JP2000330584A - Voice synthesis device, voice synthesis method, and voice communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To provide a voice communication device capable of reducing the data transmission time by reducing the amount of data to be transmitted, thereby reducing the communication cost and the time until reproduction. thing. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a voice synthesizing apparatus and a voice synthesizing method capable of synthesizing voice using only attribute data having a small amount of information as input. SOLUTION: An audio waveform pattern storage means 24 for storing an audio waveform pattern, which is an audio waveform pattern, for each audio type, and an audio waveform corresponding to the audio waveform based on pronunciation data f designating the type of the audio waveform pattern. The pattern is extracted from the audio waveform pattern storage means 24, and the extracted audio waveform pattern is assigned a specified waveform length based on scale data e specifying one waveform length of the audio waveform pattern, and is output. Voice synthesizing means 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice synthesizing apparatus and a voice synthesizing method for reproducing voice data transmitted by communication, such as a communication karaoke apparatus, and a voice communication apparatus to which these are applied. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional voice communication apparatus of this type will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of such a conventionally used voice communication device.

That is, a conventionally used voice communication apparatus 100 transmits a voice signal A as a digital signal to a transmitting apparatus 101, receives the voice data A, and performs necessary data conversion on the voice data A. later,
And a receiving / reproducing device 110 for outputting as audio.

[0005] The audio data A transmitted from the transmitting apparatus 101 is transmitted to the receiving / reproducing apparatus 110 via a communication line 102 using a telephone line or the like.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the receiving and reproducing apparatus 110.

The audio data A is received by the modem 111 of the receiving / reproducing device 110, converted into an analog signal by a D / A converter (digital-analog converter) 112, further amplified by an amplifier 113, and output. It is output from the device 114 as audio. The voice communication device 100 having such a configuration is also applied as a communication karaoke device as described below.

When the voice communication device 100 is used as a communication karaoke device, voice data A transmitted from the transmission device 101 on the transmission side is used as a back chorus, and in addition, music data B corresponding to an accompaniment portion of a song is displayed on a screen. It is also necessary to transmit image data C corresponding to lyrics.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a receiving and reproducing apparatus 120 when such a conventionally used voice communication apparatus is applied to a communication karaoke apparatus.

That is, when the voice communication apparatus shown in FIG. 11 is used as a communication karaoke apparatus, the reception / reproduction apparatus 1
20 is provided with a selector 123 for separating audio data A, music data B, and image data C from transmission data received by the modem 111, in addition to the configuration of the reception / reproduction device 110 shown in FIG. The functional configuration for outputting the music data A sorted by the selector 123 is the same as that in FIG.

On the other hand, the music reproducing section 126 and the image display section 127 connected to the selector 123 respectively provide the music data B and the image data C separated by the selector 123.
Is output to the outside.

The music reproducing unit 126 includes a decoder 124a for decompressing the compressed music data B separated by the selector 123 into digital data, and a decoder 124a.
125 that reproduces a song based on the data decompressed by the amplifier, and an amplifier 113 that amplifies the reproduced song
b and an output device 114b for outputting the music amplified by the amplifier 113b.

An image display section 127 is a decoder 124 for expanding the image data C sorted by the selector 123.
b, and a display device 128 for displaying the data expanded by the decoder 124b.

As described above, when the voice communication device shown in FIG. 11 is used as a communication karaoke device, the voice data A, the music data B, and the image data C are transmitted from the transmitting side to the receiving side.
Is sent. Usually, these data are transmitted as one package data, and are collectively received by the modem 111 of the receiving and reproducing apparatus 120. Selector 123
The audio data A, the music data B, and the image data C are obtained from the package data including the three types of signals.
Is a separation device for individually taking out

The audio data A separated by the selector 123 is analog-converted by the D / A converter 112, then synthesized and amplified by the amplifier 113a, and output from the output device 114a as back-chorus audio. The audio data A is transmitted from the transmitting apparatus 101 as original sound data without data compression.

