EP0057853B1 - Electronic system for delivering messages - Google Patents

Electronic system for delivering messages Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0057853B1
EP0057853B1 EP82100549A EP82100549A EP0057853B1 EP 0057853 B1 EP0057853 B1 EP 0057853B1 EP 82100549 A EP82100549 A EP 82100549A EP 82100549 A EP82100549 A EP 82100549A EP 0057853 B1 EP0057853 B1 EP 0057853B1
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Prior art keywords
text
interval
speech
digital
decoder
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP0057853A2 (en
EP0057853B2 (en
EP0057853A3 (en
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Dirk Dipl.-Ing. Neumann
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Neumann Elektronik GmbH
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Neumann Elektronik GmbH
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10L—SPEECH ANALYSIS OR SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING
    • G10L13/00—Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
    • G10L13/08—Text analysis or generation of parameters for speech synthesis out of text, e.g. grapheme to phoneme translation, prosody generation or stress or intonation determination

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an electronic text generator for the delivery of short texts, for example announcements, in the form of analog electrical signals, in which the short texts can be composed of text parts of different lengths of time stored in digital form in a read-only memory, with a control device to which the read-only memory is transmitted a memory address counter is connected and a digital-to-analog converter connected downstream of the read-only memory.
  • Such text providers are generally known. They have been used, for example, for voice output over the telephone network, for example for order processing in retail or for answering machines. They can be controlled from a data processing system, for example a microcomputer.
  • the text to be stored in the read-only memory can be converted into digital voice data in accordance with the known delta modulation method.
  • the digital-to-analog converter downstream of the read-only memory then contains a delta modulator.
  • a device is known (IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Volume 19, No. 6, Nov. 1976, p. 2357, 2358) in which speech is recorded via an encoder and is stored digitally in a speech memory. This language can then be retrieved from the memory using a decoder and output via an analog output. Natural speech pauses that occur during the recording are counted by means of a separate pause counter, and a value characterizing the pause length is stored in the memory each time a speech pause occurs. When the texts are reproduced by the decoder, a speech pause is generated by means of a separate pause down counter, the pause down counter being preset on the basis of the value stored in the memory and characterizing the pause length.
  • This known method can only be used if only the speech pauses that occur when recording a continuous text are to be recognized, recorded and retrieved.
  • the texts are to be composed of stored parts of the text which are not necessarily only the text sections resulting from natural language pauses. Rather, they are deliberately selected text fragments, with parts of the same text that occur several times in a text or in several texts being saved only once and then used at various points in the text to be submitted. In such a method, it is not possible to store a signal containing the pause length in the read-only memory without great effort, since very different pause lengths can follow a certain text part, depending on its arrangement in the text.
  • the object on which the invention is based is to design a text generator of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that short texts of various types and compositions can be given with a minimum of storage spaces.
  • a text part end decoding device for recognizing a marking in the digital data associated with each text part end is connected to the output of the read-only memory and emits a text part end signal which emits a text part end signal to generate predetermined speech pauses between two text parts at the
  • a speech pause decoding device is connected to the output of the memory address counter, for the detection of pause start or pause end markings which are emitted by the memory address counter, the data transfer from the read-only memory to the digital-to-analog converter being interrupted between a pause start and a pause end mark is until the speech pause decoding device emits a pause end signal and that the outputs of the text part decoding device and the speech pause decoding device are connected via an OR gate to the control device for relaying the program flow .
  • the ends of all parts of the text that compose the entire text are therefore identified by inaudible markings in the digital data. These markings are expediently the same for all text parts and are not bound to a specific data storage address. This enables an individual definition of the text part lengths that corresponds exactly to the respective text part.
  • the markings are recognized by the end of text decoding device, which generates a corresponding end of text signal.
  • the language breaks are treated like parts of text when the program is created. However, they are not stored in the read-only memory, but an address range is specified for the duration of the pause in which the read-only memory is not populated.
  • the speech pauses can be generated by presetting certain pause start addresses in the memory address counter, which of the speech pause decoding device can be detected, which emits a pause and pause end signal.
  • the end of text signal and the end of pause signal are used to further control the program flow.
  • the speech-pause decoding device emits a control signal during a predetermined speech pause, by means of which the input of the digital-to-analog converter is transmitted with a Device for delivering a fixed input signal is connected so that it receives the digital input data during the pauses in speech, which generate the NF level "0" at the converter output.
  • a further particularly advantageous embodiment of the text generator according to the invention is the subject of claim 5. It is expedient to monitor the low-frequency signal emitted by the digital-to-analog converter in order to immediately detect any faults which, for example, can lead to text mutilation. By coupling this monitoring of the output low-frequency signal with the speech pause decoding device, a particularly sensitive monitoring of the low frequency is possible, which then, since it does not respond to the specified speech pauses, can be designed so sensitive that it detects even the slightest interruptions in the low frequency Signal responds in the range of approximately 60 milliseconds.
