JP2003016012A - System and method for processing information, recording medium and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system that does not read out an electronic mail when no user attends on the system. SOLUTION: A system has a mail watcher application controller 281 that reads electronic mail data from a MAPI mailer 282, outputs the data to a read out control module 288, and executed the process for converting the data to voice data. The read out control module 288 generates the voice data based upon the electronic mail data being inputted and outputs a voice corresponding to the voice data. An absent checking module 289 monitors whether or not any user operates, for example, a touch pad, a keyboard, a jog dial and the like, and judges that the user does not use a personal computer (he is absent from it) if these apparatuses are not operated during a specified period. The mail watcher application controller 281 does not execute a process for reading out an electronic mail if the user is not in the process of operating the personal computer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, a recording medium, and a program,
In particular, the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, a recording medium, and a program that are suitable for use when converting a received electronic mail into voice data by voice synthesis and outputting the voice data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a technique for converting text data into voice data and reproducing the voice, such as software for synthesizing a sentence key-input to a personal computer and reading it. This technique is applied to, for example, browsing a web page, reading an e-mail, or reading text data designated by a user.

Further, an application program (so-called mailer) for receiving and transmitting electronic mail can automatically connect to a mail server and receive electronic mail every predetermined time designated by the user. Some have functions.

[0004]

However, in a mailer having a function of automatically receiving an electronic mail,
If it is set to convert the received e-mail into voice data and read it aloud, the mailer will be able to operate even if the user is away from the personal computer with the personal computer turned on. Every time a predetermined time e-mail is automatically received and read aloud, the content of the e-mail addressed to you may be heard by another person, or you may already have an e-mail that you did not hear. There was a problem that it was read.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and only when it is determined that the user is near the personal computer and it is determined that the user is near the personal computer. , Read the e-mail aloud.

[0006]

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a setting means for setting a time of automatic reception of an electronic mail, a receiving means for receiving the electronic mail, and a text of the electronic mail received by the receiving means. A text input means for receiving data input, a voice generation means for performing voice synthesis to generate voice data corresponding to the text data, a detection means for detecting whether or not a user is in the vicinity, and a voice generation means. Audio output means for outputting audio corresponding to the audio data generated by the above.

When the receiving means receives the electronic mail, the receiving means can receive the electronic mail based on the setting of the automatic reception time set by the setting means. It is possible to detect whether or not the user is in the vicinity, and the voice output means has a voice corresponding to the voice data when the detection means detects that the user is in the vicinity. Can be output.

When the automatic reception time set by the setting means is reached, the detection means can be made to detect whether or not the user is present in the vicinity, and the reception means is made to detect by the detection means. When the presence of the user is detected, the electronic mail can be received, and the voice output means outputs the voice corresponding to the voice data when the electronic mail is received. You can

The detecting means may detect that the user is not in the vicinity when the operation input from the user is not received for a certain period of time.

An image pickup means for picking up an image in the vicinity can be further provided, and the detection means is made to detect whether or not the user is in the vicinity based on the image picked up by the image pickup means. You can

It is possible to further include temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature in the vicinity, and the detecting means determines whether or not the user is in the vicinity based on the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. It can be detected.

An infrared detecting means for detecting infrared rays may be further provided, and the detecting means detects whether or not the user is present in the vicinity based on the infrared rays detected by the infrared detecting means. You can

The information processing method of the present invention includes a setting step for setting a time for automatic reception of an electronic mail, a receiving step for receiving the electronic mail, and an input of text data of the electronic mail received by the processing of the receiving step. A text input step to receive, a voice generation step to perform voice synthesis to generate voice data corresponding to the text data, a detection step to detect whether a user is in the vicinity, and a voice generation step to generate A voice output step of outputting a voice corresponding to the generated voice data.

The program recorded on the recording medium of the present invention includes a setting step for setting the time of automatic reception of electronic mail, a receiving step for receiving electronic mail, and an electronic mail received by the processing of the receiving step. A text input step of receiving text data input, a voice generation step of performing voice synthesis to generate voice data corresponding to the text data, a detection step of detecting whether or not a user is in the vicinity, and a voice generation. A voice output step of outputting a voice corresponding to the voice data generated by the processing of the step.

The program of the present invention includes a setting step for setting a time for automatic reception of an electronic mail, a receiving step for receiving an electronic mail, and a text for receiving an input of text data of the electronic mail received by the processing of the receiving step. Generated by the processing of the input step, the voice generation step of executing the voice synthesis and generating the voice data corresponding to the text data, the detection step of detecting whether or not the user is in the vicinity, and the voice generation step. And a voice output step of outputting a voice corresponding to the voice data, thereby causing the computer to execute a process.

In the information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the program of the present invention, the time for automatic reception of an electronic mail is set, the electronic mail is received, the text data of the received electronic mail is input, and voice synthesis is performed. Is executed, voice data corresponding to the text data is generated, whether or not the user is present in the vicinity is detected, and voice corresponding to the generated voice data is output.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A network system for executing transmission / reception of electronic mail and browsing of web pages will be described with reference to FIG.

A personal computer 2-1 or 2-2 is connected to the public line network 1. In addition, in the public line network 1, the PDA 4- through the base stations 3-1 to 3-4, which are fixed wireless stations, which are respectively arranged in cells obtained by dividing a communication service providing area into desired areas. 1 or 4-2, or digital mobile phone with camera 5-
1 or 5-2 is connected.

The base stations 3-1 to 3-4 connect the PDA 4-1 and 4-2, which are mobile radio stations, and the digital mobile phones 5-1 and 5-2 with a camera, for example, to the W-CDMA (W
ideband code division multiple access) is a mobile radio station that connects wirelessly by code division multiple access
Large-capacity data can be transmitted at high speed at a maximum data transfer rate of 2 Mbps using the 2 GHz frequency band with the PDA 4-1 and 4-2 and the camera-equipped digital mobile phones 5-1 and 5-2. .

The PDA's 4-1 and 4-2, and the camera-equipped digital mobile phones 5-1 and 5-2 are the base stations 3-
Large-capacity data can be communicated at high speed by 1 to 3-4 and W-CDMA system, so not only voice call but also various kinds of data communication such as sending and receiving e-mail, browsing simple homepage, sending and receiving images, etc. You can

The base stations 3-1 to 3-4 are connected to the public line network 1 via wired lines. The public line network 1 is connected to the Internet 6, a subscriber wired terminal device (not shown), a computer network, a corporate network, and the like.

The access server 7 of the Internet service provider is connected to the public line network 1, and further connected to the content server 8 and the electronic mail server 9 owned by the Internet service provider.

The content server 8 requests from the wired terminal device of the subscriber, the PDA 4-1 or 4-2, or the digital mobile phone 5-1 or 5-2 with a camera, or the personal computer 2-1 or 2-2. Corresponding to, for example, contents such as simple homepage,
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) method, or
It is provided as a compact HTML file.

The electronic mail server 9 is a server that manages transmission and reception of electronic mail. The email server 9
There is an SMTP server for sending and a POP server for receiving. SMT
The mail sent from the P server is not delivered directly to the destination POP server, but is sent to the destination POP server through several servers on the Internet 6. The receiving POP server temporarily stores the received email in the mailbox. The user who receives the e-mail uses the PDA 4-1 or 4-2, or the digital mobile phone with camera 5-1 or 5-2, or the personal computer 2-1 or 2-2 to use the electronic mail. Each time the mail server 9 is accessed, the electronic mail is received.

There are many WWW (World
Wide Web) servers 10-1 to 10-N are connected. The WWW servers 10-1 to 10-N are TCP (Transm
ission Control Protocol) / IP (Internet Protocol)
Subscriber's wired terminal device, PDA4-
1 and 4-2, digital mobile phones with cameras 5-1 and 5-2, and personal computers 2-1 and 2-2.

By the way, the PDA 4-1 and 4-2 and the camera-equipped digital mobile phones 5-1 and 5-2 communicate with the base stations 3-1 to 3-4 by a simple transport protocol of 2 Mbps, and From stations 3-1 to 3-4,
Internet 6 and WWW servers 10-1 to 10
-Communicate up to N with TCP / IP.

The management control device 11 includes a wired subscriber terminal device, PDAs 4-1 and 4-2, digital mobile phones with cameras 5-1 and 5-2, and a personal computer 2-1 via the public line network 1. And 2-2, the authentication processing or billing processing for the subscriber wired terminal device, PDA 4-1 and 4-2, digital mobile phone with camera 5-1 and 5-2, and personal computer 2-1 and 2-2. And so on.

Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to individually distinguish the personal computers 2-1 and 2-2, they are simply referred to as the personal computer 2 and the base stations 3-1 to 3-4.
When it is not necessary to individually distinguish each of them, it is simply referred to as a base station 3, and when it is not necessary to individually distinguish PDA's 4-1 and 4-2, they are simply referred to as PDA 4, and a digital mobile phone with a camera 5-1 and When it is not necessary to distinguish 5-2 individually, it is simply referred to as a camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5.

2 to 5 show the external appearance of the personal computer 2.

The personal computer 2 basically has
It is composed of a main body 21 and a display unit 22 which can be opened and closed with respect to the main body 21. FIG. 2 shows the display unit 22 as the main body 2.
FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a state where it is opened with respect to FIG. Figure 3
4 is a plan view of the main body 21, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a jog dial 23, which will be described later, provided on the main body 21. FIG. 5 is a side view of the jog dial 23 provided on the main body 21.

The main body 21 has a touch pad 26 as a pointing device which is operated when a keyboard 24 operated when inputting various characters or symbols and a pointer (mouse cursor) displayed on the LCD 25 are moved. , And a power switch 27 are provided on the upper surface thereof. In addition, the jog dial 23 and IEEE (In
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1
The 394 port 28 and the like are provided on the side surface of the main body 21. Instead of the touch pad 26, a stick type pointing device can be provided.

An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 25 for displaying an image is provided on the front of the display unit 22, and a power lamp PL, a battery lamp BL, and a message lamp ML provided as necessary (Fig. A lamp comprising other LEDs (not shown) is provided. Further, an image pickup unit 30 having a CCD video camera 29 having a CCD (solid-state image pickup device), and a microphone 31 are provided in the center of the upper portion of the display unit 22. A shutter button 32 for operating the CCD video camera 29 is provided on the upper right side of the main body 21 in FIG.

The image pickup section 30 is rotatably fixed to the display section 22. For example, the image capturing unit 30 can be imaged in the same direction as the line of sight of the user operating the personal computer 2 from the position where the CCD video camera 29 can image the user operating the personal computer 2 by the operation of the user. Is rotated to.

Next, the jog dial 23 has, for example, a key A and a key B arranged on the right side of the keyboard 24 on the main body 21 in FIG. It is installed so that The jog dial 23 executes a predetermined process (for example, a screen scrolling process) in response to a rotating operation indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 4, and a process corresponding to a moving operation indicated by an arrow b in FIG. Icon selection process).

The IEEE1394 port 28 has a structure based on the standard defined by IEEE1394, and is connected with a cable based on the standard defined by IEEE1394.

