JP2004080716A - Communication device and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device capable of transmitting an e-mail and a reply by one-time line connection. <P>SOLUTION: Upon receiving an e-mail, a control unit makes a time-counting circuit to start time-counting (step S1) and disconnects the line when the time-counting circuit clocks a predetermined time (steps S7, S8); while when it is determined that an instruction of replying to the e-mail is received before the time-counting circuit clocks the predetermined time, the control section controls a reply to the e-mail (step S9, S10). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication device and a communication system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In some municipalities, local governments broadcast on the streets using wires owned by the municipalities.
[0003]
In such a cable broadcast, usually, a speaker of a communication device installed in each home broadcasts an event in a town, an emergency notification such as a fire in the town, and the like. Further, in such a cable broadcast, a broadcast is automatically performed from a speaker of a communication device without a home person responding.
[0004]
Also, in the aging society in recent years, such cable broadcasting is a very effective means for the elderly to actively participate in the town events by communicating the events in the town to the elderly and to expand the place of exchange. It is also an effective means to distract the loneliness of the elderly.
[0005]
Further, a number of communication devices that can be easily used by the elderly have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-82025 proposes an e-mail device capable of reading out an e-mail by voice.
[0006]
In such an electronic mail device capable of reading aloud aloud, it is possible for an elderly person to understand a mail text without looking at small characters on a display portion.
[0007]
However, if such a cable broadcasting facility is provided in an area where there is no cable broadcasting, an enormous amount of capital investment is required, and a problem arises in that a burden is imposed on the municipal finances.
[0008]
Also, in the cable broadcasting, after a cable broadcasting administrator (for example, a staff of a municipal government office) asks the elderly house whether the physical condition is okay or whether any trouble has occurred. It is difficult to get the response from each family and confirm that the elderly are okay.
[0009]
This is because the above-mentioned cable broadcasting only transmits information unilaterally to each home, and cannot transmit information from each home to a broadcasting station (center). In this case, the elderly must always listen to the cable broadcast, but the elderly may miss the broadcast without knowing when the cable broadcast will be broadcast.
[0010]
Furthermore, when an elderly person hears the broadcast, the elderly person must go to a place where a telephone (or fax) is installed and make a telephone call to the center side or perform fax transmission.
[0011]
In order to solve such a problem, the applicant of the present application disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-239535 a communication with a voice reading function that immediately converts a received mail text into a voice and outputs it from a speaker when a mail is received from the center. The device was proposed.
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In such a communication device with a voice reading function, for example, when transmitting a questionnaire or an inquiry mail as to whether there is any problem with the elderly from the center to the terminal, the terminal side temporarily receives a line after receiving the mail. It is necessary to turn off and reconnect to the line before replying to the center. For this reason, many communication charges are imposed on the user of the terminal.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and a communication device according to claim 1 can receive mail and return mail to the other party that has transmitted the mail by closing the line once. A communication device capable of closing and / or opening a line, transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving e-mail, a reply message creating means for creating a reply sentence, a time keeping means for timing, Control means for controlling when the transmission / reception means receives the mail data, the time keeping means starts time keeping, and the line control means keeps the line closed until the time keeping means measures a predetermined time. It is characterized by the following.
[0014]
A communication device according to a second aspect is the communication device according to the first aspect, further comprising a reply mail creation unit and a mail transmission instruction unit, wherein the control unit causes the timing unit to count a predetermined time. If it is determined that there is a mail transmission instruction from the mail transmission instructing unit before, the transmitting and receiving unit is controlled to transmit the reply mail created by the reply mail creating unit.
[0015]
The communication system according to claim 3, wherein a center for transmitting an e-mail for making an inquiry to the terminal, and when receiving the e-mail from the center, starts clocking for a predetermined time and maintains the line connection until the clocking for the predetermined time ends. And a terminal for transmitting the response sentence to the center if there is an instruction to transmit the response sentence of the inquiry from the center before the end of the timekeeping.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The apparatus according to the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, when receiving an e-mail from the center, reads out the received e-mail with the line connected, and replies the e-mail to the center in response to an instruction operation from the user or a browser on the center. Is opened, a reply is made, and the line is disconnected after the reply is completed.
[0017]
In the following, the communication device 100 is referred to as a communication device 100 or a terminal for ease of description.
[0018]
First, a communication system to which the present invention is applied will be described.
