WO1997037344A1

WO1997037344A1 - Terminal having speech output function, and character information providing system using the terminal

Info

Publication number: WO1997037344A1
Application number: PCT/JP1996/000853
Authority: WO
Inventors: Katsuki Ikuta; Tooru Yokozawa; Tadashi Kuwabara
Original assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
Priority date: 1996-03-29
Filing date: 1996-03-29
Publication date: 1997-10-09

Abstract

In a terminal having the function to display a text and the function to read it aloud, when the position where the reading starts is designated, the speech information is synchronized with the display information so as to change the reproduction start position to a pause of the text such as the beginning of a clause, a sentence or a paragraph, for easy hearing. A text information reception system (2) of a terminal for receiving distribution of a text comprises display means (208) for displaying a text on a screen, speech output means for reading aloud the text displayed, input means (209) for detecting the position on the screen indicated by the user, and control means (210) for searching the position at which the text is best punctuated before and after the indicated position, causing the speech output means to start reading aloud the text from the beginning determined by this position, and causing the display means to display the position of word which is being read aloud.

Description

Specification

Terminal having voice output function and character information providing system using the same

The present invention relates to an information providing system that provides voice information and character information to a user, and more particularly to display of text information accompanied by voice information. Background art

Conventionally, as means for notifying the user of the current reading position when reading out a character or a sentence and outputting the sound, there is a method of changing image information corresponding to a sound output such as Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-52115 or Karaoke. .

By using the above-mentioned technology, it is possible to display textual information and to know where the displayed text is being read out when performing voice output.

However, in the conventional audio playback means, forward or backward is realized by inputting audio information, so the playback start point is moved to a paragraph or a sentence or the beginning of a paragraph, and the playback is started. Could not be resumed. Disclosure of the invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem in the case of performing voice output in displaying text information. In order to restart the voice output from a place where the user can easily hear the voice information, the present invention provides voice information and its contents. The purpose of this is to synchronize display information with characters.

In the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a terminal receiving distribution of text information Display means for displaying text information on the screen, voice output means for reading out the displayed contents, input means for detecting the position on the screen designated by the user, and text separation before and after the designated position. The apparatus is configured to search for a good position, make the voice output means read out the text information displayed from the position of the delimiter, and provide control means for displaying the read out position on the display means.

Further, the invention includes a data conversion means for associating the text information with the voice information, and for deciphering the sentence to identify a head of a segment or a sentence or a paragraph from the text information, and to generate synchronization information. . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of article information as text information in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a text segment in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of article information as text information in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a menu on a terminal in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of an article on a terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the order of processing at the start of audio output in the first embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the order of processing at the time of switching the reading position during audio output in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example in which the reading position during voice output is switched in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing order when a character is selected in the first embodiment of the present invention when audio is not output,

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a diagram showing a display example of an article on a terminal in the third embodiment,

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a display example of an article on a terminal according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display example of an article on a terminal according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration example of article information as text information in the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display example of an article on a terminal according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of article information as sentence information in the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of menu information according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Form

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. In the following, an electronic newspaper is used as a specific example of text information. However, this is only for facilitating the description of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the electronic newspaper alone. First Example>

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a text information-added sentence information providing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment shows an example of a method in which a user retrieves a digitized newspaper article with audio information to a terminal via a telephone line 3, and an example of audio reproduction control. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an article information transmission system, which stores various kinds of digitized newspaper article information with audio information and distributes the information to terminals.

Reference numeral 101 denotes a data converter, which has a function of outputting article information 1001 by performing grammatical analysis on text information 9001 of an electronic newspaper input by an external system or manually. Prepare. Article information 1001, as shown in Fig. 2, is text information 9001, reading information 9002, synchronization information 9003, and identification for identifying these information as one set. Consists of ID 9004. Here, the reading information 9002 is obtained by performing a grammatical analysis on the text information 9001 to obtain a phonetic symbol string including information such as reading, accent, pause, intonation, and speed. It provides the information necessary for reading aloud. The synchronizing information 9003 is also subjected to grammatical analysis of the text information 9001 to provide an index indicating that the sentence is well-separated, such as a clause or the beginning of a sentence or paragraph, and a text. This provides information that associates the character string in the information 9001 with the phonetic symbol string in the reading information 9002. Also, identification ID 90

0 4 is assigned to each article information, for example, as K J 0 1, K J 0 2, and the like.

An article information storage unit 102 holds and manages the article information 1001 output from the data conversion unit 101. Furthermore, menu information 1002 for the user to select desired article information 1001 in a menu format is created. Redundant. It also has a management function. Here, the menu information 1002 is composed of text information 9001, an identification ID 9004, and reference information 9005 as shown in FIG. The reference information 9004 is composed of an identification ID 9004 for further menu information or an identification ID 9004 for another article information. The display of each item is performed using the text information 9001 added to the menu information. The identification ID 900 4 is information for identifying the menu information 1002 itself. Reference numeral 103 denotes a receiving unit, which has a function of receiving an identification ID 904 transmitted from a user terminal described later via the telephone line 3 and outputting the received identification ID 904 to a control unit 104 described later. . Reference numeral 104 denotes a control unit, which searches the corresponding article information 1001 or menu information 1002 from the article information storage unit 102 based on the identification ID output from the receiving unit 103, and It has a function to output. Reference numeral 105 denotes a transmission unit, which has a function of transmitting the article information 1001 or the menu information 1002 output from the control unit 104 to the user terminal via the telephone line 3.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes an article information receiving system serving as each user's terminal. The article information 100 distributed from the article information transmitting system 1 is displayed, raised, and new article information 100 is displayed. Requests delivery of 1 or menu information 1002.

