KR100389451B1 - Apparatus For Study Aid Using Replay of a Stored Question/Answer Sentence - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a learning aid device through reproduction of stored questions / responses, comprising: a removable memory card storing question / response data relating to learning content; A user input unit for selecting a function of playing, deleting, repeating, skipping, etc., the query / response data stored in the removable memory card by a user; A central processing unit for accessing query / response data stored in the removable memory card according to a function selected by the user input unit; A voice synthesizer for synthesizing a voice corresponding to the query / response data for reproduction among the data accessed by the central processing unit; And a voice output unit configured to output a voice synthesized by the voice synthesizer. The learning assistance apparatus by reproducing a stored query / response according to the present invention allows a user to input an expected question response regarding a learning content or to play a pre-stored expected question response. In particular, it is easy to use and has the advantage of improving the learning effect by question and answer by having a function to control the reproduction speed of pronunciation during speech synthesis.

Description

Apparatus For Study Aid Using Replay of a Stored Question / Answer Sentence}

The present invention relates to a learning assist device for directly inputting a query response using a computer or playing back a removable memory card to which a query response has already been input.

Conventional learning aids are mainly composed of reference books, which are printing media, and recently, video tapes, cassette tapes, and CD titles have been introduced as audiovisual teaching aids. However, these conventional video tapes, cassette tapes, and CD titles as audiovisual teaching materials merely transfer reference books of the conventional printing format to other media, add sound and video, and the user cannot input and edit the contents, and play them back. Not only could it be freely manipulated, but it was also impossible to delete the already entered contents that the user had sufficiently obtained.

In addition, among the conventional audiovisual materials, video tapes and CD titles require a VTR and a TV for video tapes, and a computer requires a computer for CD titles. none. Of course, the learning assist device can be conveniently used by the user only if it is small and portable.

Therefore, there is a need for a learning aid device that can be used while being carried by a user, such as a cassette tape, while the user can conveniently edit and delete its contents.

Conventional textbooks for learning aid is to present the learning content unilaterally, so there is no difference from the user reading on the print media. In the light of experience, the method of making and answering the expected question about the contents of the learning seems to be effective for learning, and especially in the case of memorizing subjects, this question-and-answer method is very effective for learning.

Therefore, in the present invention, as a way of enhancing the learning effect, the query and response to the learning content is stored, the query is first reproduced, the user to think about the response, and then after a certain time has passed By presenting the statement, the user is trying to introduce a way to check whether the user's content is correct or wrong.

In order to achieve the object as described above, in the present invention, the user can input the expected query response to the learning content, or play the previously stored expected query response, the user can freely manipulate the reproduction The present invention aims to provide a learning aid device by reproducing a stored question / response that is convenient to use and can enhance the learning effect by a question and answer by having a function of controlling the playback speed of a speech during speech synthesis.

1 is a block diagram of a learning aid device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a block diagram of a learning aiding apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a block diagram of a learning aid apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

11: removable memory card 12: user input unit

13 central processing unit 14 display unit

15: voice synthesizer 16: voice output unit

20: computer interface unit 31: removable memory card

32: computer interface unit

In order to achieve the object as described above, the learning aid device through the reproduction of the stored question / answer questions according to the present invention, the removable memory card in which the question / answer data about the learning content is stored; A user input unit for selecting a function of playing, deleting, repeating, skipping, etc., the query / response data stored in the removable memory card by a user; A central processing unit for accessing query / response data stored in the removable memory card according to a function selected by the user input unit; A voice synthesizer for synthesizing a voice corresponding to the query / response data for reproduction among the data accessed by the central processing unit; And a voice output unit configured to output a voice synthesized by the voice synthesizer.

The query / response data about the learning content stored in the removable memory card may be input by a user using a computer or supplied to the user in a pre-stored form.

The removable memory card may be implemented in a form having a computer interface such as a serial port, a parallel port, or a USB port.

In addition, the removable memory card may be stored in a program for inputting the query data and the response data in a state in which it is separated from the learning aid device according to the present invention and connected to a computer.

In the learning aid apparatus by reproducing the stored query / response question according to the present invention, the display unit may further include a display unit that displays, as a character, question / response data about the learning content stored in the removable memory card.

Preferably, there is a need for a function that allows the user to set the playback speed of the output synthesized voice to a desired speed by key manipulation. To this end, the user input unit includes a speed control key for adjusting the reproduction speed of the synthesized sound output to the voice output unit. In addition, the voice synthesizer controls the word-to-rest period between words to be maintained at a time corresponding to the playback speed set by the speed control key in response to the control of the central processing unit when synthesizing the accessed data into an analog voice signal. Perform voice synthesis. As another method of regulating the reproduction speed, the speech synthesis unit reproduces the waveform of the vowel included in each word by the speed control key, in response to the control of the central processing unit, when synthesizing the accessed data into an analog speech signal. Speech synthesis is performed while controlling to repeat the number corresponding to the speed.

