JP2018182406A - Information processing device, system, and control method of information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing device, a system, and a control method of the information processing device that allow a user who is not directly joining a conversation to hear the conversation between other users and fortuitously obtain information.SOLUTION: An information processing device 100 connected with a network 200 includes: a microphone 111; a speaker 112; a network connection unit 116; a transmission unit 117 for transmitting a voice packet obtained by packetizing voice collected by the microphone 111 to the network 200; a receiving unit 118 for receiving a voice packet transmitted by another terminal from the network 200; a voice analyzing unit 119 for analyzing the received voice packet; and a control unit 110 for controlling an operation state of the speaker 112 on the basis of an analysis result of the voice packet.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a system, and a control method of the information processing apparatus.

  There is disclosed a system capable of mutually transmitting and receiving audio information and video information via a specific party and a network (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the system described in Patent Document 1, audio information and video information are mutually transmitted / received between users connected by the conference terminal. Also, if this system is always connected by three or more users, it is possible to have the same communication as physically in the same space (for example, an office) including users who do not directly participate in the conversation.

JP, 2006-229416, A

  When the system described in Patent Document 1 is always connected in order to accidentally obtain information from conversations between other people, it is not possible to block unnecessary conversations and noises between the other people that you do not want to hear in the first place Therefore, there is a problem that it is easy to lose concentration.

  The present invention has been made to solve at least a part of the above-described problems, and can be realized as the following modes or application examples.

  Application Example 1 An information processing apparatus according to this application example is an information processing apparatus connected to a network, and is a voice obtained by packetizing voice collected by a microphone, a speaker, a network connection unit, and the microphone. A transmitting unit that transmits a packet to the network, a receiving unit that receives an audio packet transmitted from another terminal from the network, an audio analysis unit that analyzes the received audio packet, and an analysis result of the audio packet And a control unit that controls an operation state of the speaker.

  According to the configuration of this application example, in the own terminal, the control unit controls the operation state of the speaker of the own terminal based on the result that the voice analysis unit analyzes the voice packet received by the receiving unit from the other terminal. Therefore, according to the analysis result of the received voice packet, it is possible to turn on the speaker of the own terminal and listen to the talk of other users. This enables users who are not directly involved in a conversation to listen to other users' conversations and get information on an incidental basis.

  Application Example 2 In the information processing apparatus according to the application example, the control unit may set the microphone and the speaker in an operation state when the analysis result is a call request to the own terminal. preferable.

  According to the configuration of this application example, when the analysis result of the voice packet is a call request to the own terminal, the control unit brings the microphone and the speaker into the operation state (on). Therefore, when another user receives a call, the called user can listen to or talk to the other person without manual operation.

  Application Example 3 In the information processing apparatus according to the application example described above, the control unit does not request the analysis result to be a call request to the own terminal, and the voice packet is permitted to be received by the own terminal It is preferable to put the speaker in an operating state when it is transmitted from another terminal.

  According to the configuration of this application example, even if the analysis result of the voice packet is not the call request to the own terminal, if the voice packet is transmitted from another terminal whose own terminal has given reception permission, The control unit turns on the speaker. Therefore, by giving permission to receive the follow target person that the user wants to listen to (follow) the reception target, the follow target person talks with other users even if the user is not called I understand that I started. And I can hear the conversation of the other party.

  Application Example 4 In the information processing apparatus according to the application example described above, a plurality of specific users are connected to the network, and the transmission unit transmits an audio packet to all the specific users. Is preferred.

  According to the configuration of this application example, since the voice packet is transmitted to all specific users connected to the network, any specific user connected to the network can receive the voice packet. That is, a user who is not directly participating in a conversation can listen to conversations between other users and get information on an occasional basis, or participate in the conversation from the middle.

  Application Example 5 According to the application example described above, the information processing apparatus further includes a camera and a display unit, and the transmission unit transmits, to the network, an image packet obtained by packetizing an image captured by the camera. The receiving unit receives a video packet transmitted from another terminal from the network, and the control unit controls an operation state of the camera and the display unit based on an analysis result of the audio packet. preferable.

  According to the configuration of this application example, the voice packet transmitted from the person to be followed even if the analysis result of the voice packet received together with the video packet is a call request to the own terminal or not a call request to the own terminal If the display unit of the own terminal is in the operating state (on) to view the video based on the received video packet, or the camera of the own terminal is in the operating state (on) to transmit the video to another user It becomes possible. This enables communication using not only audio information but also video information.

  Application Example 6 A system according to this application example is a system in which a plurality of terminals and a server are connected by a network, and the terminals include a microphone, a speaker, a network connection unit, and the microphones are collected. A speaker for transmitting a voice packet obtained by packetizing the voiced sound to the network, a receiver for receiving the voice packet and the command sent by the server from the network, and the speaker based on the received command Control unit configured to control the operation state of the network, the server includes a network connection unit, a server reception unit for receiving an audio packet transmitted from the terminal from the network, and an audio analysis for analyzing the received audio packet And a command based on the result analyzed by the voice analysis unit to the network Characterized in that it comprises a Ba transmitting unit.

  According to the configuration of this application example, in the server, based on the result of the speech analysis unit analyzing the speech packet transmitted from the terminal and received by the server reception unit from the network, the server transmission unit is called by the speech packet. The command is transmitted to the terminal or the terminal of the user whose transmission target is the voice packet sender. In the terminal of the called user or the terminal of the user whose sender is the sender of the voice packet, the receiver receives the voice packet transmitted from the other terminal and the command transmitted from the server, and the controller transmits the command Control the operating state of the speaker based on. Therefore, according to the analysis result of the voice packet by the server, it becomes possible to activate the speaker of the own terminal and listen to the talk of other users. Thus, in a system in which a plurality of terminals and a server are connected by a network, users who do not directly participate in a conversation can accidentally obtain information from conversations between other users.

