JPS58214199A - Voice generation controller - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a voice generation control device suitable for vending machines, voice guidance devices, etc. In particular, the present invention relates to a voice generation control device suitable for vending machines, voice guidance devices, etc. This invention relates to a voice generation control device that selects matching words and immediately outputs them as voice.

This type of voice generation control device generally generates a voice message quickly in response to an external voice request;
Even when there are continuous requests to generate audio, it is desired to generate audio quickly without delay.

Furthermore, it is desired that the configuration be such that it can be well connected to the interface with the voice requesting side that drives the voice generation control device, such as the timing and control method. Figure 1 (
A) shows an example of the configuration of a conventional vending machine system equipped with a voice generation control device proposed in response to such demands, where 1 is a coin mechanism unit, 2 is a vending control circuit, and 3 is a vending machine system equipped with a voice generation control device. is the selection button, 4 is the product delivery mechanism, 5
1 is a voice generation control circuit, 6 is a voice synthesizer using the PARCOR method, 7 is a voice data ROM (read only memory), 8 is an amplifier, 9 is a voice synthesis unit including the above-mentioned parts 6 to 8, and 10 is a speaker. It is. The speech synthesis section 9 has a one-chip LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) configuration, and can generate a plurality of predetermined types of words (voice messages) in a female or male voice. Voice request signal 1 from sales control circuit 2
1 and a voice start signal (start signal) 12 are supplied to the voice generation control circuit 5 of the voice synthesis section 9, the voice generation control device 5 analyzes the received voice request signal 11 and stores the voice data 14 in the voice data ROM 7. This data 14 is supplied to the speech synthesizer 6. The speech synthesizer 6 reproduces the speech signal 15 by the reverse process of the speech analysis, and this signal 15 is amplified by the amplifier 8 and outputted from the speaker (sound generator) 10, for example, "Welcome Fuji Electric." It generates a voice that says "This is what it is."

1(B) and 1(C) each show an example of the speech synthesis section 9 of FIG. 1(A), and FIG. 1(B) has four signal lines for the utterance request signal 11, and the type of uttered word. There are 16 ways (24
). Further, FIG. 4(C) shows an example in which 16 different words are generated by individual input through 16 signal lines of the utterance request signal 11.

The number of signal lines for the voice request signal 11 can be selected from three, five, or more at the time of design, depending on the type of voice message generated from the speaker 10. Figures 2 (A) to (B) are similar to Figures 1 (B) and (C).
The voice synthesis unit 9 starts vocalization based on the data DT of the vocalization request signal 11 and the vocalization start signal 12, but at that time, the vocalization data DT (Fig.
) during the period when the utterance start signal 12 (see ) is stable.
(see FIG. 2(B)) is input, the utterance start signal 12
At the time of input, a word (message) corresponding to the data DT supplied to the speech synthesis section 9 is uttered. Figure 2 (C)
The utterance timing TM shown in FIG. 2 indicates the period during which the message is actually output from the speaker 10.

However, in conventional voice generation devices such as vending machines equipped with these voice generation control devices, when the voice generation output is activated, the next voice request is not issued until the generation of a series of prepared words is completed. Even if a voice request occurs, it is not possible to immediately switch to the voice request and output it as voice. Therefore, if the customer moves too quickly, it is expected that the voice guidance will frequently not be able to catch up with the customer's movements. -For example, immediately after inserting a coin, messages such as "Welcome", "Please take what you like", "Please press the button with the light on", etc. need to be uttered at the appropriate timing. is 1. When the customer presses the selection button 3 quickly, the second half of the message becomes meaningless.

For example, after pressing select button 3 with the lamp lit, "
Please press the button with the light on.'' The message may be uttered. If the customer performs an operation that requires the output of a new voice earlier than the voice generation time, a situation will arise in which an accurate message will not be output in response to the actual operation. Further, there is a problem in that not only is it not possible to output an appropriate message immediately at the time of a voice request, but also it is not possible to take appropriate voice action when a plurality of voice requests occur during voice generation. These problems arise when the voice of a vending machine, etc. is expected to respond quickly to various external conditions that change moment by moment according to the customer's actions, and quickly output voice in response to requests according to the current situation. This is a serious drawback for the generator.

Therefore, in Japanese Patent Application No. 56-215889, the applicant proposes that when a new voice request is made during voice output, the currently output voice is interrupted midway or the speaking speed is accelerated to finish the necessary words. We have proposed a sound generation control device that outputs sound.

