JPS6248854B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice operator guidance control method for electronic equipment such as an office computer, an ECR (electronic cash register), and a FAX (facsimile machine).

(2) Background of the Invention Conventionally, electronic equipment such as office computers has been put into practical use that outputs operator guidance in the form of voice to give instructions for the next operation to inexperienced operators who are not familiar with key input operations. . Moreover, for convenience, the same operator guidance is repeatedly uttered until the next key operation or the like is performed. This type of device is convenient until you get used to its operation, but once you get used to it, it often becomes noisy and a nuisance. Also, vocalizes and stops the operator guidance voice.
Some devices are equipped with a special ON/OFF switch, but it is cumbersome to turn this switch ON/OFF each time. Furthermore, among the various types of operator guidance, there are some that are more necessary and others that are less necessary, and conventionally, the only option was to turn on/off guidance for all items at once. Another factor contributing to the complexity is that some operators require voice guidance while others do not.

(3) Purpose of the present invention The present invention has been made against the background of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible for a seasoned operator to apply a forced stop immediately when operator guidance begins to be uttered, and for operator guidance that has previously been forced to stop. Focusing on the fact that it is assumed that a forced stop will naturally be applied next time, the present invention provides a voice-based operator guidance control method that can automatically adjust the utterance and stop of operator guidance in accordance with the operating state of the operator. That's true.

(4) Outline of the present invention The present invention provides that when an arbitrary key of a key input device is operated while operator guidance is being uttered, the operator guidance being uttered is forcibly stopped by the key-in signal. , especially when audio guidance for multiple items is prepared, this forced stop method allows the computer to learn itself and automatically stop outputting the audio guidance for the corresponding item from the next processing. This is an operator guidance control method.

(5) Embodiments of the present invention Hereinafter, embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a personal computer will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the personal computer. The key input section 1 is provided with keys for inputting numbers, Japanese (Katakana, etc.), English (Alphabet, etc.), and various function keys. One of the function keys is a mode key for switching between the registration mode, which presets program keywords, etc. in memory to start the program by voice, and the start mode, which starts the program by voice, which will be described later. and its registration mode,
Each mode switching signal of the start mode is given to the voice recognition start control section 3. Further, key input data from each key is given to the computer section 4 and the voice guidance control section 5, respectively. Furthermore, if any key of the key input section 1 is operated while operator guidance is being uttered by voice during execution of a predetermined program, the key operation signal is output as a forced stop signal that forcibly stops the operator guidance being uttered. and is given to the voice guidance control section 5 and the voice synthesis section 7.

The speech recognition section 2 has a conventionally well-known configuration, converts speech input from a microphone (not shown) into corresponding digital recognition data, and supplies the data to the speech recognition start control section 3 . In addition, while the voice recognition start control unit 3 is addressed by the computer unit 4, in the registration mode, program keywords are written into the memory (correspondence table described later) by voice, while in the start mode, program keywords are input by voice. Search the keyword from the corresponding table above,
The start line number is given to the computer section 4 to start executing the program by voice.

The computer section 4 is a so-called CPU (central processing unit), and controls all operations of this personal computer. Then, data indicating commands and characters to be uttered by the voice output command "VOICE", which is predefined for the purpose of uttering voices, is sent to the voice synthesis data storage unit 6, and the voice output of commands and characters is turned ON or OFF in this way. signal to cause
VOCICE ON, signal VOICE OFF, guidance output when voicing operator guidance
No. (number) and each data and signal specified by guidance are output and given respectively. Further, the guidance designation signal is also given to the voice guidance control section 5.

When the voice guidance control unit 5 receives from the voice synthesis data storage unit 6 No. (number) designation data for uttering one of the six operator guidance items, the voice guidance control unit 5 outputs a flag memory in the voice synthesis data storage unit 6. Outputs flag set/reset data for setting flags in the corresponding positions of 30.