  [Application Example 7] A control method of an information processing apparatus according to this application example includes a microphone and a speaker, receives an audio packet from a network, and packetizes an audio packet obtained by packetizing voice collected by the microphone. And controlling the operation state of the speaker on the basis of the analysis result.

  The control method according to this application example includes the step of controlling the operation state of the speaker of the information processing apparatus based on the analysis result in the step of analyzing the voice packet received from the network. Therefore, according to the analysis result of the voice packet, it becomes possible for the user to listen to the other user by activating the speaker of the terminal. This enables users who are not directly involved in a conversation to listen to other users' conversations and get information on an incidental basis.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of connection of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The table | surface which compares the operation | movement of the user who uses the information processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and its execution method with the conventional execution method. A table showing a setting example of reception permission or reception rejection between users. FIG. 5 is a table showing who can hear voice in a conversation in the configuration shown in FIG. 4; 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows schematic structure of the system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a server according to a second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below do not unduly limit the contents of the present invention described in the claims. Further, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential configuration requirements of the present invention.

First Embodiment
<Configuration of Information Processing Device>
First, the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of connection of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes a control unit 110, a microphone 111, a speaker 112, a camera 113, a display unit 114, a storage unit 115, and a network connection unit. And a transmitting unit 117, a receiving unit 118, and a voice analysis unit 119.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus 100 is a user terminal device (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a terminal) connected to each other via the network 200. The information processing apparatus 100 enables, for example, users to communicate with each other by using audio information and video information between a plurality of remote offices (including homes) who work alone. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, four information processing apparatuses 100 are connected to one another via a network 200 as terminals for four users A, B, C, and D. The number of users and the number of information processing apparatuses 100 are not limited to the example shown in FIG.

  For example, when the user A is the user himself (hereinafter also referred to as self), the information processing apparatus 100 which is a terminal for the user A is simply described as the own terminal. Further, the information processing apparatus 100 which is a terminal for another user (hereinafter also referred to as another person) B, C, D is simply described as another terminal.

  The information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment exchanges information among users directly participating in a conversation among a plurality of users A, B, C, and D connected to each other in a remote access environment. Not only is it possible, but it is possible for a user who is not directly involved in the conversation between the other to listen and obtain information.

  Returning to FIG. 1, each unit included in the information processing apparatus 100 will be described. The control unit 110 controls the operation of each unit included in the information processing apparatus 100. The control unit 110 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like (not shown). The control unit 110 operates, for example, the control program stored in the ROM in the RAM, and the CPU executes the control program expanded in the RAM to operate as the control unit 110. The control program executed by the CPU of the control unit 110 may include at least one of the functions of the network connection unit 116, the transmission unit 117, the reception unit 118, and the voice analysis unit 119.

  The microphone 111 collects the sound emitted by the user who operates the information processing apparatus 100 and converts the sound into an audio signal. In the present embodiment, the microphone 111 is set to a non-operation state (hereinafter referred to as “off”) in a normal state. Here, the “normal state” refers to a state in which the information processing apparatus 100 is connected to the network 200 but the users are not in conversation. When talking to another person to start a conversation, the user manually sets the microphone 111 to an operating state (hereinafter referred to as "on"). The control unit 110 packetizes the voice signal of the user collected and converted by the microphone 111.

  The control unit 110 controls the operation state of the microphone 111 based on the analysis result of the voice packet (voice signal converted into a packet) by the voice analysis unit 119. More specifically, when the voice analysis unit 119 determines that the voice packet received from the other terminal is a call to itself, the control unit 110 turns on the microphone 111. After a conversation is over, that is, after a predetermined time has passed since transmission of a voice packet from the own terminal and reception of a voice packet from another terminal has not been completed, the control unit 110 turns the microphone 111 off. . The predetermined time is appropriately set.

  The speaker 112 reproduces the voice of the caller based on the voice signal obtained by the control unit 110 converting the received voice packet. In the present embodiment, the speaker 112 is off in the normal state. The control unit 110 controls the operation state of the speaker 112 based on the analysis result of the voice packet by the voice analysis unit 119. More specifically, when the voice analysis unit 119 determines that the voice packet received from the other terminal is a call to itself, the control unit 110 turns on the speaker 112. Thus, the user can listen to the other person's voice at his own terminal.

  Also, in the case where the voice analysis unit 119 determines that the voice packet received from the other terminal is not a call to itself, the voice packet is transmitted from the other terminal for which the own terminal has set reception permission. If so, the controller 110 turns on the speaker 112. In a part (for example, a header) of a voice packet flowing through the network 200, identification information capable of identifying a terminal (user) who has sent the packet is described. The voice analysis unit 119 can specify the transmission source by the identification information of the received voice packet. The setting of reception permission will be described later. The voice analysis unit 119 detects that a phrase that can specify the end of the conversation has been issued after the conversation has ended, that is, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the voice packet was not received from another terminal. If so, the control unit 110 turns the speaker 112 off.