  • the program sequence is controlled by a control device 1 which, depending on the purpose of the text generator, can be connected to other monitoring and control devices, for example a microprocessor.
  • All of the texts to be submitted, e.g. B. Announcements can occur, occurring text parts are digitized according to the known principle of delta modulation and stored in the read-only memory 3 (z. B. ROM, EPROM) one after the other.
  • the start addresses of these text parts stored in the read-only memory 3 are defined in a known manner in the control program and are given by the control device 1 to the memory address counter 2.
  • the ends of all parts of the text are identified by inaudible marks in the digital data. These marks are the same for all text parts and are not tied to a specific data storage address.
  • the text parts are output in such a way that the memory address counter 2 is preset to the fixed value memory start address of any text part and switches from this counter reading, controlled by a clock signal from the clock generator 12 with the frequency f6. In this way, the content of one memory cell after the other is released and fed to the digital-to-analog converter 5.
  • the read-only memory 3 is constructed in a known manner in a byte-wise organization, i. H. 8 bits are given simultaneously to 8 outputs under each address. For this reason, a parallel-to-serial converter 4 must be switched on before the digital-to-analog converter 5, which can only process 1-bit serial information.
  • the marking that occurs at the end of a text part is recognized by the text part end decoding device 8 connected to the read-only memory 3, and a corresponding text part end signal is supplied to the control device 1 and the memory address counter 2 via an OR gate 0.
  • a text section can either be followed directly by another text section or a language break.
  • Predefined speech pauses between individual text parts are generated in such a way that, according to the program entered, the memory address counter 2 is set to an address within a predefined address range in which the read-only memory 3 itself is not populated.
  • the procedure can be such that a certain fixed value in the memory address counter 2 is assigned to the end of the pause, which is the same for all speech pauses.
  • Pauses of different lengths can then be realized by programming different start addresses within this area. In this way, longer speech pauses can be achieved by lining up several pause sections.
  • the pause start and pause markings emitted by the memory address counter 2 or the pause end markings alone are recognized by the speech pause decoding device 9 connected to the memory address counter 2.
  • a speech pause end signal is generated, which is likewise supplied to the control device 1 and the memory address counter 2 via the OR gate 0.
  • the text part start addresses and speech pause start addresses are written into the program of the controller 1 in the desired order.
  • the memory address counter 2 is preset by the controller 1 to the next text part start address following in the program.
  • the digital-to-analog converter 5 which is constantly clocked by the clock generator 12 with a clock signal of the frequency f3, outputs an analogue output output signal, which runs through a playback filter 6 and is thereby limited to the frequency band relevant for voice announcements, the quantization noise that is unavoidable during digitization also being damped.
  • the low-frequency signal reaches the NF-A output via a downstream amplifier.
  • the pause decoder 9 emits a control signal during the pauses in speech, by means of which the input of the digital-to-analog converter 5 is connected to an output of the clock generator 12 during the speech pauses by means of a switch S, from which a clocked input signal of frequency f4 is supplied from the digital-to-analog converter 5.
  • a program monitoring device 10 controls the program sequence and transmits the control signals to the memory address counter 2 via an AND gate U, to which the clock signal f6 is supplied at the same time. Program ends are indicated via the P-Ü output.
  • a device 11 for monitoring the low-frequency signal fed to the output NF-A indicates a fault in the delivery of this signal via the output NF-Ü.
  • the device 11 can be designed to be very sensitive to a failure of the low frequency signal monitoring device because it is only released when "text" is programmed, i. H. during the predetermined speech pauses it is switched off by a control signal emitted by the speech pause decoding device 9. In this way, monitoring of the low-frequency signal which is emitted is carried out very quickly.

Abstract

1. Electronic text transmitter for emitting short texts, e. g. announcements, in the form of analog electrical signals, in which text transmitter the short texts are adapted to be composed of text portions of different lengths of time which are stored, in digital form, in a set-value memory, said text transmitter comprising a control device to which the set-value memory is connected through a memory address counter, and further comprising a digital/analog converter following said set-value memory, characterized in that, to the output of the set-value memory (3), an end-of-text-portion decoder (8) is connected for the recognition of a mark contained in the digital data and being associated with each end of a text portion, said decoder emitting an end-of-text-portion signal, that, for generating predetermined speech intervals between two text portions, a speech-interval decoder (9) is connected to the output of the memory address counter (2) for the recognition of begin-of-interval marks or end-of-interval marks, respectively, emitted by said memory address counter (2), whereby between a begin-of-interval mark and an end-of-interval mark, the emission of data from the set value memory (3) to the digital/analog converter (5) is interrupted until the speech-interval decoder (9) emits an end-of-interval signal, and that the outputs of the end-of-text-portion decoder (8) and of the speech-interval decoder (9) are connected, through an OR-gate (0), with the control device (1) for the further performance of the run-down of the programme.