On the other hand, the music data B is MIDI (Musica
l It is transmitted as compressed note data based on the method defined by the Instrument Digital Interface) standard. The music data B separated by the selector 123 is sent to the sequencer 125 after the data is decompressed by the decoder 124a. In the sequencer 125, the decoder 12
The music is reproduced based on the data decompressed by 4a, and the reproduced music is output from the output device 114b after being amplified by the amplifier 113b.

On the other hand, the image data C is transmitted from the transmitting side by MPEG.
It is transmitted as video data of the format. The image data C separated by the selector 123 after being received by the modem 111 is further sent to the decoder 124b and expanded, and then displayed on the display device 128.

[0018]

However, such a conventional voice communication device has the following problems.

That is, in the conventional voice communication device, the voice data A is transmitted from the transmitting side to the receiving side as it is as the original sound data. When such a voice communication device is used as a karaoke device and image data C transmitted for displaying lyrics or a background image is transmitted together, the image data C is transmitted as moving image data in MPEG format. .

Here, the original sound data is not compressed, and the moving picture data in the MPEG format is originally a large amount of data, so that the data to be transmitted becomes enormous, and not only extra communication time is required but also the receiving side Since it takes a long time to reproduce the data, a high-speed line such as an ISDN is required, which is disadvantageous in terms of communication cost.

On the other hand, in recent years, there has been an increasing demand to provide communication karaoke at low cost and to spread it widely to ordinary households. However, it is difficult to popularize this with specifications such as ISDN that require a high-speed line.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a first object of the present invention is to reduce the data transmission time by reducing the amount of data to be transmitted, thereby reducing communication costs, and An object of the present invention is to provide a voice communication device capable of shortening the time required for reproduction.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a voice synthesizing apparatus and a voice synthesizing method capable of synthesizing a voice by inputting only attribute data having a small amount of information.

[0024]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following measures.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a voice waveform pattern storage means for storing a voice waveform pattern, which is a voice waveform pattern, for each voice type, and sound data designating the type of the voice waveform pattern, A corresponding audio waveform pattern is extracted from the audio waveform pattern storage means, and a specified waveform length is assigned to the extracted audio waveform pattern based on scale data specifying one waveform length of the audio waveform pattern. And a voice synthesizing means for outputting.

Therefore, in the voice synthesizing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the voice can be reproduced based on the attributes only by inputting the scale data necessary for reproducing the voice and the pronunciation data. For example, in consideration of transmitting voice data, the amount of communication data can be reduced as compared with the case of transmitting voice data as it is. Therefore, when the present invention is applied to, for example, a voice communication device, a reduction in communication time and
It is possible to reduce the communication cost.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the voice synthesizing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the voice synthesizing means generates the sounding time data for designating the repetitive output time of the voice waveform pattern and the output magnitude of the voice waveform pattern. An audio waveform pattern to which a specified waveform length is assigned is output with a sound generation duration and a volume based on the specified volume data.

Therefore, in the voice synthesizing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, not only the voice data but also the voice data is used to transmit not only the voice data but also the voice data. , Its length,
And sound volume can be reproduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the voice synthesizing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the voice waveform pattern storage means comprises a storage medium detachable from the main body of the voice synthesizing apparatus.

Therefore, in the voice synthesizing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, by using a storage medium detachable from the main body of the voice synthesizing apparatus, it is possible to supplement voice waveform data necessary for voice reproduction as needed. Thus, it is possible to enhance the voice synthesis function.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the voice waveform pattern storage means for storing a voice waveform pattern, which is a voice waveform pattern, for each voice type is provided based on the sound data specifying the voice waveform pattern type. A corresponding audio waveform pattern is extracted, and a specified waveform length is assigned to the extracted audio waveform pattern based on musical scale data that specifies one waveform length of the audio waveform pattern, and is output.

