JPH10164249A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor capable of easily accessing desired information even from a terminal equipment such as a telephone terminal or a facsimile equipment. SOLUTION: A voice recognition section 10 recognizes a word entered from a telephone terminal 5 via a network connection section 3, an address of requested information is retrieved by referencing a retrieval table 13A based on the word as the recognition result and an information network 2 is accessed based on the obtained address via an information network connection section 7. The information obtained as a result is converted into a voice signal by a voice synthesis section 11 and sent to a telephone terminal 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of extracting information on an information network from a telephone terminal or a facsimile apparatus connected by a telephone line and providing the information to a user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the advance of computer technology and communication technology, the spread of information networks such as the Internet has been remarkable. In such an information network, for example, WWW (World Wide Web) established on a server
The main usage forms are to obtain desired information by accessing such devices, and to exchange e-mail between devices.

In general, ordinary users connect a personal computer to a host computer via a telephone line or the like, and connect to a broader information network such as the Internet via the host computer.
In many cases, e-mail stored on the computer is retrieved and used. The host computer and a personal computer connected to the host computer via a telephone line or the like substantially form one information network.

[0004]

Incidentally, such an information network is basically assumed to be accessed by a computer, and has a problem that it cannot be accessed from a telephone or a facsimile apparatus.

In such an information network,
When a user searches for desired information, a character string serving as a search key must be input from a keyboard or the like, and cannot be input from a telephone or a facsimile. Also, a method of transmitting a message transmitted from an information network or desired information to a user is usually transmitted in a text format displayed on a display or the like, and cannot be received by a telephone or a facsimile.

Therefore, basically, a telephone cannot access such information by facsimile, and even a user who has a computer needs to be proficient in the operation of the telephone. Users who felt inconvenienced in input could not access information properly. That is, the information network as described above is not sufficiently general in terms of its accessibility.

[0007] On the other hand, communication devices such as telephone terminals and facsimile devices, or mobile phones and pagers have become more widespread than computers, and these terminals have access to such information networks. If it is possible, various kinds of information can be used more effectively, and its convenience is immense. Therefore, it is desired that such telephones, facsimile machines, and pagers also provide an environment in which an information network can be accessed.

[0008] Recently, it has been studied to enable transmission of an electronic mail from such a general terminal device or to receive an electronic mail by voice synthesis. If a user tries to enter a complicated network address or search key using the, the operation becomes very complicated, and this does not satisfy the demand for easily accessing the information network from a telephone or the like.

[0009] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus that allows desired information to be easily accessed from a terminal device such as a telephone terminal or a facsimile machine.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems To solve the above-mentioned problems, a user can input a keyword by voice using a speech recognition technology, and based on the keyword, an information network is used. Information can be searched and provided to users.

Therefore, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention is connected to an arbitrary communication network and communicates with a first apparatus capable of transmitting at least a voice signal and a second apparatus capable of providing arbitrary information. Possible communication means, voice recognition means for recognizing a voice signal input from any of the first devices connected by the communication means, and the first device based on data obtained by the recognition. A communication content detecting means for detecting a communication content requested by the user; an access means for accessing a desired second device via the communication means based on the communication content; The form of the information obtained from the second device is
Information conversion means for converting into a predetermined form suitable for performing communication with the first device, and output means for outputting the converted information in the form to the first device via the communication means. Have.

Preferably, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention further includes a table unit in which a predetermined character string is substantially associated with an address indicating the location of the predetermined information. Refers to the table means, searches for information corresponding to the character string obtained by the recognition, and an address indicating the location of the information, detects the address as communication content, and the access means, The second device indicated by the address is accessed to obtain the information.

Preferably, the table means substantially corresponds to the predetermined character string, an address indicating a location of the predetermined information, and a character string indicating predetermined information in the information. The access unit accesses the second device indicated by the searched address, and displays the predetermined information from information provided by the second device. Get the information shown in the column.

[0014] Preferably, in the table means, with respect to main information for a specific group, a character string indicating the group is set as a predetermined character string associated with the group. Still further, the table means retrieves in advance information provided by the second device, extracts one or more character strings used in the information, and associates the character string with the information in the association. Is registered and generated as a predetermined character string.

[0015] More specifically, the first device is a telephone device, and the information conversion means has a voice synthesizing means, and converts the form of information obtained from the second device by the access. The audio signal is converted into an audio signal, and the output means outputs the converted audio signal to the first device. More specifically, the first device is a facsimile device,
The information converting means has an image synthesizing means, converts the form of information obtained from the second device by the access into image data, and the output means converts the converted image data into the image data. Output to the first device.

