Method, computer program and control device for activating a voice interface

Abstract

To provide a technique for activating a voice interface for operating a thermal device.SOLUTION: A method for activating a voice interface to operate a thermal device by a voice command is provided. The method includes: (a) a process for detecting whether a person is present within a predetermined range from an installation location of a thermal device; (b) a process for enabling or disabling the voice interface in accordance with the result of detection in the process (a); and (c) a process for permitting the operation of the thermal device by a voice command during a period when the voice interface is enabled by the process (b).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method, a computer program and a control device for activating a speech interface. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, advances in speech recognition and semantic analysis technologies have led to a dramatic increase in the number of terminals, devices, and robots equipped with speech interfaces, as well as services that utilize speech interfaces. A speech interface is a user interface in which a user gives instructions (speech commands) to a device, which then operates the device according to the content of the voice commands and obtains output from the device. Therefore, speech interfaces are superior in terms of operability and convenience compared to conventional user interfaces, such as GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces).

[0003] In Patent Document 1, when a user wants to operate a television by voice, the user utters a wake word and then utters an operation such as "Turn on the television." A device with a voice recognition function recognizes whether the voice contains the wake word, and if so, transmits voice data indicating the operation to a platform that provides cloud services. The platform analyzes the received voice data and transmits control data corresponding to the operation to the device. The device transmits the control data received from the platform to the television. This realizes the operation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-86535 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] With voice interfaces, devices that are awake (on standby) may be activated at a time unintended by the user in response to words that happen to be included in the voice output from a television or other device. It is essential to prevent voice interfaces from being activated by noise or other factors, resulting in operations that the user does not intend. For example, with regard to thermal appliances that use heat or heat, such as cooking stoves, there is a demand for voice interfaces that do not perform operations that the user does not intend.

[0006] The present disclosure provides techniques for activating a voice interface for operating thermal equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a method for activating a voice interface for operating a thermal appliance by voice commands, the method including: (a) detecting whether a person is present within a predetermined range from the installation location of the thermal appliance; (b) enabling or disabling the voice interface depending on the detection result of process (a); and (c) allowing operation of the thermal appliance by voice commands while the voice interface is enabled by process (b).

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure also relates to a method for activating a voice interface for operating a thermal device using voice commands. User characteristic information for users authorized to operate the thermal device via the voice interface is pre-registered. The method includes: (a) acquiring user characteristic information for an operator attempting to operate the thermal device using a sensor output; (b) detecting, before or after (a), or in parallel with (a), whether a person is present within a predetermined range from the location of the thermal device; (c) enabling or disabling the voice interface based on the operator characteristic information acquired by (a), the pre-registered user characteristic information, and the detection result of (b); and (d) permitting operation of the thermal device via voice commands while the voice interface is enabled by (c). Process (c) includes (c1) a process of authenticating that the operator is a user by using the operator's characteristic information acquired by process (a) and the user's characteristic information registered in advance, (c2) a process of determining whether or not the presence of a person has been detected by process (b), and (c3) a process of activating the voice interface if the authentication by process (c1) is successful and the presence of a person is detected by process (c2).

[0009] A computer program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a computer program for causing a calculation unit to execute any of the above-described operation methods.

[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure is a control device that controls activation of a voice interface for operating a thermal device by voice commands. The control device includes a communication interface that receives the output of a sensor installed so as to be detectable within a predetermined range from the installation position of the thermal device, and a calculation unit. The calculation unit (a) executes a process of detecting whether or not a person is present within the predetermined range based on the received sensor output, and (b) a process of enabling or disabling the voice interface depending on the detection result of process (a). [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present disclosure, techniques are provided for activating a voice interface for operating thermal equipment. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1A] A top view of a kitchen facility in which a cooking appliance 1 incorporating a control device 100 is installed. [Figure 1B] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a scene in which a user 200 issues a voice command while the presence of the user 200 is detected within a predetermined range R. [Figure 2A] A diagram showing a scene in which there is no person within a predetermined range R from the installation position of the cooking appliance 1, and only a smartphone 202 is placed there. [Figure 2B] A diagram showing a scene in which there is no person within a predetermined range R from the installation position of the cooking appliance 1, and only a smartphone 202 is placed there. [Figure 3A] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a cooking device incorporating a control device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration in which a control device and a cooking appliance 1 are housed in separate housings and are connected to each other via a communication line. [Figure 3C] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example in which a control device is installed in a server device. [Figure 4] Control device hardware configuration diagram [Figure 5] 1 is a perspective view of an induction cooking device according to an exemplary embodiment; [Figure 6] 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of an induction heating cooker according to an exemplary embodiment; [Figure 7] Schematic diagram of the induction cooker configuration [Figure 8] Partial schematic diagram of the operation unit and display unit [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing executed by the calculation unit of the control device. [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing executed by the calculation unit of the control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] (Findings of the inventors of the present application) There are many advantages to users operating devices with voice commands. For example, it allows hands-free operation, eliminating the need to touch the device directly. Users can operate the device from a distance without having to check the device's screen. Also, because voice control is quick, users can respond immediately when an emergency operation is required from a distance. Furthermore, even setting items located deep within a hierarchy can be easily called up and entered by voice, enabling a variety of operations in addition to those performed while looking at the device's screen, reducing the amount of input required by the user.

[0014] When operating a device using such voice commands, a user conventionally first utters a predetermined sound called a wake-up word, followed by an operation word corresponding to the desired operation. The device constantly receives audio signals from a microphone and determines whether the wake-up word is present in the speech. When the device recognizes the wake-up word, it starts up its system, waits for the subsequent operation word to be spoken, and, if it recognizes the operation word, executes the action corresponding to that operation word.

