JP2003219446A - Guide system, and transmitter and receiver used therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a guide system with which a user can always listen to a voice message from its beginning. <P>SOLUTION: The guide system for providing a voice message of a subject to users is provided with transmitters 1 provided on appropriate points with respect to the subject and receivers 2 each carried by the users. Each of the transmitters is provided with a transmission recording section for storing voice messages, and transmitting section for reading the messages from the recording section to transmit the messages to the receivers 2. Each of the receivers 2 is provided with a receiving section for receiving voice messages transmitted from each of the transmitters 1, a reproducing section for taking out the messages, a reception recording section for storing the messages, and an output section for reading the messages from the reception recording section to reproduce the messages. The messages are read out from the transmission recording section at a speed higher than a speed at which messages are reproduced by the output section. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a guide system in which a user can listen to explanations and guidance of paintings in museums and historic spots of tourist attractions on a mobile terminal.
More specifically, the mobile terminal can receive high-speed explanations and guidance transmitted from a transmitter installed at an appropriate place near a painting or a historic site so that users can always hear the explanations and guidance from the beginning. Guide system and transmitter and receiver used in the system

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In museums and tourist spots, a guide system is widely used in which a user can listen to explanations and guidance of pictures, historic spots, etc. on a portable terminal. As such a guide system, for example, in the case of a museum, a transmitter installed in the vicinity of each of the exhibited paintings periodically transmits a description of each painting, and when the user comes near the painting, the mobile terminal There is something to receive at and listen to the explanation.

However, in such a conventional guide system, the transmitter transmits the explanation and guidance in accordance with the period in which the user listens to the explanation and guidance once, so that the transmitter is installed in the middle of the explanation and guidance. There was a problem that the person who came to was unable to hear the explanation and guidance from the beginning.

As another system, a number is assigned to each of the paintings and historic spots, and the explanation and guidance of the paintings and historic spots are stored in the storage device in the mobile terminal together with the number attached to the paintings and historic spots. Incidentally, there is also known a system in which only the number information is transmitted from the transmitter, and when the number information is received by the mobile terminal, the explanation or guidance corresponding to the number information is reproduced. However, this system requires the storage and storage of explanations and guides for all of the paintings and historic spots on display in the mobile terminal, which inevitably requires the use of a large-capacity storage device. There is a problem that

Moreover, when a painting or a landmark is added or changed, it is necessary to rewrite the contents stored in the storage devices of all mobile terminals. In particular, since a large museum or the like has 1000 or more mobile terminals, rewriting all of these mobile terminals requires considerable labor and cost.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned various problems, and an object of the present invention is to allow a user to receive a voice message by transmitting a voice message at high speed from a transmitter. It is an object to provide a guide system capable of always listening to a message from the beginning and a transmitter and a receiver used in the system.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is an invention corresponding to the first embodiment explained with reference to FIGS. Is a guide system for providing a user with a voice message such as a description or guidance about the target, and a guide system including a transmitter installed at an appropriate place for the target and a receiver carried by the user. In the system, the transmitter comprises: a transmission memory unit for storing the voice message; and a transmission unit for reading the voice message from the transmission memory unit and transmitting the voice message to the receiver. Receiving means for receiving the voice message transmitted from the machine, receiving memory means for storing the voice message output from the receiving means, and the receiving memory means, Output means for reading and reproducing the voice message stored therein, wherein the reading of the voice message from the transmission memory means is performed at a speed higher than a speed at which the voice message is reproduced by the output means. To provide a guide system.

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the receiving area capable of receiving the contents transmitted from the transmitter is limited to the vicinity of the target, and in the invention of claim 3, the transmitter is It is characterized in that the receiving area capable of receiving the contents transmitted from is arranged so as not to overlap with the receiving areas of other transmitters.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a transmitter that can be used in the guide system according to the first aspect, wherein the receiver receives a voice message and the transmitter receives and stores the voice message from the receiver. A recording unit and a transmission unit that reads the voice message from the transmission recording unit and transmits the voice message to a receiver are provided. When the voice message is read from the transmission recording unit, the voice message is reproduced to a user. A transmitter, which is characterized in that it is operated at a higher speed than that of the transmitter.

Further, the invention of claim 5 is a receiver which can be used in the guide system according to claim 1, and which comprises a receiver for receiving a voice message transmitted from the transmitter,
A receiver comprising: a reception recording unit that stores a voice message output from the reception unit; and an output unit that reads out and reproduces the voice message stored therein from the reception recording unit, I will provide a.

