JP2019185470A - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To transmit information of the amount appropriate to the situation by reading a character string.SOLUTION: A character string information acquisition unit 102 acquires character string information indicating a character string included in a screen displayed on a user terminal 20. A related information acquisition unit 104 acquires related information that is information about the user terminal 20 that displays the character string indicated by the acquired character string information. The related information acquisition unit 104 acquires positional information indicating the position of the user terminal 20 as related information. A reading range determination unit 103 determines a reading range of the character string displayed on the user terminal 20 on the basis of the positional information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 104. A reading data generation unit 105 generates voice reading data indicating the character string in the determined reading range by voice. A character string reading unit 204 reads out the character string in the determined reading range by outputting the voice indicated by the generated voice reading data from a speaker.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a user interface technology.

  There is a technology that reads out a character string by voice. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133620 discloses a technique for outputting a voice of a word in a range designated by a user with a voice corresponding to the number of words.

JP 2016-212374 A

For example, in an interactive user interface, when a character string included in content is read out, it may differ depending on the situation whether it is desired to read out the details or only the beginning should be read out.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to convey a suitable amount of information by reading a character string.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a user who uses a user terminal having a character string display function and a voice output function, and an acquisition unit that acquires related information regarding at least one of the user terminal and the acquired A range determining unit that determines a reading range of a character string displayed on the user terminal based on related information; and a processing unit that performs a process for causing the user terminal to output a voice of the determined reading range. An information processing apparatus is provided.

  In addition, the acquisition unit acquires information indicating the position of the user terminal as the related information, and the range determination unit reads a size corresponding to an area including the position indicated by the acquired related information A range may be determined.

  The acquisition unit acquires information indicating a device from which the user terminal outputs sound as the related information, and the range determination unit has a size associated with the device indicated by the acquired related information. The reading range may be determined.

  The acquisition unit may acquire information indicating the age of the user as the related information, and the range determination unit may determine a reading range having a size corresponding to the age indicated by the acquired related information. Good.

  The acquisition unit acquires information indicating the job type of the user as the related information, and the range determination unit determines a reading range having a size associated with the job type indicated by the acquired related information. May be.

  In addition, the acquisition unit acquires information indicating activity contents for each user time zone as the related information, and the range determination unit includes a time including a current time among the activity contents indicated by the acquired related information. You may determine the reading range of the magnitude | size matched with the activity content of the belt | band | zone.

  Moreover, you may provide the volume determination part which determines the volume of the audio | voice which the said user terminal outputs based on the acquired said relevant information.

  In addition, the acquisition unit acquires information indicating the position of the user terminal as the related information, and the volume determination unit has a volume corresponding to a region including a position indicated by the acquired related information. May be determined.

  The acquisition unit acquires information indicating a device that a user terminal used by the user outputs a sound as the related information, and the volume determination unit is associated with a device indicated by the acquired related information. The volume of the volume may be determined.

  Further, the acquisition unit acquires, as the related information, information indicating a volume of sound collected by the microphone when the user terminal has a microphone, and the volume determination unit acquires the related You may determine the volume of a magnitude | size according to the magnitude | size of the sound which information shows.

  According to the present invention, a suitable amount of information can be conveyed by reading a character string.

The figure showing the whole structure of the interactive user assistance system which concerns on an Example. The figure showing the hardware constitutions of a server apparatus and a user terminal Diagram showing functional configuration realized by interactive user support system A figure showing an example of the screen in the reading mode Diagram showing an example of a range table The figure showing an example of the operation | movement procedure of each apparatus in a reading process The figure showing an example of the functional composition realized by a modification The figure showing an example of the range table of a modification The figure showing an example of the functional composition realized by a modification The figure showing an example of the range table of a modification The figure showing an example of the range table of a modification The figure showing an example of the functional composition realized by a modification The figure showing an example of the range table of a modification The figure showing an example of the functional composition realized by a modification The figure showing an example of a volume table The figure showing another example of a volume table The figure showing an example of the functional composition realized by a modification The figure showing an example of the volume table of a modification The figure showing another example of a volume table

[1] Embodiment FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of an interactive user support system 1 according to an embodiment. The interactive user support system 1 is a system for supporting a user through an interactive user interface (UI). An interactive UI is a UI in which a device that behaves like a person or an animal presents necessary information, functions, and the like while communicating to the user such as asking and responding. The interactive user support system 1 supports a user by, for example, presenting information that the user wants to obtain or guiding to a site where the user can perform a desired process.

  The interactive user support system 1 includes a network 2, a server device 10, and a user terminal 20. The network 2 is a communication system including a mobile communication network and the Internet, and relays data exchange between devices accessing the own system. The server device 10 is accessing the network 2 via wired communication, and the user terminal 20 is accessing via wireless communication. Access to the network 2 may be either wired communication or wireless communication.

  The server device 10 is an information processing device that processes screen information displayed in the interactive UI. The server device 10 stores data such as a dialogue scenario representing how to proceed with the dialogue, and controls display on the interactive UI using the data. The user terminal 20 is a display device such as a smartphone having a display function for displaying an image on a display surface, and is used by a user. The user terminal 20 displays an interactive UI by displaying an image indicated by the data transmitted from the server device 10, and accepts an input from the user to change the screen of the interactive UI.

  FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of the server device 10 and the user terminal 20. Each of the server device 10 and the user terminal 20 is a computer including each device such as a processor 11, a memory 12, a storage 13, a communication device 14, an input device 15, an output device 16, and a bus 17. The term “apparatus” here can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, or the like. Each device may include one or a plurality of devices, or some of the devices may not be included.

  The processor 11 controls the entire computer by operating an operating system, for example. The processor 11 may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic device, a register, and the like. Further, the processor 11 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, and the like from the storage 13 and / or the communication device 14 to the memory 12, and executes various processes according to these.

  The number of processors 11 that execute various processes may be one, two or more, and the two or more processors 11 may execute various processes simultaneously or sequentially. Further, the processor 11 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from the network via a telecommunication line.

  The memory 12 is a computer-readable recording medium, and includes, for example, at least one of ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. May be. The memory 12 may be called a register, a cache, a main memory (main storage device), or the like. The memory 12 can store the above-described program (program code), software module, data, and the like.

  The storage 13 is a computer-readable recording medium such as an optical disc such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disc drive, a flexible disc, a magneto-optical disc (eg, a compact disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu- ray (registered trademark) disk, smart card, flash memory (eg, card, stick, key drive), floppy (registered trademark) disk, magnetic strip, or the like.

  The storage 13 may be called an auxiliary storage device. The above-described storage medium may be, for example, a database including the memory 12 and / or the storage 13, a server, or other suitable medium. The communication device 14 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for performing communication between computers via a wired and / or wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module.

  The input device 15 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a switch, a button, a microphone, a sensor, or the like) that accepts an external input. The output device 16 is an output device (for example, a display, an LED lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. The user terminal 20 includes a touch screen having a configuration in which the input device 15 and the output device 16 are integrated. In addition, the user terminal 20 includes a built-in speaker that outputs (releases sound) as the output device 16.

  The devices such as the processor 11 and the memory 12 are accessible to each other via a bus 17 for communicating information. The bus 17 may be composed of a single bus or may be composed of different buses between devices. The server device 10 and the like include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA). It may be comprised including.

  Moreover, part or all of each functional block may be implement | achieved by the said hardware as for the server apparatus 10 grade | etc.,. For example, the processor 11 may be implemented by at least one of these hardware. The server device 10 and the user terminal 20 store a program provided in the present system, and a function group described below is realized by the processor of each device executing the program and controlling each unit.

  FIG. 3 shows a functional configuration realized by the interactive user support system 1. The user terminal 20 includes a screen operation reception unit 201, a screen display unit 202, a position measurement unit 203, and a character string reading unit 204. The server device 10 includes a screen data generation unit 101, a character string information acquisition unit 102, a reading range determination unit 103, a related information acquisition unit 104, and a reading data generation unit 105.

  The screen operation reception unit 201 of the user terminal 20 receives an operation (screen operation) related to the screen by the user. The screen operation includes an operation for displaying a screen such as an application (application program) and a web page, an operation for switching the screen, an operation for performing a predetermined input in an input area in the screen, and the like. When the screen operation accepting unit 201 accepts the screen operation, the screen operation accepting unit 201 generates operation data indicating the content of the accepted operation and transmits the operation data to the server device 10.

  The screen data generation unit 101 of the server apparatus 10 generates screen data indicating a screen to be displayed on the user terminal 20 according to the content of the operation indicated by the transmitted operation data. In the present embodiment, the server device 10 provides a screen of an integrated application that integrates functions such as a browser, SNS (Social Networking Service), store search, hotel search, and transfer guidance. The screen data generation unit 101 stores data such as text, images, and moving images included in the screen of the integrated application, and generates screen data indicating a screen to be displayed according to the screen operation.

  The screen data generation unit 101 transmits the generated screen data to the user terminal 20. The screen display unit 202 of the user terminal 20 displays the screen indicated by the transmitted screen data on the display of the own terminal. The screen display unit 202 supplies information indicating the position on the screen to the screen operation receiving unit 201 when the displayed operation screen includes an operation unit image indicating an operation unit. The screen operation reception unit 201 receives a screen operation based on the position indicated by the supplied information.

  If the screen display unit 202 includes a character string on the screen, the screen display unit 202 displays the character string. That is, the screen display unit 202 is a function for displaying a character string, and is an example of the “display function” of the present invention. In addition to this display function, the user terminal 20 has an audio output function for outputting audio as will be described later. For example, when a reading mode in which a displayed character string is read out by the voice output function is selected, the screen data generation unit 101 generates screen data indicating a screen that can be read out.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a screen in the reading mode. In FIG. 4A, the screen display unit 202 displays a news screen A1 representing a news article. The news screen A1 includes a news title B1, news texts B2, B3, and B4, an avatar C1, and a speech balloon image D1. The avatar C1 is an image that is an anthropomorphic representation of a device with which the user interacts in an interactive UI.

  The balloon image D1 is an image representing a message from the avatar C1 to the user, and represents a message “Do you want to read out?”. In this case, the avatar C1 and the balloon image D1 are operator images for voice reading. In FIG.4 (b), the screen display part 202 is displaying the travel information screen A2 showing the information regarding a trip. The travel information screen A2 includes travel destinations B11, B13, and B15, their explanations B12, B14, and B16, an avatar C1, and a balloon image D2.

