JPH11338671A - Received message output method for electronic mail - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a passenger to easily read a message synchronously as a personal computer reads the message aloud by displaying characters corresponding to a word which is read aloud discriminatingly from others through highlight display. SOLUTION: Under the control of E-MAIL READER, a processor 51 follows a downloading procedure for a newly arrived message from an external mail server and stores it in a NEW MAIL area 54a on a hard disk 54. Further, the newly arrived message is displayed on a monitor and a message read-aloud control part 55a is instructed to read it aloud. Then the message read-aloud control part 55a reads the newly arrived message aloud at a specific speed and the monitor displays an object word (character) to be read aloud discriminatingly from other words through, for example, highlight display or in a different color synchronously as the message is read aloud.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for outputting a received message by e-mail, and more particularly to a message output method suitable for a vehicle-mounted personal computer to output a message received by e-mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, radio / CD /
There are in-vehicle audio devices such as tapes, navigation devices, and automobile telephones. However, these devices were individually operated and functioned without mutual cooperation. On the other hand, due to advances in communication technology, maintenance of communication networks, development of various electronic devices, and the like, there is an increasing trend to use automobiles as one mobile office. For this reason, a personal computer is mounted on a car so that e-mail and WWW (World Wide Web) can be used via the Internet, the on-board equipment can be centrally managed from the personal computer, and the functions of each device can be controlled. There is a demand for an in-vehicle system that performs cooperative control.

[0003]

A vehicle moves, and if an in-vehicle system is designed without taking such points into consideration, a problem occurs in safe driving. Also, in a car, driving or not driving is greatly different, and passengers cannot be regarded as equivalent. For this reason, if the in-vehicle system is designed considering all the passengers equally, there is a problem in safe driving. As described above, the inventor of the present application provided the front control unit for the front seat passenger and the rear control unit for the rear seat passenger so as to be able to communicate with each other, and distributed the functions to be executed by the front control unit and the rear control unit. The proposed in-vehicle system has been proposed. In this in-vehicle system, for example, a navigation control function, a security control function, an audio control function, etc. are assigned to the front control unit, and an Internet communication function, a navigation control function, a game and video control function, an audio control function are assigned to the rear control unit. Entertainment control functions such as are assigned to achieve function distribution. That is, the front side mainly has functions necessary for driving, and the rear side mainly has functions having an entertainment element.

[0004] By the way, vibration due to movement is generated in the cabin of an automobile, and the cabin is a noisy environment. For this reason, it is not easy to input and output information, and if an in-vehicle system is designed as if it were a quiet office, there is a problem that the usability is poor. For example, there is an office personal computer which has a function of displaying a message received by e-mail on a monitor and reading out aloud by voice synthesis.
If this message output method is applied to an in-vehicle system as it is, the monitor will vibrate in the car and it will be noisy, so the passenger cannot read the message in synchronization with the reading of the message on the PC, and the received message will not be enough. There is a problem that cannot be understood.

When it is necessary to reply to a received message, it is necessary to create a reply message and send it by e-mail, which causes a problem that the operation is troublesome. Furthermore, although it is necessary to increase the confidentiality of an e-mail message so that only the recipient himself can output the message, there is a problem that the confidentiality of the message cannot be ensured by a simple operation.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable a passenger to easily read a message in synchronization with the reading of a message from a personal computer. It is another object of the present invention to create a reply to a received message by a simple operation so that an electronic mail can be sent. It is another object of the present invention to enable only a recipient to output an e-mail message.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a received message is displayed on a display screen, the received message is read aloud, and a character corresponding to the read word is displayed in a distinguishable manner such as a highlighted display. It is achieved by doing. Thus, for example, by displaying the highlight, the message is read in accordance with the movement of the highlight, so that the displayed message can be read in synchronization with the reading of the personal computer, and the comprehension can be improved.

Also, a plurality of fixed form sentences for a received message are displayed on a display screen, and when a predetermined fixed form sentence is selected, the fixed form sentence is e-mailed to the sender of the message as a reply message. I do. In this way, a reply message can be created and e-mailed by a simple operation only by selecting a predetermined reply fixed phrase. Also, the user instructs the output of the received message by voice, and the personal computer recognizes the speaker from the voice, outputs the received message only to the speaker, and prohibits the output of the received message other than the speaker. . In this way, the confidentiality of the message can be increased.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (a) Network environment to which the present invention can be applied FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a network environment to which the present invention can be applied. In the figure, 1a, 1b,... 1n are vehicles, 2 is an information center, 3 is a mobile phone network, 4 is a public network, 5 is an Internet provider, 6 is the Internet, and 7 is an external center. Vehicles 1a to 1n have a Vehicle
Computing and Communication System (VCC system) is installed. The VCC system is equipped with an in-vehicle server (front server, rear server) composed of a personal computer.
(Homepage) can be browsed, and in-vehicle devices such as car audio, navigation, car phones, and Internet terminals are centrally managed, and the functions of each device are controlled in cooperation with each other. I have.