The invention according to claim 6 is an invention corresponding to the second embodiment described with reference to FIG. 5, and provides a guide message for providing a user with a voice message such as explanation or guidance about a predetermined object. A guide system comprising a transmitter installed at an appropriate location with respect to the target and a receiver carried by the user, wherein the transmitter has a transmission memory means for storing the voice message. A first transmission means for reading the voice message from the transmission memory means and transmitting it to the receiver, and a second transmission means for transmitting a control signal for specifying the target to the receiver, A first receiving means for receiving the voice message transmitted from the transmitter, and a second receiving means for receiving the control signal transmitted from the transmitter. The second memory comprises: a receiving memory unit for storing the voice message output from the first receiving unit; and an output unit for reading out and reproducing the voice message corresponding to the control signal from the receiving memory unit. The guide system is characterized in that the receiving area capable of receiving the contents transmitted from the transmitting means is limited to the vicinity of the target.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, one embodiment of a guide system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a guide system according to the present embodiment. A guide system 100 includes transmitters 1a, 1b, 1c, ... Installed in the vicinity of respective exhibited paintings.
.. 1n and a receiver 2 carried by the user, which can be wirelessly coupled to any of the transmitters 1a to 1n by radio waves, infrared rays, magnetism, or the like.

Each of the transmitters 1a, 1b, 1c, ...
.. or 1n creates a digital audio signal from the description of the painting by voice, stores the digital audio signal, and transmits the digital audio signal to the receiver 2 at high speed. The period during which the digital audio signal is transmitted from the transmitter 1 is preferably 1/10 to 1/100 of the period from when the description of the painting starts at the receiver to when it ends, and the transmission frequency is, for example, 1 second. Everything.

Transmitters 1a, 1b, 1c, ..., 1n
Are corresponding reception areas 3a, 3b, 3c ,.
..., having 3n, each transmitter 1a, 1b, 1c, ...
.. or 1n is received when the receiver 2 enters the receiving area 3a, 3b, 3c, ... Or 3n. That is, reception area 3
The directivities and the reception electric field strengths of the transmission antennas of the transmitters 1a to 1n are defined such that the a to 3n are arranged so that the reception areas adjacent to each other do not overlap each other or are limited to the vicinity of the painting. For this reason, the user carrying the receiver 2 may receive a message from one transmitter, for example, the reception area 3b of the transmitter 1b.
Upon entering, the digital audio signal transmitted from the transmitter 1b is received at high speed and recorded in the recording unit (FIG. 2), and is reproduced to obtain the explanation by the voice of the painting. Then, when the user moves to the adjacent painting and enters the reception area 3c of the transmitter 1c, the digital audio signal from the transmitter 1b is discarded,
The digital audio signal from the transmitter 1c is newly received.
In this way, the receiver 2 detects the change in the received electric field intensity due to the movement of the user, and the recorded contents are updated and reproduced, so that the appropriate guide contents can be provided to the user.

All the transmitters 1a to 1n have the same structure. Therefore, taking the transmitter 1a as an example, FIG. 2 schematically shows an example of the configuration. As shown in FIG.
The a includes a receiver 10, an A / D converter 11, a recorder 12, a transmitter 13, an antenna 14, and a controller 15. The receiving unit 10 includes a microphone and an amplifier, and outputs an analog voice signal representing a description of a painting given by voice. The analog voice signal output from the earpiece 10 is A /
The recording unit 1 converts the digital audio signal by the D conversion unit 11.
Accumulated in 2. Therefore, in order to give the user an explanation of the painting while the museum is open, the control unit 15
The digital audio signal corresponding to the description of the painting is recorded by the recording unit 1.
2 is confirmed, the transmitting unit 13 is periodically activated, the digital audio signal is read from the recording unit 12 and subjected to predetermined modulation, and the receiver 2 at regular intervals via the antenna 14. To send to. At this time, the transmitter 13
A start signal is inserted at the beginning of the digital audio signal and an end signal is inserted at the end thereof. Thus, the digital signal including the start signal, the digital audio signal, and the end signal is transmitted by the transmitter 1.
3 is sent.