  The balloon image D2 represents a message “There is a recommended travel destination!”. Since this is a message unrelated to voice reading, the speaker button E1 is displayed as an operator image for voice reading instead. When the screen operation accepting unit 201 accepts an operation for reading aloud, the screen operation accepting unit 201 transmits operation data indicating the operation to the server device 10. Upon receiving this operation data, the screen data generation unit 101 supplies the screen data transmitted to the user terminal 20 to the character string information acquisition unit 102.

  The character string information acquisition unit 102 acquires character string information indicating a character string included in the screen indicated by the supplied screen data. If the screen data is data described in, for example, HTML (HyperText Markup Language), the character string information acquisition unit 102 analyzes the tag description and acquires the portion displayed as a character string on the web page as character string information. To do. In addition, if the screen data is image data such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), the character string information acquisition unit 102 performs character recognition using a technique such as OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and the like. Information including the arrangement is acquired as character string information.

  In addition, the acquisition method of character string information is not restricted to this, The method according to the format of screen data should just be used. The character string information acquisition unit 102 supplies the acquired character string information to the reading range determination unit 103. The reading range determination unit 103 determines the reading range of the character string indicated by the supplied character string information, that is, the character string displayed on the user terminal 20. The reading range determination unit 103 is an example of the “range determination unit” in the present invention.

  The reading range is a range of the character string that is actually read out when the character string is read out by outputting a sound that reproduces the voice. The character string in the reading range determined by the reading range determination unit 103 is read out by the user terminal 20 having a voice output function for outputting voice as will be described later. When the character string information is supplied, the reading range determination unit 103 requests the related information acquisition unit 104 for related information that is information regarding the user terminal 20 displaying the character string indicated by the character string information.

  The related information acquisition unit 104 acquires the related information requested from the reading range determination unit 103. The related information acquisition unit 104 is an example of the “acquisition unit” in the present invention. In this embodiment, the related information acquisition unit 104 acquires position information indicating the position of the user terminal 20 as related information. The related information acquisition unit 104 transmits request data for requesting position information to the user terminal 20 that is a transmission source of the operation data.

  Upon receiving the transmitted request data, the position measuring unit 203 of the user terminal 20 measures the position of the own terminal according to the request, generates position data indicating the measured position, and transmits the position data to the server device 10. The related information acquisition unit 104 acquires the position indicated by the transmitted position data as position information. The related information acquisition unit 104 supplies the acquired position information to the reading range determination unit 103.

  The reading range determination unit 103 determines the reading range based on the supplied position information, that is, the position information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 104. The reading range determination unit 103 performs the determination using, for example, a range table in which an area classification obtained by dividing an actual area is associated with the size of the reading range. The size of the reading range is represented by, for example, the number of characters included in the character string information, the number of words, the number of phrases, the number of sections, the number of sentences, the number of paragraphs, or a combination thereof. When the character string information is stored in a database, the size of the reading range may be represented by the number of fields, the number of records, or a combination thereof.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a range table. In the example of FIG. 5, the size of the reading range of “Large”, “Medium”, and “Small” is associated with the area classifications “residential area”, “office area”, and “transportation”. . In FIG. 5, only the name of each area segment is shown, but the range table includes range information (for example, latitude and longitude information indicating the boundary of the area segment) indicating the range of positions included in these area segments. It is.

  When there is an area section including the position of the user terminal 20 indicated by the supplied position information, the reading range determination unit 103 determines the reading range based on the size of the reading range associated with the area section. To do. Specifically, the reading range determination unit 103 determines all the character strings indicated by the acquired character string information as the reading range if the size of the reading range is “large”, for example.

  If the size of the reading range is “medium”, the reading range determination unit 103 determines two-thirds of those character strings as the reading range, and if the size of the reading range is “small”, One third of them is determined as a reading range (for example, if the number of characters in all character strings is 900 characters, two thirds are 600 characters, one third is 300 characters, etc.). With this method, if the reading speed is constant, the ratio of the time required for reading can be made substantially constant.

  Note that the reading range determination method is not limited to this. For example, in the case where character strings are divided into groups such as the title, the body, and the explanatory text shown in FIG. 4, the reading range determination unit 103 determines that all the groups (news) if the reading range size is “large”. If screen A1, title B1, text B2, B3, B4) is determined as the reading range, and if the size of the reading range is “medium”, half of the group (title B1 and text B2 if news screen A1) is set as the reading range. decide.

  Further, if the size of the reading range is “small”, the reading range determination unit 103 determines only one group (title B1 if the news screen A1) as the reading range. With this method, you can finish reading aloud where you can cut. Further, the reading range determination unit 103 may determine only the number of characters determined according to the size of the reading range as the reading range (500 characters for “large”, 300 characters for “medium”, “small”. 100 characters).

  With this method, the time required for reading can be made substantially constant for each reading range regardless of what character string is displayed. In any case, the reading range determination unit 103 determines a reading range having a size associated with the area including the position indicated by the related information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 104. The reading range determination unit 103 supplies range information indicating the determined reading range to the reading data generation unit 105 together with the character string information.

  The reading data generation unit 105 generates voice reading data indicating the character string in the reading range determined by the reading range determination unit 103 by voice. The reading data generation unit 105 extracts a character string in the range indicated by the supplied range information from the character string indicated by the supplied character string information, and uses the well-known speech synthesis technique to extract the character string by voice. The voice reading data shown is generated. The reading data generation unit 105 transmits the generated voice reading data to the user terminal 20.