Reference numeral 201 denotes a receiving unit, which receives the article information 1001 or menu information 1002 sent from the article information transmitting system 1 via the telephone line 3 and stores it in the article information storage unit 202. Output. Reference numeral 202 denotes an article information storage unit, which holds article information 1001 or menu information 1002.

Reference numeral 203 denotes an article information acquisition unit, which analyzes the article information 1001 and the menu information 1002 obtained from the article information storage unit 202 and obtains the article information 1001 and the menu information 1 The above-mentioned various information constituting 02 is stored in each storage unit. First, from the article information 1001, the synchronization information 9003 The readout information 9002 is output to the synchronization information storage section 204, the readout information 9002 is output to the readout information storage section 205, and the text information 9001 is output to the text information storage section 206. On the other hand, from the menu information 1002, the reference information 9005 consisting of the identification ID 9004 corresponding to each item is stored in the reference information storage unit 207, and the text information 9001 is textualized. Output to the information storage unit 206.

Reference numeral 208 denotes an information display unit, which displays the text information 9001 in the text information storage unit 206 together with an icon for controlling the reading of article text by a liquid crystal display device or the like. Furthermore, in the reverse display processing of the displayed text information 9001, a function of reversely displaying up to the character corresponding to the synchronization information obtained from the reading position storage unit 212, which will be described later, starting from the beginning of the sentence. Prepare. In addition, when the information input unit 209 described later notifies the user of the selected coordinates 201, the type of the icon selected by the user based on the coordinates, or the text information of the selected character. It also has a function of notifying the information input unit 209 of the information 901.

Reference numeral 209 denotes an information input unit, which is arranged on the upper surface of the information display unit 208, detects which position on the screen the user has designated, and selects the information displayed on the information display unit 208. It has a function of inquiring the information display unit 208 about which item or text information 9001 has been selected, and outputting it to the operation control unit 210 described later.

Reference numeral 210 denotes an operation control unit, 211 denotes a speech synthesis unit, and 212 denotes a reading position storage unit. The reading position storage unit 212 stores synchronization information 9003, and outputs it as reading position synchronization information 2121 when it is referenced from another processing unit. When the user specifies the reading position using the information input unit 209, the specified character is converted into the selected text information 209 by the inquiry to the information display unit 209, and is input to the information input unit 209. And then output to the operation control unit 210. The operation control unit 210 selects the selected text information 200 The synchronization information corresponding to 82 is read from the synchronization information storage unit 204. In response to this reading, the synchronization information storage unit 204 searches for the corresponding synchronization information, and outputs it as search synchronization information 2041 to the operation control unit 210. The operation control unit 210 sets the search synchronization information 2041 in the reading position storage unit 212, and sets it as the reading position synchronization information 2121.

Also, while the speech synthesis section 211 is outputting the speech of the article, the synchronization information corresponding to the character being read out by the speech synthesis section 211 is read from the synchronization information storage section 204. In response to this reading, the synchronization information storage unit 204 searches for the corresponding synchronization information, and then outputs it as search synchronization information 2041 to the speech synthesis unit 211. The speech synthesizing unit 211 sets the search synchronization information 2041 in the reading position storage unit 212, and sets the same as the reading position synchronization information 2121.

On the other hand, the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 in the reading position memory 2 1 2 is read out from the information display section 2 08 when the information value changes due to reading, and the speech synthesis processing is started. Is read out by the speech synthesis unit 211 when the data is read. The operation control unit 210 controls the speech synthesis unit 211 to start and stop speech synthesis processing in response to an input from the information input unit 209 by a user's operation (operation command 2101). . When the start of voice output is instructed by the operation control unit 210, the voice synthesis unit 211 inquires the reading position storage unit 212 to obtain the reading position synchronization information 2121. Next, read-aloud information starting from the read-aloud position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 is sequentially obtained as read-aloud information 2 0 5 1 from the read-aloud information storage unit 2 05, and a voice synthesizing process is performed. 2 1 3 Output audio. When the operation control unit 210 instructs to stop the voice output, the voice synthesis processing is interrupted (operation command 211). On the other hand, in response to the input from the information input unit 209, the operation control unit 210 recognizes the identification corresponding to the menu item selected by the user from the reference information 905 in the reference information storage unit 207. Get ID 9 0 4 It can be output to the transmission unit 214 described later as the selection identification ID 207 1. Reference numeral 214 denotes a transmission unit, which has a function of transmitting the selection identification ID 207 1 input from the operation control unit 210 to the article information transmission system 1 via the telephone line 3 as a control signal. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are diagrams for explaining the correspondence between the text information 9001 and the read-out information 9002 based on the synchronization information 9003 in the article information 1001. Figure 3 shows the original example sentence, the result of separating this example sentence at the beginning of a phrase by grammatical analysis, and an example of a generated phonetic symbol string. FIG. 4 shows article information generated based on the example sentence of FIG. When the start of a sentence is a text break, the delimiter flag in the synchronization information in Fig. 4 is 1 only for the block with the first synchronization number. If the text break is at the beginning of the paragraph, only the first block of the first sentence of the paragraph will be 1.

