JPH08202252A - Reference voice outputting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To immediately program-search and to reproduce the voice corresponding to the desired part of a printed medium without complicated operation of a user. CONSTITUTION: Auxiliary information (simple symbols such as alphanumeric) is added to each prescribed area on a printed matter 10 and plural voice information corresponding to the written content of each area are stored in a voice storage section 5 corresponding to plural respective voice information. When the user operates a symbol reading device 1 to read the symbol, the voice information corresponding to the symbol is read from the section 5 and outputted as a voice. Thus, the user performs the simple operation of reading an arbitrary symbol using the device 1 and the voice information of the part in the matter 10, where the user wishes to refer to as a voice, is speedily reproduced. Having the above constitution, complicated operations such as conventional key inputting while listening to the reproduced voice are eliminated and a desired voice is speedily and randomly reproduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reference voice output device. For example, as a foreign language learning material, an example sentence of a foreign language described in a textbook can be heard by an actual voice, or a person with a slight visual impairment can read a book. It is suitable to be used for aurally assisting the described contents when doing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as one application example of a reference voice output device, there is a reading machine for people with mild visual impairment. This reading machine, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-212685, optically reads a sentence written in a book and recognizes the read sentence to convert it into voice. It was done.

A personal computer is used as a teaching material for foreign language learning, and audio information corresponding to the contents of text is recorded on a CD-RO.
A system is also commercially available, which is stored in an M (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or the like so that audio information can be randomly read from the CD-ROM. However, such a system is a large-scale system because it is a system using a personal computer.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, using a simple key input device, a cassette tape or a compact disc (CD) in which voice information corresponding to the contents of text is stored.
Also, a system has been proposed in which, for example, arbitrary voice information is cueed (same as selecting a music CD).

In the system shown in FIG. 3, in order to refer to the contents described in the normal printed matter 12 as a voice, the voice storage unit 5 (for example, the above-mentioned cassette tape or C
Sound information corresponding to the contents of the normal printed matter 12 recorded in advance (including D etc.) is reproduced by the sound reproduction circuit 4, and the reproduced sound is reproduced through the sound output circuit 7 to the speakers 8a, 8b or the headphones 9 By outputting to.

Such control of the reference voice output device is performed by inputting the number of the text to be heard via the key input circuit 11. That is, the voice reproduction circuit 4 searches the voice information recorded in the voice storage unit 5 for the head position of the voice information corresponding to the text number input via the key input circuit 11 and reproduces it. . Then, the reproduced voice information is sent to the voice output circuit 7. The user hears the sound output from the sound output circuit 7 through the speakers 8a, 8b or the headphones 9.

When continuously reading the normal printed matter 12 and simultaneously referring to the sound of the content, the sound reproducing circuit 4 is controlled via the key input circuit 11 to find the point to be heard. After that, the voice corresponding to the printed matter 12 can be continuously heard by reproducing the voice continuously from the head position.

[0008]

However, the system utilizing the above-mentioned character recognition has a problem that the device becomes large and expensive. In addition, in the system using this character recognition, although the voice having the same content as the text written on the printed matter such as a book is reproduced, the voice other than the content described in the book, for example, the photograph published in the book It was not possible to reproduce the commentary and the like as voice.

Further, in the prior art as shown in FIG. 3,
Although the device is relatively small and inexpensive, it is necessary to search the voice storage unit 5 for voice information to be referred to. Then, in order to search for a portion to be referred to, while the user plays and listens to the voice stored in the voice storage unit 5,
It was necessary to perform cueing using the key input circuit 11. Therefore, the operation for reproducing a desired sound is very troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and can be used for reading printed matter without the user performing a complicated operation such as the cueing of the voice by the above-mentioned key input. The object of the present invention is to allow the reference voice of the corresponding portion to be immediately found and reproduced.

