JP2013114118A - Speaker speaking rate control device and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a speaker speaking rate control device for adjusting a speaking rate of a speaker so that his or her speech is easy to understand.SOLUTION: A speaker speaking rate calculation unit 103A calculates a speaking rate of a speaker A by a speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS outputted from a speaker sound pressure signal reception unit 102A on the basis of a speaker sound pressure signal 101AS and stores the calculated speaking rate in a storage unit 105. A speaker speaking rate adjustment control unit 107 reads out the speaking rate and preliminarily stored speaking rate upper and lower limit values Max and Min for listeners from the storage unit 105 and determines whether it is necessary to adjust the speaking rate of the speaker A or not on the basis of a speaking rate Va calculated on the basis of the speaking rate and the speaking rate upper and lower limit values Max and Min for listeners and, if it is necessary to adjust the speaking rate, controls a speaker speaking rate adjustment request notification output unit 108 so that a speaker speaking rate adjustment request notification AL is outputted.

Description

  The present invention relates to a speaker speaking speed control apparatus for adjusting the speaking speed of a speaker to a speed at which it can be easily heard, and an operation method thereof.

  It is widely known that a person's physical function decreases with age. For example, the phenomenon that the eyes are difficult to see and the ears are far away is a well-known phenomenon. Moreover, it is known that cognitive function also decreases with aging. For example, the ability of abstract cognitive processing tends to decrease due to a decrease in working memory in the brain. From these factors, it is considered that elderly people have difficulty in speaking and listening to voice compared to younger people. It is necessary to adjust the conversation speed (speech speed) to make it easier for elderly people to hear the conversation.

  Conventional techniques relating to speech speed include a technique for measuring the speech speed and a technique for optimizing the speed of speech reading in accordance with the user and / or the use situation (Patent Documents 1 to 3).

JP 2011-102910 A JP-A-5-289691 JP 2005-331589 A

  In general conversation, if the person (speaker) having a conversation spontaneously speaks with the speaking speed so as to be within an appropriate speed for the other party (listener), it will be easier for the listener to hear. However, it is difficult to adjust the speaking speed while being aware of the speaking speed while speaking. For this reason, it often happens that people become crazy about the story and become unable to hear the other party. In a conversation with a plurality of people, the speaking speed must be changed in accordance with the conversation participant who is most difficult to hear (the most difficult person) so that everyone can hear it. However, speaking to participants other than the most difficult person tends to increase the speaking speed, and in such a case, it is very difficult to speak considering the most difficult person.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a speaker speaking speed control device and an operation method thereof for adjusting the speaking speed of a speaker to a speed at which it can be easily heard. There is to do.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the first aspect of the present invention includes a listener speech speed storage unit in which a listener's speech speed, which is a speech speed that is easy to hear for a listener who listens to a speaker's speech, is stored in advance. A speaker that outputs a speaker speaking speed database storing a speaker speaking speed, which is a speaking speed, and a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification requesting the speaker speaking speed adjustment to the speaker A speech speed adjustment request notification output unit;
A speaker microphone that is a microphone that receives sound pressure generated by the speaker's speech, and a speaker sound pressure that receives a speaker sound pressure signal that is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure generated by the speaker's speech from the speaker microphone. The speaker speech speed is calculated from a signal receiver and a speaker sound pressure measurement signal output from the speaker sound pressure signal receiver based on the speaker sound pressure signal, and the speaker speech speed is calculated as the speaker speech speed. A speaker speaking speed calculation unit to be stored in the speaker speaking speed database, one speaker speaking speed or two or more speaker speaking speeds are read from the speaker speaking speed database, and the listener speaking speed is stored from the listener speaking speed storage unit. Based on the read speaker speech speed calculated based on the one speaker speech speed or the two or more speaker speech speeds and the read listener speech speed, whether or not the speaker speech speed needs to be adjusted is determined. If it is necessary to adjust the speaker speaking speed, the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification is output. And solutions with a speaker speech speed control device, characterized in that it comprises a speaker speech speed adjustment control unit for controlling the Kihanashi's speaking rate adjustment request notification output portion.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a listener speech speed storage unit in which a listener's speech speed that is easy to hear for a listener who listens to the speaker's speech is stored in advance, and a speaker speech speed that is the speech speed of the speaker. And a speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification output unit for outputting a speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification to the speaker that adjustment of the speaker speaking speed is unnecessary. , A speaker microphone that is a microphone that receives sound pressure generated by the speaker's speech, and a speaker sound that receives a speaker sound pressure signal that is a sound pressure signal indicating the sound pressure generated by the speaker's speech from the speaker microphone. Calculating the speaker speaking speed from a pressure signal receiving unit and a speaker sound pressure measurement signal output based on the speaker sound pressure signal from the speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit, A speaker speaking speed calculation unit stored in the speaker speaking speed database, and one speaker story from the speaker speaking speed database Alternatively, two or more speaker speaking speeds are read, the speaker speaking speed is read from the listener speaking speed storage unit, and the speaker speaking speed calculated based on the one speaker speaking speed or the two or more speaker speaking speeds is obtained. It is determined whether or not the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted based on the read speaker speaking speed, and if the speaker speaking speed adjustment is unnecessary, the speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification is output. The speaker speaking speed control device includes a speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit that controls the speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification output unit.

  For example, the speaker sound pressure measurement signal is a signal obtained by removing a portion below a predetermined sound pressure threshold from the speaker sound pressure signal.

  For example, the speaker speech speed control device is configured to receive a listener microphone that is a microphone that receives sound pressure due to the utterance of the listener, and a listener sound pressure signal that is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure due to the utterance of the listener from the listener microphone. A listener sound pressure signal receiving unit for receiving, and a listener speech speed calculating unit for calculating a listener speech speed from a listener sound pressure measurement signal output based on the listener sound pressure signal from the listener sound pressure signal receiving unit, The listener speech speed storage unit stores the calculated listener speech speed in advance.

  For example, the speaker speaking speed control device includes the listener microphone, the listener sound pressure signal receiving unit, and the listener speaking speed calculating unit for each of a plurality of listeners, and the listener speaking speed storage unit includes the plurality of listeners. The earliest speaker speed among the speaking speeds is stored in advance.

  For example, the listener speech speed storage unit stores in advance a first listener speech speed that is an upper limit value of an utterance speed that is easy for the listener to listen and a second listener speech speed that is a lower limit value. The speaker speech speed adjustment control unit is configured to request the speaker speech speed adjustment if the speaker speech speed is greater than the first listener speech speed or if the speaker speech speed is less than the second listener speech speed. A notification when a notification is output and a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification when the speaker speaking speed is higher than the first listener speaking speed and a talk when the speaker speaking speed is lower than the second listener speaking speed The speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit is controlled so that the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification can be distinguished from each other by the speaker.