Next, an example of the internal structure of the personal computer 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

Central processing unit (CPU (Central Processing
Unit)) 51 is composed of, for example, a Pentium (registered trademark) processor manufactured by Intel, and is connected to the host bus 52. A bridge 53 (so-called north bridge) is further connected to the host bus 52, and the bridge 53 is an AGP (Accelerated Graph).
ics Port) 50 and PCI (Periph)
It is connected to the eral component interconnect / interface) bus 56.

The bridge 53 is, for example, manufactured by Intel Corporation.
It is composed of 440BX which is AGP Host Bridge Controller, and CPU 51 and RAM (Random Access Memo).
ry) 54 (so-called main memory) and the like are controlled. Further, the bridge 53 controls the video controller 57 via the AGP 50. The bridge 53 and the bridge (so-called south bridge (PCI-ISA Bridg
e)) 58 constitutes a so-called chipset.

The bridge 53 is also connected to the cache memory 55. The cache memory 55 is SR
As compared with the RAM 54 such as AM (Static RAM), it is configured by a memory capable of executing a faster write or read operation, and caches (temporarily stores) a program or data used by the CPU 51.

The CPU 51 has a primary
Compared to the cache memory 55, it has a cache that can operate at a higher speed and is controlled by the CPU 51 itself.

The RAM 54 is, for example, DRAM (Dynamic RAM)
A program executed by the CPU 51, or a CPU
The data required for the operation of 51 are stored. Specifically, RA
The M54 is loaded from the HDD 67 at a predetermined timing.
G, and mail watcher application 54H
Memorize

The e-mail program 54A is used by the modem 7
5, a program for sending and receiving communication text (e-mail) via the public line network 1, the Internet service provider, the electronic mail server 9, and the Internet 6.

The auto-pilot program 54B executes a plurality of preset processes (or programs), etc.
It is a program that is sequentially activated and processed in a preset order.

Jog dial status monitoring program 54C
Receives a notification from each of the application programs described above as to whether or not it is compatible with the jog dial 23, and when the corresponding application is compatible with the jog dial 23, the LCD 25 displays what can be done by operating the jog dial 23. Display it.

Jog dial status monitoring program 54C
Also detects an event of the jog dial 23 (operation in which the jog dial 23 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow a in FIG. 4 or is pressed in the direction indicated by the arrow b in FIG. 4) and corresponds to the detected event. Execute the process. The jog dial driver 54D executes various functions in response to the operation of the jog dial 23.

An OS (Operating System) 54E is a computer represented by, for example, so-called Windows (registered trademark) 95 or Windows (registered trademark) 98 of Microsoft Corporation, or so-called Mac OS (registered trademark) of Apple Computer Corporation. It is a program that controls basic operations.

The communication program 54F is
The electronic mail program 5 executes the process for peer-to-peer communication and establishes the communication connection.
4A is controlled to cause the communication partner to transmit an electronic mail to which the IP address of the personal computer 2 is attached, or to acquire the IP address from a predetermined electronic mail transmitted from the communication partner.

The communication program 54F also controls the web browser 54G to perform communication based on the function of the web browser 54G.

The web browser 54G executes processing for browsing (displaying on the display unit 22) data of a predetermined web page under the control of the communication program 54F.

Mail Watcher Application 54
H is a program that converts e-mail data into voice data and reads them aloud, the details of which will be described later.

The video controller 57 is connected to the bridge 53 via the AGP 50, receives data (image data or text data, etc.) supplied from the CPU 51 via the AGP 50 and the bridge 53, and converts the received data into the received data. The corresponding image data is generated, and the generated image data or the received data is stored in the built-in video memory as it is. The video controller 57 causes the LCD 25 of the display unit 22 to display an image corresponding to the image data stored in the video memory.

The video controller 57 is a CCD
The video data supplied from the video camera 29 is transferred to the PC.
It is supplied to the RAM 54 via the I bus 56.

A sound controller 64 is connected to the PCI bus 56. Sound controller 64
Captures voice from the microphone 31, generates data corresponding to the voice, and outputs the data to the RAM 54. The sound controller 64 also drives the speaker 65 to cause the speaker 65 to output sound.

A modem 75 is connected to the PCI bus 56. The modem 75 is connected to the public line network 1 and executes a communication process via the public line network 1 or the Internet 6.

PC card slot interface 11
1 is connected to the PCI bus 56 and supplies the data supplied from the interface card 112 mounted in the slot 33 to the CPU 51 or the RAM 54, and the CP.
The data supplied from U51 is output to the interface card 112. The drive 113 is connected to the PCI bus 56 via the PC card slot interface 111 and the interface card 112.

The drive 113 is equipped with a magnetic disk 121, an optical disk 122, and a magneto-optical disk 12 mounted therein.
3 or the semiconductor memory 124 (including a Memory Stick (trademark) 131 described later with reference to FIG. 7) is read, and the read data is used as the interface card 112, the PC card slot interface 111, and the PCI bus 56. Through ram
Supply to 54. Further, data generated by the processing of the CPU 51 (for example, audio data generated by the processing described later) is used for the magnetic disk 121, the optical disk 122, the magneto-optical disk 123 mounted on the drive 113, or the semiconductor memory 124 (memory stick 131). )
Can be stored in.

Needless to say, the memory stick slot may be separately prepared so that the memory stick 131 can be connected without using the interface card 112 and the drive 113.

Therefore, since the personal computer 2 is constructed such that the memory stick 131 can be mounted, another electronic device (for example, PDA 4, camera-equipped digital portable telephone 5, or FIG. 14) is used via the memory stick 131. Portable music player 2 which will be described later
71) and the like can be shared.

The PCI bus 56 has a bridge 58.
(So-called South Bridge) is also connected. The bridge 58 is composed of, for example, a PIIX4E manufactured by Intel Corp., and the IDE (Integrated Drive Electrode).
nics) controller / configuration register 59, IDE interface 61, USB interface 68 and the like are incorporated. Bridge 58
Device connected to DE bus 62 or ISA / E
IO (Industry Standard Architecture / Extended In
put Output) Bus 63 or I / O interface 6
Various I / O such as control of devices connected via 9
Control (Input / Output).

The IDE controller / configuration register 59 has two IDs, a so-called primary IDE controller and a secondary IDE controller.
It is composed of an E controller, a configuration register, and the like (both not shown).

The primary IDE controller has an ID
The HDD 67 is connected via the E-bus 62. In addition, the secondary IDE controller may be connected to another IDE bus, such as a CD ROM drive or HDD (not shown),
When a so-called IDE device is mounted, the mounted IDE device is electrically connected.

The HDD 67 is an electronic mail program 67.
A, autopilot program 67B, jog dial status monitoring program 67C, jog dial driver 67D, OS 87E, communication program 6
7F, web browser 67G, mail watcher application 67H, etc. are recorded.

The electronic mail program 67A to mail watcher application 67H and the like recorded in the HDD 67 are loaded into the RAM 54 as appropriate.

The ISA / EIO bus 63 is further provided with I / O.
The interface 69 is connected. The I / O interface 69 is composed of an embedded controller, and inside thereof, a ROM 70, a RAM 71, and a CPU 72 are mutually connected.

The ROM 70 stores in advance an IEEE1394 interface program 70A, an LED control program 70B, a touch pad input monitoring program 70C, a key input monitoring program 70D, a wakeup program 70E, a jog dial status monitoring program 70F and the like.

IEEE1394 interface program 70
A transmits / receives data (data stored in a packet) conforming to the IEEE1394 standard via the IEEE1394 port 28. The LED control program 70B controls lighting of a power lamp PL, a battery lamp BL, a message lamp ML provided as necessary, or other lamps including LEDs. The touch pad input monitoring program 70C is a touch pad 26 corresponding to a user operation.
It is a program that monitors the input from.

The key input monitoring program 70D is a program for monitoring the input from the keyboard 24 or other key switches. Wake-up program 70
E checks whether or not a preset time has come based on the data indicating the current time supplied from a timer circuit (not shown) of the bridge 58, and when the preset time comes, a predetermined value is given. It is a program for managing the power supply of each chip constituting the personal computer 2 in order to activate the processing (or program) of FIG. The jog dial status monitoring program 70F uses the jog dial 2
3 is a program for constantly monitoring whether the rotary encoder 3 is rotated or whether the jog dial 23 is pressed.

The ROM 70 further includes a BIOS (Basic Input / Out
put System (basic input / output system) 70G is written. The BIOS 90G controls data transfer (input / output) between the OS or application program and the peripheral device (touch pad 26, keyboard 24, HDD 67, or the like).

The RAM 71 is a register 71 for registering LED control, touch pad input status, key input status, or setting time, jog dial status monitoring I / O register, or IEEE1394 I / F register.
A to 71F. For example, when the jog dial 23 is pressed and the electronic mail program 54A is activated in the LED control register, a predetermined value is stored, and lighting of the message lamp ML is controlled according to the stored value. It When the jog dial 23 is pressed, a predetermined operation key flag is stored in the key input status register. A predetermined time is set in the set time register in response to the operation of the keyboard 24 or the like by the user.

Further, the I / O interface 69 is connected to the jog dial 23,
Touchpad 26, keyboard 24, IEEE1394 port 2
8 and the shutter button 32 are connected to output signals corresponding to operations on the jog dial 23, the touch pad 26, the keyboard 24, or the shutter button 32 to the ISA / EIO bus 63. Also, I / O
The interface 69 controls data transmission / reception with a device connected via the IEEE1394 port 28. Further, the I / O interface 69 has a power lamp PL,
The battery lamp BL, the message lamp ML, the power supply control circuit 73, and other lamps including LEDs are connected.

The power supply control circuit 73 is connected to a built-in battery 74 or an AC power supply, supplies necessary power to each block, and controls for charging the built-in battery 74 or a second battery of a peripheral device. . The I / O interface 69 also monitors the power switch 27 that is operated when the power is turned on or off.

The I / O interface 69 executes the IEEE1394 interface program 70A to the jog dial status monitoring program 70F by the power supply provided inside even when the power is off. That is, IEEE13
94 The interface program 70A to the jog dial status monitoring program 70F are always operating.

Therefore, when the power switch 27 is off, the CPU 5
Since the I / O interface 69 executes the jog dial status monitoring program 70F even when the jog dial 23 is pressed when the jog dial 23 is pressed in the power saving state or the power off state, The computer 2 starts processing of predetermined software or script files set in advance.

As described above, in the personal computer 2, since the jog dial 23 has the programmable power key (PPK) function, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated key.

7 to 9 are views for explaining the external appearance of the PDA 4. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the PDA 4 when gripped. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the PDA 4 mounted on the cradle 141. FIG. 9 is a front view of the PDA 4.

The housing of the PDA 4 is formed in a size that allows it to be held and operated with one hand. On the upper part of the PDA 4, there is provided a slot into which the memory stick 131 containing the semiconductor memory is inserted.

