JP5392574B2 - Audio file recording apparatus, audio file reproducing apparatus, audio file recording / reproducing system, audio file recording method, audio file reproducing method, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an audio file recording apparatus and an audio file recording / reproducing system including an audio file reproducing apparatus.

  In recent years, a technique for converting text data into an audio file and reproducing it has been put into practical use. This makes it possible to collect information audibly even in situations where the user is unable to focus on the text. In particular, since information from Web sites that are becoming mainstream as information transmission sources is mainly based on text data, it is considered that the demand for converting text data into audio files will increase.

  By the way, as represented by news and blogs, many Web sites are frequently updated. RSS (RDF Site Summary), which is a document format for easily collecting and distributing update information of websites, is widely used so that a viewer can easily acquire update information of websites.

  An RSS document is generally described in text in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format, and each update information is described in units called entries. FIG. 6A shows an example of an RSS document described in XML format text. As shown in this figure, entries are described in XML so that they can be classified by <entry> tags. Each entry has a “title” indicated by a <title> tag and an “update” indicated by a <data> tag. Information such as “date and time” and “summary sentence” indicated by the <description> tag is included.

  Normally, in the RSS document, past entries are described in addition to the entries added at the time of update. FIG. 6B shows a state where the RSS document shown in FIG. 6A has been updated and an entry titled “TITLE — 3” has been newly added.

JP 2007-087267 A

  When collecting content files containing multiple pieces of information, such as RSS documents, or multiple pieces of content files with different contents, and converting text data into audio files for playback, the same content information is converted into audio files again. It is efficient and preferable to avoid the reproduction or reproduction.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to make a content file including text data into an audio file and to improve the efficiency of processing for reproduction.

  In order to solve the above problem, the audio file recording apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention calculates a file acquisition unit that acquires a content file including text data, and an identifier that is uniquely obtained from the acquired content file. An identifier calculating unit; a first audio file storing unit for storing an audio file; and determining whether an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated for the acquired content file is recorded in the first audio file storing unit. If not recorded, the text data included in the content file is voiced to generate a voice file, and the voice name recorded with the file name including the calculated identifier is recorded in the first voice file storage unit. A file generation unit is provided.

  Here, the sound file generation unit can generate a plurality of sound files having different conversion specifications from the same text data, and can include information indicating the conversion specifications in the file name in addition to the identifier.

  In addition, when the acquired content file can be divided into a plurality of parts according to a predetermined rule, the file acquisition unit can divide each part as an independent content file.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an audio file reproduction device according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a second audio file storage unit that stores an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated according to a predetermined rule, An identifier storage unit for storing a list, an identifier is extracted from the file name of the audio file stored in the second audio file storage unit, a determination is made as to whether or not the extracted identifier is recorded in the identifier storage unit, and recording If not, an audio file playback control unit is provided that records the extracted identifier in the identifier storage unit.

  Here, the file name of the audio file stored in the second audio file storage unit may include information on the conversion specification of the audio file in addition to the identifier.

  In order to solve the above problem, an audio file recording / playback system according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a file acquisition unit that acquires a content file including text data, and calculates an identifier that is uniquely obtained from the acquired content file Determining whether or not an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated for the acquired content file is recorded in the audio file storage unit; An audio file generation unit for generating an audio file by converting the text data included in the content file into an audio file and adding the file name including the calculated identifier to the audio file storage unit, An identifier storage unit for storing a list of the audio file storage unit An identifier is extracted from the file name of the stored audio file, and it is determined whether the extracted identifier is recorded in the identifier storage unit. An audio file reproduction control unit that records an identifier in the identifier storage unit is provided.

  In order to solve the above problem, an audio file recording method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes a file acquisition step for acquiring a content file including text data, and calculates an identifier uniquely obtained from the acquired content file. An identifier calculating step, determining whether or not an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated for the acquired content file is recorded in a predetermined first audio file storage unit; A voice file generating step of generating a voice file by converting the text data included in the voice into a voice file, and adding a file name including the calculated identifier and recording the file in the first voice file storage unit. .