[0015] When operating a device using voice commands, the device may mistakenly recognize the voice output from a television, radio, smartphone, etc. as a wake-up word and then mistakenly recognize the voice output thereafter as an operation word. In this case, the device will execute the operation corresponding to the operation word. For example, if the device is a lighting fixture and the operation is to turn on the light, the impact of the mistaken recognition is minor. On the other hand, if the device is a thermal device that uses fire or heat, the impact of the mistaken recognition may be significant. Examples of thermal devices are an induction cooking heater with an induction stove, a gas cooker with a gas stove, and a stove.

[0016] The inventors of the present application considered it desirable to impose activation conditions specific to appliances that do not use fire or heat (non-heat appliances) when operating a heat appliance with a voice command. Specifically, they considered it desirable to determine in advance whether or not a person is present within a range (predetermined range) within which the appliance can be seen and to enable / disable the appliance's voice interface. By disabling the appliance's voice interface when no person is present, the heat appliance will not mistakenly recognize the sound from the television as a wake-up word or voice command. On the other hand, when a person is present within the predetermined range, the appliance's voice interface is enabled. In this case, there is a possibility that the heat appliance will mistakenly recognize noise or the like as a wake-up word or voice command and ignite. However, since a person is present within the predetermined range, they can quickly approach the heat appliance and manually extinguish the fire.

[0017] The inventors of the present application further considered that there are cases where simply determining whether a person is present is not sufficient. For example, when it is determined that a person is present, a child or a household pet may actually be identified as a "person." Because a "person" is identified, the voice interface is activated, and a heating appliance can be operated using a voice command. However, if an unintended ignition occurs due to a misrecognition of the voice command, the operation to extinguish the fire may not be performed.

[0018] Therefore, the inventors of the present application decided to not only determine whether a person is present within a predetermined range from the heating appliance, but also to authenticate the person and enable / disable the voice interface based on the results. Specifically, the conditions for enabling the voice interface of the heating appliance are that a person is present within a predetermined range from the heating appliance and that the person is authenticated as a pre-registered person. This allows the user to extinguish the fire even if the fire is unintentionally ignited by the voice interface.

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, more detailed description than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed description of well-known matters or redundant description of substantially identical configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary redundancy in the following description and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. Note that the inventors provide the accompanying drawings and the following description to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and the subject matter described in the claims is not limited by them.

[0020] (Embodiment 1) (1) Overview Hereinafter, an overview of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 3C. In the following description of the embodiment, the thermal equipment is a cooking appliance. The cooking appliance is, for example, an IH (Induction Heating) cooking heater that uses electric power to inductively heat a cooking container, or a gas cooking heater that heats a cooking container by burning gas. In the following, the cooking appliance is assumed to be an IH cooking heater.

[0021] FIG. 1A is a top view of kitchen equipment in which a cooking appliance 1 incorporating a control device 100 is installed. The cooking appliance 1 is equipped with an infrared sensor 52. The infrared sensor 52 detects infrared rays emitted from a heat source present within a predetermined range R from the infrared sensor 52. The control device 100 receives an output signal from the infrared sensor 52 of the cooking appliance 1 and determines whether or not a heat source is present. Typically, the "heat source" is a person, and the "predetermined range R" is the range within which the infrared sensor 52 can detect the heat source. In this specification, the "predetermined range R" refers to a semicircular planar area or a hemispherical space of approximately 2 m centered on the infrared sensor 52. In this specification, the term "predetermined range from the infrared sensor 52" has the same meaning as "predetermined range from the installation position of the cooking appliance 1."

[0022] When the control device 100 receives the output signal from the infrared sensor 52, it determines whether or not there is a person within a predetermined range R from the installation position of the cooking appliance 1 based on the output signal. FIG. 1A shows a user 200 present within the predetermined range R. At this time, the control device 100 enables the voice interface of the cooking appliance 1. While the voice interface is enabled, the control device 100 allows the cooking appliance 1 to be operated by voice commands.

[0023] FIG. 1B shows a scene in which user 200 issues a voice command while the presence of user 200 is detected within predetermined range R. At this time, control device 100 has enabled the voice interface. After user 200 utters a predetermined wake-up word, he or she sequentially utters the voice commands "right IH" and "light it up." The voice uttered by user 200 is picked up by microphone 50 of cooking appliance 1 and sent to control device 100. In response to the voice command, control device 100 instructs cooking appliance 1 to light heating unit 8, which corresponds to "right IH," among heating units 7 to 9 of cooking appliance 1. This allows user 200 to operate cooking appliance 1 using voice commands. For convenience, the illustration of a pot or the like that should normally be placed on cooking appliance 1 is omitted.

[0024] 2A and 2B show a scene in which there is no person within a predetermined range R from the installation position of the cooking appliance 1, and only the smartphone 202 is placed there. Because no person is detected, the control device 100 disables the voice interface of the cooking appliance 1. Therefore, even if a video or the like being played on the smartphone 202 happens to contain the wake-up words as audio and further contains the audio of "right IH" and "ignite," the control device 100 does not allow the cooking appliance 1 to be operated by voice commands. Therefore, unlike the example of FIG. 1B, the heating unit 8 of the cooking appliance 1 will not be ignited.

[0025] In this way, the control device 100 executes a process (a) of detecting whether or not a person is present within a predetermined range R from the installation position of the cooking appliance 1, a process (b) of enabling or disabling the voice interface of the cooking appliance 1 according to the detection result, and a process (c) of permitting operation of the cooking appliance 1 by voice command while the voice interface is enabled. Even if a voice command is erroneously recognized when the voice interface is enabled and the cooking appliance 1 performs an operation that is not intended by the user 200, the user 200 can quickly approach the cooking appliance 1 and operate it with his or her hand to stop the operation.