The memory stick 131 is a kind of flash memory card developed by Sony Corporation, the applicant of the present application. This Memory Stick 13
1 is EEPROM (Electrically Erasableand), which is a non-volatile memory that can be electrically rewritten and erased in a small and thin plastic case with a length of 21.5 x width 50 x thickness 2.8 [mm].
A flash memory device, which is a type of Programmable Read Only Memory, is stored, and various data such as images, voices, and music can be written and read out through a 10-pin terminal.

Also, the Memory Stick 131 adopts a unique serial protocol that can ensure compatibility with the equipment used even when the specifications of the built-in flash memory are changed due to an increase in capacity, and a maximum writing speed of 1.5 [ MB /
S] and a maximum read speed of 2.45 [MB / S], and high reliability is ensured by providing an erasure prevention switch.

As shown in FIG. 8, the PDA 4 is mounted on the cradle 141 so that the lower surface of the PDA 4 and the upper surface of the cradle 141 are in contact with each other. On the bottom surface of the PDA4, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) for connecting to the cradle 141
s) Ports (not shown) and the like are provided. The cradle 141 is a docking station when the PDA 4 and the personal computer 2 are connected by wire to exchange information and each data is updated to the latest data (so-called hot sync is used to synchronize data).

The PDA 4 has a display section 161, keys 162,
Also, a jog dial 151 and the like are provided.

The display section 161 is composed of a thin display device such as a liquid crystal display device and displays an image such as an icon, a thumbnail or a text. A touch pad is provided on the upper side of the display unit 161. By pressing the touch pad with a finger or a pen, predetermined data or operation instructions are input to the PDA 4.

The key 162 is composed of an input key or the like, and is used for inputting selection of an icon or thumbnail displayed on the display unit 161.

The jog dial 151 is used for inputting selection of an icon or thumbnail displayed on the display unit 161 in response to a rotating operation or a pressing operation on the main body side.

Next, the internal structure of the PDA 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 171
Is a Flash ROM (Read only Memory) 173 or EDO D synchronized with the clock signal supplied from the oscillator 172.
RAM (Extended Data Out Dynamic Random Access Memor
y) Execute various programs such as the operating system stored in 174 or developed application programs.

The Flash ROM 173 is an EEPROM (Electricall
y Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), which is a type of flash memory.
Basically fixed data of the program used by 71 and the parameters for calculation is stored. EDO DRAM174
Is a program used in the execution of the CPU 171
The parameters that change appropriately during the execution are stored.

Memory Stick Interface 17
5 is a Memory Stick 13 attached to the PDA 4
At the same time as reading the data from 1, the data supplied from the CPU 171 is written to the memory stick 131.

Therefore, the PDA 4 is the memory stick 1.
31 is mountable, another electronic device (for example, a personal computer 2, a camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5, or a portable music reproducing device 2 described later with reference to FIG. 14 is used via the memory stick 131.
71) and the like can be shared.

A USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface 176 receives data or a program from a drive 183, which is a connected USB device, in synchronization with a clock signal supplied from an oscillator 177, and is supplied from the CPU 171. Drive data 183
Supply to. The USB interface 176 is the oscillator 1
In synchronization with a clock signal supplied from 77, data or a program is input from the connected cradle 141, which is a USB device, and the data supplied from the CPU 171 is supplied to the cradle 141.

The USB interface 176 has a
The drive 183 is also connected. The drive 183 is
Mounted magnetic disk 191, optical disk 19
2. Magneto-optical disk 193 or semiconductor memory 194
The data or program recorded in the memory is read, and the data or program is read via the USB interface 176, and is connected to the CPU 171 or E.
Supply to the DO DRAM174. The drive 183 is C
The data or program supplied from the PU 171 is loaded with the magnetic disk 191, optical disk 192,
The data is recorded on the magneto-optical disk 193 or the semiconductor memory 194.

The flash ROM 173, EDO DRAM 174, memory stick interface 175, and USB interface 176 are connected to the CPU 171 via an address bus and a data bus.

The display unit 161 displays the CPU 1 via the LCD bus.
The data is received from 71, and the image or the character corresponding to the received data is displayed. Touchpad controller 17
When a touch pad provided on the upper side of the display unit 161 is operated, the reference numeral 8 receives data corresponding to the operation (for example, indicating touched coordinates) from the display unit 161, and a signal corresponding to the received data. Via the serial bus to CP
Supply to U171.

EL (Electroluminescence) driver 17
Reference numeral 9 operates the electroluminescent element provided on the back side of the liquid crystal display portion of the display portion 161 to control the display brightness of the display portion 161.

The infrared communication section 180 uses the infrared rays as a medium to transfer the data received from the CPU 171 to a UART (Universa
The data is transmitted to another device (not shown) via the asynchronous receiver transmitter), and the data transmitted from the other device using infrared rays as a medium is received by the CPU 17
Supply to 1. That is, the PDA 4 can communicate with other devices via the UART.

The audio reproducing unit 182 is composed of a speaker, a voice data decoding circuit, and the like, and decodes and reproduces voice data stored in advance or voice data received via the Internet 6. And output audio. For example, the audio reproducing unit 182 may include the buffer 181.
The audio data supplied from the CPU 171 is reproduced via the, and the audio corresponding to the data is output.

The key 162 is composed of input keys and the like.
When various commands are input to the CPU 171, they are operated by the user.

The jog dial 151 supplies the CPU 171 with data corresponding to a rotating operation or a pressing operation on the main body side.

The power supply circuit 186 is equipped with a battery 184 installed or an AC (Alternating curr) connected.
ent) The voltage of the power source supplied from the adapter 185 is converted and the power source is supplied to each of the CPU 171 to the audio reproducing unit 182.

Next, the external structure of the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the digital mobile phone with camera 5 includes a display unit 202 and a main body 20.
3 and is formed so as to be foldable by the hinge portion 204 at the center.

The display unit 202 has an antenna 205 for transmission and reception which can be pulled out or stored in the upper left portion. The digital mobile phone 5 with camera is
Radio waves are transmitted and received to and from any of the base stations 3-1 to 3-4 which are fixed wireless stations.

Further, the display section 202 has a camera section 206 which is rotatable in an angle range of about 180 degrees at the center of the upper end. The camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 has a camera unit 206.
The desired CCD image is captured by the CCD camera 207.

The camera unit 206 is set to about 18 by the user.
When the display unit 202 is rotated by 0 degrees and positioned, the display unit 202 is in a state in which the speaker 208 provided in the center on the back side of the camera unit 206 is located on the front side. As a result, the digital mobile phone with camera 5 is switched to a normal voice call state.

Further, a liquid crystal display 209 is provided in front of the display section 202. Liquid crystal display 209
Is the reception status of electric waves, the remaining battery level, the destination name and phone number registered in the phonebook, the outgoing call history, etc., the contents of the e-mail, the simple homepage, and C of the camera unit 206.
An image captured by the CD camera 207 is displayed.

On the other hand, the main body 203 has "0" on its surface.
Through operation keys 210 such as a numeric keypad “9”, a call key, a redial key, a call end / power key, a clear key and an electronic mail key are provided. Various instructions corresponding to the operation of the operation keys 210 are displayed on the digital mobile phone 5 with a camera.
Entered in.

A memo button 211 and a microphone 212 are provided below the operation keys 210 of the main body 203. When the memo button 211 is operated, the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 records the voice of the other party during the call. The camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 collects the voice of the user during a call by the microphone 212.

Further, a rotatable jog dial 213 is provided above the operation keys 210 of the main body 203 so as to slightly project from the surface of the main body 203. The camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 operates in accordance with a rotating operation of the jog dial 213, such as a scrolling operation of a phonebook list or an electronic mail displayed on the liquid crystal display 209, a page turning operation of a simple home page, or an image sending operation. Performs various actions.

For example, the main body 203 selects a desired telephone number from a plurality of telephone numbers in the telephone directory list displayed on the liquid crystal display 209 in response to the user's rotating operation of the jog dial 213, and the jog dial 213 operates. When pressed inward of the main body 203, the selected telephone number is confirmed, and the calling process is automatically performed to the confirmed telephone number.

A battery pack (not shown) is mounted on the back side of the main body 203, and when the call end / power key is turned on, power is supplied from the battery pack to each circuit section to enable operation. Boot into state.

A memory stick slot 214 for mounting a removable memory stick 131 is provided on the upper left side surface of the main body 203. When the memo button 211 is pressed, the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 records the voice of the person who is talking on the memory stick 131. The camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 stores an e-mail, a simple home page, an image captured by the CCD camera 207, or audio data generated by the processing described below in the attached memory stick 131 according to the operation of the user. Record.

Therefore, the digital mobile phone 5 with a camera
Is configured so that the memory stick 131 can be attached, other electronic devices (for example, personal computer 2, PDA 4,
Alternatively, it is possible to share data with a portable music reproducing device 271 described later using FIG.

FIG. 13 shows a digital mobile phone 5 with a camera.
3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 13, the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 has a power supply circuit section 252 and an operation input control section 253 with respect to a main control section 251 which controls the respective sections of the display section 202 and the main body 203. , Image encoder 25
4, camera I / F (interface) 255, LCD
(Liquid Crystal Display) control unit 256, demultiplexing unit 258, modem circuit 259, and audio codec 2
60 are connected to each other via a main bus 261, and an image encoder 254, an image decoder 257, a demultiplexing unit 258, a storage / reproducing unit 263, a modulation / demodulation circuit unit 25.
9 and an audio codec 260 are connected to each other via a synchronization bus 262.

The power supply circuit section 252 can operate the digital mobile phone 5 with a camera by supplying power to each section from the battery pack when the end call / power key is turned on by the operation of the user. Boot into state.

The digital mobile phone with camera 5 includes a CPU, R
Under the control of the main control unit 251 including OM and RAM, in the voice call mode, the voice signal collected by the microphone 212 is converted into digital voice data by the voice codec 260. In the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5, the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 259 performs spectrum spread processing on the digital audio data, the transmission / reception circuit unit 264 performs digital-analog conversion processing and frequency conversion processing, and then transmits the data via the antenna 205.

The digital mobile phone 5 with a camera is
In the voice call mode, the reception signal received by the antenna 205 is amplified by the transmission / reception circuit unit 264, subjected to frequency conversion processing and analog-digital conversion processing, and subjected to spectrum despreading processing in the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 259.
It is converted into an analog voice signal by 60. The camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 causes the speaker 208 to output audio corresponding to the analog audio signal.

Furthermore, the digital mobile phone with camera 5
When sending an e-mail in the data communication mode, the text data of the e-mail input by operating the operation key 210 or the jog dial 213
It is sent to the main control unit 251 via the operation input control unit 253.

The main control section 251 performs spread spectrum processing on the text data by the modulation / demodulation circuit section 259, performs digital-analog conversion processing and frequency conversion processing on the transmission / reception circuit section 264, and then transmits the text data to the base station 3 via the antenna 205. .

On the other hand, when the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 receives an electronic mail in the data communication mode, the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 259 performs spectrum despreading processing on the received signal received from the base station 3 via the antenna 205. Then, the original text data is restored and then output to the LCD control unit 256. The LCD control unit 256 controls the liquid crystal display 209 to display the electronic mail.

