JPH10150461A - Information processing method, information processor and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To take some action on a mail received at a remote place by inputting destination information to which an electronic mail is transmitted through a public line and transferring the electronic mail held in accordance with a command and destination information to a destination specified by destination information. SOLUTION: When a user makes a telephone call, the device executes the use start processing of the recognition of user ID, takes out the appropriate electronic mail specified by information inputted from the electronic mail holding part and reads it by a sound synthesis/output part 203. When a command is inputted from the user by the depression of the push key of a telephone set 201, a command recognition part 204 recognizes what kind of input is given. When the inputted command means the request of return or transfer, a return/ transfer processing/driving part 205 starts/executes a return/transfer processing. Thus, destination information which the electronic mail transfer is inputted and the electronic mail which is kept is transferred to the destination.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing method and apparatus for outputting a received electronic mail and a storage medium.

The present invention relates to an information processing method and apparatus for confirming the contents of an e-mail received via a public line using a telephone or the like, and a storage medium.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art With the development of networks, electronic mail has become an indispensable tool.

[0004] For this reason, if the user is away from the computer to which the e-mail addressed to the user is delivered for a long time, such as when going out, the e-mail cannot be output on the computer and important information cannot be known. There is an e-mail reading system in which a user makes a telephone call to connect the user to the system via a public line, and the system converts an e-mail into a voice and reads it out so that the user can confirm it.

[0005]

In the above prior art,
On the go, they simply receive the received mail, cannot take any action on the received mail, and there is still a shortage of usefulness as a communication means.

When the user wants to take an action such as reply or transfer, the user looks up the telephone number of the party to which the reply or transfer is desired, and makes a direct call, or makes a new reply or transfer using a computer having an e-mail function. However, there is a problem that it is troublesome and time loss is increased.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention holds an e-mail, inputs a command to transfer the held e-mail via a public line, and Address information to be transferred of the e-mail is input via a public line, and control is performed such that the held e-mail is transferred to a destination specified by the destination information according to the command and the destination information. Provided are an information processing method and apparatus, and a storage medium.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, according to the present invention, a command input through the public line is a push button signal.

[0009] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, the destination information input via the public line is a push button signal.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention receives a push button signal via a public line and recognizes a command associated with the push button signal.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention inputs a push button signal through a public line and recognizes destination information associated with the push button signal.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention outputs the contents of an electronic mail held by chance as audio information.

[0013] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, the command and the destination information are input from a telephone connected via a public line.

[0014] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, the command and the destination information are input from an information terminal connected via a public line.

[0015] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a method of inputting information to be transmitted to the transfer destination in addition to a command and destination information, and adding the input information to the held e-mail. And transfer it.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method for inputting a command for instructing a mode for converting the input information via a public line, and converting the input information according to the input command. And controlling the converted information to be transferred to the destination specified by the destination information.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method of inputting voice via a public line, recognizing the input voice and converting the text into text, and converting the text to a destination specified by the destination information. Control to transfer.

[0018] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a method of inputting voice via a public line, converting the input voice into a format that can be transmitted by e-mail, and converting the converted data into the destination information. Is controlled to be transferred to the destination specified by.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a method in which a push button signal is input, converted into a character corresponding to the input push button signal, and the converted character is transmitted to a destination specified by the destination information. Control to transfer.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a push button signal, reads a message corresponding to the input push button signal, and transfers the read message to a destination specified by the destination information. Control to do.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a method for inputting a voice, transforming the input voice according to a predetermined format, creating a text, and converting the generated text into the destination information. Is controlled to be transferred to the destination specified by.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numeral 101 denotes the memory 102 or the disk 10
3 is a central processing unit for executing and controlling each process according to the present invention in accordance with the control program stored in the central processing unit 3. The processes shown in the dictated flowchart are executed under the control of the central processing unit 101. You.

Reference numeral 102 denotes a memory such as a RAM or a ROM, which stores a control program for the central processing unit 101 to execute various processes, parameters necessary for executing the various processes, or data in the middle of the processes. Is a memory that provides a storage area for performing

Reference numeral 103 denotes a disk capable of storing a large amount of data. The disk 103 is a control program for the central processing unit 101 to execute various considerations, parameters necessary for executing various processes, a large-capacity database, and the like. Or a memory providing a storage area for storing data being processed.