Description

Gegenstand der Erfindung ist ein elektronischer Textgeber zur Abgabe von Kurztexten, beispielsweise Ansagen, in Form von analogen elektrischen Signalen, bei dem die Kurztexte aus in digitaler Form in einem Festwertspeicher gespeicherten Textteilen unterschiedlicher zeitlicher Länge zusammensetzbar sind, mit einer Steuervorrichtung, an die der Festwertspeicher über einen Speicheradressenzähler angeschlossen ist und einem dem Festwertspeicher nachgeschalteten Digital-Analog-Wandler.The invention relates to an electronic text generator for the delivery of short texts, for example announcements, in the form of analog electrical signals, in which the short texts can be composed of text parts of different lengths of time stored in digital form in a read-only memory, with a control device to which the read-only memory is transmitted a memory address counter is connected and a digital-to-analog converter connected downstream of the read-only memory.

Derartige Textgeber sind grundsätzlich bekannt. Sie sind beispielsweise zur Sprachausgabe über das Telefonnetz, beispielsweise bei der Auftragsabwicklung im Handel oder auch bei Anrufbeantwortern eingesetzt worden. Ihre Steuerung kann von einer Datenverarbeitungsanlage, beispielsweise einem Mikrocomputer, aus erfolgen.Such text providers are generally known. They have been used, for example, for voice output over the telephone network, for example for order processing in retail or for answering machines. They can be controlled from a data processing system, for example a microcomputer.

Die Umformung der im Festwertspeicher zu speichernden Texte in digitale Sprachdaten kann dabei gemäß dem bekannten Verfahren der Deltamodulation erfolgen. Der dem Festwertspeicher nachgeschaltete Digital-Analog-Wandler enthält dann einen Deltamodulator.The text to be stored in the read-only memory can be converted into digital voice data in accordance with the known delta modulation method. The digital-to-analog converter downstream of the read-only memory then contains a delta modulator.

Ein grundsätzliches Problem der Textgeber dieser Bauart besteht darin, daß sie immer noch einen relativ hohen Bedarf an Speicherplätzen im Festwertspeicher benötigen.A fundamental problem of the text generators of this type is that they still require a relatively large amount of memory in the read-only memory.

Hierdurch werden die Einrichtungen technisch und kostenmäßig aufwendig, was sich insbesondere dann bemerkbar macht, wenn es sich um kleinere Einrichtungen zur Abgabe ein oder mehrerer Kurztexte, wie sie beispielsweise bei einem Anrufbeantworter auftreten können, handelt.This makes the facilities technically and costly, which is particularly noticeable when it comes to smaller facilities for the delivery of one or more short texts, such as those that can occur with an answering machine, for example.

Es ist eine Einrichtung bekannt (IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Band 19, Nr. 6, Nov. 1976, S. 2357, 2358), bei der über einen Encoder Sprache aufgenommen wird, die digital in einem Sprachspeicher gespeichert wird. Diese Sprache kann dann mittels eines Decoders aus dem Speicher wieder abgerufen und über einen Analog-Ausgang abgegeben werden. Bei der Aufnahme entstehende natürliche Sprachpausen werden mittels eines eigenen Pausenzählers ausgezählt und es wird jeweils beim Auftreten einer Sprachpause ein die Pausenlänge kennzeichnender Wert in den Speicher gegeben. Bei der Wiedergabe der Texte durch den Decoder wird mittels eines eigenen Pausenrückwärtszählers eine Sprachpause erzeugt, wobei die Voreinstellung des Pausenrückwärtszählers aufgrund des im Speicher eingespeicherten, die Pausenlänge kennzeichnenden Wertes erfolgt. Dieses bekannte Verfahren ist nur anwendbar, wenn lediglich die bei der Aufnahme eines fortlaufenden Textes auftretenden Sprachpausen erkannt, festgehalten und wiedergewonnen werden sollen.A device is known (IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Volume 19, No. 6, Nov. 1976, p. 2357, 2358) in which speech is recorded via an encoder and is stored digitally in a speech memory. This language can then be retrieved from the memory using a decoder and output via an analog output. Natural speech pauses that occur during the recording are counted by means of a separate pause counter, and a value characterizing the pause length is stored in the memory each time a speech pause occurs. When the texts are reproduced by the decoder, a speech pause is generated by means of a separate pause down counter, the pause down counter being preset on the basis of the value stored in the memory and characterizing the pause length. This known method can only be used if only the speech pauses that occur when recording a continuous text are to be recognized, recorded and retrieved.