Therefore, in the voice synthesizing method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to receive scale data and pronunciation data necessary for voice reproduction and reproduce the voice based on the attributes. As a result, the amount of communication data is reduced as compared with the case where voice data is transmitted as it is, thereby making it possible to reduce the communication time and the communication cost.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the pronunciation data for specifying the type of the audio waveform pattern which is the audio waveform pattern, the scale data for specifying one waveform length of the audio waveform pattern, and the repetition output time of the audio waveform pattern , Sound attribute data consisting of sounding time data designating the size of the output of the audio waveform pattern, music data designating the notes constituting the music, and image data constituting the image. 3. A receiving device, a voice synthesizing device according to claim 2, wherein the received sound attribute data is input, and outputs a sound corresponding to the sound attribute data, and a music output device that outputs a song from the received music data. And image output means for outputting an image from the received image data.

Therefore, in the voice communication device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the amount of communication data is reduced as compared with the case where voice data is transmitted as it is, thereby reducing the communication time and the communication cost. In addition to audio, music and images can be output in addition to audio. As a result, for example, it can be applied as a communication karaoke device or an English conversation learning device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the voice communication device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reception data storage means capable of storing sound attribute data, music data and image data, and the reception data is received by the reception means. The sound attribute data, music data and image data are temporarily stored in the reception data storage means, and when instructed, the corresponding sound, music and image are obtained from the sound attribute data, music data and image data stored in the reception data storage means. Is output.

Therefore, in the voice communication device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to collectively acquire a plurality of pieces of received data and store them in the received data storage means. Further, since the reception data stored in the reception data storage means can be reproduced at an arbitrary timing according to the user's specification, the communication line only needs to be connected while the communication data is being received, thereby reducing the communication cost. It becomes possible.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the voice communication apparatus of the fifth aspect, the image data is still image data.

Therefore, in the voice communication apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, by communicating still image data having a smaller amount of communication data than moving image data, it is possible to further reduce communication time and communication cost. Can be realized.

[0039]

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

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a voice communication device to which a voice synthesis device and method according to an embodiment of the present invention are applied. This voice communication device is applied, for example, as a communication karaoke device.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the voice communication device 1 according to the present embodiment transmits sound attribute data a defining a minimum attribute required for sound reproduction as a digital signal. The apparatus includes a device 10 and a reception / reproduction device 20 that receives the sound attribute data, reproduces sound based on the attribute, and outputs the sound.

The sound attribute data a transmitted from the transmitting device 10 is received by the receiving / reproducing device 20 via the communication line 11 using a telephone line or the like.

FIG. 2 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the structure of such sound attribute data a.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the sound attribute data a includes scale data e (1 byte), sound data f (2 bytes), and sound time data g.
(4 bytes) and 8 bytes consisting of volume data h (1 byte).

Further, the scale data e (1 byte) is shown in FIG.
As shown in the example of the data structure of (b), gender (1
Bit), sound pattern (1 bit), and scale (6 bits). When the gender data is "1", a male is defined, and when the sex data is "0", a female is defined. As the sounding pattern, two patterns of A and B are defined for men and women, respectively. Since the scale data has 6 bits, 64 scales are defined. Since one octave is the seventh scale of "Doremi Faso Rashi", this is
This corresponds to about 9 octaves.

If only a scale of about 4 to 5 octaves is used, the scale may be defined by 5 bits and the tone generation pattern may be defined by 2 bits as shown in FIG. In this case, four sound patterns are defined for each of the male and female.

FIG. 3 shows a receiving / reproducing apparatus 2 of a voice communication apparatus 1 to which the voice synthesizing apparatus and method according to the present embodiment are applied.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a 0.

That is, the receiving / reproducing device 20 of the voice communication device 1 to which the voice synthesizing device and method of the present embodiment is applied.
Is a modem 21 that receives the sound attribute data a transmitted from the transmitting device 10, a selector 22 that separates the sound attribute data a into scale data e, sound data f, sound time data g, and volume data h, and a selector 22. 23 that extracts necessary data from the scale / pronunciation database 24 based on the data separated by the decoder 23 and reproduces the data into data that can be output as speech, and a D / A converter that converts the data reproduced by the decoder 23 into analog data. 25, an amplifier 26 that combines and amplifies the converted analog signal, and an output device 27 that outputs the amplified sound to the amplifier 26.

