JP3165585U - Speech synthesizer - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a voice synthesizing device that can transmit and receive a response without voice during a call on a mobile phone or the like. A voice synthesizing device connected to a terminal device that stores a voice generating application and receives a voice transmitted from a transmission source and a voice reproducing device that reproduces the voice, wherein Voice receiving means for receiving one voice, voice converting means for converting the first voice into a first voice signal, and converting voice selected by a user in a voice generation application into a second voice signal, and first voice signal Signal synthesizing means for synthesizing the audio signal and the second audio signal, first transmitting means for transmitting the synthesized audio signal to the terminal device, and second transmitting means for transmitting the synthesized audio signal to the audio reproducing apparatus. Is provided. [Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a speech synthesizer, and more specifically, to a device that selects a character group from a provided application for speech to be transmitted during communication, converts the character group into a speech signal, and synthesizes the received speech signal. .

  Currently, there are 346,000 people who have difficulty speaking, for example, visually impaired and language disabled (in FY 2001, a survey of physically disabled children / persons by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare), and tens of thousands including those who have difficulty speaking due to vocal cord related surgery. It is said that there are people who have difficulty speaking. When it is difficult to speak, even if the voice from the other party can be heard with a mobile phone or the like, the voice cannot be sent from the person with difficulty speaking.

  In addition, there is a case where a phone call comes in when in a public place such as a train or a hospital. In this case, it is not possible to respond to an urgent communication or the like, and it is necessary to call again after an appropriate time has passed.

In an existing mobile phone or the like, when there is an environment in which it is not preferable to make a call, instead of transmitting information by utterance by itself, by transmitting non-voice information from a terminal device such as a mobile phone, There is a service providing apparatus having a voice conversion function that can output voice to a partner terminal apparatus.
For example, in Patent Document 1, text messages transferred through a site explained on a network or a mobile communication terminal are converted or modulated into speech, and a bell sound of the terminal is created or translated into a language of a specific country. A system for transmitting as speech is disclosed.

  For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a voice / character mutual conversion device and a system for transmitting and receiving the same as an implementation of the interactive communication method. In this method, a voice signal transmitted from a telephone or other telephone equipment is received by communication, recognized as a character by a character recognition device for converting it into a character, and displayed on the display screen as a character. Moreover, the character input at the transmission source is converted into a voice signal by voice synthesis, and this voice signal is transmitted to the other party through the communication system.

JP 2003-110754 A JP 2003-8691 A

However, existing telephones (including multi-function telephones) can only either listen to the speech converted from characters or view the characters converted from speech. Furthermore, although there is an application for voice-to-character conversion that can be installed in a mobile phone, it is not possible to synthesize the voice input of the telephone function and the function of the installed application, so only one of them can be synthesized. Can only be used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can solve the above-described problems and can respond in real time while listening to the other party's voice using a voice generation application even in an environment where a telephone call cannot be made.

  According to the voice synthesizer of the present invention, a voice generation application is stored, and a terminal device that receives voice transmitted from a transmission source and a voice playback device that plays voice can be operated via a wired or wireless device. A voice synthesizer to be connected; voice receiving means for receiving the first voice received by the terminal device; and the first voice is converted into a first voice signal and selected by the user in the voice generation application. Voice converting means for converting the obtained voice into a second voice signal, voice signal synthesizing means for synthesizing the first voice signal and the second voice signal, and a first for transmitting the synthesized voice signal to the terminal device A transmission unit; and a second transmission unit configured to transmit the synthesized voice signal to the voice synthesizer.

  By the above-described means, even in an environment where a telephone call is not preferable or a person who has difficulty in speaking, it is possible to respond in real time while listening to the voice.

In the speech synthesizer of the present invention, the speech receiving unit receives the third speech transmitted from the speech reproduction device, the speech converting unit converts the third speech into a third speech signal, and the speech signal synthesis. The means synthesizes the second audio signal and the third audio signal, and the transmission means transmits the synthesized audio signal to the terminal device.
By the above-mentioned means, it is possible to convey an intention by voice without speaking and to transmit surrounding environmental sounds, for example, music.

  According to the speech synthesizer according to the present invention, it is possible to use the telephone even if the voice cannot be spoken, and the promotion of social participation is promoted so that the range of activities of people with difficulty speaking can be expanded and the number of activities that can be performed by themselves increases.

  In addition, according to the speech synthesizer of the present invention, when a call is received while in a public place such as a train or a hospital, the third party does not mind, does not move to another place, and It is possible to respond to a call from the other party without calling again after a certain time, and as a result, the convenience of the mobile phone can be improved.

  In addition, according to the speech synthesizer of the present invention, staff and participants can respond without inconvenience to the surroundings while receiving instructions on the telephone at lectures and conferences, improving the efficiency of the result work be able to.