  For example, the listener speech speed storage unit stores in advance a first listener speech speed that is an upper limit value of an utterance speed that is easy for the listener to listen and a second listener speech speed that is a lower limit value. If the speaker speaking speed is greater than the first listener speaking speed, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit requests the speaker speaking speed adjustment as the difference between the speaker speaking speed and the first listener speaking speed increases. Controlling the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit so as to increase the degree of request in the notification, while if the speaker speech speed is smaller than the second listener speech speed, The speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit is controlled such that the greater the difference between the second listener speech speeds, the higher the degree of request in the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation method of a speaker speaking speed control device for outputting a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification requesting adjustment of a speaker speaking speed to the speaker, wherein the speaker speaking The speed control device stores a listener speech speed storage unit in which a listener's speech speed that is easy to hear for a listener who listens to the speaker's speech is stored in advance, and a speaker speech speed that is the speaker's speech speed is stored. A speaker speaking speed database, a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification for outputting the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification requesting the speaker speaking speed adjustment to the speaker, and the talk A speaker microphone that is a microphone that receives a sound pressure generated by the speaker's speech, and a speaker sound pressure signal that is a speaker pressure signal that is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure generated by the speaker's speech from the speaker microphone. And the operation method is such that the speaker speech speed calculation unit of the speaker speech speed control device receives the speaker sound pressure signal. The speaker speaking speed is calculated from the speaker sound pressure measurement signal output based on the speaker sound pressure signal from the speaker, the speaker speaking speed is stored in the speaker speaking speed database, and the speaker speaking speed is calculated. A speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit of the control device reads one speaker speaking speed or two or more speaker speaking speeds from the speaker speaking speed database, reads a listener speaking speed from the listener speaking speed storage unit, and Determining whether or not the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted based on one speaker speaking speed or the speaker speaking speed calculated based on the two or more speaker speaking speeds and the read listener speaking speed; If the speaker speech speed adjustment is necessary, the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit is controlled so that the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification is output. The operating method is used as the solution.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is an operation method of a speaker speaking speed control device that outputs a speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification indicating that the speaker speaking speed adjustment is unnecessary to the speaker. The speed control device stores a listener speech speed storage unit in which a listener's speech speed that is easy to hear for a listener who listens to the speaker's speech is stored in advance, and a speaker speech speed that is the speaker's speech speed is stored. A speaker speaking speed database, a speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification output unit that outputs a speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification to the speaker that the speaker speaking speed adjustment is unnecessary, and A speaker microphone that is a microphone that receives a sound pressure generated by a speaker's speech, and a speaker sound pressure signal that receives a speaker sound pressure signal that is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure generated by the speaker's speech from the speaker microphone. And a speaker speaking speed calculation unit of the speaker speaking speed control device receives the speaker sound pressure signal. The speaker speech speed is calculated from a speaker sound pressure measurement signal output from the speaker based on the speaker sound pressure signal, the speaker speech speed is stored in the speaker speech speed database, and the speaker speech A speaker speaking speed adjustment controller of the speed controller reads one speaker speaking speed or two or more speaker speaking speeds from the speaker speaking speed database, and reads a listener speaking speed from the listener speaking speed storage; The necessity of adjusting the speaker speaking speed is determined based on the speaker speaking speed calculated based on the one speaker speaking speed or the two or more speaker speaking speeds and the read listener speaking speed. The speaker speaking speed control device controls the speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification output unit so that the speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification is output when the speaker speaking speed adjustment is unnecessary. The operation method is used as a solution means.

  According to the speaker speaking speed control device and the operation method thereof according to the present invention, the speaking speed of the speaker can be adjusted to a speed at which it can be easily heard.

It is a figure which shows the speaker speech speed control apparatus 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a listener speech speed storage unit 1051 included in a storage unit 105. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the speaker speech speed database 1052A contained in the memory | storage part 105. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of the speaker speaking speed control device 1. It is a figure which shows an example of the speaker sound pressure signal 101AS and the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of speaker speaking speed Va. It is a figure which shows transition of the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS. It is a figure which shows 1 A of speaker speaking speed control apparatuses which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the listener speech speed database 1052B contained in the memory | storage part 105. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the listener speech speed database 1053B contained in the memory | storage part 105. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of step S1 in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the speaker speech speed control apparatus 1B which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the listener speech speed database 1054B contained in the memory | storage part 105. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of step S1 in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of step S116.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a speaker speech speed control apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the speaker speaking speed control device 1 is used by a user (hereinafter referred to as speaker A). FIG. 1B is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the speaker speaking speed control device 1.

  The speaker speaking speed control device 1 is used when the speaker A has a conversation or speech.

  The speaker speaking speed control device 1 also notifies the speaker speaking speed adjustment request that the speaker speaking speed adjustment is requested when the speaker speaking speed, which is the speaking speed of the speaker A, is too fast or too slow. This device outputs AL to speaker A.

  The speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL is, for example, a notification by voice, light, vibration, temperature, fragrance, or the like.

  The speaker speaking speed control device 1 includes a speaker microphone 101A that is a microphone that receives sound pressure generated by the speaker A, and a speaker that is a sound pressure signal indicating the sound pressure generated by the speaker A from the speaker microphone 101A. A speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit 102A that receives the sound pressure signal 101AS and a speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS that is output from the speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit 102A based on the speaker sound pressure signal 101AS. , A speaker speech speed calculation unit 103A, and a speaker speech speed that is easy to hear for a listener (not shown) listening to the speech of speaker A and various parameters (details will be described later). The input unit 104, the storage unit 105 for storing the listener's speech speed, the speaker's speech speed, and parameters, and the current time required for measuring the start time and end time of the section where the speech is made at the speaker's speech speed are output. Time output unit 106 Based on the speaker speaking speed and the listener speaking speed, it is determined whether or not the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted. If the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted, the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL is output. A speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 that performs control and a speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 that outputs a speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL are provided.

  As the speaker microphone 101A, one having directivity in the direction of the speaker A is preferable.

  When the speaker A wants to stop the output of the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL, the speaker A operates a stop switch (not shown) provided in the speaker speaking speed control device 1. As a result, the input unit 104 generates a stop signal and transmits it to the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the listener speech speed storage unit 1051 included in the storage unit 105.

  The listener speech speed storage unit 1051 has a first listener speech speed (hereinafter referred to as the listener speech speed upper limit Max) that is an upper limit value of the listener speech speed and a second listener speech speed (hereinafter referred to as the listener speech speed) that is a lower limit value. The lower limit value Min is stored in advance. FIG. 2 shows, as an example, a listener speech speed upper limit Max “1.5 [words / second]” of 1.5 words per second and a listener speech speed lower limit value Min “0.8 of 0.8 words per second. [Word / second] ”. Here, the listener's speech speed is the number of words per unit time, but other criteria such as the number of mora may be used instead of the number of words.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the speaker speech speed database 1052A included in the storage unit 105.

  The speaker speaking speed database 1052A stores speaker speaking speeds because the speaker speaking speed is measured in each of a plurality of sections in the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS. Each speaker speaking speed stores a unique speaker speaking speed number and a start time and an end time of a section in which speech is performed at the speaker speaking speed.

  For example, the record of the speaker speaking speed number “1” is a section from 11: 9: 00 on August 30, 2011 to 11: 9: 20 on August 30, 2011 in the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS. It shows that the speaker speaking speed measured based on this waveform is 1.8 [words / second].

In addition to the listener speech speed storage unit 1051 and the speaker speech speed database 1052A, the storage unit 105 stores various parameters in advance.
(Operation method of speaker speaking speed control device 1)
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation method of the speaker speaking speed control device 1.

  First, when the listener's speech speed upper limit Max and the listener's speech speed lower limit Min are given from the outside, the input unit 104 stores the listener's speech speed upper limit Max and the listener's speech speed lower limit Min in the listener's speech speed storage unit 1051. (S1).

  Next, when the speaker A starts speaking, the speaker microphone 101A receives the sound pressure due to the speech and outputs a speaker sound pressure signal 101AS indicating the sound pressure. The speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit 102A receives the speaker sound pressure signal 101AS and outputs the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS based on the speaker sound pressure signal 101AS. The speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS is obtained by removing a portion having a sound pressure equal to or lower than a sound pressure threshold TH (for example, 40 decibels), which is one of parameters stored in the storage unit 105, from the speaker sound pressure signal 101AS. Signal.

