JP2004064640A - Communication terminal device with character display function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication terminal device with character display function, in which a caller can have conversation with his/her conversation party without talking verbally by creating conversation sentences using characters or character strings, and transmitting them as a voice signal to the conversation party when the caller is in an environment that he/she cannot talk verbally in making conversation over a telephone. <P>SOLUTION: The communication terminal device reads out the characters and/or the character strings stored in a character string storage RAM 106, and generates a recitation tone signal based on the recitation tone of the characters and/or the character strings by a voice signal generating program stored in a system ROM 102. Then, the device accumulates at least the recitation tone signal in a voice accumulation RAM 105 or the like, and transfers the recitation tone signal to voice signal transmitting means by a transmission section 107. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a voice communication terminal device such as a computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a portable telephone connected to a network that enables a silent voice communication at the start of a voice call or during a voice call.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The voice call is not limited to the use form using the wired call line, but the PC (Personal Computer), the portable information terminal (PDA Personal Digital Assistants), and the portable telephone using the Internet line and the wireless call due to the progress of the communication network technology. And so on in various forms.
[0003]
In a voice call terminal device, a caller speaks toward a microphone, and a voice from a call partner is heard by a speaker (or an earphone) so that a real-time conversation is performed.
[0004]
For this reason, in a conventional voice communication terminal device, in a public place such as a conference room, a movie theater, or a train where silence is required, the power is turned off, the call is not answered even if there is an incoming call, or the answering machine responds. You must turn on the function and record the message of the other party.
[0005]
In a conventional voice call terminal device, if a non-response is made when a call is received, in this case, the caller cannot acquire a message from the callee at all. In addition, if the caller's telephone number is notified, the caller can return to the telephone and ask for the message later, but when the message is urgent, the response may be delayed.
[0006]
For this reason, in an environment where the incoming call should be barred, the voice mail terminal device can turn on the answering machine function to record the message of the caller and listen to the voice afterwards. However, also in this case, since the caller cannot talk to the caller in real time, he / she may not be able to cope when the caller's business is urgent.
[0007]
In order to solve such inconvenience, when the dial operation key is operated on the other party's telephone, the same dial operation key operates on the own telephone, and as a result, the message assigned to the dial operation key 2. Description of the Related Art A communication terminal device capable of performing a silent call is known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-355404). Thereby, by setting a specific character string with the dial operation key in advance with the other party of the call, it is possible to make a silent call by checking the character string by the movement of the dial operation key, If a text message has been created by the key operation of the other party, the text message can be displayed on the display.
[0008]
In addition, a communication in which the answering machine response is input in advance in a character code and stored in a storage means, and when an incoming call is received, a character code string is synthesized by voice and a voice message corresponding to the character code string is transmitted to the sender. Terminal devices are also known. (See JP-A-2000-216875).
[0009]
Further, in an environment where the use of a portable telephone is restricted, such as in a train, a silent response system is also known in which a reply message is prepared in a telephone exchange, designated and transmitted to a caller ( See Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-205437).
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-355404, it is possible to visually confirm a message and create a response message with a degree of freedom. In addition, it takes time and effort to set a specific character string corresponding to the operation key, and there is a risk of erroneous operation because the operation is different for each setter. In addition, the sender must input and output conversations by operating keys, which is inconvenient, even though the sender can speak.
[0011]
Further, according to the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-216875, the sender can receive a message by voice, but the voice message is preliminarily associated with a symbol and standardized, and the number of messages is limited. There is a problem that can not communicate in the.
[0012]
Further, in the technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-205439, the receiving side listens to the voice from the transmitting side via the earphone, and the content cannot be visually confirmed with characters or the like. In addition, since a stylized response message is used, the content is fixed, and it is not possible to send a message according to the received content.
[0013]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to create a conversational sentence of characters or character strings and transmit it as an audio signal to the other party in an environment where the caller cannot make a speech when making a telephone call, so that the caller can speak. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication terminal device with a text communication function that allows a user to have a conversation with a communication partner without having to perform the communication.
[0014]
Another object of the present invention is to create a text or character string conversation from a voice signal received from a caller and display the same on a display means when the caller is in an environment where they cannot hear when making a telephone call. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a communication terminal device with a text communication function that enables a caller to talk with the call partner without listening to (or generating) voice from the call partner.
[0015]
Still another object of the present invention is to create a conversational sentence of characters or character strings as an audio signal and communicate it to the other party in a situation where the caller cannot speak and hear when making a telephone call. By creating a sentence in characters or character strings from the voice signal transmitted and received from the other party and displaying it on the display means, the party can hear (or generate) the voice from the other party without speaking. It is another object of the present invention to provide a communication terminal device with a text communication function that allows a user to have a conversation with the other party without performing the communication.