This speech generation control device independently stores the words selected as speech output for each clause or for each predetermined number of words, and sets an interruption permission flag and speed-up for each clause or for each predetermined number of words. When a new word is requested to be voiced while the word is being output as voice, the voice generation table is equipped with a voice generation table that includes a voice generation flag and a voice generation table that includes a voice output flag. The invention is characterized by comprising a control means capable of outputting a new word as audio by interrupting the speech output at or increasing the speed midway through the speech output. However, detailed control over voice production as proposed in this proposal may increase the functional burden of the vending machine, leading to an increase in its cost. In particular, it is estimated that approximately 10 to 20% of the vending machines produced will be equipped with a sound generation device, so from this point of view as well, the voice generation control device It is necessary to suppress the manufacturing cost as much as possible, so the above-mentioned cost becomes a problem.

On the other hand, in terms of the design of vending machines, there is a strong desire to manufacture vending control devices and voice generation control devices with a common design that can be used for various purposes. For this reason, in the past, generally speaking, sound generators, etc. were designed and manufactured in a standardized manner, and the sound was generated from the sound generator by specifying a sound generation code on the vending machine itself and selecting and extracting the stored words. That's what I do. To give a specific example, each control device on the vending machine side and the voice generator side is formed by a one-chip microcomputer, a so-called one-deep microcomputer, and programs such as voice synthesis are stored in their central processing unit (CPU) and memory. It is masked and stored on one chip along with the input/output section (RAM), input/output section (Ilo), etc. It should be noted that ordering a mask usually requires at least two to three months of production time and a cost of 500,000 to 1,000,000 yen.

In this way, most vending machines these days are controlled by microcomputers, and many of these microcomputers use single-chip microcomputers for productivity and cost reasons. , it becomes impossible to change the functions easily. Therefore, it is not possible to easily change the utterance request signal (utterance word number), etc., and from the viewpoint of maintenance management, it is problematic and practically impossible to do so. Therefore, in order to adapt to all environments, the generated words are masked on the chip in a state where it can accept as many voice request signals as possible, and any desired one from among the masked voiced words is transferred to the voice generator. I try to choose on my side. That is, the vending machine control device (vending control device) outputs a voice code or status code, and the voice generation control device decodes the code to determine the generated voice (see Fig. 1 (B)).
), or the vending machine control device sends out a large number of pre-prepared voice codes in parallel, and the voice generation control device selects the required code from among these voice codes to determine the voice to be generated. (See Figure 1 (C)). In this way, since the requested word is selected from a plurality of stored words and outputted as voice, all products such as vending machines that use the same voice generation control device are the same. They end up speaking a uniform message, resulting in a lack of variety in the words they pronounce. This contradicts the idea that each manufacturer and dealer is trying to increase sales by making the functions and designs of vending machines different by making them unique and unique products. There is a problem that if the content is exactly the same for each company, the characteristics of the product will not emerge.

Furthermore, it detects when a person approaches a vending machine and
"Welcome!" is one of the well-known applications of voice generators, but this type of guidance is likely to be the subject of children's pranks and cause noise pollution. Even if you decide that the project is good (U), it may be denied after implementation. Depending on the environment (e.g. where the vending machine is installed, sales hours, etc.), the vending machine may send you a voice message every time you do something as a customer when purchasing a product from the vending machine. It is expected that some people will find the output to be very annoying and noisy, and may also disturb people around them and cause noise pollution.

In this way, even after commercialization, there may be cases where the content of the voice generation function needs to be changed depending on the environment, so it is necessary to make necessary functions that can be easily adapted to the environment in which it will be used. It is desirable to have this in a sound generating device.

However, in conventional devices, the correspondence between the voice request signal and the voice message can be changed to some extent by using the mode changeover switch, but because of the masking based on the common design described above, it is difficult to respond to the voice request from the vending machine side. The voice generation control device does not have a function that allows it to independently make decisions such as selectively not uttering words that have been uttered. Therefore, with conventional devices, it is not possible for device administrators to freely manipulate the spoken words in response to the various changes in the environment during use as described above, and it is difficult to change functions in response to changes in the environment. It is practically impossible to do so due to production costs.

To summarize the main problems of the conventional sound generation control devices mentioned above, fine-grained control of sound generation increases the functional burden, and the common design makes it impossible to easily modify the functions. It is difficult to provide diversity in the spoken words, and it is not possible to freely manipulate the spoken words in response to customer requests.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks by providing a signal selection means outside the microcomputer for determining whether or not a voice can be uttered in response to each utterance request signal (utterance word number) for the voice generation control means. A voice generation control device is provided that allows the voice generation means to select the uttered word, thereby increasing the common design of the control device on the main body side of a vending machine, etc., and increasing the degree of freedom in changing the functions of the voice generation control device. It is about providing.