The voice synthesis data storage unit 6 outputs voice data for voice outputting the operator guidance, program list, and program statements in response to the data and signals having the above-mentioned contents, and the voice synthesis unit 7 give to The voice synthesis section 7 is a conventionally known device that synthesizes voice based on this voice data, and emits the synthesized voice from the speaker 8. Furthermore, when a forced stop signal is input, the speech synthesis operation is stopped.

Note that the CRT display device (not shown) is connected to the computer section 4.
attached to.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed circuit of the computer section 4. The arithmetic control unit 11 consists of an arithmetic circuit, an arithmetic register, an address counter, a ROM (read-only memory) storing a control program, etc., and performs address control and data for a RAM (random access memory) 12, which is usually called main memory. Read/write control is performed according to key input data. The program memory 13 includes, for example, BASIC
A plurality of types of programs are preset depending on the language, and the programs are written and read under the control of the arithmetic control section 11. Then, when the start line number is input to the arithmetic control unit 11 and reading of the corresponding type of program is started from the program memory 13, the program data is sequentially input to the instruction decoder 14 and is read out for each command. is decoded and the above data, signal VOICE
ON, signal VOICE OFF, guidance No. guidance designation are output respectively. The instruction decoder 14 also outputs address data of the program data to be read next, and provides it to the arithmetic control section 11.

FIG. 3 shows details of the voice recognition start control section 3. The distribution device 17 receives mode switching signals such as registration mode and start mode, and voice recognition data indicating program keywords. In the registration mode, the recognition data is distributed to the correspondence table (RAM) 18, while in the start mode, it is distributed to the buffer 19. Compatible table 1
8, in the registration mode, the program start line number key-input from the key input section 1 is written as paired data together with the keyword. Fourth
The figure shows, for example, the storage state in the correspondence table 18 of a series of programs for form work such as "department", "item", etc. and program start line numbers such as "number 100" and "number 200" forming the paired data. ing. On the other hand, in the start mode, paired data is read from the correspondence table 18 and applied to one end of the comparison circuit 20. At this time, the data from the buffer 19 is applied to the other end of the comparison circuit 20, and the two data are compared. In this case, the comparison circuit 20 outputs a mismatch signal until both data match, and the correspondence table 1
8, and reading of the next pair of data is executed. When both data match, it means that the desired program has been detected, and the paired data is input to the buffer 21 and sent to the computer section 4 as a start line number. Note that the correspondence table 18 is addressed by the computer section 4.

FIG. 5 shows details of the speech synthesis data storage section 6. As shown in FIG. VOICE is a signal that turns ON or OFF the voice output of each statement of the program being input using the voice output command "VOICE".
ON and signal VOICE OFF are respectively input to the set input terminal S or reset input terminal R of the SR flip-flop 23, and the set output signal (Q)
Both are input to the designation circuits 24, 25 and the selector 26 as control signals. For example, codes indicating the commands "GOTO", "FOR", etc. used in a BASIC language program are input as data to the designation circuit 24, and the designation circuit 24
5, codes each representing the Japanese characters "vertical", "horizontal", "takasa", etc., are input as data. The code inputted to the designation circuit 24 is applied as address data to the voice command data storage section 27, and the corresponding voice command data is output from the voice command data storage section 27, i.e., the commands "GOTO", "FOR", etc. The data is read out and output as audio data via the selector 26. Further, the code input to the designation circuit 25 is applied to the single note data storage section 28 as address data. This single sound data storage section 28 stores data for vocalizing the Japanese single sounds "a", "i", "u", etc., and the read single sound data is outputted as audio data via the selector 26.

