JP2004236245A - E-mail system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the noise part from a voice mail, based on environment where and when the voice mail is recorded. <P>SOLUTION: In a mail reception server 3, when the voice mail transmitted via a mail transmission server 2 from a transmission side mobile terminal 1 is added environmental information, indicating the environment of recording time, a noise reduction process determining device 34 determines an optimal noise reduction processing method, based on the environmental information; and a signal processing device 35 reduces the noise part from the voice mail based on the noise reduction processing method. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic mail system and a program for transmitting and receiving an electronic mail created by voice recording.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an e-mail is transmitted using a personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, or the like on which mailer software or the like is installed, the provider side of the sender is subscribed. The mail server of the destination decides the mail server of the provider side to which the other party (destination) joins as the connection destination, and distributes the received mail to the mail server of the connection destination. A mail is not limited to text data, and a voice mail system that transmits and receives a mail (voice mail) created by voice recording is also known (see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-223803 A
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when creating a voicemail, it is not always possible to record in a quiet environment. If the surroundings are noisy, unnecessary sounds (noise) other than voice messages are also recorded. When such a voice mail is played, the noise makes it difficult to hear the message content, and requires repeated listening and volume adjustment. The nature also increases.
On the other hand, even if there is no noise in the received voicemail, it is not always possible to hear it in a quiet environment when playing it, and if the surroundings are noisy, it will be difficult to hear and it will be heard repeatedly Or the need to adjust the volume, and the risk of misunderstanding increases.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the first invention to remove a noise portion from a voice mail based on an environment at the time of recording the mail.
A second object of the present invention is to make it possible to emphasize a voice portion in a voice mail based on an environment in which the mail is listened.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an electronic mail system for transmitting and receiving an electronic mail created by voice recording, environment information indicating an environment at the time of recording is added to the voice mail created by voice recording. And a decision unit for deciding an optimum noise removal process based on the environmental information, and removing the noise portion from the voice mail based on the optimal noise removal process determined by the decision unit. Mail editing means for editing the contents of the mail.
Further, the present invention provides a computer with a program for realizing the main functions described in the first aspect of the present invention (the second aspect of the present invention).
[0007]
Therefore, according to the first and twelfth aspects of the present invention, when the environment information indicating the environment at the time of recording is added to the voice mail created by the voice recording, the optimum noise removal processing is determined based on the environment information. However, since the noise part is removed from the voice mail based on this noise removal processing, even if the noise is recorded together with the voice message, the noise removal matched to the degree and type of the noise differs according to the recording environment. The processing can effectively reduce and eliminate noise in the mail. Therefore, at the time of mail playback, it is possible to hear the contents of the voice message accurately without being affected by the noise. Absent.
[0008]
The invention described in claim 1 may be as follows.
The sending mail terminal that creates and transmits the voice mail adds a location type indicating the type of recording location where the voice mail was recorded to the voice mail as environment information (the invention according to claim 2). In this case, in general, for example, "entertainment facilities where the mechanical sounds are particularly loud and which are generally noisy", "workplaces (offices) that make human voices but are relatively quiet", and "very quiet with little noise" The degree and type of noise varies greatly depending on the recording location, such as `` a room '', but if the type of recording location is environmental information, the noise specific to that location will depend on where the recording was made. Effective removal can be achieved.
[0009]
Guidance means for guiding and outputting the place type classified according to the degree and type of noise as a selection candidate group is provided, and the place type arbitrarily selected and designated from the selection candidate group is used as environmental information in the voice mail. It is added (the invention according to claim 3).
Therefore, according to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to having the same effect as the first aspect of the invention, an arbitrary place type is selected as a recording environment from a selection candidate group. Environment information that is sometimes added to voice mail can be easily input.
In this case, a position detecting means for detecting the current position is provided, and the location type classified according to the degree of noise and its type is selected from the selection candidate group as the location type corresponding to the current position detected by the position detecting means. Is selected and designated as environment information and added to the voice mail (the invention according to claim 4), there is no need to perform any operation for inputting environment information.
[0010]
The sending-side mail terminal that creates and transmits the voice mail adds the recording time zone in which the voice mail was recorded to the voice mail as environment information (the invention according to claim 5).
Therefore, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to having the same effect as the first aspect of the invention, the recording time zone in which the voice mail is recorded is set as the environment information. Even when the degree and type of the noise are greatly different, it is possible to effectively remove a noise portion peculiar to the time zone according to the time zone in which the sound was recorded.