  The speaker speaking speed calculation unit 103A calculates the speaker speaking speed based on the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS and stores it in the speaker speaking speed database 1052A (S2).

  The speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS is written in the storage unit 105, and the speaker speech speed calculation unit 103A refers to the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS in the storage unit 105 to calculate the speaker speech speed. .

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the speaker sound pressure signal 101AS and the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS.

  As described above, the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS is a signal obtained by removing a portion below the sound pressure threshold TH from the speaker sound pressure signal 101AS. That is, the speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit 102A cuts the portion below the sound pressure threshold TH from the speaker sound pressure signal 101AS, and outputs the remaining portion, that is, the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS.

  In the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS, the speaker speech speed calculation unit 103A recognizes a section with sound pressure as an utterance section and a section without sound pressure as a non-speech section. In FIG. 5, section a is a speech section, section b is a non-speaking section, and section c is a speech section.

  The speaker speaking speed calculation unit 103A measures the speaker speaking speed in the utterance section based on the waveform of each utterance section of the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS. Here, for example, the speaker speech speed calculation unit 103A measures one or more speaker speech speeds in the same speech section. For example, the speaker speaking speed calculation unit 103A measures one speaker speaking speed in the entire utterance section. Alternatively, the speaker speaking speed calculation unit 103A divides the utterance section and measures the speaker speaking speed in each section generated by the division. For example, the speaker speaking speed calculation unit 103A divides the interval c (30 seconds) every 0.1 seconds, that is, 300, and measures 300 speaker speaking speeds.

  The speaker speaking speed calculation unit 103A calculates a speaker speaking speed by excluding a non-speaking section such as the section b, for example, a silent period. Therefore, for example, the longer the silence, the slower the speaker speaking speed and the weighted average (speaker speaking speed Va) described later will not occur.

  The speaker speaking speed calculation unit 103A sets each speaker speaking speed as a unique speaker speaking speed number, a start time of a section in which speaking is performed at the speaker speaking speed (a speaking section or a section generated by division), and Corresponding to the end time, it is stored in the speaker speaking speed database 1052A.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 determines a section T (for example, “1 from the present time”) from the present to the time point that is one of the parameters stored in advance in the storage unit 105 by the length of time. The start time and end time of the section included in “until minutes”) are read from the speaker speech speed database 1052A. Then, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 calculates the sum of the difference between the start time and end time of each section (that is, the section length), and the sum is one of the parameters stored in the storage unit 105 in advance. It is determined whether or not the time is longer than t (for example, “20 seconds”) (S3). That is, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 determines whether or not the total number of speaking sections in the section T is sufficiently long. If the total number of utterance sections is short, there is a high possibility that a normal utterance has not been made. In this case, the speaker speech speed (speaker speech speed Va described later) is not measured.

  In FIG. 3, if the current time is “August 30, 2011 11:10:30” and the section T is “1 minute before the present”, the section of the speaker speech speed number “1” is the section T The sections of the speaker speaking speed numbers “2” and “3” are included in the section T. The sum of the differences between the start times and end times of the sections of the speaker speaking speed numbers “2” and “3” is “50 seconds”, and is longer than the length t when the length t is “20 seconds”.

  If the total is longer than the length t (S3: YES), the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 is likely to have a normal utterance. Therefore, in order to measure the speaker speaking speed Va, first, the section The speaker speaking speed of the section included in T is read from the speaker speaking speed database 1052A. Then, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 calculates a speaker speaking speed Va that is a weighted average of the speaking speeds of the respective speakers (S4).

  The speaker's speaking speed changes from moment to moment, affected by differences in the words that are emitted. For this reason, it is difficult for the speaker A to adjust the speaker speaking speed even if the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL is output simply because the speaker speaking speed has decreased. Therefore, in the first embodiment, a speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL is output based on a weighted average (speaker speech speed Va) using a weighted average of speaker speech speed in a relatively long section. ing.

  In FIG. 3, the length of the section of the speaker speed number “2” is “30 seconds”, the speaker speed is “2.0 [words / second]”, and the speaker speed number “3” is The length of the section is “20 seconds”, the speaker speech speed is “1.5 [word / second]”, and the total length of the sections is “50 seconds”. In this case, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 calculates the speaker speaking speed Va by the following equation (1).

Va = (2.0 × 30 + 1.5 × 20) /50=1.8 (1)
That is, in this case, the speaker speaking speed Va is “1.8 [word / second]”.

  For example, when the speaker speech speed control device 1 has a display device with a screen, the speaker speech speed Va, the listener speech speed upper limit value Max, and the listener speech speed lower limit value Min are displayed on the display device.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the speaker speaking speed Va and the like.

  For example, a scale is displayed on the screen of the display device, and an arrow is displayed at the position of the speaker speaking speed Va on the scale. In addition, a hatched line is applied except for between the listener's speaking speed upper limit value Max and the listener's speaking speed lower limit value Min on the scale. Thereby, the speaker A can know the speaker speaking speed Va, the listener speaking speed upper limit Max, and the listener speaking speed lower limit Min, and can adjust the speaker speaking speed.

  Returning to FIG. 4, next, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 reads the listener speech speed upper limit value Max from the listener speech speed storage unit 1051, and whether the speaker speech speed Va is larger than the listener speech speed upper limit value Max. Is determined (S5). If the speaker speaking speed Va is larger than the listener speaking speed upper limit Max (S5: YES), the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 outputs the speaker speaking speed by light from the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 108. The speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 is controlled so that the output of the adjustment request notification AL is started (S6). As a result, the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 starts outputting the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL by light. The speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL continues to be output until it is stopped.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the listener's speaking speed upper limit Max is “1.5 [word / second], if the speaker speaking speed Va is“ 1.8 [word / second], “YES” is determined in the step S5. Therefore, the output of the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL by light is started.

  On the other hand, if the speaker speech speed Va is equal to or lower than the listener speech speed upper limit Max (S5: NO), the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 reads the listener speech speed lower limit Min from the listener speech speed storage unit 1051, It is determined whether or not the listener's speaking speed Va is smaller than the listener's speaking speed lower limit Min (S7). If the speaker speaking speed Va is smaller than the listener speaking speed lower limit Min (S7: YES), the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 outputs the speaker speaking speed by voice from the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 108. The speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 is controlled so that the output of the adjustment request notification AL is started (S8). Thereby, the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 starts outputting the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL by voice.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the listener speaking speed lower limit Min is “0.8 [word / second], if the speaker speaking speed Va is“ 0.5 [word / second], “YES” is determined in the step S7. Therefore, the output of the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL by voice is started.

  On the other hand, if the speaker speaking speed Va is equal to or higher than the listener speaking speed lower limit Min (S7: NO), the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 means that the speaker speaking speed Va is equal to or lower than the listener speaking speed upper limit Max. If the speaker speaking speed Va is equal to or higher than the listener speaking speed lower limit Min, for example, a stop signal is transmitted to the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 108, and the output of the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL is stopped. (S9).

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the listener's speaking speed upper limit Max is “1.5 [word / second] and the listener's speaking speed lower limit Min is“ 0.8 [word / second], the speaker If the speech speed Va is “1.0 [word / second], the output of the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL is stopped.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when the processing of steps S6, S8, and S9 is completed, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 determines whether or not a stop signal is transmitted from the input unit 104 (S10). If the stop signal is transmitted from the input unit 104 (S10: YES), the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 ends the process.

  On the other hand, if NO is determined in step S3, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 transmits a stop signal to the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit 108, and stops outputting the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification. (S11).

