JP2002073062A - Text reading apparatus and method, and storage medium used for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To make it easier to confirm a character string being read out on a sentence displayed on a screen. SOLUTION: A display unit for displaying a sentence on a screen within a predetermined number of lines, a sentence storage unit for storing a sentence read aloud by speech, a search unit for searching for a delimiter added to the stored sentence, An extraction unit that extracts a delimiter unit that divides a sentence based on the searched delimiter symbol, a reading unit that converts a character string of each extracted delimiter unit into an audio signal and reads it, and a next delimiter of the read character string A first determining unit that determines whether the symbol is the last delimiter of the sentence, and a second determining unit that determines whether the read-out character string is the last reading unit displayed on the screen. If the read-out character string is not the last delimited unit character string of the sentence but the last delimited unit character string displayed on the screen, the screen that displays the sentence containing the next delimited unit character string Cut into pieces And a display control unit that controls the display unit to be switched.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a Japanese input device,
The present invention relates to a text-to-speech apparatus and method applied to a text processing device, a language practice device, and the like, and reads text by voice while displaying the text on a screen, and a storage medium used for the text-to-text device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in Japanese input, sentence processing, and language practice, a sentence input using an input device is stored in a sentence buffer, the stored sentence is read from the sentence buffer, and the sentence is displayed on a screen. Meanwhile, a text-to-speech apparatus that converts a character code string of a text into a voice signal and outputs the voice is used. However, when a text-to-speech device is used to correct an error portion of an input text, the conventional text-to-speech device merely displays a text to be read aloud on a screen. For this reason, there is a problem that if an error is noticed during the reading, it is not possible to immediately know the error location.

According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S59-127148, the prior art 1 which solves this problem is that a portion in a sentence during audio output is represented by high brightness, blink, inversion, another color, underline, or the like. There has been proposed a text-to-speech apparatus that can display an error in the middle of reading a text by displaying the text in a display method different from that of other characters, so that the user can immediately know the location of the error.

[0004] As a prior art 2 for solving the above problem, according to the description in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-165266,
There has been proposed a text processing apparatus having a reading function for controlling a display on a display so that a word being read (a reading unit) is displayed at a predetermined position (a specific line) on the display.

When a text-to-speech device is used for a language practice device, the display capacity of a small display is limited.
Since the character string to be displayed varies depending on the length of the reproduced sound, even if the character string corresponding to the reproduced sound is simply displayed, the entire character string cannot be displayed completely or is reproduced. A problem arises in that synchronization with audio cannot be obtained.

According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-265286, as a prior art 3 which solves this problem, according to the description, the total number of characters of a character string displayed corresponding to a reproduced sound is determined by the number of characters that can be displayed on a screen. When the character string is exceeded, for example, when the character string is displayed on one line, the character string is scrolled by one character. When the character string is displayed on a plurality of lines, the character line is scrolled by one line. There has been proposed a language practice device that determines a required time and a scroll speed for displaying and outputting a sentence, determines a scroll speed for performing a scroll display, and displays the entire character string in synchronization with a reproduced voice.

[0007]

However, since the prior art 1 is intended to correct a word, the word being read out is displayed in a display method different from that of other characters, so that it can be confirmed. Since the whole sentence always moves on the screen, the smaller the character size of a screen such as a mobile terminal, the more difficult it is to check the character string at the reading position of the displayed sentence, which causes a problem of tired eyes. . Also, in the above-mentioned prior art 2, since the purpose of correcting a word can be confirmed at a predetermined position on the screen, the word being read out can be confirmed. However, since the entire sentence always moves on the screen, the same as in the prior art 1 is performed. However, the smaller the character size of a screen such as a mobile terminal, the more difficult it is to check the character string at the location where the displayed text is to be read out.