The text information 9001 is a text string displayed as shown in Fig. 4 and arranged in blocks from the beginning of the text as a block of characters. The reading information 9002 is the text information 900. A phonetic symbol string obtained by performing a grammatical analysis of 01 is stored in the block, separated by the same character unit as the text information 9001. In the example shown in FIG. 4, "policy" is stored in the first block of the text information 9001, and "policy" is stored in the second block. The first block of reading information 9002 stores "Say", and the second block stores "Saku".

The synchronization information 9003 is a synchronization number that is a number for each block of the text information 9001 and the corresponding reading information 9002 to refer to each other, and the block is a text delimiter. A flag indicating whether or not it corresponds to the eye is stored in the block. In the example of Fig. 4, the fourth It can be seen from the delimiter flag that the block is at the beginning of the text break. Also, since the synchronization number is "4", the fourth "middle" can be referenced from the corresponding text information, and the fourth "naka '" can be referenced from the corresponding reading information. During voice output, for example, the voice synthesis unit 211 reads out the first block of the read-out information 9002 and simultaneously reads the first block of the synchronization information in the synchronization information storage unit 204 , Is output to the reading position storage section 2 1 2 and is set as reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1. The information display section 208 refers to the synchronization number of the reading position synchronization information 2121 in the reading position storage section 212, and reads the characters up to the first block of the text information 9001. Highlight it.

If the user specifies the first character in the information input section 209, the operation control section 210 traces the synchronization information in the synchronization information storage section 204 back from the 11th block, The ninth block having the flag of the break of the near sentence is acquired, output to the reading position storage unit 2 12, and set as the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1. The information display section 208 refers to the reading position synchronization information 2121 in the reading position storage section 212 and displays the text information 9001 up to the ninth character in reverse video with reference to the synchronization number. . When the voice output starts thereafter, the voice synthesis unit 211 refers to the synchronization number of the synchronization information and starts the voice synthesis processing from the ninth reading information in the reading information storage unit 205. . In the following, using Fig. 1 and Fig. 5, a mechanism is described in which the user activates the electronic newspaper providing system with sound and then obtains desired article information by selecting menu items.

When the electronic newspaper providing system with sound is activated, the operation control unit 210 displays the selection identification ID 207 1 in order to display the initial menu on the information display unit 208. The information is output to the transmission section 214, and the transmission section 214 transmits the selected identification ID 2071 to the article information transmission system 1. In the article information transmission system 1, the receiving unit 103 receives the selection identification ID 2 07 1 and outputs it to the control unit 104, and the control unit 10

4 obtains the menu information 1002 of the initial menu from the information storage unit 102. The initial menu is, for example, "1: Top News,

2 _: Politics / Economy, 3 _: International Information, 4 _: Sports, 5: Culture,... ", And each item is an identification ID for obtaining a submenu

It has 9 0 4. The control unit 104 transmits the acquired initial menu menu information 1002 to the article information receiving system 2 through the transmission unit 105.

In the article information receiving system 2, the receiving unit 201 receives the menu information 1002 and writes it to the article information storage unit 202. The article information acquisition unit 203 acquires menu information from the article information storage unit 202 and stores text information 9001 for displaying items in the text information storage unit 206. The reference information 900 consisting of the identification ID 900 corresponding to each item is written to the reference information storage unit 207. The information display unit 208 displays initial menu items based on the text information 9001 in the text information storage unit 206.

When the user selects an item to which the desired article belongs from the items in the initial menu, the information input unit 209 notifies the selected coordinates 209 1 to the information display unit 209 and what is selected. And notifies the operation control unit 210 of the obtained selection icon 2081. For example, assuming that “Sports” of item number 4 is selected, the operation control unit 210 queries the reference information storage unit 207 and searches for the reference information 905 to find the selected icon 2 0 8 1 ( Acquisition of the identification ID 9004 corresponding to “spot” is obtained as the selection identification ID 2071, and output to the transmission unit 214. In the following, the user repeats the same procedure, and completes the submenu. For example, “1: Where Sumo Wrestling 2: World Cup Outlook, 3: Japan Series Results,... ”, Select the item consisting of the title of the article, and select ID 2 0 7 1 for requesting distribution of the article information of the desired article. Then, the article information transmission system 1 distributes the information 1001 corresponding to the selected identification ID 2 071. When the article information receiving system 2 receives the article information 1001, the article information acquiring unit 203 sends the synchronization information 9003 in the article information 1001 to the synchronization information storage unit 204. The reading information 9002 is output to the reading information storage unit 205, and the text information 9001 is output to the text information storage unit 206. When the synchronization information 9003 is written to the synchronization information storage section 204, the operation control section 210 writes the synchronization information 9003 corresponding to the beginning of the sentence to the reading position storage section 212, Speaking position synchronization information shall be 2 1 2 1. Further, the information display unit 208 acquires the text information 9001 in the text information storage unit 206, displays the text of the article, and displays an icon for controlling the audio output. I do. At this time, the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 set in the reading information storage unit 205 is the synchronization information corresponding to the beginning of the sentence, and there is no character to be highlighted. Not displayed. FIG. 6 is an example of an electronic newspaper realized by the present system and immediately after an article is displayed on the information display unit 208 by the above-described procedure.

In this system, the start and stop of reading are performed by selecting an icon displayed in the information display unit 208, and the reading position is specified by direct instruction to the displayed text. Reference numeral 401 denotes the text of the article based on the text information 9001, and icon 420.403 denotes the user's selection for controlling the output of the voice information. The icon 402 has a function of interrupting audio output, and the icon 4003 has a function of starting and restarting audio output.