Bei dem eingangs erwähnten elektronischen Textgeber sollen die Texte aus gespeicherten Textteilen zusammengesetzt werden, die nicht notwendig nur die durch natürliche Sprachpausen entstehenden Textabschnitte sind. Es handelt sich vielmehr um bewußt ausgewählte Textfragmente, wobei gleichlautende Textteile, die mehrmals in einem Text oder in mehreren Texten vorkommen, nur einmal gespeichert werden und dann an verschiedensten Stellen der abzugebenden Texte eingesetzt werden. Bei einem solchen Verfahren ist die Einspeicherung eines die Pausenlänge enthaltenden Signals in den Festwertspeicher nicht ohne großen Aufwand möglich, da sich an einen bestimmten Textteil je nach seiner Anordnung im Text sehr unterschiedliche Pausenlängen anschließen können.In the case of the electronic text generator mentioned at the outset, the texts are to be composed of stored parts of the text which are not necessarily only the text sections resulting from natural language pauses. Rather, they are deliberately selected text fragments, with parts of the same text that occur several times in a text or in several texts being saved only once and then used at various points in the text to be submitted. In such a method, it is not possible to store a signal containing the pause length in the read-only memory without great effort, since very different pause lengths can follow a certain text part, depending on its arrangement in the text.

Die der Erfindung zugrunde liegende Aufgabe besteht darin, einen Textgeber der eingangs erwähnten Bauart so auszubilden, daß mit einem Minimum an Speicherplätzen Kurztexte verschiedener Art und Zusammensetzung abgegeben werden können.The object on which the invention is based is to design a text generator of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that short texts of various types and compositions can be given with a minimum of storage spaces.

Die Lösung dieser Aufgabe geschieht erfindungsgemäß dadurch, daß an den Ausgang des Festwertspeichers eine Textteilende-Decodiervorrichtung zur Erkennung einer jedem Textteilende zugeordneten Markierung in den digitalen Daten angeschlossen ist, die ein Textteilende-Signal abgibt, daß zur Erzeugung von vorgegebenen Sprachpausen zwischen zwei Textteilen an den Ausgang des Speicheradressenzählers eine Sprachpausen-Decodiervorrichtung angeschlossen ist, zur Erkennung von Pausenanfangs- bzw. Pausenende-Markierungen, die vom Speicheradressenzähler abgegeben werden, wobei jeweils zwischen einer Pausenanfangs- und einer Pausenende-Markierung die Datenabgabe des Festwertspeichers an den Digital-Analog-Wandler unterbrochen ist, bis die Sprachpausen-Decodiervorrichtung ein Pausenende-Signal abgibt, und daß die Ausgänge der Textteilende-Decodiervorrichtung und der Sprachpausen-Decodiervorrichtung über ein ODER-Gatter mit der Steuervorrichtung zur Weiterschaltung des Programmablaufes verbunden sind.This object is achieved according to the invention in that a text part end decoding device for recognizing a marking in the digital data associated with each text part end is connected to the output of the read-only memory and emits a text part end signal which emits a text part end signal to generate predetermined speech pauses between two text parts at the A speech pause decoding device is connected to the output of the memory address counter, for the detection of pause start or pause end markings which are emitted by the memory address counter, the data transfer from the read-only memory to the digital-to-analog converter being interrupted between a pause start and a pause end mark is until the speech pause decoding device emits a pause end signal and that the outputs of the text part decoding device and the speech pause decoding device are connected via an OR gate to the control device for relaying the program flow .

Die Enden aller den Gesamttext zusammensetzenden Textteile sind demnach durch nicht hörbare Markierungen in den digitalen Daten gekennzeichnet. Diese Markierungen sind zweckmäßig bei allen Textteilen gleich und nicht an eine bestimmte Datenspeicheradresse gebunden. Dies ermöglicht eine individuelle, dem jeweiligen Textteil genau entsprechende Festlegung der Textteillängen. Die Markierungen werden von der Textteilende-Decodiervorrichtung erkannt, die ein entsprechendes Textteilende-Signal erzeugt. Die Sprachpausen werden bei der Erstellung des Programmes grundsätzlich wie Textteile behandelt. Sie werden allerdings nicht in den Festwertspeicher eingespeichert, sondern es wird für die Dauer der Sprachpause ein Adressenbereich vorgegeben, in dem der Festwertspeicher nicht bestückt ist. Die Sprachpausen können durch Voreinstellung bestimmter Pausenanfangsadressen im Speicheradressenzähler erzeugt werden, welche von der Sprachpausen-Decodiervorrichtung erkannt werden, die ein Pausen- und Pausenende-Signal abgibt. Das Textteilende-Signal und das Pausenende-Signal werden zur weiteren Steuerung des Programmablaufes verwendet.The ends of all parts of the text that compose the entire text are therefore identified by inaudible markings in the digital data. These markings are expediently the same for all text parts and are not bound to a specific data storage address. This enables an individual definition of the text part lengths that corresponds exactly to the respective text part. The markings are recognized by the end of text decoding device, which generates a corresponding end of text signal. The language breaks are treated like parts of text when the program is created. However, they are not stored in the read-only memory, but an address range is specified for the duration of the pause in which the read-only memory is not populated. The speech pauses can be generated by presetting certain pause start addresses in the memory address counter, which of the speech pause decoding device can be detected, which emits a pause and pause end signal. The end of text signal and the end of pause signal are used to further control the program flow.