Further, in the above-mentioned prior art 3, in order to display the entire character string in synchronization with the reproduced sound, a screen for displaying the character string in one line is displayed at an appropriate scroll speed like an electric bulletin board. In a screen in which a character string is moved in units of characters and a character string is displayed in a plurality of lines, the character string always moves during reading because scrolling is performed in units of one line at an appropriate scroll speed. As in the case of No. 2, it is difficult to confirm the character string at the reading position of the displayed sentence, so that there is a problem that eyes are tired.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances. For example, a character string read aloud is displayed on a screen of a display unit instead of a character string of the last unit of a sentence to be read. In the case of the final delimiter unit character string, by switching to the screen that displays the text including the character string to be read next, even if it is a screen with a small character size like a mobile terminal, it is displayed Provided are a text-to-speech apparatus and a text-to-speech device and a storage medium used for the text-to-speech device, which make it easy to check a character string being read out because the text becomes easy to read.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a display unit for displaying a sentence on a screen within a predetermined number of lines, a sentence storage unit for storing a sentence to be read aloud by voice, and a sentence added to the stored sentence. A search unit that searches for a delimiter, an extraction unit that extracts a delimiter that separates sentences based on the searched delimiter, a reading unit that converts a character string of each extracted delimiter into an audio signal and reads out the text, A first determination unit that determines whether the next delimiter of the read-out character string is the last delimiter of the sentence, and whether the read-out character string is the last read-out unit displayed on the screen A second judging unit for judging whether or not the read-out character string is not the last delimiter unit character string of the sentence to be read, but is the last delimiter unit character string displayed on the screen; String Further comprising a display control unit for controlling the display unit to switch to a screen for displaying a sentence including a text reading apparatus according to claim.

According to the present invention, a sentence to be read aloud is displayed on the screen, and the character string read aloud is not the last character string of the unit of the sentence to be read, but the final character displayed on the screen of the display unit. If the string is a delimiter unit,
By switching to the screen that displays the text containing the next text to be read out, the displayed text is easy to read even on a screen with a small character size such as a mobile terminal. Can be easily confirmed.

An input unit for setting a punctuation code and a reading code as a sentence delimiter may be further provided, and the search unit may search the set punctuation code and the reading mark code as a sentence delimiter. According to this configuration, it is possible to easily search for a delimiter without performing morphological analysis or syntactic analysis of the text.

When the display control unit switches to a screen that displays a text including a character string in the next reading unit, if the first line of the switched screen includes a character string that has already been read, the display control unit has already read the text. The character string may be replaced with a space and displayed. According to this configuration, even when the screen is switched, a sentence to be read aloud next becomes easy to see.

An input unit for inserting a keyword composed of an arbitrary character string as a delimiter of the sentence into the sentence is further provided, and when the search unit searches for the keyword inserted in the sentence displayed on the screen, The text-to-speech unit may be configured to convert a character string in which a searched keyword is a delimiter unit into an audio signal and read it out, and the display control unit may switch to a screen for displaying a sentence including a character string next to the keyword. Good. According to this configuration, it is possible to insert an arbitrary keyword instructing to switch the screen into the text and switch the screen based on the keyword.

The reading section further includes a counting section for counting the number of characters of the character string read out by the reading section, and an input section for setting the number of characters to be counted. When reading is performed up to a delimiter including a character string that is equal to or more than the set number of characters, the display control unit may be configured to switch to a screen that displays a text including a character string in the next reading unit. According to this configuration, the screen can be switched based on the number of characters of the character string to be read.

An input unit for setting the number of lines of a character string read by the reading unit is further provided. When the reading unit reads a separator including a character string having the set number of lines, the display control unit sets The screen may be switched to a screen displaying a sentence including a character string in the next reading unit. According to this configuration, the screen can be switched based on the delimiter included in the set number of lines.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a sentence is displayed on a screen using a display unit in a range of a predetermined number of lines, and a sentence to be read aloud is stored using a sentence storage unit. Is used to search for a delimiter added to the stored sentence, an extraction unit is used to extract a delimiter unit that separates sentences based on the searched delimiter, and the extracted unit is used to read out The character string for each delimiter unit is converted into an audio signal and read out, and the first determination unit is used to determine whether the next delimiter of the read out character string is the last delimiter of the sentence, (2) Using the determination unit, determine whether the read-out character string is the last reading unit displayed on the screen, and determine whether the read-out character string is the final delimiter unit of the text to be read, The final break unit displayed on the screen If a string, using the display control unit, the sentence reading method and controlling the display unit to switch to a screen for displaying a sentence including the character string of the next reading unit is provided.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by this.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a text-to-speech apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the text-to-speech apparatus of the present invention includes a central control unit 1,
It comprises an input unit 2, a communication unit 3, a display unit 4, a reading unit 5, a first storage unit 6, a second storage unit 7, a storage medium reading unit 8, an external storage medium 9, and a main body power switch 10.