The speech synthesizer referred to in the claims comprises, for example, a decoder 23 and a scale / speech database 24.

Next, the operation of the voice communication device 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

The sound attribute data a transmitted from the transmitting device 10 via the communication line 11 is received by the modem 21 of the receiving / reproducing device 20 and input to the selector 22.

The sound attribute data a is digital data composed of 8 bytes as shown in FIG.
The first byte is regularly composed of musical scale data e, the second to third bytes are sounding data f, the fourth to seventh bytes are sounding time data g, and the eighth byte is volume data h. Therefore, the selector 22 classifies the sound attribute data a into scale data e, sounding data f, sounding time data g, and volume data h in accordance with this rule.

The separated data is input to the decoder 23. The decoder 23 extracts scale pronunciation data based on the scale data e and the pronunciation data f from the scale / pronunciation database 24, and further converts each of the scale pronunciation data based on the pronunciation time data g and the volume data h. Voice data is created by assigning a pronunciation time and a volume. A method for creating the scale pronunciation data and the voice data will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the scale / pronunciation table stored in the scale / pronunciation database 24.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are audio waveform diagrams showing examples of audio waveform patterns defined for each sound data f.

The scale / pronunciation database 24 stores a scale / pronunciation table as shown in FIG. 4 and digital data of voice waveform diagrams as shown in FIGS.

The scale / pronunciation table shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), four patterns of female A, female B, male A, and male B can be specified as sound patterns.
This is an example in which the scale data e is set up to 64 tones.

That is, the scale / pronunciation database 24 stores a scale / pronunciation table defined by a matrix of scale data e and pronunciation data f for each of female A, female B, male A, and male B. Female A, female B, male A, and male B are defined by the first and second bits of the scale data e, respectively, as shown in FIG. 2B. For example, in the case of female A, it is recognized as "00". The corresponding scale / pronunciation table is called by the decoder 23.

In the scale / pronunciation table, the scale data e and the pronunciation data f are defined by two digits and three digits, respectively, whereby a five-digit number obtained by combining the pronunciation data f and the scale data e is obtained. The data is determined. For example, when the sound "a" is pronounced at the scale of "do" in the first octave, this numerical data is recognized as the identification number "00101".

On the other hand, the sound waveform diagrams as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 have a unique pattern for each sound data f, and the scale becomes higher as the period t becomes shorter. The voice waveform patterns shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are examples showing voice waveforms for a first pronunciation (for example, “A”) and a second pronunciation (for example, “I”). 6 (a), 5
(B) and FIG. 6 (b), and FIG. 5 (c) and FIG. 6 (c) have the same waveform period and the same scale.

The waveform of FIG. 5B has a shorter waveform period (t> t ') and is higher than that of FIG. 5A. FIG. 5C in which the waveform period t is １ ／ of FIG.
One octave higher than in the case of (a). The same applies to FIG.

The scale / pronunciation database 24 stores voice waveform patterns as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 as digital data for each of the pronunciation data f for each of female A, female B, male A, and male B. I have. Also, the waveform period t
Is determined corresponding to the scale data e.

For each of female A, female B, male A, and male B, among the five-digit identification numbers defined based on the sound data f and the scale data e, the upper three digits are used as the basis of the sound data f. Digital data of the voice waveform is extracted from the scale / pronunciation database 24 and called by the decoder 23.
The decoder 23 calls the waveform cycle t based on the scale data e from the last two digits. In the decoder 23, voice pronunciation data is created based on the voice waveform data thus obtained and the waveform cycle.

Further, in the decoder 23, sound reproduction data is created by assigning sound generation time data g and volume data h to the sound generation data. That is, the sound reproduction data is a sound defined based on the sound waveform data, output at a height based on the waveform period t, a length based on the sounding time data g, and a sound volume based on the sound volume data h. Digital data defined to be

As described above, the audio reproduction data created by the decoder 23 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 25, then amplified by the amplifier 26, and output from the output device 27.

