JPH11133998A - Transmitting method for voice signal and equipment therefor and program recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To send appropriate hearing aid voice to a person who has difficulty in hearing and to simply convert the broadcast of a voice mail, or an electronic mail including a voice mail regenerated voice suitable to a listener at a receiving side. SOLUTION: A transmitting terminal 10 adjusts original voice and audition test voice (410), using a hearing filter pattern selected from a memory 420 for transmitting (200) as hearing aid voice. A receiving terminal 20 regenerates the hearing aid voice to respond easy listening. Accordingly, the terminal 10 decides the necessity of selecting other hearing aid filter. In assigning a voice mail to broadcast a hearing aid filter pattern is fetched from the memory 420. Corresponding adjustment is provided to voice from the hearing filter pattern number. Hearing filter application software for obtaining the hearing aid voice is fetched from a memory 440. The hearing aid filter pattern number and the hearing aid filter application software are incorporated into the voice main for transmission.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention realizes a kind of remote hearing aid function. In hearing communication in which a hearing-impaired person or the like exchanges voice information such as telephone calls and voice mails, the present invention relates to such hearing aids. The present invention relates to a hearing aid software transmission method for distributing software for adjusting an audio signal to make it easier for a person to hear on a network, an apparatus for transmitting hearing aid software, and a program recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In personal computer communication, the Internet, e-mail systems, and the like, communication can be performed only by using a keyboard and a display. This is for text, still images, video, etc.
Because it is based on visual communication, it is a very suitable system for hearing-impaired people. However, the media handled has become increasingly multi-media, and in addition to visual communication, auditory communication, for example, voice messages, voice mail, Internet radio, Internet broadcasting, and the like have begun to be included.
For this reason, in this type of communication system conventionally suitable for a hearing-impaired person, there is a first problem that the communication transmission rate is reduced.

[0003] Next, when adjusting to a sound that is easy to hear, there are conventionally known a volume adjustment method, a sound quality adjustment method, a noise suppression method, an output restriction method, and the like. In order to perform high-precision sound adjustment in these methods, it is necessary to combine the respective methods in a complicated manner, and there is a second problem that the adjustment time increases if an unskilled person performs the adjustment. In addition, with the digitization of information sent from media, the copying of information has become easier, and the number of forms of copying information and sending it to the next party has been increasing. For example, there is a system in which a person duplicates information of an e-mail received and forwards the same e-mail one after another in the form of a circulation e-mail. If the e-mail information is text or a still image, it can be displayed on the display only by operating the keyboard, which is suitable for a hearing-impaired person. However, since this mail information contains voice recently, if the circulating party includes hearing-impaired or hearing-impaired people, the third problem is that it is not possible to send voice mail and confirm the answer efficiently. A point has occurred.

[0004]

According to the present invention, in order to solve these problems, a plurality of patterns for adjusting an original voice to a hearing aid signal are set in advance, and a hearing-impaired person who receives the sound easily hears them. Select a pattern, receive it as a hearing aid signal adjusted with that pattern, distribute a pattern and adjustment application that adjusts to a signal that is easy to hear with the original sound over the network with the original sound, and circulate it regardless of hearing impaired people and hearing people It is characterized in that voice mail including mail can be received.

[0005] The present invention will be conceptually described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 illustrates a situation in which a user receiving an audio signal adjusts to a hearing aid audio signal that is easy to hear. That is, from the input side, original sound for online adjustment while communicating with the user on the output side, and trial test audio data for performing a test for confirming the degree to which the output side user can hear are sent. The original audio and the test listening test audio data are adjusted to a hearing aid audio signal through the hearing aid filter pattern 2 selected by the hearing aid filter pattern selecting means 1 and output. As many hearing aid filter patterns 2 as the original sound and the trial test sound data are output as hearing aid sound to the output side. From this hearing aid sound, the output side user selects which hearing aid filter pattern is best heard. In other words, the original sound is a conversation sound with the other user for selecting the hearing aid filter pattern, and an inquiry is made as to whether or not the test listening test sound data adjusted by the selected hearing aid filter pattern based on the original sound is easy to hear. The selection of the hearing aid filter pattern is further changed in accordance with, and which hearing aid filter pattern is used to determine which of the hearing-test-adjusted test-listening test audio data is most audible.