[0011]
The deciding means decides an optimal noise elimination process corresponding to the environment at the time of voice mail recording from among a plurality of types of noise elimination processes prepared in advance for each recording environment (the invention according to claim 6).
Therefore, according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to having the same effect as the first aspect of the present invention, of the plurality of types of noise removal processing prepared in advance for each recording environment, the environment for voice mail recording Since the optimum noise elimination processing corresponding to the above is determined, it is possible to efficiently perform the noise elimination processing suitable for the environment without performing troublesome processing such as noise analysis.
[0012]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the electronic mail system for transmitting / receiving an electronic mail created by voice recording, environment information indicating a listening environment when listening to the voice mail created by voice recording is provided. A determination unit for determining an optimum voice emphasis process based on the environment information when transmitted, and emphasizing a voice portion of the voice mail based on the optimum voice emphasis process determined by the determination unit And a mail editing means for editing the contents of the mail.
Further, the present invention provides a computer with a program for realizing the main functions described in the seventh aspect of the present invention (the thirteenth aspect).
[0013]
Therefore, according to the invention of claims 7 and 13, when environment information indicating a listening environment when listening to a voice mail is transmitted, an optimum voice emphasizing process is determined based on the environment information. The voice part of the voice mail is enhanced based on the voice emphasis processing, so even if the surroundings are noisy, the voice part can be effectively processed by the voice emphasis processing that matches the degree and type of noise depending on the listening environment Can be emphasized. Therefore, when playing an e-mail, it is possible to listen to the contents of the voice message accurately without being affected by the surrounding noise. Absent.
[0014]
The invention according to claim 7 may be as follows.
The receiving-side mail terminal that receives and listens to the voice mail transmits a location type indicating a type of a listening place at the time of listening to the voice mail as environment information (the invention according to claim 8). In this case, in general, for example, "in a vehicle where the mechanical noise is particularly loud and which is generally noisy", "a workplace (office) where human voices are relatively quiet", and "very quiet with little noise" The degree and type of noise varies greatly depending on the listening location, such as `` a room '', but if the type of listening location is environmental information, voice emphasis specific to that location can be emphasized depending on where the listening is performed. It can be performed effectively.
[0015]
Guidance means is provided for guiding and outputting a location type classified according to the degree and type of noise as a selection candidate group, and a location type arbitrarily selected and designated from the selection candidate group is transmitted as environment information (claim Item 9)).
Therefore, according to the ninth aspect of the invention, in addition to having the same effect as the seventh aspect of the invention, an arbitrary place type is selected as a recording environment from a selection candidate group. Can be easily input.
[0016]
The receiving-side mail terminal that receives and listens to the voice mail transmits a listening time zone for listening to the voice mail as environment information (the invention according to claim 10).
Therefore, according to the tenth aspect of the invention, in addition to having the same effect as the seventh aspect of the invention, the time zone for listening to the voice mail is set as the environment information. Even when the degree and type of the sound are greatly different, it is possible to effectively cope with noise peculiar to the time zone according to the time zone in which the user listens.
[0017]
The determining means determines an optimal voice emphasizing process corresponding to the environment at the time of listening to the voice mail from a plurality of types of voice emphasizing processes prepared in advance for each listening environment (the invention according to claim 11).
Therefore, according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to having the same effect as the invention of the seventh aspect, of the plurality of types of voice emphasis processing prepared in advance for each listening environment, the environment for listening to a voice mail is included. Since the optimum voice emphasis processing corresponding to (1) is determined, it is possible to efficiently perform the voice emphasis processing suitable for the environment without performing troublesome processing such as noise analysis at the time of listening.
[0018]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
(1st Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the voice mail system according to this embodiment.
In this voice mail system, the transmitting mobile terminal 1 that creates and transmits an e-mail (voice mail) includes environmental information (recording location and recording time) indicating the environment at the time of recording the voice mail created by voice recording. And send the mail. The voice mail transmitted from the transmitting side mobile terminal 1 is sent to the mail transmitting server 2 of the provider to which the transmission source is subscribed. The mail transmitting server 2 determines the mail receiving server 3 on the provider side to which the destination (destination) of the mail has joined as the connection destination, and distributes the voice mail to the mail receiving server 3 via the network 4.