[0026] 3A shows a cooking appliance 1 incorporating a control device 100 of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, cooking appliance 1 is an IH cooking heater and has heating units 7 to 9 which are three IH heaters. Cooking appliance 1 may also have an IH heater or a grill that uses a heater as a heat source. Cooking appliance 1 also has an infrared sensor 52 for detecting the presence of a person and a microphone 50 for acquiring the voice of user 200 for voice recognition.

[0027] The infrared sensor 52 may be, for example, a sensor sensitive to wavelengths around 10 micrometers, where the energy peak of human radiation is present. The infrared sensor 52 may be, for example, a pyroelectric infrared human detection sensor, or an infrared CCD camera capable of outputting a thermal image with 320 x 240 pixels. The sensor output signal is an analog signal, but is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter (not shown) in the cooking appliance 1 and transmitted to the control device 100.

[0028] The control device 100 is connected to the cooking appliance 1 inside the cooking appliance 1 so as to receive the output signal from the infrared sensor 52 and the audio signal from the microphone 50. This makes it possible to realize the above-mentioned processes (a) to (c). Hereinafter, in this specification, the output signal from the infrared sensor 52 may be referred to as the "sensor output signal." In FIG. 3A, the control device 100 is built into the cooking appliance 1, but other configuration examples are also possible. FIG. 3B shows a configuration example in which the control device 100 and the cooking appliance 1 are housed in separate housings and connected to each other via a communication line 140. The control device 100 receives a sensor output signal and an audio signal from the microphone 50 via the communication line 140. The control device 100 enables or disables the audio interface based on the sensor output signal. While the audio interface is enabled, the control device 100 performs audio recognition processing and transmits a control signal to the cooking appliance 1 via the communication line 140 to operate the cooking appliance 1 in accordance with the recognition result. While the audio interface is disabled, the control device 100 stops audio recognition processing.

[0029] 3C shows a configuration example in which the control device 100 is installed in a server device 150. In other words, the server device 150 has the functions of the above-mentioned control device 100. The server device 150 can receive the sensor output signal and the audio signal from the microphone 50 via a communication network 160.

[0030] The above-described operation can be realized with any of the above configurations. Note that the person presence detection process, the voice recognition process, and the control signal generation process and output process do not need to be performed within a single control device 100. For example, the control device 100 in FIG. 3A may perform the person presence detection process, an external server device may perform the voice recognition process, and the control device 100 may receive the voice recognition result. The control device 100 may transmit a control signal to the cooking appliance 1 in accordance with the recognition result of the server device. Also, for example, in the configuration of FIG. 3B, communication between the cooking appliance 1 and the control device 100 may be performed wirelessly rather than wired. Furthermore, in the configuration of FIG. 3C, at least a part of the communication between the cooking appliance 1 and the communication network 160 may also be performed wirelessly.

[0031] The above-mentioned wired communication and wireless communication may be performed in accordance with known communication standards. For example, wired communication may be performed in accordance with the Ethernet (registered trademark) standard, the USB (registered trademark) standard, etc. Wireless communication may be performed in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard for LANs (Local Area Networks) and the fourth / fifth generation mobile communication systems, so-called 4G / 5G, for mobile communications.

[0032] (2)Details Hereinafter, the configurations of the control device 100 and the cooking appliance 1 will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 8. Then, the operation of the control device 100 will be described with reference to Figures 9 and 10. The following description will be based on the configuration example shown in Figure 3A.

[0033] Control device FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the control device 100. As shown in FIG. The control device 100 includes a calculation unit 102, a storage unit 104, an input interface (I / F) 106, and an output interface (I / F) .

[0034] The calculation unit 102 is a calculation circuit that executes the processing described below, and includes a signal processing circuit such as a CPU, a microcontroller (microcomputer), and the like.

[0035] The storage unit 104 is one or more storage devices to and from which data can be written and read. Examples of such storage devices include a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, a hard disk drive, and an SSD. In this embodiment, the storage unit 104 includes a RAM 104a and a flash memory 104b.

[0036] The input I / F 106 and the output I / F 108 are connected to an internal bus (not shown) of the cooking appliance 1. The input I / F 106 receives a sensor output signal and an audio signal output from the microphone 50 of the cooking appliance 1. The output I / F 108 outputs a control signal to a control unit of the cooking appliance 1, which will be described later.

[0037] The storage unit 104 will be described in more detail below. The RAM 104a stores computer programs executed by the calculation unit 102. In this embodiment, the RAM 104a stores a voice recognition engine 110 and a presence / absence determination program 112. By executing the voice recognition engine 110, the calculation unit 102 can recognize words uttered by the user 200 that are included in a voice signal received via the input I / F 106. Any existing voice recognition technology can be used for the recognition process by the voice recognition engine 110. A specific description of the voice recognition technology will be omitted.

[0038] By executing the presence / absence determination program 112, the calculation unit 102 detects the presence or absence of a person from the sensor output signal. For example, if the infrared sensor 52 is a pyroelectric infrared human sensor, the presence / absence determination program 112 includes a process for determining whether the sensor output signal exceeds a predetermined threshold. If the sensor output signal exceeds the predetermined threshold, it is determined that a person is present. If the infrared sensor 52 is an infrared CCD camera capable of outputting thermal images, the presence / absence determination program 112 includes a process for determining whether a human shape pattern is included in the thermal image. If a human shape pattern is included, it is determined that a person is present.

[0039] The flash memory 104b stores wake-up word data 120 and an operation word group 122. The wake-up word data 120 indicates a wake-up word. The wake-up word may be a fixed word or may be changeable by the user.