  If it is determined NO in step S10 or if the processing in step S11 is completed, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 has a sound pressure of the current speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS greater than the sound pressure threshold TH. It is determined whether or not (S12).

  If the sound pressure of the current speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS is larger than the sound pressure threshold TH (S12: YES), the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 moves the control to step S2. On the other hand, if the sound pressure of the current speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS is equal to or lower than the sound pressure threshold TH (S12: NO), the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 moves the control to step S3.

  Assume that the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS (solid line) shown in FIG. 7 is observed, for example, 10 seconds after the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS shown in FIG. 5 is observed. The broken line is the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS in FIG. The speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS (solid line) after 10 seconds is formed by shifting the broken line to the left for 10 seconds.

  For example, if the speaker A starts a new utterance and the utterance continues in this 10 seconds, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107, that is, the current speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS (solid line) If the sound pressure is greater than the sound pressure threshold TH (S12: YES), the control moves to step S2. Thereby, the speaker speaking speed and the like are stored in the speaker speaking speed database 1052A.

  In the example of FIG. 7, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 does not have a situation in which the speaker A newly starts speaking and continues speaking, that is, the current speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS (solid line) ) Is equal to or lower than the sound pressure threshold value TH, control is passed to step S3.

  Therefore, according to the speaker speaking speed control apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 reads two or more speaker speaking speeds from the speaker speaking speed database 1052A, and listens to the speaker's speech. The listener's speech speed (listener speech speed upper limit value Max and listener speech speed lower limit value Min) is read from the speed storage unit 1051, and the speaker speech speed Va and the listener speech speed upper limit value Max calculated based on two or more speaker speech speeds are read. Based on the listener's speaking speed lower limit value Min, it is determined whether or not the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted (S5, S7). If the speaking speed needs to be adjusted (S5: YES, S7: YES), Since the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 is controlled so that the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL is output (S6, S8), the speaker A receives the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL and speaks. Recognize that the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted, and adjust the speaker speaking speed accordingly. Door can be.

  In addition, the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL when the speaker speaking speed Va is larger than the listener speaking speed upper limit Max is a light notification, and the talk when the speaker speaking speed Va is smaller than the listener speaking speed lower limit Min. The speaker speed adjustment request notification AL is a voice notification. That is, both are distinguishable for speaker A. Therefore, the speaker A can be adjusted to be fast when the speaker speaking speed should be increased and to be slower when the speaker speaking speed should be delayed.

  Further, when the speaker speech speed Va is larger than the listener speech speed upper limit value Max, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 adjusts the speaker speech speed as the difference between the speaker speech speed Va and the listener speech speed upper limit value Max is larger. The speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 is controlled so that the degree of request in the request notification AL becomes high. On the other hand, if the speaker speaking speed Va is smaller than the listener speaking speed lower limit Min, the speaker speaking speed Va is determined. And the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 may be controlled so that the degree of the request in the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL becomes higher as the difference between the listener speech speed lower limit Min is larger.

  For example, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 outputs a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL by light, and increases the amount of light as the difference increases.

  For example, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 outputs a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL using blinking light, and the blinking interval is shortened as the difference increases.

  For example, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 outputs a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL by voice, and increases the volume as the difference increases.

  Thereby, the speaker A can know the difference, that is, the size of the difference between the listener's speaking speed and the speaking speed.

  In the first embodiment, the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL may be output only when the speaker speech speed Va is larger than the listener speech speed upper limit value Max.

  In the first embodiment, the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL may be output only when the speaker speech speed Va is smaller than the listener speech speed lower limit Min.

  In the first embodiment, when the speaker speech speed Va is larger than the listener speech speed upper limit Max, the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL and the speaker speech speed Va are smaller than the listener speech speed lower limit Min. The speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL may be equal to each other, for example, the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL by sound may be used.

  In the first embodiment, the listener speech speed storage unit 1051 stores in advance one listener speech speed (for example, the average value of the listener speech speed upper limit value Max and the listener speech speed lower limit value Min). The speech speed is read, and when the absolute value of the difference between the listener speech speed and the speaker speech speed Va exceeds a predetermined magnitude, a speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL may be output. The type of the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL may be changed depending on the sign of the difference.

  In the first embodiment, the speaker speaking speed Va is used. However, one speaker speaking speed is read from the speaker speaking speed database 1052A, and this speaker speaking speed is replaced with the speaker speaking speed Va. It may be used.

  In the first embodiment, the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL by light or voice is performed. However, the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL by vibration, temperature, scent, etc., the speaker speaking speed Va, etc. The speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL may be performed by display on the display device that has displayed.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, the same or similar apparatus and apparatus configuration as those in the first embodiment are used, and the same or similar elements are redundantly described by using the reference numerals used in the first embodiment. For brevity, the description will focus on matters different from the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, some modified examples have been shown in detail, but the modified examples may be applied to the second embodiment.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a speaker speech speed control apparatus 1A according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the speaker speaking speed control device 1A is used for the speaker A and the listener microphone 101B of the speaker speaking speed control device 1A is used for the listener B. FIG. 8B is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the speaker speaking speed control device 1A.

  The speaker speaking speed control device 1A directs the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL (for example, notification by voice, light, vibration, temperature, fragrance, etc.) to the speaker A, as in the first embodiment. It is a device that outputs.

  The speaker speaking speed control device 1A is used when the speaker A has a conversation with the listener B. The listener microphone 101B of the speaker speaking speed control device 1A is used for the listener B, for example. The listener microphone 101B may be built in the speaker speaking speed control device 1A.

  The speaker speaking speed control device 1A includes a speaker microphone 101A that is a microphone that receives sound pressure generated by the speaker A, a speaker microphone 101B that is a microphone that receives sound pressure generated by the speaker B, and the speaker microphone 101A. A speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit 102A that receives a speaker sound pressure signal 101AS that is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure generated by the speaker A, and a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure generated by the speaker B from the listener microphone 101B. A speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit 102B that receives the listener sound pressure signal 101BS, and a speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS output from the speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit 102A based on the speaker sound pressure signal 101AS. Listening using a speaker speech speed calculation unit 103A that calculates speech speed and a listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS output from the listener sound pressure signal reception unit 102B based on the listener sound pressure signal 101BS. A listener speaking speed calculation unit 103B for calculating the speaking speed, an input unit 104 for inputting various parameters (details will be described later), a storage unit 105 for storing the listener speaking speed, the speaker speaking speed, and parameters, A speaker output speed based on the speaker output speed and the listener's speech speed, and a time output unit 106 for outputting the current time necessary for measuring the start time and end time of the section in which the speaker speech speed and the listener's speech speed are measured. If the speaker speech speed needs to be adjusted, a speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 that performs control so that a speaker speech speed adjustment request notification AL is output; And a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 for outputting an adjustment request notification AL.

  The storage unit 105 includes a listener speech speed storage unit 1051 similar to that shown in FIG. The listener speech speed storage unit 1051 stores a listener speech speed upper limit value Max and a listener speech speed lower limit value Min obtained by calculation.

  Further, the storage unit 105 has a speaker speaking speed database 1052A similar to that shown in FIG.

  The storage unit 105 has a listener speech speed database 1052B in which the listener speech speed is stored.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a listener speech speed database 1052B included in the storage unit 105.

  The listener's speech speed database 1052B stores the listener's speech speed since the listener's speech speed of the listener B is measured in each of a plurality of sections in the listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS. Each listener speech speed is stored in association with a unique listener speech speed number and the start time and end time of a section in which speech is made at the listener speech speed.