[0019]
The mail receiving server 3 has a message storage device (mail box corresponding to the destination) 31 for receiving and storing the voice mail from the mail transmitting server 2, and if environmental information is added to the voice mail, Environmental information is also stored in the mailbox 31. Here, when the mail reception server 3 receives a mail reception request (mail distribution request) from the receiving portable terminal 5 that receives voice mail, the mail reception server 3 searches for and distributes the mail addressed to the request source. However, at this time, if the environment information at the time of the recording is added to the voice mail, the optimum noise reduction processing is determined based on the environment information, and after removing (reducing) the noise portion from the voice mail, The voice mail is delivered to the requesting receiving side mobile terminal 5.
[0020]
The mail receiving server 3 includes a mailbox 31, a central processing unit (CPU) 32 for controlling the overall operation, a data communication device 33, a noise reduction processing determination device 34, a signal processing device 35, and the like that are specific to this embodiment. Configuration.
The noise reduction processing determination device 34 selects one of a plurality of noise reduction processing methods A-1, A-2, A-3,... The reduction processing method is selected. That is, since the degree and type of noise differ according to the recording environment at the time of mail creation, the noise reduction processing determination device 34 selects a reduction processing method corresponding to the recording environment. The signal processing device 35 transmits the voice mail according to the noise reduction processing method selected by the noise reduction processing determination device 34 among the plurality of types of noise reduction processing methods A-1, A-2, A-3, and ‥‥. The processing for removing the noise is performed, and the voice mail subjected to the noise removing processing is delivered to the receiving-side mobile terminal 5 that has made the request.
[0021]
Here, a plurality of types of noise reduction processing methods A-1, A-2, A-3, and ‥‥ are prepared in advance for each recording environment, and the noise in the mail is changed according to the environment (degree and type of noise) at the time of recording. The processing for performing the reduction removal according to the processing is implemented as follows. That is, first, the degree and type of noise are classified by recording location and recording time zone category, and then noise for each category is sampled at the actual location and time zone. Then, the frequency characteristics (band of noise component and noise intensity, etc.) and time characteristics (periodicity of the noise, time from the occurrence of the noise until it is reduced to half, etc.) of the sample noise are analyzed for each noise category. Then, a noise reduction algorithm and a filter for noise cancellation are created based on the analysis results for each category. Thus, the noise reduction algorithm and the noise elimination filter created for each noise category are implemented as a plurality of types of noise reduction processing methods A-1, A-2, A-3, −３.
[0022]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing basic components of the mobile terminals 1 and 5 with a voice mail function.
The transmitting side mobile terminal 1 and the receiving side mobile terminal 5 are a personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone or the like on which a voice mailer software or the like is installed. It has a configuration. The transmitting side mobile terminal 1 and the receiving side mobile terminal 5 include a central processing unit (CPU) 11, a main storage device 12 such as a RAM and a ROM, an auxiliary storage device 13 such as a flash ROM, a data communication device 14, a touch panel and a keyboard, and the like. Input device 15, a display device 16 such as a liquid crystal panel, an audio input device 17 such as a microphone and an A / D converter, and an audio output device 18 such as a D / A converter and a speaker. The input device 15, the display device 16, the voice input device 17, and the voice output device 18 which are output peripheral devices are controlled according to an input / output program.
[0023]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of the selection candidate table 19 provided on the transmission side mobile terminal 1 side.
The selection candidate table 19 is a table for storing a selection candidate group for selecting a recording environment (type of recording place), and includes, for example, "an entertainment facility where mechanical sound is particularly large and noisy as a whole", "human voice". Record the recording environment, such as a relatively quiet work place (office), an extremely quiet room with little noise, or a vehicle that is particularly loud with mechanical noise. Are classified according to the type of In this example, a private room (own room, hotel room, etc.), a common room for several people (living room, sick room, etc.), work place (company office, etc.), entertainment facilities (movie theater, music hall, etc.) ‥ are classified into categories. The contents of the selection candidate table 19 are displayed in a list after the voice mail is created, and the location at the time of mail recording is arbitrarily selected and designated from the list screen. The recording location selected from the selection candidate table 19 is added to the voice mail together with the current time (recording time) as environment information indicating the recording environment.
[0024]
Next, the operation concept of the voice mail system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. Here, the functions described in these flowcharts are stored in the form of readable program codes, and sequentially execute operations according to the program codes. Further, the operation according to the above-described program code transmitted via the transmission medium can be sequentially performed. This is the same in other embodiments described later, and an operation specific to this embodiment can be executed using a program / data externally supplied via a transmission medium in addition to a recording medium.
