JPH10333876A - Electronic mail voice reproduction system and message voice reproduction system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reproduce voice for an electronic mail or a message from a range more important to a user. SOLUTION: Incoming electronic mails are successively stored in an electronic mail storing part 20, and priority information for specifying the range of electronic mails to be preferentially voice-reproduced is prelminarily stored in a priority information storing part 21. Then, an electronic mail selecting part 22 reads the priority information stored in the priority information storing part 21, and preferentially selects the electronic mails in the range specified by this information. Then, an electronic mail voice reproducing part 23 voice- reproduces at least one part of the selected electronic mails.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an electronic mail audio reproduction system and a message audio reproduction system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an e-mail system for sending text data or the like created by a sender to a destination via a communication network such as the Internet has rapidly spread.

[0003] Such an electronic mail system is a communication means using a screen display of a computer terminal as a main output interface. As another output interface, a text data portion of a message content is voice-synthesized, and a telephone call is received. A system for playing back to the mouth or the like has also been proposed (referred to as “e-mail sound playback system” in this specification).

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of such an electronic mail audio reproduction system. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a procedure in which a user uses a telephone to retrieve the contents of an e-mail addressed to him / her using this system.

[0005] First, as shown in FIG. 9, the system includes a mail server 1 for sequentially storing incoming e-mails.
0, an e-mail voice response device 11 for voice-synthesizing the text data portion of the e-mail stored in the mail server 10, a communication line 12 such as a public telephone line, and a voice terminal 14 such as a telephone used by the user 13. It is composed of In this system, as shown in FIG. 10, a user 13 first accesses an electronic mail voice response device 11 from a voice terminal 14 via a communication line 12 (S101). The e-mail voice response device 11 receives the access and acquires the e-mail sent from the mail server 10 to the user (S102). Further, the e-mail voice response device 11 synthesizes a voice from the text data portion of the e-mail, and outputs the synthesized voice to the voice terminal 14 via the communication line 12 (S103). As a result, the user 13 can listen to the contents of the e-mail addressed to the user 13 with the voice terminal 14 (S104).

[0006]

However, in such a system, the user 13 can only listen to the e-mail delivered to him / her in the order of arrival. Therefore, user 1
There is a problem that it is not possible to quickly retrieve important emails for the third party.

When browsing an e-mail using a screen display, the user 13 can select and read an important e-mail because the screen display has a characteristic that the list is excellent. However, when synthesizing and listening to the contents of the e-mail, it is difficult to quickly select and listen to an important e-mail for the user 13. For this reason, a system that enables the user 13 to quickly grasp the general situation of an e-mail arriving at himself / herself has been desired even when the content of the e-mail is reproduced by voice, as in the case of the screen display. .

[0008] Such a problem also arises not only with respect to voice reading of electronic mail but also with various message reproducing systems such as electronic news, an answering machine system, a voice mail system, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a first object of the present invention is to provide an electronic mail audio reproduction system capable of reproducing an electronic mail or a message from a range important to a user. And a message voice reproduction system.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide an electronic mail sound reproducing system which allows a user to quickly understand the outline of an electronic mail received by himself / herself by voice.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an electronic mail audio reproduction system according to the first invention is provided.
E-mail storage means for storing an incoming e-mail;
Priority information storage means for storing priority information for specifying a range of electronic mails to be reproduced with priority given to voice among the electronic mails stored by the electronic mail storage means; and electronic mail stored in the electronic mail storage means. An e-mail selecting means for sequentially selecting an e-mail belonging to the range specified by the priority information stored by the priority information storage means, and at least one of the e-mails selected by the e-mail selecting means E-mail sound reproducing means for reproducing a part of the sound.

[0012] In the electronic mail audio reproduction system according to the second invention, in the electronic mail audio reproduction system according to the first invention, the priority information stored in the priority information storage means should be performed with priority given to audio reproduction. A plurality of pieces of attribute information representing the attributes of the e-mail; and order information representing the order in which the e-mails of the attributes represented by the respective pieces of attribute information are reproduced by voice. Among the electronic mails stored by the means, the electronic mail having the attribute indicating that sound reproduction should be performed first by the order information is preferentially selected.

[0013] In the electronic mail sound reproducing system according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electronic mail sound reproducing system according to the second aspect, the attribute information stored in the priority information storage means may include a mail address of a sender of the electronic mail. It corresponds to at least one of the names.