In the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5, an e-mail received according to the operation of the user or an e-mail converted into voice data by the processing described later is stored in the memory stick 131 via the storage / playback unit 263. It is also possible to record.

When transmitting image data in the data communication mode, the digital mobile phone 5 with a camera uses the CCD.
The image data captured by the camera 207 is supplied to the image encoder 254 via the camera interface unit 255.

By the way, the digital mobile phone 5 with a camera is
When the image data is not transmitted, the CCD camera 207
Image data captured by the camera interface unit 25
5 and the LCD control unit 256, the liquid crystal display 2
It is also possible to display it directly on 09.

The image encoder 254 is the CCD camera 2
The image data supplied from 07 is, for example, MPEG
(Moving Picture Experts Group) 2 or MPEG
4 is converted into coded image data by compression coding by a predetermined coding method such as 4 and the like, and this is demultiplexed by the demultiplexing unit 25.
Send to 8.

At the same time, the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 sends the sound collected by the microphone 212 during image pickup by the CCD camera 207 to the demultiplexer 258 via the sound codec 260 as digital sound data.

The demultiplexing unit 258 is the image encoder 25.
Coded image data and audio codec 2 supplied from 4
The audio data supplied from 60 is multiplexed by a predetermined method, and the resulting multiplexed data is modulated / demodulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit section 25.
9 performs spectrum spread processing, and the transmission / reception circuit unit 264 performs digital-analog conversion processing and frequency conversion processing, and then transmits via the antenna 205.

On the other hand, in the data communication mode, the digital mobile phone with camera 5 receives the data received from the base station via the antenna 205, for example, when receiving the data of the moving image file linked to the simple homepage or the like. The signal is subjected to spectrum despreading processing by the modulation / demodulation circuit section 259, and the resulting multiplexed data is demultiplexed by the demultiplexing section 25.
Send to 8.

The demultiplexing unit 258 demultiplexes the multiplexed data into coded image data and audio data, and the synchronization bus 262.
The encoded image data is supplied to the image decoder 257 and the audio data is supplied to the audio codec 260 via the.

The image decoder 257 generates reproduced moving image data by decoding the coded image data with a decoding method corresponding to a predetermined coding method such as MPEG2 or MPEG4, and a liquid crystal display is generated via the LCD control section 256. 209 for display. Thereby, the digital mobile phone with camera 5 displays the moving image data included in the moving image file linked to the simple home page, for example.

At this time, the voice codec 260 simultaneously
After converting the audio data into an analog audio signal, the audio data is supplied to the speaker 208 to be output. As a result, the digital mobile phone with camera 5 reproduces the audio data included in the moving image file linked to the simple home page, for example.

In this case as well, in the case of the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5, the received data such as the simple home page or the text data such as the simple home page converted into the voice data is received as in the case of the electronic mail.
It is possible to record on the memory stick 131 via the storage / playback unit 263 by the operation of the user.

That is, as shown in FIG. 14, the personal computer 2, the PDA 4, the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5, and the memory stick 131 can be mounted, and the audio data recorded in the memory stick 131 can be reproduced. Portable music player 27
It is possible to share information via each of the memory sticks 131 in each of the above. For example, audio data generated in the personal computer 2, the PDA 4, or the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5 can be recorded in the memory stick 131 and reproduced by the portable music reproducing device 271.

In FIG. 14, the Memory Stick 1
Although the case of sharing information via 31 has been described, the personal computer 2, the PDA 4, the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5, and the portable music playback device 271 are described.
It is needless to say that the information can be shared even if each of them is connected by wire or wirelessly and can exchange data.

In FIG. 15, in the personal computer 2, the mail watcher application 67H recorded in the HDD 67 described with reference to FIG.
The functional block diagram when it is loaded in 54 and executed by the CPU 51 is shown.

The mail watcher application control unit 281 is a WOSA (Windows (R) Open
MAPI (Messaging Application Pr), which is a standard system interface for electronic messaging applications standardized as one of the System Architecture
MAPI mailer 282 (Figure 6)
(Corresponding to the electronic mail program 67A of), the data of the electronic mail is read, and GUI (Graphical User I
Various types of processing are executed based on the user settings supplied from the control unit 283.

Here, when the mail watcher application control unit 281 executes the processing, the MAPI mailer 282 is not activated (that is, the RAM 5).
4 and not executed by the CPU 51).

Under the control of the mail watcher application control unit 281, the GUI control unit 283 controls the display of GUI such as dialog boxes and display windows for making various settings of the mail watcher application described later, and the user The mail watcher application control unit 2 generates a signal indicating the content of the operation input executed on the displayed GUI.
Supply to 81.

The mail filter 284 filters the electronic mail described in text format supplied from the mail watcher application control unit 281 based on the conversion table described in the conversion table database 285.

In the conversion table database 285, for example, when a received e-mail such as “>”, “|”, “:” is returned or transferred, it must be a quote in the body of the e-mail. A symbol added to the indent portion to indicate is recorded.

The mail filter 284, based on the number of symbols and the number of symbols added to each line of the supplied electronic mail body, marks the supplied mail body for each part in which the person who wrote it is the same, for example, a mark. Classify by including. For example, when the email shown in FIG. 16 is supplied, the mail filter 284 is different from the text A and the text A that are the first part (here, the part described by the sender) of the email body (here: Quoted) text B, different from text B (the number of symbols in the quote is different from text B) text C, different from text C (number of symbols in the quote is different from text C) Text D , D different from the text D (here, the part described by the sender) is divided into text E.

An HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) tag filter 286 filters the electronic mail described in HTML supplied from the mail watcher application control unit 281 based on the conversion table described in the conversion table database 287. To do.

FIG. 17 shows an example of an electronic mail described in HTML. 18 shows the source of the electronic mail described in HTML shown in FIG. E-mails written in HTML are different from e-mails written in text, for example, by changing the background color, using image data in the background, and setting the font of characters. You can add color to the part you want, increase the character points, make it bold, and make italic.

In the e-mail source shown in FIG. 18, the portion enclosed by <HTML> and </ HTML> is the HTM.
It shows the entire email described in L. The part enclosed by <HEAD> and </ HRAD> (the part indicated by I in the figure) is the header.

The part enclosed by <BODY bgColer = # ffffff> and </ BODY> (the part indicated by J in the figure) is the text of the electronic mail. bgColer = # ffffff indicates the background color of the text. In the text, the part surrounded by <DIV> and </ DIV> is
It shows one line of the text. And in the text, <BLOCKQUOT
E dir = ltr ... 0px ">, and thereafter, <DIV> indicating the beginning of the line is indented (the part indicated by k in the figure) indicates the part indicating the quotation, that is, FIG. It is the part indicated by G. <BLOCKQUOTE dir = ltr ・ ・ ・ 0px ">
Is an HTML tag for displaying the quotation mark (straight line) added to the indent portion of the portion indicated by G in FIG.

The HTML tag filter 286 refers to the HTML tag (description of the part enclosed in <>), and based on the conversion table described in the conversion table database 287, for example, divides the body and the header, Further, the text is divided into quotations and other portions (the portions where the quotations are multiplexed are also included) are divided into lines, and the text data contained in each line is divided into citations. In addition, a process for converting the data into data that can be processed by the reading management module 288, for example, by adding predetermined information so that the other part (the part in which the quoted text is multiplexed, also that part) can be distinguished. Run. As the conversion processing method, another method may be adopted by changing the conversion table described in the conversion table database 287.

Although the electronic mail is described here as being described in text or HTML, it is described in a markup language other than HTML by preparing a corresponding conversion table in the conversion table database 287. Even if there is, it is possible to respond.

The read-aloud management module 288 converts input text data into voice data and executes processing for reproduction and output to an external device for recording, the details of which are shown in FIG. Will be described later.

The absence check module 289 executes a process for determining whether or not the user is near the personal computer 2. The absence check module 289 is operated by the user from the touch pad input monitoring program 70C, the key input monitoring program 70D, or the jog dial status monitoring program 70F described with reference to FIG. 6, for example, by the user. When the user is notified of whether or not there is any operation input of the jog dial 23 and they have not been operated for a predetermined time, the user
It is determined that the personal computer 2 is not used (not beside the personal computer 2).

The absence check module 289 is
Any method other than monitoring the user's operation input may be used to determine whether or not the user is present near the personal computer 2.

The absence check module 289 uses the CCD video camera 29, for example, to pick up the image of the direction of the user of the personal computer 2.
The user may determine whether or not the user is present in front of the personal computer 2 by analyzing the imaged image data, or the user may personally use an infrared sensor, a temperature sensor, or the like (not shown). It may be determined whether or not the computer 2 is present near the computer 2.

FIG. 19 shows a reading management module 288.
It is a more detailed functional block diagram of.

The reading control unit 301 controls the reading management module 288 as a whole, supplies various input signals and data to the corresponding portions, and causes them to perform predetermined processing.

The text management unit 302 stores the text data for reading supplied from the reading control unit 301,
The text data is registered in the reading text database 303, and according to the processing of the reading control unit 301, the text data corresponding to the e-mail for which the reading instruction is issued is read from the reading text database 303 and output to the reading control unit 301.

The dictionary management unit 304 receives instructions for inputting registration data of the user dictionary set by the user, updating and deleting of the dictionary by the processing described later, and stores the dictionary data registered in the dictionary database 305. to manage.

The text analysis unit 306 receives the input of the text data corresponding to the e-mail for which the reading command is issued, which is read by the reading control unit 301 from the reading text database 303 via the text management unit 302, and receives the dictionary database. With reference to 305 and the conversion rule database 307, the text is analyzed and decomposed into words, prosody information (so-called phonetic symbolic sound information) is generated and output to the speech synthesis unit 308. The conversion rule database 307 stores rules for generating prosody information.

The voice synthesis unit 308 is a text analysis unit 30.
Phoneme database 3 based on the prosody information input from 6
09, the synthesized voice data is generated (the input prosody information is connected to form the synthesized voice data). A plurality of phoneme databases 309 may be prepared,
Phoneme data for each of the phoneme data prepared in advance and the phoneme data created by the process described below is prepared. The speech synthesis unit 308 selects a phoneme designated by the user and generates synthetic speech data.

The voice setting unit 310 receives the input of information indicating the speed and height of the voice, which is set by the user through the process described later, from the reading control unit 301 and is recorded in the phoneme database 309 as necessary. Change the phoneme data that is being played.

The reproduction control unit 311 records the generated voice data in the voice database 312, and when receiving a voice data reproduction command from the reading control unit 301, reads the corresponding voice data from the voice database 312. , And outputs it to the speaker 65 to reproduce the sound. The format of the audio data recorded in the audio database 312 is, for example, PCM (Pulse Code Modulatio).
n), and actually the internal recording unit (for example, HDD 67)
Or a format for recording on an external device or an external recording medium (for example, WAVE data, ATRAC (Adv
anced TRansform Acoustic Coding) 3, ADPCM (Adaptiv
e Differential Pulse Code Modulation))).