  The information processing apparatus 100 preferably includes a filter that cuts off frequencies other than the human voice band from the audio signal collected by the microphone 111 and the audio signal output to the speaker 112. If such a filter is provided, unnecessary sound (for example, noise and the like) other than human voice is removed from the audio signal collected by the microphone 111 and the audio signal output to the speaker 112, and the person in the conversation is Can be made easy to hear.

  The camera 113 captures an image of the user and converts it into an image signal. In the present embodiment, the camera 113 is off in the normal state. The user manually turns on the camera 113 when he / she wants to show his / her video to others. The control unit 110 packetizes the video signal of the user captured by the camera 113.

  The display unit 114 displays the video of the sender on the basis of the video signal obtained by the control unit 110 converting the video packet (video signal converted into a packet) received from the other terminal. In the present embodiment, the display unit 114 is off in the normal state. When the video packet is received from the other terminal together with the voice packet, and the voice analysis unit 119 determines that the voice packet is a call to itself, the control unit 110 turns on the display unit 114. Thus, the user can view the other person's video on his own terminal.

  Also, in the case where the voice analysis unit 119 determines that the voice packet received from the other terminal is not a call to itself, the voice packet is transmitted from the other terminal for which the own terminal has set reception permission. , The control unit 110 turns on the display unit 114.

  In the storage unit 115, users (hereinafter referred to as users registered as a plurality of users (A, B, C, D shown in FIG. 2) connected to each other in the same remote access environment via the network 200 (see FIG. 2) , And registered user) is stored. The storage unit 115 is configured by, for example, a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). The ROM included in the control unit 110 may double as the function of the storage unit 115.

  Examples of the information on the registered user stored in the storage unit 115 include the name of the registered user, the ID, the IP address, the group name to which the user belongs, and the like. When the own terminal receives a voice packet from another terminal, control unit 110 specifies the user who has sent the voice packet based on the information on the registered user stored in storage unit 115.

  In the present embodiment, a user who wants to hear (follow) the user regardless of who the registered user is in conversation with in the information on the registered user (follow target) Can be specified). For the terminal of the user designated as the person to be followed in the information on the registered user, the reception permission to the own terminal is set. Also, for the terminal of the user designated as the user who does not want to follow (in the following, referred to as a non-following target person), the reception refusal to the own terminal is set.

  Persons to be followed and persons not to be followed may be set as appropriate. Examples of members to be followed include, for example, persons in charge of operations closely related to their own operations, and persons with a wealth of specialized knowledge and useful information. Examples of non-followers are, for example, people in charge of work that are not related to their own work, and people who tend to talk for a long time.

  In this way, by specifying the person to be followed and giving reception permission to the own terminal beforehand, even if the user is not receiving a call from the person to be followed, he / she hears the conversation of the person to be followed ( Can listen). In this way, even if you are not directly involved in a conversation, you may be able to listen to a topic related to your work or a topic of interest, or participate in that conversation as needed. it can.

  The network connection unit 116 connects the information processing apparatus 100 to the network 200. By connecting to the network 200 by the network connection unit 116, terminals of registered users are connected to each other via the network 200.

  The transmitting unit 117 transmits, from the own terminal, the voice packet collected by the microphone 111 and the video packet captured by the camera 113 to the network 200. Audio packets and video packets are transmitted by multicast to all other terminals connected via the network 200. Further, the ID of the own terminal is described in the header of the audio packet and the video packet to be transmitted. The receiving unit 118 receives an audio packet and a video packet transmitted from another terminal from the network 200.

  The voice analysis unit 119 analyzes the voice packet received by the reception unit 118 from another terminal. More specifically, the speech analysis unit 119 uses speech recognition technology to identify the name of the called user. Based on the user's name specified by voice analysis unit 119, control unit 110 determines whether the voice packet received from the other terminal is a call to the own terminal or not.

  Here, when calling the other party, the other party's name is called, but the user's name may be issued during the conversation. Therefore, when analyzing the voice packet, the voice analysis unit 119 determines the calling rule for calling the other person so that the case where the name only appears in the conversation and the case where it is the call can be distinguished. Is desirable. The call for the rule, for example, in the case where the name of the person to call the A's, "Hello, Mr. A", "Mr. A, hear you either," etc., may be appropriately set so as to be able to identify and call. Also, a nickname for calling may be used, or a plurality of users may be simultaneously called using a group name registered in advance.

  The information processing apparatus 100 described above can be realized, for example, using an electronic device such as a personal computer or a portable terminal device. The camera 113 and the display unit 114 are not essential components. However, when the camera 113 and the display unit 114 are provided, communication can be performed using not only the audio information but also the video information, so that more thorough information exchange is possible. The display of a personal computer or a portable terminal device may double as the display unit 114.

<User behavior and execution method>
Next, an operation of a user who uses the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment and a method of executing the same will be described in comparison with a conventional method. FIG. 3 is a table comparing the operation of the user using the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment and the execution method thereof with the conventional execution method. As an example of the conventional method, a case where users are always connected in a remote access environment (Comparative Example 1) and a case where users work in the same office (Comparative Example 2) are given.

[1. Talk to someone]
When speaking to one of the users from the user, in the present embodiment, the microphone 111 is manually turned on to speak to the person who wants to speak (may be all other users). For example, the above-described "Hello, Mr. A", such as "A-san, can you hear me", call to appoint the person you want to talk. In the case of Comparative Example 1, since it is always in the connected state, it is sufficient to designate the person you want to talk to and make a voice. In the case of Comparative Example 2, since the other party is also in the same place, it is sufficient to approach the other party or face the other party and make a voice.