An electronic mail sound reproducing system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the electronic mail sound reproducing system according to the first or second aspect, wherein when a predetermined attribute information addition signal is inputted, the signal corresponds to the signal. Attribute information adding means for adding and storing attribute information in the priority information storage means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic mail sound reproducing system according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, when a predetermined attribute information deletion signal is input, the priority is given to the priority. It further includes attribute information deletion means for deleting at least a part of the attribute information stored by the information storage means.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic mail audio reproducing system according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, the electronic mail selecting means receives a predetermined fast-forward signal. In such a case, an e-mail corresponding to attribute information different from the attribute information corresponding to the e-mail reproduced immediately before is selected.

An electronic mail audio reproducing system according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the electronic mail audio reproducing system according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the priority information stored by the priority information storing means is reproduced by audio. It further includes priority information sound reproducing means.

An electronic mail sound reproducing system according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the electronic mail sound reproducing system according to any one of the second to seventh aspects, wherein each of the electronic mails stored by the electronic mail storage means is provided. Means for calculating the number of e-mails having the attribute represented by the attribute information, and the attribute represented by each attribute information based on the number of incoming e-mails calculated by the number of incoming e-mails And e-mail arrival overview sound reproduction means for reproducing the number of e-mails by voice.

An electronic mail sound reproducing system according to a ninth invention is the electronic mail sound reproducing system according to the eighth invention, wherein the sound information for identifying the attribute information stored by the priority information storing means is replaced with the attribute information. A voice information storage unit that stores the voice information in correspondence with information; wherein the electronic mail arrival overview voice reproduction unit is calculated by the voice information stored by the voice information storage unit and the incoming email number information calculation unit; Based on the number of e-mails, the number of e-mails of the attribute represented by each attribute information is reproduced by voice.

An electronic mail sound reproducing system according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the electronic mail sound reproducing system according to the ninth aspect, wherein when the attribute information addition signal is input, the attribute information corresponding to the signal is identified. Voice information input guide means for prompting the user to input voice information to be input, and voice information input by the user according to the voice information input guide means are added to the voice information storage means in association with corresponding attribute information. And voice information adding means for storing.

An electronic mail sound reproducing system according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is the electronic mail sound reproducing system according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, wherein the audio reproducing system specifies a range of an electronic mail for which sound reproduction is to be suppressed. The apparatus further includes a sound reproduction suppression information storage unit that stores suppression information, wherein the electronic mail selection unit suppresses selection of an email belonging to a range specified by the sound reproduction suppression information stored by the sound reproduction suppression information storage unit. Is what you do.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a message voice reproducing system for storing a message storing means for storing an incoming message, and, among the messages stored by the message storing means, a range of a message to be reproduced with priority given to voice reproducing. Priority information storage means for storing priority information to be specified; and among messages stored in the message storage means, messages belonging to a range specified by the priority information stored by the priority information storage means are sequentially selected with priority. And a message sound reproducing means for sound reproducing at least a part of the message selected by the message selecting means.

A message audio reproducing system according to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the message audio reproducing system according to the twelfth aspect, wherein the message storage means stores the contents of a call via a telephone line as a message, and The priority information stored by the priority information storage means is the telephone number of the sender of the message to be played with priority on sound reproduction, and their telephone numbers. Order information indicating the order in which the messages from the caller are played back by voice, and the message selecting means performs the voice playing first by the order information among the messages stored by the message storage means. Select from messages from callers whose phone numbers indicate that action should be taken Than it is.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail audio reproducing method in which incoming electronic mails are sequentially stored in a memory, and among the electronic mails sequentially stored in the memory, of the electronic mails to be reproduced with priority given to audio reproduction. Priority information specifying the range is stored in the memory in advance, and among the emails sequentially stored in the memory, the emails belonging to the range specified by the priority information stored in the memory in advance are sequentially selected, At least a part of the selected e-mail is reproduced by voice.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a message voice reproducing method in which incoming messages are sequentially stored in a storage means, and a range of messages to be performed with priority on voice reproduction among messages sequentially stored in the storage means. Is stored in advance in the memory, and among the messages sequentially stored in the storage unit, messages belonging to the range specified by the priority information stored in the memory in advance are sequentially selected and selected. At least a part of the message to be played is reproduced by voice.