[0016]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A communication terminal device with a character call function according to the present invention includes an operation unit, a display unit, a voice input unit for inputting a voice of a caller, and a voice signal relating to the voice input from the voice input unit. Voice signal transmitting means for transmitting the voice signal of the other party, voice signal receiving means for receiving the voice signal, voice output means for outputting the voice signal received by the voice signal receiving means as voice, at least the operation A character / character string storage means for storing the character and / or character string as the call information manually input from the means, and the character / character string storage means for storing the manually input character and / or character string; Reading voice signal generation means for reading a character and / or a character string and generating a voice signal concerning the reading voice of the character and / or the character string; Audio signal storage means for storing the read audio signal generated by the only audio signal generation means, and read audio signal transfer means for transferring the read audio signal stored in the audio signal storage means to the audio signal transmission means. It is characterized by the following.
[0017]
In addition, the communication terminal device with a character call function of the present invention includes an operation unit, a display unit, a voice input unit into which a voice of a caller is input, and a voice signal related to the voice input from the voice input unit. Voice signal transmitting means for transmitting to the other party, voice signal receiving means for receiving a voice signal relating to the voice of the other party, voice output means for outputting the voice signal received by the voice signal receiving means as voice, at least, Character and / or character string storage means for storing manually input characters and / or character strings as characters and / or character strings as call information manually input from the operation means, and stored in the character and / or character string storage means Reading voice signal generating means for reading a character and / or a character string, and generating a voice signal relating to a reading voice of the character and / or the character string; An audio signal storage unit that stores the read audio signal generated by the read audio signal generation unit, a read audio signal transfer unit that transfers the read audio signal stored in the audio signal storage unit to the audio signal transmission unit, A receiving voice signal storing means for storing a voice signal received by the voice signal receiving means; reading a voice signal stored in the receiving voice signal storing means; And a pronunciation corresponding character string transfer unit for transferring the pronunciation corresponding character string generated by the pronunciation corresponding character string generation unit to the display unit.
[0018]
In the above-mentioned communication terminal device with a character call function, the character string stored in the character / character string storage means may be included in a fixed-form character string prepared in advance, and / or the reading stored in the voice signal storage means may be included. The audio signal can include an audio signal relating to a pre-created standard read audio. Further, in the communication terminal device with a text communication function described above, the fixed character string stored in the fixed character string and / or the fixed reading voice stored in the voice signal storage unit is associated with a specific symbol. be able to. Further, in the communication terminal device with a text call function, the fixed character string stored in the fixed character string and / or the fixed read voice stored in the voice signal storage means are stored in the operating means and the display means. And can be stored so that it can be read.
[0019]
Further, the communication terminal device with a character call function of the present invention includes an operation unit, a display unit, a voice input unit for inputting a voice of a caller, and a voice signal relating to the voice input from the voice input unit. Voice signal transmitting means for transmitting to the other party, voice signal receiving means for receiving a voice signal relating to the voice of the other party, voice output means for outputting the voice signal received by the voice signal receiving means as voice, A receiving voice signal storing means for storing a voice signal received by the signal receiving means; and reading a voice signal stored in the receiving voice signal storing means, and generating a sound-corresponding character or a sound-corresponding character string of the voice related to the voice signal. A pronunciation-corresponding character string generating means for generating, and a pronunciation-corresponding character string transfer means for transferring the pronunciation-corresponding character string generated by the pronunciation-corresponding character string generating means to the display means. Characterized by comprising and.
[0020]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a hardware block diagram showing one embodiment of a communication terminal device with a text communication function of the present invention.
[0021]
In FIG. 1, a communication terminal device 1 with a text call function is a mobile phone, and includes a CPU 101, a system ROM 102, a work RAM (system RAM) 103, a user RAM 104, a voice storage RAM 105, a character string storage RAM 106, a transmission unit 107, and a reception unit. 108, an operation I / F (interface) 109, key buttons 110, a display I / F 111, a display 112, a microphone I / F 113, a microphone 114, a speaker I / F 115, and a speaker 116. In FIG. 1, these are connected to a bus 100. In FIG. 1, components such as a clock, a power supply, and a vibrator that are not necessary for understanding the present invention are not shown.