Use Fig. 7 to explain when to start reading out the displayed article I do. Fig. 7 is an excerpt from the functional block diagram of the article information receiving system 2 in Fig. 1, where S1-S10 in the figure indicate the order of data flow from processing unit to processing unit. Is shown.

When the user selects the icon 403, the information input unit 209 notifies the selected coordinate 209 1 to the information display unit 208 (S1), and the icon 403 is selected. Is received (S2), and this is notified to the operation control unit 210 (S3). When the operation control unit 210 is notified that the icon 4003 has been selected, the operation control unit 210 outputs an operation command 211 to the voice synthesis unit 211 to start the voice synthesis process (S4). ). The voice synthesizing unit 2 1 1 acquires the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 specifying the reading start position from the reading position storage unit 2 1 2 (S 5), and the reading information storage unit 205 reads the reading position synchronization information. The read-out information 9002 is sequentially obtained as the reference read-out information 205 from the position of the readout information corresponding to the position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 (S6), and the voice output unit 2 1 Voice output is performed by 3 (S7). In the present embodiment, immediately after the article is displayed, the synchronization information corresponding to the head of the sentence is written in the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1, and thus the voice output is started from the head of the sentence. During voice output, the voice synthesizing unit 211 acquires search synchronization information 2041 corresponding to the voice being output from the synchronization information storage unit 204 (S8), and stores it in the reading position storage unit 212. The write / readout position synchronization information is set to 2 1 2 1 (S 9). The information display section 208 refers to the reading position synchronization information 2 121 (S 10), and the text information 9 0 0 from the beginning of the sentence to the position corresponding to the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1. Change the display of 1 to reverse, for example, like karaoke O o

As a result, the user obtains the audio output of the displayed article, and at the same time, can easily identify the part of the article that is currently being read out. As a good place to separate sentences, the data conversion unit 101 must be separated at the beginning of a phrase or sentence or paragraph, such as the 5.7.5 key of a haiku or the 5,7,5,7,7 key of a Japanese poem. Since it is possible to cope with the case where is not appropriate, the audio output can be started at a more appropriate position. Next, a case in which the reading position during voice output is changed to an arbitrary position will be described with reference to FIG. Fig. 8 is a partial excerpt from the functional block diagram of the article information receiving system 2 in Fig. 1, where S1 to S8 indicate the order of data flow from processing unit to processing unit. .

When the user selects an arbitrary part of the character string displayed on the information display section 208, the information input section 209 notifies the selected display section 209 to the information display section 208. (S 1), the selected text information 2082 corresponding to the selected character is received (S 2), and notified to the operation control unit 210 (S 3). Upon receiving the notification, the operation control unit 210 outputs an operation command 211 to the voice synthesis unit 211 to stop the voice synthesis process (S4). Further, the synchronization information 9003 in the synchronization information storage unit 204 is traced back from the synchronization information corresponding to the selected text information 2082, and the synchronization information having the index of the break of the sentence at the closest position. After the search, the information is obtained as search synchronization information 2041 (S5) _c. Then, the operation control unit 210 writes the search synchronization information 2041 into the reading position storage unit 212 and reads the reading position. The synchronization information is set to 2 1 2 1 (S 6), and the operation command 2 101 is output to the voice synthesis section 2 1 1 to start the voice output again (S 8).

On the other hand, when the audio output stops, the updating of the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 1 stops, so that the reading position presented by the information display unit 208 does not change. Thereafter, new search synchronization information is written by the user's instruction by the operation control unit 210 (S 6), so that the information display unit 208 The read-out part of the text also changes (S7), and when the voice output is started again, the voice output starts from the text break closest to the character specified by the user.

Fig. 9 shows a scene in which the user switches the reading position by voice output by actually selecting the character displayed on the information display section 208 of the terminal during voice output. The characters highlighted in STEP 1 to STEP 3 are the parts that have already been read out, and as the reading progresses, the characters read out are highlighted. STEP 1 is a scene where voice output is being performed. A scene where an arbitrary character displayed in the information display section 208 is selected in the case of 3 ?? This represents a scene in which the reading position changes to the beginning of the phrase selected by the user by selecting a character.

As a result, when the user selects any character in the text of the article during the voice output, the voice can be output quickly from the nearest sentence segment that goes back from the desired position. If the user wants to interrupt audio output during audio output, when the user selects icon 402, the information input unit 209 inquires the information display unit 208 and-icon 402 is selected. Is notified to the operation control unit 210, and the operation control unit 210 instructs the voice synthesis unit 211 to stop the voice synthesis process (operation command 211). Then, the synchronization information 9003 corresponding to the beginning of the sentence is written into the reading position storage section 212, and is used as the reading position synchronization information 2121. In the information display section 208, since the read-out position synchronization information 2121 is the synchronization information corresponding to the beginning of the sentence, the display of the text information 9001 such as a power mark is canceled.

As a result, the user can interrupt the voice output. Referring to FIG. 10, a description will be given of a case where a point at which audio output is restarted when audio output is stopped is specified. Fig. 10 is a partial excerpt from the function block diagram of the article information receiving system 2 in Fig. 1, and S1 to S6 in the figure indicate the order of data flow from processing unit to processing unit. Location.