The file output unit 313 stores the audio data in a file storage device 291 (for example, HDD 6) inside the device.
7) receives an input of a control signal for recording, and receives audio data from the audio database 312 via the reproduction controller 311 and, if necessary, the data converter 3
In 14, the data format is converted (for example, PCM data is converted to ADPCM data), the header is added, and the frequency is changed (for example, 22 KHz data is converted to 11 KHz or 16 KH).
(changed to z) and output to the file storage device 291 for recording.

The external device output section 315 receives an input of a control signal for outputting the audio data to the outside (recording device or recording medium), and from the audio database 312,
Receives audio data input via the playback control unit 311
If necessary, the data conversion unit 314 converts the data format (for example, PCM data is converted to ADPCM data).
Then, a header is added, the frequency is changed (for example, 22 KHz data is changed to 11 KHz or 16 KHz), and the result is output to the external device output module 293.

The data conversion unit 314 is the file output unit 3
13 or receives data input from the external device output unit 315, for example, converts PCM data into ADPCM data,
The converted format is ATRAC3, for example, and the data conversion module 2 outside the reading management module 288
If the data can be converted from PCM data to ATRAC3 in 93, the data to be converted is output to the data conversion module 293, and after the conversion processing is completed, the data input is received.

The data conversion module 293 is, for example,
When it is necessary to convert the audio data recorded in the audio database 312 into a data format that the data conversion unit 314 cannot convert, such as when converting the PCM format data to ATRAC3, the data conversion unit 314 outputs the audio data. The data input is received, converted into a corresponding format, and output to the data conversion unit 314.

The external device output module 293 outputs audio data to an external device connected to the personal computer 2 via, for example, the USB interface 68 or the PC card slot interface 111 shown in FIG. That is, it executes a process for recording audio data on a recording medium attached such as a memory stick 131, a memory inside the external device such as a PDA 4 or a recording medium attached to the external device. is there.

The processing executed by the data conversion module 292 and the external device output module 293 is performed by, for example, Open developed by Sony Corporation, the applicant of the present application.
It can also be realized by processing of application software that executes data conversion and data management of music data, such as MG (trademark).

As the audio storage device 294, any device can be used as long as it can record audio data. For example, the PDA 4, the camera-equipped digital portable telephone 5, the portable music reproducing device 271 or the like can be used. Can be used.

The text display unit 316 receives the display text input from the reading control unit 301,
It is registered in the display text database 317, and according to the processing of the reading control unit 301, the text data corresponding to the e-mail for which the display instruction has been issued is read from the display text database 317 and output to the display unit 22 for display. .

For example, the mail watcher application is started at the same time when the personal computer 2 is started (that is, made resident), and as shown in FIG. 20, an icon 322 corresponding to the mail watcher application is displayed on the toolbar 321. It is assumed that The user can display the command box 323 by selecting the icon 322.

When the user wants to make various settings for the mail watcher application, the command box 3
From 23, select the item described as "setting". The signal indicating the user's operation is supplied from the GUI control unit 283 to the mail watcher application control unit 281. Email watcher application control unit 281
Receives a signal indicating that the user has selected the item “setting” from the command box 323, generates a control signal for displaying the setting window 331 shown in FIG. 21, and the GUI control unit 283 Output to.

FIG. 21 shows a setting window 331 displayed when the mail tab 341 is selected. In the setting window 331, some setting screens can be displayed by selecting a tab. In the setting window 331, a mail tab 341, which is a tab for switching the setting screen,
Reading tab 342, output tab 3 to external device / media
43 and other tabs 344 are provided.

The setting window 331 displayed when the mail tab 341 is selected is used to set check boxes 345 to 349 for selecting reading items when reading an e-mail, and automatic mail check. Check box 3
50 and a time setting box 351 are provided.

Of the check boxes 345 to 349, the contents of the items checked by the user are converted into voice data by the processing described later. In addition, among the check boxes 345 to 348 (that is, items other than the text),
The content of the item checked by the user is used in the case of generating a title for outputting the audio data to an external device or the like by the processing described later. If the items other than the text are not checked, that is, if none of the check boxes 345 to 348 is checked, the title is set to a predetermined character string.

Further, the mail watcher application causes the MAPI mailer 282 to automatically perform a mail check every predetermined time (that is, dial-up connection to a predetermined Internet service provider, access the mail server, and perform self-checking). To check whether the email sent to is on the receiving mail server). When the check box 350 is checked, the mail watcher application control unit 281 refers to the number written in the time setting box 351, and if necessary (for example, in the processing 2 of the mail watcher described later, the absence check module 2).
When a signal indicating that a user exists is input from 89), the MAPI mailer 282 is caused to automatically perform a mail check at each time.

The mail watcher application control unit 281 follows the mail check result of the MAPI mailer 282 when there is no electronic mail to be received,
A voice message "There is no new mail" may be output, or a dialog box containing a similar message may be displayed.

If there is an electronic mail to be received according to the mail check result of the MAPI mailer 282, the mail watcher application control unit 281
If necessary (for example, in the processing 1 of the mail watcher described later, from the absence check module 289,
When a signal indicating that the user exists is input), processing for reading the received e-mail is executed.

Then, in the setting window 331, an OK button 352 which is selected when the setting is confirmed and the display of the setting window 331 is erased, and a button which is selected when the setting is canceled and the display of the setting window 331 is erased. A cancel button 353 is provided.

FIG. 22 shows the setting window 33 displayed when the "speech" tab 342 is selected.
It is a display example of 1. In the setting window 331, in addition to the OK button 352 and the cancel button 353, the detailed setting button 3 selected when performing the detailed setting of the voice 1
61, detailed setting button 362 selected when performing detailed setting of voice 2, new voice creation button 363 selected when creating a new voice, user dictionary button selected when editing a user dictionary 364 is provided.

Two types of voices, "voice 1" and "voice 2" can be set as voices when reading out text data of an electronic mail. When the user wants to change the setting of voice 1 or voice 2, the user selects the corresponding one of the detailed setting buttons 361 or 362 to display the voice setting window 371 shown in FIG.

The voice setting window 371 has a drop-down list box 381 for setting the type of voice.
A setting lever 382 for setting the reading speed, a setting lever 383 for setting the reading voice pitch,
The setting lever 384 for setting the accent strength of the voice to be read out, the test button 385 for reproducing the voice sample in the current setting, the set contents are registered,
An OK button 386 selected when deleting the voice setting window 371, a cancel button 387 selected when canceling the set contents and deleting the voice setting window 371, and help for the operation method are described. A help button 388 for displaying a help window or the like is provided.

In the drop-down list box 381, for example, the user selects the new voice creation button 363 shown in FIG. 22 in addition to preset voices such as female, male, child, robot, and alien. Using the voice creation window shown in FIG. 24, the name of the voice corresponding to the phoneme originally created by the user is displayed and can be selected. Drop-down list box 38
With respect to the voice selected by 1, the speed of reading, the pitch of the voice, and the strength of the accent are set by the positions of the setting levers 382 to 384.

Although it has been described here that the reading speed, the pitch of the voice, and the strength of the accent can be set by the setting levers 382 to 384, other settings are set. It goes without saying that it is okay to be able to do so.

When it is desired to confirm what voice the voice 1 or the voice 2 set using the setting levers 382 to 384 is, the test button 385 is pressed. When the test button 385 is pressed, a predetermined text such as "the set voice is such a voice" is displayed.
Plays with the set voice. The user presses the OK button 386 to confirm the confirmed voice setting, and presses the cancel button 387 to cancel.

In FIG. 24, the voice creation window 391 displayed when the new voice creation button 363 is selected.
Indicates. In the voice creation window 391, a text box 401 for inputting the name of the created voice, an import button 402, setting levers 403 to 410, a test button 411, a save button 412, and a close button 4.
13 and a help button 414 are provided.

The import button 402 is a button for reading the setting of an existing voice and reflecting it on the positions of the setting levers 403 to 410 when a new voice is created using the existing voice. For example, import button 40
When 2 is selected, a list of existing voices similar to the drop-down list box 381 of FIG. 23 is displayed, and the user can select a desired voice from the list.

The setting lever 403 is for setting the pitch of the voice by setting the speed of quick turning of the voice. The setting lever 404 is for setting the hardness of the voice. The setting lever 405 is for setting the husky degree (degree of blurring) of the voice. Setting lever 4
06 is for setting whether the voice can be clearly heard. The setting lever 407 is for setting the voice pitch. The setting lever 408 is used to set the pitch of the voice. The setting lever 409 is for setting the characteristics of a voice corresponding to a voice having a large vital capacity and a voice having a small vital capacity. The setting lever 410 is for setting the quickness of the voice (reproduction speed regardless of the pitch of the voice).

Here, by the setting levers 403 to 410, quick turning of the voice, firmness, husky degree, clarity,
Although the description has been made on the assumption that the height, the apical meridian, the vital capacity, and the quickness of mouth can be set, it goes without saying that the features of the settable voice may be other features. When the user wants to confirm what kind of voice the voices set by the setting levers 403 to 410 are, the user can select the test button 411 and confirm the set voice.

The user inputs the name of the set voice in the text box 401. Text box 401
If the text is entered in, the save button 412 becomes active. When the user wants to save the set voice, the user selects the save button 412.

The close button 413 is a button selected when the voice creation window 391 is deleted. The help button 414 is a button selected when displaying a help window or the like in which help for voice creation or help for using this application is displayed.

The mail watcher application control unit 281 outputs the setting contents of the newly created voice to the reading management module 288. The information of the newly set voice is registered in the phoneme database 309 by the processing of the reading control unit 301. The newly set voice may be set as a voice that can be used in other application programs that read out web page data or read out text data specified by the user. .

In the setting window 331 of FIG. 22,
When the user dictionary button 364 is selected, the user word dictionary tool window 421 shown in FIG. 25 is displayed.

User word dictionary tool window 421
Is a word display window 431, an add button 432, a change button 433, a delete button 434, and an OK button 43.
5, cancel button 436, and help button 43
It is composed of 7.

In the word display window 431, the phrase (text to be displayed) of the registered word, the reading corresponding to the phrase, the part of speech, and the reading priority when the same phrase is input are displayed. To be done.

When the add button 432 is selected, as shown in FIG.
The word addition window 441 shown in 6 is displayed. In the addition window 441, a text box 451 for inputting a word to be added, a text box 451
A text box 452 for inputting the reading of the word input to the text using a text that can express a sound (such as a kanji character that does not have a different sound like a kanji) such as hiragana, katakana, or romaji. , OK button 453 selected when registering the input contents,
A cancel button 454 is provided which is selected when the entered content is not registered.

Returning to the explanation of the user word dictionary tool window 421 of FIG. 25 again. The change button 433 is used to select a word or phrase selected from the words or phrases displayed in the word display window 431 (display is inverted), a part of speech,
Alternatively, it is selected when a dictionary change window (not shown) for changing the priority is displayed.

The delete button 434 is selected to delete the registration of the selected word (inverted display) among the words displayed in the word display window 431.