[0006] As described above, a significant difference from the prior art is that the input side can select a hearing aid filter pattern for adjusting the hearing aid sound to be most audible to the output side user. FIG. 2 shows an adjustment method when transmitting voice information to a destination terminal. Means for inputting and outputting audio signals, ie, microphones and speakers (or headphones)
When a call or the like is made between the computer terminal 10 on the operating side and the computer terminal 20 of the other party, the optimal hearing aid filter pattern is selected online as described in FIG. 1, and the selected hearing aid filter is selected. Only the hearing aid adjusted by the pattern is transmitted.

On the other hand, when the other party is a plurality of e-mails, for example, a circulation mail, an individual adjustment parameter which is a list of an optimal hearing aid filter pattern of a circulation individual prepared in advance and a hearing aid application for listening to the adjustment parameter, Based on the hearing aid filter pattern, a procedure for adjusting the input audio signal to a hearing aid sound signal is transmitted from the operating terminal 13 in a form attached to the original sound. The hearing-impaired person who has received the circulation mail can hear the hearing aid filter pattern that is easy for him to hear by using hearing aid voice by using the individual adjustment parameter for his / her own station. Also, the hearing person can receive and hear the audio information in the original sound.

As described above, the point that voice information can be exchanged even when a hearing-impaired person and a hearing-impaired person coexist on the receiving side in a circulation mail or the like is significantly different from the prior art. Further, according to the receiving apparatus of the present invention, the audio data, the individual adjustment parameters, and the hearing aid filter application software are separated from the received signal, and the hearing aid of the user of the receiving apparatus is separated from the separated individual adjustment parameters. A filter pattern number is selected, and according to the selected hearing aid filter pattern number, the audio data is adjusted to a hearing aid audio signal using the hearing aid filter application software,
The hearing aid audio signal is reproduced as an audio signal.

[0009]

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention. Computer terminal (operation terminal) 10,
Keyboards 11 and 21, displays 12 and 22, a microphone 1
3, 23, speakers 14, 24, headsets 15, 25
The audio extraction unit 100 is connected to the computer terminal 10, the audio extraction unit 100 is connected to the hearing aid filter selection adjustment processing unit 200, the e-mail / audio incorporation processing unit 300, and the storage unit 400 has a trial test audio data memory 41
0, a hearing aid filter pattern memory 420, an individual adjustment parameter memory 430, and a hearing aid filter application software memory 440. The control of each unit is performed by the control unit 500, and the hearing aid audio signal from the hearing aid filter selection adjustment processing unit 200 is transmitted by the transmission unit 600 from the electronic mail from the e-mail / voice embedding processing unit 300.
A voice (response) signal transmitted from the computer terminal 20 to the computer terminal 20 via the network 800 is received by the receiving unit 700 and input to the computer terminal 10.

The operation will be described in the case of adjusting a transmission signal, such as a real-time call, and in the case of adjusting voice mail. First, regarding the operation when adjusting at the time of a real-time call, the operation is performed by the control unit 5.
In response to the instruction of 00, the audio extraction unit 100 receives the original audio input from the microphone 13 attached to the headset 15 in the computer terminal (operation terminal) 10 and transfers the original audio to the hearing aid filter selection adjustment processing unit 200. I do.
The hearing aid filter selection adjustment processing unit 200 includes a memory unit 400
The hearing aid filter pattern stored in the hearing aid filter pattern memory 420 is read, the original sound transferred from the sound extraction unit 100 is adjusted by the hearing aid filter pattern, and the result is used as the hearing aid sound by the transmission unit 600.
Transfer to The hearing aid filter selection adjustment processing unit 200
Reads the trial test voice data stored in the trial test voice data memory 410 in the memory unit 400 as needed, adjusts the original voice and the trial test voice data with the selected hearing aid filter pattern, and compares the result. The information is transferred to the transmission unit 600 as hearing aid sound.

