JP3027966B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus, and more particularly, to a facsimile apparatus with a Braille function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a facsimile apparatus which can be easily used by a visually impaired person and which performs facsimile communication between visually impaired persons and between a visually impaired person and a healthy person (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 6 (1994) -609). -222711 etc.).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile machine 21 for use by a visually impaired person. The facsimile apparatus 21 can output received data in voice and Braille, and can create transmission data based on a Braille document. Specifically, the facsimile apparatus 21 includes a power supply circuit unit 36, an input unit 32, a character recognition unit 39, an operation key unit 33, a liquid crystal display unit 31, a control circuit unit 28, a memory 29, A scanning data processing unit 25;
A general data print unit 26, a braille print unit 27,
Audio output control unit 35, speaker 34, audio conversion unit 3
7, a recording conversion unit 24, a transmission control unit 40, a modem unit 23, and a telephone line interface unit 22.

At the time of data reception, the data is received via a telephone line interface unit 22 and a modem unit 23, converted into a recording signal by a recording conversion unit 24, and stored in a memory 29. This data is determined by the control circuit unit 28 as character information data (alphanumeric characters or katakana in a predetermined format) or general graphic data. When it is determined that the received data is character information data, the character information data is recognized by the character recognizing unit 39, is further converted into Braille, and is transmitted from the Braille printing unit 27 via the scanning data processing unit 25 to the Braille printing unit. Is output. The character information data is converted into an audio signal by the audio conversion unit 37 via the scanning data processing unit 25, and is output from the speaker 34 by the audio output control unit 35.

At the time of data transmission, a braille document is
2, the read braille data is converted into character data of alphanumeric characters and katakana characters, and transmitted by the transmission control unit 40 to the telephone line via the modem unit 23 and the telephone circuit interface unit 22.

As described above, the conventional facsimile apparatus is
Character information data in a certain format in the received document can be output as voice and printed in Braille, and a Braille document can be converted into character data and transmitted.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned conventional facsimile apparatus, only braille, alphanumeric characters in a predetermined format and katakana can be recognized. Although this configuration is effective in reducing errors in character recognition, character strings containing Hiragana and Kanji cannot be converted into Braille or voice. Further, even if an error occurs during character recognition, it cannot be corrected. Therefore, when reading Japanese data, recognizing the characters, converting them into code information, and transmitting them, if an error occurs in the character recognition, erroneous data is transmitted and accurate information transmission is not performed. After all, for this reason, only alphanumeric and katakana manuscripts in a fixed format with few character recognition errors are subject to code information conversion transmission.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it possible for a visually impaired person to easily and accurately transmit information using a Braille print output and a voice output, and to convert a manuscript mixed with Kanji and Hiragana into code information. It is another object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of transmitting accurate information even when transmitting.

[0009]

The facsimile apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by an input section for reading a document, a character recognition section for recognizing characters including kanji in the document read by the input section, and a character recognition content. A voice conversion unit that voices, a character confirmation control unit that reads out the character recognition content by the voice output control unit and the speaker based on the voice conversion by the voice conversion unit, and after the character recognition content is read out from the speaker. An operation key unit capable of correcting this, and a transmission control unit capable of transmitting the contents corrected by operating the operation key unit from the telephone circuit interface unit. This makes it possible to correct a character recognition error or the like before transmission.

When the character recognition content is corrected by operating the operation key section, the corrected portion is output as voice. For this reason, a visually impaired person can easily perform the correction work.

Further, in the facsimile apparatus of the present invention,
And a Braille print unit capable of converting characters into Braille and capable of outputting Braille prints. The operation of the operation key unit allows transmission by the transmission control unit and the telephone circuit interface unit and Braille print output by the Braille print unit. One or both may be selected . By this
The facsimile machine is also used as a Braille printer.

Further, if the operation key section is provided with a display in Braille, it is convenient for a visually handicapped person.

[0013]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention. The facsimile apparatus 1 includes a power supply circuit section 16, an input section 12, a character recognition section 19, an operation key section 13 with braille display, a liquid crystal display section 11, a control circuit section 8, a memory 9, Data processing unit 5, general data printing unit 6, braille printing unit 7, audio output control unit 15, speaker 14, audio conversion unit 17, recording conversion unit 4, transmission control unit 20, modulation / demodulation unit 3, a telephone line interface unit 2 and a character confirmation control unit 18.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the facsimile machine 1. The liquid crystal display unit 11 is provided on the upper surface of the facsimile machine 1 so that the contents are easy to see, and the operation key unit 13 is provided for stability and ease of operation.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.
First, the reception will be described. Image data received from the telephone circuit interface unit 2 is modulated and demodulated by the modem unit 3, further converted into a recording signal by the recording conversion unit 4, and stored in the memory 9 via the control circuit unit 8. You. When the setting by the operation key unit 13 is set to the general paper output, the image information as received is transmitted to the general data printing unit via the scanning data processing unit 5 in the same manner as in a normal facsimile apparatus not for the visually impaired. 6 is printed out.