[0025]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of creating a voice mail on the transmitting side mobile terminal 1 side.
First, in the transmitting side mobile terminal 1, when an instruction to create a voice mail is given, the CPU 11 enters a recording enabled state, acquires an input voice message as a mail text and records it (step A1). Here, the voice message is continuously recorded until the end of the recording is instructed (step A2) (step A1). When the end of the recording is instructed, the selection candidate table 19 is accessed and the recording location is recorded. Are displayed as a selection candidate in a list (step A3).
[0026]
Here, the mail creator selects and designates a place at the time of mail recording from the list screen (step A4). For example, if the recording location is a private room (own room, hotel room, etc.), select the first item, and if the recording location is an entertainment facility (movie theater, music hall, etc.), select the fourth item. select. After the recording place is selected in this way, the CPU 11 acquires the current time (recording time) (step A5). Here, when mail transmission is instructed (step A6), the CPU 11 adds the recording location and the current time (recording time) to the voice mail as environment information indicating the environment at the time of recording (step A7), and then sends the mail. Transmission processing is performed (step A8). If mail transmission is not instructed (NO in step A6), the created voice mail is stored together with the environment information (step A9).
[0027]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the mail distribution processing on the mail receiving server 3 side.
Here, when the mail receiving server 3 receives the voice mail transmitted from the transmitting portable terminal 1 via the mail transmitting server 2 (step B1), the mail receiving server 3 stores the received mail in the mailbox 31 corresponding to the destination. (Step B2).
On the other hand, when a mail reception request (mail distribution request) is received from the receiving side mobile terminal 5 (step B3), the voice mail is read out from the mailbox 31 addressed to the request source (step B4), and the voice mail is read out. It is determined whether or not the recording needs to be removed based on the environment information added to the mail (steps B5 and B6).
[0028]
That is, if the recording location included in the environment information is a very quiet place (for example, a private room), it is determined that the recording removal processing is unnecessary (NO in step B6), but the recording location is noise. If the location is any other location that is easily affected by the voice mail (YES in step B6), the noise reduction processing determination device 34 refers to the environment information added to the voice mail, and From among the noise reduction processing methods A-1, A-2, A-3, and ‥‥, a noise reduction processing method that is optimal for the recording environment at the time of mail creation is selected (step B7). That is, after selecting a noise reduction processing method that matches the recording location at the time of creating a mail, it checks which recording time zone the recording time belongs to, and selects a noise reduction processing method that matches this recording time zone. Thereafter, the signal processing device 35 performs a process of removing noise from the voice mail in accordance with the noise reduction processing method selected by the noise reduction process determining device 34 (step B8). The voice mail that has been subjected to the noise removal processing in this manner is delivered to the requesting reception-side portable terminal 5 (step B9).
[0029]
As described above, in the first embodiment, the mail receiving server 3 adds the environment information indicating the environment at the time of recording to the voice mail transmitted from the transmitting portable terminal 1 via the mail transmitting server 2. In this case, the optimum noise reduction processing method is determined based on the environmental information, and the noise portion is removed from the voice mail based on the noise reduction processing method. Also, the noise in the mail can be effectively reduced and removed by noise reduction processing that matches the degree and type of noise that differs depending on the recording environment. In this case, the degree and type of noise vary greatly depending on the recording location. However, since the type of recording location is environmental information, noise specific to that location is effectively removed according to the location where the recording was performed. It becomes possible. Therefore, at the time of voice mail playback, the contents of the voice message can be accurately heard without being adversely affected by noise. Nor.
[0030]
On the other hand, when adding the voice mail recording location to the voice mail as environment information, the transmitting portable terminal 1 that creates and transmits the voice mail records the location arbitrarily selected from the selection candidate table 19. Since the environment is set, environment information can be easily input.
In addition, since the environment information includes the recording time of the voice mail, the mail receiving server 3 effectively removes a noise portion peculiar to the time zone according to the time zone in which the voice mail was recorded. It becomes possible. In addition, the mail receiving server 3 determines an optimum noise reduction processing method corresponding to the environment at the time of mail recording from among a plurality of types of noise reduction processing methods prepared in advance for each recording environment. It is possible to efficiently perform noise reduction processing suitable for the environment without performing complicated processing such as.