[0010] The information center 2 has a center server that receives connections from each vehicle. The in-vehicle server connects to the center server of the information center 2 via the mobile phone network 3 to acquire and display the content on the center server, receive the service of the center server, or after connecting to the center server, Furthermore, it is connected to an Internet provider 5 via a public line network 4 so that e-mail and WWW can be used. The external center 7 obtains the condition of each device of the vehicle from the vehicle via the mobile phone network 3 and an accident that occurs during driving to deal with the situation. If an accident occurs during driving, the in-vehicle server automatically reports the failure status of the equipment constituting the vehicle to the external center 7 (emergency) or automatically reports the failure status of the equipment constituting the vehicle. Report to the external center 7 (remote maintenance).

(B) Communication System FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a communication system including the vehicle 1a, the information center 2, and the external center 7, and the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The in-vehicle server CSV of each vehicle is a front VCC (front server) 11 for front seat passengers.
And a rear VCC (rear server) 12 for a rear seat passenger so that they can communicate with each other. Modems 13 and 14 are connected to the respective VCCs 11 and 12, and mobile phones 15 and 16 are connected to these modems. The center server CTSV of the information center 2 has a remote access server 21 for receiving a connection from a vehicle, and a gateway server 22 for connecting to the Internet. Each server is L
An AN is connected, and modems 23 and 24 are connected. The external center 7 includes a personal computer 71 and a modem 72, and manages the state of the vehicle sent from the front server 11. In-vehicle server CSV and center server C
The TSV has the following functions.

Center server connection function This function connects the rear server 12 to the center server CTSV and receives the service of the center server. As shown in FIG. 3, the Proxy 97 on the rear server 12
The (connection software) connects the rear server 12 to the remote access server 21 on the center server CTSV via the mobile phone line 3 in response to a request from a Web browser. After the connection, the Web server 21a of the remote access server 21 that has received the request sends the content (database information) corresponding to the request to the rear server 12.
The rear server displays the received content (database information) on the center server CTSV, whereby it becomes possible to receive the service of the center server CTSV.

Internet Connection Function (Gateway Function) This function is for connecting the rear server 12 to the Internet so that electronic mail and Internet Web contents can be browsed. As shown in FIG. 4, when a request for Internet connection is received from a Web browser, the Proxy 97 on the rear server 12 connects to the center server CTSV using the mobile phone line 3. Rear server 12
Is connected to the Internet server (Internet provider) 5 via the Proxy 97 on the gateway server 22. That is, if the request from the browser on the rear server 12 is an Internet connection request, after connection to the center server,
From there, a public line 4 is used to connect to an Internet provider 5. After connecting to the Internet, you can browse e-mail, mapion contents (map information), one of the Internet Web sites, and other Internet
The content of b can be browsed. Incidentally, the information from the Internet follows the reverse route, and the rear server 12
Sent to

In this function, a destination is selected on a mapion map (Internet map) obtained from the Internet and input to the navigation system, and the navigation system executes a route search to the destination. , A function for displaying a search route. That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, the user connects the rear server 12 to the Internet 6, acquires the content (map information) of Mapion, which is one of the Internet Web, and displays it on the monitor (FIG. b)).
Next, the user selects a destination by pointing to a point on the map, for example, the landmark LM, and presses a position set button to input the position information embedded in the mapion map to the car navigation system NV as the destination. As a result, the navigation system NV performs a route search to the destination and displays the obtained route.

