JP3620972B2 - Table reading device - Google Patents

Description

【００３５】
あるいは読み上げ方向とタイトル項目（「銘柄名」，「始値」，「高値」，…）を記憶しておき、タイトル項目が一致し、同一と見なせる表が入力されたときは聞き手に再度操作させることなく記憶されている読み上げ方向を採用する。
【００３６】
あるいはタイトル行を除く２行目以降はセルの内容が横方向に「文字列」，「数値」，「数値」，…，「文字列」のように変化している。一方、縦方向には、「文字列」あるいは「数値」が連続しているだけで変化がない。読み上げ方向の自動判定はセルの内容の変化が大きい方を選択することで実現できる。
【００３７】
あるいは横方向にはセルの幅が変化している。一方、縦方向は一定になっている。従って、読み上げ方向の自動判定はセル幅の変化の大きい方を選択することで実現できる。
【００３８】
（実施形態２）
表１において、タイトル項目（「銘柄名」，「始値」，「高値」，…）を読み上げている最中あるいは各項目の読み上げ後に聞き手に以降の読み上げにおいてその項目の内容を読み上げるかどうかを判断・操作させる。
【００３９】
表１において、読み上げ方向とタイトル項目（「銘柄名」，「始値」，「高値」，…）および読み上げる項目を記憶しておき、タイトル項目が一致し、同一とみなせる表が入力されたときは聞き手に再度操作させることなく記憶されている読み上げ方向と読み上げる項目を採用する。
【００４０】
表１において、「銘柄名」，「始値」，「高値」，…の順に表を読み上げる際、行の先頭項目（この場合は「銘柄名」）を読み上げている最中に聞き手が［スキップ］ボタンを操作することで、その行の残りの情報は読み上げないようにする。［スキップ］ボタンを操作するタイミングは先頭項目の読み上げ最中に限らず、いつでもそのボタンが押された時点で残りをスキップするようにしておいてもよい。
【００４１】
（実施形態３）
表２に示すようなマルチコラム（表２中に斜線にて陰影を付けた部分）を読み上げる場合は、表２′に示すように、セルの分割と各セルへの内容のコピーを行い、読み上げの前に単純なマトリクス構造の表に変換する。
【００４２】
表２を表２′に変換する過程において、セルを分割した方向を一時的に記憶しておき、それとは逆の読み上げ方向と自動判定する。表２の場合は１列目のセルが縦方向に分割されるので、読み上げ方向は横方向となる。
【００４３】
【表２】

【００４４】
（実施形態４）
表２において、その階層構造の情報から「Ａ美術館」，「××展」，…，「０３−１２３４−５６７８」，「○○展」，…，「△△展」…のように読み上げていく。階層構造に沿って発声するため、同じ情報を２度発声することはない。
【００４５】
表２において、「Ａ美術館」，「××展」，「７月７日〜３１日」，「○○展」，「８月１日〜９月１５日」，「△△展」…のように予め指定しておいた項目（階層の深さ）までを階層構造に沿って発声させる。読み上げる階層の深さの指定は、直接数字を入力してもよいし、項目名の読み上げにより判断させてもよい。
【００４６】
（実施形態５）
表１において、「銘柄名」，「Ｃ社」，「始値」，「１５２８」，…のようにセルの内容を発声するときにタイトル（項目名）を同時に発声する。
【００４７】
（実施形態６）
表３に示すように、運搬表を読み上げる場合、「満席」のように同一内容のセルが存在する場合、「満席」，「は」，「７／２１」，「○○１号」，「７／２１」，「○○３号」…のように発声させる。同一セルが存在するかどうかは、装置が自動的に判断する。
【００４８】
（実施形態７）
表３において、例えば聞き手が「空席」というキーワードを操作・指示した場合、そのキーワードを含むセルのタイトルを読み上げる。この場合は、「７／２２」，「○○３号」，「７／２３」，「○○１号」…のように読み上げていく。
【００４９】
表３において、「空席１０以上」のような範囲指定を含むキーワードも扱えるようにする。
【００５０】
【表３】

【００５１】
（実施形態８）
操作部によりセルの位置を指定し、その内容を読み上げる。位置指定は、「何行目の何列目」というように直接数値で入力してもよいし、項目の名称を入力してもよい。
【００５２】
操作部に矢印キーあるいはジョイスティックのようなカーソル移動入力のできる機構を用意し、その操作に従ってセルの内容を読み上げていく。
【００５３】
（実施形態９）
表４に示すような放送書類を読み上げる場合、「Ｂ局」，「１９時」と「Ｂ局」，「２０時」のように同じ情報が複数セルにまたがる場合は、接続セルの内容読み上げ時に前のセルと同一である旨を発声する。
【００５４】
【表４】