[2. Respond to someone's talk]
If the other party who is speaking is someone, the speaker 112 and the microphone 111 of the own terminal are automatically turned on by receiving the voice packet of the call. Therefore, it can be known that the user has been called by the sound from the speaker 112. Then, by replying to the person who spoke with the microphone 111, it is possible to answer and talk. Also in the case of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, the response may be made by replying.

[3. I do not respond to someone talking
If someone you talk to can not answer you or you do not want to respond (reject the response), do not reply. That is, no voice packet is transmitted from the own terminal. Even if the speaker 112 and the microphone 111 are automatically turned on in response to a call to oneself, the speaker 112 and the microphone 111 are automatically turned on when a predetermined time elapses without conversation (transmission and reception of audio packets). Turn off at. Similarly, in the case of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, the response can be rejected by not replying. However, it is needless to say that in actual situations, it is preferable to respond to business calls regardless of the other party.

[4. Keep talking with someone]
If you want to keep talking with the person who responded to the talk in 2 above, just keep talking. Since the state in which the speaker 112 and the microphone 111 are turned on is maintained while the conversation (transmission and reception of voice packets) is continued, it is possible to answer while listening to the other party. Similarly, in the case of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, the speech may be continued.

[5. Finish talking with someone]
If you want to finish talking with someone, just stop talking. The speaker 112 and the microphone 111 are automatically turned off when a predetermined time elapses after the conversation (transmission and reception of voice packets) is finished. Similarly, in the case of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, the talk may be stopped.

[6. Listen to someone's story]
In the present embodiment, the reception permission is set in advance for the terminal of the person to be followed, so that the speaker 112 can communicate with anyone other than the person to be followed in 1 above. It turns on automatically. Therefore, even if the user (self) does nothing, he can listen to the conversation of the person he / she wants to follow, and, for example, can listen to a topic related to his / her work or a topic of interest. If necessary, you can participate in the conversation you have been hearing by performing the above-mentioned 1 action. Also in the case of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, if staying in the place, it is possible to hear the conversation between the others, and to participate in the conversation.

[7. Block unwanted voices]
In the present embodiment, by setting reception refusal in advance for the non-following person's terminal, when the non-following person talks with someone other than himself at 1 above, the voice packet Since the speaker 112 is not automatically turned on even when receiving the message, the person's voice can not be heard. In addition, when listening to the conversation of the person to be followed in 6 above, if the person whom the person to be followed speaks is the person not to be followed, only the story of the person to be followed can be heard. In the case of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, if the user is at the location, the conversation can be heard regardless of who is talking with him (even if he does not want to hear it). Therefore, if you do not want to hear the conversation, it is necessary to take a noise isolation treatment such as leaving the place or putting an earplug. The present embodiment is different from the comparative example in that only the conversation of the person to be followed can be selectively heard.

  Here, in 6 and 7 above, specific examples will be given as to how voices can be heard by the person to be followed (set the reception permission) and the person not to follow (set the reception rejection) in the conversation between the others. I will explain it. In the following, a user who originates a voice packet is referred to as a "sender", and a user who receives a voice packet originated from a sender is referred to as a "recipient". If the recipient responds to the call from the originator, that recipient becomes the originator who originates the voice packet. Among the recipients, a user who does not participate in the conversation but listens to the conversation is referred to as a "hearing person".

  FIG. 4 is a table showing a setting example of reception permission or reception rejection between users. FIG. 5 is a table showing who voices can be heard in a conversation in the configuration shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the user is four users A, B, C, and D shown in FIG. The column headings indicate recipients and the row headings indicate callers.

  In the setting example shown in FIG. 4, for example, when the receiver is A, the receiver A sets the reception permission for the callers B and C as a follow target person, but does not follow the caller D. Set rejection as a target person. The receiver B sets the reception permission for the senders A, C, and D as a follow target person. Although the receiver C sets reception refusal to the sender A as a non-following target, the receiver C sets reception permission to the senders B and D as a following target. The receiver D sets the reception permission for the senders A, B, and C as a follow target person.

  In FIG. 5, the column headings indicate listeners (receivers) and the row headings indicate combinations of callers in the conversation. For example, when the combination of conversations is A: B, A: C, A: D, the user A is the caller. When the combination of speech is B: C, B: D, C: D, A is a listener. The listener A can hear both voices because the reception permission is set for both in the B: C conversation. In addition, since the listener A sets the reception refusal for D, only the voice of B can be heard in the conversation of B: D, and only the voice of C can be heard in the conversation of C: D.

  The listener B sets the reception permission for A, C, and D, so both of the A: C conversation, the A: D conversation, and the C: D conversation can hear both voices. . Since the listener C sets the reception refusal with respect to A, only the voice of B can be heard in the conversation of A: B, and only the voice of D can be heard in the conversation of A: D. Also, in the B: D conversation, the listener C has set reception permission for both parties, so both voices can be heard. The listener D sets the reception permission for A, B, and C. Therefore, in both cases of the A: B conversation, the A: C conversation, and the B: C conversation, the both voices can be heard. .

  Although FIG. 5 shows only the case where the conversation is conducted at 1: 1 among the four users, the listener sets the reception permission even when the conversation is conducted by three or more users. Can hear the voice of the caller.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, it is selected whether or not to speak depending on whether or not the person participating in the conversation is the person to be followed regarding the conversation in which the user is not directly participating. it can. Therefore, for example, when the person to be followed starts a conversation, by listening to the conversation, it becomes possible to obtain necessary information from the conversation incidentally and to participate in the conversation halfway. On the other hand, since the conversations of the non-followers can not be heard, it is possible to concentrate on their own work. That is, in Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 of FIG. 3, while the surrounding voice including the conversation of the person who does not want to hear can hear all the time, in the present embodiment, only the conversation of the person who wants to hear can be selectively heard. . In the system described in Patent Document 1, the third party can not hear the conversation because the conversation is only between the users who make a call on the mobile phone terminal with the video telephone function.