[0026]

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

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an electronic mail audio reproduction system according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the e-mail audio reproduction system according to the present embodiment includes an e-mail storage unit 20, a priority information storage unit 21, an e-mail selection unit 22, and an e-mail audio reproduction unit 23. It is composed of

Here, the e-mail storage section 20 functions as an e-mail storage means for storing an e-mail arriving at the user via a network (not shown).

The priority information storage unit 21 includes information for specifying a range of electronic mails to be reproduced by the e-mail audio reproduction unit 23 with priority given to the audio data among the electronic mails stored in the electronic mail storage unit 20; That is, it functions as priority information storage means for storing priority information. This priority information,
For example, 1) whether the sender's name of the e-mail matches the name registered in advance, 2) whether the sender's e-mail address matches the predetermined e-mail address, or 3) whether the e-mail has arrived at the user (TO :) , Have you only received a copy (cc :),
4) Whether the sender's address contains a predetermined character string (for example, a domain name), 5) whether the subject (e-mail title) contains a predetermined character string, or 6) the date when the e-mail arrived Or the date and time are within a predetermined range, or 7) the content of the property of the email (for example,
Importance, priority, confidentiality, etc.), 8) whether the message body of the e-mail contains a predetermined character string, 9) whether the e-mail is unread or read, etc. Alternatively, they can be defined by using them in combination. According to the priority information, the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail storage unit 20 is given a priority in performing the audio reproduction by the electronic mail audio reproduction unit 23,
Can be divided into two ranges.

The e-mail selecting section 22 reads out the priority information having the above-mentioned contents from the priority information storage section 21 and belongs to a range specified by the priority information among the e-mails stored in the e-mail storage section 20. It functions as an e-mail selecting means for sequentially selecting e-mails with priority.

Further, the e-mail sound reproducing section 23 functions as an e-mail sound reproducing means for sound reproducing at least a part of the e-mail selected by the e-mail selecting section 22. The e-mail audio reproduction unit reproduces audio of only the main part of the e-mail selected by the e-mail selection unit 22, for example, by converting text data into waveform data. Similarly, only the subject of the e-mail may be reproduced by voice.

According to the electronic mail audio reproducing system having the above-described configuration, the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail storage unit 20 can be reproduced preferentially from the important range for the user.

In the electronic mail sound reproducing system according to the first embodiment, the priority of the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail storage unit 20 is given priority to the sound reproduction by the electronic mail sound reproducing unit 23 according to the priority information. For the e-mails in the range in which the sound reproduction by the e-mail sound reproduction unit 23 is preferentially performed, the order of the sound reproduction is further changed. It may be determined. Then, the electronic mail within the range in which the sound reproduction is preferentially performed can be sound reproduced in the order desired by the user.

Embodiment 2 The e-mail audio reproduction system according to the second embodiment is the same as the e-mail audio reproduction system according to the first embodiment, except that the priority information storage unit 2
0 and the e-mail selecting unit 22
Since the operation described above has the feature, and the overall configuration is the same as that of the electronic mail sound reproduction system according to the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the corresponding components, and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the priority information stored in the priority information storage unit 20 of the electronic mail audio reproduction system. As shown in the figure, the priority information 21a used in the present electronic mail sound reproduction system includes a plurality of pieces of attribute information 24a to 24e (here, the mail address of the sender, which indicates the attribute of the e-mail to be given priority for sound reproduction). And the order information 25 indicating the order in which electronic mails from the addresses A to D represented by the respective attribute information 24a to 24e are reproduced by voice. That is, according to the order information 25 shown in the figure, it is indicated that the e-mails respectively transmitted from the address C, the address A, the address D, the address B, and the address E should be preferentially played back in this order. . Then, the e-mail selecting section 22 of the e-mail sound reproducing system gives priority to the order information 25 of the e-mails stored in the e-mail storage section 20 which has the address indicating that the sound should be reproduced first. And select.

In this way, by appropriately setting the priority information 25 by the user, it is possible to reproduce the voice in the order desired by the user for the e-mail within the range in which the user recognizes that the voice reproduction should be performed with priority.

The order information 25 included in the above-mentioned priority information does not have to be explicit as shown in FIG.
That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the attribute information 24a to 24e
By placing them in memory in the order in which they should be played back,
The order information 25 may be stored in the priority information storage unit 21.

In the above description, the attribute information 24a to 24a
Although the sender's e-mail address is used as 24e, other items, such as the sender's name, which are cited as the criteria for the priority information in the first embodiment described above are regarded as the attributes of the e-mail, and the attribute information representing them is stored in the priority information. You may make it memorize | store in the part 21.