【００５５】
【発明の効果】
以上の説明から明らかなように、本発明によると、大方の表形式で記述された情報を聞き手に分かりやすく、音声で伝えることができる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の実施に使用される表読み上げ装置の一例を説明するための要部概略ブロック図である。
【符号の説明】
１…入力手段、２…操作手段、３…制御手段、４…記憶手段、５…処理手段、６…音声合成手段。[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a reading apparatus, and more particularly, to a reading apparatus that conveys information described in a table format to a listener in an easy-to-understand manner.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A sentence is a sequence of information in which characters are arranged one-dimensionally, and reading is also a sequence of information in which speech is arranged in one dimension. For this reason, sentences can be read out in the order of reading characters. In the conventional reading method, in order to read a one-dimensional array, for example, the characters are searched from the upper left to the lower right, and the characters are read in the order in which they appear.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when considering reading a table appearing in a document, there is a two-dimensional arrangement of vertical items and horizontal items, and this is read out as a one-dimensional arrangement of information in a form that is easy for humans to understand. It is difficult.
[0004]
The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the difficulties in reading a table as described above and reading the table in an easy-to-understand manner.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention of claim 1 is an input means for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage means for storing a table input from the input means, a processing means for processing the table, and input from the input means. In a table reading apparatus having a control means for controlling the table processing, an operating means for operating the control means, and a speech synthesis means for outputting the input table by voice, the similarity of the cells in the table is determined. It has a cell similarity determination means, and automatically determines the reading direction of the table based on the determination result.
[0007]
The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1 , the similarity between the cells is determined by determining the cell type such as a numerical value and a character string.
[0008]
The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1 , the similarity is determined by using the rate of change of the cell width in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.
[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a main part for explaining an embodiment of a table reading apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an input unit, 2 is an operation unit, 3 is a control unit, 4 is a storage unit, 5 Is a processing unit, and 6 is a speech synthesis unit. Table data input from the input unit 1 to the control unit 3 is stored in the storage unit 4 and read out as one-dimensional information by the processing unit 5 in accordance with an instruction from the operation unit 2. The voice synthesis unit 6 outputs a voice.
[0024]
The present invention relates to a table reading apparatus that conveys information described in a table format in an easy-to-understand manner to a listener, and has embodiments as listed below.
(Embodiment 1)
Has a reading direction determination means.
Read out the information in the first row or first column as a test, and let the listener determine the reading direction.
When the determination result is stored and the table of the same format is read again, the reading direction is determined based on the stored determination result.
The cell similarity is determined and the reading direction is automatically determined.
The similarity is determined using a cell type such as a numerical value or a character string.
The degree of similarity is determined using the cell width change rate in the vertical and horizontal directions.
If automatic determination is not possible, ask the listener to make a decision.
[0025]
(Embodiment 2)
Has a reading range selection means.
When the first row (first column) is read out, the column (row) that the listener needs is marked.
When the selection result is saved and the same format table is read again, it is read based on the saved selection result.
When the selected first column (row) is read out, it can be specified whether or not the remaining information in the row (column) is continuously read out.
[0026]
(Embodiment 3)
When reading a multi-column table, all cells are divided into minimum units and formatted into a simple table format.
In the above, the reading direction is automatically determined from the direction in which the cells are divided.
[0027]
(Embodiment 4)
When reading a multi-column table, cells are read in order along the hierarchical structure.
In the above, the range of reading is specified by the depth of the hierarchy.
[0028]
(Embodiment 5)
When reading the table in the row direction (column direction), the contents of the title row (title column) are read in pairs.
In the above, there is means for selecting whether or not to read the contents of the title row (title column).
[0029]
(Embodiment 6)
Pick up cells with the same contents and read out the information of the row and column in which the title is described.
[0030]
(Embodiment 7)
A keyword is specified, a cell including the keyword is picked up, and the information including the row and column information in which the title is described is read out in a lump.
In the above, a plurality of keywords can be specified simultaneously.
In the above, it is possible to specify a keyword range.
[0031]
(Embodiment 8)
Specify the position (cell) and directly read the contents of the cell.
It has a pointer pointing to an arbitrary cell in the table and means for moving the pointer, and reads the contents of the cell newly pointed by the pointer moving operation together with its title information as necessary.
[0032]
(Embodiment 9)
When cells with the same content continue, utterance is omitted as in “same text”.
[0033]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to a table to which the present invention is applied.
(Embodiment 1)
Table 1 is an example of a table read out according to the present invention. When reading out data as shown in Table 1, “brand name”, “open price”, “high price”,... Or “brand name”, “ Read out in the horizontal (row) direction or vertical (column) direction in the order of “Company A”, “Company B”,... And let the listener determine whether or not to continue reading in that direction, and perform operations such as [Yes] / [No] Press the button.
[0034]
[Table 1]