The OK button 435 is selected when registering a word with the registered contents displayed in the word display window 431 and deleting the user word dictionary tool window 421. The cancel button 436 is newly registered,
Alternatively, it is selected when the user changes the registered contents and cancels the user word dictionary tool window 421. The help button 437 is selected when displaying a help window (not shown) in which a method for registering a user dictionary is described.

The mail watcher application control unit 281 outputs the word or phrase newly registered in the user dictionary or the updated content of the user dictionary to the reading management module 288 and registers it in the dictionary database 305 described with reference to FIG. Let The user dictionary set in this way is set as a dictionary that can be used in other application programs, for example, that reads out web page data or reads out text data specified by the user. Good.

FIG. 27 shows the setting window 331 when the output to external device / media tab 343 is selected.

The check box 461 indicates that the user has
When outputting and recording audio data to an external device or medium (that is, a recording medium capable of recording information), the data previously recorded on the external device or medium may be overwritten. This is for setting whether or not to display a confirmation dialog box, which will be described later with reference to FIG. If the check box 461 is checked, a confirmation dialog box is displayed.

FIG. 28 shows the setting window 331 when the other tab 344 is selected.

The check box 471 is used to set whether or not the read e-mail is treated as a read e-mail in the e-mail program 67A installed in the personal computer 2 after the reading process is completed. is there. Check box 47
Reference numeral 2 is for setting whether or not to register the mail watcher application for startup when the OS having a startup function such as Windows (registered trademark) 98 is used as the OS of the personal computer 2. is there.

The check box 473 is for setting whether to display a text display window, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 32, at the same time as reading the electronic mail and display the text data. When the check box 473 is checked (that is, the text is set to be displayed), the drop-down list box 474 becomes active (operable state) and the font size of the displayed text is increased. You are able to set the height.

As described above, the mail watcher application control unit 281 has the setting window 33.
Various processes are executed based on the contents set using 1.
In response to a signal indicating a user operation input from the UI control unit 283, a process of reading an e-mail (converting it into voice data and outputting it) is executed.

Therefore, by executing the setting to increase the reading speed, a user who wants to reproduce many e-mails can shorten the time required to reproduce the e-mails, and the reading speed can be improved. It is also possible to ensure the listening of the voice by executing the setting so that the voice becomes slow. In addition, even if the user is deaf, such as the elderly, and the high range is easy to hear but the low range is difficult to hear, the sound can be set to female or individual settings. It is possible to set the treble to a range that is easy for the listener to hear, while slowing down the playback speed so that the sound is clearly pronounced, and setting the phoneme that is the easiest for the person to hear.

For example, when the command box 323 described with reference to FIG. 20 is displayed and any item is selected, the mail watcher application is activated and the process is executed according to the operation input by the user.

Next, with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 29 and 30, the processing 1 of the mail watcher will be described.

In step S1, the mail watcher application control unit 281 has the GUI control unit 28
From 3, it is determined whether or not a signal indicating that the user has read an unread mail or has performed an operation input corresponding to a command to output to an external device has been input.

The operation input for instructing the reading of unread mail is the selection of the item "read unread mail" in the command box 323 described with reference to FIG. In order to perform the operation input for instructing the output of the unread mail to the external device, the command box 323 described with reference to FIG.
Select the "Output to external device / media" item in
From the command box 481 shown in 1, select the item “output unread mail”. Command box 481
If the "Output new mail" item is selected from, the new mail is output and recorded on an external device or a connected recording medium. Here, the case of processing unread mail will be explained. .

[0207] If it is determined in step S1 that the operation input corresponding to the reading of unread mail or the output command to the external device has not been performed, step S2
In the mail watcher application control unit 281, the setting window 33 described with reference to FIG.
Based on the automatic mail check time set using the time setting box 351 of No. 1, it is determined whether or not it is time to execute the automatic mail check.

When it is determined in step S2 that it is not time to execute the automatic mail check, the process returns to step S1 and the subsequent processes are repeated.

If it is determined in step S2 that it is time to execute the automatic mail check, the mail watcher application control unit 281 causes the MAPI mailer 282 to connect to the electronic mail server 9 in step S3. Download the email sent to your email address.

In step S4, the absence check module 289 executes a user absence check process for detecting whether or not there is a user in front of the personal computer 2.

Specifically, the absence check module 28
9 executes processing for determining whether or not the user is near the personal computer 2. The absence check module 289 is operated by the user from the touch pad input monitoring program 70C, the key input monitoring program 70D, or the jog dial status monitoring program 70F described with reference to FIG. 6, for example, by the user. When the user receives a notification as to whether or not there is any operation input of the jog dial 23 and they have not been operated for a predetermined time, the user is not using the personal computer 2 (near the personal computer 2). Not)).

The absence check module 289 is
Any method other than monitoring the user's operation input may be used to determine whether or not the user is present near the personal computer 2.

The absence check module 289 uses the CCD video camera 29, for example, to capture an image of the direction of the user of the personal computer 2.
The user may determine whether or not the user is present in front of the personal computer 2 by analyzing the imaged image data, or the user may personally use an infrared sensor, a temperature sensor, or the like (not shown). It may be determined whether or not the computer 2 is present near the computer 2.

The absence check module 289 outputs the result of the user absence check to the mail watcher application control unit 281.

In step S5, the mail watcher application control unit 281 determines whether or not the user is absent based on the signal input from the absence check module 289.

When it is determined in step S5 that the user is absent, the process returns to step S1 and the subsequent processes are repeated.

When it is determined in step S1 that an unread mail is read out or an operation input corresponding to a command for output to an external device is made, or when it is determined in step S5 that the user is not absent In step S6, the mail watcher application control unit 281 determines whether the MAPI mailer 282 has unread mail.

For the unread mail, not only the electronic mail that the user has not manually opened after the manual download, but the step S3 in the previous automatic mail check process is performed.
Also included is an electronic mail that has been downloaded in step S5, is determined to be absent in step S5, and is held by the MAPI mailer 285 in an unread state.

In step S6, the MAPI mailer 282
If it is determined that there is an unread mail in step S7, a reading voice setting process, which will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S8, the mail watcher application control unit 281 determines that the MAPI mailer 282
If it is determined that there is a next mail, the process returns to step S7, and steps S7 and S are performed until there are no unread mails.
The process of 8 is repeated.

If it is determined in step S8 that there is no next mail, that is, after the reading voice setting process is executed for all unread mails, then step S9.
In, the mail watcher application control unit 281 determines whether or not the command from the user is the output of the electronic mail to the external device based on the signal input from the GUI control unit 283.

If it is determined in step S9 that the command from the user is to output an electronic mail to an external device, the mail watcher application control unit 281 causes the reading management module 288 to output the corresponding voice in step S10. Generates and outputs a signal requesting that data be output to an external device.

In step S11, an external device output process, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 38, is executed and the process ends.

In step S9, when it is determined that the instruction from the user is not the output of the electronic mail to the external device, that is, whether the user has input the instruction to read the unread mail or the automatic electronic mail check When it is time and it is determined that there is a user near the personal computer 2, in step S12,
The mail watcher application control unit 281
Based on whether or not the check box 473 described with reference to FIG. 28 is checked, the reading management module 2 determines whether or not the setting is such that the screen display of the text is set.
Output to 88.

Setting window 3 described with reference to FIG.
When the reading text is set to be displayed in 31, the reading control unit 301 of the reading management module 288 controls the text display unit 316 based on the signal supplied from the mail watcher application control unit 281. , Display text database 31
The corresponding text data is read out from FIG.
A text display window 485 as shown in is displayed.

In step S13, the mail watcher application control section 281 generates and outputs a signal requesting reproduction of the corresponding voice data to the reading management module 288.

In step S14, a voice reproduction process, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 37, is executed, and the process ends.

In step S6, the MAPI mailer 282
If it is determined that there is no unread mail in step S15, step S15
In, the mail watcher application control unit 281 generates a control signal for displaying the message “There is no unread mail” and outputs it to the GUI control unit 283. The GUI control unit 283 has the LCD 25.
Then, a message window (not shown) in which a message "There are no unread mails" is described is displayed, and the process is terminated.

In the processing 1 of the mail watcher described with reference to FIGS. 29 and 30, when it is time to execute the automatic e-mail check, the mail server 9 is automatically accessed to download the e-mail. After that, if it is determined that there is no user near the personal computer 2, a process is executed so that the downloaded electronic mail cannot be read.

In this case, for example, even when the user is away from the personal computer 2 for many hours, the mail server 9 is automatically set at every predetermined time.
If the connection method is, for example, a connection via the public line network 1 (so-called dial-up connection), a line usage fee will be charged for each connection.

For example, since it is usually necessary to check the mail frequently, the automatic mail check time is set every 30 minutes using the time setting box 351 of the setting window 331 described with reference to FIG. If the user has been out of the seat for 3 hours, the dial-up connection is executed 6 times, but the user cannot actually check the e-mail each time. In order to save the connection fee during this period, the users may collectively download the e-mail after returning to the seat.

Next, with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 33 and 32, the processing 2 of the mail watcher for downloading an electronic mail only when the user exists will be described.

In steps S21 and S22, the same processes as steps S1 and S2 described in FIG. 29 are executed.

When it is determined in step S22 that it is time to execute the automatic mail check,
In step S23, the mail watcher application control unit 281 executes the user absence check as in step S4 of FIG.

In step S24, the mail watcher application control section 281 determines whether or not the user is absent, as in step S5 of FIG. If it is determined in step S24 that the user is absent, the process returns to step S21, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

When it is determined in step S24 that the user is not absent, in step S25, the mail watcher application control unit 281 connects the MAPI mailer 282 to the electronic mail server 9 as in step S3 of FIG. Download the email sent to your own email address.

If it is determined in step S21 that the user has input a command to read out unread mail or output to an external device, or after the processing in step S25 ends, the processing proceeds to step S26.
Then, in steps S26 to S35,
The same processing as steps S6 to S15 described with reference to FIGS. 29 and 30 is executed, and the processing ends.

By such processing, when the user is away from the seat, the user can collectively download the e-mails after returning to the seat, thereby reducing unnecessary line use charges and connection charges. You will be able to save money.

Next, the reading voice setting process executed in step S7 of FIG. 29 or step S27 of FIG. 33 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S41, the mail watcher application control section 281 determines that the MAPI mailer 28
From 2, the electronic mail (here, unread mail) converted into voice data is acquired.

[0241] In step S42, the mail watcher application control unit 281 causes the mail filter 284 if the acquired e-mail is a text-formatted e-mail, and if the acquired e-mail is an HTML-formatted e-mail, an HTML tag. The acquired e-mail is output to the filter 286. The mail filter 284 uses the conversion table database 285 as the HTML tag filter 2
86 refers to the conversion table database 287,
The input electronic mail is filtered, and the result of the filtering is output to the mail watcher application control unit 281.

In step S43, the mail watcher application control section 281 creates a chapter based on the filtered result and counts the number of sentences N. Chapter is a unit of information that corresponds to one audio data (corresponding to one file of audio data).
One email will create one chapter. By filtering with the mail filter 284 or the HTML tag filter 286, the electronic mail is divided into each sentence, so that the mail watcher application control unit 281 can count the number of sentences N.

