Lex Stanley Olorenshaw

US Patent:

6473735, Oct 29, 2002

Filed:

Apr 20, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/553985

Inventors:

Duanpei Wu - San Jose CA
Xavier Menendez-Pidal - Los Gatos CA
Lex Olorenshaw - Corte Madera CA
Ruxin Chen - San Jose CA

Assignee:

Sony Corporation - Tokyo
Sony Electronics Inc. - Park Ridge NJ

International Classification:

G10L 1506

US Classification:

704240, 704255

Abstract:

The present invention comprises a system and method for speech verification using a confidence measure that includes a speech verifier which compares a differential score for a recognized word to a predetermined threshold value, where a recognized word is the word model that produced the highest recognition score. In one embodiment, a single threshold is used for each word in a vocabulary. In another embodiment, each word model has an associated threshold, so that a differential score for a recognized word is compared to a unique threshold associated with that word. In a further embodiment, pairs of confused words in the vocabulary are dealt with separately. If a confused word is the recognized word, the speech verifier compares the differential score to a threshold that depends on the word model that produced the next-highest recognition score. Different values for the various thresholds may maximize rejection accuracy or recognition accuracy. A trade-off between rejection accuracy and recognition accuracy may be made by utilizing an intermediate threshold value that is between a minimum threshold value and a maximum threshold value.

US Patent:

6718302, Apr 6, 2004

Filed:

Jan 12, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/482396

Inventors:

Duanpei Wu - San Jose CA
Miyuki Tanaka - Tokyo, JP
Ruxin Chen - San Jose CA
Lex Olorenshaw - Corte Madera CA

Assignee:

Sony Corporation - Tokyo
Sony Electronics Inc. - Park Ridge NJ

International Classification:

G10L 1102

US Classification:

704233, 704226, 704253, 381 943

Abstract:

A method for utilizing validity constraints in a speech endpoint detector comprises a validity manager that may utilize a pulse width module to validate utterances that include a plurality of energy pulses during a certain time period. The validity manager also may utilize a minimum power module to ensure that speech energy below a pre-determined level is not classified as a valid utterance. In addition the validity manager may use a duration module to ensure that valid utterances fall within a specified duration. Finally, the validity manager may utilize a short-utterance minimum power module to specifically distinguish an utterance of short duration from background noise based on the energy level of the short utterance.

US Patent:

6778959, Aug 17, 2004

Filed:

Oct 18, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/691877

Inventors:

Duanpei Wu - San Jose CA
Lex Olorenshaw - Corte Madera CA
Xavier Menendez-Pidal - Los Gatos CA
Ruxin Chen - San Jose CA

Assignee:

Sony Corporation - Tokyo
Sony Electronics Inc. - Park Ridge NJ

International Classification:

G10L 1314

US Classification:

704256, 704251, 704255

Abstract:

A system and method for speech verification using out-of-vocabulary models includes a speech recognizer that has a model bank with system vocabulary word models, a garbage model, and one or more noise models. The model bank may reject an utterance or other sound as an invalid vocabulary word when the model bank identifies the utterance or other sound as corresponding to the garbage model or the noise models. Initial noise models may be selectively combined into a pre-determined number of final noise model clusters to effectively reduce the number of noise models that are utilized by the model bank of the speech recognizer to verify system vocabulary words.

US Patent:

6970818, Nov 29, 2005

Filed:

Mar 14, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/097962

Inventors:

Lex S. Olorenshaw - Corte Madera CA, US

Assignee:

Sony Corporation - Tokyo
Sony Electronics Inc. - Park Ridge NJ

International Classification:

G10L015/04

US Classification:

704236, 704255

Abstract:

The present invention comprises a methodology for implementing a vocabulary set for use in a speech recognition system, and may preferably include a recognizer for analyzing utterances from the vocabulary set to generate N-best lists of recognition candidates. The N-best lists may then be utilized to create an acoustical matrix configured to relate said utterances to top recognition candidates from said N-best lists, as well as a lexical matrix configured to relate the utterances to the top recognition candidates from the N-best lists only when second-highest recognition candidates from the N-best lists are correct recognition results. An utterance ranking may then preferably be created according to composite individual error/accuracy values for each of the utterances. The composite individual error/accuracy values may preferably be derived from both the acoustical matrix and the lexical matrix. Lowest-ranked utterances from the foregoing utterance ranking may preferably be repeatedly eliminated from the vocabulary set when a total error/accuracy value for all of the utterances fails to exceed a predetermined threshold value.