Da während der Sprachpausen dem Digital- Analog-Wandler vom Festwertspeicher her keine Daten zugeführt werden, ist es zweckmäßig, wenn gemäß Patentanspruch 2 die Sprachpausen-Decodiervorrichtung während einer vorgegebenen Sprachpause ein Steuersignal abgibt, durch das der Eingang des Digital-Analog-Wandlers mit einer Vorrichtung zur Abgabe eines festen Eingangssignals verbunden wird, damit er während der Sprachpausen die digitalen Eingangsdaten erhält, die am Wandlerausgang den NF-Pegel »0« erzeugen.Since no data is supplied to the digital-to-analog converter from the read-only memory during the pauses in speech, it is expedient if, according to claim 2, the speech-pause decoding device emits a control signal during a predetermined speech pause, by means of which the input of the digital-to-analog converter is transmitted with a Device for delivering a fixed input signal is connected so that it receives the digital input data during the pauses in speech, which generate the NF level "0" at the converter output.

Eine weitere besonders vorteilhafte Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemäßen Textgebers ist Gegenstand des Patentanspruchs 5. Es ist zweckmäßig, das vom Digital-Analog-Wandler abgegebene Niederfrequenz-Signal zu überwachen, um eventuelle Störungen, die beispielsweise zu Textverstümmelungen führen können, sofort zu erfassen. Durch die Kopplung dieser Überwachung des abgegebenen Niederfrequenz-Signals mit der Sprachpausen-Decodiervorrichtung wird eine besonders feinfühlige Überwachung der Niederfrequenz möglich, die dann, da sie auf die vorgegebenen Sprachpausen nicht reagiert, so empfindlich ausgelegt werden kann, daß sie schon auf geringste Unterbrechungen im Niederfrequenz-Signal im Bereich von ca. 60 Millisekunden reagiert.A further particularly advantageous embodiment of the text generator according to the invention is the subject of claim 5. It is expedient to monitor the low-frequency signal emitted by the digital-to-analog converter in order to immediately detect any faults which, for example, can lead to text mutilation. By coupling this monitoring of the output low-frequency signal with the speech pause decoding device, a particularly sensitive monitoring of the low frequency is possible, which then, since it does not respond to the specified speech pauses, can be designed so sensitive that it detects even the slightest interruptions in the low frequency Signal responds in the range of approximately 60 milliseconds.

Im folgenden wird anhand der Zeichnung ein Ausführungsbeispiel für den erfindungsgemäßen Textgeber näher erläutert.An exemplary embodiment of the text generator according to the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing.

In der Zeichnung sind lediglich die für die Erfindung wesentlichen Teile des Textgebers in einem Blockschaltbild dargestellt.In the drawing, only the parts of the text generator that are essential to the invention are shown in a block diagram.