When the user selects an arbitrary part of the character string displayed on the information display section 208, the information input section 209 notifies the selected display section 209 to the information display section 208. Then, an inquiry is made as to what the selected character is (S2), and after obtaining as selected text information 2082, the operation control unit 210 is notified (S3). The synchronization information 9003 in the synchronization information storage unit 204 is traced back to the synchronization information corresponding to the selected text information 2082, and the index of the break of the text at the closest position is obtained. Then, the synchronization information is retrieved (S4), and is written to the reading position storage unit 212 (S5). The information display section 208 changes the display of text characters by referring to the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 in the reading position storage section 2 1 2. Is displayed in reverse video like karaoke (S6). When the audio output is started by selecting the icon 4003, the audio output starts from the character specified by the user.

As a result, even when the user stops the audio output, the user can select any character in the text of the article to specify a position where the sentence is well separated as the restart position of the audio output, and furthermore, the position can be easily adjusted. Can be identified. When the information display section 208 changes the display of text characters with reference to the reading position synchronization information 2 121, the display from the beginning of the sentence to the character specified by the user is emphasized like karaoke. Or, an underline may be added. In addition, by installing a remote control with a button corresponding to the icon function on the user's terminal, it is possible to operate the terminal only by operating the icon even in situations where it is difficult to operate the terminal such as in a crowded train or walking. Functions can be used. From the above, according to the present embodiment, when performing the audio output of an article in an electronic newspaper, by specifying an arbitrary character in the article, the audio output is immediately started from a segment of a sentence that is meaningful as a word. Can be confirmed by the change of the character display. During voice output, the current reading position can be easily checked based on the change in character display, so the user can specify the position at which to start skip-reading while referring to the current reading position. can do. In particular, even when it is difficult for the user to specify a character because the information display section 208 is small, the reading position is corrected, so that the operability of the user can be improved.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the second embodiment. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the data pre-processing unit 106 is provided in the article information transmission system 3 and the article information reception system 4 is provided with the data conversion unit _215. The preprocessing unit 106 outputs article information 1003 composed of text information 9001 and identification ID 9004. The data converter 2 15 converts the text information 9 0 0 1 in the article information 1 0 3 received from the receiver 2 0 1 into the read information 9 0 0 2 and the synchronization information 9 0 3. It is generated and output to the article information storage unit 202 as article information 1001 together with the text information 9001 and the identification ID 9004.

In the first embodiment, the data transmitted on the telephone line 3 is text information. It was article information 1001, consisting of 9001, reading information 9002, synchronization information 9003, and identification ID9004. According to the present embodiment, the data of the article information 1003 transmitted on the telephone line 3 is the text information 9001 and the identification ID 9004, and the amount of data transmitted on the telephone line 3 is reduced. can do.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are diagrams for explaining the third embodiment. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the operation control unit 210 in FIG. 12 can acquire the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 from the reading position storage unit 2 1 2. In addition, as shown in FIG. 13, an icon 404 for temporarily stopping audio output has been added.

If the user wants to pause the audio output during audio output, select icon 404, and the information input section 209 queries the information display section 209 to select the icon 402. Is notified to the operation control unit 210, and the operation control unit 210 instructs the speech synthesis unit 211 to stop the speech synthesis process (operation command 210). 1). Further, the operation control section 210 goes back to the synchronization information 9003 in the synchronization information storage section 204 starting from the speech information synchronization information 2121 acquired from the speech information storage section 212, and is the closest position. Is searched for a break in the sentence, and is set as the search synchronization information 2 0 4 1. The search synchronization information 2041 is written into the reading position storage section 212, and is set as the reading position synchronization information 2121. With this setting, the updating of the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 is stopped, so that the reading position indicated by the information display section 208 does not change.

As a result, the user can pause the audio output and easily identify the stop point. In addition, sound is selected again by selecting icon 4 0 3 When restarting the output, where the sentence is not well separated-even if you paused, you can go back to the place where the sentence is well separated, so you can resume from the point where it is easy to hear.

In the above process, when the speech synthesis unit 211 is instructed to stop the speech synthesis process by the operation control unit 210, the speech synthesizing unit 204 reads the index of the next sentence break from the synchronization information storage unit 204. It is also possible to continue the speech synthesis process until the synchronization information is acquired and then stop. In this case, it is not necessary for the operation control unit 211 to write the synchronization information into the reading position storage unit 212, but after the user selects the icon 404, the text is well separated. Reading will continue to this point.

FIG. 14 is a view for explaining the fourth embodiment. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that, like the third embodiment, the operation control unit 210 in FIG. 12 stores the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 from the reading position storage unit 2 12 in FIG. This means that icons can be obtained, and icons 405 and 406 for forward and backward audio output have been added as shown in Fig. 14.

If the user wants to specify the position for resuming the audio output by moving forward, select the icon 406, and the information input unit 209 queries the information display unit 209 and the icon 406 is selected. Is notified to the operation control unit 210, and if the operation control unit 210 is outputting sound, the operation control unit 210 instructs the sound synthesis unit 211 to stop the sound synthesis processing. The operation control unit 210 acquires the reading position synchronization information 2 121 from the reading position storage unit 212, and stores the synchronization information 9003 after the reading position synchronization information 2 121 into the synchronization information storage unit. The search synchronization information 2 0 4 1 is acquired sequentially from 204 and written to the reading position storage unit 2 1 2 to update the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 You. The information display section 208 changes the display of text characters by referring to the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1, so that the display from the beginning of the sentence to the character specified by the user is displayed in reverse video like karaoke Let it.