(C) Configuration of VCC System FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an in-vehicle VCC system, wherein 101 is a front side VCC system configuration, and 102 is a rear side VC system.
This is a C system configuration. 11 on the front side 101
Is a front server composed of personal computers (Front VC
C), 11a is AM / FM radio tuner, 11b is D
SP configuration amplifier, 11c is a CD changer player,
11e is a television, 11f is a navigation device, 11g
Is a voice control switch, 11h is a microphone for voice input, 11i is a monitor of the front server, 1
1j denotes various buttons of the front server, and 15 denotes a hands-free mobile phone. In the rear side 102, 12
Is a rear server (rear VCC) configured with a personal computer de,
Reference numerals 12a and 12b denote Internet terminals composed of personal computers, which have a server / client relationship with the rear server 12. 12c is a DVD VCR, 12
d is a digital camera, 12e game terminal, 12f is voice control switch, 12g is a microphone for voice input, 12h ₁ ~12h ₃ is rear server and monitor of each Internet terminal, 12i ₁ ~12i ₃ is rear server and Internet terminal Reference numeral 16 denotes a hands-free mobile phone. Front server 11
And the rear server 12 are communicably connected by LAN.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the layout of important parts of the VCC system. The front server 11 is located on the front dashboard, the rear server 12 is located behind the armrest, and the Internet terminals 12a and 12b are located in the driver's seat and the passenger seat. It is embedded in the back of the headrest. The front server 11 mainly has functions necessary for operation, and the rear server 12 mainly has entertainment functions. That is, the front server 11 has an audio device control function, a navigation control function, an external communication function (communication to an external center), and a voice recognition function for voice input. Further, the rear server 12 has an audio device control function, a navigation control function, a start function of other applications, an external communication function (Internet), a voice recognition function for voice input, and a video input function.

The "audio equipment control function" is a function in which the front server 11 and the rear server 12 control car audio already mounted on the vehicle. The “navigation control function” is a function in which the front server 11 and the rear server 12 control a navigation device already mounted on the vehicle. The rear server 12
Transmits the longitude and latitude information of the destination obtained from the mapion map to the navigation device 11f via the front server 11, and the navigation device 11f performs a route search to the destination and performs route guidance. . The “external communication function” of the front server notifies the external center 7 of the condition of the equipment constituting the vehicle and the accident that occurred during driving via the modem 13 (FIG. 2) connected to the front server 11. Function. Although this external communication function is mounted on the front server 11, it is not a function directly used by the user, but a function that automatically operates due to a factor other than a user operation.

The "starting function of another application" of the rear server 12 is a function of calling another application from the rear server 12. For example, applications that can be called from the rear server 12 include:
Email software and Internet Mai that support voice recognition and voice synthesis
l and Internet Explorer. The “external communication function (Internet)” of the rear server 12
2 is connected to the Internet by a modem 14 (FIG. 2) and a mobile phone 16. The currently provided functions are WWW (World Wide Web) and e-mail. The rear server 12 is WW by Internet Explorer
A map with a landmark and longitude / latitude information of a landmark point are acquired from W Mapion and displayed on a monitor. For example, set a destination using landmarks,
The latitude and longitude of the destination are transmitted to the navigation system.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an operation target of the front server 11, in which a television, a radio, a CD, a digital sound processor (DSP), a navigation device, a vehicle computer, a manager, and a telephone are controlled. When the main menu screen of the front server 11 is opened, a selection menu of these operation objects is displayed. If a predetermined operation object is selected from the menu, the operation object can be operated. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an operation target of the rear server 12, including a television, a radio, a CD, a digital sound processor (DSP), a navigation device, a vehicle-mounted computer, a manager, and a network (internet).
-mail, Web, E-mai Reader, etc.), cameras, etc. are controlled. The main menu screen of the rear server 12 (FIG. 10)
When (a)) is opened, these operation target selection menus are displayed, and a desired operation target can be selected. For example, when a network (NET) is selected, sub menu screens (internet-mail, Web,
(E-mai Reader etc.) is opened and a predetermined function can be selected. When E-mai Reader (read-out function of received message) is selected on this screen, a menu shown in FIG. 11 is displayed, and a desired received message can be read out by sequentially performing selection operation.

(D) Rear Server Configuration FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of the rear server, which is configured to realize the received message output method of the present invention. In the figure, 51 is a processor of a rear server, 52 is a ROM, 5
Reference numeral 3 denotes a RAM; 54, a hard disk which stores various programs such as a Web browser and an E-Mmail reader, files such as all received messages (All Mail) and new messages (New Mail); And a message reading control unit 55a for controlling the reading of the received message, a voice synthesizing unit 55b for synthesizing the message into voice and outputting the voice, an amplifier 55c, and a speaker 55d. Reference numeral 56 denotes a voice recognition unit that recognizes a voice command input from the microphone 12g and transmits the voice command to the processor. Reference numeral 57 denotes a speaker identification unit that identifies a speaker who has issued the voice command, and stores in advance voice characteristics of a plurality of speakers. In advance,
This is to recognize the speaker by comparing the registered voice with the voice of the speaker who issued the voice command. 58 to 60 are various interface circuits, and 61 is an AD converter.