[0031]
In the above-described first embodiment, the recording location is the location arbitrarily selected by the mail creator from the selection candidate table 19, but the recording location may be obtained automatically. That is, a function for acquiring location information corresponding to the current location using the terrestrial / satellite mobile communication service is provided on the transmitting side mobile terminal 1 side, and the location obtained by this location acquisition function is used as a recording location as a voice You may add to mail.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation on the transmitting side mobile terminal 1 side in this case. First, a voice message is recorded (step C1), a location corresponding to the current position is obtained as a recording location using a terrestrial / satellite mobile communication service (step C3), and the current time (recording time) ), The recording location and the current time (recording time) are generated as environment information indicating the environment at the time of recording (step). Here, it is checked whether or not there is a mail transmission instruction (step C4). If there is no mail transmission instruction, the process returns to the step. If there is a mail transmission instruction, the environment information is added to the voice mail (step C5). A mail transmission process is performed (step C6).
[0032]
Further, in the first embodiment described above, the mail receiving server 3 executes the noise reduction processing. However, the mail transmission server 2 may perform the noise reduction processing. That is, the noise reduction processing is not limited to the mail reception server 3 and may be performed on the mail transmission server 2 side. Further, a part or all of the noise reduction processing may be performed on the receiving side mobile terminal 5 side.
[0033]
On the other hand, a recording medium (for example, a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a RAM card, or the like) in which a program code for causing each of the above-described units to be executed may be provided to the computer.
That is, when a recording medium having a program code that can be read by a computer and environmental information indicating an environment at the time of recording is added to a voice mail created by voice recording, an optimum A computer that records a program for realizing a function of determining noise removal processing and a function of editing the contents of the voice mail by removing a noise portion from the voice mail based on the determined optimum noise removal processing is read by a computer. A possible recording medium may be provided.
[0034]
(2nd Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment described above, the mail receiving server 3 adds the environment information indicating the environment at the time of recording to the voice mail transmitted from the transmitting mobile terminal 1 via the mail transmitting server 2. In this case, the optimum noise reduction processing method is determined based on the environmental information, and the noise part is removed from the voice mail based on the noise reduction processing method. In the second embodiment, the mail receiving server is used. In addition to executing the noise reduction processing on the side 3, when environment information indicating a listening environment for listening to voice mail is transmitted from the receiving portable terminal 5, the optimum voice based on the environment information is transmitted. The emphasis process is determined, and the voice portion of the voice mail is emphasized based on the voice emphasis process.
Here, in both embodiments, basically the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the following description focuses on the features of the second embodiment.
[0035]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the voice mail system according to the second embodiment.
In this voice mail system, as in the first embodiment described above, the transmitting side mobile terminal 1 sends a voice mail created by voice recording with environment information indicating the environment at the time of the recording, and transmits the mail. The server 2 determines the mail receiving server 3 on the provider side to which the other party (destination) of the voice mail is subscribed as a connection destination, and distributes the voice mail to the mail receiving server 3 via the network 4.
[0036]
The mail receiving server 3 executes the noise removing process and distributes the voice mail subjected to the noise removing process to the requesting receiving side mobile terminal 5 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. 5, when the environment information indicating the listening environment when listening to the voice mail is transmitted, the optimum voice enhancement processing is determined based on the environment information, and the voice of the voice mail is determined based on the voice enhancement processing. A process for emphasizing a portion is performed. That is, the mail receiving server 3 has a configuration including a noise removal processing device 36, a voice emphasis processing determination device 37 unique to the second embodiment, and a signal processing device 38, in addition to the mailbox 31, the CPU 32, and the data communication device 33. Has become. Note that the noise removal processing device 36 has a configuration including the above-described noise reduction process determination device 34 and signal processing device 35, and performs the same noise reduction process as in the first embodiment.
[0037]
The voice emphasizing process determination device 37 selects a listening environment (noise) for listening to a voice mail among a plurality of types of voice emphasizing processes B-2, B-2, and B-3 # prepared in advance for each recording environment. (A degree and a type) are selected.
The signal processing device 38 outputs the voice of the voice mail according to the voice emphasis processing method selected by the voice emphasis processing determination device 37 among the plurality of types of voice emphasis processing methods B-2, B-2, and B-3 #. The voice mail that has been subjected to the voice emphasis processing is delivered to the requesting reception-side mobile terminal 5.