Hereinafter, the learning assisting apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a learning aid apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the learning aid device according to the present invention includes a removable memory card 11, a user input unit 12, a central processing unit 13, a display unit 14, a voice synthesizer 15, and a voice output. Part 16 is included.

Removable memory card 11 is stored in the query and the response data about the learning content, and can be separated from the learning aid device according to the present invention because it is removable, and thus can be replaced with a removable memory card in which other query response data is stored. Do. In the removable memory card 11, the query data and the response data allow access to the corresponding response data for the query data, but the query data and the response data are stored separately, so that the query can be reproduced later. Select statement data and response data to play, delete or repeat.

The query data and the response data stored in the removable memory card 11 may be input by the user using a computer or may be provided to the user in a pre-stored form.

In order for a user to input query data and response data into a removable memory card using a computer, the removable memory card 11 may be implemented in a form having a computer interface such as a serial port, a parallel port, or a USB port. . In this case, the removable memory card 11 is separated from the learning aid device according to the present invention and connected to a computer, so that a user inputs query data and response data through a keyboard by a program running on the computer. In this way, a program for inputting the query data and the response data into the removable memory card 11 may be pre-installed in the computer, and stored in the removable memory card 11 so that the removable memory card 11 is connected to the computer. It can also be installed so that it can be installed and run automatically.

The user input unit 12 is for selecting a function of the learning aid device according to the present invention such as playing, deleting, repeating, skipping, etc. the query data and the response data stored in the removable memory card 11, and using a limited number of buttons. In addition to being installed on the main body of the learning aid device according to the present invention, it may further include a remote input device installed separately from the learning aid device according to the present invention.

The user may select various functions of the learning aid apparatus according to the present invention by the user input unit 12. Basic functions include play, repeat play, delete, skip, etc. In addition, pause, search, auto / manual mode selection, interval adjustment between query data replay and response data replay, hint statement function, and random setting of query order Function, full recovery function, and so on.

The delete function is for deleting the completed query and response data, and the skip function is for not wanting to delete, but for skipping to the next query response data during playback. In addition, the pause is to allow the user to have time to think by listening to the query and stopping before the response is played, and the search function is for searching by key word or unit for the query. In the automatic / manual mode selection function, the automatic mode is to cause the query response stored in the removable memory card 11 to be automatically played in the order of being stored. In the manual mode, one query is played and the response is After playback, the user manually plays the next query response. The interval adjustment function between the query data reproduction and the response data reproduction allows the user to set various time periods for listening to the query and generating the response according to the user's learning level. The hint statement selection function is to play the saved hint statement when the hint statement is input in addition to the query and response data, and the user listens to the query and requests the hint statement. It is a function that can randomly set the order of query statements instead of replaying them in the order of pre-stored query statements. The full recovery function is for returning the removable memory card 11 to its initial state when the learning is completed for the specific removable memory card 11, and the query response message data deleted by the user is returned. And the like return to the initial state. The removable memory card 11, which has been learned by the user by the whole recovery function, has a value as a product that can be used again by others.

The central processing unit 13 accesses the query data and the response data stored in the removable memory card 11 according to the user's function selection input from the user input unit 12. The query data and the response data that are accessed by the central processing unit 13 may be for reproduction, or according to various other functions such as deletion.

In the case of data access for reproducing, such as repetitive reproducing, the accessed data is transferred to the next voice synthesizing unit 15, and data is transferred to the voice synthesizing unit in the case of deletion, skipping, and pause, since the data is not reproduced. There is no need to convey. In the case of deleting data, skipping or searching among the functions selected by the user, the central processing unit 13 accesses the removable memory card 11 to process the removable memory card 11, and among the functions selected by the user, pause, Functions such as automatic / manual mode selection, interval adjustment between query data playback and response data playback do not require the central processing unit 13 to access the removable memory card 11.

The speech synthesizing unit 15 synthesizes the speech corresponding to the question and response data for reproduction accessed by the central processing unit 13. In addition, the voice synthesized by the voice synthesizer 15 is output to the user through the voice output unit 16.

In order to enhance the effect of learning or memorization, it may be more effective if the user can change the playback speed to suit his understanding or listening ability. Consider using the device of the present invention for learning English. Learners with poor listening skills will be very useful at first if they have the ability to slow down the speed of the pronunciation and adjust the speed again depending on the degree of listening.

In this way, in order to help the listener to improve the listening and understanding ability, the speech synthesis unit 15 also has a function of adjusting the playback speed by a method of adjusting the resting period, a pronunciation length, or the like in speech synthesis. If the rest period control method is to adjust the time interval between words, the pronunciation length control method is different in that it is to control the pronunciation time of the word itself. The same holds true in that respect.