As described above, in the voice communication apparatus to which the voice synthesizing apparatus and method of the present embodiment is applied, the scale, pronunciation, sounding time, and volume, which are the minimum attributes required for voice reproduction, are defined. The sound attribute data a is transmitted from the transmission device 10 to the reception / reproduction device 20, and the reception / reproduction device 20 can reproduce a sound based on the sound attribute data a.

That is, as compared with the case where voice data is transmitted as it is, the amount of data to be transmitted is reduced, so that it is possible to reduce the transmission time and the communication cost.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The voice communication device 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as that shown in FIG. 1 except for the points described below.

That is, as the voice communication device 1, the reception / reproduction device 30 shown in FIG. 7 is used instead of the reception / reproduction device 20 shown in FIG. b, a function to reproduce the image data c is also provided.

These functions are realized by adding, to the receiving / reproducing apparatus 30, means for reproducing music from the music data b and means for reproducing an image from the image data c.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the receiving / reproducing apparatus 30 of the voice communication apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, only the different parts will be described.

That is, the voice communication device 1 of the present embodiment
The reception / reproduction device 30 of the present embodiment adds a music reproduction unit 31 and an image display unit 32 to the configuration of the reception / reproduction device 20 shown in FIG.
Each is connected to the selector 22.

In this embodiment, the transmitting device 10
Has been improved so as to also transmit music data b and image data c, and the transmission data transmitted from the transmission device 10 includes sound attribute data a, music data b, and image data c.

Selector 22 in receiving and reproducing apparatus 30
Has a function of separating sound attribute data a, music data b, and image data c from such transmission data and inputting them to the decoders 23a, 23b, and 23c, respectively.

The configuration, connection relationship and function of the decoder 23a, the scale / sound generation database 24, the D / A converter 25, the amplifier 26a, and the output device 27a are the same as those described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. , A scale / pronunciation database 24, a D / A converter 25, an amplifier 26, and an output device 27.

The music reproducing unit 31 includes a decoder 23b for decompressing the MIDI compressed music data b separated by the selector 22 into digital data, and a decoder 23b.
Sequencer 33 that reproduces a song based on the data decompressed by the amplifier, and an amplifier 26b that amplifies the reproduced song
And an output device 27b for outputting the music amplified by the amplifier 26b.

The image display section 32 includes a decoder 23c for expanding the image data c sorted by the selector 22,
A display device 34 for displaying the data expanded by the decoder 23c.

Next, the operation of the voice communication device 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

Transmission data transmitted from the transmitting apparatus 10 to the receiving / reproducing apparatus 30 via the communication line 11 is received by the modem 21 of the receiving / reproducing apparatus 30 and further input to the selector 22. The transmission data includes sound attribute data a, music data b, and image data c, and these data are separated by the selector 22.

The operation until the sound attribute data a separated by the selector 22 passes through the decoder 23a, the D / A converter 25, and the amplifier 26a to output the sound from the output device 27a is described with reference to FIG. Since it is the same as that described in the first embodiment, the description is omitted here.

On the other hand, music data b included in the transmission data
Is compressed data conforming to the MIDI standard, which is an international standard for hardware and communication protocols, defined for exchanging performance information of electronic musical instruments with each other.

The music data b separated by the selector 22 is sent to the sequencer 33 after being decompressed by the decoder 23b. Sequencer 3
3, the music is reproduced based on the data decompressed by the decoder 23b, and the reproduced music is further amplified by the amplifier 26b.
Is output from the output device 27b after being amplified.

The image data c is data in which a plurality of still image data compressed in the JPEG format are stored together with the display time information. After being separated from the transmission data by the selector 22, the image data c is sent to the decoder 23c. After the data is decompressed in the decoder 23c, the data is continuously displayed from the display device 34 based on the designated display time. The JPEG still image data is MPEG
The amount of data is extremely small compared to video data such as formats.

As described above, in the voice communication device according to the present embodiment, voice, music, and images are output together.