  In order to solve the above problem, an audio file playback method according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is stored in a second audio file storage unit that stores an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated according to a predetermined rule. Extracting an identifier from the file name of the audio file being recorded, determining whether the extracted identifier is recorded in an identifier storage unit storing a list of identifiers, and recording the extracted identifier in the identifier storage unit If not, the step of recording the audio file as a reproduction target and recording the extracted identifier in the identifier storage unit is included.

  In order to solve the above problem, a computer program according to a sixth aspect of the present invention includes a file acquisition unit that acquires a content file including text data, and an identifier calculation that calculates an identifier uniquely obtained from the acquired content file A first audio file storage unit for storing an audio file, and determining whether an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated for the acquired content file is recorded in the first audio file storage unit If not, an audio file is generated by converting the text data included in the content file into an audio file to generate an audio file and recording the file name including the calculated identifier in the first audio file storage unit The information processing apparatus functions as a unit.

  In order to solve the above problem, a computer program according to a seventh aspect of the present invention includes a second audio file storage unit that stores an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated according to a predetermined rule, and a list of identifiers. The identifier is stored in the identifier storage unit, the identifier is extracted from the file name of the audio file stored in the second audio file storage unit, and it is determined whether the extracted identifier is recorded in the identifier storage unit. If not, the information processing apparatus is caused to function as an audio file reproduction control unit that records the extracted identifier in the identifier storage unit.

  According to the present invention, a content file including text data can be converted into an audio file, and the process for reproduction can be made efficient.

It is a block diagram explaining the system configuration | structure of an audio | voice file recording / reproducing system. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of an audio | voice file recording device. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of an audio | voice file reproducing | regenerating apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the implementation example of an audio | voice file recording / reproducing system. It is a block diagram which shows the implementation example of an audio | voice file recording / reproducing system. It is a figure which shows the example of the RSS document described by the text of XML format.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration of an audio file recording / playback system according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the audio file recording / playback system includes an audio file recording device 10 and an audio file playback device 20.

  The audio file recording apparatus 10 is an apparatus that acquires the content file 50 from the external server 30 via the network 40, converts it into an audio file 60, and records it. The audio file reproduction device 20 is a device that reproduces the audio file 60. As will be described later, various methods can be considered for realizing an audio file recording / reproducing system using the audio file recording apparatus 10 and the audio file reproducing apparatus 20, for example, one audio file recording apparatus 10 and one audio file reproducing apparatus 20 are provided. Or a part of the functional units can be independent.

  As shown in the figure, the audio file recording apparatus 10 includes a file acquisition unit 110, an identifier calculation unit 120, an audio file generation unit 130, and a first audio file storage unit 140. These functional units may be realized by hardware or software.

  The file acquisition unit 110 acquires the content file 50 from the external server 30 via the network 40. The external server 30 is, for example, a Web server device that provides a Web site, and the content file 50 provided by the external server 30 can be an RSS document that distributes update information of the Web site.

  For example, the file acquisition unit 110 is assumed to have the external server 30 set as the acquisition destination of the RSS document from the user. When acquiring the RSS document, the file acquisition unit 110 extracts each entry from the RSS document based on the XML structure, and divides it as individual content files.

  However, the content file 50 acquired by the file acquisition unit 110 only needs to be a file including text data, and is not limited to an RSS document. If the content file 50 includes a plurality of pieces of information and each piece of information can be divided, each piece of divided information is handled as an individual content file like an entry. 50 is handled as one content file.

  For each entry obtained from the content file 50 acquired by the file acquisition unit 110, the identifier calculation unit 120 calculates an identifier that can be uniquely obtained from the contents of the entry. When the content file 50 is an RSS document, for example, a hash value based on information obtained from an entry of the RSS document can be used as an identifier. Specifically, the MD5 hash value for the character string concatenated “title” and “creation date” included in the entry, and the MD5 hash value for the character string concatenated “creation date” and “summary sentence” are identified. Can be used as Of course, the identifier is not limited to the hash value, and part of information included in the RSS document may be used as it is or may be calculated using another function.

  The audio file generation unit 130 determines whether an audio file that includes the identifier calculated by the identifier calculation unit 120 as part of the file name is recorded in the first audio file storage unit 140 for a certain entry. If not recorded, predetermined text data included in the entry, for example, “title”, “creation date” and “summary” is converted into an audio file, and the file name including the identifier of the entry is converted. At the same time, the audio file 60 is recorded in the first audio file storage unit 140. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the entry that has already been converted into the audio file 60 from being converted into the audio file 60 again.

