG. 6, the recognized character string of each step is surrounded by a rectangular frame with the step ID.

As shown in FIG. 6, the recognized character string of step ID (0), which is the first step, is the step of selecting a menu (step ID (2.1) for inputting a numerical value,
(Steps excluding (2.2) and (3.2) to (3.3))
It is composed of the name of each menu. Step ID
The recognized character string of (1.2) is the step ID (1.
2), (2.3), (2.4) and (3.5) to (3.
It is composed of the name of each menu of 10). The recognized character string of step ID (2.3) is the step ID
It is composed of the names of the menus (2.3) and (3.5) to (3.7). The recognized character string of step ID (2.4) is the step ID (2.4) and (3.8).
.. (3.10) is composed of the names of the respective menus.

In the steps of ID (1.1) and (3.1) and (3.5) to (3.10), the recognized character string is composed of the menu name of each step. . The step IDs (2.1) and (2.2)
In addition, in (3.2) to (3.4), work based on voice input cannot be performed. As described above, the recognized character string of each step is composed of the name of the menu of that step and steps lower than that step.

Next, the selection work based on the voice input will be concretely described. For example, when making a cooking menu "meat and potatoes" in the automatic cooking mode, the procedure is as follows. That is,
As shown in FIG. 5, in the method of setting the cooking menu of "meat and potatoes", step ID (0) (select "cookbook"), step ID (1.2) (select "category"), step The path of ID (2.3) (select "Nikomi"), step ID (3.7), and step ID (0)
(Select “Cookbook”), Step ID (1.2) (Select “Material”), Step ID (2.3) (Select “Potato”), Step ID (3.8) .

Therefore, when the user voice-inputs the menu to be selected in each step through the microphone 10, the voice recognition result is output to the central control unit 18 via the voice analysis unit 23, the collation unit 24, and the determination unit 25. Based on the result of the voice recognition, the central control unit 18 determines that the menu is selected in each step, and moves to the next step.
And the final step ID (3.7) or (3.8)
When the cooking menu “meat and potatoes” is input by voice at, the central control unit 18 causes the display unit 11 to display an automatic cooking screen (not shown) corresponding to “meat and potatoes”. Here, enter key 1
When 2b is input, the microwave oven performs automatic cooking suitable for "meat and potatoes". That is, it shifts to the execution state of the cooking operation.

On the other hand, even if the cooking menu “meat and potato” is input by voice in a step higher than the final step, for example, step ID (0), the voice recognition unit 16
Recognizes the voice and outputs the recognition result to the central controller 18. This is because, as described above, the recognized character string of each step is composed of the name of the menu of that step and steps lower than that step.

As a result, the central controller 18 judges that the cooking menu "meat and potatoes" has been selected in the final step, and displays the display screen of the display unit 11 on the automatic cooking screen (not shown) corresponding to "meat and potatoes". ). That is, steps higher than the final step can be omitted.

Similarly, with step ID (0), "nikomi"
When the voice is input, the central controller 18 determines the step ID
In step (2.3), it is determined that the "Nomi" menu is selected, and the step ID (3.
Switch to the display screen of 7). Step ID (1.2)
If you input "potato" by voice, the central controller 1
Step 8 judges that the "potato" menu is selected at step ID (2.4) and switches the display screen of the display unit 11 to the display screen at step ID (3.8).

By the way, the cooking menu "meat and potatoes" selected by the final step IDs (3.7) and (3.8).
Are both cooked in the same cooking mode (boiled cooking)
To do. On the other hand, the final step ID
The cooking menu “Curry” in (3.1) shows the case of heating and cooking in the warm cooking mode. Step ID
The "curry" in (3.7) indicates the case where the food is cooked in the cooking mode corresponding to the "cookbook". Therefore, the content of the heating and cooking operation to be executed differs depending on whether "curry" is selected in step ID (3.1) and "curry" is selected in step ID (3.7).

Therefore, when "Curry" is voice-input in the step higher than the final step ID (3.1) or (3.7), the central control unit 18 displays the display screen shown in FIG. In addition to being displayed on 11, the speaker 14 outputs the message "Warm? Are you cooking?" This display screen is a selection screen of the cooking mode of the cooking menu "curry", "warming" indicates the warming cooking mode, and "cooking" indicates the cooking mode corresponding to the above-mentioned "cookbook". At this time, the word extraction unit 26 of the voice recognition unit 16 selects a recognized character string (“warming” or “cooking”) corresponding to this state from the recognized character strings stored in the storage unit 27. Extract and store. Therefore, the user determines the cooking mode of the cooking menu "curry" by operating the arrow keys 12a and the determination key 12b or by voice input.

