JP2000089778A - Table reading device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To be able to easily convey information described in a tabular form to a listener by voice and easily. SOLUTION: A document described in a table format (two-dimensional format) is input from an input unit 1, stored in a storage unit 4, and rearranged into a one-dimensional format by a processing unit 5 according to an instruction of an operation unit 2, and a sound is generated. The sound is output by the synthesizing unit 6. It is determined whether the reading direction is the row direction or the column direction, and the result of the determination is stored in the storage unit 4. When the table of the same format is read again, it is stored (saved). The reading direction is determined based on the determined result.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reading device and, more particularly, to a reading device for transmitting information described in a table format to a listener in an easy-to-understand voice.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sentence is a sequence of information in which characters are arranged one-dimensionally, and reading is also a sequence of information in which voices are arranged one-dimensionally. For this reason, sentences can be read out in the order in which the characters are read. In the conventional reading method, in order to read a one-dimensional arrangement, for example, characters are searched from the upper left to the lower right, and the characters are read in the order in which they appear.

[0003]

However, when reading out a table appearing in a document, there is a two-dimensional information sequence of vertical items and horizontal items, which are arranged in a form that can be easily understood by humans. Therefore, it is difficult to read out one-dimensional information in a row.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described difficulty in reading a table, and to read a table in an easily understandable manner by a listener.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided input means for inputting a document described in a table format, storage means for storing a table input from the input means, and processing for processing the table. Means, control means for controlling the table processing input from the input means, operating means for operating the control means,
In a table data reading device having a voice synthesis unit that outputs the input table as voice, a reading direction determination unit that determines whether a reading direction is a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, and a storage unit that stores the determination result, When reading out a table in the same format again, the reading direction is determined based on the stored determination result.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input unit for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage unit for storing a table input from the input unit, a processing unit for processing the table, and the input unit. A cell for determining the degree of similarity of a cell in a table-to-speech apparatus having control means for controlling the input table processing, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesizing means for outputting the input table as voice It has similarity determination means, and determines a reading direction based on the determination result.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the similarity of the cells is determined by determining a cell type such as a numerical value or a character string.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the similarity is determined using the change rates of the cell width in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input unit for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage unit for storing a table input from the input unit, a processing unit for processing the table, and the input unit. A table reading device having control means for controlling the input table processing, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesizing means for outputting the input table as voice, comprising a reading range selecting means. In reading out a row (column), a necessary column (row) is marked.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the selection result is stored, and when the table of the same format is read out again, the table is read out based on the stored selection result. is there.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the selected first column (row) is read out, it is specified whether or not to continue reading the remaining information of the selected row (column). It is characterized by what it can do.

The invention according to claim 8 is an input unit for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage unit for storing a table input from the input unit, a processing unit for processing the table, and the input unit. In a table reading apparatus having control means for controlling the input table processing, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesizing means for outputting the input table by voice, the table includes a multi-column. In addition, all cells are formed into a table format in which the cells are divided into minimum units, and the reading direction is automatically determined from the direction in which the cells are divided.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in reading out a multi-column table, cells are read out sequentially along the hierarchical structure.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect of the present invention, the range of reading is specified by the depth of the hierarchy.

[0015] According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided input means for inputting a document described in a table format, storage means for storing a table input from the input means, processing means for processing the table,
In a table reading apparatus having control means for controlling table processing input from the input means, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesis means for outputting the input table as voice, When reading out in the column direction, the content of the title row (title column) is read out in pairs.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a means for selecting whether or not to read out the contents of the title line (title column).

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided input means for inputting a document described in a table format, storage means for storing a table input from the input means, processing means for processing the table,
In a table reading apparatus having control means for controlling table processing input from the input means, operation means for operating the control means, and voice synthesis means for outputting the input table as voice, cells having the same contents are The information is picked up and the information of the row or column in which the title is described is collectively read out.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided input means for inputting a document described in a table format, storage means for storing a table input from the input means, processing means for processing the table,
In a table reading device having control means for controlling table processing input from the input means, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesis means for outputting the input table as voice, a keyword is specified, A cell including the keyword is picked up, and information of a row or a column in which a title representing the content of the cell is described is collectively read out.