  In addition, the storage unit 105 includes a listener speech speed database 1053B that stores a listener speech speed Vb that is a weighted average of a plurality of listener speech speeds.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a listener speech speed database 1053B included in the storage unit 105.

The listener speaking speed database 1053B stores the listener speaking speed Vb since the listener speaking speed Vb in each of the plurality of sections is measured. Each listener speech speed Vb is stored in association with the start time of the section in which the speech is made at the listener speech speed Vb.
(Operation method of speaker speaking speed control device 1A)
In the speaker speaking speed control apparatus 1A, in step S1 of FIG. 4, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 stores the given listener speaking speed upper limit Max and listener speaking speed lower limit Min in the listener speaking speed storage unit 1051. Instead of storing, the listener speaking speed upper limit value Max and the listener speaking speed lower limit value Min are calculated based on the listener speaking speed Vb and stored in the listener speaking speed storage unit 1051. Other operations are the same as those other than step S1 in FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of step S1 in the second embodiment.

  First, when the listener B starts speaking, the listener microphone 101B receives a sound pressure due to the speaking and outputs a listener sound pressure signal 101BS indicating the sound pressure. The listener sound pressure signal receiving unit 102B receives the listener sound pressure signal 101BS and outputs a listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS based on the listener sound pressure signal 101BS. The listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS is a signal obtained by removing a portion having a sound pressure equal to or lower than a sound pressure threshold TH (for example, 40 decibels), which is one of parameters stored in advance in the storage unit 105, from the listener sound pressure signal 101BS. It is.

  The listener speech speed calculation unit 103B calculates the listener speech speed of the listener B based on the listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS and stores it in the listener speech speed database 1052B (S101).

  Specifically, in the listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS, the listener speech speed calculation unit 103B recognizes a section with sound pressure as an utterance section and a section without sound pressure as a non-speech section. If the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS shown in FIG. 5 is assumed to be the listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS, the section a is a speech section, the section b is a non-speak section, and the section c is a speech section.

  The listener's speech speed calculation unit 103B measures the listener's speech speed in the utterance section based on the waveform of each utterance section of the listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS. Here, for example, the listener speech speed calculation unit 103B measures one or more listener speech speeds in the same speech section. The listener speech speed calculation unit 103B measures, for example, one listener speech speed over the entire speech section. Alternatively, the listener speech speed calculation unit 103B divides the utterance section and measures the listener speech speed in each section generated by the division. The listener speech speed calculation unit 103B, for example, divides the section c (30 seconds) every 0.1 seconds, that is, 300, and measures 300 listener speech speeds.

  The listener speech speed calculation unit 103B corresponds to each listener speech speed to a specific listener speech speed number and a start time and an end time of a section where speech is made at the listener speech speed (a speech section or a section generated by division). Then, it is stored in the listener speech speed database 1052B (S101).

  In FIG. 11, next, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 determines a section T (for example, “current” from the present to the time point that is one of the parameters stored in advance in the storage unit 105 by the length of time. 1 minute before ”), the start time and end time of the section included in“) are read from the listener speech speed database 1052B. Note that the length of the section T may be the same as or different from the length of the section T when the speaker speaking speed Va is obtained.

  The speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 calculates the sum of the difference between the start time and end time of each section (that is, the section length), and the total is one of the parameters stored in the storage unit 105 in advance. It is determined whether or not the length is longer than t (for example, “20 seconds”). That is, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 determines whether or not the total number of speaking sections in the section T is sufficiently long. When the total of the utterance sections is short, there is a high possibility that normal utterance is not made. In this case, the listener's speech speed (listener speed Vb described later) is not measured. The length t may be the same as or different from the length t when the speaker speaking speed Va is obtained.

  In FIG. 9, if the current time is “August 30, 2011 11: 8: 20” and the section T is “from the present to one minute before”, the section of the listener speech speed number “1” is the section T. The sections of the listener speech speed numbers “2” and “3” are included in the section T. The sum of the difference between the start time and end time of the sections of the listener speech speed numbers “2” and “3” is “40 seconds”, and is longer than the length t when the length t is “20 seconds”.

  If the total is longer than the length t, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 is likely to have a normal utterance. Therefore, in order to measure the listener speaking speed Vb, first, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 The listener speaking speed is read from the listener speaking speed database 1052B. Then, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 calculates a listener speech speed Vb that is a weighted average of the respective speaker speech speeds.

  In FIG. 9, the length of the section of the listener speech speed number “2” is “30 seconds”, the listener speech speed is “1.5 [word / second]”, and the length of the section of the listener speech speed number “3” is The length is “10 seconds”, the listener speaking speed is “1.0 [word / second]”, and the total length of the section is “40 seconds”. In this case, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 calculates the listener speaking speed Vb by the following equation (2).

Vb = (1.5 × 30 + 1.0 × 10) /40=1.375 (2)
That is, in this case, the listener speech speed Vb is “1.375 [word / second]”.

  The speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 sets the listener speech speed Vb of the listener B to the start time of the section where the speech is made at the listener speech speed Vb (in the above example, the start of the section of the listener speech speed number “2”). In correspondence with (time), it is stored in the listener speech speed database 1053B (S102).

  Next, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 determines whether or not the number of listener speaking speeds Vb, which is one of the parameters stored in advance in the storage unit 105, is in the listener speaking speed database 1053B (S103). ).

  If the number of listener speaking speeds Vb is less than the number stored in the storage unit 105 (S103: NO), the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 returns the control to step S101.

  On the other hand, if the number of listener speech speeds Vb is equal to or greater than the number stored in the storage unit 105 (S103: YES), the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 advances the control to step S104.

  The speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 reads a plurality of listener speaking speeds Vb (for example, all listener speaking speeds Vb) from the listener speaking speed database 1053B, and sets the maximum listener speaking speed Vb as the listener speaking speed upper limit Max. It is stored in the listener speech speed storage unit 1051 (S104). In addition, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 stores the minimum listener speaking speed Vb as the listener speaking speed lower limit Min in the listener speaking speed storage unit 1051 (S104).

  The speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 ends the process in step S104.

  Therefore, according to the speaker speaking speed control device 1A according to the second embodiment, the listener microphone 101B that is a microphone that receives the sound pressure due to the utterance of the listener B, and the sound pressure due to the utterance of the listener B from the listener microphone 101B. A listener sound pressure signal receiving unit 102B that receives a listener sound pressure signal 101BS, which is a sound pressure signal to be shown, and a listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS output based on the listener sound pressure signal 101BS from the listener sound pressure signal receiving unit 102B And a listener speech speed calculation unit 103B that calculates the speech speed. Since the calculated listener speech speed is stored in the listener speech speed storage unit 1051 in advance, the speaker speech speed is added to the actual listener B's listener speech speed. Can be made to correspond. For the listener B, his / her speaking speed is the easiest to listen to. Therefore, the speaking speed of the speaker can be set to the listener's speaking speed of the listener B, that is, the speaking speed of the speaker which is easy for the listener B to listen.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, the same or similar devices and device configurations are used in the first and second embodiments, and the same or similar reference numerals used in the first and second embodiments are used for the same or similar devices. The overlapping explanation will be omitted, and the explanation will focus on matters different from the first and second embodiments. Further, the modification shown in the first embodiment may be applied to the third embodiment.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a speaker speaking speed control apparatus 1B according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 12A, the speaker speaking speed control device 1B is used for the speaker A, and the listener microphones 101B, 101C, and 101D of the speaker speaking speed control device 1B are used for the listeners B, C, and D, respectively. It is a figure which shows a mode. FIG. 12B is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the speaker speaking speed control device 1B.

