JP2004179927A - Communication equipment, and method and program for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the user's operation remarkably easy when a message is received without forcing a heavy load on a user with a simple user interface. <P>SOLUTION: The communication equipment is provided with an automatic answering telephone function block 205, an E mail transmission/reception function block 207 and a sound synthesis part 202 converting character information on an electronic mail into an analog sound signal. The received electronic mail is outputted in sound (reading output). A mode of a post-processing (whether a recording output processing of the pertinent electronic mail is to be performed or not or a deletion processing of the electronic mail is to be performed or not) after sound output of the electronic mail can be set by the appropriate user interface using a display unit 102 and an operation part 103 with the control of a CPU 200. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

のように留守録音メッセージおよびＥメールメッセージを到着順にソートして留守録音メッセージまたはＥメールメッセージの種別、その受信日時、その発信者、その標題などの属性情報をリスト表示させ、留守録音メッセージおよびＥメールメッセージが（到着順ではあるが）ランダムな順序で並ぶような構成においては、操作部１０３に設けるべき「再生」ボタン（あるいは「次メッセージ」のようなボタン）は１つだけで良くなる。
【００５３】
したがって、本実施形態によれば、留守録音メッセージおよびＥメールメッセージの再生操作に必要な操作ボタンの数を大きく減少し、構成を簡単安価にでき、しかもユーザは留守録音メッセージおよびＥメールメッセージの再生操作を極めて簡単に行なうことができる。
【００５４】
そして、図５の方式（Ｓ５０６〜Ｓ５１８）によれば、上の表１のように留守録音メッセージおよびＥメールメッセージを到着順にソートしてリスト表示させ、留守録音メッセージおよびＥメールメッセージが（到着順ではあるが）ランダムな順序で並ぶような場合でも、留守録音メッセージおよびＥメールメッセージの出力がいずれも音声により行なわれ、しかも、再生後の後処理がいずれもあらかじめ行なわれたユーザ設定に応じて同じように自動的に行なわれるので、留守録音メッセージおよびＥメールメッセージの再生を全く同様にシームレスに行なうことができ、ユーザに与える印象が非常にすっきりとしたものになる。
【００５５】
さらに、Ｅメールメッセージの読み上げに関しては、サービスの有無がＩＳＰごとにまちまちでしかも有料のサービスを利用することなく実施でき、ユーザのＩＳＰに対する登録操作や金銭的負担を大きく軽減することができる。
【００５６】
【発明の効果】
以上の説明から明らかなように、本発明によれば、留守録音メッセージ受信手段および電子メール受信手段を有する通信装置、通信装置の制御方法、および通信装置の制御プログラムにおいて、音声合成手段を用いて電子メールの音声出力を行なう際、電子メールの音声出力後の後処理をあらかじめユーザ設定する構成を採用しているので、留守録音メッセージおよびＥメールメッセージの双方をいずれも同じ音声出力（読み上げ出力）方式により出力することができ、これによりユーザの負担を大きく軽減することができ、さらに、留守録音メッセージまたはＥメールメッセージの音声出力後の後処理を極めて簡単に実行することができる、という優れた効果が得られる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明を採用した通信装置の構成を示した説明図である。
【図２】図１の装置の制御系の構成を示した説明図である。
【図３】図１の装置の通信制御の様子を示したフローチャート図である。
【図４】図１の装置の通信制御の様子を示したフローチャート図である。
【図５】図１の装置の通信制御の様子を示したフローチャート図である。
【符号の説明】
１０１ ハンドセット
１０２ 表示器
１０３ 操作部
１０４ 留守電受信ランプ
１０５ ＦＡＸ受信ランプ
１０６ Ｅメール受信ランプ
１０７ スキャナ
１０８ プリンタ
２００ ＣＰＵ
２０１ メモリ
２０２ 音声合成部
２０４ 回線インターフェース
２０５ 留守番電話機能ブロック
２０６ ＦＡＸ機能ブロック
２０７ Ｅメール送受信機能ブロック
２０８ ＲＯＭ
２１１ システムバス[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication device having an absence message recording message receiving unit and an electronic mail receiving unit, a control method of the communication device, and a control program of the communication device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
With the development of the information society, various types of information terminals have been widely used in ordinary households. As information terminals, answering machines, facsimile machines, and personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PCs) have recently become widespread.
[0003]
The communication lines connected to ordinary households are not only traditional voice lines, but also with the spread of the Internet, lines dedicated to data communication such as ADSL have been connected. The transmission speed of the line has also been significantly increased.