Reference numeral 104 denotes an external storage medium 105,
A driver for reading data stored in the external storage medium 105 and writing data to the external storage medium 105.

Reference numeral 105 denotes an external storage medium such as a floppy disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, etc., which is removable from the information processing apparatus. The data stored in the storage medium may be downloaded to the memories 102 and 103 inside the device via a driver and used, or may be used by directly accessing an external storage medium.

Reference numeral 106 denotes a modem which mediates data transfer between an input / output unit such as the telephone 107 and other components.

Reference numeral 107 denotes an input / output unit for inputting / outputting data to / from the information processing apparatus via a public line through the mediation of a modem 106, such as a telephone.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a voice output unit which generates and outputs voice based on a voice synthesized signal, and provides the user with synthesized voice via a modulator or the like.

An interface 109 connects the translation server 110 to the information processing apparatus.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a translation server which translates an input document or voice from one language to another and outputs the translated document or voice. The translation server is provided in another terminal connected via a line outside the information processing apparatus. It is a thing.

Reference numeral 111 denotes a mail server that processes electronic mail stored in the electronic mail storage unit 112. Reference numeral 112 denotes an electronic mail storage unit that stores electronic mail distributed to the information processing apparatus.

Reference numeral 113 denotes a bus, which enables transmission and reception of data between the components.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an apparatus according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 201 denotes a telephone,
07.

Reference numeral 202 denotes a public network, and the service of information between the telephone 201 and the apparatus is performed by the modem 106 via the public network.

Reference numeral 203 denotes a speech synthesis output unit, which corresponds to the speech output unit 108.

Reference numeral 204 denotes a command recognition unit;
A transfer process starting unit, 206 is a destination setting unit, 207 is a speech recognition unit, 208 is a recognized speech-document creation unit, 209 is a speech encoding unit, 210 is a Hiragana document creation unit, 211 is a message attachment unit, and 212 is a reply / This is a transfer unit, and these functions are realized by the central processing unit 101.

Reference numeral 213 denotes a transfer destination data holding unit; 214, a document template holding unit; 215, a button-Hiragana correspondence table holding unit; 216, an attached message holding unit;
Reference numeral 7 denotes an e-mail holding unit, which is secured in the memory 102.

The operation of the process according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the user makes a telephone call to the apparatus (S301), the apparatus performs use start processing such as confirmation of a user ID (S302), and an appropriate electronic device specified by information input in the use start processing from the e-mail holding unit. The mail is taken out and this is output to the speech synthesis output unit 203
(S303).

When the reading is completed, the system waits for a command input from the user when the push button of the telephone 201 is pressed (S304). When a command is input from the user, the command recognition unit 204 recognizes what kind of input has been made (which push button has been pressed).

FIG. 4 shows an example of a command corresponding to each push button. These pieces of correspondence information are stored in the memory 102 in advance.

When the command input in S304 means a request for reply or transfer ("1" of the push button)
Or "2" is pressed) (S305), reply / transfer process activation unit 2
05 starts and executes the reply / transfer process (S306). If it is determined in S307 that the command is another command (S307), a process corresponding to the command is executed (S308).

If it is determined that the user hangs up the telephone or inputs a command indicating termination (S309), the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is terminated.

Next, according to the flowchart of FIG.
The specific operation of the reply / transfer process of 06 will be described.
The recognition result (the number of the pressed push button) of the command analysis unit is c. When it is determined that c = 1 (S502),
The command recognition unit 204 recognizes that it means a reply, and sets the address of the sender of the read out e-mail as the transmission destination address (S507). When it is determined that c = 2
(S503), the command recognizing unit 204 recognizes that the transfer is meant, and outputs a message such as "Please input the transfer destination ID.", And prompts the user to input the transfer destination ID with the push button. The transfer destination data holding unit 213 is searched as a key of the ID, and a corresponding transfer destination address is extracted (S505). The contents of the transfer destination data holding unit 213 are registered by the user in advance, and are, for example, as shown in FIG. Then, this transfer destination address is set as the transmission destination address. The address of the sender of the read out e-mail is set (S506).