<Control Method of Information Processing Device>
Next, a control method of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the control method of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  As described above, the terminal (information processing apparatus 100) of each user is connected to the network 200 by the network connection unit 116 (see FIG. 1) (see FIG. 2). Then, in a normal state in which a conversation is not being performed, the microphone 111, the speaker 112, the camera 113, and the display unit 114 (see FIG. 1) are set to be off in the terminal of each user. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user works alone at a remote office including a home. Therefore, since there may be cases where a remote environment, voice and the like are mixed in the remote office, the voice and video of the user are not sent in the normal state, but only when a conversation is necessary.

  FIG. 6 shows the processing performed at the user's terminal between the start of the conversation and the end of the conversation. A conversation is started when someone (the originator) of the user calls the other party (the recipient) who wants to have a conversation. Here, the case where the other person is the sender and the user is the receiver will be described as an example. In FIG. 6, each step from step S01 to step S03 is the operation of the terminal of the sender (other), and the step from step S04 to step S13 is the operation of the terminal of the receiver (self).

  First, in order to start a conversation, the sender manually sets the microphone 111 of the terminal to ON (step S01), and makes a call to the receiver of the other party. The microphone 111 collects the voice of the caller. In step S02, the control unit 110 packetizes the voice signal of the sender collected and converted by the microphone 111. Then, in step S03, the transmission unit 117 transmits the voice packet packetized by the control unit 110 to the network 200. The voice packet is transmitted to the terminals of all users (receivers) connected to the network 200.

  In step S04, the receiving unit 118 of the terminal of the receiver (self) receives the voice packet transmitted from the terminal of the sender from the network 200. Step S05 is a step of analyzing the received voice packet. In step S05, the speech analysis unit 119 specifies the name of the user called from the caller using speech recognition technology. Then, in the subsequent step S06, it is determined whether or not the call is for the user who is the terminal user.

  If it is determined in step S06 that it is a call to itself (step S06: YES), the control unit 110 advances the process to step S08 and step S11 regardless of whether the sender is a follow target person. At step S08, control unit 110 turns on speaker 112. In step S11, the control unit 110 turns on the microphone 111. Therefore, step S06 is a step of controlling the operation state of the microphone 111 and the speaker 112 based on the result of analysis in the step of analyzing the voice packet in step S05.

  If it is determined in step S06 that the analysis result of the voice packet is a call request for itself, the microphone 111 and the speaker 112 are automatically turned on, so the receiver (self) does not have to operate it manually. The speaker 112 can hear the voice of the caller and the microphone 111 can transmit his / her voice (voice packet) to the caller and talk to the other party. That is, even if the special connection operation is not performed, the caller can initiate a conversation with the called recipient by calling.

  Note that the receiver responds to the sender and thereby becomes a sender who transmits the voice packet. While the microphone 111 and the speaker 112 are turned on in steps S08 and S11 and the conversation continues, transmission and reception of voice packets are performed between the caller terminal and the own terminal via the network 200. Then, the voice packet received by the own terminal from the caller who called the user is converted into a voice signal and reproduced by the speaker 112 regardless of whether the sender is a follow target person or not.

  In steps S09 and S12, control unit 110 determines whether the conversation has ended. When the conversation between the calling party and the called party ends, both of the receiving of the voice packet from the calling party's terminal and the sending of the voice packet to the calling party's terminal are not performed at the own terminal. Therefore, it is determined that the conversation is ended when a predetermined time has passed without voice packet transmission / reception since the voice packet was received or transmitted last.

  If it is determined in step S09 that the conversation has ended (step S09: YES), control unit 110 advances the process to step S10. In step S10, the control unit 110 turns off the speaker 112. If it is determined in step S09 that the conversation has not ended (step S09: NO), the control unit 110 returns the process to step S09 as it is.

  Although described later, when the process proceeds from step S07 to step S08, since the receiver (self) is a listener, only the reception of the voice packet from the sender is performed. Therefore, in this case, in step S09, it is determined that the conversation has ended when a predetermined time has elapsed without receiving a voice packet.

  In step S12, the process proceeds from step S06 to step S11, and since the caller and the user are in a conversation, the conversation occurs when a predetermined time has elapsed without transmission and reception of voice packets. Is judged to have ended. If it is determined in step S12 that the conversation has ended (step S12: YES), control unit 110 advances the process to step S13. In step S13, the control unit 110 turns off the microphone 111. If it is determined in step S12 that the conversation has not ended (step S12: NO), the process returns to step S12 as it is.

  When the conversation ends, the speaker 112 is turned off in step S10, and the microphone 111 is turned off in step S13, the processing of each step related to the conversation is ended, and the caller terminal and the receiver terminal Return to normal condition.

  Returning to step S06, if it is determined in step S06 that it is not a call to itself (step S06: NO), control unit 110 transfers the process to step S07. In step S07, control unit 110 determines whether the sender who has sent the voice packet is a follow target person, that is, whether the receiver terminal is a target person for which reception permission is set. The determination in step S07 is performed based on, for example, the ID or IP address of the sender.