That is, the present invention includes a voice generation prohibition setting device outside the microcomputer that can freely set the voice generation prohibition for each voice generation word specified by the voice generation request signal supplied from the voice generation request main unit. , the speech generation control is performed by determining whether or not the speech generation word is prohibited from being produced based on setting data supplied from the speech generation prohibition setting device.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the device of the present invention.
s, s2 and S3 are strobe signals for selecting prohibition of speech, and control circuit (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer) 5
The signals are sequentially transmitted from the strobe signal line 21 through the strobe signal line 21. 2
2 is a control signal line, which is an input terminal I of the microcomputer 5. r
■l+ Connect to I2 and ■.

23 is a key matrix formed outside the microcomputer 5 as a voice generation prohibition setting device, which intersects the strobe signal line 21 and the control signal line 22, and a diode D functioning as a voice stop switch is attached or detached at the intersection. By doing so, it is possible to freely set the prohibition of sound generation. The diode D is connected to any strobe signal line 21 and control line 22.
A removable connection between the two is provided, for example, at a position as shown in the figure. The anode of the diode D is connected to the strobe signal line 21, and the cathode is connected to the control signal line 22 to form a gate circuit. Note that the voice request signal 1
1 includes as many utterance codes (or status codes) as can be considered as a standard so as to be compatible with any usage environment, and the length of the code is such that it can be decoded by the microcomputer 5. Other configurations can be seen, for example, in Figure 1 (
Since it is almost the same as the conventional example shown in A), detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 will be explained with reference to the waveform diagram shown in FIG. 4.

The voice request signal 11 is transmitted from a main body side control circuit (hereinafter referred to as voice request side) of a vending machine etc., for example, in FIGS.
It is output at the timing shown in C) and supplied to the microcomputer 5. At this time, the microcomputer 5 controls the key matrix 23 when the voice request signal 11 is input or in advance.
Input the setting data of terminals I, , I, , I2 and I
3, and the read setting data and voice request signal. 11 to determine whether or not the generated word is set to be prohibited from speaking, thereby controlling the sound generation. That is, if a plurality of diodes D are connected as shown in FIG. 3, then the strobe signal S. , S, , S, and S are output one after another from the icon 5, so when the strobe signal So is output, only the input applied to the input terminal ■□ is r t J, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the binary signals "0..1., O, OJ" are input to the microcomputer 5.Similarly, as shown in FIG. "O, O
,'O,JJ,ro,,+.

Binary signals of 0, OJ, and rl+0rltoJ are sequentially input. Therefore, the microcomputer 5 receives the strobe signal S.
-Although a total of 16 control signals (setting data) will be input in synchronization with S3, each of the 1-bit configuration control signals corresponds to the 16 words selected by the utterance request signal 11 in advance. It is possible to control the sound generation by allowing the sound to occur and prohibiting the sound generation when rlJ is reached.

In this way, by attaching and detaching the diode D at any intersection of the key matrix 23 individually associated with each voice message, at least a portion of the voice request signal 11 can be selectively erased or disabled. , microcontroller 5
It is possible to prevent the sound generator from reaching the sound generating part. This also means that even after installing the device to which this embodiment is applied, it is possible to instruct the conditions for a valid code or invalid code for each voice generation request code from outside the microcomputer 5. Therefore, it is possible to freely rearrange the features of the sound generator according to the usage environment, and
It also becomes easier to create a common design for the main body side control device. Of course, if no voice stop diode D is installed in this embodiment (1), all of the voice request signals 11 will become the voice target, and the key matrix 23
Diodes D are not installed at all intersections of the microcomputer 5, and all strobe signals
Since all binary signals of "1, 1, 1.l" are input to Si, all 16 words of the voice request signal 11 are invalidated, and all voice generation can be stopped. . It goes without saying that this embodiment can also be applied to an individual input type device as shown in FIG. 1(C).

On the other hand, if the above-mentioned control signal manually input to the microcomputer 5 is "1", the generation is permitted, and when it is "0", the generation is prohibited, so that the diode D can be used as a generation permission switch. Alternatively, the control of the microcomputer 5 may be the same as that shown in FIG. 3, and the anode of the diode D is connected to the control signal line 22, and its cathode is connected to the strobe signal line 21, which is the reverse of that shown in FIG. If an AND gate is configured through the diode D connected in the direction, the diode D can be used as a generation permission switch in the same manner as described above. Therefore, in these cases, it is sufficient to connect diodes D to all intersection positions of the key matrix 23 at the time of shipping the product, and then remove any diode D according to the usage environment.
The diode D does not necessarily have to be freely attached.