When the selection state of the icon 406 is released, the information input unit 209 inquires the information display unit 208 to operate the selection icon 209 which indicates that the selection of the icon 406 has been released. is notified to the control unit 2 1 0 is the operation control unit 2 1 0 written from _c further reading position storage unit 2 1 2 to stop writing the synchronization information to the position storage section 2 1 2 reading the last synchronization information The reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 is acquired, and the start position is used to search the synchronization information 9 0 3 in the synchronization information storage unit 204 to search for the nearest sentence segment (search synchronization information). 2 0 4 1), and this is written into the reading position storage section 2 12, thereby updating the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1. Further, if the voice output is being performed before starting the forward feeding, the voice synthesis unit 211 is instructed to start the voice synthesis process (operation command 211). Since the reading position synchronizing information 2 1 2 1 is the synchronizing information of the position where the user has finished the forward feeding, the voice synthesizing unit 2 11 1 starts outputting the sound again from that position.

When the user wants to specify backward, it can be realized by first selecting the icon 405. Subsequent processing is realized by reversing the reading of the synchronization information 9003 from the synchronization information storage section 204 of the operation control section 210 in the same processing as the above-mentioned forward forwarding.

As a result, it is possible for the user to make forward or backward movements while visually confirming the point at which the audio output is to be resumed, and that when the audio output is resumed, the user can start from a place where sentences are well separated. Get the effect. 5th embodiment>

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the fifth embodiment. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment. The difference is that, as in the third embodiment, in FIG. 12 the operation control section 210 can acquire the reading position period information 2 121 from the reading position storage section 2 12 in FIG. As shown in Fig. 15, an icon 407 * 408 for skipping forward and backward audio output was added. In the forward processing in the case where the icon 405 is selected in the fourth embodiment, the operation control unit 210 sequentially reads only the synchronization information having the index of the segmentation of the sentence from the synchronization information storage unit 204. Obtain and write it to the reading position storage unit 2 1 2. As a result, the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 is updated for each synchronization information having a text segmentation index. Therefore, the reverse display of the text characters in the information display section 208 is performed in the fourth embodiment. Compared to the sequential example, it can be implemented more quickly for each sentence index. Further, when the selection of the icon 405 is released, the process of acquiring the synchronization information having the index of the segment break of the sentence by acquiring the synchronization information storage unit 212 in the backward direction is unnecessary, and The next process can be started promptly as compared with the sequential forwarding in the fourth embodiment. Even when the user wants to specify the reverse skip processing by selecting the icon 407, the operation control unit 210 is synchronized in the same processing as the forward skip processing when the icon 408 is selected. This is realized by reading the synchronization information 9003 from the information storage unit 204 in the reverse direction.

As a result, the user can skip forward or backward at each break of the text while visually confirming the point at which the voice output is restarted. This has the effect that it is possible to start from a place with good separation.

The first 6 figures and first 7 view and the first 8 figures refer to the sixth embodiment _c present embodiment is a diagram illustrating an example is the difference from the first embodiment article information as in the first 6 Figure The provision of information 9005, the addition of an icon 409 for acquiring related information as shown in Fig. 17 and the operation as in Fig. 12 as in the third embodiment The control unit 210 can acquire the reading position synchronization information 2 121 from the reading position storage unit 2 12. The reference information 9005 is composed of blocks separated by the same character unit as the text information 9001, as shown in FIG. If there is related article information in the article information storage unit 102 with the key word included in the text of the article, each block of the reference information corresponding to the text information forming this key word character string includes: The identification ID for all relevant article information is described. The reference information 9005 can be referred to from the corresponding text information 9001 and read-out information 9002 through the synchronization information 9003. The reference information 9 0 5 in the article information 1 0 0 1 is written into the reference information storage 2 0 7 by the article information acquisition unit 2 3, and the identification ID in each block of the reference information is the operation control unit 2 1 0 Thus, it is obtained as the selection identification ID 207 1.

If the user wants to display the article information that can be referred to by the key in the article information, if the voice is being output, the user selects the icon 409 while reading out the key, and If no audio is being output, select one of the characters in the keypad and then select icon 409. Then, the information input unit 209 inquires of the information display unit 208 to notify the operation control unit 210 of a selection icon 209 indicating that the icon 409 has been selected. The operation control unit 210 acquires the reading position synchronization information 2 121 from the reading position storage unit 212 and searches the reference information storage unit 207 based on the reading position synchronization information 211. If the corresponding reference information has the identification ID 9004, after acquiring this, it outputs it to the transmission section 214 as the selection identification ID2071. The transmitting unit 2 14 sends the selection identification ID 2 07 1 to the article information transmitting system 1, so that the article information transmitting system 1 performs the procedure described in the first embodiment. Similarly, the related article information is distributed. If a voice is being output, the operation control unit 210 instructs the voice synthesis unit 211 to stop the voice synthesis process. If the retrieved reference information 9005 does not have an identification ID, the operation control unit 210 ignores the selection of the icon 409.

As a result, the user can receive the related article information by specifying the keyword for the keyword in which the article information that can be referred to exists. When the user selects the icon 409 during audio output and the corresponding reference information 905 does not have an identification ID, the operation control unit 210 reads out the reading position information storage unit. Starting from the reading position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 obtained from 2 1 2, the synchronization information 9 0 0 3 in the synchronization information storage section 204 is traced back from the synchronization information storage section 204, and the corresponding reference information within an appropriate range is the identification ID 90. If it has 04, the identification ID 900 4 can be output to the transmission section 214 as the selected identification ID 207 1.