Next, reply by outputting the message
Prompts the user to enter a transfer document creation method. The correspondence between the push button and the method of creating the reply / forward document is stored in advance in the memory 102 as shown in FIG. 4, for example, and the corresponding reply / forward document creation process is performed in response to this input.
(S509-S512). When the reply / forward document is created, it is sent to the above-mentioned destination address.

Next, the operation of creating a document by voice recognition indicated by the push button 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

The document creation method by voice recognition is as follows: (1) A method of recognizing all the contents of a user's utterance to make a whole document. (2) A method of creating a document by asking the user what to fill in the blanks of the template. Since there are two types, a guidance message to that effect is read out (S701), and a message prompting to select one of the methods with a push button (S702) is output. If it is determined in S703 that the user has selected "1" and this button has been pressed (S703), then a message is output to prompt the user to utter the contents of the reply / forward document,
In response to this, a spoken message is entered and recognized,
Create a reply / forward document by outputting text (S
705).

If the user selects "2" and determines in S703 that this button has been pressed (S704), the user is prompted to enter the ID of the template, and the Enter (S706). The template held in the document template holding unit 214 is searched and retrieved using the ID as a key (S707).

The template is, for example, as shown in FIG. 8 (a). The template informs the user of the item to be uttered by designating the item to be uttered with a message, and fills in the blanks uttered by the user. Recognition is sequentially performed by the voice recognition unit 207. Based on the recognition result, the reply / forward contents are formed into an appropriate sentence to create a reply / forward document (S708).

For a template as shown in FIG.
When the user utters "Suzuki", "Gakkaisanka", and "Jugojisanjuppun" in this order along with the guidance of this apparatus, a document as shown in FIG. 8B is created.

When the reply / forward document is created in S708, the document is read out by the speech synthesis output unit 203, and the user is prompted to confirm the contents (S709). If it is determined that the user has input OK (S710), the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 is terminated.
If it is determined in step S702, the process returns to step S702, and the document creation process is performed again.

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 9, a document creation process by voice encoding specified by the push button 4 will be described in detail.

First, the user is prompted by a message or the like to utter the contents of the reply / transfer, and the uttered voice is input (S901), and this is converted into digital voice data (S902). Is encoded by the audio encoding unit 209 into an appropriate format that can be transmitted by the
3).

A reply / forward document in the form of a so-called voice mail or voice mail is created by attaching this to the text of the e-mail read out in S303 (S
904). Here, the content of the utterance is reproduced, and the user confirms the content (S905). If it is determined that the user has entered OK
(S906), the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.
If it is determined in step 906 that it is not OK, the process returns to step S901, and the document creation processing by voice encoding is performed again.

Next, according to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of creating a Hiragana document by push button input, which is instructed by push button 5, will be described. FIG.
As shown in (a), the operation of pressing two push buttons consecutively is stored in the memory 102 in advance in association with one character of Hiragana. When inputting voiced sound or semi-voiced sound,
As shown in FIGS. 11B and 11C, it is determined that two consecutive push buttons are pressed after pressing "*" and "#", respectively. The user is asked to input the reply / transfer contents in hiragana according to this correspondence (S1001).

A reply / forward document is created by outputting the hiragana information input in S1001 as text (S1001).
1002). When the reply / forward document is created in this manner, the document is read out by the speech synthesis output unit, and the user is allowed to confirm the content (S1003). If it is determined that the user has input OK (S1004), the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is ended. If it is determined that the user is not OK, the flow returns to S1001 to perform the hiragana document creation processing by push button input. Start over.

Next, according to the flowchart of FIG.
An operation of creating a document by attaching a message specified by the push button 6 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 13, various types of attached messages prepared by the user are stored in the attached message holding unit 216 with IDs in advance. The user is prompted to enter the ID of the attached message that he / she wants to attach to the reply / forward document, and the message ID specified in response is entered (S1201). Using this ID as a key, a corresponding attached message is extracted from the attached message holding unit 216 (S1202). The extracted attached message is attached to a text file (S1203). In the case of forwarding, the content of the read e-mail may be added below the attached message. When the reply / forward document is created in this way, this document is read out by the speech synthesis output unit 203, and the user confirms the content (S1204). User is O
If it is determined that K has been input (S1205), the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 is terminated, and if it is determined that it is not OK, the process returns to S1201 to repeat the message attachment process.

