Patent Application
20050256718
This invention relates generally to movable barrier control systems.
Movable barrier operator systems of various kinds are known in the art. In general, such systems serve to effect selective movement of a movable barrier (including but not limited to garage doors of various kinds, rolling shutters, and other horizontally or vertically sliding, moving, or pivoting doors, gates, arms, and the like) between at least a first position and a second position (such as between an opened and a closed position). Many such systems include at least one and frequently a plurality of movable barrier operator system components. Such components serve in general to instigate and/or to reflect or report active operation of the system in general and often (but not always) more specifically the active operation of the movable barrier itself. Examples of such components include but are not limited to movable barrier operators and movable barrier operator remote control devices (including wired and wireless remote control devices and portable and stationary remote control devices).
The operational strategies, component configuration and deployment, installation requirements, and feature sets of such systems continues in general to grow in complexity. At the same time, however, many users are unable or unwilling to make effective use of a challenging user interface. As a result, many modern movable barrier operator systems that support a variety of functions and operational states nevertheless offer only a very limited user interface. For example, in many cases, the individual components provide little or no informational content to a user. In some cases one or two light emitting diodes or other similar indicator serves to indicate when a particular button has been pushed or some corresponding action has been instigated, but generally speaking, such systems are literally silent in this regard.
While such design strictures do, in at least some sense, often succeed in maintaining potential user cognitive loading at or below some desired level, these same user interface conditions also potentially unduly constrain the breadth and/or depth of system functionality, ease of use, and capability. This, in turn, can ultimately lead to reduced user satisfaction.
The above needs are at least partially met through provision of the movable barrier control system component with audible speech output apparatus and method described in the following detailed description, particularly when studied in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.
Generally speaking, pursuant to these various embodiments, one or more movable barrier control system components are operably coupled to an audible speech output device. For example, a movable barrier operator and/or a fixed-location remote control user interface can be coupled in this fashion to an audible speech output device. So configured, and pursuant to a preferred approach, predetermined speech content can be provided in response to detection of a predetermined trigger event. (In a preferred approach, such predetermined trigger events include trigger events other than events that correspond to an interactive speech recognition activity.)
So configured, audible speech content can be provided to inform and/or assist a system user or installer. This speech content can serve as a natural and relatively intuitive interface for the provision of warnings, notices, instructions, and help. This capability can also serve, if desired, to facilitate individualization of a given system deployment and/or increased user enjoyment experience.
These and other benefits will become more evident to those skilled in the art upon making a thorough review and study of the following detailed description.
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to
Such an automated movable barrier control system 10 will also often comprise one or more remote control user interfaces. There are typically two such kinds of interfaces; there may be one or more portable remote control user interfaces 17 and there may be one or more fixed-location remote control user interfaces 18. Portable interfaces 17 are typically battery powered and usually communicate with one or more corresponding movable barrier operators 12 via a wireless communication link. Fixed-location remote control user interfaces 18, such as wall-mounted remote control user interfaces, communicate with a corresponding movable barrier operator(s) 12 via a wireless communication link and/or a hard-wired communication link (such as but not limited to a single signal carrying conductor, a two-wire serial data path, an optical signal path (such as an optical fiber path), and so forth). So configured, a user can provide instructions to a movable barrier operator 12 even while being remotely disposed with respect to that movable barrier operator 12.
The above system elements and their mode and range of operation are well known in the art. Because of this, and further because the teachings set forth below are not particularly sensitive to a given choice of system platform or operating strategy, additional details regarding such system elements will not be provided here for the sake of brevity and clarity.
Referring now to
Pursuant to some embodiments, the audible speech output device 21 operably couples to one or more memories 23. This memory 23 has speech content stored therein. For example, when the audible speech output device 21 comprises a digitized voice audible speech output device, this speech content can comprise corresponding digitized speech content. Similarly, when the audible speech output device 21 comprises a synthesized voice audible speech output device, this speech content can comprise corresponding speech synthesis parameters and data (wherein the data can comprise, for example, text when the audible speech output device further comprises a text-to-speech synthesizer as is also understood in the art). So configured, the audible speech output device 21 can access this memory 23 to obtain data that the audible speech output device 21 can compatibly convert to audible speech. (Those skilled in the art will recognize that this memory can be formed, in whole or in part, integral to the audible speech output device 21, the automated movable barrier control system component 11, or can be deployed in a discrete fashion as is suggested by the illustration.)