Preferably, the communication means includes first connection means for substantially connecting to the first device via any communication network including at least a telephone line, and a second communication network. And second connection means for substantially connecting to the second device as an arbitrary information providing device.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the server device according to the present embodiment. This server device 1
Communicates with the user terminals 4, 5, 6, and 15 via a network such as a telephone line network or the Internet,
Information network 2 such as the Internet as required
And communicates with other server devices via. Thereby, the server device 1 provides various services to the user in response to a request from the user terminal. Information input to the server device 1 via the information network 2 is, for example, WW
Information provided by W, e-mail addressed to the user, and the like.

First, the configuration and function of each unit of the server device 1 will be described. The server device 1 includes a network connection unit 3, an information network connection unit 7, a data format conversion unit 8,
Central processing unit 9, speech recognition unit 10, speech synthesis unit 11, recording and playback unit 12, external storage device 13, data format conversion unit 1
4 and an image synthesizing unit 16.

First, the server device 1 has two connection unit network connection units 3 and an information network connection unit 7 for connecting to an external network or a terminal device. The network connection unit 3 is a connection unit for connecting to a user terminal that mainly requests information provision and the like. The network connection unit 3 can be connected to an arbitrary line or communication means such as a telephone line, a digital line, a digital / analog dedicated line, a communication line, and the like, and voice data, text data and the like can be connected via the connected network. , Image data, and DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency) signals. For this purpose, processes such as encoding, decoding, error correction, transmission / reception of pulse dialing, and the like are also executed in the network connection unit 3.

Here, the dedicated terminal 15 is a dedicated terminal device of the server device 1, and includes a liquid crystal display panel for displaying text data and image data transmitted by the network connection unit 3, and a handset for inputting and outputting voice. , A terminal having an operator corresponding to the telephone terminal.

On the other hand, the information network connection unit 7 is a connection unit for connecting the server device 1 to the information network 2. The server device 1 sends an e-mail to the information network 2 via the information network connection unit 7,
Data by FTP (File Translation Protocol),
It transmits and receives WWW data and the like.

The data format converter 8 switches the operation under the control of the central processing unit 9 in response to a request from the user or the like, and converts the voice data obtained through the network connection unit 3 and the image data of the facsimile machine. The data is appropriately converted into a data format inside the server device 1 and output to the central processing unit 9. Conversely, it converts the data obtained via the central processing unit 9 into a data format suitable for communication with the user terminal, and outputs the data. Note that the data format suitable for communication with the user terminal in the network connection unit 3 and the data format inside the server device 1 are not necessarily different, and in that case, the data format conversion unit 8 Is output to the central processing unit 9 or the network connection unit 3 as it is.

The data format conversion unit 14 switches the operation under the control of the central processing unit 9, converts data obtained via the central processing unit 9 into a data format on the information network 2, and sends the data to the information network connection unit 7. Output. Conversely, it converts the data obtained from the information network 2 via the information network connection unit 7 into a data format inside the server device 1 and outputs it to the central processing unit 9. Also in the data format conversion unit 14, the information network connection unit 7
A data format adapted for communication with the user terminal in
The data format inside the server device 1 is not necessarily different, and in that case, the data format conversion unit 14 outputs the input data to the central processing unit 9 or the information network connection unit 7 as it is.

The central processing unit 9 operates according to the server program and controls the operation of the entire server device 1. As the control of the operation according to the present invention, specifically, for example,
Network connection unit 3 and information network connection unit 7
Control of communication with various external devices and devices on a network via the Internet, control of processing for an information provision request by a keyword from the telephone terminal 5 and the facsimile 6, and stored in an external storage device 13 which will be described later. Of the input keyword with reference to the search table 13A and information on the information network, control of word recognition based on the output of the voice recognition unit 10, generation of the search table 13A by searching the information network 2 as appropriate, Control of processing such as updating is performed by the central processing unit 9.

Further, the central processing unit 9 exchanges data at the start of communication between the network connection unit 3 and the type of line connected to the network connection unit 3 and terminal equipment. The type of the terminal device connected to the network connection unit 3 is determined based on the format of the input data input via the network, and various services are provided in a data format suitable for the terminal device based on the determination result. By such control of the central processing unit 9, the server device 1 can provide various services in accordance with key operations of the computer 4, the telephone terminal 5, the facsimile device 6, and the dedicated terminal 15.