Furthermore, according to the speech synthesizer of the present invention, when being followed by a suspicious person or the like, the current situation can be explained to the family and the police without being uttered, and crime prevention can be prevented.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the speech synthesizer of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detail of the speech synthesizer of this invention. 3 is a flowchart of speech synthesis according to the present invention. It is another flowchart of the speech synthesis by this invention. It is a figure which shows another system configuration | structure of the speech synthesizer of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are preferred specific examples of the speech synthesizer according to the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments unless specifically described to limit the present invention. . In addition, the constituent elements in the embodiments shown below can be appropriately replaced with existing constituent elements and the like, and various variations including combinations with other existing constituent elements are possible. Therefore, the description of the embodiment described below does not limit the contents of the device described in the claims.

1, a speech synthesis apparatus system 1 according to the present invention includes a wired or wireless device 10, a terminal device 11, a speech synthesis device 14 including a speech generation application 12 and a speech conversion module 13, a wired or wireless device 15, and speech reproduction. Device 16 is included.
The wired or wireless devices 10 and 15 are preferably, for example, but not limited to, BlueTooth (registered trademark), which employs a spread spectrum method that uses a frequency called 2.4 GHz ISM band and performs frequency hopping 1600 times per second. And a wireless communication system having a transmission rate of 1 Mbps.
The terminal device is a communication terminal for calls such as a mobile phone or PHS. The speech synthesizer is connected to the terminal device via a wired or wireless device. When in use, a voice signal is received from the terminal device, and a voice utterance application is displayed on the display screen of the terminal device via a wired or wireless device. The voice generation application may be existing software that utters the character group by voice by selecting a phrase to be conveyed from the search result. In such a voice creation software, a predetermined text group (for example, “Thank you”, “Thank you”) is recorded in advance, and the first part of the 50-sound table is used without inputting all the phrases to be transmitted. By inputting characters, a list of conversation sentences and words that match the input kana is displayed. Since the user only has to select an arbitrary phrase from the list display, the time can be reduced. In addition, a voice correction function for performing prosodic transformation is installed, and a selected phrase voice can be created as a voice with inflection and emotion.
For example, a headset such as an earphone or a headphone is assumed as the voice reproduction device, and is connected to the voice synthesizer via a wired or wireless device. The headset optionally includes a microphone.

  Next, referring to FIG. 2, the internal structure of the speech synthesizer according to the present invention is shown. The voice synthesizer 14 includes a voice generation application 12, a voice reception unit, a voice conversion unit, a voice signal synthesis unit, a first transmission unit, and a second transmission unit.

Example 1
Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 3, an example of a conversation exchange process between the caller A and the caller B using the speech synthesizer according to the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the caller A uses a fixed phone and the caller B uses a mobile phone equipped with the speech synthesizer of the present invention.
In S <b> 101, the communicator A transmits a voice “thank you” to the caller B using the telephone, and the voice “thank you” received by the mobile phone (terminal device) is voice-synthesized via the wired or wireless device 10. Received by the speech synthesizer by the receiving means of the apparatus. The caller B can hear the voice “thank you” from the headset via the voice synthesizer and the wired or wireless device 15.
In S102, the voice “thank you” is converted into a voice signal by the voice conversion means of the voice synthesizer (first voice signal).
In S103, the voice generation application is displayed on the display screen of the terminal device via the wired or wireless device by the selection of the caller B, and the caller B selects the character group “you are welcome”.
In S104, the character group “you are welcome” is converted into a speech signal by the speech conversion means of the speech synthesizer (second speech signal).
In S105, the voice signal “thank you” and the voice signal “you are welcome” are synthesized by the voice signal synthesis means of the voice device.
In S106, the synthesized speech signal is transmitted to the headset and the terminal device by the transmission unit of the speech synthesizer (first transmission unit, second transmission unit). As a result, the audio signal transmitted to the terminal device is transmitted to the telephone of the caller A, and the caller A listens to the voice “you are welcome”. By changing the setting, it is possible to selectively transmit only the first sound and only the second sound.

(Example 2)
In the following embodiments S201 to S206, the caller B may be assumed to be a person who is in an environment where he / she cannot speak aloud, such as a place with a lot of noise, or a person who cannot speak. For example, when it is desired to convey a sound of the surrounding environment and also to transmit a voice message, as shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 4, the caller B blows music in this example from a microphone provided in the headset, and this is wireless. Alternatively, it is transmitted via a wired device and received by the speech synthesizer by the reception unit of the speech synthesizer. In S202, the audio of music is converted into an audio signal by the audio conversion means of the audio synthesizer (third audio signal).
In S203, the voice generation application is displayed on the display screen of the terminal device via the wired or wireless device by the selection of the caller B, and the caller B selects the character group “This music is good”.
In S204, the character group “This music is good” is converted into a voice signal by the voice conversion means of the voice synthesizer (second voice signal).
In S205, the audio signal of the music (third audio signal) and the second audio signal “This music is good” are synthesized by the audio signal synthesizing means of the audio synthesizer.
In S206, the synthesized speech signal is transmitted to the headset and the terminal device by the transmission unit of the speech synthesizer (first transmission unit, second transmission unit). As a result, the audio signal transmitted to the terminal device is transmitted to the telephone of the caller A, and the caller A listens to the music and the sound “This music is good”.
By using the speech synthesizer of the present invention, the caller B can further transmit his / her intention and emotion by voice while transmitting specific music to the caller A when he / she wants to transmit it. Therefore, even for those who have difficulty in speaking, opportunities for communication exchange increase, and promotion of social participation is promoted.