[0011]

A reference voice output device of the present invention is proposed to achieve the above-mentioned object, and a predetermined voice output device is provided on a print medium on which at least one of a character and an image is described. Of a plurality of pieces of auxiliary information attached to each area, auxiliary information reading means for reading arbitrary auxiliary information and a plurality of audio information corresponding to the description contents of each area so as to correspond to the plurality of pieces of auxiliary information are stored. The audio information reading means for reading the audio information corresponding to the auxiliary information read by the auxiliary information reading means from the audio storage means, and the audio information read by the audio information reading means. A voice output means for outputting voice, and outputs a voice corresponding to the description content of the print medium based on the auxiliary information read from the print medium. It is obtained so as to force.

Another feature of the present invention is that the voice storage means stores digitally compressed voice information, and the voice output means stores the voice information selectively read from the voice storage means. Decoding means for decoding is provided.

Another feature of the present invention is that the auxiliary information attached to the print medium is a numeral, and the auxiliary information reading means pattern-recognizes the scanned numeral and corresponds to the numeral. It is characterized by outputting a binary code.

Another feature of the present invention is that the number attached to the print medium is set so as to increase as the number of pages of the print medium increases.

[0015]

Since the present invention comprises the above technical means, when the auxiliary information reading means reads the auxiliary information attached to the printing medium, the voice information corresponding to the read auxiliary information is voice-stored by the voice information reading means. The voice information is detected and read out at high speed by the means, and the voice information is converted into an actual voice by the voice output means and output, and the user can easily read the supplementary information by using the supplementary information reading means. It is possible to find the desired voice information at high speed and reproduce it by simply performing an operation.

[0016]

The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment. FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the reference voice output device of this embodiment. In FIG. 1, a printed matter 10 to which auxiliary information is added
Is, for example, a book in which a certain story is printed as shown in FIG. 2, and in the left column of each page of the book, for example, auxiliary information (“0010” etc.) serving as an index of audio information for each chapter is displayed. It is printed. This auxiliary information is added to the user in order to identify the divided areas by dividing the sentence into units in which the user refers to the contents of the book as voice.

The unit referred to by the user as a voice includes, for example, words, clauses, chapters, paragraphs and the like. As in the Bible, it is effective to record the reference voice by dividing the sentence into units when the number is written at the beginning of each sentence. The size of division does not have to be constant in all regions, and division can be adaptively performed for each region. Further, as the auxiliary information, it is possible to use, for example, a bar code, an alphabet, a number or other symbols, and these symbols enable each area to be identified.

The reference voice output device of the present embodiment is a symbol reading device 1 for scanning and reading the above-mentioned auxiliary information (symbol), and a symbol signal read by the symbol reading device 1 in binary code information. Symbol recognition circuit 2 for recognizing as, a reference table circuit 3 for finding an actual read address of the voice information in the voice reproduction circuit 4 based on the binary code information, and the text itself and commentary in the book. Audio information such as audio data is compressed using audio compression technology and stored in association with the binary code information, and audio reproduction for reading audio information from the audio information storage unit 5 according to the read address. The circuit 4, a voice decompression circuit 6 for decoding the compressed voice information read from the voice storage unit 5 and converting it into the original voice information, and speakers 8a, 8
b or audio output circuit 7 for driving headphones 9 to convert the audio information supplied from audio expansion circuit 6 into actual audio
With.

The symbol reading device 1 and the symbol recognition circuit 2 described above constitute auxiliary information reading means,
The reference table circuit 3 and the voice reproduction circuit 4 constitute a voice information reading means, and the voice expansion circuit 6, the voice output circuit 7, the speakers 8a and 8b and the headphone 9 constitute a voice output means.

A CD can be given as an example of the recording medium used in the voice storage section 5. By using the CD, it is possible to configure a device that can be accessed at high speed and randomly. Also, the voice storage unit 5
Stores the content of the printed matter 10 to which the auxiliary information is added as compressed audio information. As a result, the circuit scale of the voice storage unit 5 can be reduced. As means for compressing audio information, for example, ISO / IEC11172-3 of an international standard system called MPEG audio system is used.
Can be mentioned. Using this method, the voice information can be compressed to about 1/8.