Further, in the above-described e-mail sound reproducing system, the sound reproduction of the e-mail in a desired range of the user is suppressed in the same manner as in the e-mail sound reproducing system according to the fifth embodiment described later. Is also good. Specifically, for example, when a predetermined character string such as "@ xxxx.or.jp" is included in the sender's e-mail address expressed in the domain, the voice reproduction of the e-mail is suppressed. You may do so.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an entire configuration of an electronic mail audio reproduction system according to the third embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the present e-mail voice reproduction system, a mail server 30, a database 31, an e-mail voice response device 32, and a user setting terminal 33 are communicably connected by a network 34. It is configured. Then, the e-mail voice response device 32
It is communicably connected to a telephone 36 used by the user via a public telephone network 35.

Here, the mail server 30 functions as the above-mentioned electronic mail storage means. Database 3
1 functions first as the above-mentioned priority information storage means. Further, the database 31 functions as a voice information storage unit that stores voice information identifying each piece of attribute information in association with each piece of attribute information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of priority information and audio information stored in the database 31. As shown in the figure, the priority information 31a used in the present e-mail audio reproduction system includes attribute information 37a to 37e, and based on this information, the address C, the address A, the address D, the address B, and the address E are respectively determined. This indicates that the sent e-mails should be preferentially played back in this order. The database 31
Stores audio information 31b for identifying each of the attribute information 37a to 37e. That is, in the example shown in the figure, the attribute information 37c (address C) is identified by the character string "Suzuki". Similarly, attribute information 37
d (address D) is identified by the character string "Tanaka",
The attribute information 37e (address E) is identified by the character string “Yamada”. Further, the audio information 31b includes not only such character strings but also the audio files X, X indirectly accessed by the audio file names starting with a slash (/).
Y is included. That is, the attribute information 37a (address A) is identified by the audio file X accessed by the character string "/ audio file X". Also, attribute information 3
7b (address B) is identified by the audio file Y accessed by the character string "/ audio file Y". Here, it is assumed that the audio file X is a waveform data which is reproduced as "kato" and the audio file Y is a waveform data which is reproduced as "Yamamoto". The above attribute information 31a
The voice information 31b is set and input in advance by the user setting terminal 33 already described.

Next, the electronic mail voice response device 32 first functions as the above-described electronic mail selecting means. Further, the e-mail voice response device 32 also functions as an e-mail voice reproduction unit in cooperation with a telephone 36 that is connected to the telephone via the public telephone network 35. Further, the e-mail voice response device 32 stores the attribute information 3 stored in the database 31 in the e-mail stored in the mail server 30.
7a to 37e, and functions as a means for calculating the number of incoming e-mails that calculates the number of e-mails corresponding to each of the e-mails. Based on the number of e-mails calculated in this way and the voice information 31b stored in the database 31, each attribute Information 3
It also functions as an electronic mail arrival condition audio playback unit that plays back the number of received electronic mails corresponding to 7a to 37e.

Next, the operation of the electronic mail audio reproduction system having the above configuration will be described.

In the present e-mail voice reproduction system, when a user accesses the e-mail voice response device 32 using the telephone 36, a user authentication operation is first performed. And if the call is authenticated by a legitimate user,
Next, the user is instructed about the incoming e-mail.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the sound reproduction operation of the incoming e-mail in the present e-mail sound reproduction system. As shown in the figure, first, the e-mail voice response device 32 accesses the mail server 30 via the network 34 and acquires the e-mail that has reached the user (S201). Then, the acquired e-mail is filed for each message, and is temporarily stored in a disk storage device (not shown) provided in the e-mail voice response device 32 (S202). Further, the e-mail voice response device 32 is connected to the database 3 via the network 34.
1 to obtain priority information 31a and audio information 31b (S203).

Then, the number of electronic mails (messages) having the attributes indicated by the attribute information 37a to 37e included in the priority information 31a is calculated with reference to each file temporarily stored in the disk storage device (S204). . Specifically, the e-mail voice response device 32 stores the attribute information 37 among the files temporarily stored in the disk storage device.
The number of files in which the same mail address as the address (A to E) represented by is stored as the sender mail address is calculated.