  The character string reading unit 204 of the user terminal 20 reads out the character string in the reading range determined by the reading range determination unit 103 by outputting the voice indicated by the transmitted voice reading data from the speaker. As described above, the generation process and the transmission process performed by the reading data generation unit 105 are processes for causing the user terminal 20 to output the voice in the reading range determined by the reading range determination unit 103. The reading data generation unit 105 is an example of the “processing unit” in the present invention.

Each device included in the interactive user support system 1 performs a reading process of reading out a character string by voice based on the above configuration.
FIG. 6 shows an example of the operation procedure of each device in the reading process. This operation procedure is started when a screen operation for displaying a screen is performed by the user, for example. First, the user terminal 20 (screen operation reception unit 201) receives a screen operation by the user (step S11), and transmits operation data indicating the content of the received screen operation to the server device 10 (step S12).

  The server device 10 (screen data generation unit 101) generates screen data according to the content of the operation indicated by the transmitted operation data (step S13), and transmits the generated screen data to the user terminal 20 (step S14). ). The user terminal 20 (screen display unit 202) displays a screen indicated by the transmitted screen data (step S15). Here, for example, when the screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed and a speech reading operation is performed, the user terminal 20 (screen operation reception unit 201) receives the operation (step S21), and the operation data indicating the operation is stored in the server. It transmits to the apparatus 10 (step S22).

  When the transmitted operation data indicates a speech-reading operation, the server device 10 (character string information acquisition unit 102) displays character string information indicating a character string included in the screen displayed on the user terminal 20. Obtain (step S23). Next, the server device 10 (related information acquisition unit 104) transmits request data requesting position information indicating the position as related information of the user terminal 20 to the user terminal 20 (step S24).

  The user terminal 20 (position measuring unit 203) measures the position of the own terminal according to the request indicated by the transmitted request data (step S25), and transmits the position data indicating the measured position to the server device 10 (step S26). ). The server device 10 (related information acquisition unit 104) acquires the position indicated by the transmitted position data as position information (step S27). Next, the server device 10 (reading range determination unit 103) determines a reading range based on the acquired position information (step S28).

  Subsequently, the server device 10 (reading data generation unit 105) generates voice reading data that indicates the character string of the determined reading range by voice (step S29), and the generated voice reading data is the user terminal 20. (Step S30). The user terminal 20 (character string reading upper part 204) outputs the voice indicated by the transmitted voice reading data from the speaker, and reads the character string in the determined reading range (step S31).

  In this embodiment, the size of the reading range changes depending on the position of the user terminal 20. For example, when it is located in a residential area, the surrounding area is a private space such as the user's home and there is a high possibility that it will not cause trouble to others even if a lot of voice is output, so a large reading range is determined. On the other hand, when it is located in a transportation facility such as a train, there is a high possibility that it will cause trouble to others if there are many other people around the user and it keeps making a voice, so a small reading range is determined.

  Further, when the user terminal 20 is located in the office district, it is not necessary to be as quiet as when located in the transportation facility, but since it is not a private space, a medium reading range is determined. As described above, all of the reading ranges determined in the present embodiment are determined in consideration of the extent to which the user terminal 20 is allowed to read out speech from the surrounding circumstances (such as Correspondence in the range table is performed so as to obtain a result). As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to convey the amount of information suitable for the situation around the user terminal 20 by reading the character string.

[2] Modifications The above-described embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and may be modified as follows.

[2-1] Audio Output Device The reading range determination method is not limited to the method described in the embodiment.
FIG. 7 shows an example of a functional configuration realized in this modification. In the example of FIG. 7, a user terminal 20 a including a device information storage unit 205 instead of the position measurement unit 203 illustrated in FIG. 3 is illustrated.

  The device information storage unit 205 stores information (device information) related to devices used by the user terminal 20a. The devices are, for example, the input device 15 (input device) and the output device 16 (output device) shown in FIG. These devices are built-in devices integrated with the user terminal 20a. However, external devices that are different from the user terminal 20a, such as wireless earphones and wireless speakers, may be used. .

  The device information storage unit 205 stores, as device information, for example, list information of devices that are available to the user terminal 20a. For example, when on / off of an internal device is switched by the program being executed, the device information storage unit 205 updates the presence / absence in the list information of the internal device each time this switching is performed.

  The device information storage unit 205 adds the external device to the list information when the external device becomes communicable (connected) with the user terminal 20a, and deletes the external device from the list information when the connection is lost. To do. In addition, the device information storage unit 205 stores audio output device information indicating devices set as a device for outputting audio in the above-described integrated application reading mode among the devices included in the list information.

  In the reading mode, it is possible to freely set a device that outputs sound, and whenever this setting is changed by a user operation, the device information storage unit 205 stores new sound output device information indicating the device after switching. Remember. In the present modification, the related information acquisition unit 104 acquires the sound output device information, that is, information indicating a device that the user terminal 20a outputs sound as related information.