That is, the voice communication device of the present embodiment can simultaneously perform music reproduction, voice reproduction, and image display, and perform music using the music data b.
By applying a back chorus using the sound attribute data a and displaying a background still image or displaying lyrics using the image data c, the present invention can be applied to a communication karaoke apparatus.

The sound attribute data a included in the transmission data is
As described in the first embodiment, it is composed of scale data e, sounding data f, sounding time data g, and sound volume data h, which are minimum data necessary for sound reproduction. The image data c also included in the transmission data is JP
This is still image data in the EG format, and the data amount is extremely small as compared with moving image data in the MPEG format or the like.

Further, in the voice communication device of the present embodiment,
Since the display time can be set for each image, the background image changes as the song progresses, the lyrics are displayed as character codes, and the color of the lyrics changes as the pronunciation data f changes as the song progresses. By setting, it is possible to display as if it were a moving image.

As a result, the voice communication apparatus according to the present embodiment can be used as a communication karaoke apparatus which has reduced the data transmission time and the communication cost.

In this communication karaoke apparatus, although a real moving picture is not provided, a home-use communication karaoke apparatus can be easily and inexpensively realized without using a high-speed line such as ISDN. Is easily realized in general households.

(Third Embodiment) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the receiving / reproducing device 40 of the voice communication device 1 to which the voice synthesizing device and method of the present embodiment is applied. The description thereof will be omitted with the addition of, and different portions will be described here.

The voice communication apparatus 1 to which the voice communication method according to the third embodiment of the present invention is applied includes a receiving and reproducing apparatus 4
The configuration is the same as that of the voice communication device 1 of the first and second embodiments except that a detachable scale / sound data ROM 41 is added to 0.

That is, the receiving / reproducing device 40 of the voice communication device 1 to which the voice synthesizing device and method of the present embodiment is applied.
As shown in FIG. 8, is a configuration in which a scale / sound data ROM 41 connectable to the decoder 23 is added to the configuration of the reception / reproduction device 20 shown in FIG.

The scale / pronunciation data ROM 41 stores a scale / pronunciation table as shown in FIG. 4 and digital data of a speech waveform diagram as shown in FIGS. are doing. The scale and sound data ROM 41 can be attached to and detached from the reception / reproduction device 40.
It can be connected to the decoder 23 by inserting it into an M slot (not shown).

Next, the operation of the voice communication device 1 to which the voice synthesizing apparatus and method of the present embodiment configured as described above is applied will be described.

When the transmitting device 10 transmits the sound attribute data a that cannot be reproduced from the scale / pronunciation table stored in the scale / pronunciation database 24 or the digital data of the sound waveform diagram, the scale required for the reproduction is transmitted. The scale / sound data ROM 41 storing the sound table and the digital data of the sound waveform diagram are stored in the RO of the receiving / reproducing device 40.
By attaching to the M slot, the scale and sound data R
The data held by the OM 41 is provided to the decoder 23.

For example, if the sound attribute data a pronounced in English is transmitted but the digital data of the English scale / pronunciation table and the speech waveform diagram is not stored in the scale / pronunciation database 24, the sound attribute data may be transmitted. a is not reproduced. However, when the scale / sound data ROM 41 storing digital data of the English scale / sound table and the sound waveform diagram is attached to the receiving / reproducing device 40, the decoder 23 stores the scale / sound data ROM 41 in the decoder 23. The voice is reproduced using English scale and pronunciation data.

As described above, in the voice communication device 1 to which the voice synthesizing apparatus and method of the present embodiment is applied,
With the above-described operation, the detachable scale / pronunciation data ROM 41 can be optionally used, whereby the data of the scale / pronunciation database 24 can be supplemented, and the voice synthesis function can be enhanced. . Such a voice communication device 1 can be used, for example, as a device for learning English conversation.

Of course, the receiving and reproducing apparatus 30 shown in FIG.
Alternatively, the configuration may be such that such scale / sound data ROM 41 can be connected to the decoder 23a. In this case, the present invention can be applied to a communication karaoke apparatus having an enhanced voice synthesis function.