[0040] Each wake-up word is associated with a control command. The control command is an instruction indicating which heating unit is to be operated by the voice command. The control unit 31 of the cooking appliance 1 performs processing on the heating unit designated by the control command as the operation target.

[0041] When the cooking appliance 1 or the control device 100 is shipped, default values ​​for each wake-up word are set. Any wake-up word can be changed by the user 200. When one or more wake-up words are changed, the flash memory 104b rewrites the existing wake-up words with the changed wake-up words under the control of the calculation unit 102. Note that the control commands cannot be rewritten.

[0042] The operation word group 122 is a collection of various operation words. Table 1 shows an example of the operation word group 122. [Table 1] Each operation word is associated with a control command. The control command is an instruction indicating what operation to perform. The control unit 31 of the cooking appliance 1 executes the specified operation on the heating unit specified by the control command.

[0043] By using the above-described voice recognition engine 110, wake-up word data 120, and operation word group 122, the calculation unit 102 can recognize whether or not a wake-up word is included in the voice uttered by the user 200, and if so, which heating unit the wake-up word corresponds to. Furthermore, by continuing voice recognition thereafter, it can recognize whether or not an operation word is included in the voice uttered by the user 200, and if so, what kind of operation word it is.

[0044] 《Heating cooker》 Hereinafter, an induction heating cooker according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0045] Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an induction heating cooker 1 according to an exemplary embodiment. Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing a control system of the induction heating cooker 1 according to the embodiment. Fig. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the induction heating cooker 1.

[0046] Some of the drawings related to the present disclosure indicate an X-axis, a Y-axis, and / or a Z-axis. When a user faces the induction cooking appliance during use, the X-axis direction indicates the width direction (longitudinal direction) of the cooking appliance, the Y-axis direction indicates the depth direction (short-side direction), and the Z-axis direction indicates the height direction. The positive direction of the X-axis is the right direction, and the negative direction is the left direction. The positive direction of the Y-axis is the rearward direction, and the negative direction is the forward direction.

[0047] 《Induction heating cooker》 First, a general configuration of the induction heating cooker 1 according to the present disclosure will be described. Note that the infrared sensor 52 has already been described, so a repeated description will be omitted.

[0048] 5, the induction heating cooker 1 has a main body 3 and a top plate 5 on which a container is placed on the top surface of the main body 3. The container contains an object to be heated, such as food ingredients to be cooked, such as stew.

[0049] Heating coils 7, 8, and 9 are arranged inside the main body 3 of the induction cooking device 1, more specifically, below (on the -Z side of) the container placement area on the top plate 5 of the induction cooking device 1. The heating coils 7 to 9 generate an induction magnetic field to inductively heat the container. Note that the cooking device 1 includes three heating coils 7 to 9, but may include one, two, four or more heating coils.

[0050] In the induction heating cooker 1, for example, operating units 19, 20, and 21 that can be physically operated to operate the heating coils 7, 8, and 9, respectively, are provided. In other words, each of the heating coils 7, 8, and 9 "corresponds" to each of the operating units 19, 20, and 21. In this specification, the components provided for each of the heating coils 7, 8, and 9 are referred to as components "corresponding" to the heating coil.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 5, ring-shaped markers 11, 12, and 13 indicating the container placement areas are printed on the top plate 5 above the heating coils 7-9 (+Z side) in "correspondence" with the heating coils 7, 8, and 9, respectively.

[0052] In top view, ring-shaped light-emitting units 15 and 16 that emit light are arranged on the outer sides of the heating coils 7 and 8 on the top plate 5. In addition, an arc-shaped light-emitting unit 17 is arranged on the front side (-Y side) of the heating coil 9 on the top plate 5. The light-emitting units 15 to 17 emit light, for example, when a current flows through the corresponding heating coils 7 to 9. Each of the light-emitting units 15 to 17 has, for example, an LED light-emitting substrate (not shown).

[0053] Additionally, a temperature sensor 18 is disposed below the top plate 5, inside the markers 11 to 13. The detected value detected by the temperature sensor 18 is sent to the control unit 31. The control unit 31 adjusts the amount of current flowing through the heating coils 7 to 9 while referring to the detected temperature value, and determines the timing for providing assistance guidance on cooking methods.

[0054] Operation units 19, 20, and 21 are arranged on the front side (-Y side) of the top plate 5 of the induction cooking appliance 1. The operation units 19, 20, and 21 are used by the user to operate the heating coils 7 to 9, respectively. Operation unit 19 is provided to operate heating coil 7, operation unit 20 is provided to operate heating coil 8, and operation unit 21 is provided to operate heating coil 9. In this specification, operation unit 19 corresponds to heating coil 7, operation unit 20 corresponds to heating coil 8, and operation unit 21 corresponds to heating coil 9.

[0055] Display units 23, 24, and 25 are disposed on the front side of the top plate 5 of the induction cooking appliance 1, between the heating coils 7-9 and the operation units 19-21. The display units 23, 24, and 25 respectively display the status of the objects operated by the operation units 19-21. The operation of the display units 23-25 ​​is controlled by a control unit 31, which will be described later.

[0056] Each of the display units 23 to 25 includes, for example, a matrix dot liquid crystal display device. The matrix dot liquid crystal display device is, for example, a full-dot liquid crystal display panel having a strip shape extending in the width direction of the top plate 5.

[0057] Display units 23 to 25 each display, as an image object, the state of the operation target, the details of the operation of heating coils 7 to 9, etc. For example, display unit 23 displays the details of the operation of heating coil 7, display unit 24 displays the details of the operation of heating coil 8, and display unit 25 displays the details of the operation of heating coil 9.