  If it is determined in step S07 that the caller who sent the voice packet is the person to be followed (step S07: YES), that is, the voice packet is not a call request to the own terminal, and the own terminal is permitted to receive When the control unit 110 transmits the process to step S08, the control unit 110 turns on the speaker 112 in step S08.

  Therefore, if the follow target person is given permission to receive in advance, it is understood that the follow target person has started conversation without performing a special connection operation even if he / she has not received a call. You can listen to the conversations of the person being followed. In this case, the recipient (self) is a listener who does not participate in the conversation, but this allows, for example, listening to a topic related to his / her work or a topic of interest.

  Here, the voice packet received from the other terminal includes the voice packet transmitted after the conversation has already been started, in addition to the call for starting the conversation. Then, the voice packet transmitted after the conversation has already started includes the voice packet transmitted from the calling party who called for the conversation and the voice packet transmitted from the other party of the conversation. While the conversation continues, voice packets are emitted alternately (sometimes almost synchronously) from multiple users participating in the conversation.

  Therefore, if it is determined in step S06 that the received voice packet is not a call to oneself (step S06: NO), the received voice packet is one transmitted from a caller who has called a conversation to a party other than oneself. , The case where it is what was sent from the person whom the originator called. Therefore, even when the non-follow target person calls the follow target person and talks, the voice packet is received from both terminals.

  In step S07, in any of the above cases, it is determined whether the sender who has sent the voice packet is a person to be followed. If at least one of the senders is a person to be followed, the control unit 110 advances the process to step S08 and turns on the speaker 112.

  Here, when one of the senders is a follow target person and the other is a non-follow target person, the control unit 110 reproduces only the voice packet transmitted from the follow target person using the speaker 112. Therefore, as described with reference to FIG. 5, in a conversation in which oneself is not called, if a conversation is being performed between persons to be followed, both voices can be heard, and a person to be followed in conversation is not to be followed and If it is done with a person, only the voice of the person being followed can be heard.

  When the process proceeds from step S07 to step S08, since the receiver (self) is a hearing person, a predetermined time has elapsed without receiving a voice packet from the user who is the subject of follow who is participating in the conversation. At step S09, it is determined that the conversation has ended. If it is determined in step S09 that the conversation has ended (step S09: YES), control unit 110 advances the process to step S10 to turn off speaker 112. Thus, the process regarding hearing of the conversation ends.

  It should be noted that, while proceeding from step S07 to step S08 to listen to another person's conversation, if you also want to participate in the conversation, set the microphone 111 to ON (step S01), and you also participate You may call for the effect.

  If it is determined in step S07 that the caller who sent the voice packet is not the person to be followed (the person not to be followed) (step S07: NO), both the person who has called for the conversation and the person who has been called also himself Since the speaker 112 and the microphone 111 remain off, the processing associated with the voice packet reception is ended. As described above, since the conversation between the non-following persons can not be heard, it is possible to concentrate on one's work in an environment where there is no unnecessary voice.

  Although the camera 113 and the display unit 114 have not been described above, the camera 113 is also turned on / off in the step of turning on / off the microphone 111 and the display unit 114 is also turned on / off in the step of turning on / off the speaker 112. You may do it. Thereby, the video packet can be transmitted and received between the terminals together with the audio packet. However, there may be cases where you do not want to release the video depending on the situation, such as when there is a mixture of private environments in the remote office. Therefore, the camera 113 may not be turned on automatically at any step, and may be turned on manually at the discretion of the user.

  According to the configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 and the control method of the information processing apparatus in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) In the own terminal, the control unit 110 controls the operation state of the microphone 111 and the speaker 112 of the own terminal based on the result of the speech analysis unit 119 analyzing the voice packet received by the receiving unit 118 from the other terminal. . Therefore, according to the analysis result of the voice packet, the speaker 112 of the own terminal can be operated (turned on) to hear the other user's talk. Alternatively, the microphone 111 of the own terminal may be activated (turned on) to transmit an audio packet and talk to another user. Thus, the users connected to the network 200 can talk with each other. Then, if the information processing apparatus 100 is connected to the network 200, users who are not directly involved in the conversation can listen to the conversations between other users and get information on an incidental basis, or in the conversation It is possible to participate from the middle.

  (2) When the analysis result of the voice packet is a call request to the own terminal, the control unit 110 brings the microphone 111 and the speaker 112 into an operation state (on). Therefore, when another user receives a call, the called user can listen to or talk to the other person without manual operation.

  (3) Even if the analysis result of the voice packet is not a call request to the own terminal, the control unit 110 controls the speaker 112 when the voice packet is transmitted from another terminal whose own terminal has given reception permission. Is turned on (on). Therefore, by giving permission to receive the follow target person that the user wants to listen to (follow) the reception target, the follow target person talks with other users even if the user is not called I understand that I started. And I can hear the conversation of the other party.

  (4) If the analysis result of the audio packet received together with the video packet is a call request to the own terminal, or if it is an audio packet transmitted from the person to be followed even if it is not a call request to the own terminal, It is possible to view a video based on the received video packet by setting the display unit 114 of the terminal to the operating state (on), and to transmit a video to another user by setting the camera 113 of the own terminal to the operating state (on) Become. This enables communication using not only audio information but also video information.