According to a fifteenth aspect, in the fourteenth aspect, a plurality of keywords can be specified simultaneously.

[0020] The invention of claim 16 is the invention of claim 14, wherein a range of a keyword can be specified.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input means for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage means for storing a table input from the input means, a processing means for processing the table,
A cell is designated in a table data reading apparatus having control means for controlling table processing input from the input means, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesizing means for outputting the input table as voice. Having cell designating means,
A cell is directly designated by the cell designation means, and the contents of the cell are read aloud.

The invention of claim 18 is the invention of claim 17, further comprising a pointer for pointing to an arbitrary cell in the table, and means for moving the pointer, wherein the pointer is newly pointed by a moving operation of the pointer. It is characterized in that the contents of the cell are read out together with the title information as necessary.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of a table-reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an input unit, 2 denotes an operation unit, and 3 denotes a control unit. Reference numeral 4 denotes a storage unit, 5 denotes a processing unit, and 6 denotes a speech synthesis unit. Table data input to the control unit 3 from the input unit 1 is stored in the storage unit 4 and processed in accordance with an instruction from the operation unit 2. Is read out as one-dimensional information, and is output as voice from the voice synthesizer 6.

The present invention relates to a table-reading apparatus for transmitting information described in a table format to a listener in an easy-to-understand manner by voice, and has the following embodiments. (Embodiment 1) A reading direction determination unit is provided. As a trial, the information in the first row or first column is read aloud, and the listener is made to determine the reading direction. When the determination result is stored and the table of the same format is read again, the reading direction is determined based on the stored determination result. The similarity of the cells is determined, and the reading direction is automatically determined. The similarity is determined using a cell type such as a numerical value or a character string. The similarity is determined using the change rate of the cell width in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. If the automatic judgment cannot be made, the listener is asked for judgment.

(Embodiment 2) A means for selecting a reading range is provided. When reading the first row (first column), the listener marks the required column (row). When the selection result is stored and the table in the same format is read again, the table is read out based on the stored selection result. When the selected first column (row) is read out, it is possible to specify whether or not to read out the remaining information of the row (column) continuously.

(Embodiment 3) In reading out a multi-column table, all cells are divided into minimum units and shaped into a simple table format. In the above, the reading direction is automatically determined from the direction in which the cell is divided.

(Embodiment 4) In reading out a multi-column table, cells are read out sequentially along the hierarchical structure. In the above, the range of reading out is specified by the depth of the hierarchy.

(Embodiment 5) When reading out a table in the row direction (column direction), the contents of the title row (title column) are read out in pairs. In the above, the title row (title column)
Has a means for selecting whether or not to read out the contents of the text.

(Embodiment 6) The cells having the same contents are picked up, and the information of the row or column in which the title is described is read out at once.

(Embodiment 7) A keyword is specified, a cell containing the keyword is picked up, and the cell is read aloud including the information of the row or column in which the title is described.
In the above, a plurality of keywords can be specified at the same time.
In the above, the range of the keyword can be specified.

(Embodiment 8) A position (cell) is designated and the content of the cell is read out directly. It has a pointer pointing to an arbitrary cell in the table and means for moving the pointer, and reads out the contents of the cell newly pointed by the pointer moving operation together with its title information as necessary.

(Embodiment 9) When cells having the same contents continue, the utterance is omitted as in the following "same sentence".

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to tables to which the present invention is applied. (Embodiment 1) Table 1 is a diagram showing an example of a table read out according to the present invention. When reading out data as shown in Table 1, “brand name”, “open price”, “high price”,. Brand name ”,“ Company A ”,“ Company B ”,… in order (line)
In the direction or the vertical (row) direction, the listener is made to determine whether or not to continue reading in that direction, and an operation, for example, a [Yes] / [No] button is pressed.

[0034]

[Table 1]

Alternatively, the reading direction and the title items (“brand name”, “open price”, “high price”,...) Are stored, and when a table in which the title items match and can be regarded as the same is input, the listener is asked. The stored reading direction is adopted without being operated again.