[0058] The image object is a character and / or an image. For example, the image object is the character "heating." In this case, it is indicated that the induction heating cooker 1 is capable of heating using the heating coils 7-9 corresponding to the display units 23-25. Furthermore, the display units 23-25 ​​may display an image object of the character "start" indicating the start of heating together with the character "heating." After heating starts, the display units 23-25 ​​may display an image object such as a number or icon indicating the amount of heating (heating power) of the heating coils 7-9.

[0059] The display units 23 to 25 may be liquid crystal display devices with segment display. Characters and / or images displayed using one or more segments fall within the category of the image object described above.

[0060] The main body 3 includes a speaker 27 that outputs audio information relating to the heating of the heating coils 7 to 9. The speaker 27 is disposed on the front side of the induction heating cooker 1, and outputs audio guidance to the user.

[0061] As shown in Fig. 6, the induction heating cooker 1 includes a control unit 31 and a storage unit 33 inside the main body 3. The control unit 31 includes a signal processing circuit such as a CPU or a microcontroller (microcomputer). The storage unit 33 is a storage device such as a ROM, RAM, hard disk drive, or SSD. The storage unit 33 stores a computer program for operating the induction heating cooker 1. The control unit 31 is configured to perform various functions described below by executing the computer program.

[0062] Control unit 31 executing the computer program functions as coil control unit 35, which controls the amount of current flowing through heating coils 7-9, guidance information control unit 37, which controls the display area of ​​display units 23-25, guidance information control unit 45, which controls the display output of guidance information, and cooking guidance control unit 47, which controls the output of cooking guidance information. However, some or all of coil control unit 35, guidance information control unit 37, and cooking guidance control unit 47 do not have to be realized by software, and may instead be composed of one or more CPUs, microprocessors, and FPGAs.

[0063] The output signals of the operation units 19 to 21 are input to the control unit 31. The control unit 31 sets the heating amount of the heating coils 7 to 9 in response to the operation. The control unit 31, functioning as the coil control unit 35, controls the start or stop of heating by the heating coil 7 in response to the operation instruction of the operation unit 19. The coil control unit 35 supplies high-frequency current to the heating coils 7 to 9 to heat the container placed on the top plate 5. The coil control unit 35 also controls the amount of heat from the heating coils 7 to 9 by controlling the amount of current flowing through the heating coils 7 to 9. Furthermore, since the output signals of the operation units 19 to 21 are input to the control unit 31, they are also used to control the operation of the control unit 31, which functions as the guidance information control unit 37 and the cooking guidance control unit 39.

[0064] The cooking guidance control unit 39 sends cooking guidance information to the guidance information control unit 37 when appropriate conditions are met according to a predetermined heating sequence or cooking sequence. The appropriate conditions include whether the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 18 meets predetermined temperature conditions, or whether a predetermined time has passed since the detected temperature reached a predetermined temperature. These conditions are set for each assist menu for which cooking guidance is provided. When the cooking guidance control unit 39 determines that these conditions are met, it instructs the guidance information control unit 37 to display cooking guidance corresponding to those conditions on the display units 23 to 25. These heating sequences, cooking sequences, and cooking guidance are stored in the memory unit 33.

[0065] When the control unit 31 receives the control signal, it analyzes the control command included in the control signal. When the control device 100 recognizes the wake-up word and then the operation word, the control device 100 uses the control command to specify the heating unit to be operated and the operation content.

[0066] Display and operation section Next, the display units 23-25 ​​and the operation units 19-21 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. The operation units 19-21 each include a first operation unit 51, a second operation unit 53, a third operation unit 55, and a fourth operation unit 57. The first operation unit 51-4 operation unit 57 may be, for example, touch switches including capacitance switches or push-button switches. The first operation unit 51-4 operation unit 57 set the heating operation of the corresponding heating coils 7-9. The first operation unit 51 has a clock pattern printed on it and is mainly used to select timer settings. The second operation unit 53 and the third operation unit 55 each have arrow patterns, such as "<" and ">", printed on them and are mainly used to select menus and set the heat level and timer time. The fourth operation unit 57 has a pattern printed on it indicating the heating area corresponding to the operation unit and functions as a multi-function switch to which different functions can be assigned depending on the situation. The power switch 22 has the function of turning on the induction heating cooker 1. The power switch 22 may further have a function of cutting off the power supply to the induction cooking appliance 1. In addition to the power switch 22, a switch for cutting off the power supply may be provided.

[0067] <<Operation of the control device>> FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the process executed by the calculation unit 102 of the control device 100.

[0068] In step S10, the calculation unit 102 acquires a sensor output signal from the infrared sensor 52 of the cooking appliance 1.

[0069] In step S12, the calculation unit 102 determines whether or not a person is present within a predetermined range R from the installation position of the cooking appliance 1. If no person is present, the process proceeds to step S14, and if a person is present, the process proceeds to step S16.

[0070] In step S14, the calculation unit 102 disables the voice interface. There are various possible ways to "disable." For example, this may include stopping the operation of the microphone 50 of the cooking appliance 1, acquiring a voice signal with the microphone 50 but stopping the acquisition of the voice signal by the control device 100, acquiring a voice signal but stopping the analysis of the voice signal by the control device 100, etc.

[0071] In step S16, the calculation unit 102 activates the audio interface. That is, the calculation unit 102 acquires an audio signal output from the microphone 50 and switches to processing capable of analyzing the audio signal.

[0072] In step S18, the calculation unit 102 allows operation by voice command. For example, the calculation unit 102 transitions to a standby mode in which it receives a wake-up word, and after detecting the wake-up word, it waits for an operation word. When the calculation unit 102 receives the operation word, it executes control of the cooking appliance 1 according to the operation word.

