JPH0215880B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a speech synthesis device used in vending machines and the like to provide speech services.

Traditionally, vending machines have been equipped with voice synthesis devices to provide voice-based services.
Various methods have been proposed, and some are currently in actual use.

An example of the speech synthesis device is shown in FIG. 1, and in the speech synthesis device shown in FIG.
Input pulses a, b, c, . . . specifying vocalization sounds
When any one of the input pulses n is input to the speech synthesizer main unit 1, the audio data corresponding to that input pulse is retrieved from the memory unit, output as synthesized audio, and uttered from the speaker 2. be. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, if the i-th input pulse among input pulses a, b, c, ... n is input, the synthesized speech output S corresponding to the i-th input pulse is output from the speaker. It is uttered from 2.

By the way, vending machines are generally installed in bad environments, so if they are equipped with precision electronic equipment, they often malfunction due to noise, etc., and in the worst case scenario, when it comes to voice synthesizers, This results in a phenomenon called “audio stop”. The way to recover from this situation is to reset the speech synthesizer, but conventionally the only way to reset the speech synthesizer is to turn the power on and off. was used.

However, with this method of turning the power ON and OFF, once the sound stops, the repair person must either wait until a power outage occurs or force the power OFF. can be,
The problem was that it was time-consuming and cumbersome.

The present invention has been developed in view of the current situation, and it is an object of the present invention to ensure that even if a malfunction causes a "sound stop" state, it will not interfere with the next voice production operation.

In the present invention, a pulse generation circuit is provided which generates a pulse signal according to an input pulse for specifying the vocalization input to the main body of the speech synthesizer, and speech synthesis is performed using the pulse signal from the pulse generation circuit. This resets the main unit of the device, so that even if an abnormal situation such as “audio stop” occurs due to noise, the main unit of the speech synthesizer is reset before the voice is uttered, and the “audio stop” occurs. There will no longer be any abnormal situations such as "stops" left unattended. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be explained using the drawings of FIGS. 3 to 5.

FIG. 3 shows a block circuit of a speech synthesizer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is the main body of the speech synthesizer, 2 is a speaker, and 3 is an input pulse a, b, c specifying the voice to be uttered. , . . . A pulse generation circuit that generates a pulse signal at the rising edge of input pulse i among n, 4 is this pulse generation circuit 3
The pulse signal from P and the power reset pulse signal P
The output signal of this OR circuit 4 is input to the reset terminal RE of the main body 1 of the speech synthesizer.

Here, the input pulse i specifying the uttered voice is
For example, if it is used in a vending machine, when the first coin is inserted, it will say "I'm irritated".
This is a pulse signal for making the sound utter.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart of the main part of the block circuit shown in FIG. The speech synthesizer main body 1 is reset at the end of the reset time, and after the reset time ends, the speech synthesizer main body 1 starts operating and outputs the synthesized speech output S corresponding to the input pulse i.

Figure 5 shows the pulse generation circuit 3 shown in Figure 3, OR
An example of a specific circuit of the circuit 4 is shown. In the circuit shown in FIG. By controlling the conduction, a reset pulse is input from the collector of the transistor Q1 to the reset terminal RE of the main body part 1 of the speech synthesizer. Further, as the OR circuit 4 which calculates the logical sum with the power reset pulse signal P, a wired OR circuit is used. Note that R1 and R3 are resistances, D
1 and P2 are diodes, and C2 is a capacitor.

As described above, according to the speech synthesis device according to the present invention, a pulse generation circuit that generates a pulse signal from an input pulse for specifying a voice to be uttered is provided, and the main body of the speech synthesis device is Since the main body of the speech synthesizer is automatically reset once before performing the voice operation, even if a malfunction occurs due to noise or the like, it can be automatically restored.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional speech synthesis device, Fig. 2 is a timing chart of the same device, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a conventional speech synthesis device.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a speech synthesis device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a timing chart of the same device, and FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a specific example of the main parts of the same device. 1... Speech synthesizer main unit, 3... Pulse generation circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A voice synthesizer main body that generates a voice signal using an input pulse that specifies a voice to be uttered; a pulse generation circuit that generates a reset pulse that is generated at the front end of the input pulse and is shorter than the input pulse width;
and a logic circuit that returns the main body to the initial state by outputting a logical sum of the reset pulse and a power reset pulse generated when power is applied, and after returning the main body to the initial state by the reset pulse, A speech synthesis device that drives the main body part with an input pulse to generate a voice specified by the input pulse.