[0019]
FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a communication system according to the present embodiment.
[0020]
In FIG. 1, a communication device (for example, a facsimile device) 100 is connected to a mail server 200 via a line L.
[0021]
The mail server 200 is connected to a gateway 300 that relays and converts data, and the gateway 300 is connected to an Internet network 400.
[0022]
A personal computer 500 is connected to the Internet network 400 via a wired line, and the communication device 100 can transmit and receive mail to and from the personal computer 500 via the mail server 200, the gateway 300, and the Internet network 400.
[0023]
For example, when the personal computer 500 (center) is installed in a municipal office or the like, the body of the mail can be transmitted from the office to the communication device 100.
[0024]
When the communication device 100 receives a mail from the personal computer 500, for example, the mail transmitted from the personal computer 500 is temporarily stored in the mail server 200 via the Internet network 400 and the gateway 300. When the mail is stored in the mail server 200, it is notified that the mail has arrived from the mail server 200 to the communication device 100 (mail notification).
[0025]
Note that it is also possible to access the mail server 200 from the communication device 100 and check for incoming mail.
[0026]
Next, the communication device 100 can receive the mail text from the mail server 200 by accessing the mail server 200.
[0027]
On the other hand, when transmitting mail from the communication device 100 to the personal computer 500, the mail is transmitted from the communication device 100 to the mail server 200, and the transmitted mail is temporarily stored in the mail server 200. The mail stored in the mail server 200 is transmitted to the personal computer 500 or a mail server (not shown) connectable to the personal computer 500 via the gateway 300 and the Internet network 400.
[0028]
Next, a communication device with a voice reading function, which is an embodiment device to which the present invention is applied, will be described.
[0029]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the communication device 100 shown in FIG.
[0030]
In FIG. 2, a control unit 101 includes a semiconductor microprocessor, and controls each circuit described below based on a system program stored in a first storage unit 102 including, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory). And a timer 103 for measuring time based on a signal from a crystal oscillator (not shown).
[0031]
Further, the control unit 101 includes a modem 105 that transmits and receives a facsimile control signal such as a CNG signal and a DIS signal, the number of mails, the text of the mail, and the like, and receives an incoming notification signal indicating that mail has arrived at the server. Built-in.
[0032]
Further, the control unit 101 has a voice synthesizing unit 104, and the voice synthesizing unit 104 converts the mail text received by the modem 105 into phoneme piece data stored in a fourth storage unit 122 described later. The audio data is converted based on the audio data.
[0033]
The incoming call detection unit 106 is connected to the line L, detects an incoming signal of 16 Hz from the line L, and detects, from the mail server 200, a signal indicating that the mail server 200 has received a mail addressed to the terminal 100. , The polarity inversion detecting unit 107 detects the polarity inversion of the line L.
[0034]
The diode bridge 108 connected to the line L prevents a sudden voltage change inside the device at the time of polarity reversal.
[0035]
The network control unit 109 closes and opens the line L under the control of the control unit 101.
[0036]
The cross point circuit 110 switches the path of data such as voice signals, facsimile data, the number of mails, and mail contents between the network control unit 109 and the handset 111 and the DAC 113 described below under the control of the control unit 101. .
[0037]
The handset 111 is connected to the cross point circuit 110, and the hook detection unit 112 detects a hook state of the handset 111.
[0038]
The DAC (Digital Analog Converter) 112 has a function of converting an analog signal input from the crosspoint circuit 110 into a digital signal and outputting the digital signal to the modem 105, and a function of converting a digital signal input from the modem 105 into an analog signal. And a function of outputting to the cross point circuit 110.
[0039]
The reading unit 114 includes, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) reading device, and reads image information under the control of the control unit 101.
[0040]
The printing unit 115 includes a printing device using a known method such as an ink jet method or a thermal paper method, and prints image information under the control of the control unit 101.
[0041]
The display unit 116 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device, and performs various displays including the subject of the mail and the body of the mail under the control of the control unit 101.
[0042]
The input unit 117 has keys such as a numeric keypad, a function key, a selection key, a mail transmission key, and a mail creation key.