The voice recognition unit 10 is controlled by the central processing unit 9, performs voice recognition processing on a voice signal input via the telephone line connection unit 3, and converts the voice signal into text data. Thus, in the server device 1, various information can be accessed by voice signals via the telephone terminal 5, the telephone terminal attached to the facsimile 6, and the dedicated terminal 15.

The voice synthesizing unit 11 includes a network connection unit 3
Then, data input through the information network connection unit 7 and data stored in the external storage device 13 are subjected to voice synthesis processing, and a voice signal is output. The output audio signal is output to the network connection unit 3 via the central processing unit 9 as required. The voice signal synthesized by the voice synthesizer 11 allows the server device 1 to provide various services by voice. For example, text information such as e-mail and WWW
It will be possible to read out and provide by voice.

The recording / reproducing section 12 records an audio signal input via the information network connecting section 7 and the network connecting section 3, and reproduces and outputs the audio signal as required by the user.

The image synthesizing unit 16 outputs text data, H
Converts a TML (HyperText Markup Language) document into image data. The image data converted and generated by the image synthesizing unit 16 allows the server device 1 to provide various information such as electronic mail and WWW to the facsimile device 6 as a user terminal.

The external storage device 13 is controlled by the central processing unit 9 and records and reproduces data via the central processing unit 9. The external storage device 13 manages entry information of e-mails, manages spooling, etc. 1 stores various data necessary for the operation.

Further, a search table 13A in which a keyword is associated with a normal network address is also stored in the external storage device 13. The search table 13A includes words indicating information that are effective when searching for information,
An address of a provider of the information such as WWW on the information network 2 is recorded in association with the address. Further, when some information is further classified in the information, a word serving as a headline of each information is recorded in the search table 13A as a word indicating each classified information.

A character string registered in the search table 13A and effective when searching for the information is, for example, when the information is related to a specific individual, group, company, or the like. , The name of the individual, organization or company. By creating the search table 13A in this manner, the user can search for information on a desired individual or group without knowing the words registered in the search table.

The search table 13A may be registered in advance by the operator of the server 1, but is preferably generated and updated by the function of the server 1 as appropriate.
That is, the central processing unit 9 accesses the information set to be accessible by the keyword input by voice in the server device 1 at predetermined time intervals, and transmits a part or all of the information to the server. The information is fetched into the device 1 and the information composition and the contents of each information included are checked from the fetched information.

Then, for each unit of information to be provided, a word included in the information has a relatively high frequency,
A word having a feature that can be distinguished from other information is extracted. Then, this word is registered in the search table 13A as a search keyword. Of course, such maintenance processing of the search table 13A may be performed irregularly in accordance with the instruction of the operator, but it is preferable if the processing can be appropriately performed as described above.

Next, the operation of the server 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. The present embodiment is an example of the operation of the server device 1 according to the present invention, in a case where a user accesses the server device 1 from the telephone terminal 5 and makes a request to search and retrieve WWW information. The operation of the server device 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the server device 1 in such a case in association with the operation of the user.

First, upon access from the user (step S100), the server device 1 starts operating (step S108), waits for the user to speak a certain word, and when the user speaks a certain word (step S108). In step S101, the server device 1 accepts the request (step S109). At this time, the user speaks a word stored in the server device 1 in association with predetermined information in advance. Further, by pressing a predetermined operator of the telephone device 5, the user notifies the server device 1 of the end of the utterance, that is, the word break.

When such a word is uttered and a word break is detected, the central processing unit 9 of the server device 1 transfers the word to the speech recognition unit 10 and causes the speech to be recognized.
Further, the central processing unit 9 determines, based on the speech recognition result,
With reference to the words recorded in the search table 13A in the external storage device 13, candidate words considered as words uttered by the user are extracted (step S110).

Next, the candidate word is notified to the user by using the voice synthesizing unit 11 and the recording / reproducing unit 12, and it is confirmed whether or not the word is correctly recognized. Generate a message that prompts you to select the uttered word. Then, together with the candidate word obtained in step S110, the message, that is, the recognition result for the word spoken by the user is notified to the user via the network connection unit 3 (step S111).

The user recognizes the uttered word in step S102 as described above, and
When a message prompting the subsequent operation is notified from the server device 1, the content is confirmed (step S10).
2) It is checked whether or not at least the notified candidate word includes a word spoken by the user, that is, whether or not the current word recognition operation needs to be performed again (step S103). . For example, when it is necessary to redo the recognition, for example, when the correct word is not included in the candidate word or when the recognition is not possible, the redo instruction is given to the server device 1 (step S104). ), The process returns to step S101, and the process is repeated from the word utterance process. Note that this redo instruction is issued by pressing a specific operator provided on the telephone terminal 5 of the user.