[0038]
Here, a plurality of types of voice emphasis processing methods B-1, B-2, B-3, and 予 め are prepared in advance for each listening environment, and the sound quality, volume, and the like of the voice portion in the mail are determined by the environment (noise) at the time of audience. (The degree and type of the processing), and the processing for emphasizing processing is performed, and the processing is implemented as follows. That is, first, after classifying the degree and type of noise by the category of the listening place and the listening time zone, the noise for each category is sampled at the actual place and time zone. Then, the frequency characteristics (band of noise component and noise intensity, etc.) and time characteristics (periodicity of the noise, time from the occurrence of the noise until it is reduced to half, etc.) of the sample noise are analyzed for each noise category. Then, based on the analysis result for each category, a speech enhancement algorithm and a filter for speech enhancement are created. As a result, the speech enhancement algorithm and the speech enhancement filter created for each noise category are implemented as a plurality of types of speech enhancement processing methods B-1, B-2, B-3,.
[0039]
When receiving the voice mail addressed to itself, the receiving-side mobile terminal 5 makes a reception request to the mail receiving server 3. At this time, the environment information (the recording location and The recording time is added to the reception request and transmitted to the mail reception server 3. In this case, the receiving side mobile terminal 5 is provided with the above-described selection candidate table 19. The contents of the selection candidate table 19 are displayed in a list at the time of a voice mail reception request. If a place for listening to a mail is arbitrarily selected and designated from the list screen, the listening place selected from the selection candidate table 19 becomes The current time (listening time) is transmitted to the mail receiving server 3 as environment information indicating the listening environment.
[0040]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of receiving mobile terminal 5 when receiving voice mail.
First, in the receiving-side portable terminal 5, when a voice mail reception request is instructed (step D1), the CPU 11 accesses the selection candidate table 19 and displays a list of types of listening places as selection candidates (step D1). D2). Here, the mail creator selects and designates a place for listening to the mail from the list screen (step D3). For example, if the listening place is a private room (own room, hotel room, etc.), select the first item. If the listening place is an entertainment facility (movie theater, music hall, etc.), select the fourth item. select. When the listening place is selected in this way, the CPU 11 acquires the current time (listening time) (step D4), and sets the listening place and the current time (listening time) as environment information indicating the environment at the time of listening. It is added to the mail reception request (step D5), and the mail reception request is transmitted to the mail reception server 3 (step D6).
[0041]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a mail distribution process in the mail receiving server 3.
Here, when the mail receiving server 3 receives a voice mail transmitted from the transmitting portable terminal 1 via the mail transmitting server 2, the mail receiving server 3 stores the received mail in the mailbox 31 corresponding to the destination. On the other hand, when a mail reception request is received from the receiving side mobile terminal 5 (step E1), after acquiring the listening environment information added to the reception request (step E2), the request source is set as the destination. The voice mail is read from the mailbox 31 to be executed (step E3).
[0042]
Then, it is determined whether or not the recording needs to be removed based on the environment information at the time of recording attached to the voice mail (steps E4 and E5), and the recording location included in the environment information is extremely quiet. If it is a place (for example, a private room), it is determined that the recording removal processing is unnecessary (NO in step E5), but if the recording place is another place that is easily affected by noise, the noise removal processing device is used. Reference numeral 36 refers to the environment information added to the voice mail, and creates a mail among a plurality of types of noise reduction processing methods A-1, A-2, A-3, and 予 め prepared in advance for each recording environment. A noise reduction processing method most suitable for the current environment is selected (step E6), and a process of removing noise from voice mail is performed according to the noise reduction processing method (step E7).
[0043]
After performing the noise removal processing in this way, it is determined whether or not voice emphasis is necessary based on the listening environment information added to the mail reception request from the receiving portable terminal 5 (step E8 and step E8). E9) If the listening place included in the environment information is a very quiet place (for example, a private room) (NO in step E9), it is determined that the voice emphasis processing is unnecessary, but the listening place is determined. If the location is another place that is easily affected by noise, the voice emphasis processing determination device 37 refers to the environment information at the time of listening, and a plurality of types of voice emphasis processing methods B-1 and B prepared in advance for each listening environment. -2, B-3, and ‥‥, a voice emphasis processing method optimal for the environment at the time of listening to the mail is selected (step E10). That is, after selecting the voice emphasizing processing method that matches the listening place at the time of listening to the mail, it checks which listening time zone the listening time belongs to, and selects the voice emphasizing processing method that matches the listening time zone. Thereafter, the signal processing device 38 performs a process of emphasizing the audio part in the voice mail according to the audio emphasis processing method selected by the audio emphasis processing determination device 37 (step E11). The voice mail that has been subjected to the emphasis processing in this way is delivered to the requesting receiving side mobile terminal 5 (step E12).