  (5) The control method of the information processing device has the step of controlling the operation state of the microphone 111 and the speaker 112 of the information processing device 100 based on the result of analysis in the step of analyzing the voice packet received from the network 200 . Therefore, depending on the analysis result of the voice packet, the user may activate the speaker 112 of the terminal to listen to the other user, or the user may activate the microphone 111 of the terminal to talk to the other user. It becomes possible. This enables a user who is not directly involved in a conversation to listen to conversations between other users and get information on an occasional basis, or to participate in the conversation from the middle.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it is a system in which a plurality of terminals and servers are connected by a network. Here, the difference from the first embodiment will be described in the configuration of the system according to the second embodiment.

<System configuration>
The configuration of a system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, in the system 500 according to the second embodiment, a plurality of information processing apparatuses 100 which are terminals for users, a server 300, and a database 400 are mutually connected via the network 200. There is. Hereinafter, the information processing apparatus 100 is also simply referred to as a terminal.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a server according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the server 300 according to the second embodiment includes a control unit 310, a network connection unit 311, a voice analysis unit 312, a server reception unit 313, and a server transmission unit 314. .

  The control unit 310 controls the operation of each unit provided in the server 300. The control unit 310 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like (not shown). The network connection unit 311 connects the server 300 to the network 200. The server reception unit 313 receives voice packets transmitted from each terminal via the network 200. The voice packet transmitted from each terminal is also received by other terminals via the network 200.

  The speech analysis unit 312 analyzes the speech packet received from each terminal by the server reception unit 313, and specifies the name of the called user using speech recognition technology. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the voice analysis unit 312 of the server 300 executes the process of step S05 of FIG.

  Control unit 310 identifies the user of the terminal that has originated the voice packet. Then, based on the analysis result of the speech analysis unit 312, the control unit 310 generates a command for the terminal of the called user. This command causes the terminal of the called user to execute, for example, a command for turning on the speaker 112 in step S08 shown in FIG. 6 or a command for turning on the microphone 111 in step S11. including.

  The server transmission unit 314 transmits the command generated by the control unit 310 to the network 200 by designating the terminal of the called user. The terminal of the called user executes processing to turn on the speaker 112 and the microphone 111 based on the command received from the server 300. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the control unit 310 of the server 300 executes the process of step S06 in FIG.

  The database 400 is configured of a storage unit. The database 400 stores information (for example, registered user's name, ID, IP address, belonging group name, etc.) about registered users mutually connected via the network 200. In addition, in the database 400, a table of follow relationships (setting of reception permission or reception rejection) between registered users is stored. The information on registered users and the table of follow relationships between registered users can be updated by the user operating his or her terminal.

  The control unit 310 refers to the information on the registered user of the database 400, and determines which user's terminal the voice packet received from each terminal has been transmitted from. Furthermore, the control unit 310 refers to the table of the follow relationship between the registered users of the database 400, and identifies the user who has made the user who transmitted the voice packet the follow target person.

  Then, the control unit 310 generates, for the terminal of the user who has received the voice packet, a command to cause the speaker 112 to reproduce the voice packet transmitted from the person to be followed by the user. The server transmission unit 314 transmits this command generated by the control unit 310 to the terminal of the user via the network 200. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the control unit 310 of the server 300 executes the process of step S07 in FIG.

  Further, the control unit 310 determines whether or not the conversation has ended from the transmission / reception status of voice packets performed between the users participating in the conversation when the conversation is being performed. Based on the determination result, the control unit 310 generates, for example, a command to turn off the speaker 112 in step S10 shown in FIG. 6 or a command to turn off the microphone 111 in step S13. . Therefore, in the second embodiment, the control unit 310 of the server 300 executes the processing of step S09 and step S12 of FIG.

  Thus, in the system 500 according to the second embodiment, the voice analysis unit 312 of the server 300 executes the function of the voice analysis unit 119 of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, the voice analysis unit 119 of the information processing apparatus 100 can be omitted. Then, the control unit 310 of the server 300 executes the main part of the function of the control unit 110 of the information processing apparatus 100. For example, each terminal may perform individual control such as control of the operation state of the microphone 111 and the speaker 112 based on the command transmitted from the server 300 in the above steps. Therefore, the control unit 110 of the information processing apparatus 100 can be configured simply.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, each terminal (the information processing apparatus 100) can be configured as a device having a simple configuration as compared with the first embodiment. Further, in the second embodiment, since information related to registered users and a table of follow relationships between users are stored in the database 400, such information can be centrally managed. The server 300 may have the function of the database 400.

  According to the configuration of the system 500 of the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) In the server 300, based on the result of the voice analysis unit 312 analyzing the voice packet transmitted from the terminal and received by the server reception unit 313 from the network 200, the server transmission unit 314 uses the voice packet to call the user's terminal. Or send a command to the terminal of the user whose target is the sender of the voice packet. In the terminal of the called user or the terminal of the user whose sender is the voice packet sender, the receiving unit 118 receives the voice packet transmitted from the other terminal and the command transmitted from the server 300, and the control unit Reference numeral 110 controls the operation state of the microphone 111 and the speaker 112 based on the command. Therefore, according to the analysis result of the voice packet by the server 300, the speaker 112 of the own terminal is operated to listen to the other user's talk, and the microphone 111 of the own terminal is operated to transmit the voice packet It is possible to talk to the users of Thus, in the system 500 in which a plurality of terminals and the server 300 are connected by the network 200, a user who is not directly participating in a conversation may accidentally obtain information from a conversation between other users, It becomes possible to participate in the conversation from the middle.

  The above embodiment merely shows one aspect of the present invention, and any modification and application can be made within the scope of the present invention. As a modification, for example, the following can be considered.