[0035]
Or memorize the reading direction and title item ("brand name", "open price", "high price", ...), and let the listener operate again when the title item matches and a table that can be considered identical is entered. Adopt the reading direction stored without any problem.
[0036]
Alternatively, in the second and subsequent lines excluding the title line, the contents of the cell change in the horizontal direction as “character string”, “numerical value”, “numerical value”,..., “Character string”. On the other hand, in the vertical direction, “character string” or “numerical value” is continuous and there is no change. The automatic determination of the reading direction can be realized by selecting the one with the larger change in the cell contents.
[0037]
Alternatively, the cell width changes in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the vertical direction is constant. Therefore, the automatic determination of the reading direction can be realized by selecting the one with the larger cell width change.
[0038]
(Embodiment 2)
In Table 1, whether to read the contents of the item in the subsequent reading to the listener while reading the title item (“brand name”, “open price”, “high price”,...) Or after reading each item. Make judgments and operations.
[0039]
In Table 1, when the reading direction, the title item ("brand name", "start price", "high price", ...) and the item to be read are stored, the title item matches and a table that can be regarded as the same is input Adopts the reading direction and the item to be read out without letting the listener operate again.
[0040]
In Table 1, when reading the table in the order of “brand name”, “open price”, “high price”,..., The listener skips while skipping the first item on the line (in this case, “brand name”). ] Button so that the remaining information on the line is not read out. The timing for operating the [Skip] button is not limited to the reading of the first item, and the rest may be skipped whenever the button is pressed.
[0041]
(Embodiment 3)
When reading multi-columns as shown in Table 2 (parts shaded with diagonal lines in Table 2), as shown in Table 2 ', the cells are divided and the contents are copied to each cell. Convert to a simple matrix structure table.
[0042]
In the process of converting Table 2 to Table 2 ′, the direction in which the cells are divided is temporarily stored, and the reading direction opposite to that is automatically determined. In the case of Table 2, since the cells in the first column are divided in the vertical direction, the reading direction is the horizontal direction.
[0043]
[Table 2]

[0044]
(Embodiment 4)
In Table 2, read out from the hierarchical structure information as “A Museum of Art”, “XX Exhibition”,..., “03-1234-5678”, “XX Exhibition”,. Go. Since the voice is spoken along the hierarchical structure, the same information is not voiced twice.
[0045]
In Table 2, "A Museum of Art", "XX Exhibition", "July 7 to 31", "XX Exhibition", "August 1 to September 15", "△△ Exhibition" ... In such a manner, up to the previously designated items (hierarchy depth) are uttered along the hierarchical structure. Designation of the depth of the hierarchy to be read may be made by directly inputting a number or by judging by reading the item name.
[0046]
(Embodiment 5)
In Table 1, a title (item name) is uttered simultaneously when uttering the contents of a cell such as “brand name”, “Company C”, “open price”, “1528”,.
[0047]
(Embodiment 6)
As shown in Table 3, when reading the transportation table, if there is a cell with the same contents, such as “Full”, “Full”, “Ha”, “7/21”, “XX1”, “ 7/21 "," XX3 "... The apparatus automatically determines whether or not the same cell exists.
[0048]
(Embodiment 7)
In Table 3, for example, when the listener operates / instructs the keyword “vacant seat”, the title of the cell including the keyword is read out. In this case, “7/22”, “XX3”, “7/23”, “XX1”...
[0049]
In Table 3, a keyword including a range designation such as “vacant seat 10 or more” is also handled.
[0050]
[Table 3]

[0051]
(Embodiment 8)
The cell position is designated by the operation unit, and the contents are read out. The position designation may be directly input as a numerical value such as “what line and what column”, or may be input the name of an item.
[0052]
A mechanism capable of cursor movement input such as an arrow key or a joystick is prepared in the operation unit, and the contents of the cell are read out according to the operation.
[0053]
(Embodiment 9)
When reading a broadcast document as shown in Table 4, when the same information is spread over a plurality of cells, such as “B station”, “19:00” and “B station”, “20:00”, when reading the contents of the connected cell Say that it is the same as the previous cell.
[0054]
[Table 4]

[0055]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, information described in most tabular formats can be conveyed to the listener in an easy-to-understand manner.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a main block schematic block diagram for explaining an example of a table reading apparatus used for carrying out the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Input means, 2 ... Operation means, 3 ... Control means, 4 ... Memory | storage means, 5 ... Processing means, 6 ... Speech synthesis means.

Claims (3)

Input means for inputting a document described in a table format, storage means for storing a table input from the input means, processing means for processing the table, and control for controlling table processing input from the input means A table reading device having means, an operating means for operating the control means, and a speech synthesizer for outputting the input table by voice, comprising cell similarity determination means for determining the similarity of the cells in the table. And a table reading device that automatically determines the reading direction of the table based on the determination result. 2. The table reading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein cell similarity is determined by determining cell types such as numerical values and character strings. 2. The table reading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the similarity is determined using a change rate of the cell width in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.

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