[0044]
As described above, in the second embodiment, when the environment information indicating the listening environment at the time of listening to the voice mail is transmitted from the receiving portable terminal 5, the mail receiving server 3 performs the processing based on the environment information. The voice emphasis processing is determined based on the optimum voice emphasis processing, and the voice part of the voice mail is emphasized based on the voice emphasis processing, so that even if the surroundings are noisy, the noise level and type differ depending on the listening environment. The voice portion can be effectively enhanced by the matched voice emphasis processing. In this case, the degree and type of noise vary greatly depending on the listening location, but since the type of listening location is environmental information, voice emphasis can be performed in consideration of the location-specific noise depending on where the audience is located It becomes. Therefore, at the time of voice mail playback, it is possible to hear the contents of the voice message accurately without being adversely affected by the surrounding noise. There is no fear.
[0045]
On the other hand, when transmitting the voice mail listening location to the mail receiving server 3, the receiving mobile terminal 5 receiving the voice mail is configured to set a location arbitrarily selected from the selection candidate table 19 as a listening environment. Thus, environmental information can be easily input.
In addition, since the environment information includes the listening time at which the voice mail is listened, the mail receiving server 3 can perform voice emphasis in consideration of the time zone specific noise in accordance with the time zone to listen to. It becomes. In addition, the mail receiving server 3 determines an optimum voice emphasis processing method corresponding to an environment at the time of mail listening from among a plurality of types of voice emphasis processing methods prepared in advance for each listening environment. It is possible to efficiently perform a voice emphasis processing method suitable for the environment without performing complicated processing such as.
[0046]
Further, the mail receiving server 3 determines whether the voice mail transmitted from the transmitting portable terminal 1 via the mail transmitting server 2 has environment information indicating the environment at the time of recording, and based on this environment information, The most suitable noise reduction processing method is determined by performing the voice emphasis processing after removing the noise portion from the voice mail based on this noise reduction processing method. Then, the contents of the voice message can be heard.
[0047]
In the above-described second embodiment, a place arbitrarily selected by the mail creator from the selection candidate table 19 is set as the listening place. However, the listening place may be automatically obtained. That is, a function of acquiring location information corresponding to the current location using the terrestrial / satellite mobile communication service is provided on the receiving side mobile terminal 5 side, and the location obtained by the location acquisition function is used as a listening location to send a mail as a listening location. You may make it transmit to the receiving server 3.
[0048]
Further, in the above-described second embodiment, the mail receiving server 3 executes the voice emphasizing process, but a part or all of the voice emphasizing process may be performed on the receiving portable terminal 5 side.
Further, in the above-described second embodiment, the mail receiving server 3 executes the noise removal processing. However, the mail transmission server 2 may perform the noise removal processing. A part or all of the noise removal processing may be performed on the terminal 5 side.
[0049]
On the other hand, a recording medium (for example, a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a RAM card, or the like) in which a program code for causing each of the above-described units to be executed may be provided to the computer.
In other words, if environment information indicating a listening environment for listening to a voice mail created by voice recording is transmitted on a recording medium having a computer-readable program code, Recording a program for realizing the function of determining the optimal voice emphasis processing by using the function and the function of editing the mail content by emphasizing the voice part of the voice mail based on the determined optimum voice emphasis processing A computer-readable recording medium may be provided.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first invention (the invention described in claim 1), when environment information indicating an environment at the time of recording is added to a voice mail created by voice recording, an optimum noise is generated based on the environment information. Since the noise removal process was determined and the noise part was removed from the voice mail based on this noise removal process, even if the noise was recorded together with the voice message, the noise level and type differed depending on the recording environment. The noise in the mail can be effectively reduced and removed by the matched noise removal processing. Therefore, at the time of mail playback, it is possible to hear the contents of the voice message accurately without being affected by the noise. Absent.