Thereafter, the number of arriving e-mails for each attribute (sender's e-mail address) calculated in this way and S2
Based on the voice information already acquired in step 03, the guidance voice of the e-mail arrival status is reproduced (S205).
For example, if the email from the sender at address A is 1
If there are two e-mails from the sender at address C, three e-mails from the sender at address E, and a total of four e-mails from the sender at the other address, a summary of incoming e-mails "From Suzuki, 2
One, one from Kato, three from Yamada, and four from others. The guidance sound is reproduced as shown in "." In the guidance voice, the parts “Suzuki” and “Yamada” representing the sender are those that the e-mail voice response device reproduces the voice based on each character string as the voice information described above. Also, the part “Kato” is one in which the electronic mail voice response device reproduces voice based on the voice file X. As described above, the present electronic mail audio reproduction system uses both character strings (text data) and waveform data as audio information to reproduce the sound of the incoming call.

If the incoming call status is guided as described above, the e-mail voice response device 32 then operates as follows, unless the user specifically designates reading of a specific e-mail.
The voice of the electronic mail is sequentially reproduced while giving priority to the electronic mail in the range specified by the priority information 31a stored in the database 31. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining such an electronic mail audio reproduction operation.

As shown in the figure, first, the electronic mail voice response device 32 sends each file temporarily stored in the disk storage device (see FIG. 5, S202) from the sender of any mail address. It checks whether the stored e-mail is stored, generates a reproduction order table in which pointers (file names, etc.) to the respective files are arranged in the order to be reproduced, and expands the table on a memory (not shown) (S301).
Then, using the reproduction order table and a counter indicating the current position on the table, each file is selected in the order described in the table, and the speech is synthesized (S30).
2). Thus, the contents of the e-mail can be reproduced on the telephone 36 via the public telephone network 35 in an order according to the importance.

Embodiment 4 Various functions can be added to the e-mail audio reproduction system according to each embodiment described above.

First, the user may use the telephone 36 to check the contents of the priority information 31a from outside. Specifically, first, the user accesses the e-mail voice response device 32 from the telephone 36 on the go and performs a specific push button operation. In response to the push button operation, the e-mail voice response device 32 acquires the priority information 31a set in advance by the user from the database 31 and performs voice synthesis to read it out. In this way, the user can grasp the contents of the priority information 31a by voice without going to the user setting terminal 33 while away from home.

Further, if the user performs a push button operation from the telephone 36 while away from home, the attribute information may be newly added. Specifically, first, the user performs a predetermined push button operation on the telephone 36 during the voice reproduction of the e-mail. The signal transmitted by this push button operation is recognized by the electronic mail voice response device 32 as an attribute information addition signal. Then, in the e-mail voice response device 32 to which the attribute information addition signal is input,
The e-mail address of the sender of the e-mail that is playing the audio at that time is extracted from the header information of the e-mail and the attribute information 37a is added to the priority information 31a of the database 31.
To be added. Further, the e-mail voice response device 32
Then, a predetermined guidance voice is output to the telephone 36 so as to prompt the input of the voice information 31b for identifying the newly added attribute information 37. When the user receives this guidance voice and speaks with the mouthpiece of the telephone 36, the e-mail voice response device 32
Stores the content in the database 31 in association with the previously registered attribute information 37 as an additional portion of the voice information 31b. In this way, the voice information 31b corresponding to the attribute information 37 added by the push button operation on the telephone 36 can be registered in the database 31.

When the user performs a push button operation from the telephone 36 at a place where he / she is away, a part of the registered attribute information 37 may be deleted. In this case, first, during voice reproduction of the e-mail, the user
6, a predetermined push button operation is performed. The signal transmitted by this push button operation is recognized by the electronic mail voice response device 32 as an attribute information deletion signal. Then, in the e-mail voice response device 32 to which the attribute information deletion signal has been input, the attribute information 37 corresponding to the e-mail currently being voice-reproduced at that time is deleted from the database 31. By doing so, it is possible to delete a part of the attribute information 37 by operating the push button from the telephone 36 without performing a procedure such as re-inputting the setting of the priority information 31a from the user setting terminal 33.