  The related information acquisition unit 104 transmits request data for requesting voice output device information to the user terminal 20a, and the device information storage unit 205 stores the voice output device information stored when the request data is received in the server device 10. Send to. The related information acquisition unit 104 supplies the audio output device information acquired in this way to the reading range determination unit 103. The reading range determination unit 103 determines a reading range having a size corresponding to the device indicated by the supplied audio output device information, that is, the related information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 104.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the range table of this modification. In the example of FIG. 8, the size of the reading range of “Large”, “Medium”, and “Small” is associated with the audio output devices “Earphone / Headphone”, “External Speaker”, and “Built-in Speaker”. ing. When the audio output device indicated by the supplied audio output device information is included in the range table, the read-up range determination unit 103, based on the size of the reading range associated with the audio output device, The reading range is determined in the same manner as in the embodiment.

  For example, when earphones and headphones are used as the audio output device, it is easier to hear the sound that is output, making it easier to hear the surrounding sound than other audio output devices. I try to tell you. On the other hand, when a built-in speaker is used, the volume is often lower than that of an external speaker. Therefore, the reading range is reduced and the voice conveys information in an auxiliary manner, with the information displayed centering on the displayed image. I have to.

  In addition, the volume of the external speaker is larger than that of the built-in speaker and is often easy to hear. Therefore, the amount of information between the built-in speaker, the earphone, and the headphones is transmitted by voice. As described above, all of the reading ranges determined in this modification are determined in consideration of the ratio of information transmission by voice and information transmission by image (such a result) Are associated in the range table so that As a result, information corresponding to the situation of the voice output device to be used can be conveyed by reading out the character string.

[2-2] User Attributes The reading range determination method is not limited to the method described in each of the above examples.
FIG. 9 shows an example of a functional configuration realized in this modification. In the example of FIG. 9, a user terminal 20b including a user attribute storage unit 206 is shown instead of the position measurement unit 203 shown in FIG.

  The user attribute storage unit 206 stores an attribute of a user who uses the user terminal 20b. The user attribute storage unit 206 stores, for example, information (birth date or age, etc.) indicating the user's age. In this modification, the related information acquisition unit 104 acquires age information indicating the age of the user as related information. The related information acquisition method is the same as that of the above-described modification. The related information acquisition unit 104 supplies the audio output device information acquired in this way to the reading range determination unit 103.

The reading range determination unit 103 determines a reading range having a size corresponding to the age indicated by the supplied age information, that is, the related information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 104.
FIG. 10 shows an example of the range table of this modification. In the example of FIG. 10, the reading ranges of “Large”, “Medium”, and “Small” are large for the user ages of “60s and above”, “10s and below”, and “20s and above 50s” Are associated.

  The reading range determination unit 103 determines the reading range in the same manner as in the embodiment, based on the size of the reading range associated with the user's age indicated by the supplied age information in the range table. In this case, the generation of users who have retired from work in their 60s or more and have a lot of time can increase the reading range to convey information centered on voice, and spend time in their 20s and 50s working and raising children. For the generation of users who have a lot of people who cannot afford, information is transmitted centering on the displayed image with a small reading range. And the information of the amount between them is conveyed to the user of teenagers or less by voice.

  Normally, it takes more time to read out a character string than to read it silently. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 10, the reading range is determined in consideration of whether or not the user has sufficient time ( Correspondence in the range table is performed so as to be). Thereby, an amount of information suitable for each user's time allowance can be transmitted by reading the character string.

  Note that the reading range having a size corresponding to the age is not limited to the example shown in FIG. For example, in the case of the student's age, there is not enough time, so the reading range may be reduced. In addition, the reading range may be reduced even when there is an age that is easy to age and a hearing loss is likely to occur. In this case, it is possible to convey information of an amount suitable for the situation by reading a character string to a user whose age tends to decrease.

  Note that the user attribute used to determine the reading range is not limited to age. The user attribute storage unit 206 stores, for example, job information (job name) indicating the job type of the user. For example, the job type is classified into the contents of work such as general office work, sales, accounting, personnel, engineer, etc., but the user attribute storage unit 206 has a job type of self-employed, a company employee (including officers), and Stores job type information indicating whether the housewife is working.

The related information acquisition unit 104 acquires job type information indicating the job type of the user as related information. The reading range determination unit 103 determines a reading range having a size associated with the job type of the user indicated by the job type information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 104.
FIG. 11 shows an example of a range table of this modification. In the example of FIG. 11, the reading ranges of “Large”, “Medium”, and “Small” are associated with the user occupations “housewife”, “self-employed”, and “company working”. Yes.

  The reading range determination unit 103 determines the reading range in the same manner as in the embodiment, based on the size of the reading range associated with the job type of the user indicated by the supplied job type information in the range table. In this case, if you are a housewife and have a long time at home, you can listen to the voices that are output for a long time. For a user who has a short time at home and a short time to listen to the voice freely, information is transmitted mainly through the displayed image with a small reading range.

  And, for self-employed users who tend to be between housewives and office workers when they are at home (the time when they can listen to audio freely), the amount of information between them is communicated by voice. . As described above, in the example of FIG. 11, the speech reading range is determined in consideration of the length of time that the user can listen to the voice freely at home (corresponding to the range table so as to be so) Is done). Thereby, the amount of information suitable for each user's time at home can be conveyed by reading out the character string.

[2-3] User Activity Status The reading range determination method is not limited to the method described in each of the above examples.
FIG. 12 shows an example of a functional configuration realized in this modification. In the example of FIG. 12, a server apparatus 10c including a schedule function providing unit 106 in addition to the units illustrated in FIG. 3 is illustrated.