  The conversion to the audio file 60 is not limited to non-compression and compression, and can be performed in various formats. Various values can be used for the bit rate and the like. Furthermore, a plurality of audio files 60 having different conversion specifications such as format and bit rate may be generated from one entry. In this case, it is desirable to include information indicating the conversion specification in the file name of the audio file 60 in addition to the identifier of the entry.

  The first audio file storage unit 140 is a non-volatile storage device that stores the audio file 60, and can be configured by a hard disk device, for example.

  The audio file reproduction device 20 includes an audio file reproduction control unit 210, an audio reproduction unit 220, an identifier storage unit 240, and a second audio file storage unit 230. These functional units may be realized by hardware or software.

  The second audio file storage unit 230 is a non-volatile storage device that stores the audio file 60, and can be configured by, for example, a hard disk device. Various methods can be considered for the second audio file storage unit 230 to acquire the audio file 60 recorded in the first audio file storage unit 140.

  For example, if the second audio file storage unit 230 and the first audio file storage unit 140 are configured by the same storage device, and the audio file generation unit 130 stores the audio file 60 in the first audio file storage unit 140, the second It can also be stored in the audio file storage unit 230. Alternatively, the audio file 60 may be acquired from the first audio file storage unit 140 via the network 40 or other wired / wireless network, or via a portable storage device.

  The identifier storage unit 240 is a non-volatile storage device that stores identifiers in a list format, and can be configured by a hard disk device, for example. The identifier stored in the identifier storage unit 240 is an identifier included in the file name of the reproduced audio file 60.

  The audio file reproduction control unit 210 extracts an identifier from the file name of the audio file 60 stored in the second audio file storage unit 230 and determines whether or not the identifier is recorded in the identifier storage unit 240.

  When it is determined that the identifier is not recorded in the identifier storage unit 240, the audio file 60 is set as a reproduction target, and the identifier extracted from the file name of the audio file 60 is recorded in the identifier storage unit 240. . This determination is performed for all the audio files 60 stored in the second audio file storage unit 230 or for all the audio files 60 newly stored in the second audio file storage unit 230 after the previous determination. To do for.

  Thereby, the audio file 60 corresponding to the entry can be reproduced without omission, and the audio file 60 that has been reproduced once can be prevented from being reproduced again. Even when a plurality of audio files having different conversion specifications are generated from the same entry, it is possible to prevent the same content from being reproduced repeatedly.

  The audio reproduction unit 220 reproduces the audio file 60 set as the reproduction target by the audio file reproduction control unit 210 and outputs the audio from the speaker 280 or the like.

  Next, the operation of the audio file recording apparatus 10 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the file acquisition unit 110 acquires an RSS document from the external server 30 (S101). Then, the XML structure of the RSS document is analyzed and divided for each entry (S102).

  An entry to be processed is set from the divided entries (S103), and the identifier calculating unit 120 calculates a hash value Hv from predetermined information of the entry to be processed (S104). The predetermined information can be a character string or the like obtained by concatenating the “title” and “creation date” as described above, and the hash value can be calculated using a general-purpose hash function such as MD5. . Any value that can be uniquely obtained from the entry information can be used without being limited to the hash value.

  When the hash value is calculated, the audio file generation unit 130 determines whether an audio file having a file name including the calculated hash value is recorded in the first audio file storage unit 140 (S105). As a result, when it is not recorded (SS105: No), the predetermined text data included in the entry is synthesized by voice (S106) and converted into a voice file. Then, a file name including the calculated hash value is set (S107). For example, when the hash value is Hv, the file name to be set can make it easy to identify the hash value by separating the hash value and other parts with a predetermined symbol, such as “aaa_Hv.bbb”. desirable.

  In making an audio file, a plurality of audio files having different conversion specifications may be generated. In this case, a file name to which information for identifying the conversion specification is added to each audio file in addition to the hash value. For example, when speech synthesis is performed at a bit rate of 128 kbps, a file name such as “aaa_Hv — 128.bbb” can be used.

  Then, the audio file is recorded in the first audio file storage unit 140 with the set file name (S108). When a plurality of audio files having different conversion specifications are generated, each audio file is recorded in the first audio file storage unit 140 with a set file name.