  The speaker speaking speed control device 1B directs the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL (for example, notification by voice, light, vibration, temperature, fragrance, etc.) to the speaker A, as in the first embodiment. It is a device that outputs.

  The speaker speaking speed control device 1B is used when the speaker A has a conversation with a plurality of listeners, that is, the listeners B, C, and D in this case. The listener microphones 101B, 101C, and 101D are used for the listeners B, C, and D, for example. The listener microphones 101B, 101C, and 101D may be built in the speaker speaking speed control device 1B.

  Among the listeners B, C, and D, for example, the listener D has the slowest utterance speed that is easy for the listener to hear. The listener D is, for example, the oldest person among the three. The speaker speaking speed control device 1B has a configuration for setting the speaker speaking speed of the speaker A to a speaker speaking speed that is easy for the listener D to hear.

  The speaker speaking speed control device 1B is based on a speaker microphone 101A that is a microphone that receives sound pressure generated by the speaker A, a listener microphone 101B that is a microphone that receives sound pressure generated by the speaker B, and a speaker C speaking. A speaker microphone 101C that is a microphone that receives sound pressure, a listener microphone 101D that is a microphone that receives sound pressure due to the speech of the listener D, and a speech that is a sound pressure signal indicating the sound pressure due to the speech of the speaker A from the speaker microphone 101A A speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit 102A that receives a listener sound pressure signal 101AS and a listener sound pressure signal receiving unit that receives a listener sound pressure signal 101BS that is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure generated by the sound of the listener B from the listener microphone 101B. 102B and the listener sound that receives the listener sound pressure signal 101CS, which is a sound pressure signal indicating the sound pressure due to the speech of the listener C, from the listener microphone 101C From the signal receiving unit 102C, the listener sound pressure signal receiving unit 102D that receives the sound pressure signal 101DS that is the sound pressure signal indicating the sound pressure due to the speech of the listener D from the listener microphone 101D, and the speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit 102A The speaker sound speed calculation unit 103A that calculates the speaker speech speed based on the speaker sound pressure measurement signal 102AS output based on the speaker sound pressure signal 101AS, and the listener sound pressure signal 101BS from the listener sound pressure signal reception unit 102B. A listener speech speed calculation unit 103B that calculates the listener speech speed based on the listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS output based on the listener, and a listener sound pressure measurement signal output based on the listener sound pressure signal 101CS from the listener sound pressure signal receiver 102C A listener's speech speed calculation unit 103C that calculates a listener's speech speed by 102CS and a listener's sound pressure measurement signal output from the listener's sound pressure signal receiver 102D based on the listener's sound pressure signal 101DS Listener speech speed calculation unit 103D for calculating the listener speech speed by 02DS, input unit 104 for inputting various parameters (details will be described later), and storage unit for storing the listener speech speed, speaker speech speed, and parameters 105, a time output unit 106 for outputting a current time necessary for measuring a start time and an end time of a section in which the speaker speech speed and the listener speech speed are measured, and a speech based on the speaker speech speed and the listener speech speed. A speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 that performs control so that a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL is output if the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted. A speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 for outputting a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL.

  The storage unit 105 includes a listener speech speed storage unit 1051 similar to that shown in FIG. The listener speech speed storage unit 1051 stores a listener speech speed upper limit value Max and a listener speech speed lower limit value Min obtained by calculation.

  Further, the storage unit 105 has a speaker speaking speed database 1052A similar to that shown in FIG.

  In addition to the listener speech speed database 1052B of FIG. 9, the storage unit 105 includes a similar listener speech speed database 1052C for the listener C and a listener speech speed database 1052D for the listener D.

  Further, the storage unit 105 has a listener speech speed database 1054B instead of the listener speech speed database 1053B of FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the listener speech speed database 1054B included in the storage unit 105. As shown in FIG.

The listener speech speed database 1054B stores, for each of the listeners B, C, and D, the listener speech speed Vb in each of a plurality of sections, and thus stores each listener speech speed Vb. Each listener's speaking speed Vb is stored in association with identification information indicating the start time of the section in which speech is made at the listener's speaking speed Vb and the microphone that has received the sound pressure of the speech at the listener's speaking speed Vb. The listener speech speed database 1054B stores, for example, only the listener speech speed Vb associated with the start time included in the period from the present to 10 minutes ago, and the listener speech speed Vb associated with the start time from that, that is, The old listener speaking speed Vb is automatically erased.
(Operation method of speaker speaking speed control device 1B)
In the speaker speaking speed control apparatus 1B, in step S1 of FIG. 4, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 stores the given listener speaking speed upper limit Max and listener speaking speed lower limit Min in the listener speaking speed storage unit 1051. Instead of storing, the listener speaking speed upper limit value Max and the listener speaking speed lower limit value Min are calculated based on the listener speaking speed Vb of the listeners B, C, and D, and stored in the listener speaking speed storage unit 1051. Other operations are the same as those other than step S1 in FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of step S1 in the third embodiment.

  First, similarly to the second embodiment, the listener speech speed calculation unit 103B calculates the listener speech speed based on the listener sound pressure measurement signal 102BS, and the utterance is performed at the specific listener speech speed number and the listener speech speed. It is stored in the listener speech speed database 1052B in association with the start time and end time of each section (S101).

  Next, as in the second embodiment, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 calculates the listener speaking speed Vb for the listener B, and the start time of the section in which the speaking is performed at the listener speaking speed Vb. The information is stored in the listener speech speed database 1054B in association with the identification information indicating the listener microphone 101B that has received the sound pressure of the speech at the listener speech speed Vb (S102). Note that the length and length t of the section T, which are parameters used for the calculation of the listener speech speed Vb, may be the same as those for obtaining the speaker speech speed Va and the listener speech speed Vb for other listeners. , May be different. The same applies to the listeners C and D.

  Next, similarly to the method of the listener speech speed calculator 103B, the listener speech speed calculator 103C calculates the listener speech speed of the listener C from the listener sound pressure measurement signal 102CS. It is stored in the listener speech speed database 1052C in association with the start time and end time of the section where speech is made at high speed (S111).

  Next, as in the method of the second embodiment, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 calculates a listener speaking speed Vb for the listener C, and starts a section in which speech is made at the listener speaking speed Vb. The information is stored in the listener speech speed database 1054B in association with the identification information indicating the listener microphone 101C that has received the time and the sound pressure of the speech at the listener speech speed Vb (S112).

  Next, similarly to the methods of the listener speech speed calculators 103B and 103C, the listener speech speed calculator 103D calculates the listener speech speed of the listener D based on the listener sound pressure measurement signal 102DS, the unique listener speech speed number, and It is stored in the listener speech speed database 1052D in association with the start time and end time of the section in which speech is made at the listener speech speed (S113).

  Next, as in the method of the second embodiment, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 calculates the listener speaking speed Vb of the listener D, and the start time of the section in which the speaking is performed at the listener speaking speed Vb. Then, it is stored in the listener speech speed database 1054B in association with the identification information indicating the listener microphone 101D that has received the sound pressure of the speech at the listener speech speed Vb (S114).

  Next, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 is one of the parameters in which the listener speech speed Vb associated with the identification information is stored in the storage unit 105 in advance for each of the listener microphones 101B, 101C, and 101D. It is determined whether or not a number (for example, two) or more exists in the listener speech speed database 1054B (S115).

  If the number of listener speech speeds Vb associated with any identification information is less than the number stored in the storage unit 105 (for example, only one), the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 (S115: NO) ), The control is returned to step S101.

