JP2002258872A - Voice information service system and voice information service method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide various kinds of services for voice information received by users on the premise of the utilization of a terminal machine, which is operated by the least possible necessary operations and permits only the input and output of voice, using a very simple constitution. SOLUTION: This service system has a server system of a hosting service company 1, which combines the information contents of the voice received from an information provider 2 and advertisement contents of the voice accepted from an advertiser 3 and distributes the same as voice contents and a provider 4, and the speed terminal machine 5 which computerized the input by the voice and sends the information to the server system of the hosting company 1, while producing loudhail output of the delivered voice contents.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice information service system and a voice information service method for providing voice information distribution service via a network including the Internet, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Along with the recent expansion of the Internet connection environment, Internet connection charges and Internet connection equipment, specifically, rental services for personal computers have been packaged to make the charge system easier to understand, or to provide a specific provider. A service for renting a personal computer free of charge has been started on condition that a contract is made with the company.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned conventional services are intended to send and receive e-mails and browse Web pages using the Internet. For this reason, while a relatively long rental period of, for example, two to three years elapses, a personal computer having a remarkably improved performance and having a short product cycle becomes obsolete in performance and cannot be used as a personal computer. As a result, the service of renting a personal computer for free is not as popular as initially expected.

[0004] In addition, many people are still reluctant to receive various information services by connecting to the Internet with a personal computer, a mobile phone, or the like. Due to the inherent inoperability of computers and mobile phones, the fact that the Internet is still a high threshold is not a minority.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a terminal which operates with minimal operation and has only a very simple configuration and which can only input and output audio. It is an object of the present invention to provide a voice information service system and a voice information service method that allow a user to easily receive various voice information services on the premise of using a device.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
An audio information service system for providing audio information distribution service over a network including the Internet,
A hosting server that combines the audio information received from the information provider and the audio advertisement received from the advertisement provider and distributes the audio content as audio content; And a voice terminal for converting the information to the above-mentioned hosting server.

[0007] With such a system configuration, an advertisement from an advertisement provider is premised on the use of a voice terminal capable of operating only with a minimum required operation and having only a very simple configuration. By considering the fee as the operating cost, the user can easily receive various audio information services while greatly reducing the economic burden on the user.

[0008] According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the audio content distributed by the hosting server is added with time designation information for designating a time at which the audio terminal outputs a sound. It is characterized by the following.

With such a system configuration, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, audio contents corresponding to time can be distributed, so that the expressiveness and appealing power of the audio contents can be further improved. And provide useful services.

[0010] According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the hosting server converts the audio content to be distributed into text data and checks the content in advance.

[0011] With such a system configuration, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1, for example, a system that disturbs public order and morals, or distributes malicious slander, slander, or hoax to specific individuals or companies, etc. is delivered. Since it is possible to manage the content so that the quality of the exchanged audio content does not deteriorate, the user can receive the service with peace of mind.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the voice terminal includes voice recognition means for recognizing transmission destination designation information input by voice.

With such a system configuration, in addition to the operation of the first aspect of the present invention, the dial operation and the address specification of the transmission destination can be performed by voice input. It is possible to build a wider voice information distribution service that includes

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a voice information service method for providing a voice information distribution service over a network including the Internet, wherein the voice information received from the information provider and the voice advertisement received from the advertisement provider are transmitted. Are distributed as audio contents, and the distributed audio contents are loudspeaked and output at a user terminal.

According to such a method, an advertisement fee from an advertisement provider is assumed on the assumption that a voice terminal that can operate only with a minimum required operation and has only a very simple configuration and that can only input and output audio is used. Considering as an operating cost, the user can easily receive various voice information services while greatly reducing the economic burden on the user.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a voice information service system will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the entire system.
Actually, each component is connected by a network including the Internet and a public line network. However, the description is omitted here for the sake of simplicity, and only the flow of information and accounting processing is shown. ing.

The server device of the hosting service company 1 performs the audio information distribution service at the center of this service system. In the hosting service company 1, the information provider 2 sends the information content by voice from the information provider 2. On the other hand, it accepts audio advertisement content from the advertiser 3, combines the received information content and advertisement content into one audio content in a previously contracted combination, and distributes the obtained audio content to the provider 4.

The provider 4 has a content server corresponding to each of a plurality of audio terminals 5 to which a contract has been made in advance, and stores the audio contents received from the hosting service company 1 in the content server as appropriate. To the device 5.

The audio terminal 5 is basically fixedly installed and used in a general house. The configuration of the audio terminal 5 will be described later. If necessary, the voice input is converted into digital data and transmitted to the provider 4.