Der Programmablauf wird von einer Steuervorrichtung 1 aus gesteuert, die je nach dem Verwendungszweck des Textgebers an andere Vorrichtungen zur Überwachung und Steuerung, beispielsweise einen Mikroprozessor, angeschlossen sein kann. Alle in der Gesamtheit der abzugebenden Texte, die z. B. Ansagen sein können, vorkommenden Textteile sind nach dem bekannten Prinzip der Deltamodulation digitalisiert und in dem Festwertspeicher 3 (z. B. ROM, EPROM) nacheinander abgelegt. Die Anfangsadressen dieser im Festwertspeicher 3 abgelegten Textteile sind in bekannter Weise im Steuerprogramm festgelegt und werden von der Steuervorrichtung 1 an den Speicheradressenzähler 2 gegeben. Die Enden aller Textteile sind durch nicht hörbare Marken in den digitalen Daten gekennzeichnet. Diese Marken sind bei allen Textteilen gleich und nicht an eine bestimmte Datenspeicheradresse gebunden. Die Ausgabe der Textteile erfolgt in der Weise, daß der Speicheradressenzähler 2 auf die Festwert-Speicheranfangsadresse eines beliebigen Textteiles voreingestellt wird und von diesem Zählerstand ausgehend weiterschaltet, und zwar gesteuert durch ein vom Taktgenerator 12 ausgehendes Taktsignal mit der Frequenz f6. Auf diese Weise wird der Inhalt einer Speicherzelle nach der anderen freigegeben und dem Digital-Analog-Wandler 5 zugeführt. Der Festwertspeicher 3 ist in bekannter Weise in byteweiser Organisation aufgebaut, d. h. unter jeder Adresse werden 8 Bit gleichzeitig an 8 Ausgänge gegeben. Aus diesem Grund muß vor den Digital-Analog-Wandler 5, der nur serielle 1-Bit-Informationen verarbeiten kann, ein Parallel-Seriell-Wandler 4 eingeschaltet werden.The program sequence is controlled by a control device 1 which, depending on the purpose of the text generator, can be connected to other monitoring and control devices, for example a microprocessor. All of the texts to be submitted, e.g. B. Announcements can occur, occurring text parts are digitized according to the known principle of delta modulation and stored in the read-only memory 3 (z. B. ROM, EPROM) one after the other. The start addresses of these text parts stored in the read-only memory 3 are defined in a known manner in the control program and are given by the control device 1 to the memory address counter 2. The ends of all parts of the text are identified by inaudible marks in the digital data. These marks are the same for all text parts and are not tied to a specific data storage address. The text parts are output in such a way that the memory address counter 2 is preset to the fixed value memory start address of any text part and switches from this counter reading, controlled by a clock signal from the clock generator 12 with the frequency f6. In this way, the content of one memory cell after the other is released and fed to the digital-to-analog converter 5. The read-only memory 3 is constructed in a known manner in a byte-wise organization, i. H. 8 bits are given simultaneously to 8 outputs under each address. For this reason, a parallel-to-serial converter 4 must be switched on before the digital-to-analog converter 5, which can only process 1-bit serial information.

Die am Ende eines Textteiles auftretende Markierung wird von der an den Festwertspeicher 3 angeschlossenen Textteilende-Decodiervorrichtung 8 erkannt und über ein ODER-Gatter 0 wird ein entsprechendes Textteilende-Signal der Steuervorrichtung 1 und des Speicheradressenzähler 2 zugeführt. Auf einen Textteil kann entweder direkt ein weiterer Textteil oder eine Sprachpause folgen.The marking that occurs at the end of a text part is recognized by the text part end decoding device 8 connected to the read-only memory 3, and a corresponding text part end signal is supplied to the control device 1 and the memory address counter 2 via an OR gate 0. A text section can either be followed directly by another text section or a language break.

Die Erzeugung vorgegebener Sprachpausen zwischen einzelnen Textteilen erfolgt in der Weise, daß entsprechend dem eingegebenen Programm der Speicheradressenzähler 2 auf eine Adresse innerhalb eines vorgegebenen Adressenbereiches eingestellt wird, in dem der Festwertspeicher 3 selbst nicht bestückt ist. Dabei kann so vorgegangen werden, daß dem Pausenende ein bestimmter fester Wert im Speicheradressenzähler 2 zugeordnet ist, der für alle Sprachpausen der gleiche ist. Unterschiedlich lange Pausen lassen sich dann durch die Programmierung unterschiedlicher Anfangsadressen innerhalb dieses genannten Bereiches realisieren. Auf diese Weise können auch längere Sprachpausen durch Aneinanderreihung mehrerer Pausenabschnitte erzielt werden. Die vom Speicheradressenzähler 2 abgegebene Pausenanfangs- und Pausenende-Markierungen oder die Pausenende-Markierungen allein werden von der an den Speicheradressenzähler 2 angeschlossenen Sprachpausen-Decodiervorrichtung 9 erkannt. Es wird ein Sprachpausenende-Signal erzeugt, das ebenfalls über das ODER-Gatter 0 der Steuervorrichtung 1 und dem Speicheradressenzähler 2 zugeführt wird.Predefined speech pauses between individual text parts are generated in such a way that, according to the program entered, the memory address counter 2 is set to an address within a predefined address range in which the read-only memory 3 itself is not populated. The procedure can be such that a certain fixed value in the memory address counter 2 is assigned to the end of the pause, which is the same for all speech pauses. Pauses of different lengths can then be realized by programming different start addresses within this area. In this way, longer speech pauses can be achieved by lining up several pause sections. The pause start and pause markings emitted by the memory address counter 2 or the pause end markings alone are recognized by the speech pause decoding device 9 connected to the memory address counter 2. A speech pause end signal is generated, which is likewise supplied to the control device 1 and the memory address counter 2 via the OR gate 0.