  When an audio file having a file name including the calculated hash value is recorded in the first audio file storage unit 140 (SS105: Yes), no audio synthesis process is performed and no new audio file is generated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent duplicate audio files having the same content from being created.

  The above process is repeated for all entries divided in the process (S102), and when all the entries are processed (S109: Yes), this operation ends.

  Next, the operation of the audio file playback device 20 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the audio file 60 to be processed is set from the audio file 60 stored in the second audio file storage unit 230 (S201). As described above, the audio file 60 to be processed may be set from the audio files 60 recorded after the previous operation.

  Then, the audio file reproduction control unit 210 extracts a hash value from the file name of the audio file 60 to be processed (S202), and determines whether or not the extracted hash value is stored in the identifier storage unit 240 (S203). . The hash value can be extracted from the file name of the audio file 60 in accordance with the audio file name setting rule in the process (S107).

  As a result, if the hash value is not stored in the identifier storage unit 240 (S203: No), the processing target audio file 60 is set as a reproduction target (S204). The audio file to be reproduced is reproduced by the audio reproducing unit 220 and output from the speaker 280 as audio. As a result, the unreproduced audio file 60 can be reproduced without omission. The extracted hash value is recorded in the identifier storage unit 240 (S205).

  On the other hand, when the hash value is stored in the identifier storage unit 240 (S203: Yes), the audio file 60 is not reproduced. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the reproduced audio file 60 from being reproduced again. Further, even when a plurality of audio files 60 created from the same entry with different conversion specifications are stored in the second audio file storage unit 230, if any one of the audio files 60 is reproduced, It is possible to prevent another audio file 60 having the same content from being reproduced repeatedly.

  The above process is repeated for all the audio files 60 stored in the second audio file storage unit 230 or all the newly stored audio files 60, and the process is performed for all the audio files 60. (S206: Yes), this operation is terminated.

  Next, an example of a method for realizing an audio file recording / reproducing system will be described. In the audio file recording / reproducing system, as shown in FIG. 1, the audio file recording device 10 and the audio file reproducing device 20 may be configured as independent devices. However, as shown in FIG. The file recording / reproducing system 100 may be configured.

  In this case, the first audio file storage unit 140 and the second audio file storage unit 230 can be realized by the audio file storage unit 11. That is, the audio file generation unit 130 records the generated audio file 60 in the audio file storage unit 11, and the audio file reproduction control unit 210 reproduces the audio file 60 stored in the audio file storage unit 11. Judgment is made as to whether or not to target.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the audio playback unit 220 can be configured as an independent audio playback device 300. In this case, the other functional units of the audio file recording / reproducing system can function as the audio file recording / distributing device 200, and the audio reproducing device 300 among the audio files 60 stored in the audio file storing unit 11 is not used. The playback audio file 60 can be extracted and distributed to the audio playback device 300. The audio reproduction device 300 can be configured as, for example, an in-vehicle audio device or a portable portable audio device.

  In the case of this configuration, a plurality of audio reproduction devices 300 may be provided as independent devices. Then, the identifier storage unit 240 manages the identifier for each audio reproduction device 300, so that it is possible to determine whether the audio file 60 has been reproduced or not reproduced in each audio reproduction device 300. As a result, the unreproduced audio file 60 can be distributed to the audio reproduction device 300 according to the reproduction status of each audio reproduction device 300.

  Further, when a plurality of audio files 60 having different conversion specifications are recorded in the audio file storage unit 11 for the same entry, the audio file 60 is distributed from the audio file recording / distributing device 200 to the audio reproducing device 300. The audio file 60 having the optimum conversion specification may be selected and distributed according to the communication status of the communication path to be used, the specifications of the audio reproduction device 300, and the like. Specifically, when the communication situation of the distribution route is not good or when the specification of the audio reproduction device 300 is low, the audio file 60 with a low bit rate can be selected and distributed.