Furthermore, the control operation of the device 5 of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 will be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

First, the setting data of the key matrix 23 is input to the terminal ■ in advance according to the timing such as when the power is turned on. ,
I,, read from I2 and I1, strobe signal S
, -S, and the setting data (control signal) read into the generation prohibition number table (not shown) of the microcomputer 5.
are written sequentially. Next, when it is determined in judgment step 100 that the voice request signal 11 requesting voice generation has been supplied from the voice request side, the process proceeds to determination step 101, in which the generated word number of the generation request signal 11 and the above-mentioned generation prohibition number table are determined. It is determined whether or not the occurrence prohibition number written in the . If the determination is affirmative, the word (voice message) selected by the generation request signal 11 is not generated, and if the determination is negative, the voice request signal 11 is directly supplied to the voice generation section of the microcomputer 5 to perform normal voice processing. It is of course possible to read the control signals from the input terminals (o) to (3) in the judgment procedure 100 and directly compare them with the generated request signal 11 without reading the control signals in advance.

At this time, it is possible to allocate diodes D, which are voice stop switches, on the key matrix 23 in a ratio of 1 to 1, corresponding to each generated word of the voice request signal 11. The position of the diode D attached to the matrix 23 makes it extremely easy to prevent the message from being uttered that corresponds to the utterance prohibition number specified.

For example, only the message "Please take what you like" in the processing step 112 of FIG. 6 can be made so that it is not uttered. Furthermore, for example, the voice requesting side can output several types of voice request signals with similar expressions in parallel at one time, and select the request signal most suitable for the usage environment from among the voice request signals. It is possible to greatly increase the degree of freedom.

As explained above, according to the present invention, a voice generation prohibition setting device is provided using a key matrix and a variable that can be freely set outside the microcomputer, and the microcomputer performs a certain command when a voice request signal is input. Since the setting data of the key matrix is read in advance to determine whether or not the generated word is prohibited, and based on that determination, the determination and control of whether or not speech generation is possible is performed. Here are the words (messages) that may be spoken at each utterance timing.
This makes it easy to create a common design in which all of the above can be sent via the voice request signal, and a voice generation control device with an extremely high degree of freedom in selecting voice words according to the usage environment can be obtained.

Furthermore, the present invention can be achieved with a simple configuration external to a microcomputer, and the above-mentioned voice stop switch can be attached and detached after completing various devices to which the present invention is applied, so even if detailed control of voice generation is performed, There is no increase in the functional burden that would lead to an increase in manufacturing costs, and functions can be easily modified even if a common design is created. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is easy to provide a variety of utterances even between the same control devices, and device managers such as store clerks and service personnel can utter utterances in response to usage environments such as customer requests. Word selection can be freely operated1, thereby significantly increasing the commercial value of the main unit, such as a vending machine. In addition,
The present invention is not only applicable to voice generating devices such as vending machines and voice guidance devices, but is also suitable as a control means for selecting only arbitrary signals from a large number of signals. be.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1(A), (B), and (C) are signal waveform diagrams showing an example of the configuration of a conventional vending machine and an in-form of its voice synthesis section, respectively, and FIG. 3 is a configuration of the voice generation control device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a signal waveform diagram showing the waveform of the output signal generated in FIG. 3, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing the control procedure of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, respectively. 1.--Coin mechanism unit, 2.--Sales control circuit, 3.--Selection button, 4...
Parts delivery mechanism, 5...-Speech generation control circuit, 6...
・Speech synthesizer, 7-sound data ROM, 8...
amplifier, 9...-speech synthesis section, 10...-speaker, 11...-speech generation request signal, 12...-
・Speech start signal, 13・− audio signal, 4・−・audio data, 15, 16・−・audio signal, 21・−
- Strobe signal line, 22 - control signal line, 23 - key matrix, S, -S, - strobe signal, ■o
-I3...-Input terminal. Patent applicant: Fuji Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Figure 1 (B) Figure 21 (C) γN S3 Figure 4 Figure 3 3 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] A voice generation prohibition setting device is provided outside the microcomputer that can freely set the voice generation prohibition for each voice generation word specified by the voice generation request signal supplied from the voice generation requesting means, and the voice generation prohibition setting device is provided outside the microcomputer. A voice generation control device, characterized in that it performs voice generation control by determining whether or not the voice generation word is prohibited from being generated based on setting data supplied from a setting device.