[0073] (Embodiment 2) In this embodiment, the voice interface is enabled when both conditions are satisfied: a person is present within a predetermined range R from the position where the cooker 1 is installed; and the user of the cooker 1 is authenticated as a pre-registered user. By including authentication, a user who is able to operate the cooker 1 can more accurately monitor the operation of the cooker 1. For example, even if the infrared sensor 52 recognizes a child, pet, etc. as a person and the voice command is erroneously recognized when using the voice interface, causing the cooker 1 to perform an unintended operation, the user can directly operate the cooker 1 to stop the operation.

[0074] Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In Fig. 10, the same processes as those in Fig. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted.

[0075] In step S20 following step S10, the calculation unit 102 acquires feature information from the detection signal. Feature information refers to information indicating features that can identify an individual user. Various "features" are possible. For example, the feature may be at least one selected from a voiceprint, a fingerprint, a facial image, a vein pattern, an iris pattern, height, and a behavioral pattern. For example, if the feature is a voiceprint, the calculation unit 102 uses the user's voice signal detected by the microphone 50 as the detection signal and acquires the voiceprint from the detection signal. If the feature is a fingerprint, the calculation unit 102 acquires the fingerprint using the output signal of a fingerprint sensor (not shown) as the detection signal. If the feature is any of a facial image, a vein pattern, an iris pattern, and height, the detection signal of an imaging device having sensitivity or a field of view capable of detecting each of them is used. If the feature is a behavioral pattern, for example, the user's operation history of the cooking appliance 1 over a certain period of time may be used.

[0076] In step S22, the calculation unit 102 determines whether the acquired feature information matches pre-registered feature information. This determination process is performed on the premise that features of the same type as the features acquired in step S20 are pre-registered in the control device 100. For example, it is conceivable to pre-register feature information of users who can operate the cooking appliance 1.

[0077] As described above, in this embodiment, to determine whether to enable or disable the voice interface, a process is performed to acquire a person's characteristic information, a process is performed to authenticate that the person is the user using the acquired person's characteristic information and pre-registered user characteristic information, a process is performed to detect the presence of the person, and if the authentication is successful and the presence of the person is detected, the voice interface is enabled.

[0078] Regarding the order, the process of step S12 can be determined independently of the process of step S20. For example, the process of step S12 may be performed before or after the process of step S20. Alternatively, the process of step S12 may be performed in parallel with the process of step S20. The process of step S12 can also be determined independently of the process of step S22. Step S22 may be performed after step S20.

[0079] (3) Variations Modifications will be described below.

[0080] In the above description, the predetermined range R is an example of the range in which the infrared sensor 52 can detect a heat source, but it may be determined by adjusting or limiting the detectable range of the sensor.

[0081] In the above-described embodiment, the detection result of the infrared sensor 52 is used to detect the presence or absence of a person within the predetermined range R. However, the presence or absence of a person may also be detected using the output results of other sensors. For example, the output results of other sensors may include the output of a contact sensor capable of detecting human contact, the recognition result of an image acquired by an image sensor, the recognition result of a sound acquired by a microphone, the recognition result of a thermal image acquired by an infrared sensor, and / or the output of a vital sign acquired by a biosensor. Detection of human contact includes, for example, detection of operation by the cooking appliance 1, detection by a contact sensor disposed on the top plate, and detection of depression of a foot switch. Examples of contact sensors include capacitance sensors that detect changes in capacitance. These sensors can be installed within a limited distance from the cooking appliance 1 within the predetermined range R. Regarding the recognition result of sound acquired by a microphone, for example, if the amplitude of the acquired sound signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it can be determined that a person is present within the predetermined range R, and if it is less than the predetermined value, it can be determined that a person is not present within the predetermined range R.

[0082] As the output results of the other sensors mentioned above, by excluding the voice recognition results acquired by the microphone in particular and using the other output results, it is possible to eliminate the possibility of successful authentication due to incorrect voice recognition.

[0083] It is preferable that a person be present near the cooking appliance 1 while cooking is being performed by the cooking appliance 1. The control device 100 continues to perform a person detection process at predetermined time intervals, for example, every 5 seconds, even if the voice interface is enabled. If the presence of a person is no longer detected after the heating operation has started, the calculation unit 102 of the control device 100 may output a control signal to stop the heating operation. At this time, the enabled voice interface is disabled. Alternatively, the calculation unit 102 may output a control signal to stop the heating operation after a predetermined period has elapsed after the presence of a person is no longer detected. This makes it possible to allow the operator of the cooking appliance 1 to temporarily leave the cooking appliance 1.

[0084] When outputting a control signal to stop the heating operation, the calculation unit 102 may store information on the operating conditions of the heating operation in its own memory unit 104 or in the memory unit 33 of the cooking appliance 1. This information on the operating conditions is, for example, information that identifies the heating unit that was performing the heating operation, information that identifies the value of the heating power, etc.

[0085] After the heating operation has been stopped, if a person returns and the presence of a person is detected again, the calculation unit 102 may automatically resume the heating operation using the information on the saved operating conditions. The heating operation is automatically stopped when a person is no longer present, and resumed under the same conditions when the person returns, providing high convenience to the user. Note that instead of automatically resuming the heating operation, the calculation unit 102 may receive an instruction from the user as to whether or not to resume the heating operation using the saved operating conditions. The calculation unit 102 can display a message on the display units 23 to 25 of the cooking appliance 1 corresponding to the heating unit that was performing the heating, and determine whether or not to resume heating based on input to the operation units 19 to 21.

[0086] The user may want to know whether the voice interface is enabled or disabled. Therefore, the user may be notified that the voice interface has been enabled and / or disabled via the display units 23 to 25 and the speaker 27.