The interval at which the transmission unit 13 transmits is determined by the length of the digital audio signal, and the transmission unit 13 transmits the digital audio signal at a speed of 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps, for example. As a result, the transmission of the digital audio signal is 1/10 to 1/1 / the time required for actually explaining the painting.
It can be completed in about 100 hours. When this is schematically shown in FIG. 4, the time (a) required for the transmitter 1a to transmit a voice message once is equal to the time (b) required for the receiver 2 to explain a painting once. It is extremely short in comparison.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of the receiver 2 used in the guide system of FIG. As shown in the figure, the receiver 2 carried by the user includes an antenna 20, a reception unit 21, a recording unit 22, a D / A conversion unit 23,
The audio output unit 24 and the control unit 25 are provided. The receiving unit 21 has a function of detecting the received electric field strength of the digital audio signal.

In FIG. 3, when the modulated digital audio signal is transmitted from the antennas 14 of the transmitters 1a to 1n, the user carrying the receiver 2 exits from any one of the reception areas and other reception areas. For example, when entering the reception area 3a of the transmitter 1a, the modulated digital audio signal from the transmitter 1a is received by the antenna 20 of the receiver 2 and supplied to the reception unit 21. Therefore, the receiving unit 2
1 detects that it has entered a new reception area 3a, discards the digital audio signal previously recorded in the recording unit 22, and uses the start signal and the end signal of the digital signal from the transmitter 1a. Then, the digital audio signal sandwiched between them is extracted and temporarily recorded in the recording unit 22. As the recording unit 22, any rewritable digital recording medium can be used.

When the recording of the digital audio signal in the recording unit 22 is completed, the control unit 26 detects the completion of the recording and then starts to read the digital audio signal stored therein from the recording unit 22. The read digital audio signal is converted into an analog audio signal by the D / A conversion unit 23 and given to the audio output unit 24. The reading of the digital audio signal from the recording unit 22 is performed at a speed at which the audio output unit 24 reproduces the audio at a speed at which the user can understand the description of the painting. The voice output unit 24 amplifies the given analog voice signal and gives it to the earphone or the headset.
This allows the user to always hear the description of the painting from the beginning.

Instead of detecting the completion of recording and automatically starting reproduction as described above, the receiver 2 is provided with an input unit 26 for the user to manually start reproduction, and the control unit 25 is provided. To detect that the playback start is instructed, or in addition to the transmission of the digital audio signal from each transmitter, send out a signal instructing the guide playback and detect that it is received. Alternatively, the reproduction may be started.

Depending on the capacity of the recording unit 22 of the receiver 2, when the user moves from one painting to the next painting, the digital audio signal previously recorded in the recording unit 22 is deleted and a new one is added. The digital audio signal may be written, or new digital audio signals may be sequentially written in the remaining capacity of the recording unit 22.

What has been described so far about the guide system of the museum is that the contents transmitted from the transmitter 1 to the receiver 2 are changed, and not only the explanation and guidance of the historic sites at the tourist spots but also various It can also be applied to explanations and guidance to visitors at facilities and equipment.

In the embodiment described so far,
Each transmitter only transmitted a digital audio signal that describes one of its paintings. Instead, one transmitter may transmit multiple different digital audio signals at the same time. You may In the guide system shown in FIG. 5, each transmitter 1a, 1b, 1c, ...
... or 1n simultaneously transmits two different digital audio signals, that is, a digital audio signal related to the painting that is the subject of explanation and a digital audio signal related to the painting next to it. For example, the transmitter 1a simultaneously transmits a digital audio signal regarding the painting 5a, which is the subject of explanation for itself, and a digital audio signal regarding the painting 5b adjacent thereto, and the transmitter 1b next thereto is the subject of explanation for itself. The digital audio signal relating to the painting 5b and the digital audio signal relating to the painting 5c adjacent thereto are simultaneously transmitted.

Therefore, in FIG. 5, when the user carrying the receiver 2 enters through the entrance and enters the reception area 3a created by the transmitter 1a, the receiver 2 displays the painting 5
When the user enters the small audio area 4a in the receiving area 3a after receiving the digital audio signal related to a and storing it in the recording unit, the digital audio signal related to the painting 5a starts to be read out from the recording unit and is received at the same time. Machine 2 is painting 5b
And receives and records the digital audio signal regarding to the recording unit. After that, when the user enters the adjacent small reception area 4b, the receiver 2 reads the digital audio signal regarding the painting 5b and records the digital audio signal regarding the adjacent painting 5c in the recording unit. As a result, the reproduction process can be started more quickly than when the reception is started after approaching the painting, and this embodiment is effective when the communication speed between the transmitter and the receiver cannot be sufficiently secured. Is.