In the above description, the correspondence between the push button and the command is as shown in FIG. 4, but any correspondence may be defined as long as all the commands can be expressed without excess or deficiency.

In the above description, the correspondence between the push buttons and the hiragana is shown in FIG. 11, but any correspondence may be defined as long as all the hiragana can be expressed without excess or shortage.

In the above description, an instruction was given to read out an e-mail from a remote place by telephone, and further, an instruction for reply and transfer was given. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The information terminal is not limited to a telephone, but may be another information terminal as long as it can be connected to a device holding an e-mail via an electronic mail and has an input function for inputting various commands described in the above description.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. A recording medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus executes the program code stored in the recording medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by executing the reading.

In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

As a recording medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, C
DR, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM
Etc. can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS and the like running on the computer are actually executed based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the above-described processing is performed, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the recording medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0070]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Holding the e-mail, inputting a command instructing the transfer of the held e-mail via a public line, inputting destination information for transferring the e-mail via a public line, and setting the command and the destination information By controlling to transfer the held e-mail to the destination specified by the destination information according to the, it is possible to take some action on the received mail even in a remote location,
Its usefulness as a means of communication increases.

As described above, according to the present invention, a command input via the public line is a push button signal, so that a terminal capable of inputting a push-tone signal connected via the public line can input a desired command. Operation can be performed.

As described above, according to the present invention, the destination information input via the public line is a push button signal, so that the terminal capable of inputting a push-tone signal connected via the public line A desired destination can be specified.

As described above, according to the present invention, a push button signal is input via a public line, and a command associated with the push button signal is recognized. You can enter various commands.

As described above, according to the present invention, by inputting a push button signal via a public line and recognizing destination information associated with the push button signal, a simple push phone signal is obtained. Various destinations can be indicated by signals.

As described above, according to the present invention, the contents of the held e-mail are output as voice information, so that the contents of the e-mail can be confirmed even at a remote place, and then the processing can be executed. Can be.

As described above, according to the present invention, by inputting the command and the destination information from a telephone connected via a public line, it is possible to instruct the telephone anywhere.

As described above, according to the present invention, by inputting the command and the destination information from the information terminal connected via the public line, if there is a terminal which can be connected via the public line, Can be instructed anywhere.

As described above, according to the present invention, in addition to the command and the destination information, information to be transmitted to the transfer destination is input, and the input information is added to the held e-mail. By controlling the transfer, the desired information can be added at the time of reply or transfer.

As described above, according to the present invention, a command instructing a mode for converting the input information is input via a public line, and the input information is converted according to the input command. By controlling the transfer of the converted information to the destination specified by the destination information, the information can be added in a desired form.

As described above, according to the present invention, voice is input via a public line, the input voice is recognized and converted into text, and the text is transmitted to a destination specified by the destination information. By controlling the transfer, if there is a simple input means for inputting voice, desired information can be added from a remote place.

As described above, according to the present invention, voice is input through a public line, the input voice is converted into a format that can be transmitted by e-mail, and the converted data is converted into the destination information. By controlling the transfer to the destination specified by, the sound can be reliably transmitted in an appropriate format.

As described above, according to the present invention, a push button signal is input, converted into a character corresponding to the input push button signal, and the converted character is identified by a destination specified by the destination information. , The desired character can be transmitted if there is simple input means for inputting the push button signal.

As described above, according to the present invention, a push button signal is input, a message corresponding to the input push button signal is read, and the read message is transferred to a destination specified by the destination information. By performing such control, if there is a simple input means for inputting a push button signal, various messages can be transmitted by a simple input operation.

As described above, according to the present invention, a voice is input, the input voice is transformed according to a predetermined format to create a sentence, and the created sentence is transmitted to the destination information. By controlling the transfer to the destination specified by, by simply inputting necessary items, the sentence can be converted into a sentence that is easy for the recipient to understand.