In a preferred embodiment, this stored speech content comprises at least one, and preferably a plurality, of predetermined messages. (Those skilled in the art will recognize that such predetermined messages can each comprise a discretely stored message (i.e., where each message is audibly and substantively complete in and of itself) or each can comprise a combination of smaller message units (such as individual phrases, words, syllables, consonants/vowels, or the like).)
Such messages can comprise any of a wide variety of information content, including but not limited to such examples as:
Such messages can be provided in any appropriate form. For example, a given message can comprise a declaratory statement while another message can comprise a question. The latter can be particularly effective when seeking to elicit a corresponding response from an installer or user. For example, the question, “Have you completed Step 1?” can be posed after providing instructions regarding how to accomplish this step in order to determine whether and when to provide information regarding a next sequential step in an installation process.
Such messages can also be provided in any appropriate voicing. For example, a human-sounding voicing can be applied or a non-human-sounding voicing can be used as desired. The voicing can be gender neutral or can be gender recognizable (for example, the audible speech content can be recognizable as indicative of male or female voiced content). The voicing can also be identity-specific or identity-neutral. When identity-neutral, the voicing is essentially unrecognizable as owing to any particular known speaker. When identify-specific, the voicing is recognizable as having been spoken by a particular known speaker. For example, the speech content can comprise audible content as provided by (or modeled after) a given celebrity's speech. As another example, the speech content can comprise audible content as provided by the installer or the user themselves (where, for example, such an individual essentially records their own speech content for use as described herein).
Other variations exist with respect to such stored speech content. In addition to comprising a plurality of messages that differ from one another with respect to substantive content as regards a given automated movable barrier control system (or some selected sub-system pertaining thereto), one or more of these messages can be selected only for use in a given operating context or with a given operating platform. For example, the memory 23 may contain speech content that, in the aggregate, contains substantive content suitable for use with any model of component as may be offered by a given manufacturer (or industry group). The audible speech output device 21 and/or the component 11 itself, however, may use only a portion of that total quantity of message content as is appropriate and relevant to the capabilities, features, and or deployment particulars that pertain to that given device 21 and/or component 11. Therefore, depending upon the needs and requirements of a given situation, such stored messages can differ from one another (either substantively or with respect to application or use) with respect to one or more of:
It would also be possible to provide messages comprising different versions or expressions of a shared substantive meaning. For example, this could accommodate permitting a user to select a terse messaging style (with messages such as “Warning!”) or a more informative messaging style (with messages such as “Please be careful. The door is now closing.”). This approach would not only permit the use of messages having a same substantive message content but having alternative wording, but would also accommodate the storage and availability of messages having a same substantive message content but as delivered in alternative languages. For example, both “Warning!” and “Avertissement!” could be stored to express the same substantive notion in both English and French.
When such alternatives are available, in some instances a given alternative or set of alternatives should preferably be set automatically by the automated movable barrier control system component 11, the audible speech output device 21, or some other system element. Such automated selection well suits a situation when alternatives or other selections are designed to accord with variations regarding a given component's or system's own features and capabilities. In other cases, it may be useful and appropriate to provide an interface such that a user can select a given set of messages or a specific alternative or style of alternatives. Such flexibility well suits a situation when the alternative or other selections are designed to accommodate personal preferences.
In many cases the automated movable barrier control system component will include some form of user input interface such as one or more buttons, switches, and the like. In many cases this can be adequate to serve anticipated needs. For some purposes, however, it may be desired to operably couple an audio information input device 24 to, for example, the automated movable barrier control system component 11. Such an audio information input device 24 can comprise, for example, a speech recognition input device in accord with well understood prior art practice. Such a speech recognition input device can be speaker-dependent and/or speaker-independent, again in accord with well understood prior art technique and methodology.