When the voice recognition unit 16 erroneously recognizes the word "side dish" when the voice input is "porridge" in step ID (0), the central control unit 18 sets the step ID (3. In 1), it is determined that the cooking menu "side dish" has been selected, and the display screen of the display unit 11 is switched to the automatic cooking screen (not shown) corresponding to "side dish". In such a case, the return key 12c of the operation keys 12 is input. As a result, the display screen of the display unit 11 is returned to the screen before switching (the screen corresponding to step ID (0)). Therefore, the user can easily redo the voice input work.

When shifting to the execution state of the cooking operation, the central control section 18 switches the display screen of the display section 11 to an execution screen (not shown). On the execution screen, for example, the remaining cooking time, heating output, heating temperature, etc. are displayed. At this time, the word extraction unit 26 of the voice recognition unit 16 selects a recognized character string (“stop”, “stop”, “pause”) from among the recognized character strings stored in the storage unit 27, which corresponds to the execution state. Etc.) are extracted and stored.

Therefore, if the user inputs "stop" or "stop" during the cooking operation, the cooking operation is stopped based on this voice. Further, when the voice input “temporary stop” is input, the heating and cooking operation is temporarily stopped based on the voice. Although detailed description is omitted, the heating and cooking operation can be stopped or temporarily stopped by operating the keys.

When the heating and cooking operation is completed, the central control unit 18 switches the display screen of the display unit 11 to an end screen (not shown). At this time, the word extraction unit 26 of the voice recognition unit 16 selects a recognized character string (“end”, which corresponds to the end state) from the recognized character strings stored in the storage unit 27.
“Additional heating”, etc.) is extracted and stored.

In this end state, the cancel key 12d is operated, or "end" is input by voice, or when a certain time has elapsed from the end of the heating and cooking operation, the microwave oven shifts to the standby state.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
Since the voice input through the microphone 10 is configured to be collated and recognized with the recognized character string according to the state of the microwave oven, the voice can be accurately recognized. Further, since the number of recognized character strings can be reduced, the operation is not troublesome even when making complicated settings.

In particular, in the present embodiment, since the recognized character string in each state is different, execution of the heating and cooking operation does not suddenly start in the standby state.

Further, the recognized character string corresponding to the set state is classified for each step of the selection process, and the recognized character string at the predetermined step is recognized from the recognized character strings corresponding to that step and the lower step. Configured. Therefore,
Since the user can omit the processing steps as necessary, the cooking menu setting process can be performed easily and quickly.

Further, when the contents of the heating and cooking operation are different even in the same cooking menu (for example, the cooking menu "curry"), a display screen for specifying the contents is displayed on the display unit 11. . Accordingly, even if only the name of the cooking menu is input by voice, the control content based on the recognized character string can be specified.

In the above embodiment, the recognized character string of each step in the setting work is composed of the menu name of that step and steps lower than that step. On the other hand, the smaller the number of recognized character strings, the higher the recognition rate. Therefore, as in the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. You may comprise from the menu name of a step and the last step.

FIG. 8 shows the recognized character string of step ID (0). As shown in FIG. 8, the step ID
The recognized character string of (0) is "warm", "manual",
“Cookbook” and final step ID (3.1), (3.
The menu names 5) to (3.10) are included. Although not shown, the recognized character string of step ID (1.2) includes “classification”, “material”, and final step I.
The menu names D (3.5) to (3.10) are included.

According to the above configuration, when setting the cooking menu, all that is required is to input the name of the cooking menu by voice, so that the setting operation can be performed more easily and quickly.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, but can be modified and expanded as follows, for example. The display screen of the display unit 11 may be returned to the screen before switching by voice inputting "return" instead of the return key.

The voice control device may be configured separately from the heating cooker. In this case, the voice control device and the heating cooker are connected to each other via a wired or wireless communication network, and the heating cooker constantly sends its own state information to the voice control device via the communication network at predetermined time intervals. Configure to send. The voice control device receives (inputs) the status information transmitted from the heating cooker via the status information input means.

[0066]

As is apparent from the above description, in the voice control device according to claim 1 of the present invention, the recognized character string corresponding to the state of the heating cooker is selected from the recognized character strings stored in the storage means. Extracting means for extracting the voice, voice recognition means for recognizing the voice input by the voice input means by collating with the recognized character string extracted by the extracting means, and the voice recognition means based on the recognized character string by the voice recognizing means. By providing a control means for controlling the operation of the heating cooker, it is possible to perform voice recognition according to the state of the heating cooker while reducing the number of recognized character strings. Even if you do it, the operation is not troublesome.