On the other hand, the guidance designation signal is input to both the designation circuit 29 and the selector 26 as a control signal. Then, the guidance number data is input to the designation circuit 29. The guidance No. data inputted to this designation circuit 29 is applied to a flag memory 30 consisting of a 6-bit register and a voice guidance memory 31, respectively, and is also output as No. designation data and sent to the voice guidance control section 5. sent to.
The flag memory 30 is made up of registers each having a capacity of 6 bits, as described above, corresponding to the above-mentioned six items of operator guidance, and flags are set at positions corresponding to the operator guidance specified by the No. specification data. In addition to this, flags are also set by flag set/reset data generated by outputting a forced stop signal. Similarly, the voice guidance memory 31 and the flag memory 3
One piece of voice guidance data is stored in each area corresponding to 0, and each address is designated by the No. designation data and the flag of the corresponding bit of the flag memory 30, and the read voice guidance data is It is output as audio data via the selector 26. However, when a flag is set in the flag memory 30, it is set as OFF, and therefore the operator guidance is prohibited from being uttered.On the other hand, when no flag is set in the flag memory 30, it is set as OFF, and therefore, the operator guidance is prohibited. The prohibition of speaking guidance is lifted. That is, the flag in the flag memory 30 in this embodiment is an audio stop flag.

FIG. 6 shows details of the voice guidance control section 5. Six counters 35, 35 ₁ to 35 ₆ are provided for each of the six operator guidance items. These counters 35 ₁ to 35 ₆ are each
It is selected by No. designation data, and is incremented by 1 when a forced stop signal is applied during the selection.
Then, each count value is input to the discrimination circuit 36.
The determination circuit 36 also receives input into the buffer 37 the number of times data (also referred to as "n" designation data) set by key inputs from the key input unit 1. This number of times data indicates how many times (n
This is data for causing the determination circuit 36 to determine whether or not to stop the utterance of the operator guidance depending on whether the operator guidance is outputted. If the number of times data is set to 1 time (n=1), the forced stop signal will be output only once, and the next time the operator guidance for that item will be prohibited from being uttered (i.e.,
The discrimination circuit 36 outputs flag set/reset data for setting an OFF flag in the corresponding bit position of the flag memory 30), and also outputs, for example, a guidance designation signal for the third item,
In addition, if the number of times data "n" is set in the buffer 37, the third item, which is a specific item, will be stopped in the middle of utterance by the forced stop signal n times in a row, and thereafter the utterance of the third item will be completely prohibited. It is becoming more and more like this.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. First, the operation related to vocal operator guidance will be described. Now, the program memory 13 in the computer section 4 is programmed with the key input from the key input section 1.
For example, assume that a predetermined program is written in BASIC language. It is also assumed that six predetermined items of audio guidance data associated with the execution of this program have been preset in the audio guidance data memory 31. For example, if the operator guidance for each item is forcibly stopped three times in a row, that item will not be uttered from the next time. Then, enter n=3 as the number of times data into the buffer 37 in the voice guidance control unit 5. Set it.

When execution of the program is started from the above state, the counter 35 and flag memory 30 are all cleared at the beginning. When it comes time to vocalize the first item of operator guidance,
The computer section 4 outputs the guidance No. data and applies it to the designation circuit 29 in the speech synthesis data storage section 6, and simultaneously applies the guidance designation signal to the designation circuit 29, the selector 26, and the discrimination circuit 36. Therefore, the designation circuit 29 and the selector 26 are opened at the same time, and the data of the guidance number indicating the first item is outputted from the designation circuit 29 and applied to the voice guidance data memory 31, the flag memory 30, and the counter 35. Therefore, the voice guidance data memory 31 is addressed to the voice guidance data of the first item, but at this time, since the flag is not set in the corresponding bit position of the flag memory 30, the voice guidance data of the first item is The data is read out, outputted from the selector 26, and supplied to the speech synthesis section 7 as audio data. Therefore, one item of operator guidance begins to be emitted from the speaker 8. When the operator hears this and turns on any key of the key input section 1, a forced stop signal is generated and applied to the voice guidance control section 5 and the voice synthesis section 7. In response to this, the voice synthesis section 7 immediately stops emitting the sound, and in the voice guidance control section 5, only the counter 351 corresponding to the first item of operator guidance is incremented by ₁ and becomes "1". Therefore, the discrimination circuit 3
6 is the number of times data 3 set in buffer 37
It is determined whether there is a discrepancy between the number of times and the count value " ₁ " of the counter 351, and no processing is performed on the flag memory 30. Then, when the operator guidance of the first item is forcibly stopped twice in a row, the count value of the counter ₃₅₁ becomes "3", which therefore matches the contents of the buffer 37, so that the discrimination circuit 36 reads the flag memory 30. A stop flag is set for the first bit of .