Further, if the user performs a predetermined push button operation on the telephone 36 during the voice reproduction of the e-mail,
The same attribute information 3 as the e-mail being reproduced at that time
The voice reproduction of the e-mail corresponding to 7 may be canceled. Specifically, first, the user performs a predetermined push button operation while the electronic mail voice response device 32 is playing back the electronic mail. Then, the e-mail voice response device 32 recognizes the signal transmitted by the push button operation as a fast forward signal. In the e-mail voice response device 32 to which the fast-forward signal is input,
At this time, all the voice reproduction of the e-mail having the same attribute as the e-mail being reproduced at the time (here, the e-mail with the same mail address of the sender) is canceled, and the following priority information 31a stored in the database 31 is used. The voice of the e-mail corresponding to the rank attribute information 37 is reproduced. At this time, the counter indicating the current position on the reproduction order table is incremented in accordance with this processing.

Embodiment 5 The e-mail sound reproduction system according to the fifth embodiment suppresses sound reproduction of e-mail in a range desired by the user. In the electronic mail audio reproduction system according to the present embodiment, the database 31 further stores audio reproduction suppression information for specifying a range of the electronic mail in which the audio reproduction is to be suppressed.
Then, the e-mail voice response device 32 suppresses the voice reproduction of the message content of the e-mail within the range specified by the voice reproduction suppression information.

More specifically, for example, when the above-described reproduction order table is generated, a pointer may not be generated for an electronic mail within a range specified by the audio reproduction suppression information. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the content of the message from being reproduced by voice for the e-mail within the range.

Note that, for the audio reproduction suppression information used here, items such as the mail address of the sender and the name of the sender, which are cited as the criteria of the priority information in the first embodiment, can be similarly employed.

Embodiment 6 FIG. Embodiment 6 described next
Relates to a message audio reproduction system. This message voice reproduction system is used for voice reproduction of a delivered message in a system for delivering a message to a user via a public telephone network, such as a voice mail system and an answering machine system.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a message audio reproduction system according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the present message audio reproduction system includes a message storage unit 40, a priority information storage unit 41, a message selection unit 42, and a message audio reproduction unit 43. The message storage unit 40 is connected to a telephone 46 of a caller 45 via a public telephone network 44. Further, a speaker 48 for notifying the recipient 47 of the message content is connected to the message sound reproducing unit 43.

Here, the message storage unit 40 functions as a message storage unit that stores a message transmitted to a user via a public telephone network (not shown). At this time, in the present system, the telephone number of the telephone which is the source of the message is obtained using a so-called caller telephone number notification service, and the message storage unit 40 associates each message with the sender 45 of those messages. (Telephone number of the telephone 46).

The priority information storage unit 41 stores information for specifying a range of messages to be reproduced by the message voice reproduction unit 43 with priority in the messages stored in the message storage unit 40, ie, priority information, Function as priority information storage means for storing Here, the telephone number of the sender of the message is adopted as the priority information.

The message selecting section 42 reads out the priority information having the above contents from the priority information storage section 41,
Among the messages stored in the message storage unit 40,
It functions as a message selecting means for preferentially sequentially selecting messages belonging to the range specified by the priority information. Further, the message sound reproduction unit 43 functions as a message sound reproduction unit that reproduces at least a part of the message selected by the message selection unit 42 using the speaker 48.

Next, the operation of the message audio reproduction system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, first, a caller makes a call from a telephone to a receiver via a public telephone network (S40).
1). Here, the message storage unit 40 responds instead of the recipient (S402). At this time, the message storage unit 40
Obtains the telephone number (caller ID) of the caller via the public telephone network 44. Further, if the caller speaks a message in accordance with a predetermined voice instruction (S403), the message storage unit 40 stores the voice data together with the telephone number of the caller (S404).

On the other hand, when the receiver confirms a message such as a voice mail that has arrived at his / her own by voice reproduction, it is the same as in the case of the first embodiment described above.

According to the message audio reproduction system having the above configuration, it is possible to reproduce the audio from the message important to the user.

[0067]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1 or claim 14, first, the electronic mail stored in the electronic mail storage means gives priority to the sound reproduction by the priority information. It is divided into two ranges, those that are not and those that are not. Then, such priority information is stored in advance, and incoming e-mails are sequentially selected based on the priority information and sound is reproduced, so that the e-mails in a range that the user considers important are given priority. Can be read out. As a result, it is possible to reduce the time until a message important for the user is reproduced by voice.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, with respect to the e-mails in the range specified by the priority information (the range deemed important by the user), the reproduction order according to the attributes of the e-mails is set. In addition, I tried to play the voice of the e-mail in the order according to the setting,
The message that the user considers particularly important can be reproduced with the highest priority.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the attribute information indicating the attribute of the e-mail to be performed with priority on the sound reproduction is
Since it corresponds to at least one of the sender's e-mail address and name, it is possible to reproduce the e-mail from the sender deemed important by the user with priority,
A message from a sender important to the user can be reproduced quickly by voice.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the attribute information is newly added to the priority information storage means by inputting a predetermined attribute information addition signal. By button operation etc.
It is possible to easily update the contents of the priority information.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, at least a part of the attribute information is deleted from the priority information storage means by inputting a predetermined attribute information deletion signal. , The content of the priority information can be easily updated.