In step S103, if it is determined that there is no need to start over, that is, if at least the candidate words indicated by the server device 1 include the word spoken by the user, the server A correct word is selected from the candidate words according to the guide indicated by the device 1 (step S105). In this method of selecting candidates, the number assigned to each candidate word is stored in the telephone terminal 5.
This is done by inputting from the operator.

When any instruction is input from the user, the server 1 accepts the instruction (step S1).
13) It is checked whether the instruction is a redo instruction issued in step S104 (step S11).
2). If the instruction is a retry instruction, the process returns to step S109 and waits for the user to speak a word again. Then, when the user speaks and inputs a word, the same processes as those in step S110 and thereafter described above are repeated.

If the instruction from the user input in step S112 is not an instruction for redoing in step S113 but an instruction for selecting a correct word, an external storage is performed based on the selected word. Referring to the search table 13A in the device 13, the address of the information corresponding to the specified word is extracted, and the information network 2 is accessed via the information network connection unit 7 based on the address, and the specified information is read. Retrieve the contents (step S1
14).

Then, the server device 1 provides the extracted information to the user (step S115). At this time, if the extracted information is text data, the central processing unit 9 converts the information into a voice signal using the voice synthesis unit 11 and outputs the voice signal to the telephone terminal 5. When the server device 1 provides the information specified in this way to the user, the server device 1 ends a series of processes (step S116), and the user also receives the provided information (step S116).
105), and the process ends (step S107).

By performing such processing, it is possible to instruct information on the information network 2 by simply speaking a word from the telephone terminal 5 and to extract the information by voice. That is, anyone who can operate the telephone terminal 5 can easily access the information network. Also, in this process, even if the word spoken by the user is not properly recognized, the user is prompted to input the word again and responds repeatedly. Even if you can not do,
Can respond appropriately and can be put to practical use.

The processing described above with reference to FIG. 2 is for the case where one piece of information corresponds to one word, in other words, a keyword. However, a plurality of pieces of information may correspond to one keyword. The operation of the server device 1 in such a case will be described in association with the operation of the user. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the user of such processing and the operation of the server device 1. Note that FIG. 2 shows only a portion different from the flowchart shown in FIG. 2, and the description will be made only for a portion different from the above-described processing.

The central processing unit 9 determines whether or not the user has selected one of the candidate words of the speech recognition result in step S113. If it is determined that one has been selected, the central processing unit 9 responds to the word. The headings of a plurality of pieces of information to be performed are extracted from the search table 13A in the external storage device 13, and the list is notified to the user (step S118).
At this time, the heading of each information is converted into voice information in the voice synthesis unit 11 and output to the telephone terminal 5 of the user.

In step S106, the user selects a correct word from the candidate words as a result of the speech recognition and transmits the word to the server device 1. Then, the server device 1 notifies the list of information headings. Furthermore, a desired information heading is selected from among them, and the selection result is transmitted to the server device 1 (step S117). This selection is also performed by inputting the number assigned to each heading from the operator of the telephone terminal 5.

When the server apparatus 1 receives the result of the user's information selection (step S113), the processing shifts to the above-mentioned step S114, and based on the selected word, the external storage 13 is again stored in the external storage device 13. Search Table 13
With reference to A, take out the address of the specified information,
The information network 2 is accessed via the information network connection unit 7 based on the address, and the contents of the specified information are extracted. Then, the extracted information is converted into an audio signal and provided to the user (step S11).
5). The user also receives the provided information in the same manner as described above.

As described above, even when a plurality of pieces of information are associated with one keyword, that is, a word, when the word is selected, the selection of a word given to a plurality of pieces of information relating to the word is next performed. The operation may be repeated. This means that your keywords are organized hierarchically,
This indicates that by sequentially selecting a large amount of information, a large amount of complicatedly associated information can be efficiently searched. That is, even when accessing information on the information network from the telephone terminal 5, desired information can be appropriately extracted similarly to the case of accessing from a normal computer.

As described above, the server device 1 of the present embodiment
According to the method described above, a large-scale information network 2 such as the Internet is interposed between a line and a network to which a user terminal such as a telephone line is connected, and an arbitrary An environment in which information can be appropriately acquired can be provided. In particular, it is possible to instruct information on the information network 2 by operating the operation element and uttering the word from the telephone terminal 5 and take out the information by voice. That is, there is no need to operate a keyboard or the like, and if the telephone terminal 5 can be operated, anyone can easily access the information network.