The voice terminal 5 and the provider 4 are connected, for example, by using a public line network, but may be always connected or operated by a power switch provided in the voice terminal 5. , A dial-up connection may be made automatically when the power is turned on.

As for the billing, for example, the advertiser 3 gives the hosting service fee to the hosting service company 1 as shown by the arrow A in the figure and the connection fee of the audio terminal 5 to the provider 4 as shown by the arrow B in the figure. B shall be paid respectively.

As a result, the hosting service company 1
Can distribute the voice terminal 5 to the applicant free of charge, and can collect the price of the hardware of the voice terminal 5 from the hosting service fee from the advertiser 3. Since the user is not forced to bear the connection fee, it is possible to urge more users to distribute the audio terminal 5.

Further, instead of the hosting service fee to be paid from the advertiser 3 to the hosting service company 1, the advertiser 3 changes to the information provider 2 as shown by an arrow C in the figure.
You may pay the information provision fee to
For widespread use according to the actual operation of the system, the charge setting may be appropriately changed in a direction in which the burden on the user of the audio terminal 5 does not increase.

FIG. 2 exemplifies a circuit configuration of the audio terminal 5. In the figure, the public line network is connected to a modem 11, and the distributed audio contents are restored to digital data by the modem 11, and control data and the like are transmitted to a control unit 14, which will be described later. Is sent to an audio processing unit 12 having a built-in sound source circuit, where it is converted into an analog audio signal, and a speaker / microphone (SP / M
IC) 13 to output a loudspeaker.

The audio processing unit 12 also has an A / D conversion circuit built therein. When the speaker / microphone 13 is used as a microphone, the input audio is sampled and digitized, and the digital signal is sampled. Part 1
4

The control unit 14 controls the operation of the voice terminal 5 as a whole, and is connected to the storage unit 15, the switch unit 16, and the voice recognition unit 17 in addition to the modem 11 and the voice processing unit 12. You.

The storage unit 15 stores the distributed audio contents, application programs downloaded by the control unit 14, and the like.

The switch section 16 is composed of, for example, a power switch and a minimum necessary switch such as a talk switch that is continuously operated when the speaker / microphone 13 is forcibly used as a microphone.

The voice recognition unit 17 includes a speaker / microphone 13
Dial numbers and URLs (Uniforms)
The corresponding character (numerical) string data is generated by performing voice recognition processing on voice data such as m Resource Locator.

Although the speaker / microphone 13 has been described as forcibly functioning as a microphone by operating the talk switch of the switch section 16, the control section 1 has been described.
The function state can be switched by software on the application program executed by the application program 4 in the same manner as the operation of the talk switch, so that the user of the voice terminal 5 does not respond by voice. The operation of the talk switch during operations that should not be performed has been simplified, making it more user-friendly.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 exemplifies a series of processing contents related to audio content distribution in the server device of the hosting service company 1. Initially, the server receives the audio information content from the information provider 2 and issues a distribution request. There is a wait (step S01).

When the audio information content is received from the information provider 2, the reception process including recognition of the information provider 2 is performed (step S02), and the received audio information content is converted into a digital file. (Step S03).

That is, at the time of accepting the information, the information provider 2 can directly input the voice information content to the hosting service company 1 by telephone, for example, and the hosting service company 1 can input the voice information thus input. The content is sampled and converted into a predetermined audio data file such as MP3 (MPeg1 audio layer3).

Next, the advertising content by voice registered by the advertiser 3 contracted in advance by the information provider 2 is read and added to the information content (step S04).
These are collected and temporarily stored in the server device as one audio content to be distributed (step S05).

Thereafter, the contents of the voice content are converted into text data by performing voice recognition processing again (step S06), and the content is checked (step S07).

[0038] This prevents the contents of the audio contents from being directly distributed when the contents are, for example, malicious slander, slander, hoax, or the like against a specific individual or company, or are contrary to public order and morals. Is performed by performing a search with a large number of keywords including various slangs registered in advance, and as a result of the check, whether there is no match with the registered keyword (Step S08).

That is, by performing such a check, the hosting service company 1 can manage the quality of the audio contents exchanged in this system so as not to deteriorate, and have the user receive the service with confidence. Excessive management will hinder the activation of the system, but by limiting it to the minimum necessary, it is possible to prevent the content of exchanged content from becoming illegal zones, It can contribute to stable system operation.