According to the invention of claim 6, when a predetermined fast-forward signal is input, an e-mail corresponding to attribute information different from the attribute information corresponding to the e-mail reproduced immediately before is stored in the e-mail storage. Since the sound is selected from the means and the sound is reproduced, the sound reproduction of the e-mail corresponding to the specific attribute information can be canceled by a push button operation or the like of the telephone at the destination.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the priority information itself is reproduced by voice, the user can confirm the content of the previously set priority information by voice. As a result, the user can know the contents of the priority information from a telephone or the like while away from home.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the number of incoming e-mails corresponding to each attribute information is reproduced as an e-mail arrival condition by voice, so that the user receives an e-mail of an important attribute. Can be known more quickly.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, voice information for identifying attribute information is further stored, and the electronic mail arrival overview is reproduced by voice using this voice information. You can play back how many emails you have received. As a result, it is possible to make the voice reproduction of the electronic mail arrival situation easier for the user to understand.

According to the tenth aspect, when the attribute information addition signal is input and attribute information is newly added to the priority information storage means, voice information for identifying the added attribute information is output. Since the user is required to input and additionally store the voice information in the voice information storage means, voice information for important attributes can be reliably input.
Also, for example, if the user inputs the voice information by using a real voice, the voice reproduction of the general e-mail arrival condition using the voice information can be made easier to hear.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the range of the electronic mail in which the audio reproduction is to be suppressed is specified by the audio reproduction suppression information, and the electronic mail in the range specified by the information is selected from the electronic mail storage means. Since the suppression is performed, it is possible to suppress the sound reproduction of the e-mail in the range. As a result, it is possible to cancel the sound reproduction of the e-mail within a range that the user deems unnecessary, and reproduce the sound of only the more important e-mail.

According to the twelfth or fifteenth aspect of the present invention, priority information for specifying a range of a message to be played with priority on voice reproduction is stored in advance, and an incoming message is determined based on the priority information. Since the voices are sequentially selected and played back, messages in a range that the user considers important can be read out preferentially in, for example, an answering machine system or a voice mail system. As a result, it is possible to reduce the time until a message important for the user is reproduced by voice.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the order of voice reproduction of the message is determined based on the telephone number of the person who sent the message using the so-called caller telephone number notification service. Voice reproduction can be performed with priority given to a message from a caller that the user considers important.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an electronic mail audio reproduction system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of contents of priority information stored in a priority information storage unit of an electronic mail sound reproduction system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an electronic mail audio reproduction system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of priority information and audio information stored in a database of an electronic mail audio reproduction system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the electronic mail audio reproduction system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the electronic mail sound reproduction system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a message audio reproduction system according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the message audio reproduction system according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a conventional e-mail audio reproduction system.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a conventional e-mail audio reproduction system.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 20 e-mail storage section, 21, 41 priority information storage section, 22 e-mail selection section, 23 e-mail sound reproduction section, 21a, 21b, 31a priority information, 24a to 2
4e, 37a to 37e attribute information, 25 order information, 3
1b Voice information, 40 message storage unit, 42 message selection unit, 43 message voice playback unit.