The central control unit 1 is composed of, for example, a CPU of a computer. The central control unit 1 controls each unit 2-8 of the text-to-speech apparatus and controls input information or output information by a control program stored in a first storage unit 6. Is what you do.

The central control unit 1 includes a search unit 1a for searching for a delimiter added to the text stored in the second storage unit 7, and a delimiter for separating text based on the delimiter searched by the search unit 1a. An extracting unit 1b for extracting a unit, and a first unit for determining whether the next delimiter of a character string read out by the reading unit 5 is the last delimiter of a sentence.
The determination unit 1c determines whether or not the character string read out by the reading unit 5 is the last reading unit displayed on the screen. The second determination unit 1d determines whether the character string read out by the reading unit 5 reads out the sentence. If the final delimiter unit character string is not the last delimiter unit character string but is the last delimiter unit character string displayed on the screen, the display that controls the display unit 4 to switch to the screen that displays the text including the next reading unit character string The control unit 1e functions as a counting unit 1f that counts the number of characters of the character string read by the reading unit 5.

The main body power switch 10 comprises an on / off switch, and turns on / off a power supply for supplying power to each section of the text-to-speech apparatus.

The input unit 2 is composed of, for example, a keyboard 2a, a mouse 2b, a pen / tablet 2c, etc. The keyboard 2a includes character keys for inputting characters, up / down / left / right keys used for moving a cursor and selection items, Scroll key to scroll the screen, execution key to determine the selected content, registration key to register the input data, send key to send mail, receive key to receive, read key to read aloud It is composed of

The input unit 2 has a function of setting a punctuation code and a reading code as a sentence delimiter, a function of inserting a keyword composed of an arbitrary character string into a sentence as a sentence delimiter, It also has a function of setting the number of characters of the character string counted by the counting unit 1f, and a function of setting the number of lines of the character string read by the reading unit 5. The central control unit 1 controls input, storage, and editing of text data, text-to-speech processing, screen switching processing, mail transmission and reception, and the like in accordance with the input and settings from the input unit 2.

The communication section 3 is composed of, for example, a modem, a communication signal modulation / demodulation circuit, etc., and is capable of sending and receiving electronic mail to and from an external portable terminal by connecting to a portable terminal or the like.

The display unit 4 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display,
It is composed of a plasma display, an EL display and the like, and is controlled by the display control
Various data stored in the storage unit 7 are displayed. The display unit 4 controls the reading unit 5 under the control of the display control unit 1.
Is displayed on the screen in a range of a predetermined number of lines, and the screen for displaying the text is switched.

The reading section 5 comprises, for example, a reading program, an audio signal conversion circuit (D / A conversion circuit), a speaker, etc., and outputs a character string in units of delimiters extracted by the extraction section 1b of the central control section 1. Convert it to a signal and read it out.

The first storage unit 6 stores, for example, ROM, EEP
A program area 6a configured by a storage medium such as a ROM, a flash memory, a floppy disk, a hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM and a CD-R / W. It has a dictionary area 6b for storing various dictionaries for performing conversion and the like, a font area 6c for storing various character fonts, and the like.

The second storage unit 7 includes a RAM, an EEPROM,
Flash memory, floppy disk,
It is composed of a storage medium such as a hard disk and a CD-R / W, and includes a work buffer 7a, a communication buffer 7b, a text buffer 7c, a display position storage area 7d, a reading position storage area 7e, a separation position storage area 7f, and a character number storage area. Each area functions as 7 g.

The work buffer 7a stores various data under control of the central control unit 1. The communication buffer 7b
The mail text and the like being transmitted and received by the communication unit 3 are stored. The sentence buffer 7c is a buffer that stores, in code, various data to be displayed on the display unit 4 and sentence data read out by voice.

The display position storage area 7d is an area for storing the display position of the text data of the text buffer 7c displayed on the screen of the display unit 4. Reading position storage area 7
“e” is an area for storing the position where the reading process was performed in the text buffer. Separation position storage area 7f
Is an area for storing the last break position on the screen.
The number-of-characters storage area 7g is an area for storing the number of characters subjected to the reading process.