[0004]
One of information transmission means in a network such as the Internet is electronic mail (hereinafter referred to as e-mail or simply mail). Although the initial e-mail was used only by a very limited number of users, such as companies and universities, the use of this e-mail is not uncommon in ordinary households.
[0005]
On the other hand, facsimile machines are also widely used in ordinary households. However, many facsimile machines for home use have many product forms such as a telephone and a facsimile machine with integrated facsimile functions.
[0006]
In such a situation, there has been proposed a configuration in which an answering machine, a facsimile, and an e-mail can be used by one composite terminal (for example, Patent Document 1 below). In this type of apparatus, voice mail and facsimile communication are directly connected to a public line (however, an Internet telephone function using VoIP or the like can also be used). The configuration to perform is the mainstream. In such a case, there are few cases in which a contract for giving a fixed global IP address and a domain name is made. For this reason, in this type of apparatus, mail transmission can be performed immediately after dial-up is performed when transmission becomes necessary, but mail reception can be performed periodically (for example, several tens minutes to several minutes) by timer control or the like. (Every hour), dial-up connection to the Internet is made to connect to the mail server of the provider, check for the presence or absence of the received mail, and if there is the received mail, download it using a protocol such as POP3 or IMAP.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-341432
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In a conventional composite terminal having the answering machine, facsimile and e-mail functions as described above, when any of a recorded message reception, a facsimile reception, and an e-mail reception occurs, the user receives the recorded message as a recorded message. The content can be confirmed by performing a voice reproduction operation if there is a fax, a print operation if it is a fax, and a display operation on a display unit if it is an e-mail.
[0009]
However, it is very troublesome for the user to confirm the plurality of received messages by an output method using separate operations (in many cases, separate operation buttons and separate operation menus must be used).
[0010]
Further, regarding the e-mail, not only the display output but also several different output modes such as a voice output (speech output) and a print can be considered. In particular, a terminal for the purpose of being used by a family, such as a telephone FAX terminal for home use, needs to be considered for users of various ages or physical conditions. It is desirable that the composite terminal has a plurality of possible e-mail message output methods.
[0011]
For example, users with low vision often have difficulty reading e-mail messages on the display. Some ISPs provide a service that allows e-mails delivered to the server to be heard by voice by calling a specific number, and users can use such services. In some cases these services are charged and not all providers offer such services. A function of printing out the contents of an e-mail is also known in a composite communication terminal, but unlike image information, it takes time to print an e-mail having a lot of short character information, and it is a waste of paper.
[0012]
If a plurality of e-mail message output methods are provided, it goes without saying that the output method must be extremely easily performed without imposing an extra burden on the user.
[0013]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a communication system having an answering message, facsimile, and e-mail functions, by using a very simple user interface, without imposing an extra burden on the user. The object is to make the operation extremely easy.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a communication device having an absence message receiving unit and an e-mail receiving unit, a communication device control method, and a communication device control program. When the voice output of the e-mail is performed, the post-processing after the voice output of the e-mail is set in advance by the user.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a communication device employing the present invention. The illustrated device is a communication device in which the functions of answering machine, facsimile and e-mail are integrated in one terminal.
[0017]
The communication device shown in FIG. 1 includes, on a housing, a handset 101 for calling, a display unit 102 for displaying necessary information such as an operation state of the device to a user, and an operation unit 103 including ten keys and various function keys. Have.
[0018]
In the apparatus of FIG. 1, in addition to the display 102, three lamps (arbitrary light sources such as LED elements are used) indicating the state of the apparatus are provided. Reference numeral 104 denotes an answering machine reception lamp, which is used to indicate that an answering machine message has arrived (recorded). Reference numeral 105 denotes a facsimile reception lamp. The facsimile reception lamp 105 is used to indicate that a facsimile message has arrived (for example, a memory reception has been performed). An e-mail receiving lamp 106 is used to indicate that an e-mail message has arrived (for example, stored in a predetermined area in a memory).
[0019]
A printer 108 mainly used for image recording in facsimile communication or the like is provided at a predetermined position such as the rear surface of the housing, and a scanner 107 mainly used for reading a document in facsimile communication or the like is provided at a predetermined position such as the front surface of the housing. Is provided.
[0020]
FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a control system of the apparatus shown in FIG. The display 102, the operation unit 103, the answering machine reception lamp 104, the FAX reception lamp 105, and the E-mail reception lamp 106 on the above-mentioned housing are indicated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.
[0021]
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 denotes a CPU composed of a microprocessor or the like, which controls the entire communication processing (communication of answering machine, facsimile, and e-mail) described later. An answering machine reception lamp 104, a facsimile reception lamp 105, and an e-mail reception lamp 106 are connected to the CPU 200, and the CPU 200 controls turning on / off of these lamps according to the communication status.