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An electronic mail storing means for storing an incoming electronic mail, and priority information for specifying a range of electronic mails to be reproduced with priority given to voice among the electronic mails stored by the electronic mail storing means. Priority information storage means for storing, and e-mails for sequentially selecting the e-mails belonging to the range specified by the priority information stored by the priority information storage means from among the e-mails stored in the e-mail storage means An electronic mail audio reproducing system, comprising: a mail selecting unit; and an electronic mail audio reproducing unit that reproduces at least a part of the electronic mail selected by the electronic mail selecting unit. 2. The priority information stored in the priority information storage means includes: a plurality of pieces of attribute information indicating an attribute of an e-mail to be prioritized for sound reproduction; And an order information indicating an order of reproduction. The e-mail selecting unit is configured to indicate that, out of the e-mails stored by the e-mail storage unit, sound reproduction should be performed first by the order information. 2. The electronic mail audio reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail is selected with priority given to the electronic mail having the attribute represented. 3. The electronic mail voice reproduction according to claim 2, wherein the attribute information stored in the priority information storage means corresponds to at least one of a mail address and a name of a sender of the electronic mail. system. 4. An attribute information adding unit which, when a predetermined attribute information addition signal is input, adds attribute information corresponding to the signal to the priority information storage unit and stores the attribute information. The electronic mail audio reproduction system according to claim 2. 5. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an attribute information deleting unit for deleting at least a part of the attribute information stored by said priority information storage unit when a predetermined attribute information deletion signal is input. Item 5. An electronic mail sound reproduction system according to any one of Items 2 to 4. 6. The electronic mail selecting means, when a predetermined fast-forward signal is inputted, selects an electronic mail corresponding to attribute information different from the attribute information corresponding to the electronic mail reproduced immediately before. The electronic mail audio reproduction system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein: 7. The electronic mail audio reproduction system according to claim 1, further comprising priority information audio reproduction means for reproducing the priority information stored by said priority information storage means. 8. An incoming e-mail number calculating means for calculating the number of e-mails having the attribute indicated by the attribute information among the e-mails stored by the e-mail storing means, and the incoming e-mail number calculating means And e-mail arrival overview sound reproduction means for sound-reproducing the number of e-mails of the attribute represented by each attribute information based on the number of incoming e-mails calculated by the following. 7. The electronic mail sound reproduction system according to any one of 7. 9. A voice information storage means for storing voice information for identifying attribute information stored by the priority information storage means in association with the attribute information, Voice information stored by the voice information storage means;
9. The electronic mail according to claim 8, wherein the number of electronic mails of the attribute represented by each attribute information is reproduced by voice based on the number of electronic mails calculated by the number of incoming electronic mails information calculating means. Audio playback system. 10. A voice information input guide means for prompting a user to input voice information for identifying attribute information corresponding to the attribute information addition signal when the attribute information addition signal is input, and The electronic mail according to claim 9, further comprising: voice information adding means for storing voice information input by a user in the voice information storage means in association with corresponding attribute information. Audio playback system. 11. An audio reproduction suppression information storage unit for storing audio reproduction suppression information for specifying a range of electronic mails for which audio reproduction is to be suppressed, wherein the electronic mail selection unit is configured to include the audio reproduction suppression information storage unit. 11. The electronic mail sound reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein the selection of an electronic mail belonging to a range specified by the sound reproduction suppression information stored by the electronic mail is suppressed. 12. A message storage means for storing an incoming message, and priority information storage for storing priority information for specifying a range of a message to be performed with priority on voice reproduction among messages stored by the message storage means. Means, message selecting means for sequentially selecting messages belonging to a range specified by the priority information stored by the priority information storage from among messages stored in the message storage means, and sequentially selecting the message; And a message sound reproducing means for sound reproducing at least a part of the message selected by (1). 13. The message storage means stores the contents of a call via a telephone line as a message, and stores the telephone number of the sender of the message in association with the message. The stored priority information is configured to include a telephone number of a sender of a message to be played with priority on voice reproduction, and order information indicating a sequence of voice reproduction of a message from the sender of the telephone number. The message selecting means preferentially selects, from among the messages stored by the message storing means, a message from a caller of a telephone number indicating that voice reproduction is to be performed first by the order information; The message voice reproducing system according to claim 12, wherein 14. Incoming e-mails are sequentially stored in a memory, and priority information for specifying a range of e-mails to be performed with priority on sound reproduction among the e-mails sequentially stored in the memory is stored in the memory in advance. In addition, among the e-mails sequentially stored in the memory, the e-mails belonging to the range specified by the priority information stored in the memory in advance are sequentially selected, and at least a part of the selected e-mails is voiced. Reproducing an e-mail voice reproducing method. 15. An incoming message is sequentially stored in a storage means, and priority information for specifying a range of messages to be performed with priority on voice reproduction among messages sequentially stored in the storage means is stored in a memory in advance. In addition, among the messages sequentially stored in the storage unit, messages belonging to a range specified by the priority information stored in the memory in advance are sequentially selected, and at least a part of the selected messages is reproduced by voice. A message voice reproduction method.