[0043]
The second storage unit 118 is composed of, for example, a nonvolatile flash memory, and includes information indicating whether or not a mail arrival notification has been received, a mail subject, a sender address, a time stamp indicating the date and time of mail reception by the server 200, A first area 119 for storing a flag or the like indicating whether or not the mail has been read, and a plurality of mail texts, text for reading, and center setting information transmitted from the center (PC 500) can be stored. And a second area 120 (see the data storage form diagram of the second storage unit 118 in FIG. 3).
[0044]
The center setting information is data for setting a terminal from the center side (controlling the terminal), and the terminal that has received the center setting information is more center setting than the user setting information set on the terminal side. Prioritize information. The center setting information includes a reproduction mode, an expiration date, the number of readings, a pause period, and the like.
[0045]
Describing the center information in detail, first, in the reproduction mode, four settings of manual reproduction, automatic reproduction, forced reproduction, and no setting are possible. The manual reproduction is a setting for storing the mail text in the memory when the terminal receives the mail text, but for reading the mail text only manually. The automatic reproduction is a setting for automatically reading the received mail by voice when the terminal receives the mail. The forced reproduction is a setting for automatically reading the received mail by voice when the terminal receives the mail, even though the terminal is set to the manual reproduction. Without the setting, the mail is reproduced according to the setting on the terminal side.
[0046]
Next, the expiration date will be described. There are four types of expiration dates: year / month / day designation, current day designation, reception only, and no setting. The date specification is a setting for storing the received mail until the specified date when the terminal receives and stores the mail text. The designation on the day is a setting for storing the received mail only on the day when the terminal receives and stores the mail text. Only at the time of reception, a setting is made so that when the terminal side receives the mail text, the mail text is not stored in the memory. Without the setting, the setting is for saving or not saving the mail based on the setting on the terminal side.
[0047]
Next, the number of readings will be described. The number of readings can be set to no reading or 1 or more. Without the reading out, the terminal receiving the mail body is prohibited from reading out the mail. The above one or more is for setting the terminal to read out the mail repeatedly at predetermined time intervals.
[0048]
Next, the pause period will be described. The pause period indicates an interval at which the mail is read out when the number of times of reading is set. For example, it is possible to instruct the terminal to read out the mail every 10 hours or every 7 days. Even if the pause period is set in the center setting information, if the number of readings is not set, the terminal treats it as invalid.
[0049]
The mail transmitted from the center includes a mail text, a sender, a text for reading out, and center setting information as shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the information is text data of the text of the mail, “Good morning, Tozai City Office. The text data of "section", the text data for reading aloud "Hello everyone, good morning. 8:00 has passed ..." and the center setting information, for example, the playback mode (autoplay) are automatically played back. (Auto), and indicates that the expiration date (expire) is only when received (arrive).
[0050]
The center setting information transmitted from the center is stored in the center setting information column of the second area 120 of the second storage unit 118.
[0051]
The third storage unit 121 is composed of, for example, a nonvolatile flash memory, and stores user setting information set by the user. The user setting information includes a volume, a speed, and a reproduction mode. The volume can be set in five steps from 1 to 5, and the speed can be set in three steps: slow, normal, and fast. The reproduction mode includes manual reproduction for reproducing a mail in accordance with a user's instruction, and automatic reproduction for automatically reading a mail when a mail is received.
[0052]
The fourth storage unit 122 is composed of, for example, a flash memory, and includes dictionary data such as alphanumeric characters, hiragana, katakana, kanji, and symbols for creating a mail sentence, and a voice synthesis unit 104 for performing voice synthesis of a mail text. Contains phoneme segment data.
[0053]
The speaker 124 connected to the amplifier 123 outputs a ringtone or data synthesized by the voice synthesis unit 104.
[0054]
Next, the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be described.
[0055]
FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are flowcharts showing the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment.
[0056]
In step S1, the control unit 101 determines that the incoming call detection unit 106 has received a signal indicating that the mail addressed to the communication device 100 has arrived at the mail server 200, and controls the network control unit 109 to control the line L. After the modem 105 receives the mail from the mail server 200, or by closing the line L by controlling the network control unit 109 in response to the signal from the input unit 117. When it is determined that the mail has been received from the mail server 200 using the timer, the timer 103 starts counting time and proceeds to step S2, otherwise proceeds to step S21.
[0057]
In step S2, when the control unit 101 determines that the mail body received in step S1 includes the center setting information, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S11 shown in FIG. 6; otherwise, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S3. Proceed.
[0058]
In step S3, the control unit 101 stores the mail text received in step S1 in the second storage unit 118, and proceeds to step S4.
