JP2001069201A - Radio telephone system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily recognize the contents of a received electronic mail even a display is small-sized. SOLUTION: This radio telephone system 1 is provided with a 1st voice reading means 2 which reads a received electronic mail by voice in the system 1 provided with a function receiving an electronic mail. According to this configuration, a user can easily recognize the contents of a received electronic mail without looking at its display by listening to voice (i.e., electronic mail) read in the means 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a radio telephone apparatus suitable for, for example, a portable telephone apparatus and having a function of receiving electronic mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, some portable telephone devices (portable telephones) have a function of receiving electronic mail (E-mail). Such a mobile phone device is configured such that, when there is a received electronic mail, a message (character string) of the received electronic mail can be displayed on a display in response to a user operation.

[0003]

However, since the display screen of the display provided in the portable telephone device is quite small, the number of characters that can be displayed on the display at one time is quite small. For this reason, it is difficult to display all e-mail messages on the display at once,
You had to scroll the screen to see all the email messages. Therefore, in the mobile phone device having the conventional configuration, the operation for reading the electronic mail message is considerably troublesome.

On the other hand, if the size of the display of the portable telephone device is increased, the number of characters that can be displayed on the display at one time increases, so that the screen scrolling operation can be reduced and the message of the electronic mail can be easily read. . However, since the size of the mobile phone device is required to be further reduced, the size of the display must be reduced accordingly, and a measure for increasing the size of the display cannot be adopted. .

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless telephone device which can easily recognize the contents of a received electronic mail even if the display is small.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided the first reading aloud means for reading out a received electronic mail by voice, so that the voice read out by the first reading aloud means (ie, By listening to the electronic mail, the user can easily recognize the contents of the received electronic mail.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the second reading aloud means for reading out the receipt of the electronic mail, the subject of the electronic mail, the title of the electronic mail, and the like by voice. By listening to the voice read out by the means, the user can easily recognize that the electronic mail has been received, the subject of the electronic mail, the title of the electronic mail, and the like.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the third read-aloud means for reading out the number of electronic mails which have not been read aloud among the received electronic mails is provided, the read-out is performed by the third read-aloud means. By listening to the sound, the user can easily recognize the number of unread electronic mails among the received electronic mails.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when a call is received, the fourth reading device for reading out the telephone number and name of the other party by voice is provided, so that the reading is performed by the fourth reading device. By listening to the voice, the user can easily recognize the telephone number and name of the other party.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the switching means for individually switching whether or not the function of each sound reading means is enabled is provided, the user can determine whether or not to execute the reading operation by each sound reading means. Can be selected as needed, so that usability is further improved.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a portable telephone device will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a mobile phone device (a mobile phone terminal, which corresponds to a wireless phone device of the present invention) of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone device 1 is mainly configured with a control circuit 2 including a microcomputer or the like, and the control circuit 2 functions as a control unit that controls the operation of the entire mobile phone device 1. have. The control circuit 2
It has each function as a first reading device, a second reading device, a third reading device, a fourth reading device, and a switching device of the present invention.

The control circuit 2 is configured so that an operation signal from the key operation unit 3 is given via a key operation detection unit 4. The key operation unit 3 includes various operation keys (a call start key, a call end key, a menu key, a number key, and the like) provided on a front portion of a housing (not shown) of the mobile phone device 1. I have. Control circuit 2
Is configured to control the display on the display 5 by controlling the drive of the display 5 via the display control unit 6.

Further, in the portable telephone device 1 having the above configuration, when a voice is input to the microphone 7, a voice signal is output from the microphone 4, and this voice signal is given to the voice processing unit 8 to perform A / D conversion. The data is converted and further provided to the data converter 9. In the data converter 9, for example, a π / 4 shift D
QPSK (Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keyi
ng) is configured to be converted to a signal.

The transmission data converted (digitally modulated) into the DQPSK signal is supplied to a transmission / reception unit 10 where it is orthogonally modulated by a carrier signal in, for example, an 800 MHz band and transmitted to the outside as a radio signal from an antenna 11. It is configured to be. The above antenna 11
Is composed of, for example, a rod antenna provided on the housing of the mobile phone device 1 so as to be extendable.

Further, when a radio signal is received by the antenna 11, the received signal is demodulated in the transmission / reception unit 10 and the data conversion unit 9, and then is given to the audio processing unit 8. Then, in the audio processing unit 8, the D / A
The audio signal is converted and output as an audio signal. The audio signal is supplied to the speaker 12 and output from the speaker 12 as audio. Further, the control circuit 2 is configured to execute each control of the audio processing unit 8, the data conversion unit 9, and the transmission / reception unit 10.