[0087] The above has described an embodiment of the induction heating cooker 1 according to the present disclosure. The processing according to the above-described flowchart is realized as the operation of the control unit 31 by a computer program. Such a computer program can be stored in the storage unit 33 and executed by the control unit 31.

[0088] (4) Aspects As is clear from the above-described embodiments and modifications, the present disclosure includes the following aspects. In the following, reference numerals are given in parentheses only to clarify the correspondence with the above-described embodiments.

[0089] The first aspect is a method for activating a voice interface for operating a thermal device (1) by voice commands. The method includes: (a) a process (S12) for detecting whether or not a person is present within a predetermined range (R) from the installation position of the thermal device; (b) a process (S14, S16) for enabling or disabling the voice interface depending on the detection result of the process (a); and (c) a process (S18) for permitting operation of the thermal device by voice commands while the voice interface is enabled by the process (b).

[0090] The second aspect is a method based on the first aspect. The characteristic information of users who are permitted to operate a thermal device via a voice interface is registered in advance. The process (b) of the method includes: (b1) a process (S20) of acquiring characteristic information of a person whose presence is detected by the process (a), (b2) a process (S22) of authenticating that the person is a user by using the characteristic information of the person acquired in the process (b1) and characteristic information of the user that has been registered in advance, and (b3) a process (S16) of enabling the voice interface if the authentication by the process (b2) is successful.

[0091] A third aspect is a method based on the second aspect. The characteristic information is biometric information. The process (b2) of the method is performed using at least one selected from a voiceprint, a fingerprint, a face image, a vein pattern, an iris pattern, and a behavior pattern as the characteristic information.

[0092] A fourth aspect is a method based on any one of the first to third aspects. The detection of the presence or absence of a person in step (a) of the method is performed using an output result of a sensor (52, etc.). The output result of the sensor is an output from a contact sensor capable of detecting human contact, a recognition result of an image acquired by an image sensor, a recognition result of a voice acquired by a microphone, a recognition result of a thermal image acquired by an infrared sensor, and / or an output of a vital sign acquired by a biometric sensor.

[0093] A fifth aspect is a method based on the fourth aspect, wherein the output result of the sensor is an output result other than a speech recognition result.

[0094] A sixth aspect is a method based on the fourth aspect, wherein the predetermined range in step (a) of the method is determined by adjusting a detectable range of the sensor.

[0095] A seventh aspect is a method based on any one of the first to sixth aspects. The process (a) of the method is continued even after the operation of the thermal device is accepted by the process (c). After the heating operation using the thermal device is started, if the presence of a person is no longer detected by the process (a), the heating operation is stopped.

[0096] An eighth aspect is a method based on any one of the first to sixth aspects. The process (a) of the method is continued even after the operation of the thermal device is accepted by the process (c). After the heating operation using the thermal device is started, if the presence of a person is no longer detected by the process (a), the heating operation is stopped after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

[0097] A ninth aspect is a method according to the seventh or eighth aspect, wherein the method stores the operating conditions of the heating operation upon stopping the heating operation.

[0098] A tenth aspect is a method based on the ninth aspect. The method includes, after the heating operation is stopped, performing steps (a) to (c), and, when the voice interface is enabled again, restarting the heating operation using the saved operating conditions.

[0099] A tenth aspect is a method based on the ninth aspect. The method includes, after the heating operation is stopped, performing steps (a) to (c), and, when the voice interface is enabled again, receiving an instruction as to whether to resume the heating operation using the saved operating conditions.

[0100] A twelfth aspect is a method based on any one of the first to eleventh aspects. The step (b) of the method further includes a step of announcing that the voice interface has been enabled and / or disabled.

[0101] A thirteenth aspect is a method based on any one of the first to twelfth aspects. The thermal device includes an operation unit that can be physically operated by a user. The operation unit accepts an operation on the operation unit regardless of whether the voice interface is enabled or disabled.

[0102] A fourteenth aspect is a method for activating a voice interface for operating a thermal device (1) by voice commands. Characteristic information of users authorized to operate the thermal device via the voice interface is pre-registered. The method includes: (a) acquiring characteristic information of an operator attempting to operate the thermal device using a sensor output; (b) detecting, before or after (a), or in parallel with (a), whether a person is present within a predetermined range (R) from the installation position of the thermal device; (c) enabling or disabling the voice interface depending on the operator characteristic information acquired by (a), the pre-registered user characteristic information, and the detection result of (b); and (d) permitting operation of the thermal device via voice commands while the voice interface is enabled by (c). Process (c) includes (c1) a process of authenticating that the operator is a user by using the operator's characteristic information acquired by process (a) and the user's characteristic information registered in advance, (c2) a process of determining whether or not the presence of a person has been detected by process (b), and (c3) a process of activating the voice interface if the authentication by process (c1) is successful and the presence of a person is detected by process (c2).

[0103] A fifteenth aspect is a computer program for causing a calculation unit (102, 150) to execute the method according to any one of the first to fourteenth aspects.

[0104] A sixteenth aspect is a control device (100) that controls activation of a voice interface for operating a thermal device (1) by voice commands. The control device includes a communication interface (106) that receives output from a sensor (52) that is installed so as to be capable of detecting a predetermined range (R) from the installation position of the thermal device, and a calculation unit (102). The calculation unit (a) executes a process of detecting whether or not a person is present within the predetermined range based on the received sensor output, and (b) a process of enabling or disabling the voice interface depending on the detection result of process (a).

[0105] A seventeenth aspect is a control device based on the sixteenth aspect. The control device is mounted on the thermal equipment.