[0059]
In step S4, if the control unit 101 determines that the reproduction mode of the user setting information stored in the fourth storage unit 122 is the manual reproduction, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S5; otherwise, proceeds to step S6. Perform the mail reading process.
[0060]
In step S5, when the control unit 101 determines that there is an instruction to reproduce a mail from the input unit 117, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S6, and otherwise proceeds to step S7.
[0061]
In step S6, the control unit 101 converts the text to be read out of the mail received in step S1 into voice data in the voice synthesis unit 104 and outputs the voice data from the speaker 124, and proceeds to step S7.
[0062]
In step S7, if the control unit 101 determines that the timer 103 has counted a predetermined time (for example, three minutes) from the start of the mail in step S1, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S8. Processing proceeds to
[0063]
In step S7, the predetermined time is set to 3 minutes when the communication device 100 is used as a cable broadcasting terminal using a public line. This is because if the e-mail is returned within the period, the communication fee can be kept within the local call fee.
[0064]
In step S8, the control unit 101 disconnects the line by controlling the network control unit 109, and returns the processing to step S1.
[0065]
In step S9, if the control unit 101 determines that there is an instruction to reply to the mail from the input unit 117, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S10, otherwise returns to step S7.
[0066]
In step S10, the control unit 101 controls the response sent from the input unit 117 to be transmitted from the modem 105, and returns to step S1.
[0067]
The reply in the step S10 may be configured such that a reply text is attached to the mail received in the step S1, and a simple reply (for example, select YES or NO) is described in the reply text and transmitted. good. In such a case, for example, as shown in FIG. 7A, a mail with a reply sentence is received from the center side in the S1 step, and a reply sentence as shown in FIG. 7B is transmitted in the S10 step. It is possible. Further, a configuration may be adopted in which a reply sentence is newly created by a user operation and transmitted to the center side.
[0068]
In step S11 shown in FIG. 6, if the control unit 101 determines that the reproduction mode of the center setting information received in step S1 is forced reproduction, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S14; otherwise, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S12. Proceed.
[0069]
In step S11, even if the user setting information of the terminal is the manual reproduction, if the center setting information is the forced reproduction, the center setting information is preferentially processed. That is, even if the user setting information is manually reproduced, the mail received by the terminal is read aloud in step S14 described below.
[0070]
Further, the user setting information is information set by a user operation before the terminal receives the mail, and specifically, data indicating whether the reproduction mode is a manual reproduction or an automatic reproduction by the user operation is a second data. 3 storage unit 121. When the center setting information is included in the mail as in the step S11, the center setting information is prioritized. When the center setting information is not included, the user setting information set by the user is set. , The mail is read aloud.
[0071]
In step S12, if the control unit 101 determines that the reproduction mode of the center setting information of the mail text received in step S1 is manual reproduction, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S13; otherwise, proceeds to step S14. .
[0072]
In step S13, when the control unit 101 determines that there is an instruction to reproduce the mail from the input unit 117, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S14, otherwise, proceeds to step S15.
[0073]
In step S14, the control unit 101 converts the text-to-speech text of the mail received in step S1 into voice data in the voice synthesis unit 104 and outputs the voice data from the speaker 124, and proceeds to step S15.
[0074]
In step S15, if the control unit 101 determines that the expiration date included in the center setting information received in step S1 is a setting only for reception, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S17. The process proceeds to S16 step.
[0075]
In step S16, the control unit 101 stores the mail text and the text to be read out received in step S1 in the second storage unit 118, and proceeds to step S17.
[0076]
In step S17, if the control unit 101 determines that the timer 103 measures a predetermined time (for example, three minutes) from the start of the mail in step S1, the process proceeds to step S18. Processing proceeds to
[0077]
In step S18, the control unit 101 disconnects the line by controlling the network control unit 109, and returns the process to step S1 shown in FIG.
[0078]
In step S19, if control unit 101 determines that there is an instruction to reply to the mail from input unit 117, control unit 101 proceeds to step S20, otherwise returns to step S17.
[0079]
In step S20, the control unit 101 controls the response sent from the input unit 117 to be transmitted from the modem 105 in the same manner as in step S10, and returns to step S1 shown in FIG.
[0080]
In step S21 shown in FIG. 5, when the control unit 101 determines that there is an operation of selecting a mail from the input unit 117 and instructing reproduction, the process proceeds to step S22, and otherwise, proceeds to step S23.