[0022]
The communication control of the present invention described later is stored in the ROM 208 as a control program (firmware) of the CPU 200 and is executed on the ROM 208 or after being copied to a predetermined area of the memory 201. However, the storage location of the communication control program of the present invention is not limited to the ROM 208, and any storage medium such as a hard disk or a CD-ROM can be used. In addition to storing the information, the information may be supplied to the apparatus via a network (for example, for updating firmware).
[0023]
The memory 201 includes a storage device such as a RAM, and is used for storing image data read by the scanner 107, received facsimile data, transmitted / received e-mail data, recorded data of an answering machine message, and the like.
[0024]
In the present embodiment, a voice synthesizing unit 202 for converting character information (data in the form of a character code) into an analog voice signal is provided. The voice synthesizing unit 202 is used to read out text information of the transmitted / received e-mail (or an error message or guidance voice of the apparatus: any of which can be stored in the ROM 208 or the like as text information as well). Known software (or hardware) can be used as the software (or hardware) for converting the character information into audible voice in the voice synthesis unit 202.
[0025]
As the line interface 204, a type suitable for a communication line to which the present apparatus is connected is used. If the line to be connected to this device is an analog line, a circuit such as an NCU is used. If the line is an ISDN line, an ISDN control IC, a DSU unit for terminating the network, and a TA unit for connecting external equipment are used. Etc. In the case of an ISDN line, a FAX modem of a FAX function block 206 (in the case of an analog facsimile system) described later is connected to an analog interface of a TA unit. The facsimile function block 206 includes the above-described scanner 107 and printer 108 as image input / output means. Each image input to the scanner 107 or printer 108 is controlled by the control of the CPU 200 as necessary (for example, recording and output of e-mail messages). The output function shall be available.
[0026]
A magnetic tape method may be used for recording (answering recording) / playback of a voice message. In this embodiment, a digital recording / playback method using an answering machine function block 205 including a voice IC such as a voice CODEC is used. Record / play voice messages. Voice message data from the line and the handset 101 are digitized by the answering machine function block 205 and stored in a predetermined area of the memory 201. The message recorded in the memory 201 is converted into an analog signal by the answering machine function block 205 and reproduced by the handset 101 or a speaker (not shown).
[0027]
The FAX function block 206 includes a communication control unit for controlling a facsimile communication procedure of a predetermined system such as the G3 system, for example, a FAX modem. The image input / output to / from the printer 106 and the scanner 107 is controlled by the CPU 200 in accordance with the progress of the operation of the FAX function block 206.
[0028]
In the present embodiment, the facsimile communication method is based on ITU-T Recommendation T.30. 30 according to the ITU-T Recommendation T.30. 37, T.R. An Internet facsimile communication system such as 38 can also be used.
[0029]
The e-mail transmission / reception function block 207 edits outgoing mail using the operation unit 103 and the display unit 102, and software for connecting to a mail server of an Internet service provider by using SMTP (transmission protocol), POP, IMAP, or the like (reception protocol). And software for displaying the received mail on the display 102 in an appropriate format. Although the FAX function block 206 is illustrated as an independent function block in FIG. 1 for convenience, the FAX function block 206 may be configured as a software module of the CPU 200. Further, a dial-up connection protocol such as PPP, and a TCP / IP layer necessary for Internet communication can also be configured as a software module of the CPU 200.
[0030]
Each of the above functional blocks is connected to the system bus 211 of the CPU 200.
[0031]
Next, communication control in the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0032]
In the present embodiment, the output processing of the received absence message and the e-mail message is based on voice output. That is, the e-mail message is read out and output, and is output in the same output method as the voice output of the voice message. By outputting two different messages of the two receiving methods, the voice message and the e-mail message, by the same voice output method, the burden on the user can be reduced. For example, users with low vision do not need to read the e-mail message on the display unit and can listen to both the recorded message and the e-mail message by voice, so that the user interface is integrated and simplified, and the user can operate the system. Can be easily mastered.
[0033]
Post-processing when an answering message and an e-mail message are received is set in advance by the answering machine function block 205 and the e-mail sending / receiving function block 207, and a troublesome operation is performed after receiving the answering message and the e-mail message. It is possible to automatically execute the processing set by the user without any processing.
[0034]
FIGS. 3 and 4 show a main part of control of the user setting mode of the apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows the user settings for the process after outputting the e-mail message, and FIG. 4 shows the user settings for the process after outputting the voice message.
[0035]
In step S301 of FIG. 3, when a predetermined operation for designating a user setting mode relating to post-processing after receiving an e-mail message is performed on operation unit 103, settings relating to the post-processing are performed in step S302 and thereafter.