Zur Zusammensetzung eines bestimmten Textes aus den im Festwertspeicher 3 abgelegten Textteilen und den gegebenenfalls dazwischen auftretenden Sprachpausen werden die Textteil-Anfangsadressen und Sprachpausen-Anfangsadressen in der gewünschten Reihenfolge in das Programm der Steuerung 1 geschrieben. Beim Start des Textes und jeweils nach Erkennen eines Textteilendes durch die Textteilende-Decodiervorrichtung 8 oder eines Sprachpausenendes durch die Sprachpausen-Decodiervorrichtung 9 wird der Speicheradressenzähler 2 von der Steuerung 1 auf die nächste, im Programm folgende Textteil-Anfangsadresse voreingestellt.To compose a certain text from the text parts stored in the read-only memory 3 and the speech pauses that may occur between them, the text part start addresses and speech pause start addresses are written into the program of the controller 1 in the desired order. At the start of the text and after each recognition of a partial text end by the partial text decoding device 8 or an end of speech break by the non-speech decoding device 9, the memory address counter 2 is preset by the controller 1 to the next text part start address following in the program.

Der Digital-Analog-Wandler 5, der ständig vom Taktgenerator 12 mit einem Taktsignal der Frequenz f3 getaktet ist, gibt ein analoges Ausgangssignal ab, das durch ein Wiedergabefilter 6 läuft und dabei auf das für Sprachdurchsagen relevante Frequenzband begrenzt wird, wobei auch das bei der Digitallisierung unvermeidliche Quantisierungsrauschen bedämpft wird. Über einen nachgeschalteten Verstärker gelangt das Niederfrequenz-Signal zum Ausgang NF-A.The digital-to-analog converter 5, which is constantly clocked by the clock generator 12 with a clock signal of the frequency f3, outputs an analogue output output signal, which runs through a playback filter 6 and is thereby limited to the frequency band relevant for voice announcements, the quantization noise that is unavoidable during digitization also being damped. The low-frequency signal reaches the NF-A output via a downstream amplifier.

Damit am Eingang des Digital-Analog-Wandlers 5 während der Sprachpausen, in denen vom Festwertspeicher 3 keine Daten übermittelt werden, keine undefinierten Zustände auftreten, die zu Störsignalen am Wandlerausgang führen können, gibt die Sprachpausen-Decodiervorrichtung 9 während der Sprachpausen ein Steuersignal ab, durch das mittels eines Schalters S der Eingang des Digital-Analog-Wandlers 5 während der Sprachpausen mit einem Ausgang des Taktgenerators 12 verbunden wird, von dem aus dem Digital-Analog-Wandler 5 ein getaktetes Eingangssignal der Frequenz f4 zugeführt wird. Zweckmäßig besitzt dieses Eingangssignal die Frequenz f4 = 1/2 - f3.So that at the input of the digital-to-analog converter 5 during the pauses in which no data is transmitted from the read-only memory 3, there are no undefined states which can lead to interference signals at the converter output, the pause decoder 9 emits a control signal during the pauses in speech, by means of which the input of the digital-to-analog converter 5 is connected to an output of the clock generator 12 during the speech pauses by means of a switch S, from which a clocked input signal of frequency f4 is supplied from the digital-to-analog converter 5. This input signal expediently has the frequency f4 = 1 / 2 -f3.

Eine Programmüberwachungsvorrichtung 10 kontrolliert den Programmablauf und gibt über ein UND-Gatter U, dem gleichzeitig das Taktsignal f6 zugeführt wird, an den Speicheradressenzähler 2 die Steuersignale zum Weiterschalten. Programmenden werden über den Ausgang P-Ü angezeigt.A program monitoring device 10 controls the program sequence and transmits the control signals to the memory address counter 2 via an AND gate U, to which the clock signal f6 is supplied at the same time. Program ends are indicated via the P-Ü output.

Eine Vorrichtung 11 zur Überwachung des dem Ausgang NF-A zugeführten Niederfrequenz-Signals zeigt eine Störung in der Abgabe dieses Signals über den Ausgang NF-Ü an. Die Vorrichtung 11 kann als sehr empfindlich auf einen Ausfall des Niederfrequenz-Signals arbeitende Überwachungsvorrichtung ausgelegt werden, weil sie nur dann freigegeben wird, wenn »Text« programmiert ist, d. h. während der vorgegebenen Sprachpausen wird sie durch ein von der Sprachpausen-Decodiervorrichtung 9 abgegebenes Steuersignal abgeschaltet. Auf diese Weise wird eine sehr rasch arbeitende Überwachung des abgegebenen Niederfrequenz-Signals erreicht.A device 11 for monitoring the low-frequency signal fed to the output NF-A indicates a fault in the delivery of this signal via the output NF-Ü. The device 11 can be designed to be very sensitive to a failure of the low frequency signal monitoring device because it is only released when "text" is programmed, i. H. during the predetermined speech pauses it is switched off by a control signal emitted by the speech pause decoding device 9. In this way, monitoring of the low-frequency signal which is emitted is carried out very quickly.