The compressed audio information is recorded in the audio storage unit 5 for each of the areas divided into a plurality of areas as shown in FIG. Then, the address information indicating where in the voice storage unit 5 the voice information is recorded and the auxiliary information for identifying each of the above areas are recorded in association with each other. The reference table circuit 3 records the correspondence relationship between the address information and the auxiliary information.

Next, the operation of the reference voice output device configured as described above will be briefly described. The symbol reading device 1 reads the auxiliary information added to the printed matter 10 to which the auxiliary information is added, and outputs the read signal to the symbol recognition circuit 2. The symbol recognition circuit 2 recognizes the signal input from the symbol reading device 1 as binary code information and outputs the code information (corresponding to the read auxiliary information) to the reference table circuit 3.

In the reference table circuit 3, the symbol recognition circuit 2
The address information corresponding to the code information (auxiliary information) sent from is found and sent to the voice reproduction circuit 4. The audio reproduction circuit 4 reads the compressed audio information corresponding to the address information input from the reference table circuit 3 from the audio storage unit 5 and outputs it to the audio expansion circuit 6.

The audio decompression circuit 6 decompresses the compressed audio information and sends the audio information thus obtained to the audio output circuit 7. The audio output circuit 7 converts the audio information given from the audio expansion circuit 6 into an actual audio and outputs it through the speakers 8a, 8b or the headphones 9.

As described above, in the present embodiment, rather than reading and recognizing an actual sentence written on a printed matter,
Auxiliary information that uses simple symbols such as alphabets and numbers is read and recognized. This allows
It is possible to reduce the processing required to recognize the area, and to reduce the circuit scale of the symbol recognition circuit 2. In addition,
An example of the symbol reading device 1 is an optical reading device. If a semiconductor memory such as an IC card is used as the recording medium, the device can be made even smaller.

FIG. 2 shows a printed matter 1 to which the above auxiliary information is added.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of area division of print information described in No. 0 and addition of auxiliary information. As is apparent from FIG. 2, the auxiliary information 41, 42, 43, 44, respectively, corresponding to the plurality of areas 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 divided into units in which the print information is referred to as voice. Four
5, 46 are added. Here, a 4-digit number is used as an example of the auxiliary information. For example, if the symbol reading device 1 reads the number “0030” in the auxiliary information 43, the “grandfather ...
The sentence "..." will be output by voice.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, when the print information is divided into a plurality of areas, a smaller area 36 of the word "mountain depth" is defined in the area 32 of a certain chapter. Auxiliary information 46 is associated with this area 36. Therefore, for example, when the pronunciation of the word "mountain depth" is not understood, it is possible to specify only the part of the auxiliary information 46 and refer to the voice.

Further, these pieces of auxiliary information are set so that the numbers increase as the number of pages in the book increases. As a result, as described above, it is possible to specify one region (for example, one chapter) and listen to the sound, and by the continuous reproduction designation, the address is read from the region corresponding to the auxiliary information first scanned by the symbol reading device 1. It is also possible to increase the information in order and listen to the voice continuously.

In this case, of each digit of the auxiliary information consisting of four digits as shown in FIG. 2, additional information (commentary, etc.) which is not the text itself in each chapter is assigned to the first digit.
The address information and the auxiliary information are associated with each other so that the text of each chapter is assigned to the digit or higher. By doing this, when listening to audio by continuous playback, the addresses corresponding to the second and higher digits are sequentially increased in the direction in which the addresses increase, and continuous playback is performed. When listening, it is possible to use such a method as reproducing one commentary sound at an address corresponding to all four digits.

Further, as a simpler usage, the page number of the book is used as auxiliary information, and the voice information is stored in the voice storage section 5 for each page of the book. Then, the reader may use the symbol reading device 1 to scan the page number of the book to hear the sentence written on each page by voice.

As an advantage in this case, when a recording medium of audio information corresponding to an already issued book is issued, it can be adapted to the present system without newly printing auxiliary information on the book. . In other words, the system can be applied only by preparing a recording medium in which audio information corresponding to the content of the book is recorded.