  The schedule function providing unit 106 provides various functions for managing the schedule. This function is one of the functions provided in the integrated application described above, for example. The schedule function providing unit 106 stores schedule information indicating a schedule of the daily activity contents of the user. If the user carefully inputs and updates the schedule information, the schedule information can be regarded as information representing actual activity contents (commuting, attending school, meals, work, classes, hobbies, bathing, sleeping, etc.).

  And since the time when those activities are performed is associated with the schedule information, the schedule information can be used as the activity information indicating the activity content for each user time zone. The related information acquisition unit 104 of this modification acquires this activity information (schedule information) as related information. The reading range determination unit 103 determines a reading range having a size associated with the activity content in the time zone including the current time among the activity contents indicated by the activity information (schedule information) acquired by the related information acquisition unit 104. To do.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of a range table of this modification. In the example of FIG. 13, the activity contents of “hobby / bath”, “meal”, and “commuting / commuting” are associated with the size of the reading ranges of “large”, “medium”, and “small”. Yes. The reading range determination unit 103 determines the reading range in the same manner as in the embodiment, based on the size of the reading range associated with the user activity content indicated by the supplied activity information in the range table.

  In this case, when there is time in the hobby time and bathing time, the reading range is enlarged and the information is transmitted mainly by voice, and when there is no time for commuting and schooling, the reading range is reduced and displayed. It conveys information with a focus on. In addition, the amount of information that is conveyed by voice assuming that the time for meals is in between them is also in the middle. As described above, in this modification, the speech reading range is determined in consideration of whether there is a time margin in the current activity content (corresponding to the range table so as to be so). .

  Thereby, an amount of information suitable for the activity status of each user can be conveyed by reading out the character string. In the reading range determination method described in the examples of FIGS. 9 to 13, the related information acquisition unit 104 acquires information about a user who uses the user terminal as related information. Even in these cases, an amount of information suitable for the situation indicated by each related information can be conveyed by reading out the character string.

[2-4] User Activity Status The reading range determination method is not limited to the method described in each of the above examples.
FIG. 14 shows an example of a functional configuration realized in this modification. In the example of FIG. 14, a server device 10 d that includes a reading volume determination unit 107 in addition to the units illustrated in FIG. 3 is illustrated.

  The reading volume determination unit 107 determines the volume (reading volume) of the voice that the user terminal 20 outputs when reading the character string. The reading volume determination unit 107 is an example of the “volume determination unit” in the present invention. The reading volume determination unit 107 determines the reading volume based on the related information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 104. The related information used here is, for example, the position information described in the embodiment (information indicating the position of the user terminal 20).

  Specifically, the reading volume determination unit 107 determines the volume corresponding to the area including the position of the user terminal 20 indicated by the acquired related information (position information) as the reading volume. The reading volume determination unit 107 performs the determination using, for example, a volume table in which an area segment obtained by dividing an actual area and a reading volume are associated with each other.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of a volume table. In the example of FIG. 15, the reading volumes “large”, “medium”, and “small” are associated with the area classifications “residential area”, “office area”, and “transportation”. When there is an area section including the position of the user terminal 20 indicated by the position information acquired by the related information acquisition section 104, the reading volume determination section 107 reads the volume corresponding to the area section Determine as volume.

  For example, when the user terminal 20 is located in a residential area, since the surrounding area is a private space such as the user's home and the volume is high, there is a high possibility that it will not bother others, so a large reading volume is determined. On the other hand, a low reading volume is determined because it is highly likely to cause trouble to others when located in a transportation facility such as a train. Also, when located in an office district, a medium reading volume is determined.

  As described above, the reading volume determined in the present modification is determined in consideration of how much the volume of the voice read by the user terminal 20 is allowed in the surrounding situation (such as Correspondence in the volume table is performed so that a result is obtained). As described above, according to this modification, it is possible to read aloud at a volume suitable for the situation around the user terminal 20.

  In this modification, other related information may be used. For example, the related information acquisition unit 104 acquires the sound output device information (information indicating the device that the user terminal 20a outputs sound) described in the description of FIG. 7 as the related information. In this case, the reading volume determination unit 107 determines the volume of the volume associated with the audio output device indicated by the acquired audio output device information.

  FIG. 16 shows another example of the volume table. In the example of FIG. 16, the sound output devices “earphone / headphone”, “external speaker”, and “built-in speaker” are associated with the reading volumes “small”, “medium”, and “large”. When the audio output device indicated by the audio output device information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 104 is included in the volume table, the reading volume determination unit 107 has a size corresponding to the audio output device. Determine the volume as the reading volume.

  For example, when earphones and headphones are used as the audio output device, the read sound volume is reduced because the output sound is easy to hear. On the other hand, when the built-in speaker is used, it is difficult to hear unless the volume is increased, so that the reading volume is increased. When an external speaker is used, the reading volume intermediate between them is determined. These reading volumes are determined in consideration of the ease of hearing of the voice output from the voice output device (corresponding to the range table so that such a result is obtained). Thereby, it is possible to read aloud at a volume suitable for the situation of the audio output device used.

[2-5] Ambient Noise The method for determining the reading volume is not limited to the method described in the above example.
FIG. 17 shows an example of a functional configuration realized in this modification. In the example of FIG. 17, a user terminal 20 e including a recording unit 207 in addition to the units illustrated in FIG. 3 is illustrated. The recording unit 207 records the sound collected by the microphone of its own terminal.