As a result, the user does not necessarily have to select the icon 409 at the moment when the user is reading the desired keyword, and selects the icon 409 with some time margin. Can be performed.

FIG. 19 is a view for explaining the seventh embodiment. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in FIG. 19 in that the operation control unit 210 can acquire the reading position synchronization information 2 121 from the reading position storage unit 2 12, Another point is that a repetition position storage unit 2 16 is provided. The repeated position storage unit 2 16 allows the user to start character selection and the character It is possible to repeatedly execute the text-to-speech reading in the range specified by the character from which the character has been canceled. However, if the character from which the character selection is started and the character from which the selection is deselected are the same character and the range is not specified, there is no need to repeat, and the reading is not repeated.

When the user selects a character range, the information input unit 209 queries the information display unit 208 to select the character corresponding to the character from which the user started selecting characters and the character corresponding to the character from which the user deselected the characters. After acquiring the text information 2082, it outputs it to the operation control unit 210.

The operation control unit 210 acquires synchronization information corresponding to the selected text information 2082 from the synchronization information storage unit 204 as search synchronization information 2041, respectively, and repeats the position storage unit 21 Write to 6. At this time, the synchronization information indicating the start position of the repetition is written as start synchronization information 216 1, and the synchronization information indicating the end position of the repetition is written as end synchronization information 216 2. Here, the start synchronization information 2 161 is used by the operation control unit 210 to convert the synchronization information 900 3 in the synchronization information storage unit 204 into text information of the character that the user has started to select. This is synchronization information that has a search for the corresponding synchronization information going back to the starting point and has an index of the delimitation of the text at the closest position. The end synchronization information 2 162 corresponds to the synchronization information 900 3 in the synchronization information storage unit 204 by the operation control unit 210 corresponding to the text information of the character that the user has deselected. The synchronization information is searched in the direction toward the end of the sentence starting from the synchronization information, and is the synchronization information that has the index of the delimitation of the text at the closest position.

When the user again selects the text, the two pieces of synchronization information in the repetition position storage unit 2 16 are cleared by the operation control unit 210, and the repeated reading process is stopped. In addition, when the selected text information 2082 indicating the character from which the user has started selection is the same as the selected text information 2082 indicating the deselected character, the operation control unit 210 specifies Clear The reading process is not performed repeatedly.

If the user wants to listen to an arbitrary part of the article repeatedly, start the selection of the character at the position where the user wants to start, and deselect the character at the position where the user wants to end, unless the voice is being output. Select The information input unit 209 queries the information display unit 208 to notify the operation control unit 210 that the icon 403 has been selected, and the operation control unit 210 notifies the speech synthesis unit 211. Command the start of voice synthesis processing. If voice output is in progress, stop the voice synthesis process once and then instruct it to restart. When the operation control unit 210 starts sound output, if there are two pieces of synchronization information in the repetition position storage unit 216, it writes the start synchronization information 216 in the reading position storage unit 212. Then, the speech synthesis unit 211 is instructed to start speech synthesis processing. Further, during voice output, the read-out position synchronization information 2 1 2 1 in the read-out position storage unit 2 12 is referred to, and if the end synchronization information 2 16 2 in the repetition position storage unit 2 16 is the same, the sound is output. The synthesizing unit 211 stops the speech synthesizing process, writes the start synchronization information 216 1 again in the reading position storage unit 212, and then starts the speech synthesizing process.

As a result, the user can repeatedly listen to the articles in the specified range where the sentence is well separated by sound output. Industrial applicability

According to the present invention, when sound output of document information (for example, electronic newspaper), by designating any character in the text directly or by forward or backward, the text closest to the desired position can be specified. It is possible to start sound output from the break, and to check the location by changing the display of characters.

In addition, during voice output, the position of the current reading Since the position can be easily checked, the position E at which to start skipping again can be specified directly or by forward or backward while referring to the current reading position. It is possible to quickly switch the reading position to voice output from the break point of the sentence closest to the specified position.

Further, by selecting a keyword that can be referred to further, it is possible to request distribution of related character information. In addition, even when the user cannot select the key word that he / she wants to refer to during the voice output in the key word selection during voice output, the user can request the delivery of character information related to the desired key word. There is also an effect that keyword selection can be performed with a certain time margin. In the above description of the present invention, an electronic newspaper is used as a specific example of text information, but this is only to facilitate the description of the present invention. That is, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to electronic newspapers, but obtains document information and data from a device that stores various text information, a database, or the like, and outputs a voice while displaying the document information and data. Even in such a case, the above-described various effects of the present invention can be enjoyed.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. The text display function has a character display function, a function to read out the displayed text, a function to synchronize the voice output and a change in the character display, and a function to directly indicate the displayed text. A terminal characterized in that the reading position can be changed by directly instructing the terminal.

2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the changed reading position is corrected to a position at which the text is well separated.

3. The terminal according to claim 2, wherein the position of the sentence to be corrected is a phrase, a sentence, or the beginning of a paragraph.