(E) New Message Output Control FIG. 13 is a processing flow of the output control of a new message. The monitor 12h ₁ rear server 12 to display a menu (Fig. 10) starts by selecting the E-MAIL READER (step 301). Thereby, the menu screen of FIG. 11 is displayed. Then, CONNECTION by button or voice
And NEW MAIL (steps 302 and 30)
3) In accordance with the control of the E-MAIL READER, the processor 51 automatically executes a procedure for downloading a NEW MAIL (new message) from an external mail server (step 3).
04). If there is a new message, the downloaded message is stored in the NEW MAIL area 54a of the hard disk 54 (step 305). Next, the processor 51 displays the new message on the monitor according to the control of the E-MAIL READER (FIG. 14), and instructs the message reading control unit 55a to start reading.
In the display, From is the sender of the mail, Subject is the subject of the mail, and Date is the date of the mail.

In response to the read-out instruction, the message read-out control unit 55a reads out a new message at a predetermined speed, and the monitor synchronizes with the read-out to highlight the word (character) to be read out from other words, for example, by highlighting it. Display or display in another color (step 30)
6). Next, it is checked whether or not the reading of the message has been completed (step 307). When the reading is completed, a plurality of fixed reply sentences shown in FIG. 15 are displayed. If a predetermined fixed reply sentence is selected from these (step 308), the processor 51
Creates a reply email. Next, when Send is instructed, the processor 51 sends a reply mail to the mail server (step 309), and after sending the reply mail, sends the new mail in the NEW MAIL area 54a of the hard disk 54 to the ALL MAIL.
It moves to the IL area 54b and arranges them in the order of reception date and time (step 310). If there are a plurality of new messages, the process from step 306 is repeated for each message. Since the ALL MAIL area 54b is finite, old ones are discarded when they become full.

(F) Output control of all messages FIG. 16 is a processing flow of output control of all messages.
A menu is displayed on the monitor 12h ₁ of the rear server 12 (FIG. 1).
0) is displayed and E-MAIL READER is selected and activated (step 401). Thereby, the menu screen of FIG. 11 is displayed. Then, when CONNECTION and ALL MAIL are selected by buttons or voice (steps 402 and 40)
3), the processor 51 automatically executes a procedure for downloading NEW MAIL (new message) from an external mail server according to the control of the E-MAIL READER (step 40).
4). If there is a new message, the downloaded new message is stored in the ALL MAIL area 54b of the hard disk 54 in order of reception date and time (step 405).

Next, as shown in FIG. 17, a list of all received messages is displayed in ascending order of reception date and time, and new messages are displayed in red (step 40).
6). In FIG. 17, Selected mail number indicates the number of the selected mail in the total number of mails.
ge indicates the page number currently, ID indicates the ID in the page, From indicates the sender of the mail, Subject indicates the subject of the mail, and Date indicates the date of the mail. Next, when a message to be read and displayed is selected, and then a read / display is instructed by a View button, the processor 51
Displays the selected message on the monitor according to the control of the E-MAIL READER (FIG. 18), and instructs the message reading control section 55a to start reading. In response to the read-out instruction, the message read-out control section 55a reads out the selected message at a predetermined speed, and monitors the selected message.
1h ₁ is the reading in synchronism with the other word word of the target speech are identifiably example highlighted (step 407). Next, it is checked whether or not the reading of the message has been completed (step 408).

When the reading is completed, a plurality of fixed reply sentences shown in FIG. 15 are displayed. If a predetermined reply fixed phrase is selected from these (step 409), the processor 51 creates a reply mail. Next, when Send is instructed, the processor 51 sends a reply mail to the mail server (step 410). Thereafter, it is checked whether there are any other messages to be output (step 411). In the above description, the fixed reply sentence is automatically displayed. However, the reply fixed reply sentence can be displayed by a REPLY button.