If, as a result of the check, there is a keyword that matches the registered keyword, and it is determined that this audio content is not suitable for distribution, the information provider 2
Is notified that the content cannot be distributed due to the contents (step S09), the process is once ended, and the process returns to the process from step S01.

If it is determined in step S08 that the audio content may be distributed, then it is determined whether or not there is an item for specifying the distribution time at the time of the accepting process (step S10). Only when this is done, a time designation header corresponding to the designated time is added to the head of the audio content (step S1).
1).

Thereafter, the destination of the user of the audio terminal 5 desired by the information provider 2 is added to the audio content and distributed to the provider 4 (step S12), and the advertiser 3 is charged. (Step S13),
This ends the process, and returns to the process from step S01 again.

Next, FIG. 4 shows an example of a series of processing contents related to audio content distribution in the provider 4 receiving such audio content distribution. In the figure, initially, audio information content is received from the hosting service company 1 and it is determined whether or not there is a distribution request (step P01). If not, the server is searched in its own server (step P02). It is determined whether or not there is any undelivered audio content while the reception has already been completed (step P03), and if not, the process returns to step P01.
Wait for undelivered audio content to appear.

When it is determined in step P01 that the audio information content has been received from the hosting service company 1, the audio content is first stored in the server at a position corresponding to the destination audio terminal 5 (step P04). ), It is determined whether or not the audio content is to be delivered at the specified time based on whether or not a time designation header is added to the head of the audio content (step P05).

Here, a time designation header is added to the head of the audio content, and if it is determined that the audio content should be delivered at the specified time, the audio content is not delivered at that time, and Step P0 above
It returns to the processing from 1.

If a time designation header is not added to the head of the received audio content and it is determined that the content should not be delivered at the designated time, the operation status of the audio terminal 5 of the delivery destination is immediately Check (Step P
06), it is determined whether or not the power is turned on at that time and the audio content can be delivered (step P06).

Here, when it is determined that the audio terminal 5 of the distribution destination is not in a state capable of distribution, the audio content is not distributed at that time, and the above-described step P is repeated.
01, the process returns to step S01. If it is determined that the content can be delivered (step P07), the audio content is immediately delivered to the audio terminal 5 and the content is sent to the user. After loudspeaker output (step P
08), the distribution setting is performed for the audio content stored in the server assuming that the distribution has been completed (step P09), and a series of content distribution processing is completed as described above. Return to processing.

If it is determined in step P03 that there is undistributed audio content in the server, it is next determined whether or not the audio content can be immediately distributed at that time (step P03). P10).

First, it is determined whether or not a time designation header is added to the undistributed audio content. If the time designation header is added, it is further determined whether or not the current time matches the designated time. Only when it is determined that the time designation header has not been added, or even if it has been added, it matches the designated time, the process shifts to the process related to the actual distribution from step P06.

As described above, by distributing the audio content at a specific time or a specific time zone, the expressive and appealing power of one or both of the information content and the advertisement content constituting the audio content is improved. It is possible to provide a delivery service for useful messages and the like.

Although FIGS. 3 and 4 mainly describe the contents of processing related to content distribution in the hosting service company 1 and the provider 4, more specific examples of use will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 illustrates a state in which a local store serves as an advertiser 3 and provides advertisement contents. When the first store 21 does not use a newspaper flyer advertisement or the like,
The sales clerk himself must speak the day's special sale information at the store to let the customer know. On the other hand, the second store 22 installs the audio terminal 5 using the special sale information and the like as the advertisement content on the day. Can be delivered to each household. Therefore, the customer side can know the bargain information without going to the store, and there is no need to go out wastefully.

In addition, for the second store 22, the destination of the advertisement content can be specified in detail in units of installation of the audio terminal 5, so that the customer information can be accurately grasped. In this case, it is possible to distribute the advertisement in a pinpoint manner, and it is not necessary to perform a rough distribution method such as a flyer advertisement in a newspaper, so that the advertisement can be more efficiently performed.

FIG. 6 illustrates a state in which, for example, a recipe of a dish is distributed as information content by combining an interactive application program and audio content.

In this case, the process of loudspeaking the information content for each step of the dish and proceeding to the next step when a response is made to the information content by a predetermined voice input is repeated until the dish is completed.

In the audio terminal 5, the switch unit 16
The voice is input by using the speaker / microphone 13 as a microphone only when the talk switch is operated. However, in such a use state that the talk switch cannot be directly operated, software processing is performed. , The functions of the speaker / microphone of the speaker / microphone 13 can be automatically switched.