Alternatively, in the second and subsequent lines excluding the title line, the contents of the cell are horizontally represented by "character string", "numerical value", "numerical value",
…, It changes like a “character string”. On the other hand, in the vertical direction, there is no change just because “character strings” or “numerical values” are continuous. The automatic determination of the reading direction can be realized by selecting a cell having a larger change in the contents of the cell.

Alternatively, the width of the cell changes in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the vertical direction is constant. Therefore, the automatic determination of the reading direction can be realized by selecting the one with the larger change in the cell width.

(Embodiment 2) In Table 1, the title item (“brand name”, “open price”, “high price”,...) Is read to the listener during reading or after reading each item. Ask the user to determine whether to read the contents of the item.

In Table 1, the reading direction, the title items (“brand name”, “open price”, “high price”,...) And the items to be read are stored, and a table in which the title items match and can be regarded as the same is input. If so, the reading direction and the item to be read that are stored without adopting the listener's operation again are adopted.

In Table 1, "brand name", "open price",
When reading the table in the order of "high", ..., the listener operates the [Skip] button while reading the first item on the line (in this case, "brand name"), and the remaining information in the line is read. Do not read aloud. The timing of operating the [Skip] button is not limited to the time when the first item is read out, and the rest may be skipped at any time when the button is pressed.

(Embodiment 3) When reading out a multi-column as shown in Table 2 (a portion shaded by oblique lines in Table 2), as shown in Table 2 ', cell division and cell division are performed. Is copied and converted into a simple matrix-structured table before reading.

In the process of converting Table 2 to Table 2 ', the direction in which the cell was divided is temporarily stored, and the reading direction is automatically determined to be the opposite direction. In the case of Table 2, since the cells in the first column are divided in the vertical direction, the reading direction is the horizontal direction.

[0043]

[Table 2]

(Embodiment 4) In Table 2, from the information of the hierarchical structure, "A museum", "XX exhibition", ..., "03-
1234-5678 "," XX Exhibition ", ...," △△ Exhibition "...
We read aloud as follows. Since the voice is uttered along the hierarchical structure, the same information is not uttered twice.

In Table 2, "A Museum", "XX"
"Exhibition", "July 7-31", "XX Exhibition", "August 1-September 15", "△△ Exhibition" ... Up to depth) along the hierarchical structure. The designation of the depth of the hierarchy to be read may be made by directly inputting a number or by reading the item name.

(Embodiment 5) In Table 1, when uttering the contents of a cell such as "brand name", "company C", "open price", "1528",. Utter.

(Embodiment 6) As shown in Table 3, when the transport table is read aloud, when cells having the same contents such as "full" are present, "full", "ha", "7/21", "○
"No. 1", "7/21", "No. 3", etc. are uttered. The device automatically determines whether the same cell exists.

(Embodiment 7) In Table 3, for example, when the listener operates / instructs the keyword "vacant seat",
Read the title of the cell containing the keyword. In this case, "7/22", "XX3", "7/2"
3 ”,“ XX1 ”, etc.

In Table 3, keywords including a range designation such as "vacant seats 10 or more" can be handled.

[0050]

[Table 3]

(Embodiment 8) The position of a cell is specified by the operation unit, and the content is read out. The position specification may be entered directly with a numerical value such as "what row and what column",
You may enter the name of the item.

A mechanism for inputting a cursor movement such as an arrow key or a joystick is prepared in the operation unit, and the contents of the cell are read out according to the operation.

(Embodiment 9) When reading out a broadcast document as shown in Table 4, "station B", "19:00" and "station B",
When the same information extends over a plurality of cells, such as “20:00”, when the content of the connected cell is read out, the fact that the information is the same as the previous cell is uttered.