Further, the control circuit 2 includes a RAM and an EEP
Memory 13 composed of ROM, flash memory, etc.
Is configured to execute data writing and data reading. The memory 13 can store various data (for example, data of telephone numbers and names of a plurality of destinations, data of various messages, data of various melodies, and the like). Further, the memory 13 is configured to be able to store data of a received electronic mail message (in this case, data of a plurality of electronic mails). Memory 1 above
3 constitutes storage means of the present invention. Further, the memory 13 stores dictionary data necessary for performing a process of converting an electronic mail message into a voice.

Next, the operation of the above configuration, specifically,
FIG. 2 shows a control operation of reading out the electronic mail received by the mobile phone device 1, the subject and the title of the received electronic mail, and the number of electronic mails that are not read aloud by voice.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the flowchart of FIG. 2 shows a partial control function of reading out an electronic mail or the like by voice among the control functions of the control circuit 2 (that is, the control function of controlling the entire operation of the mobile phone 1).

First, in step S1 of FIG. 2, when the portable telephone device 1 receives an electronic mail, the data of the received electronic mail message is stored in the memory 13. Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S2,
It is determined whether audio output is permitted. Note that the audio output permission is configured to be set in advance by a user operating a key of the key operation unit 3 of the mobile phone device 1. For example, on the menu screen of the mobile phone device 1, it is configured to select (set) whether to permit or not to output the voice.

If it is determined in step S2 that audio output is permitted, "YE
S ", and then to step S3. In this step S3, it is determined whether or not the mode for reading out the electronic mail by voice (that is, the mail reading mode) is on.
Note that the mail reading mode is configured to be set in advance by a user operating a key of the key operation unit 3 of the mobile phone device 1. For example, on the menu screen of the mobile phone device 1, it is configured to set whether the mail reading mode is turned on or off.

Here, when the mail reading mode is on, the process proceeds to "YES" in step S3, proceeds to step S4, and performs a process of reading out the received electronic mail message by voice. In this case, first, the data of the received electronic mail message is converted into voice data. At this time, the character string data of the message is not simply converted into voice data one character at a time.
3 by referring to the dictionary data stored in
It is configured to convert to speech data in units of words (or phrases).

Specifically, the message is “13:00”
Is converted to "Jusangji Zerofun", when the message is "05/05/28", it is converted to "Kyuju Kyunengogatsu Nijuhachinichi", and when the message is "FAX", it is converted to "Fax". If the message is "E-mail", the message is converted to "E-mail" and the message is converted to "TEL".
In this case, the message is converted to "Denwa", and when the message is "Please call", it is converted to "Denwakusai".

After the message is converted into voice data as described above, a voice (signal) is synthesized from the voice data, and the synthesized voice signal is given to the speaker 12.
The speaker 12 is configured to output a synthesized voice. Thus, the process of reading out the received electronic mail by voice is completed. The algorithm for synthesizing voice from message data (that is, the process for converting message data to voice data) may be configured to use a well-known algorithm (or an improved version thereof) as appropriate. good. For example, as an example of a well-known voice synthesizing apparatus, there is an apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-330093, and this apparatus may be used.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S5, in which it is determined whether or not a mode in which the number of electronic mails that have not been read aloud among the received electronic mails is read out by voice (ie, an unread number notification mode). Note that the unread number notification mode is configured to be set in advance by the user operating the key operation unit 3 of the mobile phone device 1. For example, on the menu screen of the mobile phone device 1, it is configured to set whether the unread number notification mode is turned on or off.

Here, when the unread number notification mode is ON, the process proceeds to "YES" in step S5, and proceeds to step S5.
The process proceeds to step 6, and the number of unread messages is read aloud and notified. In this case, when the number of unread items is, for example, one, the user reads aloud “Midken Kensui Death”, and when the number of unread items is zero, the user does not read aloud anything. It should be noted that the number of unread messages is counted up by the number of received e-mails when the e-mail is received in step S1.
In step 4, when the electronic mail is read out by voice, the countdown is performed.

After the notification of the number of unread messages is made in step S6, if the number of unread messages is one or more, the process returns to step S3 to repeat the process of reading out unread electronic mail by voice. On the other hand, when the number of unread messages is 0, the process of reading out the electronic mail by voice is finished.

Next, in step S3, when the mail reading mode is off, the operation proceeds to "NO", and the operation proceeds to step S7, where the voice notification mode (that is, the reception of the electronic mail, the subject of the received electronic mail, It is determined whether or not the mode of reading the title of the received electronic mail by voice is turned on. The voice notification mode is configured to be set in advance by a user operating a key on the key operation unit 3 of the mobile phone device 1. For example, on the menu screen of the mobile phone 1, whether the voice notification mode is turned on or off is set.