(Modification 1)
In the above embodiment, the configuration example in which users are connected via a network between a plurality of remote offices (including homes) who work alone is described, but the present invention is limited to such a configuration. I will not. For example, the configuration may be such that a main office where a plurality of users work and a plurality of remote offices are connected via a network. In such a configuration, conversational voices of a plurality of users in the main office may be constantly transmitted and may be heard at each remote office. Also, the video in the main office may be transmitted constantly and viewed in each remote office. In this way, it is possible for the users working at each remote office to work as if they were virtually at the main office.

(Modification 2)
In the second embodiment, the voice packet is transmitted to the other terminal regardless of whether the sender of the voice packet transmitted from each terminal is a follow target person for the receiver. The present invention is not limited to such a configuration. The voice packet sent from each terminal is first sent to the server 300, and the user who has been called by the sender who sent the voice packet and the user whose target person is the sender who sent the voice packet are identified. The voice packet may be transmitted to the user (recipient) along with the command.

(Modification 3)
In the above embodiment, when the caller is not a call and the caller is not the person to be followed, the speaker 112 remains off, and when speaking in response to the call, the conversation of the person to be followed is listened to Although the speaker 112 is automatically turned on at the time, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. The speaker 112 is turned on but the volume is set to a low level when the caller is not a call to the caller and the caller is not a follow target person, and when listening to a conversation in response to the call or listening to the follow target person's conversation At this time, the volume of the speaker 112 may be automatically optimized. In addition, in the normal state, the speaker 112 may be turned on and the volume may be set to be small, and all the received audio packets may be heard at a small volume.

(Modification 4)
In the above embodiment, in a conversation in which oneself does not participate, the voice of the person to be followed can be heard and the voice of the person not to be followed can not be heard regardless of who called for the conversation. It is not limited to such a configuration. When the follow target person calls for a conversation, the voice may be heard even if the other party is a non-follow target person. In addition, when the non-following person calls for a conversation, even if the other person is the following person, both voices may not be heard.

(Modification 5)
Although in the above embodiment the speaker 112 is turned on and the voice can be heard if the person to be followed participates in the conversation in the conversation in which the user is not participating, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration . If it is determined in step S06 that it is not a call to the user (step S06: NO), the conversation of the person to be followed may be textified by speech recognition, and the speaker 112 may not be turned on. In this way, it is possible to confirm the contents of conversations in which you have not participated by text instead of speech. In addition, if the contents of the text conversation are saved as a log, it is possible to confirm the contents of the follow person's conversation at the convenience of the user after the conversation is over. Voice and text may be used together.

(Modification 6)
As the speaker 112 in the above embodiment, a stereo speaker or a plurality of directional speakers are used so that the position (direction) of the voice heard from the speaker relative to oneself is made different for each user (A, B, C, D). May be In this way, when participating in a conversation or watching a conversation, it is possible to recognize who is speaking based on the position (direction) of the voice.

(Modification 7)
In the embodiment described above, it is sufficient to stop the talk when ending the talk with someone, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. Instead of waiting for a predetermined time to elapse after stopping the speech, the speech analysis unit 119 may analyze the speech packet to determine a rule for stopping the speech. For example, words such as "I will drop" and "I will cut" may be set as appropriate.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Information processing apparatus, 110 ... Control part, 111 ... Microphone, 112 ... Speaker, 113 ... Camera, 114 ... Display part, 116, 311 ... Network connection part, 117 ... Transmission part, 118 ... Reception part, 119 ... Sound analysis Part, 200 ... network, 300 ... server, 312 ... voice analysis unit, 313 ... server reception unit, 314 ... server transmission unit, 500 ... system.

Claims (7)

An information processing apparatus connected to a network,
Mike and
With a speaker,
A network connection,
A transmitter configured to transmit, to the network, a voice packet obtained by packetizing voice collected by the microphone;
A receiving unit for receiving from the network voice packets transmitted from another terminal;
A voice analysis unit that analyzes the received voice packet;
A control unit that controls an operation state of the speaker based on an analysis result of the voice packet;
An information processing apparatus comprising:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the microphone and the speaker to be in an operation state when the analysis result is a call request to the own terminal.   The control unit operates the speaker when the analysis result is not a call request to the own terminal, and the voice packet is transmitted from another terminal that the own terminal has given reception permission to. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: Several specific users are connected to the network,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission unit transmits an audio packet to all the specific users.
It further has a camera and a display unit,
The transmission unit transmits, to the network, a video packet obtained by packetizing a video captured by the camera.
The reception unit receives a video packet transmitted from another terminal from the network,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit controls operation states of the camera and the display unit based on an analysis result of the voice packet. A system in which multiple terminals and servers are connected by a network,
The terminal is
Mike and
With a speaker,
A network connection,
A transmitter configured to transmit, to the network, a voice packet obtained by packetizing voice collected by the microphone;
A receiver for receiving from the network the voice packet and the command sent by the server;
A control unit configured to control an operation state of the speaker based on the received command;
The server is
A network connection,
A server reception unit for receiving from the network voice packets transmitted by the terminal;
A voice analysis unit that analyzes the received voice packet;
A server transmission unit that transmits a command based on a result analyzed by the voice analysis unit to the network;
A system comprising: A control method of an information processing apparatus, comprising a microphone and a speaker, receiving an audio packet from a network, and transmitting to the network an audio packet obtained by packetizing voice collected by the microphone.
Analyzing the voice packet;
Controlling the operating state of the speaker based on the analysis result;
And controlling the information processing apparatus.

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