[0054]

[Table 4]

[0055]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, information described in a table format can be conveyed to a listener in an easy-to-understand manner and by voice.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an essential part for explaining an example of a table reading device used for carrying out the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Input means, 2 ... Operation means, 3 ... Control means, 4 ... Storage means, 5 ... Processing means, 6 ... Voice synthesis means.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tetsuya Sakura 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Takashi Ariyoshi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Yuichi Kojima 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Yoshifumi Sakuramata 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Junichi Takami 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ryo Akira 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Ricoh Co., Ltd. ) 5D045 AA07

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. An input unit for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage unit for storing a table input from the input unit, a processing unit for processing the table, and an input from the input unit. In a table data reading apparatus having control means for controlling table processing, operation means for operating the control means, and voice synthesis means for outputting the input table as voice,
It has a reading direction determining means for determining whether the reading direction is the horizontal direction or the vertical direction, and a storage means for storing the result of the determination, and when reading out a table of the same format again, the reading is performed based on the stored determination result. A table-speech device for determining a direction. 2. An input unit for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage unit for storing a table input from the input unit, a processing unit for processing the table, and a table input from the input unit. In a table reading apparatus having control means for controlling processing, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesizing means for outputting the input table as voice, cell similarity determining means for determining cell similarity is provided. A table reading device for determining a reading direction based on the determination result. 3. The similarity between cells is determined by determining a cell type such as a numerical value or a character string.
The table reading device according to the above. 4. The table reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the similarity is determined by using a change rate of a cell width in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. 5. An input unit for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage unit for storing a table input from the input unit, a processing unit for processing the table, and a table input from the input unit. A table reading device having control means for controlling processing, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesizing means for outputting the input table as voice, comprising a reading range selecting means, and a row (column) A table reading device characterized in that necessary columns (rows) are marked when reading a table. 6. The table reading device according to claim 5, wherein the selection result is stored, and when the table of the same format is read again, the table is read based on the stored selection result. 7. The table according to claim 6, wherein when the selected first column (row) is read out, it is possible to designate whether or not to continue reading out the remaining information of the row (column). Reading device. 8. An input means for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage means for storing a table input from the input means, a processing means for processing the table, and a table input from the input means. In a table reading apparatus having control means for controlling processing, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesizing means for outputting the input table as voice, when the table includes multi-columns, all cells are read. A table reading apparatus characterized in that a table format is formed into a table format in which is divided into minimum units, and a reading direction is automatically determined from a cell dividing direction. 9. A table reading apparatus which reads out cells sequentially along a hierarchical structure in a multi-column table reading. 10. The table reading device according to claim 9, wherein a reading range is designated by a depth of a hierarchy. 11. An input unit for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage unit for storing a table input from the input unit, a processing unit for processing the table, and a table input from the input unit. When a table is read out in a row direction (column direction) in a table reading apparatus having control means for controlling processing, operation means for operating the control means, and voice synthesis means for outputting the input table as voice, A table reading device which reads out the contents of rows (title columns) in pairs. 12. The table reading device according to claim 11, further comprising means for selecting whether or not to read the contents of the title row (title column). 13. An input means for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage means for storing a table input from the input means, a processing means for processing the table, and a table input from the input means. In a table reading apparatus having control means for controlling processing, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesizing means for outputting the input table by voice, cells having the same contents are picked up and the title thereof is described. A table reading device characterized by reading out row and column information collectively. 14. An input unit for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage unit for storing a table input from the input unit, a processing unit for processing the table, and a table input from the input unit. In a table reading apparatus having control means for controlling processing, operating means for operating the control means, and voice synthesizing means for voice-outputting the input table, a keyword is designated, and a cell containing the keyword is picked up. A table reading-out apparatus for reading out information of a row or a column in which a title representing the cell content is described collectively. 15. The table reading device according to claim 14, wherein a plurality of keywords can be specified at the same time. 16. The table reading device according to claim 14, wherein a keyword range can be specified. 17. An input unit for inputting a document described in a table format, a storage unit for storing a table input from the input unit, a processing unit for processing the table, and a table input from the input unit. Control means for controlling the processing, operation means for operating the control means, and a table data reading device having a voice synthesis means for outputting the input table as a voice,
A table reading device comprising a cell designating means for designating a cell, wherein the cell designating means directly designates a cell and reads out the contents of the cell. 18. A pointer pointing to an arbitrary cell in the table and means for moving the pointer, wherein the contents of the cell newly pointed by the moving operation of the pointer are displayed together with the title information as necessary. 18. The table reading device according to claim 17, wherein the reading is performed aloud.