US Patent:

7139708, Nov 21, 2006

Filed:

Aug 4, 1999

Appl. No.:

09/369031

Inventors:

Lex S. Olorenshaw - Corte Madera CA, US
Mariscela Amador-Hernandez - San Jose CA, US

Assignee:

Sony Corporation - Tokyo
Sony Electronics Inc. - Park Ridge NJ

International Classification:

G10L 15/06

US Classification:

704254, 704255, 704243

Abstract:

A system and method for speech recognition using an enhanced phone set comprises speech data, an enhanced phone set, and a transcription generated by a transcription process. The transcription process selects appropriate phones from the enhanced phone set to represent acoustic-phonetic content of the speech data. The enhanced phone set includes base-phones and composite-phones. A phone dataset includes the speech data and the transcription. The present invention also comprises a transformer that applies transformation rules to the phone dataset to produce a transformed phone dataset. The transformed phone dataset may be utilized in training a speech recognizer, such as a Hidden Markov Model. Various types of transformation rules may be applied to the phone dataset of the present invention to find an optimum transformed phone dataset for training a particular speech recognizer.

US Patent:

7181396, Feb 20, 2007

Filed:

Mar 24, 2003

Appl. No.:

10/395492

Inventors:

Michael Emonts - San Jose CA, US
Xavier Menendez-Pidal - Los Gatos CA, US
Lex Olorenshaw - Half Moon Bay CA, US

Assignee:

Sony Corporation - Tokyo
Sony Electronics Inc. - Park Ridge NJ

International Classification:

G10L 15/28

US Classification:

704251

Abstract:

The present invention comprises a system and method for speech recognition utilizing a merged dictionary, and may include a recognizer that is configured to compare input speech data to a series of dictionary entries from the merged dictionary to detect a recognized phrase or command. The merged dictionary may be implemented by utilizing a merging technique that maps two or more related phrases or commands with similar meanings to a single one of the dictionary entries. The recognizer may thus achieve more accurate speech recognition accuracy by merging phrases or commands which might otherwise be erroneously mistaken for each other.

US Patent:

7272560, Sep 18, 2007

Filed:

Mar 22, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/805840

Inventors:

Gustavo Hernandez Abrego - San Jose CA, US
Xavier Menendez-Pidal - Los Gatos CA, US
Lex Olorenshaw - Half Moon Bay CA, US

Assignee:

Sony Corporation - Tokyo
Sony Electronics Inc. - Park Ridge NJ

International Classification:

G10L 15/06

US Classification:

704244

Abstract:

A system and method for performing a refinement procedure to effectively implement a speech recognition dictionary for spontaneous speech recognition may include a problematic word identifier configured to divide vocabulary words from an initial speech recognition dictionary into problematic words and non-problematic words according to pre-defined identification criteria. A candidate generator may analyze the problematic words to produce one or more pronunciation candidates for each of the problematic words. An optimization module may then perform an optimization process for refining one or more pronunciation candidates according to certain optimization criteria to thereby generate optimized problematic pronunciations. A dictionary refinement manager may finally combine the optimized problematic pronunciations with non-problematic pronunciations of the non-problematic words to produce a refined speech recognition dictionary for use by the speech recognition system.

US Patent:

7272562, Sep 18, 2007

Filed:

Mar 30, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/812560

Inventors:

Lex Olorenshaw - Half Moon Bay CA, US
Gustavo Hernandez Abrego - San Jose CA, US
Eugene Koontz - Mountain View CA, US

Assignee:

Sony Corporation - Tokyo
Sony Electronics Inc. - Park Ridge NJ

International Classification:

G10L 11/00

US Classification:

704270, 704235

Abstract:

A system and method for utilizing speech recognition to efficiently perform data indexing procedures includes an authoring module that coordinates an authoring procedure for creating an index file that has pattern word sets corresponding to data objects stored in a memory of a host electronic device. The pattern word sets are generated with a speech recognition engine that transforms spoken data descriptions into text data descriptions for creating the pattern word sets. The pattern word sets are associated in the index file with data object identifiers that uniquely identify the corresponding data objects. A retrieval module manages a retrieval procedure in which the speech recognition engine converts a spoken data request into a text data request. The retrieval module compares the text data request and the pattern word sets to identify a requested object identifier for locating a requested data object from among the data objects stored in the memory of the host electronic device.