(Fourth Embodiment) A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the receiving / reproducing device 50 of the voice communication device 1 according to the present embodiment. The same parts as those in FIG. Here, different parts will be described.

The receiving / reproducing device 50 of the voice communication device 1 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is similar to the receiving / reproducing device 30 shown in FIG. 7 except that a storage device 51, a control unit 52 and an input unit 53 are added. And its configuration is the same.

That is, the voice communication device 1 of the present embodiment
As shown in FIG. 9, the receiving and reproducing apparatus 50 of FIG.
The configuration of the receiving and reproducing apparatus 30 shown in FIG. 7 includes a storage device 51 connectable between the modem 21 and the selector 22, a control section 52 for controlling the receiving and reproducing apparatus 50, and a control section for accepting user input and transmitting the contents. 52 and an input unit 53 to be transferred to the input unit 52.

The storage device 51 is a device having a function of temporarily storing the transmission data received by the modem 21 and transferring it to the selector 22 as necessary. On the other hand, the input unit 53
The device has a function of receiving a user request and transferring the content to the control unit 52. The control unit 52 is a device that controls the reception / reproduction device 50 according to a user instruction passed from the input unit 53.

The operation of the voice communication device 1 thus configured according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The user operates the input unit 53 of the receiving / reproducing device 50.
From the data you want to receive (for example, voice or karaoke songs)
Is input with a predetermined code number or the like, and is registered in the control unit 52 (S1). The input unit has a buffer memory (not shown) so that a plurality of code numbers can be input at a time.

When a code number or the like is registered in the control unit 52, the modem 21 is started by the control unit 52, whereby the reception / reproduction device 50 and the transmission device 10 are connected via the communication line 11 (S2). Data corresponding to the input code number or the like is transmitted from the transmission device 10. As a result, the corresponding data is transmitted to the modem 21 of the receiving / reproducing device 50.
(S3), and further stored in the storage device 51 after the reception (S4).

As described above, once data is stored in the storage device 51, the data is reproduced at any time in response to a user's request by a method described later.

After the data is stored in the storage device 51,
If additional data is to be added (S5: Yes),
It returns to S1 again. When not adding data (S5:
In No, the control unit 52 disconnects the communication line 11 (S6).

If data is to be added even after the line is disconnected (S7: Yes), the process returns to S1 again, while if data is not added (S7: No), the data acquisition routine ends.

When at least one data is stored in the storage device 51, the input unit 53
, A list of data stored in the storage device 51 is displayed. This is performed by the control unit 52 accessing the storage device 51 to search the stored data and transferring the result to the input unit 53.

When the user selects data from the list of stored data displayed on the input unit 53, the data is transferred from the storage device 51 to the selector 2 by the control unit 52.
2 and thereafter, the data is reproduced and output as described in the second embodiment.

As described above, in the voice communication device 1 of the present embodiment, a plurality of specified transmission data are collectively acquired via the communication line 11 by the above-described operation, and are stored in the storage device 51. Can be memorized.

Further, since the transmission data stored in the storage device 51 can be reproduced at an arbitrary timing according to the user's specification, the communication line 11 needs to be connected only while the transmission data is being acquired. Only, the use time of the communication line can be reduced.

As a result, it is possible to realize the voice communication device 1 capable of reducing the communication cost. This has a great effect of reducing running costs when the voice communication device 1 of the present embodiment is used as a communication karaoke device.

In each of the embodiments, the voice communication device 1 shown in FIG. 1 has been described as a voice communication device. However, the voice communication device according to the present invention is not limited to this voice communication device 1,
The receiving / reproducing apparatuses 20, 30, 40, 50 alone, and further include a communication karaoke apparatus, an English conversation learning apparatus, and the like.

[0119]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By reducing the amount of data to be transmitted, it is possible to reduce the data transmission time, so that it is possible to realize a voice communication device capable of reducing the communication cost and the time required for reproduction.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a voice synthesizing apparatus and a voice synthesizing method capable of synthesizing a voice by inputting only attribute data having a small amount of information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a voice communication device to which a voice synthesis device and a voice synthesis method according to a first embodiment are applied.