[0081]
In step S22, the control unit 101 reads the text-for-speech text data of the mail selected in step S20 from the second storage unit 118, converts the text data into voice data in the voice synthesis unit 104, and outputs the voice data from the speaker 124. Return processing to
[0082]
In step S23, if the control unit 101 determines that there is an email in the second storage unit 118 at the time specified in the pause period, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S24; otherwise, proceeds to step S25. In step S23, the control unit 101 determines that the time specified by the pause period is reached when the timer unit 103 starts counting time after receiving the mail and then measures the time until the mail pause period. Alternatively, when the pause period is set to specific time data (for example, data for the year, month, day, and time), and when the timer 103 measures the time, it is determined that the specified time has come. It is good also as a structure which performs.
[0083]
In step S24, when the control unit 101 determines that the timing unit 103 has counted the expiration date specified by the center setting information stored in the second area 120 of the second storage unit 118, the control unit 101 responds to the expiration date. The process proceeds to step S25 in order to delete the mail text to be processed, and otherwise returns to step S1.
[0084]
In step S25, the control unit 101 deletes from the second storage unit 118 the mail text, the text for reading, and the center setting information determined as the expiration date in step S23, and returns the process to step S1.
[0085]
In step S26, the control unit 101 returns the process to step S1 if the data of the number of times of reading of the mail determined to be the designated time in step S23 is "0", and otherwise returns to step S27. Proceed with the process.
[0086]
In step S27, the control unit 101 decrements the reading frequency data stored in the second storage unit 118 for the mail determined to have reached the designated time in step S23, and proceeds to step S28.
[0087]
In step S28, the control unit 101 reads from the second storage unit 118 the text to be read out of the mail determined to be the designated time in step S14, converts the read-out text to voice data in the voice synthesis unit 104, and outputs the voice data from the speaker 124. Then, the process returns to step S1.
[0088]
As described above, in the present embodiment, upon receiving a mail from the center, the line connection is maintained for a predetermined time. Therefore, if the terminal sends a reply mail within a predetermined time after receiving the mail from the center, it is possible to send the reply mail from the terminal to the center without connecting the line again. It is possible to avoid imposing a large communication fee on the side.
[0089]
In this embodiment, when the mail is received, a reply is made by mail. However, when the terminal receives the mail, the terminal may open the browser on the center side and input the reply on the browser.
[0090]
Further, in the present embodiment, the facsimile apparatus capable of transmitting and receiving mail has been described. However, the present invention may be applied to a communication apparatus such as a portable telephone apparatus and a PHS (Personal Handyphone System).
[0091]
Further, in the present embodiment, the reproduction mode is described as an example in which the center setting information is processed with higher priority than the user setting information. , Speed, etc. may be preferentially processed. Further, the user setting information is not limited to the reproduction mode, volume and speed, and may be other setting information such as sound quality of reproduced sound.
[0092]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention makes it possible to send and reply to mail with a single line connection.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the apparatus according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a storage form of a second storage unit 118.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a mail text and center setting information transmitted from the center.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus of the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus of the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a sentence and a reply sentence.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 terminal 103 clock section 104 voice synthesis section 105 modem 118 second storage section 121 third storage section 122 fourth storage section 124 speaker

Claims (3)

A communication device that can receive mail and return mail to the other party that has sent the mail by closing the line once,
Line control means for closing and / or opening the line, transmission / reception means for sending / receiving mail, reply message creation means for creating a reply message, and clocking means for clocking;
When the transmission / reception means receives the mail data, the timing means starts timing, and the line control means controls the circuit so as to maintain the line closed until the timing means times a predetermined time. A communication device comprising: The communication device according to claim 1,
Furthermore, it has a reply mail creation means and a mail transmission instruction means,
If the control means determines that there is a mail transmission instruction from the mail transmission instruction means before the time measurement means times a predetermined time, the transmission / reception means transmits the reply mail created by the reply mail creation means. A communication device for controlling means. A center that sends emails to contact the device,
When receiving an e-mail from the center, it starts timing for a predetermined time, and if there is an instruction to transmit a response sentence of the inquiry from the center by the end of the timing while maintaining the line connection until the timing of the predetermined time ends, A terminal for transmitting a response sentence to the center.

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