So configured, a user can provide information to the automated movable barrier control system component 11. Such information can be audibly provided in response to, for example, audiblized spoken prompts as provided to the user via the audio speech output device. Other possibilities also exist. For example, when two components 11 within a given system 10 both have audible speech output devices 21 and audio information input devices 24, they can communicate with one another via an exchange of speech. In such a case, the pre-stored messages may comprise, or at least include, spoken messages intended for receipt and processing by a system component rather than by a user or installer. Such techniques can be used, for example, to permit such devices to confirm their mutual presence to one another and to then configure themselves in an appropriate corresponding fashion.
The audible speech output device 21 itself will typically comprise a suitable translation platform to convert the stored speech content into an audible format. For example, when the stored speech content comprises digitized speech samples, the audible speech output device 21 would typically include a digital-to-analog converter to convert such a digital representation into a corresponding audio signal. The audible speech output device 21 will also likely usually include one or more amplification stages to raise the level of the resultant audio signal to an appropriate power level. Other processes, such as compression, equalization, filtering, and so forth can also be accommodated as desired. Audio signal processing generally comprises a well-understood area and additional details will therefore not be provided here.
The audible speech output device 21 may, or may not, necessarily include an audio transducer. Pursuant to some embodiments, and referring now to
Pursuant to another approach (See
Pursuant to yet another embodiment (See
Other forms of wireless communication could also be utilized if desired. This would include, but not be limited to, optical signal-based communications (using, for example, an infra-red carrier) and audio signal-based communications (using, for example, an ultrasonic or supersonic carrier) as are well understood in the art.
Referring now to
If desired, one or more of these audiblized speech output options can be used in conjunction with other output mechanisms as well. For example, a display mechanism can be provided to facilitate the provision of textual or graphic informational content to a nearby user. (Further details regarding supporting embodiments and use of display mechanisms in a movable barrier operator system are set forth in a patent application entitled MOVABLE BARRIER OPERATOR SYSTEM DISPLAY METHOD AND APPARATUS filed on even date herewith and having attorney docket number 82831, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by this reference.) When providing such facilities, it will likely often be useful to provide a selection mechanism to permit a user to select which information output approaches to use (alone or in combination with one another) for given corresponding functions and/or periods of time.
Various of these embodiments, or such other enabling platform as may be desired and available to a given system designer, can be used to support various corresponding processes. In general, and referring now to
The process 70 then detects 73 when one or more predetermined trigger events as correspond to the movable barrier operator system occur (again, wherein such predetermined trigger events do not comprise events that correspond to an interactive speech recognition activity). These predetermined trigger events can be many and varied and can correspond to essentially any aspect of, or regarding, a movable barrier controller system. As but a few illustrative examples, suitable trigger events can comprise:
In response to detecting such a trigger event, the process 70 then provides 74 at least a portion of the predetermined speech content. As described above, preferably, this predetermined speech content is presented in audible form. By one approach, a relatively generic audible message can be provided in response to any of a plurality of sensed trigger events. In a preferred approach, however, an appropriate context-sensitive selection of a given message will be effected when sensing a given trigger event. So configured, a specific verbal message conveying a trigger-specific communication can be offered for each of a plurality of predetermined trigger events.
As noted earlier, predetermined speech content particularly intended for use in an interactive speech recognition exchange can also be optionally provided. When available, this process 70 can further provide for detection 75 of predetermined trigger events as correspond to such an interactive speech recognition activity and the subsequent provision 76 of responsive speech content from the additional predetermined speech content.
In general, the provision of audiblized speech when joined in conjunction with one or more movable barrier operator system components yields numerous benefits. The resultant ease of communication (both outwardly and in support of interactive communications) can be readily leveraged to permit more reliable installation or use of one or more components of a movable barrier operator system, a greater breadth and depth of operating features and options, and improved security, reliability, and enjoyment of use.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of modifications, alterations, and combinations can be made with respect to the above described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, and combinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventive concept.