[0022]
The CPU 101 controls the entire mobile phone 1. As shown in FIG. 2, in the system ROM 102, based on a system program (operating system, various drivers, etc.), a read voice signal generation program, a voice-compatible character string generation program, a standard character string / standard voice utilization program, various application programs ( Communication programs, Internet connection programs, etc.). The read voice signal generation program and the CPU 101 correspond to a read voice signal generation unit of the present invention, and the voice-compatible character string generation program and the CPU 101 correspond to the voice-compatible character string generation of the present invention. In addition, the program for using a fixed-form character string and a fixed-form sound stores a used fixed-form character string and a fixed-form sound in a table as illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B described later, and uses symbols in a timely manner. A desired fixed character string or fixed sound can be called. Note that the system program includes the transfer program (corresponding to the audio signal transfer means) in the present invention.
[0023]
The work RAM 103 is used as a work area of the system. The user RAM 104 stores user input information such as a communication partner information list (so-called telephone directory) and user setting information.
[0024]
The voice storage RAM 105 stores, for example, a voice signal raw reading voice signal generated by a voice signal generation program and a voice signal received by the receiving unit (voice signal receiving means) 108. , Corresponding to the received voice signal storage means. The specific configuration of the audio signal storage means and the received audio signal storage means is not limited to FIG. For example, the audio signal generation program may be created on the work RAM 103 and sent to the transmission unit 107 without being stored in the audio storage RAM 105. In this case, the work RAM 103 and the audio storage RAM 105 store the audio signal. Corresponding to the means. Note that the voice storage RAM 105 may store, for example, a fixed reading voice at the time of shipment of the mobile phone, or may store a fixed reading voice created in advance by the user.
[0025]
The character string storage RAM 106 stores, for example, characters and / or character strings as call information manually input from the key buttons 110 via the operation I / F 109, and corresponds to the character / character string storage means of the present invention. I do. The specific configuration of the character / character string storage means is not limited to FIG. Note that the character string storage RAM 106 may store a fixed character string when the mobile phone is shipped, for example, or may store a fixed character string created in advance by the user.
[0026]
The transmitting unit 107 transmits a call signal (voice signal) to the other party, and corresponds to a voice signal transmitting unit of the present invention. The transmitting unit 107 can be connected to a network. When accessing a web site or the like on the network, the standard read voice can be downloaded to the voice storage RAM 105, and the standard character string can be downloaded to the character string storage RAM.
[0027]
The receiving unit 108 receives a call signal (voice signal) from a call partner, and corresponds to the voice signal receiving unit of the present invention as described above.
The operation I / F (interface) 109 and the key button 110 correspond to the operation means of the present invention. In the present embodiment, since the communication terminal device 1 is a portable telephone, the key button 110 is an operation device. For example, when the communication terminal device is a computer or a PDA, a keyboard, a mouse, an input pen, and the like are operated. Can also be used. From the key buttons 110, input / selection of a telephone number or an address, writing of data in a predetermined column of a so-called telephone directory, input / selection of transmission information, transmission instruction, etc. // A character string is manually input. The key button 110 is assigned a key for turning on / off the text communication function.
[0028]
The display I / F 111 and the display 112 correspond to display means of the present invention. The display 112 is usually constituted by a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an LED, but when the communication terminal device is a computer, a CRT can be used as a display means. The display 112 displays various settings made on the communication terminal device 1, characters and / or character strings as call information manually input from the operation unit 18, characters and / or characters called from the character string storage RAM 106. Columns are displayed.
[0029]
The microphone I / F 113 and the microphone 114 correspond to the voice input unit of the present invention. Further, the speaker I / F 115 and the speaker 116 correspond to a sound output unit of the present invention. Instead of the speaker 116, an earphone can be used.
[0030]
Although not shown in FIG. 1, the communication terminal device 1 may include a wired communication I / F such as a memory card drive or an infrared I / F. Further, for example, when the communication terminal device is a computer or a PDA, an I / F such as a memory card drive, a floppy disk drive, a hard disk drive, or a magneto-optical disk drive can be provided. Via these I / Fs, it is possible to take in a fixed reading voice or a fixed character string prepared by a communication terminal device maker or the like.
[0031]
FIGS. 3A and 3B show examples of tables of fixed character strings stored in the character string storage RAM 106. FIG. In the table of FIG. 3A, a fixed character string can be called by a designated symbol. In the table of FIG. 3B, a fixed character string used in the past is recorded for each telephone number of the communication partner, and a desired fixed character string is transmitted to the communication partner during a call using the designated symbol. be able to. In addition, a short message (phrase) such as “Yes.” Or “No.” and a part of speech unit such as a noun or an adjective may be registered, and these may be connected.
[0032]
The text communication function (voice input character display function) at the time of reception by the communication device 1 of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
Here, it is assumed that the voice input character display function is turned on in advance. The voice input character display function can be turned on before there is an incoming call, or can be turned on by confirming the other party after receiving the incoming call.