Pronunciation length can be adjusted without significant change in timbre by applying SOLA (Synchronized OverLap and Add) algorithm, which is a method of overlapping small sections by maximizing similarity.

To this end, the user input unit 12 includes, for example, a speed control key (not shown) and an up / down key (not shown) for setting the reproduction speed of the synthesized sound to an appropriate value as needed by the user. The playback speed is set by operating the speed control key and up / down keys. That is, the playback speed can be set to a desired level by pressing the up key and the speed control key together to speed up the playback speed, and conversely pressing the down key and the speed control key together to slow down the playback speed.

A pause is a time interval between words. For example, in the sentence 'I am a boy', the time interval between 'I' and 'am', 'am' and 'a', and 'a' and 'boy' is defined as a pause. If the pause period is short, the pronunciation of the playback sound is fast, and listening is difficult. On the contrary, the pronunciation of the playback sound is slow, and words are relatively clear.

In order to control the playback speed by adjusting the pause period, the central processing unit 13 first queries the user input unit 12 to obtain information on the playback speed set by the speed control key or the like. In addition, the central processing unit 13 must find a pause in the character data of the query or response statement read from the removable memory card 11. Adjacent words in the character data are separated by spaces, which correspond to the pauses between the words of the reproduction sound. Therefore, the space must be detected from the character data in order to adjust the pause time.

The central processing unit 13 detects the space. That is, the central processing unit 13 detects the existence of the space and its position with respect to the character data read from the removable memory card 11. When the pronunciation data is transmitted to the speech synthesis unit 15, information about the detected space and the time between the reproduction of the words before and after the space are transmitted together. The speech synthesis unit 15 synthesizes the speech based on the information received from the central processing unit 13, so that the rest period is adjusted in proportion to the playback speed set by the user. For example, the playback speed may be adjusted using a hardware method or a software method such as delaying an output using a time delay circuit or adding more spaces corresponding to the playback speed set in the space section. Time control of the resting period by the latter method may be performed in the voice synthesizer 15, but may also be performed in the central processor 13.

If there is one more thing to consider in rest period control, it is the problem of softening. For example, in the actual pronunciation of the English example above, 'am' and 'boy' are usually pronounced in rapid succession, so the 'a' between these two words sounds almost inaudible or weak. In the case where the sound is pronounced as soft, as described above, if one of the choices is to adjust the playback speed by performing the above-described pause processing, another option is to reproduce the space section at a normal speed without performing the above-mentioned pause processing.

On the other hand, as another method of controlling the reproduction speed of the pronunciation is a method of adjusting the pronunciation length of each word itself. The pronunciation length can be adjusted by artificially varying the pronunciation length of the vowel included in each word. The signal waveform of a vowel is characterized by repeatability (or periodicity). In order to increase the pronunciation length of a particular word, an additional waveform identical to the signal waveform of the vowel included in the word may be artificially inserted. As a result, the pronunciation length of the vowels increases, and as a result, the pronunciation length of the vowels becomes longer, so that the playback speed seems to be slowed down from the listener's point of view. Conversely, in order to recover the slow playback speed again, the number of repetitions of the vowel can be reduced.

In order to adjust the pronunciation length in this manner, it is essential to recognize the playback speed set by the user through the speed control key and the like, and to detect the vowels. Voiced sounds include [a], [i], [u], [e], [o], [b], [d], [g], [m], [n], [r], [v], [z], of which [a], [i], [u], [e], and [o] are vowels. There are also half vowels [w] and [y]. The detection of a vowel is extracted from a given query / response. For example, in the sentence 'I am a boy', I, a, o and y correspond to vowels. Instead of detecting the vowels from the existing voice signal data, the voice data is synthesized from a given question / answer. Therefore, the existence of each alphabet is determined from the sentence. In order to extract vowels from existing voice signal data, it is necessary to determine whether they correspond to voiced sound. The distinction between unvoiced and voiced sounds uses absolute energy. Absolute energy refers to the sum of the absolute values of the encoded values of the samples included in a certain analysis section. In the analysis section, the sampling rate is about 150 to 240 for the sampling rate (x-axis quantization) 8 kHz speech signal data, which corresponds to a time interval of 20 to 30 ms. Based on resolution (y-axis quantization) 8 bits, the room energy upper limit is 800, the absolute energy lower limit is 200, and the energy upper limit is used to determine whether it is voiced by absolute energy. If it is higher than the upper energy limit, it is voiced. If the absolute energy is less than the upper energy limit but greater than the lower energy limit, the determination of unvoiced or unvoiced is based on the zero crossing rate. The zero crossing rate refers to the number of times that the phase of the voice signal waveform passes through the central axis, and the zero crossing rate is large in the case of unvoiced sound, and the zero crossing rate is quite small in the case of unvoiced sound. g], [m], [n], [r], [v], [z], and so on, to detect vowels in voiced sound, [a], [i], [u], [e], [o] It is necessary to compare the shape of the average waveform for each voice signal. The distinction between consonants and vowels depends on the shape of the waveform. In the case of consonants, the shape is close to sinusoidal, and in the case of vowels, the shape is not constant. The data is compared for each section of the voice signal data based on the average waveform shape data for each consonant. Waveform similarity determination of the analysis section uses a similarity detection method by cross-correlation. When the value obtained at this time satisfies a predetermined condition, it may be determined that the voice signal data has a degree of similarity with the reference waveform data, which may be determined to correspond to a specific consonant. In this way, only the vowels can be extracted from the voiced sound. Such an operation is performed by the central processing unit 13. The central processing unit 13 monitors the output port of the user input unit 12, recognizes the set value of the playback speed, determines the repetition length of the vowel based on the recognized playback speed, and controls the speech synthesis unit 15 accordingly. Allow the vowel waveform to repeat the appropriate number of times. Such processing may be done in software.