[0036]
In step S303, it is set whether or not to record and output the e-mail message received by the printer 108 after reading out. In the case of performing recording output, it is further set in step S305 whether or not the e-mail message is deleted from the memory after the recording output. The settings in steps S303 and S305 are performed by an appropriate user interface (for example, a combination of menu display and function key operation) using the display 102 and the operation unit 103.
[0037]
Then, a flag corresponding to the SRAM area of the memory 201 is stored in steps S304, S306, or S307 according to the result of step S303 or further step S305. That is, in step S304, a flag indicating "not read and then print out" is set, in step S306, a flag indicating "read out and delete message after printing" is set, and in step S307, a flag indicating "read out and do not delete message after printing" is set. Are respectively stored.
[0038]
On the other hand, in step S401 in FIG. 4, when a predetermined operation for designating a user setting mode relating to post-processing after receiving an absence recording message is performed on operation unit 103, settings relating to the post-processing are performed in step S402 and thereafter. In the case of this absence recording voice message, a user setting of whether or not to delete after reproduction in step S403 is accepted. This user setting can also be performed by the same user interface as described above.
[0039]
Then, according to the result of step S403, in step S404 or step S405, the flag corresponding to the SRAM area of the memory 201 is stored. That is, in step S404, a flag indicating that "the message is not deleted after reproduction" is stored, and in step S405, a flag indicating "the message is deleted after reproduction" is stored.
[0040]
FIG. 5 shows a message reproducing operation procedure. In FIG. 5, it is assumed that the basic output process of the received absence message and the E-mail message received as described above is performed by voice output.
[0041]
First, it is determined whether or not a specific message playback button (for example, a “play” button on the operation unit 103) is pressed (step S501), and if the operation is performed, it is determined whether or not there is an unplayed message. (Step S502). If it is determined that there is a "message", it is determined whether there is both an unplayed recorded message and an e-mail message (step S503).
[0042]
If it is determined in step S503 that both messages are absent (there is only one of the messages), the stored message is played back by voice, the unread flag is turned off, and voice playback processing is performed. (Step S504, Step S505). The voice synthesizer 202 is used for voice output of the e-mail (the same applies to the following).
[0043]
If it is determined in step S503 that both messages are present, a screen for selecting whether to play an e-mail or to play a recorded message is displayed on the display 102 (step S506).
[0044]
If the message selected in step S506 is an e-mail (step S507), the reading of the e-mail is executed by the voice synthesis unit 202 (step S508), and the unread flag is turned off (step S509). After step S510, the process of recording / outputting / deleting a message according to the user setting performed in steps S301 to S307 of FIG. 3 is performed, and the process ends.
[0045]
That is, if the process preset by the user in steps S301 to S307 in FIG. 3 is "print and erase" (step S511), it is determined whether or not the printer 108 is in a state capable of recording and outputting. Judgment is made (step S512), and if recording output is possible, a message is recorded and output in step S519 and erased from the memory. If printing cannot be performed because the printer 108 is out of paper or the like, the process ends without deleting the message after reading out the e-mail (step S513).
[0046]
On the other hand, if the answering message recording playback is selected in step S506, the answering message recording message is played back (step S514), and the unread flag is turned off (step S515). Thereafter, in step S516 and thereafter, the process of recording / outputting / deleting the message set by the user in steps S401 to S405 in FIG.
[0047]
That is, if the user setting in steps S401 to S405 in FIG. 4 is the deletion setting (step S517), the absence message is deleted from the memory and the process ends (step S518).
[0048]
When each unread flag of the e-mail / answer recording message is turned off, the absence message receiving lamp 104 and the e-mail receiving lamp 106 are turned off. Although not shown, if the message cannot be reproduced or read out for some reason, the unread flag is not turned off, and the processing is terminated without turning off the reception lamps.
[0049]
In the example of FIG. 5, in the process of step S504, only the audio reproduction is performed without performing the post-speech process set by the user as shown in FIGS. As described above, when both the absence message and the E-mail message, which tend to be complicated in operation mode, are present, the processing from step S506 is performed to reproduce the voice of the absence message and the E-mail message (speech). The user operation regarding the processing can be made extremely easy. However, the processing of steps S508 to S513 (reading out of the e-mail) or steps S514 to S518 (playing of the recorded message) is performed in step S504 even when only one of the recorded message and the e-mail message is present. It goes without saying that you can do it.