  In the present modification, the related information acquisition unit 104 acquires the collected sound volume information indicating the volume of the sound recorded by the recording unit 207, that is, the sound collected by the microphone of the user terminal 20e, as the related information. .

  The related information acquisition unit 104 transmits request data for requesting collected sound volume information to the user terminal 20e. When receiving the request data, the recording unit 207 performs recording for a certain period of time, and transmits volume data indicating the volume of the recorded sound to the server device 10. The related information acquisition unit 104 acquires the volume indicated by the transmitted volume data as collected volume information. The related information acquisition unit 104 supplies the collected volume information acquired in this way to the reading volume determination unit 107.

  The reading volume determining unit 107 determines the volume corresponding to the volume indicated by the acquired collected volume information as the reading volume. There are two methods for determining the reading volume in this modification. The first determination method is a method in which the sound having the volume indicated by the collected volume information is regarded as noise. In this case, the reading volume determination unit 107 uses a volume table shown in FIG.

  FIG. 18 shows an example of a volume table of this modification. In the example of FIG. 18, “small”, “medium”, “large” with respect to the volume of surrounding sounds “less than the first threshold”, “more than the first threshold and less than the second threshold”, and “more than the second threshold” Is read out. The reading volume determination unit 107 determines the volume of the volume associated with the volume indicated by the collected volume information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 104 in the volume table as the reading volume.

  As described above, in the example of FIG. 18, the reading volume determination unit 107 determines the larger volume as the reading volume as the peripheral sound indicated by the acquired collected volume information is larger. As a result, even in a situation where the noise around the user terminal 20e is loud and it is difficult to hear the voice, it is possible to read out with a volume suitable for the situation. The second determination method is a method in which a sound having a volume indicated by the collected sound volume information is regarded as a user voice.

  In this case, the recording unit 207 transmits sound data indicating the recorded sound itself to the server device 10 in association with the user ID of the user who uses the terminal itself. Since the sound indicated by the sound data also represents the volume of the recorded sound, the related information acquisition unit 104 acquires the sound volume indicated by the transmitted sound data as the collected sound volume information. The reading volume determination unit 107 stores, for example, the user's voiceprint information registered by the user in association with the user ID.

  The reading volume determination unit 107 compares the sound indicated by the acquired collected volume information with the voice print information in which the sound data and the user ID are common, and the corresponding user (the user with the user ID associated with the voice print information). It is determined whether or not it is voice. When the reading volume determination unit 107 determines that the sound is that of the corresponding user, the reading volume determination unit 107 determines the reading volume by using the volume table shown in FIG.

  FIG. 19 shows an example of a volume table of this modification. In the example of FIG. 19, “large”, “medium”, “small” with respect to the volume of the user voice “less than the third threshold”, “more than the third threshold and less than the fourth threshold”, and “more than the fourth threshold”. Is read out. As described above, in the example of FIG. 19, the reading volume determination unit 107 determines the larger volume as the reading volume as the volume of the user voice indicated by the acquired collected volume information is smaller.

  The smaller the volume of the recorded user voice, the higher the possibility that the user is at a position away from the user terminal 20e. By determining the reading volume as described above, even when the distance between the user terminal 20e and the user is different, the reading can be performed at a volume suitable for each situation.

[2-6] Reading range and reading volume In each of the above examples, the reading range and reading volume are determined in three stages (large, medium, and small), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be determined in two steps or may be determined in four or more steps. Further, “None” and “All” may be included in the reading range, and “Minimum volume (including mute)” and “Maximum volume” may be included in the reading volume. In short, both the reading range and the reading volume may be determined in stages (at least in two or more stages) by changing the size.

[2-7] Plural Related Information In each of the above examples, for determining the reading range and reading volume, related information (position information, voice output device information, age information, job type information, activity information (schedule information), (Collected sound volume information) is used alone, but a plurality of related information may be used. For example, the reading range determination unit 103 determines the reading range based on position information, age information, and activity information acquired as related information.

  For example, when each related information represents “residential area”, “20 to 50 and below”, and “company work”, the reading ranges in the corresponding range table are “large”, “small”, and “small”. In this case, the reading range determination unit 103 calculates an average value ((3 + 1 + 1) ÷ 3 = about 1.7) with “large” = 3, “medium” = 2, and “small” = 1, for example, and the average value Determine the “medium” reading range closest to. Note that the reading range determination unit 103 determines the character amount corresponding to the average value when the character amount of all the character strings is regarded as “3” when determining the entire character string as the reading range if “large”. In this example, the range of “1.7”) may be determined as the reading range.

  Further, the value represented by large, medium, and small may be changed (for example, large = 10, medium = 5, small = 3, etc.), or each value may be changed for each related information. In the latter case, weighting may be performed by increasing the value of important related information. Further, the above calculation may be performed by expressing the reading range and the reading volume according to each related information in two steps, three steps, or four steps or more as in the above modification. Thus, by using a plurality of related information in combination, it is possible to determine a reading range and a reading volume by comprehensively judging a plurality of situations.

[2-8] Apparatus for Implementing Each Unit The apparatus for realizing each function illustrated in FIG. 3 and the like is not limited to the apparatuses illustrated in those drawings. For example, the user terminal may realize a function included in the server device. In that case, the processor 11 of the user terminal is an example of the “information processing apparatus” of the present invention. Then, the read-out data generation unit 105 outputs the voice in the reading range determined by the reading range determination unit 103 to the user terminal 20 in the process of supplying the generated voice reading data to the speaker of the own terminal. Run as a process.