Claims (5)

1. Electronic text transmitter for emitting short texts, e. g. announcements, in the form of analog electrical signals, in which text transmitter the short texts are adapted to be composed of text portions of different lengths of time which are stored, in digital form, in a set-value memory, said text transmitter comprising a control device to which the set-value memory is connected through a memory address counter, and further comprising a digital/analog converter following said set-value memory, characterized in that, to the output of the set-value memory (3), an end-of-text-portion decoder (8) is connected for the recognition of a mark contained in the digital data and being associated with each end of a text portion, said decoder emitting an end-of-text-portion signal, that, for generating predetermined speech intervals between two text portions, a speech-interval decoder (9) is connected to the output of the memory address counter (2) for the recognition of begin-of-interval marks or end-of-interval marks, respectively, emitted by said memory address counter (2), whereby between a begin-of-interval mark and an end-of-interval mark, the emission of data from the set value memory (3) to the digital/analog converter (5) is interrupted until the speech-interval decoder (9) emits an end-of-interval signal, and that the outputs of the end-of-text-portion decoder (8) and of the speech-interval decoder (9) are connected, through an OR-gate (0), with the control device (1) for the further performance of the run-down of the programme.
2. Electronic text transmitter as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the speech-interval decoder (9), during the occurance of a prederter- mined speech interval, emits a control signal by means of which the input of the digital/analog converter (5) is connected with a device (12) for emitting a fixed input signal.
3. Electronic text transmitter as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the device for the emission of the fixed input signal is a clock generator (12).
4. Electronic text transmitter as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the output frequency of the clock generator (12) which is transmitted to the digital/analog converter (5), is f4 = 1/2 . f3, whereby f3 is the clock frequency which is continously transmitted to the digital/ analog converter (5).
5. Electronic text transmitter as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, characterized by a device (11) for controlling the low-frequency signal emitted by the digital/analog converter (5) which device is switched off by the control signal of the speech-interval decoder (9) during each of the predetermined speech intervals.
EP82100549A 1981-02-10 1982-01-27 Electronic system for delivering messages Expired - Lifetime EP0057853B2 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT82100549T ATE14637T1 (en) 1981-02-10 1982-01-27 ELECTRONIC TEXT GENERATOR FOR DELIVERING SHORT TEXT.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE3104551 1981-02-10
DE3104551A DE3104551C2 (en) 1981-02-10 1981-02-10 Electronic text generator for submitting short texts

Publications (4)

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EP0057853A2 EP0057853A2 (en) 1982-08-18
EP0057853A3 EP0057853A3 (en) 1982-09-01
EP0057853B1 true EP0057853B1 (en) 1985-07-31
EP0057853B2 EP0057853B2 (en) 1990-01-10

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EP82100549A Expired - Lifetime EP0057853B2 (en) 1981-02-10 1982-01-27 Electronic system for delivering messages

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EP (1) EP0057853B2 (en)
AT (1) ATE14637T1 (en)
DE (1) DE3104551C2 (en)

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3231846A1 (en) * 1982-08-26 1984-03-01 Siemens AG, 1000 Berlin und 8000 München Telephone set with an answering machine
FR2547094B1 (en) * 1983-06-03 1989-09-29 Silec Liaisons Elec METHOD AND DEVICE FOR BROADCASTING TALKED MESSAGES FROM ENCODED INFORMATION
JPS61201549A (en) * 1985-03-04 1986-09-06 Toshiba Corp Telephone terminal message communication system
DE4135261C1 (en) * 1991-10-25 1993-03-18 International Business Machines Corp., Armonk, N.Y., Us
DE10031008A1 (en) * 2000-06-30 2002-01-10 Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd Procedure for assembling sentences for speech output

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3236947A (en) * 1961-12-21 1966-02-22 Ibm Word code generator
US3641496A (en) * 1969-06-23 1972-02-08 Phonplex Corp Electronic voice annunciating system having binary data converted into audio representations
US3704345A (en) * 1971-03-19 1972-11-28 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Conversion of printed text into synthetic speech
BG24190A1 (en) * 1976-09-08 1978-01-10 Antonov Method of synthesis of speech and device for effecting same
DE2909154A1 (en) * 1979-03-08 1980-09-11 Siemens Ag Storage circuit for texts in information system - retains both spoken and written texts in same store

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE3104551C2 (en) 1982-10-21
EP0057853A2 (en) 1982-08-18
EP0057853B2 (en) 1990-01-10
DE3104551A1 (en) 1982-08-19
ATE14637T1 (en) 1985-08-15
EP0057853A3 (en) 1982-09-01

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