The hearing aid filter pattern is a pattern composed of a combination of a sound volume adjustment method, a sound quality adjustment method, a noise suppression method, and an output restriction method generally used in hearing aids and the like.
A plurality of hearing aid filter patterns are set in advance. The transmission unit 600 includes a hearing aid filter selection adjustment processing unit 20
The hearing aid voice transferred from 0 is transferred to the computer terminal (recipient terminal) 20 via the network 800. The computer terminal (destination terminal) 20 outputs the hearing aid voice transferred from the transmission unit 600 from the speaker 24.

In the computer terminal (the destination terminal) 20, the degree of hearing of the reproduced hearing aid sound is transferred to the receiving unit 700 as sound (response) through the microphone 23 attached to the headset 25. The receiving unit 700 transfers the voice (response) information transferred from the computer terminal (the destination terminal) 20 to the computer terminal (operation terminal) 10. Computer terminal (operation terminal) 1
0 outputs the voice (response) transferred from the receiving unit 700 to the speaker 14 attached to the headset 15. The user of the computer terminal (operation terminal) 10 operates the keyboard 11 while watching the display 12 in accordance with the reproduced voice (response) content, whereby the input adjustment data is transferred to the voice extracting unit 100. The sound extraction unit 100 transfers the adjustment data transferred from the computer terminal (operation terminal) 10 to the hearing aid filter selection adjustment processing unit 200. The hearing aid filter selection adjustment processing unit 200 determines the adjustment data transferred from the audio extraction unit 100,
Hearing aid filter pattern 420 according to a command from control unit 500
Is read, one of the hearing aid filter patterns other than the hearing aid filter pattern is read, and the original sound and the trial test sound data are adjusted to the hearing aid sound by the hearing aid filter pattern. As described above, while a real-time call is being made between the user operating the computer terminal (operation terminal) 10 and the user operating the computer terminal (operation terminal) 20, a plurality of hearing aid filter patterns are selected by the instruction of the control unit 500. By trial-listening the trial test audio data and the original voice, that is, the original audio, which is transferred to the adjustment processing unit 200 and adjusted by the hearing aid filter, a hearing aid filter pattern to be adjusted to an easy-to-hear hearing aid sound can be selected.

Next, the operation at the time of communication by voice mail will be described. In order to operate this, the operation of the keyboard 11 in the computer terminal 10 and the display 1
The voice extraction unit 100 receives an electronic mail including the original voice for mail input while watching the display of FIG.
Extracts voice for mail.

In the voice extracting unit 100, in the case of an electronic mail in which there is only one other party, the original voice for the mail is transferred to the hearing aid filter selection adjustment processing unit 200 in accordance with a command from the control unit 500. Hearing filter selection adjustment processing unit 2
00 reads an individual adjustment parameter that matches the condition from the individual adjustment parameters stored in the individual adjustment parameter memory 430 in the memory unit 400 according to a command from the control unit 500, and reads the computer terminal according to the individual adjustment parameters. The original voice for mail transferred from the (operation terminal) is adjusted to the hearing aid voice for mail, and transferred to the electronic mail / voice embedded processing unit 300.

FIG. 4 shows an individual adjustment parameter memory 43.
An example of 0 is shown. As shown in the figure, the individual adjustment parameter memory 430 stores a user name, a hearing aid filter pattern number, and information on whether or not the subject has progressive hearing loss. The individual adjustment parameter memory 430 searches the user name information for a hearing aid filter pattern number that is easy to hear among the hearing aid filter patterns stored in the hearing aid filter pattern memory 420. Here, in the case of progressive hearing loss, there is a high possibility that the recipient's hearing varies, and it is highly likely that even a hearing aid filter pattern which was easy to hear until then cannot be adjusted to an easy-to-hear hearing aid voice mail. The hearing aid filter pattern is not read.