In order to realize this, the received digital audio signal should not be reproduced as it is, but the digital audio signal relating to the picture which the receiver approaches must be reproduced. Therefore, each transmitter 1a, 1b, 1
c, ... Or 1n adds an identification number indicating which picture is related to each of the digital signals to be transmitted, and transmits a control signal representing the identification number to the small reception area 4a. , 4b, 4c, ... Or 4n. As the identification number, a unique number assigned to each painting, for example, "5a" can be used. Therefore, the receiver discriminates into which sub-reception area it entered, and reproduces the digital audio signal related to the sub-reception area. The identification numbers may be transmitted by the transmitters 1a to 1n, or the identification numbers may be transmitted from a transmitter other than these transmitters.

Although some embodiments of the guide system and the transmitter and receiver used for the guide system according to the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, in the explanation so far,
The signal for distinguishing the start and end of the digital signal is transmitted together with the digital audio signal. Instead of this, the digital audio signal for each painting is
One file may be treated as one file, and this file may be transmitted from the transmitter by packet communication, for example, and this file may be recorded and reproduced by the receiver.

In the above description, the digital signal is transmitted from the transmitter 1 to the receiver 2.
Instead of this, the carrier wave modulated by the analog audio signal may be transmitted from the transmitter 1. At this time, the A / D converter 11 and the D / A converter 22 are unnecessary.

[0028]

As will be understood from the detailed description of one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is
(1) It is not necessary to rewrite the recording unit of the receiver even if the object of explanation or guidance is added or changed, so it is possible to save the time and effort of rewriting, and significantly reduce the cost. (2) The user can always listen to voice messages from the beginning,
(3) If the receiving area is limited to the vicinity of the target or if the receiving areas are installed in the vicinity of the target so as not to overlap with each other, it is possible to surely determine that the user has moved from one target to another. There is an effect that can be.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an embodiment of a guide system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of a configuration of a transmitter used in the system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of a configuration of a receiver used in the system of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the transmitter shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining another embodiment of the guide system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100: Guide system 1, 1a-1n: Transmitter, 2: Receiver, 3a-3n: Reception area, 4a
~ 4n: Small reception area

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A guide system for providing a user with a voice message such as an explanation or guidance about a predetermined object, comprising a transmitter installed at an appropriate place for the object and a reception carried by the user. With a machine
In the system, the transmitter includes: a transmission memory unit that stores the voice message; and a transmission unit that reads the voice message from the transmission memory unit and transmits the voice message to the receiver. Receiving means for receiving the voice message transmitted from the machine, receiving memory means for storing the voice message output from the receiving means, and reading and reproducing the voice message stored therein from the receiving memory means. And outputting the voice message from the transmission memory means.
A guide system characterized in that the output is performed at a speed higher than the speed at which the voice message is reproduced. 2. The guide system according to claim 1, wherein a reception area capable of receiving the content transmitted from the transmitter is limited to the vicinity of the target. . 3. The guide system according to claim 1, wherein the resin value rear capable of receiving the contents transmitted from the transmitter is arranged so as not to overlap with the reception areas of other transmitters. Guide system characterized by. 4. A transmitter that can be used in the guide system according to claim 1, comprising: a receiver that receives a voice message, a transmission recorder that receives and stores the voice message from the receiver, A transmission unit for reading a voice message from the transmission recording unit and transmitting the voice message to a receiver, wherein the reading of the voice message from the transmission recording unit is faster than the speed at which the voice message is reproduced to the user. Transmitter characterized by being performed in. 5. A receiver that can be used in the guide system according to claim 1, wherein a receiver receives a voice message transmitted from a transmitter, and a voice message output from the receiver is stored. A receiver comprising: a reception / recording unit that performs the above-described operation; and an output unit that reads out and reproduces a voice message stored therein from the reception / recording unit. 6. A guide system for providing a user with a voice message such as an explanation or guidance about a predetermined object, comprising a transmitter installed at an appropriate place for the object and a reception carried by the user. With a machine
In the system, the transmitter includes a transmission memory unit that stores the voice message, a first transmission unit that reads the voice message from the transmission memory unit and transmits the voice message to the receiver, and a control signal that specifies the target. Second transmitting means for transmitting to the receiver, the receiver receiving the voice message transmitted from the transmitter, first receiving means, and the transmitter transmitted from the transmitter. Second receiving control signal
Receiving means for storing the voice message output from the first receiving means, and output means for reading and reproducing the voice message corresponding to the control signal from the reception memory means. A guide system, comprising: a reception area capable of receiving the content transmitted from the second transmission means, in the vicinity of the target.