Here, when the voice notification mode is on, the process proceeds to "YES" in step S7, and proceeds to step S8.
To read out the received e-mail, the subject of the received e-mail, the title of the received e-mail, and the like. In this case, as the notification message indicating that the electronic mail has been received, a message stored in advance in the memory 13 (the voice memory therein), for example, “mail message” is read out. When the user stores a desired message, for example, "mail message" in the memory 13 (the voice memory therein), the message stored by the user is read aloud. I have.

Then, as described above, after reading out the e-mail, the subject of the received e-mail, the title of the received e-mail, and the like, the process proceeds to step S5. ing. In step S4, when reading out the received e-mail message by voice, the subject of the received e-mail, the title of the received e-mail, etc. are read out by voice together with the message.

According to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the received electronic mail is read aloud by voice. By listening to the read voice (ie, the electronic mail), the user can receive the received electronic mail. The user can easily recognize the contents of the e-mail. According to this configuration, since the user does not need to look at the display 5, even if the size of the display 5 is reduced, there is no problem in recognizing the contents of the electronic mail.

Further, in the above embodiment, the reception of the electronic mail, the subject of the electronic mail, the title of the electronic mail, and the like are read aloud, so that by listening to the read voice, the user can hear the read voice. It is possible to easily recognize that the electronic mail has been received, the subject of the electronic mail, the title of the electronic mail, and the like.

Further, in the above embodiment, the number of unread electronic mails (unread number) among the received electronic mails is read aloud, so that by listening to the read voice, the user can read the read voice. In addition, the number of electronic mails that are not read aloud among the received electronic mails can be easily recognized.

On the other hand, the portable telephone device 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to execute processing of reading out the electronic mail stored in the memory 13 by voice. This processing is almost the same as the processing when the electronic mail is received (see FIG. 2). Specifically, when reading out the electronic mail stored in the memory 13 by voice, the user operates the keys of the key operation unit 3 of the mobile phone device 1 to, for example, display the memory 13 on the menu screen.
May be operated so as to start the process of reading out the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail. As described above, after the processing start operation, steps S3 to S3 in the flowchart of FIG.
8, the voice reading process is executed.

When the portable telephone device 1 is out of the communication range and receives an electronic mail, the electronic mail is
It is configured to be stored in a storage device on the side of the mobile phone carrier. In such a case, the user inquires of the mobile phone business operator whether or not the electronic mail has arrived, and sends the electronic mail stored in the storage device of the mobile phone business operator to the mobile phone device 1. The receiving (receiving) operation is configured to be performed. Then, in the mobile phone device 1 of the present embodiment, after the electronic mail is received by the mobile phone device 1, the process of reading out the electronic mail by voice is performed in substantially the same manner as steps S3 to S8 in the flowchart of FIG. It is configured to be executable.

The portable telephone device 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to read out the telephone number, name, and the like of the other party by voice when a call is received.
This processing is almost the same as the processing when the electronic mail is received (see FIG. 2). Specifically, when a call is received, the telephone number of the other party is received. Then, after the telephone number of the other party is received by the mobile phone device 1, a process of reading out the telephone number of the other party by voice is executed in substantially the same manner as steps S3 to S8 in the flowchart of FIG. Have been. still,
When it is desired to read out the name of the other party by voice, the name of the other party is searched based on the received telephone number of the other party and the telephone directory for the user stored in the memory 13 beforehand. The process of reading out the name of the called party by voice may be executed in the same manner as the above-described process.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the portable telephone device 1 (terminal of portable telephone). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to, for example, a PHS terminal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile phone device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a mobile telephone device (wireless telephone device), 2 is a control circuit (first reading means, second reading means, third reading means, fourth reading means)
3, a key operation unit, 5 a display, 8 a voice processing unit, 9 a data conversion unit, 10 a transmission / reception unit, 12 a speaker, and 13 a memory (storage unit).

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5K027 AA11 BB02 FF01 FF28 HH19 HH23 5K067 AA34 BB04 BB21 DD17 EE02 FF02 FF25 GG11 HH23 5K101 KK02 LL12 NN16 PP03 PP05 UU19

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A wireless telephone device having a function of receiving an electronic mail, wherein the wireless telephone device includes first reading means for reading out the received electronic mail by voice. 2. The wireless telephone device according to claim 1, further comprising second reading means for reading out the electronic mail, the subject of the electronic mail, the title of the electronic mail, and the like by voice. 3. A storage device for storing one or more received electronic mails, and a third reading device for reading out the number of unmailed electronic mails among the received electronic mails by voice. The wireless telephone device according to claim 1. 4. The radio telephone apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fourth reading means for reading out a telephone number, a name, and the like of the other party by voice when a call is received. . 5. The wireless telephone device according to claim 1, further comprising a switching unit for individually switching whether or not to activate the function of each sound reading unit.