  Further, two or more devices may share and realize each function provided in the server device. Further, the operation performed by each function may be divided into a plurality of functions. For example, a plurality of operations performed by the character string information acquisition unit 102 (an operation for analyzing a tag description, an operation for extracting a portion displayed as a character string, an operation for character recognition from an image, an operation for generating character string information, etc.) Each of these functions may be performed. In short, as long as these functions are realized as the entire interactive user support system, the interactive user support system may include any number of devices.

[2-9] Category of Invention The present invention can be understood as an information processing system such as an interactive user support system including such devices as well as information processing devices such as user terminals and server devices. In addition, the present invention can be understood as an information processing method for realizing processing performed by each device, or as a program for causing a computer that controls each device to function. This program may be provided in the form of a recording medium such as an optical disk in which it is stored, or may be provided in the form of being downloaded to a computer via a network such as the Internet, installed and made available for use. May be.

[2-10] Processing Procedures, etc. The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, and the like of each embodiment described in this specification may be switched in order as long as there is no contradiction. For example, the methods described herein present the elements of the various steps in an exemplary order and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[2-11] Handling of input / output information and the like Input / output information and the like may be stored in a specific location (for example, a memory) or managed by a management table. Input / output information and the like can be overwritten, updated, or additionally written. The output information or the like may be deleted. The input information or the like may be transmitted to another device.

[2-12] Software Software, regardless of whether it is called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or another name, is an instruction, instruction set, code, code segment, program code, program , Subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, etc. should be interpreted broadly.

  Also, software, instructions, etc. may be transmitted / received via a transmission medium. For example, software may use websites, servers, or other devices using wired technology such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair and digital subscriber line (DSL) and / or wireless technology such as infrared, wireless and microwave. When transmitted from a remote source, these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[2-13] Information, Signals The information, signals, etc. described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, commands, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description are voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or photons, or any of these May be represented by a combination of

[2-14] System, Network As used herein, the terms “system” and “network” are used interchangeably.

[2-15] Meaning of “based on” As used herein, the term “based on” does not mean “based only on”, unless expressly specified otherwise. In other words, the phrase “based on” means both “based only on” and “based at least on.”

[2-16] “and”, “or”
In the present specification, for a configuration that can be implemented by either “A and B” or “A or B”, a configuration described in one expression may be used as a configuration described in the other expression. For example, when “A and B” is described, it may be used as “A or B” as long as it is feasible without inconsistency with other descriptions.

[2-17] Variations of Aspect, etc. Each embodiment described in the present specification may be used alone, in combination, or may be switched according to execution. In addition, notification of predetermined information (for example, notification of being “X”) is not limited to explicitly performed, but is performed implicitly (for example, notification of the predetermined information is not performed). Also good.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present invention can be implemented as modified and changed modes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the description of the scope of claims. Therefore, the description of the present specification is for illustrative purposes and does not have any limiting meaning to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Interactive user support system, 10 ... Server apparatus, 20 ... User terminal, 101 ... Screen data generation part, 102 ... Character string information acquisition part, 103 ... Reading range determination part, 104 ... Related information acquisition part, 105 ... Reading data generation unit, 106 ... schedule function providing unit, 107 ... reading volume determination unit, 201 ... screen operation reception unit, 202 ... screen display unit, 203 ... position measurement unit, 204 ... character string reading upper part, 205 ... device Information storage unit 206... User attribute storage unit 207.

Claims (10)

An acquisition unit for acquiring related information regarding at least one of a user using a user terminal having a character string display function and a voice output function and the user terminal;
A range determining unit that determines a reading range of a character string displayed on the user terminal based on the acquired related information;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a processing unit that performs a process for causing the user terminal to output the determined voice in the reading range. The acquisition unit acquires information indicating a position of the user terminal as the related information,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the range determination unit determines a reading range having a size associated with a region including a position indicated by the acquired related information. The acquisition unit acquires, as the related information, information indicating a device from which the user terminal outputs sound.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the range determination unit determines a reading range having a size associated with a device indicated by the acquired related information. The acquisition unit acquires information indicating the age of the user as the related information,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the range determination unit determines a reading range having a size corresponding to an age indicated by the acquired related information. The acquisition unit acquires information indicating a job type of the user as the related information,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the range determination unit determines a reading range having a size associated with a job type indicated by the acquired related information. The acquisition unit acquires information indicating activity contents for each time zone of the user as the related information,
The range determination unit determines a reading range having a size associated with activity contents in a time zone including a current time among the activity contents indicated by the acquired related information. The information processing apparatus described in 1. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a volume determination unit that determines a volume of sound output from the user terminal based on the acquired related information. The acquisition unit acquires information indicating a position of the user terminal as the related information,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the volume determination unit determines a volume having a size associated with an area including a position indicated by the acquired related information. The acquisition unit acquires, as the related information, information indicating a device that a user terminal used by the user outputs sound.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the volume determination unit determines a volume having a magnitude associated with a device indicated by the acquired related information. The acquisition unit acquires, as the related information, information indicating the volume of sound collected by the microphone when the user terminal has a microphone,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the volume determination unit determines a volume having a magnitude corresponding to a volume of sound indicated by the acquired related information.

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