The electronic mail (text, still image, moving image, etc.) separated from the original mail for mail by the audio extracting unit 100 is transferred to the electronic mail / audio incorporating processing unit 300. The e-mail incorporation processing unit 300 performs the incorporation processing of the mail hearing aid voice transferred from the voice extraction unit 100 into the corresponding e-mail, and transfers it to the transmission unit 600 as an e-mail (e-mail voice incorporation). The transmitting section 600 transfers the electronic mail (mail embedded voice for mail) transferred from the electronic mail / voice embedded processing section 300 to the computer terminal (destination terminal) 20. The user of the computer terminal 20 transmits the
The e-mail (e-mail voice embedded) received from 00 is
The display 22 is displayed by operating the keyboard 21.

On the other hand, in the case of an electronic mail such as a circulation mail (broadcast communication mail) in which there are a plurality of parties, the voice extraction unit 100 extracts the extracted original voice for the mail and the electronic mail (text, still image, moving image). Etc.) to the e-mail / voice embedded processing unit 300. Audio embedding processor 300
Then, the original voice for mail transferred from the voice extraction unit 100 and the electronic mail (text, still image, moving image, etc.)
In accordance with a command from the control unit 500, the individual adjustment parameters matching the conditions stored in the individual adjustment parameter memory 430 in the memory unit 400 and the hearing aid filter application stored in the hearing aid filter application software memory 440 are stored. Read. Next, the e-mail (text, still image, moving image, etc.) is processed by incorporating the original voice for mail, the individual adjustment parameter, and the hearing aid filter application, and is transmitted as an e-mail (mail embedded in mail). Transfer to Transmission section 600
Then, the transferred e-mail (including the voice for mail) is transferred to the computer terminal (the destination terminal) 20. The user of the computer terminal 20 causes the display 22 to display the e-mail (e-mail voice embedded) received from the transmission unit 600 by operating the keyboard 21. If the user of the computer terminal 20 is a hearing-impaired person, retrieve his or her individual adjustment parameters in the email,
According to the adjustment parameter, the computer terminal 20 performs a process of adjusting the simultaneously transmitted original sound to the hearing aid sound by the simultaneously transmitted hearing aid filter application.

The above embodiment is for transmitting from a computer terminal (operating terminal) to a computer terminal (other terminal). In the present invention, when receiving from a network side, an existing device, The method may be used. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, only a method for determining an appropriate hearing aid filter in real time, and therefore only a transmitting device or the same voice mail or an email including a voice mail is transmitted, and each receiving side receives A method of reproducing a hearing aid audio signal using the adjusted personalized adjustment parameters and hearing aid filter application software, or only a device that broadcasts an e-mail including a voice mail or a voice mail, including an email or a voice mail Only a device for sending an e-mail to one person may be used.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even when auditory communication is included, the first advantage is that the transmission rate of the communication is not reduced because the sound can be adjusted to an easy-to-hear sound for each person who talks or for each destination of the e-mail.

Further, by setting and using a plurality of hearing aid lens patterns in advance, there is a second advantage that even a layman can shorten the adjustment time. Furthermore, even when a hearing-impaired person and a hearing-impaired person coexist at the destination of a voice mail to be circulated, the mail and the hearing aid filter application and individual adjustment parameters are included in the mail, so transmission and response confirmation can be performed efficiently There is a third advantage that it can be done.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic concept of the invention of claim 1;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic concept of the invention of claim 2;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a hearing aid software transmission system according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a storage example of individual adjustment parameters in FIG. 3;

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI H04R 3/04 G06F 13/00 351G // G06F 3/16 330 H04L 11/20 101B 13/00 351