On the other hand, when the setting by the operation key unit 13 is Braille output, if the data modulated and demodulated by the modulation and demodulation unit 3 is data (code information) converted to Braille on the transmission side. , The scanning data processing unit 5
Is output from the braille printing unit 7 as braille.
If the received data has not been processed on the transmission side, the received data is first subjected to character recognition by the character recognition unit 19. When the recognition rate as a character is low, it is not converted to a character, but is output as image data to the general data printing unit 6 via the scanning data processing unit 5. When the recognition rate as a character is high, the image data (character) is converted into Braille code information, and output from the Braille printing unit 7 via the scanning data processing unit 5 as Braille. Note that the character recognition contents of the past several received data are stored in the memory 9 and are stored in the voice output control unit 15.
The voice can be output from the speaker 17 via the.

Next, the operation at the time of transmission will be described with reference to FIG. Whether the data is character data or image data is set in advance by the operation key unit 13, and if it is set to character data (S1), the original to be transmitted is read by the input unit 12 such as a scanner. (S2). Then, the read original is sent to the character recognition unit 19.
(S3), and the character data is converted into Braille code information. Then, the code information is converted into katakana or alphanumeric characters by the character confirmation control unit 18 and displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 11, and is output as sound from the speaker 14 via the sound output control unit 15 (S4). ). In this way, the character recognition unit 19 character-recognizes the document and displays the content on the liquid crystal display.
Therefore, the user can visually and audibly confirm the character recognition contents before transmission. Even if the user is a visually impaired person, the character recognition content can be confirmed by voice output from the speaker 14.

Therefore, when there is an error in character recognition (S5), for example, when there is an error in reading or erroneous recognition of a kanji or the like, the user operates the operation key section 13 to specify a correction portion (S6). At this time, the portion to be corrected is displayed by the cursor position on the liquid crystal display unit 11, and
It is read aloud by voice output from the speaker 14 (S
7). When the part to be corrected is properly specified (S8),
The correction content is input by the user operating the operation key unit 13 (S9). The corrected contents are displayed on the LCD 11
And is read aloud by the audio output from the speaker 14 and reconfirmed. When the correction is completed in this way and a transmission command is issued by the user operating the operation key unit 13 (S10), the corrected data is prepared for transmission by the control circuit unit 8, and modulated by the modem unit 3. Then, it is transmitted from the telephone circuit interface unit 2 (S11). The data converted into the code information for Braille in this manner can be output in Braille without processing or conversion in the facsimile machine on the receiving side as in the above-described example.

When the user issues a print output command instead of a transmission command by operating the operation key section 13 (S10), the Braille printing section 7 is operated via the operation data processing section 5.
Is printed out in Braille (S12). In this case, the transmission processing is not performed by the transmission control unit 20, the modem unit 3, and the telephone circuit interface unit 2, and the facsimile apparatus 1 can be used as a Braille translation printer.

If the first setting is not character data but general data output (S1), the image data as input from the input unit 12 is transmitted to the transmission control unit as in a normal facsimile apparatus not for the visually impaired. 20 and modem 3
And transmitted from the telephone circuit interface unit 2 (S11).

The operation key section 13 is provided with a Braille display so that it can be understood by touching with a hand, so that a person with a visual impairment can easily operate.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, characters including kanji and hiragana can be converted into braille data by character recognition and transmitted. In addition, since the character recognition content is read out before transmission, if there is an error in character recognition or the like, the error can be detected and corrected, so that accurate information transmission is possible.

By reading out the portion to be corrected at the time of correction, it is possible for a visually impaired person to easily make a correct correction. Further, if the operation key unit is provided with a Braille display, it is more convenient for a visually impaired person to use.

If the read original is configured to be able to print out Braille in addition to transmission, it can be used as a Braille translator for ordinary characters.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of transmission in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional facsimile machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Facsimile apparatus 2 Telephone circuit interface part 3 Modulation / demodulation part 4 Recording conversion part 5 Scan data processing part 6 General data printing part 7 Braille printing part 8 Control circuit part 9 Memory 11 Liquid crystal display part 12 Input part 13 Operation key part with braille 14 Speaker Reference Signs List 15 audio output control unit 16 power supply circuit unit 17 audio conversion unit 18 character confirmation control unit 19 character recognition unit 20 transmission control unit

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-278727 (JP, A) JP-A-8-249428 (JP, A) JP-A-4-96465 (JP, A) JP-A-7-107219 (JP) JP-A-6-222711 (JP, A) JP-A-6-54094 (JP, A) JP-A-5-145769 (JP, A) JP-A-5-83454 (JP, A) 1-105254 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00 G09B 21/00 G06K 9/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An input unit for reading a document, a character recognition unit for recognizing characters including kanji in the document read by the input unit, a voice conversion unit for converting character recognition contents into voice, and the voice conversion unit A character output control unit and a character confirmation control unit for reading out the character recognition content by the speaker based on the voice conversion, an operation key unit capable of correcting the character recognition content after the speaker reads out the character recognition content, and the operation key the contents modified by the manipulation of the parts and a transmission control unit that can be transmitted from the telephone circuit interface, character recognition content is modified by the operation of the operation key unit
Facsimile machine that outputs the corrected part
Place. 2. Characters can be converted to Braille and Braille print output is possible.
It has a functional Braille print unit, and by operating the operation key unit,
Transmission by transmission control unit and telephone circuit interface unit
Either Shin or Braille print output by the Braille print unit
2. The method of claim 1, wherein one or both are selected.
Simiri device. 3. A display in braille is provided on the operation key section.
The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
Place.