According to the second invention (invention of claim 7), when environment information indicating a listening environment at the time of listening to a voice mail is transmitted, optimal voice enhancement processing is performed based on the environment information. After that, the voice part of the voice mail is emphasized based on this voice emphasis processing, so that even if the surroundings are noisy, the voice emphasis processing that matches the degree and type of noise varies depending on the listening environment. The part can be emphasized effectively. Therefore, when playing an e-mail, it is possible to listen to the contents of the voice message accurately without being affected by the surrounding noise. Absent.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a voice mail system.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing basic components of the mobile terminals 1 and 5 having a voice mail function.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of a selection candidate table 19 provided on the transmission side mobile terminal 1 side.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of creating a voice mail on the transmitting side mobile terminal 1 side.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a mail distribution process on the mail receiving server 3 side.
FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a modified application example of the first embodiment, and is a flowchart showing an operation when automatically acquiring a recording location.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a voice mail system according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of the receiving-side portable terminal 5 when receiving voice mail in the second embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a mail distribution process in a mail receiving server 3 according to the second embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 sender mobile terminal
2 Mail sending server
3 mail receiving server
4 Network
5 Receiver mobile terminal
11, 32 CPU
12 Main storage device
13 Auxiliary storage device
14,33 Data communication device
15 Input device
16 Display device
17 Voice input device
18 Audio output device
19 Selection candidate table
31 Mailbox
34 Noise reduction processing decision device
35, 38 Signal processing device
37 Speech enhancement processing decision device

Claims (13)

In an email system that sends and receives emails created by voice recording,
When environment information indicating the environment at the time of the recording is added to the voice mail created by the voice recording, determining means for determining an optimal noise removal process based on the environment information,
Mail editing means for editing the contents of the mail by removing a noise portion from the voice mail based on the optimum noise removal processing determined by the determining means;
An e-mail system comprising: The sending mail terminal that creates and sends the voice mail adds a location type indicating the type of recording location where the voice mail was recorded to the voice mail as environmental information,
2. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein: Providing guidance means for guiding and outputting the location type classified according to the degree and type of noise as a selection candidate group,
Adding a place type arbitrarily selected and designated from the selection candidate group to the voice mail as environment information;
3. The electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein: Providing position detection means for detecting the current position,
The location type classified according to the noise level and its type is selected from the selection candidate group, and the location type corresponding to the current position detected by the position detection means is selected and designated as environment information and added to the voice mail. ,
3. The electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein: The sending mail terminal that creates and sends the voice mail adds the recording time zone in which the voice mail was recorded to the voice mail as environmental information,
2. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein: The determining means determines an optimal noise removal process corresponding to the environment at the time of voice mail recording, among a plurality of types of noise removal processes prepared in advance for each recording environment.
2. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein: In an email system that sends and receives emails created by voice recording,
When environment information indicating a listening environment when listening to a voice mail created by voice recording has been transmitted, a determination unit that determines an optimal voice enhancement process based on the environment information,
Mail editing means for editing the mail content by emphasizing the voice part of the voice mail based on the optimum voice emphasis processing determined by the determining means;
An e-mail system comprising: The receiving-side mail terminal that receives and listens to the voice mail transmits a location type indicating a type of a listening place when listening to the voice mail as environment information.
The electronic mail system according to claim 7, wherein Providing guidance means for guiding and outputting the location type classified according to the degree and type of noise as a selection candidate group,
A location type arbitrarily selected and designated from among the selection candidate group is transmitted as environment information,
The electronic mail system according to claim 8, wherein The receiving-side mail terminal that receives and listens to the voice mail transmits a listening time zone for listening to the voice mail as environment information,
The electronic mail system according to claim 7, wherein The determining means, among a plurality of types of voice enhancement processes prepared in advance for each listening environment, determines an optimal voice enhancement process corresponding to the environment at the time of listening to the voice mail,
8. The e-mail system according to claim 7, wherein: Against the computer
When environmental information indicating the environment at the time of the recording is added to the voice mail created by the voice recording, a function of determining an optimal noise removal process based on the environmental information,
A function of editing the contents of the mail by removing noise from the voice mail based on the determined optimal noise removal processing;
The program to realize. Against the computer
When environment information indicating a listening environment when listening to a voice mail created by voice recording has been transmitted, a function of determining an optimal voice emphasis process based on the environment information,
A function of editing the content of the mail by emphasizing the voice part of the voice mail based on the determined optimum voice emphasis processing;
The program to realize.

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