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A transmitting side selects 1 from a pre-stored hearing aid filter pattern, adjusts the original sound and the trial test sound data with the selected hearing aid filter pattern, and adjusts the adjusted hearing aid sound signal. The receiving side listens to the received hearing aid audio signal, and responds to the transmitting side as to whether or not the hearing aid audio signal including the original sound, especially the test listening test audio data, is easy to hear. And generating a hearing aid signal by repeating a response to the easiness of hearing, thereby selecting a hearing aid pattern that is easy for the listener to hear. 2. The transmitting side incorporates voice data for the same mail, individual adjustment parameters, and hearing aid filter application software into an electronic mail, and transmits the electronic mail to a plurality of terminals. The voice data for mail is reproduced as it is, or an adjustment parameter corresponding to the listener is selected from the individual adjustment parameters, and the received hearing aid filter application software is used for the mail data for mail. A sound signal transmission method characterized in that the sound signal is adjusted and reproduced as a hearing aid sound signal. 3. A memory that stores hearing aid filter patterns of various characteristics, a memory that stores trial listening test audio data, and an adjustment processing unit that adjusts an input audio signal using the hearing aid filter pattern to generate a hearing aid audio signal. A transmitting unit for transmitting the hearing aid audio signal, a receiving unit, an input original audio signal, test listening test audio data read from the memory, and a hearing aid filter pattern read from the memory; And a means for selecting a hearing aid filter pattern of the memory to be input to the adjustment processing means. 4. An individual adjustment parameter memory storing an appropriate hearing aid filter pattern number for each user, and hearing aid filter application software for converting an audio signal into a hearing aid audio signal according to the hearing aid filter pattern number. Means for reading and incorporating the hearing aid filter pattern numbers corresponding to the respective destinations from the memory, and reading and incorporating the hearing aid filter application software from the memory, for voice mails having the same contents at a plurality of destinations. A transmission unit for transmitting the voice mail in which the hearing aid filter pattern number and the hearing aid filter application software are incorporated. 5. An individual adjustment parameter memory for storing an appropriate hearing aid filter pattern number for each user; a memory for storing hearing aid filter patterns of various characteristics; and a hearing aid filter pattern for inputting audio data. And an adjustment processing means for converting the data into a hearing aid voice signal by reading the hearing aid filter pattern number from the individual adjustment parameter memory according to the input user information of the destination of the voice mail. Means for reading out from the memory and supplying the audio data of the voice mail to the adjustment processing means while supplying the audio data to the adjustment processing means; andtransmitting means for incorporating the hearing aid voice signal into the voice mail and transmitting the voice data. An audio signal transmission device comprising: 6. The voice mail includes a text, a still image,
Means for extracting the voice mail from the e-mail, which is included in an e-mail such as a video, and embedding processing for embedding the embedded voice mail in the e-mail and supplying the e-mail to the transmitting means The audio signal transmitting apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: 7. A means for separating audio data, individual adjustment parameters, and hearing aid filter application software from a received signal, and a means for selecting its own hearing aid filter pattern number from the separated individual adjustment parameters. An audio signal comprising: means for adjusting the audio data to a hearing aid audio signal using the hearing aid filter application software in accordance with the selected hearing aid filter pattern number; and means for reproducing the hearing aid audio signal into an audio signal. Receiver. 8. A step of reading out a trial listening test audio data from a memory, a step of selecting and reading out a hearing aid filter pattern in accordance with a selection command from a memory, an input original audio signal, and the read-out trial listening test Adjusting audio data in accordance with the selected hearing aid filter pattern to convert the audio data into a hearing aid audio signal; transmitting the hearing aid audio signal to the other party; and receiving a response audio signal from the other party. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program having the following is recorded. 9. A process of reading a hearing aid filter pattern number from a memory in accordance with a user of each destination of the same input voice mail, and adjusting voice data in accordance with the hearing aid filter pattern to generate a hearing aid voice signal. A step of reading the hearing aid filter operation software for conversion from the memory; a step of incorporating the read hearing aid filter pattern numbers and the hearing aid filter application software into the voice mail; and a step of transmitting the built-in voice mail. A computer-readable program recording medium on which a program comprising: is recorded. 10. A step of reading a hearing aid filter pattern number from a memory according to a user of a destination of an inputted voice mail, a step of reading a hearing aid filter pattern of the hearing aid filter pattern number from a memory, and the read hearing aid A program comprising: adjusting voice data of the voice mail by a filter pattern to convert the voice mail into a hearing aid voice signal; incorporating the hearing aid voice signal into the voice mail; and transmitting the embedded voice mail. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon. 11. The voice mail is included in an electronic mail such as a text, a still image, and a moving image. The voice mail is extracted from the electronic mail. The recording medium according to claim 9, wherein the program includes the steps of: assembling an electronic mail and sending the electronic mail to the transmitting step;