[0106] A seventeenth aspect is a control device based on the sixteenth aspect. The control device is installed in a server device (150) communicably connected to the sensor and the thermal device. [Industrial Applicability]

[0107] The exemplary control device of the present disclosure is applicable to applications in which a cooking appliance is operated by voice commands. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] 1 Cooker 3 Main unit 5 Top Plate 7, 8, 9 Heating coils 11, 12, 13 markers 15, 16, 17 Light-emitting part 18 Temperature Sensor 19, 20, 21 Operation input section 22 Power switch 23, 24, 25 Display section 27 Speaker 31 Control Unit 33 Storage section 50. Mike 100 control device 102 Arithmetic section 104 Storage section 106 Input Interface (Input I / F) 108 Output Interface (Output I / F) 150 Server device 160 Communication Network

Claims

1. 1. A method for activating a voice interface for operating a thermal appliance having a microphone for capturing voice commands, the method comprising: (a) detecting whether or not a person is present within a predetermined range from the installation position of the thermal equipment; (b) enabling or disabling the voice interface in response to the detection result of the process (a); (c) a process of permitting operation of the thermal device by the voice command while the voice interface is enabled by the process (b); It encompasses the process of disabling the audio interface is a process of stopping the operation of the microphone, The method, wherein the process of permitting operation of the thermal equipment includes an operation of starting heating in the thermal equipment from a state in which heating is not being performed.

2. characteristic information of users who are permitted to operate the thermal equipment using the voice interface is registered in advance; The process (b) (b1) a process of acquiring characteristic information of a person whose presence is detected when the presence of the person is detected by the process (a); (b2) a process of authenticating that the person is the user by using the characteristic information of the person acquired in the process (b1) and characteristic information of the user that has been registered in advance; (b3) a process of activating the voice interface when the authentication is successful in the process (b2); The method of claim 1, comprising:

3. the characteristic information is biometric information, 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the process (b2) is performed using at least one selected from a voiceprint, a fingerprint, a face image, a vein pattern, an iris pattern, and a behavior pattern as the characteristic information.

4. The process of detecting whether or not a person is present in the process (a) is performed using an output result of a sensor, The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the output result of the sensor is the output of a contact sensor capable of detecting human contact, the recognition result of an image acquired by an image sensor, the recognition result of a voice acquired by the microphone, the recognition result of a thermal image acquired by an infrared sensor, and / or the output of a vital sign acquired by a biometric sensor.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the sensor output is an output other than a speech recognition result.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the predetermined range in the process (a) is determined by adjusting a detectable range of the sensor.

7. The process (a) is continued even after the operation of the thermal device is accepted by the process (c), The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein after the heating operation using the thermal equipment has started, the heating operation is stopped when the presence of the person is no longer detected by the process (a).

8. The process (a) is continued even after the operation of the thermal device is accepted by the process (c), A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein after the heating operation using the thermal equipment is started, if the presence of the person is no longer detected by the process (a), the heating operation is stopped after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

9. 9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the operating conditions of the heating operation are saved when the heating operation is stopped.

10. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein, after the heating operation has been stopped, the steps (a) to (c) are performed, and if the voice interface is enabled again, the heating operation is resumed using the saved operating conditions.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein, after the heating operation is stopped, the processes (a) to (c) are executed, and when the voice interface is enabled again, an instruction as to whether to resume the heating operation using the saved operating conditions is accepted.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step (b) further comprises the step of announcing that the voice interface has been enabled and / or disabled.

13. the thermal device includes an operation unit that can be physically operated by a user of the thermal device; The method according to claim 1 , wherein an operation on the operation unit is accepted regardless of whether the voice interface is enabled or disabled.

14. 1. A method for activating a voice interface for operating a thermal device having a microphone for capturing voice using voice commands, comprising: characteristic information of users who are permitted to operate the thermal equipment using the voice interface is registered in advance; (a) a process of acquiring characteristic information of an operator who is about to operate the thermal equipment using an output result of a sensor; (b) before or after the process (a), or in parallel with the process (a), a process of detecting whether or not a person is present within a predetermined range from the installation position of the thermal equipment; (c) a process of enabling or disabling the voice interface in accordance with the characteristic information of the operator acquired by the process (a), the characteristic information of the user registered in advance, and the detection result of the process (b); (d) a process of permitting operation of the thermal device by the voice command while the voice interface is enabled by the process (c); It encompasses The process (c) (c1) a process of authenticating that the operator is the user by using the characteristic information of the operator acquired by the process (a) and characteristic information of the user registered in advance; (c2) a process of determining whether or not the presence of a person has been detected by the process (b); (c3) a process of enabling the voice interface if the authentication is successful in the process (c1) and the presence of the person is detected in the process (c2); and (c4) a process of disabling the voice interface by stopping operation of the microphone if the authentication fails in the process (c1) or the presence of the person is not detected in the process (c2); It encompasses The method, wherein the process of permitting operation of the thermal equipment includes an operation of starting heating in the thermal equipment from a state in which heating is not being performed.

15. A computer program for causing a calculation unit to execute the operating method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A control device that controls activation of a voice interface for operating a thermal device having a microphone for acquiring voice by voice commands, a communication interface for receiving an output of a sensor installed so as to be capable of detecting the thermal equipment within a predetermined range from the installation position of the thermal equipment; Calculation unit and The calculation unit comprises: (a) detecting whether or not a person is present within the predetermined range based on the received output of the sensor; (b) enabling or disabling the voice interface in response to the detection result of the process (a); (c) a process of permitting operation of the thermal device by the voice command while the voice interface is enabled by the process (b); Run the process of disabling the audio interface is a process of stopping the operation of the microphone, The process of permitting operation of the thermal device includes an operation of starting heating in the thermal device from a state in which heating is not being performed.

17. The control device according to claim 16 , which is mounted on the thermal equipment.

18. The control device according to claim 16 , which is installed in a server device communicably connected to the sensor and the thermal device.

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