FIG. 2 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the structure of sound attribute data.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a receiving / reproducing device of the voice communication device to which the voice synthesizing device and method according to the first embodiment are applied;

FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram showing an example of a scale / pronunciation table stored in a scale / pronunciation database.

FIG. 5 is an audio waveform diagram showing an example of an audio waveform pattern defined for each pronunciation data.

FIG. 6 is an audio waveform diagram showing an example of an audio waveform pattern defined for each pronunciation data.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a receiving and reproducing device of the voice communication device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a receiving and reproducing device of a voice communication device to which a voice synthesizing device and method according to a third embodiment are applied.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a receiving and reproducing device of a voice communication device according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the voice communication device according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a conventionally used voice communication device.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a receiving and reproducing device of a conventionally used voice communication device.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a reception / playback apparatus when a conventionally used voice communication apparatus is applied to a communication karaoke apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Voice communication apparatus, 10 ... Transmission apparatus, 11 ... Communication line, 20, 30, 40, 50 ... Receiving / reproducing apparatus, 21 ... Modem, 22 ... Selector, 23 ... Decoder, 24 ... Scale / pronunciation database, 25 ... D / A converter, 26 amplifier, 27 output device, 31 music reproduction unit, 32 image display unit, 33 sequencer, 34 display device, 41 scale / sound data ROM, 51 storage device, 52 storage device Control part, 53 ... Input part.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An audio waveform pattern storage means for storing an audio waveform pattern, which is an audio waveform pattern, for each audio type, and an audio waveform corresponding to the audio waveform pattern based on sound data designating the type of the audio waveform pattern. A pattern is extracted from the audio waveform pattern storage means, and a specified waveform length is assigned to the extracted audio waveform pattern based on musical scale data specifying one waveform length of the audio waveform pattern, and is output. A voice synthesizing device, comprising: voice synthesizing means. 2. The voice synthesizing device according to claim 1, wherein the voice synthesizing unit specifies sounding time data for specifying a repetitive output time of the voice waveform pattern, and a size of an output of the voice waveform pattern. A voice synthesizing apparatus which outputs a voice waveform pattern to which a designated waveform length is assigned based on a sound generation duration and a volume based on volume data to be performed. 3. The speech synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein said speech waveform pattern storage means comprises a storage medium detachable from said speech synthesizer main body. 4. A sound waveform pattern storage means for storing a sound waveform pattern, which is a sound waveform pattern, for each sound type, based on sound data specifying the type of the sound waveform pattern, based on sound data corresponding to the sound waveform pattern. In addition to extracting a pattern, a specified waveform length is assigned to the extracted audio waveform pattern based on scale data specifying one waveform length of the audio waveform pattern, and the extracted audio waveform pattern is output. Speech synthesis method to be used. 5. A method for designating pronunciation data for specifying a type of an audio waveform pattern which is an audio waveform pattern, scale data for specifying one waveform length of the audio waveform pattern, and specifying a repetitive output time of the audio waveform pattern. Receiving means for receiving sound attribute data consisting of sounding time data and sound volume data designating the magnitude of the output of the audio waveform pattern, music data designating musical notes constituting a song, and image data constituting an image The voice synthesizing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the received sound attribute data is input, and a sound corresponding to the sound attribute data is output, and a music output that outputs the music from the received music data. Means, and image output means for outputting the image from the received image data. 6. The voice communication device according to claim 5, further comprising: a reception data storage unit capable of storing the sound attribute data, the music data, and the image data, wherein the reception data is received by the reception unit. Sound attribute data, music data and image data are temporarily stored in the reception data storage means, and when instructed, corresponding sound, music, and music are stored from the sound attribute data, music data and image data stored in the reception data storage means. And a voice communication device for outputting an image. 7. The voice communication device according to claim 5, wherein said image data is still image data.