  On the other hand, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 has a number of listener speech speeds Vb that is equal to or greater than the number stored in the storage unit 105 for any of the listener speech speeds Vb associated with any identification information (for example, any If there are two or more) (S115: YES), the control proceeds to step S116.

  In step S116, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 reads a plurality of listener speaking speeds Vb (for example, all listener speaking speeds Vb) from the listener speaking speed database 1053B.

  Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 obtains the maximum listener speaking speed Vb (hereinafter referred to as the listener speaking speed Vbbmax) associated with the identification information of the listener microphone 101B. Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 obtains the minimum listener speaking speed Vb (hereinafter referred to as the listener speaking speed Vbbmin) associated with the identification information of the listener microphone 101B. Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 obtains an average of the listener speaking speed Vb associated with the identification information of the listener microphone 101B (hereinafter referred to as the listener speaking speed Vbbavg).

  Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 obtains the maximum listener speaking speed Vb (hereinafter referred to as the listener speaking speed Vbcmax) associated with the identification information of the listener microphone 101C. Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 obtains the minimum listener speaking speed Vb (hereinafter referred to as the listener speaking speed Vbcmin) associated with the identification information of the listener microphone 101C. Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 obtains an average of the listener speaking speed Vb associated with the identification information of the listener microphone 101C (hereinafter referred to as the listener speaking speed Vbcavg).

  Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 obtains the maximum listener speaking speed Vb (hereinafter referred to as the listener speaking speed Vbdmax) associated with the identification information of the listener microphone 101D. Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 obtains a minimum listener speaking speed Vb (hereinafter referred to as a listener speaking speed Vbdmin) associated with the identification information of the listener microphone 101D. In addition, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 obtains an average of the listener speaking speed Vb (hereinafter referred to as a listener speaking speed Vbdavg) associated with the identification information of the listener microphone 101D.

  The speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 selects a minimum value among the listener speaking speeds Vbbavg, Vbcavg, and Vbdavg.

  If the speaker speaking speed Vbbvg is selected, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 stores the listener speaking speed Vbbmax in the listener speaking speed storage unit 1051 as the listener speaking speed upper limit Max (S116). Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 stores the listener speaking speed Vbbmin in the listener speaking speed storage unit 1051 as the listener speaking speed lower limit Min (S116).

  On the other hand, when the listener speech speed Vbcavg is selected, the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 stores the listener speech speed Vbcmax in the listener speech speed storage unit 1051 as the listener speech speed upper limit value Max (S116). Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 stores the listener speaking speed Vbcmin as the listener speaking speed lower limit Min in the listener speaking speed storage unit 1051 (S116).

  On the other hand, when the speaker speaking speed Vbdavg is selected, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 stores the listener speaking speed Vbdmax in the listener speaking speed storage unit 1051 as the listener speaking speed upper limit value Max (S116). Further, the speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 stores the listener speaking speed Vbdmin as the listener speaking speed lower limit Min in the listener speaking speed storage unit 1051 (S116).

  The speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 107 ends the process in step S116.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the operation of step S116.

  According to FIG. 14, since the minimum value among the listener speaking speeds Vbbavg, Vbcavg, and Vbdavg is the listener speaking speed Vbdavg, the listener speaking speed Vbdmax is set to the listener speaking speed upper limit Max, and the listener speaking speed Vbdmin is set to the listener speaking speed. The speed lower limit value Min is set.

  In step S116, the maximum value among the listener speaking speeds Vbbmax, Vbcmax and Vbdmax is set as the listener speaking speed upper limit value Max, and the minimum value among the listener speaking speeds Vbbmin, Vbcmin and Vbdmin is set as the listener speaking speed lower limit value Min. Good.

  According to FIG. 14, the maximum value among the listener speaking speeds Vbbmax, Vbcmax, Vbdmax is the listener speaking speed Vbbmax, and the minimum value among the listener speaking speeds Vbbmin, Vbcmin, Vbbmin is the listener speaking speed Vbbmin. The speaking speed Vbbmax is set as the listener speaking speed upper limit value Max, and the listener speaking speed Vbdmin is set as the listener speaking speed lower limit value Min.

  In step S116, the listener's speaking speed upper limit value Max and the listener's speaking speed lower limit value Min may be set by a method other than the above two methods.

  Therefore, according to the speaker speaking speed control device 1B according to the third embodiment, the listener microphones 101B, 101C, 101D, the listener sound pressure signal receiving units 102B, 102C, 102D, and the listener speaking speed calculating units 103B, 103C, 103D, that is, a listener microphone, a listener sound pressure signal receiver, and a listener speech speed calculator for each of the plurality of listeners B, C, and D, and the listener speech speed storage unit 1051 has the lowest listener speech speed (see FIG. 14, the listener's speaking speed Vbbmax and the listener's speaking speed Vbdmin) are stored in advance. Can be made to correspond. For the listener D, his / her speaking speed is the easiest to listen to, and for the other listeners B and C, it is not difficult to hear if the speaking speed is slower than his / her speaking speed. That is, it is possible to make the speaker speaking speed the listener speaking speed of the listener D, that is, the speaker speaking speed that is easy for the listener D to hear, and to prevent the speaker speaking speed from becoming difficult for the listeners B and C to hear. it can.

  In each embodiment, the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 108 for outputting the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification AL is provided. However, instead of the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 108, the speaker A speaker speech speed adjustment unnecessary notification output unit (not shown) for outputting a speaker speech speed adjustment unnecessary notification to the speaker that the speech speed adjustment is unnecessary is provided, and the speaker speech speed adjustment control unit 107 is provided. If the speaker speech speed adjustment is unnecessary, the speaker speech speed adjustment unnecessary notification output unit may be controlled so that a speaker speech speed adjustment unnecessary notification is output.

  The speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification is a notification by voice, light, vibration, temperature, fragrance or the like, similarly to the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification.

  The case where the speaker speaking speed adjustment is not necessary is, for example, a case where the speaker speaking speed is equal to or lower than the listener speaking speed upper limit Max and equal to or higher than the listener speaking speed lower limit Min. In addition, when it is desired to make the speaker speaking speed slower than the listener speaking speed of the listener who is speaking at the slowest listener speaking speed, for example, a speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification may be output.

  A computer program for causing a computer to function as the speaker speaking speed control device according to each embodiment can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a magnetic tape. Further, it can be widely distributed by being transmitted through a communication network such as the Internet.

1, 1A, 1B Speaker speaking speed control device 101A Speaker microphone 101AS Speaker sound pressure signal 101B, 101C, 101D Listener microphone 101BS, 101CS, 101DS Listener sound pressure signal 102A Speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit 102AS Speaker sound pressure Measurement signal 102B, 102C, 102D Listener sound pressure signal receiver 102BS, 102CS, 102DS Listener sound pressure measurement signal 103A Talker speed calculator 103B, 103C, 103D Listener speaker speed calculator 104 Input unit 105 Storage unit 106 Time output unit 107 Speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit 108 Speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit 1051 Listener speaking speed storage unit 1052A Speaker speaking speed database 1052B, 1052C, 1052D, 1053B, 1054B Listener speaking speed database Max Listener speaking speed upper limit Min Lower limit of listener's speech speed TH sound Pressure threshold Va Speaker speaking speed Vb Listener speaking speed

Claims (10)