Either the method of controlling the playback speed of the words themselves by adjusting the length of the vowels in the words described above or the method of controlling the playback speed of the sentences by adjusting the length of the pauses between words may be employed or these two methods may be employed. By adopting all, the portable reader of the present invention can be configured.

Meanwhile, the query data or the response data may be synthesized and output at the same time as the voice, or may be output as text on the display 14. In particular, in the case of response data, it is effective to make the display portion 14 output as characters.

Meanwhile, in the learning aid apparatus according to the present invention, the computer interface unit may be implemented to be inserted into the memory card as in the first embodiment, but may be implemented separately from the memory card. The second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 and the third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 illustrate a case where the computer interface unit is implemented separately from the detached memory card.

In the learning aiding apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2, the computer interface unit 20 is installed to be connected to the removable memory card separately from the removable memory card so that data input from the computer is removable. To be recorded). In the learning aiding apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3, the computer interface unit 32 is installed to be connected to the central processing unit 13 so that data input from the computer is removable via the central processing unit 13. The memory card 31 is recorded.

As described above, the learning aid apparatus through the reproduction of the stored query / response according to the present invention allows the user to input an expected question response regarding the learning content or to play the previously stored expected question response. By allowing the user to operate freely, there is an advantage of improving the learning effect by the question and answer.

Claims (9)

A removable memory card storing query / response data regarding learning content; A user input unit for selecting a function of playing, deleting, repeating, skipping, etc., the query / response data stored in the removable memory card by a user; A central processing unit for accessing query / response data stored in the removable memory card according to a function selected by the user input unit; A voice synthesizer for synthesizing an analog voice signal corresponding to query / response data for reproduction among data accessed by the central processing unit; And And a voice output unit configured to output an analog voice signal synthesized by the voice synthesizer. The stored query according to claim 1, wherein the query / response data about the learning contents stored in the removable memory card is input by a user using a computer or supplied to the user in a pre-stored form. Learning aids by playing / playback. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the removable memory card has a computer interface such as a serial port, a parallel port, or a USB port. The method of claim 1, wherein the removable memory card is stored in a program for inputting query data and response data while being detached from the learning aid device and connected to a computer. Learning aids through. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a display unit which displays, as a character, question / response data relating to the learning content stored in the removable memory card. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input unit includes play, repeat play, delete, skip, and the like, in addition to pause, search, automatic / manual mode selection, interval adjustment between query data playback and response data playback, hint statement. A learning assist device by reproducing a stored query / response, characterized in that selection function, query order random setting function, and overall recovery function can be selected. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user input unit includes a speed control key for adjusting a reproduction speed of the synthesized sound output to the voice output unit, and the voice synthesis unit is configured to synthesize the accessed data into an analog voice signal. In response to the control of the learning aid device through the playback of the stored query / response, characterized in that for performing the speech synthesis while controlling the pause time between the word is maintained at a time corresponding to the playback speed set by the speed control key . The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user input unit includes a speed control key for adjusting a reproduction speed of the synthesized sound output to the voice output unit, and the voice synthesis unit synthesizes the accessed data into an analog voice signal. In response to the control of the processor, the speech synthesis is performed while controlling the waveform of the vowel included in each word to be repeated the number of times corresponding to the playback speed set by the speed control key. Learning aids. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user input unit includes a speed control key for adjusting a reproduction speed of the synthesized sound output to the voice output unit, and the voice synthesis unit synthesizes the accessed data into an analog voice signal. In response to the control of the processing unit, i) the waveform of the vowel included in each word is repeated a number of times corresponding to the playback speed set by the speed adjusting key, and ii) the pause period between the word and the word is controlled by the speed adjusting key. And controlling the playback speed of the synthesized pronunciation to have a proportional relationship with the set playback speed by controlling the playback speed to be maintained at a time corresponding to the playback speed set by the playback speed.