After the flag is set in the first bit of the flag memory 30 in this way, even if the program continues and the first item of operator guidance is to be uttered, the voice guidance data memory 30 On the other hand, even if data for the first item guidance number is inputted via the designation circuit 29, the readout of the first item voice guidance data is prohibited by the flag setting of the first bit of the flag memory 30, and therefore its release is prohibited. No sound will be made.

Next, the operation of voice output using the voice output command "VOICE" will be explained. The above-mentioned voice output command "VOICE" is a command specially defined for outputting voice in this personal computer. For example, if you input VOICE "vertical" from the key input section 1, the computer section 4 outputs the signal VOICE ON.
is output, the flip-flop 23 in the speech synthesis data storage section 6 is set, and the designation circuits 24, 25 and the selector 26 are activated by the set output. Further, the computer section 4 outputs each data indicating the chords of the single notes "ta" and "te", and the designation circuit 24,
25. For this reason, the single note data storage unit 28
The single-tone data of "ta" and "te" are read out and sent to the speech synthesis section 7 via the selector 26. As a result, the sound "vertical" is emitted in response to the key input. Similarly, when VOICE PRINT "Takasa" is input, the voice output "TAKASA" is obtained in the same manner as described above, and "TAKASA" is displayed on the CRT display device (not shown). Furthermore, when VOICE ON is input, the data of the program to be input thereafter is applied to the designated circuits 24 and 25, and for the commands in each statement, the corresponding voice commands are retrieved from the voice command data storage section 27. The data is read and input to the selector 26,
For characters in a statement, corresponding character data is read from the single-note data storage section 28 and input to the selector 26, and one statement is outputted as a voice each time it is input. Also, CRT
It is also displayed on the display device. On the other hand, when VOICE OFF is entered from the key, the computer section 4 outputs the signal VOICE OFF.
is output and the flip-flop 23 is reset. Therefore, the designation circuits 24, 25, selector 2
6 is closed, and audio output is prohibited for each input statement of the program described above. Furthermore, when you key in VOICE LISE, the program memory 13
The program list within is read out and applied as data to the designation circuits 24 and 25 in the same manner as described above, so that a series of program lists is output as audio.

Next, the operation of starting a program by voice will be explained. For example, right now, a program having keywords such as "department", "item", "quantity", and "unit price" for form work is stored in advance in the program memory 13 in BASIC.
It is assumed that the text is written in the same language. In that case, as shown in Figure 4, the start lines for "Department", "Item", "Quantity", and "Unit Price" are now
The row numbers are "100", "200", "300", and "40" respectively.
0
It is assumed that the processing programs "End" and "Stop" are written in "No. 500" and "No. 560," respectively. Note that the following program shows an example of the above-mentioned form processing.

10 DIM A (10, 100, 2) 20 INPUT A 100 B=A 110 GOTO 20 200 C=A 210 GOTO 20 300 D=A 310 A (B, C, 1) = A (B, C, 1) + D 320 GOTO 20 400 A(B,C,2)=A(B,C,2)+D*
A 410 GOTO 20 500 FOR I=1TO 10 510 FOR H=1TO 100 520 PRINT A (I, H, 1) 530 PRINT A (I, H, 2) 540 NEXT H 550 NEXT I 560 STOP 570 END Next, In order to register the program name (keyword) and its start line number shown in FIG. 4 as paired data in the correspondence table 18 of the voice recognition start control unit 3, the mode key is operated to set the registration mode. As a result, a registration mode switching signal is output from the key input unit 1 and input to the distribution device 17. Next, first, the first paired data “Bumon”
into the microphone and input the numerical data "100" using the keypad. As a result, the voice recognition unit 2
outputs the corresponding digital amount of recognition data,
This is distributed to the correspondence table 18 side by the distribution device 17, and set as paired data together with the numerical data "100". The other four pairs of data shown in FIG. 4 are also set in the correspondence table 18 by the same utterances and key operations as described above.