In step S44, the mail watcher application control unit 281 determines the title of the Chapter, that is, the title of the music data or the information corresponding to the artist's name, based on the filtered result. Here, in the artist name,
The name "ONSEI" is given so that other information can be distinguished from the voice data created from text data by voice synthesis. May be the name of the application that generated the, and any character string that can be distinguished from other information may be used.

The title is determined by referring to the header of the electronic mail and the checked items of the check boxes 345 to 348 described with reference to FIG. FIG. 36 shows an example of the email header.

Various information other than the text of the electronic mail is described in the header of the electronic mail. The main information described in the header of the e-mail includes, for example, the e-mail destination address (text 491 in FIG. 36), the e-mail transmission time (text 492), and the e-mail source address (text 493). , The subject of the email (Subjec
t) (text 494), and the format of the electronic mail, that is, information indicating whether the format is text format or HTML format (text 495), and the like are included. The title is the check box 345 described with reference to FIG.
Through 348, the text portions corresponding to the checked items are connected by, for example, "/ (slash)" to form one text.

When none of the check boxes 345 to 348 is checked, the title is set to a predetermined character string (for example, the character string "ONSEI"). When the same character string is set as a title, for example, “AAA2” and “AA
Each voice data may be distinguished by adding a number after the character string, such as "A3".

Here, the case where the mail watcher application control unit 281 converts unread mail into voice data has been described. However, since the filtering method differs depending on the corresponding application, Chap
It goes without saying that the method of determining the ter title may be different depending on the application.

The title set in this way has, for example, the corresponding audio data of the portable music reproducing device 271.
Alternatively, when it is output to another device and played back, it is used for a display for selecting audio data in the same manner as a title (song name) of general audio data (for example, music data).

In step S45, the mail watcher application control section 281 reads the title and the display text data from the reading management module 2
Set 88 (ie, provide data). The reading control unit 301 of the reading management module 288 records the supplied title and display text data in the display text database 317 via the text display unit 316.

[0250] In step S46, the mail watcher application control unit 281 sets the reading voice of the first sentence of Chapter to voice 1.

In step S47, the mail watcher application control section 281 sets the value of the register i for detecting which line of the sentences included in the chapter is processed to i = 0. .

In step S48, the mail watcher application control section 281 determines whether or not the value i of the register i is the number N of sentences of i <Chapter.

If it is determined in step S48 that the value i of the register i is the number N of sentences of i <Chapter,
In step S49, the mail watcher application control unit 281 acquires one sentence of the next text.

In step S50, the mail watcher application control unit 281 refers to the mark attached when filtering is performed, and the acquired text has an attribute different from that of the previous sentence (that is, the quoted sentence). Or whether the quotation text layers are different) or not.

If it is determined in step S50 that the acquired text has an attribute different from that of the previous sentence,
In step S51, the mail watcher application control unit 281 changes the voice to be different from the previous sentence. That is, when the voice before the attribute change is voice 1, the voice of the acquired text is changed to voice 2, and when the voice before the attribute change is voice 2, the voice of the acquired text is changed to voice 1. To be done.

In step S52, the mail watcher application control unit 281 determines the previous sentence (that is, the portion reproduced with the same voice until the voice is changed) at the last sentence of the preceding paragraph. Then, a paragraph is created by setting the text acquired in step S49 as the first sentence of a new paragraph.

If it is not determined in step S50 that the acquired text has an attribute different from that of the preceding sentence, or after the processing of step S52 ends, in step S53, steps S49 to S5.
The text data for reading generated by the process 2 is set in the reading management module 288. The reading control unit 301 of the reading management module 288
The text data for reading, which is supplied, is read through the text management unit 302 to the text database for reading 30.
Have 3 record.

In step S54, the mail watcher application control unit 281 sets the value i of the register i to i = i + 1, the process returns to step S48, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

When it is determined in step S48 that the value i of the register i is not the number N of sentences of i <Chapter, the process is step S8 of FIG. 29 or FIG.
To step S28.

By such processing, the reading voice of the electronic mail is set so as to be changed and output depending on the attribute of the text (whether it is a quoted text or the hierarchy of the quoted text here).

It should be noted that, although the description has been given here in which two reading voices of the electronic mail are set, it goes without saying that the number of reading voices may be any number of three or more.

As a result, for example, since the quoted text is often the content described by itself or the content that has already been read, it is set so that only that part is read aloud and the e-mail It is possible to shorten the time required to read aloud and understand the contents sufficiently.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 37, the audio reproduction process executed in step S14 of FIG. 30 or step S34 of FIG. 34 will be described.

In step S61, the reading control unit 301 of the reading management module 288 determines whether or not a signal indicating a user operation has been input. When it is determined in step S61 that the signal indicating the user operation has not been input, the process of step S61 is repeated until it is determined that the signal has been input.

If it is determined in step S61 that a signal indicating a user operation is input, step S6
In 2, the reading control unit 301 determines whether or not a text acquisition command has been input, based on a signal indicating a user operation.

When it is determined in step S62 that a text acquisition command is input, the reading control unit 301 generates a control signal for acquiring text data from the reading text database 303 in step S63, Output to the management unit 302. The text management unit 302 acquires text data from the reading text database 303 and outputs it to the reading control unit 301.

In step S 64, the text analysis unit 306 receives the text data acquired from the reading control unit 301, analyzes the text data, decomposes it into words, and registers it in the dictionary database 305. The dictionary data and the conversion rules registered in the conversion rule database 307 are referenced to generate a phonetic symbol string (prosodic information) and output to the speech synthesis unit 308.

In step S65, the voice synthesis unit 30
8 generates synthetic speech data based on the phoneme data registered in the phoneme database 309 according to the phonetic symbol string supplied from the text analysis unit 306, and outputs it to the speech setting unit 310. The voice setting unit 310 adjusts the synthesized voice data according to the detailed voice setting set using the setting levers 382 to 394 described with reference to FIG. 23, and generates the voice data used for reproduction. The generated voice data is supplied to the reproduction control unit 311 and stored in the voice database 312.

In step S66, the reproduction controller 31
1 sequentially reads the audio data stored in the audio database 312 and outputs the audio data to the speaker 65.

At step S67, the reproduction controller 31
1 indicates whether or not the reproduced voice data has ended, based on whether or not the voice data of the same Chapter as the voice data being reproduced remains among the voice data stored in the voice database 312. To judge. If it is determined in step S67 that the reproduction of the audio data being reproduced has ended, the process returns to step S62 and the subsequent processes are repeated.

If it is determined in step S67 that the audio data being reproduced has not been reproduced, in step S68, the reproduction control unit 311 performs control corresponding to the user's operation input from the reading control unit 301. Based on the signal, it is determined whether or not a reproduction stop command has been input. If it is determined in step S68 that the reproduction stop command has not been input, the process proceeds to step S68.
The process returns to 66 and the subsequent processes are repeated.

If it is determined in step S68 that the reproduction stop command has been input, in step S69 the reproduction control unit 311 stops reproduction, that is, outputs the audio data recorded in the audio database 312 to the speaker. To stop. After the processing of step S69 ends, the processing returns to step S62, and the subsequent processing is repeated.

If it is determined in step S62 that the text acquisition command has not been input, step S62.
At 70, the reading control unit 301 determines whether or not an end command has been input.

If it is determined in step S70 that the end command has not been input, the process proceeds to step S6.
The procedure returns to 2 and the subsequent processing is repeated. Step S
If it is determined at 70 that an end command has been input, the process ends.

By such processing, the voice data converted from the text data is reproduced based on the user's operation input.

Next, the external device output processing executed in step S11 of FIG. 30 or step S31 of FIG. 34 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S81, the reading control unit 301 determines whether or not there is an external output device (including an external storage device such as the memory stick 131) which is a target of external output and is in a state of being communicable with the personal computer 2. A control signal for detection is generated and output to the external device output unit 315. The external device output unit 315 is a voice storage device 294 (for example, a memory stick 131, a PDA 4, a camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5, or a portable music playback device 271) that is in a state capable of exchanging data with the external device output module 293. Etc.) is detected and the detection result is read out by the reading control unit 301.
Output to.

In step S82, the reading control unit 301 determines whether or not the external output target device is detected in step S81 based on the signal input from the external device output unit 315.

When it is determined in step S82 that the external output target device is detected, in step S83, the reading control unit 301 determines whether or not there are a plurality of devices detected in step S81.

In step S83, step S81
When it is determined that there are a plurality of devices detected in step S84, in step S84, the reading control unit 301
Generates a control signal for displaying the selection screen of the target device, and the mail watcher application control unit 2
It is output to the GUI control unit 283 via 81. GUI
The control unit 283 outputs the target device selection screen to the LCD 25 for display, and displays the jog dial 23, the keyboard 24,
Alternatively, the user inputs an operation for selecting a device from the touch pad 26, and outputs it to the mail watcher application control unit 281.

In step S85, the reading control unit 301 sets the value N of the register for selecting an external device included therein as N = “ID of device selected by user”.

In step S83, step S81
No more than one device detected in (ie 1
In step S86, the reading control unit 301 sets the register value N for selecting an external device inside to N = 0. Here, when the value N of the register is N = 0, it indicates that only one device can output audio data.

After the processing of step S85 or the processing of step S86 is completed, the reading control unit 301 selects the external device indicated by the value N of the register in step S87.

In step S88, the reading control unit 301 determines whether the display of the dialog box for confirming deletion of past data is set, that is, in FIG.
It is determined whether the check box 461 is checked on the setting screen 331 described with reference to FIG.

If it is determined in step S88 that the display of the dialog box for confirming deletion of past data is set, in step S89.
The reading control unit 301 displays the dialog box 501 shown in FIG. 39, and receives the operation input of the user.

FIG. 39 shows a display example of the dialog box 501. In the display area 511, a list of data whose artist name is “ONSEI” among the information recorded in the external device that is the target of outputting music data or the recording medium is displayed. The display area has a title 512, an artist name 513, and a capacity 51.
Three items of 4 are displayed.

When the user selects the "Yes" button 515, the data whose artist name is "ONSEI" displayed in the display area 511 is erased from the corresponding voice storage device 294, and new voice data is written. Will be recorded.

When the user selects the "No" button 516, the data whose artist name is "ONSEI" displayed in the display area 511 is not erased from the corresponding audio storage device 294 and new audio data is displayed. But,
Data is newly recorded in the area where no data is recorded.

When the user selects the "Cancel" button 517, the output command of the audio data to the external device is canceled and the dialog box 501 is erased.

In the dialog setting area 518, radio buttons 521 to 523 for setting the display of the dialog box 501 are provided. Only one of the radio buttons 521 to 523 is selected.

When the radio button 521 is selected, if there is data that can be deleted in the voice storage device 294 in the external device output process to be executed next, the dialog box 501 is displayed without fail and the user's operation input
It is determined whether or not the deletable data is deleted. When the radio button 522 is selected, in the next external device output process, if there is data that can be deleted in the audio storage device 294, the dialog box 501 is not displayed, and the new audio is deleted. Set to record data. When the radio button 523 is selected, even if there is data that can be deleted in the voice storage device 294 in the external device output process that is executed next, the dialog box 501 is not displayed and the data is deleted without deleting the data. It is set to add and record various audio data.