4. A function to determine the breaks of the text in advance, a function to generate read-out information for outputting the text by voice, and a correspondence between the characters in the text and the read-out information and the breaks in the text. Document conversion means having a function of generating synchronization information to be taken, storage means for storing the text, the read-out information and the synchronization information together, and a reception function for receiving a transmission instruction from a user side. A document information transmission system comprising: a communication unit having a transmission function of transmitting the text, synchronization information, and read-out information stored in the storage unit based on the transmission instruction to the user as document information;

Communication means having a transmission function of giving various instructions to the document information transmission system, a reception function of receiving text information corresponding to the instructions from the transmission system, and a storage means for storing the received text information; Voice output means for reading out the text using the read-out information included in the text information; display means for presenting the text included in the document information to a user; and synchronizing the display means and the voice output means with the synchronization information. A text information receiving system comprising: a control means for controlling the control means based on the information; and an input means for instructing the control means by the user directly on the screen of the display means. Consisting of

In the text in which the text information received by the text information receiving system via the communication means is displayed by the display means, upon receiving a user's instruction by the input means for an arbitrary character, the control means and the synchronization information A text information providing system with sound, wherein a text is read out from an arbitrary well-divided position and a display is made so that a user can identify the read-out position.

5. Storage means for storing text, a reception function for receiving a transmission instruction from the user, and a transmission function for transmitting the text stored in the storage means to the user as text information based on the transmission instruction. A text information transmission system comprising communication means having

Communication means having a transmission function for giving various instructions to the text information transmission system, a reception function for receiving text information corresponding to the instructions from the transmission system, and a division of the text in the received text information A function of generating text-to-speech information for outputting the text by voice; and generating synchronization information for associating the text with the text-to-speech information and the text segmentation. Document conversion means having a function, storage means for storing the text, the read-out information and the synchronization information, voice output means for reading out the text using the read-out information, and display for presenting the text to a user Means, control means for controlling the display means and the audio output means based on the synchronization information, and a user reading position for the control means. It consists of a text information receiving system comprising an input means for instructing directly from the screen of the display unit;

In the text in which the text information received by the text information receiving system via the communication means is displayed by the display means, an input of a user by the input means for an arbitrary character is received, and the control means and the synchronization means Ward A text-information-with-speech providing system, wherein a text is read out from an arbitrary sharp position and a display is made so that a user can identify the reading position.

6. In the text information providing system with voice information according to claim 4 or 5, by adding to the text information an identification ID for referring to another text information from a keypad included in the text. A document information providing system with audio information, characterized in that users can receive text related to the keypad.

7. In the document information providing system with audio information according to claim 4 or 5, the user can repeatedly listen to the section by specifying an arbitrary section of the displayed text. A system characterized by: -

8. The text display function has a character display function, a function to read out the displayed text, a function to synchronize the voice output and a change in the character display, and a function to directly indicate the displayed text. By directly instructing the reading, it is possible to correct the change in the reading position to a position where the text is well-separated, and by instructing the icon, button, or instruction means for starting the reading process. , A terminal characterized by initiating a reading process ο

9. The text display function has a character display function, a function of reading out the displayed text, a function of synchronizing voice output and a change in the character display, and a function of directly indicating the displayed text. By directly instructing the reading, it is possible to correct the change of the reading position to a position where the text is well-separated, and an icon, button, or instruction means for stopping the reading process during the reading process A terminal that stops reading-aloud processing by instructing the user.

10. It has a character display function, a function to read out the displayed text, a function to synchronize the voice output and a change in the character display, and a function to directly instruct the displayed text. By directly instructing the text, it is possible to correct the change of the reading position to a position where the text is well-separated, and designate an icon, button, or instruction means for temporarily stopping the reading process during the reading process. A terminal that pauses the reading process.

1 1. There is a text display function, a function to read out the displayed text, a function to synchronize the voice output and the change in the text display, and a function to directly indicate the displayed text. By directly instructing the text, it is possible to correct the change of the reading position to a position where the text is well-separated. After temporarily stopping the audio output, the position of the character display at the point where it is restarted is sequentially changed to the end of the text. By instructing an icon, a button, or an instruction means for initiating the process of moving to the next step, the process of sequentially moving the character display position at the point where the voice output is resumed to the end of the sentence is activated. Small

1 2. It has a character display function, a function to read out the displayed text, a function to synchronize the voice output and the change in the character display, and a function to directly instruct the displayed text. By directly instructing the text, it is possible to correct the change in the reading position to a position where the text is well-separated. After temporarily stopping the audio output, the position of the character display at the point where it is restarted is sequentially changed to the beginning of the text. By instructing an icon, a button, or an instruction means for initiating the process of moving to the next step, the process of sequentially moving the position of the character display where the voice output is resumed toward the beginning of the sentence is activated. Terminal.

1 3. Character display function, function to read out the displayed text, and sound output It has a function of synchronizing force and changes in character display, and a function of directly instructing the displayed text. By directly instructing the displayed text, it is possible to change the position to be read aloud by dividing the text. An icon that activates a process of temporarily stopping the audio output and then moving the character display position of the place to be restarted sequentially toward the end of the sentence at each position where the text is well separated. By instructing a button or an instructing means, a process of sequentially moving the character display position of the place where the voice output is resumed toward the end of the sentence at every position where the text is well-separated is started. End.

14. It has a character display function, a function to read out the displayed text, a function to synchronize the voice output and a change in the character display, and a function to directly instruct the displayed text. By directly instructing the text, it is possible to correct the change in the reading position to a position where the text is well-separated. After temporarily stopping the audio output, the position of the character display at the point where it is restarted is sequentially changed to the beginning of the text. By instructing an icon, a button, or an instructing means for initiating the process of moving the text at each good-separated position, the position of the character display at which the voice output is to be resumed is sequentially shifted toward the beginning of the text. Characterized by invoking the process of moving the image at each position with good separation