Further, in the voice control device according to claim 3 of the present invention, the recognized character string corresponding to the processing step being executed by the menu setting means of the heating cooker from among the recognized character strings stored in the storage means, Extraction means for extracting a part or all of the recognized character string corresponding to a processing step lower than the processing step, and the voice input by the voice input means are collated with the recognized character string extracted by the extraction means. The voice recognition means for recognizing by the voice recognition means and the control means for controlling the selection processing of the menu setting means based on the recognized character string recognized by the voice recognition means are provided, and the processing steps executed by the menu setting means are required. Accordingly, the cooking menu setting process can be performed easily and quickly.

Further, in the configuration in which the menu setting means of the heating cooker sets the cooking menu in the final step of the selection processing, the voice control device according to claim 4 of the present invention is such that the extracting means stores the object stored in the storage means. The menu setting means extracts the recognized character string corresponding to the processing step and the final step being executed from the recognized character string. Therefore, when the name of the cooking menu is known, all the processing steps up to the final step can be omitted, and the setting processing of the cooking menu can be performed more easily and quickly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of a microwave oven according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an electric configuration of a microwave oven.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing an electrical configuration of a voice recognition unit and a central control unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display screen in a standby state.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display screen of a setting state according to a flow of setting work

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a recognized character string in a set state.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a confirmation screen.

FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 10 is a microphone (voice input means), 11 is a display unit (display means, notification means, menu setting means), 12 is an operation key (menu setting means), 12a is a confirmation key (confirmation means), and 12c is a return. Key (return means), 15 is a control device (voice control device), 16 is a voice recognition section (voice recognition means), 18 is a central control section (state information input means, step information input means, control means, menu setting means) , 20 is a display control unit (display unit, notification unit), 21 is a heating control unit (automatic cooking execution unit), 22 is a heating unit (automatic cooking execution unit), 26 is a word extraction unit (extraction unit), and 27 is a memory. Department (storage means)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme Coat (reference) G10L 15/06 G10L 3/00 521W 15/08 531W 15/10 571H 15/28 (72) Inventor Nomi Oda Hikari Osaka 1-6 Ota-Toshiba-cho, Ibaraki City O-C Co., Ltd. F-term (Reference) 3L086 AA01 CA10 CA16 CA20 CC07 DA24 DA30 4B055 AA01 BA09 BA10 DB15 GA01 GB27 GB50 GC35 GC36 GC40 5D015 HH04 KK01

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A voice control device for controlling the operation of a heating cooker having a plurality of states based on a voice uttered by a human being, a voice input means for voice inputting command information, and a plurality of recognized character strings. A storage means for storing, a status information input means for inputting information regarding the status of the heating cooker, and a recognized character string stored in the storage means based on the status information input by the status information input means. Extraction means for extracting a recognized character string corresponding to the state of the heating cooker; and voice recognition means for recognizing the voice input by the voice input means by collating it with the recognized character string extracted by the extracting means. A voice control device for controlling the operation of the heating cooker based on the character string recognized by the voice recognition means. 2. The state is composed of an execution state of a heating cooking operation, a setting state for setting an operation mode of the heating cooking operation, and a standby state, and the recognized character string corresponding to each state is different. Item 1. The voice control device according to item 1. 3. An automatic cooking executing means for executing a heating cooking operation by a heating method, a heating time, a heating output, etc. suitable for the cooking menu, and the cooking menu by executing a plurality of steps of selecting items related to the cooking menu. In the voice control device for controlling the menu setting means of the cooking device provided with the menu setting means for setting on the basis of the voice generated by a human being, the selection item of each process of the menu setting means is a recognized character string. Storage means for storing, voice input means for voice inputting selection items of each processing of the menu setting means, step information input means for inputting information regarding processing steps of the menu setting means, and the step information input means Based on the step information input by the By the voice input means, and an extracting means for extracting a part or all of the recognized character string corresponding to the processing step being executed by the menu setting means and the processing step lower than the processing step. A voice recognition unit that recognizes the input voice by comparing it with the recognized character string extracted by the extraction unit, and controls the selection process of the menu setting unit based on the recognized character string recognized by the voice recognition unit. A voice control device comprising: a control unit. 4. When the final step of the selection processing executed by the menu setting means of the heating cooker comprises the selection processing of the cooking menu, the extraction means selects from the recognized character strings stored in the storage means. 4. The voice control device according to claim 3, wherein the menu setting means extracts a recognized character string corresponding to the processing step and the final step being executed. 5. The voice control device according to claim 3, wherein the menu setting means includes return means for returning the processing step being executed to a higher processing step. 6. The voice control device according to claim 1, further comprising a confirming unit for confirming the control content of the control unit based on the recognized character string. 7. The voice control device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies a message regarding the recognized character string extracted by the extraction unit. 8. The voice control device according to claim 7, wherein the notifying means comprises a display means or a voice notifying means. 9. A cooking device comprising the voice control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.