Next, when starting the form processing, first set the start mode using the mode key, generate a start mode switching signal, and then
Give to 7. For example, now, in order to process the "item" using the program, the user speaks "Hinmoku" into the microphone. The recognition data is then input to the distribution device 17, distributed to and set in the buffer 19, and then input to one end of the comparison circuit 20. On the other hand, the first paired data "Bumon" from the correspondence table 18 is input to the other end of the comparison circuit 20, and the two are compared. Now, since the two do not match, a mismatch signal is output and applied to the correspondence table 18. As a result, the next address is specified, the second paired data "Hinmoku" is read out, and the comparison circuit 20 Enter. The two are then compared again, and in this case,
Since they match, no mismatch signal is output and the next address specification is stopped, and the buffer 21 is set to the pair data "Hinmoku, 200". Therefore, "No. 200" is applied to the calculation control section 11 of the computer section 4 as the start row number, and the row number of the program memory 13 is
No. 200 is designated as the start row number. This causes the program related to the item to be started by voice and its processing to be executed.

Similarly, when the work on the form is completed, if the user utters "Owari", the program in the start line number "500" will start as shown in FIG. Also, if you want to temporarily stop the work while working on a form using any of the programs mentioned above, just say "stop" and in that case, go to the start line.
No. "560" is selected and a voice interrupt is issued.

(6) Other embodiments of the present invention FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the voice guidance control section 5. In this embodiment, when providing voice operator guidance, consecutive items (e.g.
If each operator guidance (items 1, 2, and 3) is forcibly stopped in succession, from the next time onward, all subsequent items of the above-mentioned consecutive items (after item 4 in the above example) will be prohibited from being uttered. Alternatively, if successive items are stopped in a similar manner, utterance of all items will be prohibited from next time onwards.

That is, in FIG. 7, the discrimination circuit 41 receives the No. designation data, the guidance designation signal, and the overflow signal from the m-ary counter 42, and performs the discrimination operation of either of the two functions described above. and output flag set/reset data. In addition, a forced stop signal is applied to the counter 42 as a +1 signal, and the discrimination circuit 4
A reset signal from 1 is applied.

Next, to explain the operation of the above embodiment, for example, the operator guidance for successive items 1, 2, and 3 is forcibly stopped, and next time, the utterance of operator guidance for items 4, 5, and 6 is automatically prohibited. Assuming that, the counter 42 initially has the following values.
The functionality of the binary counter is set. When the No. designation data and guidance designation signal for each of the operator guidance items 1, 2, and 3 are applied to the discrimination circuit 41, the counter 42 receives one shot at a time.
A total of three forced stop signals are applied, and the count value changes sequentially from "0" to "1" and "2".
Then, at the third shot, an overflow signal is generated and sent to the discrimination circuit 41. Therefore, the discrimination circuit 41
At this time, 4, 5, and 6 of the flag memory 30 are determined from the No. designation data indicating the 3 items, and the numbers 4, 5, and 6 of the flag memory 30 are determined for each of the subsequent 4, 5, and 6 operator guidance items.
Set the stop flag on the bit. Also, the counter 42 is reset at this time. As a result,
Operator guidance items 4 to 6 are not vocalized.

On the other hand, in the second case, for example, when items 1, 2, and 3 are stopped in succession as described above, if all items are to be inhibited from next time, the discrimination circuit 4
2 functions to set flags in all of the 1st to 6th bits of the flag memory 30 after the supplied No. designation data has been designated up to 6.

Although the present invention is applied to a personal computer in the above embodiments, the present invention can also be applied to other computers such as office computers, and electronic devices such as ECR and FAX to which a speech synthesizer can be connected. . Also, the type and number of programs,
Similarly, the types and number of operator guidances are also arbitrary. Furthermore, it is not limited to BASIC languages,
Languages such as FORTRAN and assembler may also be used.