[0033]
It is monitored whether or not a voice has been received (S101). If no voice has been received, it is further monitored whether or not the voice input character display function has been turned off (S102), and if the voice input character display function has been turned off. Shifts to normal voice reception (S103).
[0034]
When the voice signal is received, the voice signal is stored in the voice storage RAM 105 (S104). Next, the reading voice signal generation program in the system ROM 102 converts the voice signal into a voice-compatible character string (S105), and the voice-compatible character string is displayed on the display 112 (S106).
[0035]
The character communication function (character input voice transmission function) at the time of transmission by the communication device 1 of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, it is assumed that the character input voice transmission function is turned on in advance. The character input voice transmission function can be turned on before there is an incoming call, or it can be checked and turned on after receiving an incoming call, as in the case of the voice input character display function in FIG. It is.
[0036]
Here, it is assumed that the character input voice transmission function is turned on. In this case, when the character input from the key button 110 is not confirmed (S201) and the character input voice transmission function is turned off (S202), the process shifts to normal voice transmission (S203).
[0037]
When the character input is confirmed, the input character string is stored in the work RAM 103 (S204), and the input character string is converted into a reading voice signal (S205). This read voice signal is stored in the character string storage RAM 106 (S206), transferred to the transmission unit (S207), communicated from the transmission unit 197 to the communication partner (S208), and the process returns to S201.
[0038]
The caller (user) can select a desired fixed character string from the tables (FIGS. 3A and 3B) stored in the character string storage RAM 106 when inputting a message.
[0039]
Either the voice input character display function shown in FIG. 4 or the character input voice transmission function shown in FIG. 5 can be turned on, or both can be turned on at the same time.
[0040]
In the example of FIG. 5, the message to be read and transmitted as a voice signal to the other party is created by using the standard character string stored in the character string storage RAM 106, but by using the standard voice stored in the voice storage RAM 105. Can also be created. In this case, when a character or a character string input from the key button 110 is combined with the fixed voice stored in the voice storage RAM 105, different voice qualities are mixed in one message. For example, the standard voice stored in the voice storage RAM 105 is a voice generated by a caller (user) inputting voice, and a voice relating to a read voice signal generated from a character string is an artificial voice or a memory at factory shipment. If the message created by the caller includes a fixed voice in the case where the voice is a voice other than the caller stored in the other party, the call partner will hear an extremely unnatural voice mixed with a plurality of sound qualities. For this reason, the communication terminal device 1 can be provided with a function of converting the sound quality of the standard voice into the voice quality of the caller's voice. As a method of converting the voice of the caller into sound quality, a phoneme is created by sampling a sentence in which the caller has input 50 sounds such as "aiueo ..." Phonemes can be used. In this case, the intonation can be added to the character string voice using morphological analysis.
[0041]
FIG. 6 shows functional blocks of a speech generation device with intonation using morphological analysis. In FIG. 6, the intonation-added speech generating device 2 includes a morphological analysis unit 21, an intonation analysis unit 22, a basic intonation storage unit 23, a basic speech storage unit 24, and a synthesis unit 25.
[0042]
A character string is input to the morphological analysis unit 21 from an operation unit (such as the key / button 110 in FIG. 1), and the morphological analysis unit 21 analyzes the character string and analyzes a break in a sentence. Further, the intonation analyzing means 22 converts the characteristics of the utterance of the caller (user) from the sample voice (voice data when reading a specific document) input from the voice input means (such as the microphone 114 in FIG. 1). The analysis results (inflection information) are stored in the basic intonation storage means 23. The basic voice storage means 24 stores, for example, 50 phonemes from the sample voice.
[0043]
The synthesizing unit 25 acquires the message (character string) and the break information in the message from the morphological analysis unit 21, and stores the intonation information stored in the basic intonation storage unit 23 and the 50 tones stored in the basic voice storage unit 24. A message can be created from the phonemes of the above and output to the transmitting means (the transmitting unit 107 in FIG. 1).
[0044]
【The invention's effect】
In the communication terminal device according to the present invention, a character or a character string input from the operation means is read by the sound signal generation means, converted into a sound signal, and can be transmitted to the destination via the transmission means. , The call can be continued, and the other party is assured of the same call environment as the normal call.
[0045]
Further, in the communication terminal device of the present invention, the sound signal received from the receiving means can be displayed on the display means as a character or a character string by the sound-corresponding character string generating means, so that the user cannot use the speaker or the earphone. Even if there is a call, the call can be continued, and the other party is assured of the same call environment as the normal call.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a hardware block diagram showing an embodiment of a communication terminal device with a text communication function of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a system ROM.