When it is determined in step S88 that the display of the dialog box for confirming deletion of past data is not set, or in step S8
After the processing of step 9 is finished, in step S90, the reading control unit 301 is based on the setting in the dialog setting area 518 of the dialog box 501 described with reference to FIG. 39 or the user's operation input input in step S89. Then, it is determined whether the deletion of the past data is necessary.

If it is determined in step S90 that deletion of past data is necessary, in step S91 a data deletion process, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 40, is executed.

When it is determined in step S90 that deletion of past data is not necessary, or after the processing of step S91 is completed, in step S92, the reading control unit 301 outputs the corresponding voice data as an output target. The audio storage device 294, which is an external device, is converted into a format corresponding to the format.

[0295] That is, the read-aloud control unit 301 outputs the voice data, which is instructed to be output externally, recorded in the voice database 312 via the external device output unit 315.
A control signal to be output to the data conversion unit 314 is generated and output to the reproduction control unit 311, and the audio storage device 294.
A control signal for converting the data into a format corresponding to is generated and output to the data conversion unit 314. The reproduction control unit 311 retrieves corresponding audio data from the audio database 312 according to the input control signal, and the data conversion unit 314 via the external device output unit 315.
The data conversion unit 314 exchanges information with the data conversion module 293 to convert the input voice data into a corresponding data format, if necessary.
It is supplied to the external device output unit 315.

In step S93, the external device output section 315 outputs the converted data to the external device, that is, the voice storage device 294 via the external device output module 293, and the process is terminated.

If it is determined in step S82 that the external output target device is not detected, step S82.
At 94, the reading control unit 301 generates a control signal for outputting an error message, and G via the mail watcher application control unit 281
It is output to the UI control unit 283. The GUI control unit 283
The error message is output and displayed on the LCD 25, and the process ends.

With the above processing, the voice data generated by converting the text data is converted into the voice storage device 29.
4, that is, the memory stick 131, the PDA 4, the camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5, the portable music player 271, or the like, is output to and recorded on an external device or a recording medium.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 40, the data deleting process executed in step S91 of FIG. 38 will be described.

In step S101, the external device output section 315 receives the external device output module 293,
Voice storage device 294, that is, Memory Stick 1
The number L of files recorded in a target external device or recording medium such as 31, PDA 4, camera-equipped digital mobile phone 5, or portable music player 271 is detected.

The external device output section 315 operates in step S10.
2, the register value i indicating the number of songs being deleted
Is set to i = 0, and it is determined in step S103 whether the register value i is i <the number of files L.

When it is determined in step S103 that the register value i is i <the number of files L, in step S104, the external device output unit 315 determines that the i-th file has data indicating the artist name. ,
Get that data.

In step S105, the external device output unit 315 determines that the data indicating the artist name acquired in step S104 has a predetermined name (here, "ON".
SEI ”).

When it is determined in step S105 that the acquired data indicating the artist name is a predetermined name, in step S106 the external device output unit 3
15 deletes the i-th file.

If it is determined in step S105 that the acquired data indicating the artist name is not the predetermined name, or after the processing in step S106 is completed, in step S107 the external device output unit 315 is output.
Sets the register value i to i = i + 1, the process returns to step S103, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

If it is determined in step S103 that the register value i is not i <the number of files L, that is, if it is determined that the processing for all files has been completed, the processing is step S92 in FIG. Return to.

As described above, in the present invention,
By determining whether or not the user is present in front of the personal computer 2, it is possible to prevent the user from reading the e-mail while the user is not present, so that it is possible to protect the privacy of the user.

Also, a GUI that is easy for the user to understand
By providing, the setting process by the user is facilitated, and the operability is dramatically improved.

The present invention is not limited to the notebook type personal computer 2 and can be realized by the PDA 4 and the camera-equipped digital portable telephone 5. In that case, the CPU 171 of the PDA 4 or the main control unit 251 of the digital mobile phone with camera 5 executes the same processing as the above-mentioned processing.

Furthermore, the present invention is a desktop type personal computer, PHS (Personal Handyphone Sy).
stem) terminal device, digital mobile phone without imaging function, car navigation system, and the like, and can be applied to all devices that send or receive mail.

The series of processes described above can also be executed by software. The software is, for example, a general-purpose personal computer, in which a program that constitutes the software is installed in dedicated hardware, or various functions can be executed by installing various programs. Installed from the recording medium.

This recording medium is shown in FIG. 6 or FIG.
As shown in, a magnetic disk 121 or 191 (including a flexible disk) on which the program is recorded and an optical disk 122 or 19 which is distributed to provide the program to the user separately from the computer.
2 (CD ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), DVD
(Including Digital Versatile Disc), magneto-optical disc 123 or 193 (including MD (Mini Disc) (trademark)), or package medium including semiconductor memory 124 or 194.

Further, in the present specification, the steps for writing the program recorded on the recording medium are not limited to the processing performed in time series according to the order described, but may not necessarily be performed in time series. It also includes processing executed in parallel or individually.

In this specification, the system means
It represents the entire apparatus composed of a plurality of devices.

[0315]

According to the information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the program of the present invention, the time for automatically receiving an electronic mail is set, the electronic mail is received, and the text data of the received electronic mail is input. In response, the voice synthesis is executed, the voice data corresponding to the text data is generated, the presence or absence of the user is detected, and the voice corresponding to the generated voice data is output. It is possible to prevent the e-mail from being read aloud and protect the privacy of the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining how to send and receive electronic mail and web page data.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the personal computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a main body of the personal computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of a jog dial of the personal computer of FIG.

5 is a right side view showing the configuration of the right side surface of the personal computer in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of the personal computer in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an appearance of a PDA.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an appearance of a PDA attached to a cradle.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an appearance of a PDA.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram for explaining an internal configuration of a PDA.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an appearance of a digital mobile phone with a camera.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an appearance of a camera unit of a digital mobile phone with a camera.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital mobile phone with a camera.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining information sharing using a memory stick.

FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram when a mail watcher application is activated.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an electronic mail in text format.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining an electronic mail in HTML format.

[Fig. 18] Fig. 18 is a diagram for describing a tag of an HTML e-mail.

FIG. 19 is a more detailed functional block diagram of the reading management module in FIG. 15.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a command box of the mail watcher application.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a setting window displayed when a mail tab is selected.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining a setting window displayed when a reading tab is selected.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining a voice setting window displayed when a detail button is selected.

FIG. 24 is a diagram for describing a voice creation window displayed when a new voice creation button is selected.

FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining a user word dictionary tool window displayed when a user dictionary button is selected.

FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining a word addition window displayed when an add button is selected.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a setting window displayed when an output tab is selected for external device / media.

FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining a setting window displayed when the Other tab is selected.

FIG. 29 is a flow chart for explaining processing 1 of the mail watcher.

[Fig. 30] Fig. 30 is a flowchart for describing a process 1 of the mail watcher.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an operation input for instructing the output of unread mail.

FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining a text display window.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart for explaining processing 2 of the mail watcher.

[Fig. 34] Fig. 34 is a flowchart for describing the process 2 of the mail watcher.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart for explaining a reading voice setting process.

FIG. 36 is a diagram for explaining a header of an electronic mail.

[Fig. 37] Fig. 37 is a flowchart for describing voice reproduction processing.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart illustrating an external device output process.

FIG. 39 is a diagram for explaining a dialog box.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart illustrating a data deletion process.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 personal computer, 4 PDA, 5 digital mobile phone with camera, 51 CPU, 131 memory stick, 171 CPU, 251 main controller, 271 portable music player, 281 mail watcher application controller, 282 MAPI
Mailer, 283 GUI control unit, 284 mail filter, 286 HTML tag filter, 389 absence check module, 301 Reading control unit, 2
06 Text analysis unit, 308 Speech synthesis unit, 309
Phoneme database, 310 voice setting unit, 311
Playback control unit, 313 file output unit, 312 data conversion unit, 315 external device output unit, 316 text display unit, 331 setting window

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yasuhiko Kato             6-735 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Soni             -Inside the corporation

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A setting means for setting a time of automatic reception of an electronic mail, a receiving means for receiving the electronic mail, and a text input means for receiving text data of the electronic mail received by the receiving means. A voice generating unit that executes voice synthesis to generate voice data corresponding to the text data; a detecting unit that detects whether or not the user is present in the vicinity; and the voice generated by the voice generating unit. An information processing apparatus comprising: a voice output unit that outputs a voice corresponding to data. 2. The receiving means receives the electronic mail based on the setting of the automatic reception time set by the setting means, and the detecting means receives the electronic mail by the detecting means. In this case, it is detected whether or not the user is present in the vicinity, and the voice output means outputs a voice corresponding to the voice data when the detection means detects that the user is present in the vicinity. It outputs, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
The information processing device according to 1. 3. The detecting means detects whether or not the user is present in the vicinity when the automatic reception time set by the setting means has come, and the receiving means uses the detecting means. When the presence of the user is detected, the email is received, and the voice output unit outputs a voice corresponding to the voice data when the email is received. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting unit detects that the user is not in the vicinity when the operation input from the user is not received for a certain period of time. 5. An image pickup means for picking up an image in the vicinity is further provided, and the detecting means detects whether or not the user is in the vicinity based on the image picked up by the image pickup means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 6. A temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature in the vicinity is further provided, and the detecting means detects whether or not the user is present in the vicinity based on the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 7. An infrared detecting means for detecting infrared rays is further provided, and the detecting means detects whether or not the user is present in the vicinity based on the infrared rays detected by the infrared detecting means. The information processing device according to claim 1. 8. A setting step for setting a time of automatic reception of an electronic mail, a receiving step for receiving the electronic mail, and a text input for receiving text data of the electronic mail received by the processing of the receiving step. And a voice generation step of performing voice synthesis to generate voice data corresponding to the text data, a detection step of detecting whether or not the user is in the vicinity, and a voice generation step. A voice output step of outputting a voice corresponding to the generated voice data. 9. A setting step for setting a time for automatic reception of an electronic mail, a receiving step for receiving the electronic mail, and a text input for receiving text data of the electronic mail received by the processing of the receiving step. And a voice generation step of performing voice synthesis to generate voice data corresponding to the text data, a detection step of detecting whether or not the user is in the vicinity, and a voice generation step. And a voice output step of outputting a voice corresponding to the generated voice data. A recording medium having a computer-readable program recorded thereon. 10. A setting step for setting a time of automatic reception of an electronic mail, a receiving step for receiving the electronic mail, and a text input for receiving an input of text data of the electronic mail received by the process of the receiving step. And a voice generation step of performing voice synthesis to generate voice data corresponding to the text data, a detection step of detecting whether or not the user is in the vicinity, and a voice generation step. And a voice output step of outputting a voice corresponding to the generated voice data, the program causing a computer to execute the process.