(7) Effects of the Present Invention As explained above, the present invention provides that when an experienced operator forcibly stops the utterance of operator guidance several times, the utterance of the operator guidance automatically stops and the operator becomes unaccustomed. When the operator operates while listening to the operator guidance, the operator guidance is always voiced, so the operator guidance can be turned on/off according to the operator's convenience without any special voice ON/OFF operation. There is. Also, when operator guidance for multiple items is prepared, if you have completely memorized the operator guidance and forcefully stop it several times, only that item will no longer be uttered, making it difficult to perform the operations over and over again. The effect is that unnecessary operator guidance gradually disappears over time, leaving only operator guidance that is difficult to memorize.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a personal computer, FIG. 2 is a specific configuration diagram of the computer section 4, FIG. 3 is a specific configuration diagram of the voice recognition start control section 3, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the storage state of the correspondence table 18, FIG. 5 is a specific configuration diagram of the voice synthesis data storage unit 6, FIG. 6 is a specific configuration diagram of the voice guidance control unit 5, and FIG. 5 is a specific configuration diagram of another example of the guidance control section 5. FIG. 1... Key input section, 2... Voice recognition section, 3...
Voice recognition start control section, 4... Computer section, 5...
...Voice guidance control unit, 6...Speech synthesis data storage unit, 7...Speech synthesis unit, 8...Speaker, 1
1... Arithmetic control unit, 13... Program memory,
17...Distribution device, 18...Correspondence table, 20
... Comparison circuit, 23 ... Flip-flop, 27
... Voice command data storage section, 28 ... Single sound data storage section, 30 ... Flag memory, 31 ... Voice guidance data memory, 35, 35 ₁ to 35
₆ ...Counter, 36...Discrimination circuit, 41...Discrimination circuit, 42...Counter.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A guidance memory that stores guidance data for audio outputting operator guidance, a voice synthesis means that reads the guidance data from the guidance memory and outputs the voice of the data, and a voice that is being uttered. A voice guidance stop means for forcibly stopping the guidance, a flag memory in which a flag is set to specify ON/OFF of the voice output of the guidance data stored in the guidance memory, and a control for the voice guidance stop means. and flag setting means for setting a stop flag in the flag memory. 2. The voice-based operator guidance control system according to claim 1, wherein the voice guidance stop means is driven by a key-in signal from any key provided in a key input device. 3. The operator guidance control by voice according to claim 1, wherein the guidance memory stores guidance data of a plurality of items, and the flag memory has a flag area corresponding to the guidance data of the plurality of items. method. 4. When the voice guidance for any item being uttered is forcibly stopped by the voice guidance stop means, a stop flag is set in the flag area corresponding to the item, so that the guidance for the item will be processed next time. 4. The voice-based operator guidance control system according to claim 3, characterized in that vocalization is prohibited from time to time. 5. When the voice guidance for any item being uttered is forcibly stopped n times in a row by the voice guidance stop means, a stop flag is set in the flag area corresponding to the item, and the guidance for the item will be stopped next time. 4. The voice operator guidance control system according to claim 3, wherein vocalization is prohibited from the time of processing. 6. The voice operator guidance control system according to claim 5, further comprising a number setting means for setting the number of consecutive times n to an arbitrary value. 7. The audio guidance stop means is configured to set a stop flag in the flag area corresponding to the audio guidance for the item following the last item that was stopped, when each audio guidance for m consecutive items is forcibly stopped. 4. The voice-based operator guidance control system according to claim 3, wherein the voice output of the following items and subsequent items is prohibited. 8. When the voice guidance stop means forcibly stops each voice guidance for m consecutive items, the voice guidance for all items is set by setting a stop flag in the flag area corresponding to all items from the next processing time. 4. The voice operator guidance control system according to claim 3, wherein the voice output is prohibited.