FIG. 3A shows a table in which a fixed character string can be called by a designated symbol, and FIG. 3B shows a fixed character string used in the past recorded for each telephone number of a communication partner, and is designated. 5 shows a table capable of transmitting a desired fixed-form character string to a communication partner during a call using symbols.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a text communication function (voice input character display function) upon reception of the communication device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a text communication function (text input voice transmission function) at the time of transmission of the telephone device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a speech generation device with intonation using morphological analysis.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Communication terminal device 2 Speech generation apparatus with intonation 21 Morphological analysis means 22 Inflection analysis means 23 Basic intonation storage means 24 Basic speech storage means 25 Synthesis means 101 CPU
102 System ROM
103 Work RAM
104 User RAM
105 Voice storage RAM
106 Character string storage RAM
107 Transmission unit 108 Receiving unit 109 Operation I / F
110 key button 111 display I / F
112 Display 113 Microphone I / F
114 Microphone 115 Speaker I / F
116 speaker 100 bus

Claims (6)

Operating means;
Display means;
Voice input means for inputting the voice of the caller;
Sound signal transmitting means for transmitting a sound signal relating to the sound input from the sound input means to the other party,
Voice signal receiving means for receiving a voice signal relating to the voice of the other party;
Audio output means for outputting the audio signal received by the audio signal receiving means as audio,
At least character / character string storage means for storing manually input characters and / or character strings as characters and / or character strings as call information manually input from the operation means;
Reading voice signal generation means for reading a character and / or a character string stored in the character / character string storage means and generating a voice signal relating to a reading voice of the character and / or the character string;
At least, an audio signal storage unit that stores the read audio signal generated by the read audio signal generation unit,
A read audio signal transfer unit that transfers the read audio signal stored in the audio signal storage unit to the audio signal transmission unit,
A communication terminal device with a character call function, comprising: Operating means;
Display means;
Voice input means for inputting the voice of the caller;
Sound signal transmitting means for transmitting a sound signal relating to the sound input from the sound input means to the other party,
Voice signal receiving means for receiving a voice signal relating to the voice of the other party;
Audio output means for outputting the audio signal received by the audio signal receiving means as audio,
A reception audio signal storage unit that stores the audio signal received by the audio signal reception unit,
Reading a voice signal stored in the received voice signal storage means, pronunciation corresponding character string generation means for generating a pronunciation corresponding character or a pronunciation corresponding character string of the voice related to the voice signal,
Pronunciation corresponding character string transfer means for transferring the pronunciation corresponding character string generated by the pronunciation corresponding character string generation means to the display means,
A communication terminal device with a character call function, comprising: Operating means;
Display means;
Voice input means for inputting the voice of the caller;
Sound signal transmitting means for transmitting a sound signal relating to the sound input from the sound input means to the other party,
Voice signal receiving means for receiving a voice signal relating to the voice of the other party;
Audio output means for outputting the audio signal received by the audio signal receiving means as audio,
At least character / character string storage means for storing manually input characters and / or character strings as characters and / or character strings as call information manually input from the operation means;
Reading voice signal generating means for reading a character and / or a character string stored in the character / character string storing means and generating a voice signal relating to a reading voice of the character and / or the character string;
At least, an audio signal storage unit that stores the read audio signal generated by the read audio signal generation unit,
A read audio signal transfer unit that transfers the read audio signal stored in the audio signal storage unit to the audio signal transmission unit,
A reception audio signal storage unit that stores the audio signal received by the audio signal reception unit,
Reading a voice signal stored in the received voice signal storage means, a pronunciation-corresponding character string for generating a pronunciation-corresponding character or a pronunciation-corresponding character string of the voice related to the audio signal;
Pronunciation corresponding character string transfer means for transferring the pronunciation corresponding character string generated by the pronunciation corresponding character string generation means to the display means,
A communication terminal device with a character call function, comprising: The character string stored in the character / character string storage means may include a pre-formed fixed character string, and / or the read voice signal stored in the voice signal storage means may include a pre-formed fixed read voice. The communication terminal device with a text communication function according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the communication terminal device includes a voice signal according to (1). 5. The fixed character string stored in the fixed character string and / or the fixed reading voice stored in the voice signal storage unit is associated with a specific symbol. Communication terminal device with a character call function. The standard character string stored in the standard character string and / or the standard read voice stored in the audio signal storage unit is stored so as to be readable using the operation unit and the display unit. The communication terminal device with a character call function according to claim 4 or 5.

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