As described above, according to the present invention, an e-mail is held, a command for instructing a reply to the held e-mail is input via a public line, and information to be returned is sent to the public line. By controlling the transmission of the input information to the address of the sender of the e-mail, so that some action can be taken on the received e-mail even in a remote place, which is useful as a communication means. The nature increases.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart showing a processing procedure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence relationship between push buttons and commands according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a procedure of a reply / forward process according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a transfer destination data holding unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a processing procedure of document creation by voice recognition according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document template stored in a document template storage unit and an example of a document generated based on the document template.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a processing procedure of document creation by voice encoding according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing procedure for creating a Hiragana document by push button input according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence relationship between a push button and a hiragana of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a processing procedure for creating a document by attaching a message according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the contents of an attached message holding unit of the present invention.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI H04M 11/00 303 (72) Inventor Yuji Ikeda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Invention Person Minoru Fujita 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc.

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. An electronic mail is held, a command instructing the transfer of the held electronic mail is input through a public line, and destination information of the electronic mail to be transferred is input through a public line; An information processing method, comprising: controlling to transfer the held e-mail to a destination specified by the destination information in accordance with the command and the destination information. 2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the command input via the public line is a push button signal. 3. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the destination information input via the public line is a push button signal. 4. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein a push button signal is input via a public line, and a command associated with the push button signal is recognized. 5. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein a push button signal is input via a public line, and destination information associated with the push button signal is recognized. 6. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the content of the electronic mail held by the user is output as audio information. 7. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the command and the destination information are input from a telephone connected via a public line. 8. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the command and the destination information are input from an information terminal connected via a public line. 9. In addition to the command and the destination information, information to be transmitted to the transfer destination is input, and the input information is controlled to be added to the held electronic mail and transferred. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein 10. A command instructing a mode for converting the input information is input via a public line, the input information is converted according to the input command, and the converted information is converted to the destination information. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the information is controlled to be transferred to a destination specified by: 11. A method of inputting a voice via a public line, recognizing the input voice, converting the text to a text, and controlling the text to be transferred to a destination specified by the destination information. The information processing method according to claim 1. 12. Control to input voice through a public line, convert the input voice into a format that can be transmitted by e-mail, and transfer the converted data to a destination specified by the destination information. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
An information processing method according to claim 1. 13. A method of inputting a push button signal, converting the input button into a character corresponding to the input push button signal, and controlling the converted character to be transferred to a destination specified by the destination information. The information processing method according to claim 1. 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein a push button signal is input, a message corresponding to the input push button signal is read, and control is performed to transfer the read message to a destination specified by the destination information. Item 2. The information processing method according to Item 1. 15. A control for inputting a voice, transforming the input voice according to a predetermined format to generate a text, and transferring the generated text to a destination specified by the destination information. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein: 16. A command for holding an e-mail, inputting a command instructing a reply to the held e-mail via a public line, inputting information to be returned via a public line, and the input information Is transmitted to a destination of the sender of the electronic mail. 17. Holding means for holding an electronic mail; command input means for inputting a command for instructing the transfer of the held electronic mail via a public line; Address information input means for inputting via a line, and control means for controlling transfer of the held e-mail to a destination specified by the destination information in accordance with the command and the destination information. Information processing device. 18. Holding means for holding an e-mail, command input means for inputting a command instructing a reply to the held e-mail via a public line, and information to be returned via a public line. An information processing apparatus comprising: information input means for inputting; and control means for controlling transmission of the input information to a destination of a sender of the e-mail. 19. A storage medium readable by a computer, comprising: a step of holding an electronic mail; a step of inputting a command to transfer the held electronic mail via a public line; A step of inputting destination information for transferring mail via a public line; and a step of controlling to transfer the held electronic mail to a destination specified by the destination information in accordance with the command and the destination information. A storage medium storing a program. 20. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising: a step of holding an e-mail; a step of inputting a command instructing a reply to the held e-mail via a public line; A storage medium storing a program for inputting information to be transmitted via a public line, and controlling transmission of the input information to a destination of a sender of the e-mail.