The present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, although a case has been described with the present embodiment where a user accesses information from a telephone terminal, the present invention is not limited to this. According to the present invention, it is possible to easily access information on an information network from a facsimile which is widely used as widely as a telephone terminal.

In this case, processing such as access from the user to the server apparatus 1 and notification of various items from the server apparatus 1 to the facsimile are performed by using an operator attached to the facsimile or a normal facsimile. By using the existing telephone function, it can be performed by the same method as performed in the telephone terminal described above. It is preferable that the information requested by the user is finally transmitted to the user instead of being transmitted as an audio signal, but as an image signal. In that case, instead of converting the information obtained from the information network into a voice signal by the voice synthesizing unit 11, the information is converted into image data using the image synthesizing unit 16 and output to the user's facsimile. I just need.

In the server device 1 described above,
When a user utters a word, the user is notified of the delimitation and end of the word by operating an operator provided in the telephone terminal. However, for example, the speech recognition unit 10 may be configured to detect a break in spoken speech and automatically extract words.

The present invention is not limited at all by the type and form of the network and the connection form. For example, the server device of the present embodiment has a network connection unit 3 for connecting to a normal telephone line or the like.
And an information network connection unit 7 for connecting to a large-scale information network such as the Internet. However, for example, a configuration that mediates access between devices connected to the same local network may be used. In such a case, the network is connected to one network by one network connection unit. May be.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An information processing apparatus that can easily access desired information from a terminal device such as a telephone terminal or a facsimile device can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the server device shown in FIG. 1 in a case where a user makes a request to retrieve WWW information from a telephone terminal.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when one keyword is associated with a plurality of pieces of information in the operation illustrated in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Server apparatus, 2 ... Information network, 3 ... Network connection part, 4 ... Computer, 5 ... Telephone terminal, 6 ... Facsimile, 7 ... Information network connection part, 8 ... Data format conversion part, 9 ... Central processing part, 10 ... Speech recognition unit 11
... Speech synthesis unit, 12 ... Recording / reproducing unit, 13 ... External storage device, 14 ... Data format converter, 15 ... Dedicated terminal, 16 ...
Image synthesis unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H04N 1/32 H04L 11/02 Z

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A communication device communicable with a first device connected to an arbitrary communication network and capable of transmitting at least an audio signal, and a second device capable of providing arbitrary information. Voice recognition means for recognizing a voice signal input from any of the first devices connected by the means; and a communication content requested by the first device based on data obtained by the recognition. Communication content detecting means for detecting; access means for accessing a desired second device via the communication means based on the communication content; information obtained from the second device by the access Information converting means for converting the form into a predetermined form suitable for performing communication with the first device; and outputting the converted information in the form to the first device via the communication means. output An information processing apparatus and a stage. 2. A communication device according to claim 1, further comprising: a table unit in which a predetermined character string is substantially associated with an address indicating a location of the predetermined information. The information corresponding to the character string obtained by the recognition and the address indicating the location of the information are searched for and detected as communication contents, and the access unit transmits the information to the second device indicated by the searched address. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is obtained by accessing the apparatus. 3. The table means, wherein the predetermined character string, an address indicating the location of the predetermined information, and a character string indicating predetermined information in the information are substantially associated with each other. The access means accesses the second device indicated by the searched address, and indicates a character string indicating the predetermined information from information provided by the second device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information to be obtained is acquired. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in the table means, with respect to main information for a specific group, a character string indicating the group is set to the associated character string. 5. The table means searches in advance for information provided from the second device, extracts one or more character strings used in the information, and stores the character string in the information corresponding to the information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information processing apparatus is registered and generated as a predetermined character string to be associated. 6. The first device is a telephone device, wherein the information converting means has a voice synthesizing means, and converts the form of information obtained from the second device by the access into a voice signal. Converting, the output unit outputs the converted audio signal to the first
6. The information processing device according to claim 5, wherein the information is output to the device. 7. The first device is a facsimile device, wherein the information converting means has an image synthesizing means, and converts the form of information obtained from the second device by the access into image data. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the output unit outputs the converted image data to the first device. 8. The communication means comprises: first connection means for substantially connecting to the first device via any communication network including at least a telephone line; and optional communication means via a second communication network. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a second connection unit that is substantially connected to the second apparatus that is an information providing apparatus.