  As described above, according to the audio file recording / reproducing system of the present embodiment, it is possible to make the content file including the text data into an audio file and improve the efficiency of the process when reproducing it.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Audio file recording device 11 ... Audio file storage unit 20 ... Audio file reproduction device 30 ... External server 40 ... Network 50 ... Content file 60 ... Audio file 100 ... Audio file recording / reproduction system 110 ... File acquisition unit 120 ... Identifier calculation unit 130 ... Audio file generation unit 140 ... First audio file storage unit 200 ... Audio file recording / distribution device 210 ... Audio file reproduction control unit 220 ... Audio reproduction unit 230 ... Second audio file storage unit 240 ... Identifier storage unit 280 ... Speaker 300 ... Audio playback device

Claims (10)

A file acquisition unit for acquiring content files including text data;
An identifier calculating unit that calculates an identifier uniquely obtained from the acquired content file;
A first audio file storage unit for storing an audio file;
It is determined whether or not an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated for the acquired content file is recorded in the first audio file storage unit, and if it is not recorded, the text data included in the content file A voice file generating unit that generates a voice file by adding a file name including the calculated identifier and records the file in the first voice file storage unit;
An audio file recording apparatus comprising: The audio file generator is
The audio file recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of audio files having different conversion specifications are generated from the same text data, and information indicating the conversion specifications is included in the file name in addition to the identifier. The file acquisition unit
2. The audio file recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the acquired content file can be divided into a plurality of parts according to a predetermined rule, each part is divided as an independent content file. A second audio file storage unit for storing an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated according to a predetermined rule;
An identifier storage unit for storing a list of identifiers;
An identifier is extracted from the file name of the audio file stored in the second audio file storage unit, and it is determined whether or not the extracted identifier is recorded in the identifier storage unit. An audio file reproduction control unit for recording a file as a reproduction target and recording the extracted identifier in the identifier storage unit;
An audio file reproducing apparatus comprising:   5. The audio file playback device according to claim 4, wherein the file name of the audio file stored in the second audio file storage unit includes information related to the conversion specification of the audio file in addition to the identifier. . A file acquisition unit for acquiring content files including text data;
An identifier calculating unit that calculates an identifier uniquely obtained from the acquired content file;
An audio file storage unit for storing audio files;
It is determined whether or not an audio file having a file name including the identifier calculated for the acquired content file is recorded in the audio file storage unit, and if not, the text data included in the content file is Generate an audio file, attach a file name including the calculated identifier and record in the audio file storage unit,
An identifier storage unit for storing a list of identifiers;
An identifier is extracted from the file name of the audio file stored in the audio file storage unit, and it is determined whether or not the extracted identifier is recorded in the identifier storage unit. An audio file playback control unit for recording the extracted identifier in the identifier storage unit;
An audio file recording / playback system comprising: A file acquisition step for acquiring a content file including text data;
An identifier calculating step for calculating an identifier uniquely obtained from the acquired content file;
It is determined whether or not an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated for the acquired content file is recorded in a predetermined first audio file storage unit, and if it is not recorded, the text included in the content file Generating an audio file by converting the data into audio, and adding the file name including the calculated identifier and recording the audio file in the first audio file storage unit;
An audio file recording method comprising: Extracting an identifier from a file name of an audio file stored in a second audio file storage unit that stores an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated according to a predetermined rule;
Determining whether the extracted identifier is recorded in an identifier storage unit that stores a list of identifiers;
When the extracted identifier is not recorded in the identifier storage unit, the audio file is a playback target, and the extracted identifier is recorded in the identifier storage unit;
A method for reproducing an audio file, comprising: A file acquisition unit for acquiring content files including text data;
An identifier calculating unit that calculates an identifier uniquely obtained from the acquired content file;
A first audio file storage unit for storing an audio file;
It is determined whether or not an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated for the acquired content file is recorded in the first audio file storage unit, and if it is not recorded, the text data included in the content file A voice file generating unit that generates a voice file by adding a file name including the calculated identifier and records the file in the first voice file storage unit;
A computer program that causes an information processing apparatus to function. A second audio file storage unit for storing an audio file having a file name including an identifier calculated according to a predetermined rule;
An identifier storage unit for storing a list of identifiers;
An identifier is extracted from the file name of the audio file stored in the second audio file storage unit, and it is determined whether or not the extracted identifier is recorded in the identifier storage unit. An audio file reproduction control unit for recording a file as a reproduction target and recording the extracted identifier in the identifier storage unit;
A computer program that causes an information processing apparatus to function.