  Next, referring to FIG. 5, another system configuration in the system of the speech synthesizer according to the present invention is shown. A speech synthesis apparatus system 1 according to the present invention includes a wired or wireless device 10, a terminal device 11 including a speech generation application 12 and a speech conversion module 13, a speech synthesis device 14, a wired or wireless device 15, and a speech playback device 16. .

The system configuration in the embodiment in FIG. 5 is different from that in FIG. 1, and the voice generation application 12 and the voice conversion module 13 are provided in the terminal device 11.
As an example, the terminal device 11 may be an iPhone (registered trademark), iPad (registered trademark), iPodTouch (registered trademark), an Android (registered trademark) equipped terminal, or the like. Other system configurations are the same as the system components described in FIG.
In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the voice transmitted from the transmission source and the voice selected by the voice generation application 12 are each converted into a voice signal by the voice conversion module 13 in the terminal device 11 (first voice signal, first voice signal). 2 audio signals). The converted first voice signal and second voice signal are received by the voice synthesizer via the wired or wireless device 10 (voice signal receiving means) and synthesized. The synthesized audio signal is transmitted to the audio reproduction device and the terminal device via the wired or wireless devices 10 and 15. By changing the setting, it is possible to selectively transmit only the first sound and only the second sound.
For example, when it is desired to convey the sound of the surrounding environment and also to transmit a voice message, it can be transmitted by the process shown in FIG. In this case, the process is the same as that described with reference to FIG.

  The synthesizer of the present invention has been described with a focus on voice calls, but those skilled in the art understand that a voice synthesizer can convert voice to text and send it as text to a communication partner. Will be done.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 System 10,15 Wired or radio | wireless apparatus 11 Terminal apparatus 12 Voice generation application 13 Voice conversion module 14 Voice synthesizer 16 Voice playback apparatus

Claims (14)

A voice synthesizer that stores a voice generation application and is operably connected to a terminal device that receives voice transmitted from a transmission source and a voice playback device that plays back voice via a wired or wireless device,
Voice receiving means for receiving the first voice received by the terminal device;
Audio converting means for converting the first audio into a first audio signal and converting audio selected by the user in the audio generating application into a second audio signal;
Voice signal synthesis means for synthesizing the first voice signal and the second voice signal;
First transmission means for transmitting the synthesized voice signal to the terminal device;
A speech synthesizer comprising: a second transmission unit configured to transmit the synthesized speech signal to the speech synthesizer. The sound receiving means receives the third sound transmitted from the sound reproducing device;
The voice receiving means converts the third voice into a third voice signal;
The voice signal synthesis means synthesizes the second voice signal and the third voice signal;
The speech synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits the synthesized speech signal to the terminal device.   The speech synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein, of the synthesized speech, only the second speech signal is transmitted to the speech reproduction device or the terminal device.   The speech synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit are executed simultaneously.   The speech synthesizer according to claim 2, wherein one of the second speech signal and the third signal is transmitted to the speech reproduction device or the terminal device.   The speech synthesizer according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the terminal device is a mobile phone, a PHS, or a fixed telephone that is wired or wirelessly mediated.   The speech synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein the speech reproduction device is a headset including headphones or earphones. A voice synthesizer connected to a terminal device that stores voice generated from a transmission source and stores a voice generation application and a voice playback device that plays back the voice, operably connected via a wired or wireless device,
Audio signal receiving means for receiving a first audio signal received by the terminal device and a second audio signal selected by the user in the audio generation application;
Synthesis means for synthesizing the first audio signal and the second audio signal;
First transmission means for transmitting the synthesized voice signal to the terminal device;
A speech synthesizer comprising: a second transmission unit configured to transmit the synthesized speech signal to the speech reproduction device. Receiving the third sound transmitted from the sound reproduction device by the sound means;
Voice conversion means for converting the third voice into a third voice signal;
The synthesis means synthesizes the second audio signal and the third audio signal;
9. The speech synthesizer according to claim 8, wherein the transmission unit transmits the synthesized speech signal to the terminal device.   The speech synthesizer according to claim 8, wherein only the second audio signal among the synthesized speech is transmitted to the sound reproduction device.   The speech synthesizer according to claim 8, wherein the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit are executed simultaneously.   The speech synthesis device according to claim 9, wherein one of the second speech signal and the third speech signal is transmitted to the speech reproduction device or the terminal device.   The speech synthesizer according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the terminal device is a terminal equipped with iPhone, iPad, iPodTouch, and Android.   The voice synthesizer according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the voice reproduction device is a headset including headphones or earphones.

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