(G) Control for Outputting Only Messages Addressed to Speaker FIG. 19 is a processing flow of control for identifying a speaker who has instructed to output a received message by voice and outputting only a message addressed to the speaker. . The monitor 12h ₁ rear server 12 to display a menu (Fig. 10) starts by selecting the E-MAIL READER (step 501). Thereby, the menu screen of FIG. 11 is displayed. Then, the user is connected
Indicate ON and ALL MAIL. The voice recognition unit 56 recognizes the voice instruction and inputs it to the processor 51 (step 50).
2). At the same time, the speaker recognizing unit 57 identifies the speaker whose voice has been instructed and inputs it to the processor 51 (step 50).
3). Next, the processor 51 automatically executes a procedure for downloading a NEW MAIL (new message) from an external mail server according to the control of the E-MAIL READER (step 504). If there is a new message, the downloaded new message is sent to ALL MAIL on the hard disk 54.
The data is stored in the area in the order of reception date and time (step 505).

Next, the processor 51 displays a list of all received messages addressed to the identified speaker in order from the newest received date and time (step 506). Then select the message you want to read and display, and then
When reading / displaying is instructed by the View button, the processor 51 displays the selected message on the monitor according to the control of the E-MAIL READER (FIG. 18), and instructs the message reading control unit 55a to start reading. By reading instruction, a message reading control section 55a is performs reading of a selected message at a predetermined speed, monitored 11h ₁ is identifiably example highlighting the words of the target reading in synchronism with reading the other word (step 507). Next, it is checked whether or not the reading of the message has been completed (step 508).

When the reading is completed, a plurality of fixed reply sentences are displayed. If a predetermined fixed reply sentence is selected from these (step 509), the processor 51 creates a reply mail. Next, when Send is instructed, a reply mail is transmitted to the mail server (step 510). Thereafter, it is checked whether there is another message to be output (step 51).
1) If there is, the processing after step 506 is performed. In the above, the case where the in-vehicle personal computer outputs the received message has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the in-vehicle personal computer. Although the present invention has been described by way of examples, the present invention can be variously modified in accordance with the gist of the present invention described in the claims, and the present invention does not exclude these.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the received message is displayed on the display screen, the received message is read aloud, and the display character corresponding to the read word is displayed in a distinguishable manner such as a highlight display. , By reading the message as you move through the highlights,
The displayed message can be read in synchronization with the reading of the personal computer, and the comprehension can be enhanced.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of fixed form sentences for a received message are displayed on a display screen, and when a predetermined fixed form sentence is selected, the reply fixed form sentence is used as a reply message to the sender of the message. Since the e-mail is sent to the address, a reply message can be created and e-mailed by a simple operation of simply selecting a predetermined fixed reply sentence. Further, according to the present invention, the user instructs to output a received message by voice, recognizes a speaker from the voice, outputs a received message addressed only to the speaker, and outputs a received message other than the speaker. Since the output is prohibited, the confidentiality of the message can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a network environment to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a communication system.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a center server connection function.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an Internet connection function (gateway function).

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a cooperation function with a car navigation.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle-mounted VCC system of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an arrangement of a VCC system according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an operation target of the front server.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a rear server operation target.

FIG. 10 is a menu screen of a rear server.

FIG. 11 is a menu screen of the E-mail Reader.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a rear server.

FIG. 13 is an output control flow of a new message.

FIG. 14 is a display example of a message.

FIG. 15 is an example of a fixed response sentence.

FIG. 16 is an output control flow of all messages.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a received mail list.

FIG. 18 is a message display example.

FIG. 19 is a control flow for reading only mail addressed to an operator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a, 1b, 1n Vehicle 2 Information center 3 Mobile phone network 4 Public network 5 Internet provider 6 Internet 7 External center 11 Front VCC (front server) 12. Rear VCC (rear server) 21 Remote access server 22 Gateway server CSV Vehicle-mounted server CTSV Center server

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G10L 3/00 551 G10L 3/00 551A H04Q 7/38 H04B 7/26 109M

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method for outputting a received message of an e-mail, wherein the received message is displayed on a display screen, and the received message is read aloud, and characters corresponding to the read word are displayed in a distinguishable manner such as a highlight display. E-mail received message output method. 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: displaying a plurality of fixed reply sentences for the received message on a display screen, and when a predetermined fixed reply sentence is selected, e-mailing the reply fixed reply sentence to the sender of the message as a reply message. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received message is outputted. 3. The reception of an e-mail according to claim 1, wherein the output of the received message is instructed by voice, the speaker is recognized from the voice, and the output of the received message except for the speaker is prohibited. Message output method.