A listener speech speed storage unit in which a listener's speech speed, which is a speech speed that is easy for a listener to listen to the speaker's speech, is stored in advance;
A speaker speaking speed database in which a speaker speaking speed, which is a speaking speed of the speaker, is stored;
A speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit that outputs a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification requesting the speaker speaking speed adjustment to the speaker;
A speaker microphone that is a microphone that receives sound pressure from the speaker's utterance;
A speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit that receives a speaker sound pressure signal that is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure generated by the speaker's utterance from the speaker microphone;
The speaker speech speed is calculated from a speaker sound pressure measurement signal output based on the speaker sound pressure signal from the speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit, and the speaker speech speed is stored in the speaker speech speed database. A speaker speaking speed calculation unit to be stored;
One speaker speaking speed or two or more speaker speaking speeds are read from the speaker speaking speed database, a listener speaking speed is read from the listener speaking speed storage unit, and the one speaker speaking speed or the two or more speaking speeds are read. Determining whether or not the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted based on the speaker speaking speed calculated based on the speaker speaking speed and the read listener speaking speed, and if the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted, A speaker speech speed control device comprising: a speaker speech speed adjustment control unit that controls the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit so that a speaker speech speed adjustment request notification is output. A listener speech speed storage unit in which a listener's speech speed, which is a speech speed that is easy for a listener to listen to the speaker's speech, is stored in advance;
A speaker speaking speed database in which a speaker speaking speed, which is a speaking speed of the speaker, is stored;
A speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification output unit that outputs a speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification to the speaker that the speaker speaking speed adjustment is unnecessary;
A speaker microphone that is a microphone that receives sound pressure from the speaker's utterance;
A speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit that receives a speaker sound pressure signal that is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure generated by the speaker's utterance from the speaker microphone;
The speaker speech speed is calculated from a speaker sound pressure measurement signal output based on the speaker sound pressure signal from the speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit, and the speaker speech speed is stored in the speaker speech speed database. A speaker speaking speed calculation unit to be stored;
One speaker speaking speed or two or more speaker speaking speeds are read from the speaker speaking speed database, a listener speaking speed is read from the listener speaking speed storage unit, and the one speaker speaking speed or the two or more speaking speeds are read. Based on the speaker speaking speed calculated based on the speaker speaking speed and the read listener speaking speed, it is determined whether or not the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted. A speaker speech speed control apparatus comprising: a speaker speech speed adjustment control unit that controls the speaker speech speed adjustment unnecessary notification output unit so that a speaker speech speed adjustment unnecessary notification is output.   3. The speaker speech speed control device according to claim 1, wherein the speaker sound pressure measurement signal is a signal obtained by removing a portion below a predetermined sound pressure threshold value from the speaker sound pressure signal. 4. . A listener microphone that is a microphone that receives sound pressure generated by the listener's speech;
A listener sound pressure signal receiving unit for receiving a listener sound pressure signal which is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure due to the utterance of the listener from the listener microphone;
A listener speech speed calculation unit that calculates a listener speech speed based on a listener sound pressure measurement signal output based on the listener sound pressure signal from the listener sound pressure signal receiver;
The speaker speech speed control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the listener speech speed storage unit stores the calculated listener speech speed in advance. The listener microphone, the listener sound pressure signal receiver and the listener speech speed calculator are provided for each of a plurality of listeners,
The speaker speaking speed control device according to claim 4, wherein the listener speaking speed storage unit stores in advance a speaker speaking speed that is the lowest among the plurality of listener speaking speeds. The listener speech speed storage unit stores in advance a first listener speech speed that is an upper limit value of an utterance speed that is easy for the listener to listen and a second listener speech speed that is a lower limit value,
The speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit
If the speaker speaking speed is greater than the first listener speaking speed, or the speaker speaking speed is less than the second listener speaking speed, the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification is output, and A speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification when the speaker speaking speed is larger than the first listener speaking speed and a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification when the speaker speaking speed is smaller than the second listener speaking speed. The speaker speech speed control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit is controlled so that the speakers can be distinguished from each other. The listener speech speed storage unit stores in advance a first listener speech speed that is an upper limit value of an utterance speed that is easy for the listener to listen and a second listener speech speed that is a lower limit value,
The speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit
If the speaker speaking speed is greater than the first listener speaking speed, the greater the difference between the speaker speaking speed and the first listener speaking speed, the higher the degree of request in the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification. The speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit is controlled so that if the speaker speaking speed is lower than the second listener speaking speed, the speaker speaking speed and the second listener speaking speed The speaker speech speed control according to claim 1, wherein the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification output unit is controlled so that the degree of the request in the speaker speech speed adjustment request notification increases as the difference increases. apparatus. An operation method of a speaker speaking speed control device for outputting a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification for requesting adjustment of speaker speaking speed to a speaker,
The speaker speaking speed control device comprises:
A listener speech speed storage unit in which a listener's speech speed, which is a speech speed that is easy for a listener to listen to the speaker's speech, is stored in advance;
A speaker speaking speed database in which a speaker speaking speed, which is a speaking speed of the speaker, is stored;
A speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit that outputs a speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification requesting the speaker speaking speed adjustment to the speaker;
A speaker microphone that is a microphone that receives sound pressure from the speaker's utterance;
A speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit for receiving a speaker sound pressure signal that is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure due to the speaker's utterance from the speaker microphone;
The operation method is as follows:
The speaker speaking speed calculation unit of the speaker speaking speed control device determines the speaker speaking speed based on a speaker sound pressure measurement signal output from the speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit based on the speaker sound pressure signal. Calculating and storing the speaker speaking speed in the speaker speaking speed database;
The speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit of the speaker speaking speed control device reads one speaker speaking speed or two or more speaker speaking speeds from the speaker speaking speed database, and listens to the speaker's speaking speed from the listener speaking speed storage unit. The speed of the speaker is adjusted based on the speaker speaking speed calculated based on the one speaker speaking speed or the two or more speaker speaking speeds and the read listener speaking speed. If the speaker speaking speed needs to be adjusted, the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification output unit is controlled so that the speaker speaking speed adjustment request notification is output. Operation method of speech speed control device. An operation method of the speaker speaking speed control device for outputting a speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification to the speaker that the speaker speaking speed adjustment is unnecessary,
The speaker speaking speed control device comprises:
A listener speech speed storage unit in which a listener's speech speed, which is a speech speed that is easy for a listener to listen to the speaker's speech, is stored in advance;
A speaker speaking speed database in which a speaker speaking speed, which is a speaking speed of the speaker, is stored;
A speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification output unit that outputs a speaker speaking speed adjustment unnecessary notification to the speaker that the speaker speaking speed adjustment is unnecessary;
A speaker microphone that is a microphone that receives sound pressure from the speaker's utterance;
A speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit for receiving a speaker sound pressure signal that is a sound pressure signal indicating a sound pressure due to the speaker's utterance from the speaker microphone;
The operation method is as follows:
The speaker speaking speed calculation unit of the speaker speaking speed control device determines the speaker speaking speed based on a speaker sound pressure measurement signal output from the speaker sound pressure signal receiving unit based on the speaker sound pressure signal. Calculating and storing the speaker speaking speed in the speaker speaking speed database;
The speaker speaking speed adjustment control unit of the speaker speaking speed control device reads one speaker speaking speed or two or more speaker speaking speeds from the speaker speaking speed database, and listens to the speaker's speaking speed from the listener speaking speed storage unit. The speed of the speaker is adjusted based on the speaker speaking speed calculated based on the one speaker speaking speed or the two or more speaker speaking speeds and the read listener speaking speed. If the speaker speech speed adjustment is unnecessary, the speaker speech speed adjustment unnecessary notification output unit is controlled so that the speaker speech speed adjustment unnecessary notification is output. Operation method of speech speed control device.   A computer program for causing a computer to function as the speaker speaking speed control device according to claim 1.

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