[0050]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, in a communication device having a function of receiving an absence recording message and an e-mail message, both the absence recording message and the e-mail message can be output as voice (speech output), As a result, the burden on the user can be reduced. For example, a user with low vision does not need to read the e-mail message on the display unit and can hear both the recorded message and the e-mail message by voice, so that the user interface is integrated and simplified, and the user can operate the system. Can be easily mastered.
[0051]
Then, post-processing (deletion, recording and output processing, or erasing processing after recording) after voice output of the absence recording message or the E-mail message can be set in advance by the user. The post-processing after the audio output can be executed very easily.
[0052]
Further, it is conceivable to provide a "recording / playback" button and a "playback e-mail" button on the operation unit 103 for the answering message and the e-mail message, respectively. And e-mail messages during the same list display, for example, on display 102

The recorded message and the E-mail message are sorted in the order of arrival, and the attribute information such as the type of the recorded message or the E-mail message, the date and time of reception, the sender, and the title are displayed, and the recorded message and the E-mail message are displayed. In a configuration in which mail messages are arranged in a random order (although in the order of arrival), only one “play” button (or a button such as a “next message”) to be provided on the operation unit 103 is sufficient.
[0053]
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the number of operation buttons required for the operation of playing the absence recording message and the E-mail message can be greatly reduced, the configuration can be made simple and inexpensive, and the user can play the absence recording message and the E-mail message. The operation can be performed very easily.
[0054]
According to the method of FIG. 5 (S506 to S518), the recorded message and the E-mail message are sorted in the order of arrival as shown in Table 1 above and displayed in a list, and the recorded message and the E-mail message are displayed in the order of arrival. However, even in the case where the messages are arranged in a random order, the output of the absence recording message and the e-mail message are both performed by voice, and the post-processing after the reproduction is performed according to the previously set user setting. Since the recording is automatically performed in the same manner, the recorded message and the E-mail message can be played back in exactly the same manner, and the impression given to the user becomes very clear.
[0055]
Further, the reading of the e-mail message can be performed depending on the presence or absence of the service for each ISP without using a paid service, and the registration operation and the financial burden on the ISP by the user can be greatly reduced.
[0056]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in the communication device having the absence recording message receiving unit and the electronic mail receiving unit, the control method of the communication device, and the control program of the communication device, the voice synthesizing unit is used. When the voice output of the e-mail is performed, the post-processing after the voice output of the e-mail is configured by the user in advance, so that both the absence message and the e-mail message have the same voice output (speech output). In this manner, the output can be greatly reduced, and the post-processing after the voice output of the answering message or the e-mail message can be performed extremely easily. The effect is obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a communication device employing the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a state of communication control of the device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a state of communication control of the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a state of communication control of the device of FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Handset 102 Display 103 Operation section 104 Answering machine reception lamp 105 FAX reception lamp 106 E-mail reception lamp 107 Scanner 108 Printer 200 CPU
201 Memory 202 Voice synthesis unit 204 Line interface 205 Answering machine function block 206 FAX function block 207 E-mail transmission / reception function block 208 ROM
211 System bus

Claims (9)

Means for receiving recorded messages,
E-mail receiving means;
Voice synthesis means for converting the text information of the e-mail into an analog voice signal,
A communication apparatus comprising: a user setting unit configured to set a user to set a post-processing mode after outputting an e-mail voice when outputting a voice of the e-mail using the voice synthesis unit. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein after the voice of the e-mail is output, whether or not to perform the recording and output processing of the e-mail is set by the user setting. 2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user setting sets whether or not to execute the deletion processing of the e-mail after outputting the voice of the e-mail. An answering machine message receiving means, an e-mail receiving means, and a control method of a communication device having a voice synthesizing means for converting text information of an e-mail into an analog voice signal,
A method of controlling a communication apparatus, comprising: when outputting voice of an electronic mail using the voice synthesizing means, controlling a post-processing mode after the voice output of the electronic mail based on a user setting performed in advance. 5. The control method according to claim 4, wherein, after the voice output of the e-mail, whether or not to perform the recording and output processing of the e-mail is set by the user setting. The method according to claim 4, wherein after the voice of the e-mail is output, whether or not to delete the e-mail is set by the user setting. An answering machine message receiving means, an e-mail receiving means, and a control program for a communication device having a voice synthesizing means for converting character information of the e-mail into an analog voice signal,
A control program for a communication apparatus, wherein when performing voice output of an e-mail using the voice synthesis means, a post-processing mode after the voice output of the e-mail is controlled based on a user setting performed in advance. 8. The control program for a communication device according to claim 7, wherein, after the voice of the e-mail is output, whether to perform the recording and output processing of the e-mail is set by the user setting. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 7, wherein after the user outputs the voice of the e-mail, whether or not to delete the e-mail is set.

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