FIG. 7 illustrates a state in which the voice terminal 5 is used like a telephone between users of the voice terminal 5. In this case, the input for designating the voice terminal 5 of the other party is performed by inputting information such as a dial number or an address / URL as identification information by making the speaker / microphone 13 function as a microphone. The voice recognition unit 17 generates digital data of a corresponding character (numerical) string from the content of the voice input and transmits the digital data to the provider 4. Voice input is performed as information content.

As described above, it is easy to construct a wider audio information distribution service including information distribution from the user of the audio terminal 5.

When the user of the voice terminal 5 subscribes to the service system, prior to the distribution of the voice terminal 5, information such as age, gender, occupation, family composition, hobbies, and preferences is provided by a hosting service. By registering with the company 1, the hosting service company 1 can select a more suitable advertisement content and add it to the information content for distribution to the user of the audio terminal 5, so that the advertisement provided by the advertiser 3 can be provided. Content can be used more efficiently.

In the above embodiment, the audio terminal 5
It has been described that the speaker / microphone is integrated, and the function is selectively switched by operating the talk switch or software control. However, the speaker and the microphone may be separately provided. In particular, it is necessary to provide a hook switch or the like that turns off the power of the microphone by placing the microphone so that the power of the microphone is not always turned on.

In the above embodiment, the audio terminal 5
Is described as a stationary type that is fixedly installed in a home, but it may be a portable type that can be used, and further a mobile phone or a PDA (Per
It may operate as a function of a mobile information device such as a personal digital assistant (Sony Digital Assistant).

In the above-described embodiment, the hosting service company 1 and the provider 4 respectively perform the processing.
Alternatively, the provider 4 may perform all processes related to content distribution.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments, at least one of the problems described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved and the effects described in the column of the effect of the invention can be solved. In a case where at least one of the effects described above is obtained, a configuration in which this component is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0065]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, voice input is performed on the premise that a voice terminal that can operate only with a minimum required operation and that can input and output voice is used. Assuming the use of audio terminals that can only output,
By considering the advertisement fee from the advertisement provider as the operation cost, the user can easily receive various audio information services while greatly reducing the economic burden on the user.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, since audio contents corresponding to time can be distributed, the expressive power and appealing power of the audio contents can be further improved. Improve and provide useful services.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first aspect of the present invention, for example, those which violate public order and morals, or vicious slander, slander or hoax against a specific individual or company, etc. Since distribution can be avoided and management can be performed so that the quality of the exchanged audio content does not deteriorate, the user can receive the service with peace of mind.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, the dial operation and the designation of the address of the transmission destination can be performed by voice input. Broader audio information distribution services including distribution can be constructed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, assuming the use of an audio terminal capable of only inputting / outputting audio and operating with a minimum required operation with a very simple configuration, the advertisement provider receives By considering the advertising fee as the operating cost, it becomes possible for the user to easily receive various voice information services while greatly reducing the economic burden on the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an entire voice information service system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the audio terminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary flowchart showing the contents of audio content distribution processing in the server device of the hosting service company according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart showing the content of audio content distribution processing by the provider according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view for explaining an example of audio content distribution according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary view for explaining an example of audio content distribution according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary view for explaining an example of distributing audio content according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hosting service company 2 ... Information provider 3 ... Advertiser 4 ... Provider 5 ... Voice terminal 11 ... Modem 12 ... Voice processing unit 13 ... Speaker / microphone (SP / MIC) 14 ... Control unit 15 ... Storage unit 16 ... Switch section 17 Voice recognition section 21 First store 22 Second store

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04M 3/487 H04M 11/08 11/08 G10L 3/00 N

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A voice information service system for providing voice information distribution service over a network including the Internet, wherein voice content is received by combining voice information received from an information provider and voice advertisement received from an advertisement provider. A voice information service system, comprising: a hosting server that distributes audio content; and a voice terminal that loudspeakers and outputs voice content distributed from the hosting server, and converts an input by voice into information and transmits the information to the hosting server. . 2. The audio information service system according to claim 1, wherein the audio content delivered by the hosting server has added thereto time designation information for designating a time at which the audio terminal outputs the voice. 3. The voice information service system according to claim 1, wherein the hosting server converts the voice content to be delivered into text data and checks the content in advance. 4. The voice information service system according to claim 1, wherein said voice terminal includes voice recognition means for recognizing destination information specified by voice input. 5. A voice information service method for providing a voice information distribution service on a network including the Internet, comprising: combining voice information received from an information provider and voice advertisement received from an advertisement provider; A voice information service method characterized in that the voice content is distributed as a voice message, and the distributed voice content is output from a user terminal.