When the present system is used as an auxiliary voice book for the visually impaired, such a system is often sufficient. For example, when a person with a slight visual impairment uses a book in which an image and text are combined, such as a picture book, it is conventionally necessary to read while not only the image but also the explanatory text. It had to be done, and it was quite labor intensive. On the other hand, according to this system,
Such generally commercially available books and their commentary tapes or CDs are purchased separately or simultaneously, and the commentary tapes or CDs are attached to the reference audio output device of this system. By scanning the page number of the book with the symbol reading device 1 while viewing only the image, the voice information is reproduced from the commentary tape or the CD, and the sentence written on each page can be heard as voice. . Costs can be reduced by not having to create a new book for the visually impaired.

If a medium capable of recording an index and voice, for example, MO (magneto-optical disc), MD (mini disc) or DAT (digital audio tape) is used as a voice information recording medium, it is commercially available at home. By using the page number attached to the book as an index to record aloud the text on the page, and using the recorded recording medium in this system, the mother can read the picture book to the child. As such, it can be used in fields other than those for the visually impaired. In addition, a hearing library can be similarly created in a library or the like, and a system in which a visually impaired person can read the same book as a healthy person can be easily created.

Further, by applying the system of this embodiment to a picture book and outputting a voice corresponding to a character written in the picture book as the character is viewed, a learning material for character learning for infants. It can also be applied as. Similarly,
By using it as a foreign language learning material, it is possible to learn while listening to the actual foreign language about the example sentences in the textbook.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a plurality of voice information is stored in the voice storage means so as to correspond to a plurality of auxiliary information attached to each predetermined area on the print medium. The audio information corresponding to the description content of each area is read out from the audio storage means and output based on the auxiliary information read from the print medium. By simply performing a simple operation of reading arbitrary auxiliary information using the reading means, it is possible to quickly find and reproduce the voice information of a portion in the print medium that the user wants to refer to as voice. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to reproduce a desired voice at high speed and randomly and refer to the voice, without requiring a complicated operation such as a key input while listening to the voice as in the conventional technique. Therefore, it is possible to configure a reference voice output device that is very easy for the user to use. Also,
By using a number as the auxiliary information, the process of reading and recognizing the auxiliary information can be simplified and the circuit scale can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example of a reference voice output device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of division of print information and addition of auxiliary information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional reference voice output device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 symbol reading device 2 symbol recognition circuit 3 reference table circuit 4 voice reproduction circuit 5 voice storage unit 6 voice expansion circuit 7 voice output circuit 8a, 8b speaker 9 headphone 10 printed matter 31 to 36 with auxiliary information added as a unit to be referred as voice Area 41-46 which divided sentence

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An auxiliary information reading unit for reading arbitrary auxiliary information out of a plurality of auxiliary information attached to each predetermined area on a print medium on which at least one of a character and an image is described, and the plurality of auxiliary information reading units. A voice storage unit that stores a plurality of voice information corresponding to the description content of each area so as to correspond to the supplementary information, and voice information corresponding to the supplementary information read by the supplementary information reading unit from the voice storage unit. A description of the print medium is provided, which includes a voice information read unit that reads the voice information, and a voice output unit that outputs the voice information read by the voice information read unit as an actual voice and outputs the voice information based on the auxiliary information read from the print medium. A reference voice output device, wherein a voice corresponding to the content is output. 2. The reference voice output device according to claim 1, wherein the voice storage unit stores digitally compressed voice information, and the voice output unit is selectively read from the voice storage unit. A reference voice output device, comprising: a decoding unit configured to decode the voice information. 3. The reference voice output device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary information attached to the print medium is a numeral, and the auxiliary information reading unit pattern-recognizes the scanned numeral, A reference voice output device, which outputs a binary code corresponding to the numeral. 4. The reference voice output device according to claim 3, wherein the number attached to the print medium is set so as to increase as the number of pages of the print medium increases. Reference audio output device.