The external storage medium 9 is, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM or CD-R / W
A storage medium that can be separated from the main body, such as an optical disk or an IC card, etc., a function of displaying a sentence on the screen within a predetermined number of characters using the display unit 4, and an audio function using the second storage unit 7. Function to memorize sentences read out by the search unit 1
a, a function of searching for a delimiter added to a stored sentence, a function of extracting a delimiter unit for separating a sentence based on the searched delimiter, using an extracting unit 1b, and a reading unit 5 A function of converting the extracted character string for each delimiter unit into an audio signal and reading it out,
A function to determine whether or not the next delimiter of the read-out character string is the last delimiter of the sentence using the determining unit 1c, and a function of determining whether the read-out character string is to be read out by using the second determining unit 1d. A function to determine whether or not it is the last reading unit displayed on the screen, and the last reading unit character displayed on the screen instead of the last reading unit character string of the sentence In the case of a column, the display control unit 1e is used to store a text-to-speech program that causes a computer to execute a function of controlling the display unit 4 to switch to a screen that displays a text including a character string in the next reading unit. Is also good.

With this configuration, the text-to-speech program of the present invention is realized by reading the text-to-speech program stored in the external storage medium 9 by the storage medium reading unit 8 and installing it in the first storage unit 6, for example. Can be.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example 1 of a mail text for explaining the screen switching processing 1 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 31 denotes a sender display area, 32 denotes a mail title display area, 33 denotes a mail text display area, 34 denotes a character string of a reading unit up to the first delimiter, and 35 denotes a delimiter that appears last on the screen. . Here, the delimiter is a reading point “.” In the text.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example 2 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 3 is switched. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 41 denotes a mail body display area, and reference numeral 42 denotes a delimiter which appears last on the screen. In FIG. 4, the continuation of the mail text shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the entire screen.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example 3 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 4 is switched. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 51 denotes a mail text display area. In FIG. 5, among the sentences following the mail text shown in FIG. 4, a sentence including a character string to be read out next by reading-out unit 5 is displayed on the entire screen.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the reading process 1 and the accompanying screen switching process 1 of this embodiment. The procedure of the mail text-to-speech process 1 and the accompanying screen switching process 1 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

Step S201: Sentence data to be read aloud (for example, a mail text as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5)
Is read into the sentence buffer 7c. Step S202: As an initial screen, as shown in FIG. 3, the mail sender is displayed in the sender display area 31, the mail title is displayed in the mail title display area 32, and the text to be read out in the text display area 33 is displayed from the first line. Step S203: In the character string displayed on the screen, the delimiter position of the delimiter symbol 35 that appears last is searched and stored in the delimiter position storage area 7f in advance.

Step S204: The character string of the reading unit 34 up to the next break position is extracted from the text of the mail to be read, and the extracted character string of the reading unit 34 is sent to the reading unit 5. Step S205: The reading section 5 converts the extracted character string of the reading unit 34 into an audio signal and reads it out. Step S206: Every time the reading of the character string of the reading unit ends, the value of the reading position in the reading position storage area 7e is updated.

Step S207: A comparison is made between the value of the position storage area 7e and the value of the break position storage area 7f to determine whether or not the reading has progressed to the last break position. If the reading has not progressed, the process returns to step S204, and the processes of steps S204 to S207 are repeated.
If you hear the last break on the screen,
It proceeds to the process of step S208.

Step S208: It is checked whether or not there is a subsequent sentence. If there is no subsequent sentence, read aloud processing 1
To end. If there is a subsequent sentence, step S20
Returning to the process of step 2, the screen is switched and the display is updated so that the delimiter position following the last delimiter 35 is located at the first line of the mail text display area.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the screen is switched, the sender display area 31 and the mail title display area 32 are deleted from the screen, and the mail text display area 41 is displayed on the entire screen. Similarly, when the text is read out to the last delimiter 42 on the screen, as shown in FIG. 5, the character string at the delimiter position following the last delimiter 42 is displayed so as to come to the first line of the mail text display area 51. Is done. By the above processing, the screen is switched to the next screen every time the text displayed on the screen is read out, and the display is updated.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a display example 4 of the mail text for explaining the screen switching processing 2 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 71 denotes a mail text display area; 72, a character string in reading units up to a delimiter; and 73, a keyword for instructing screen switching. Here, the delimiter is a reading point “.” In the text, and the keyword is <SCROLL>.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example 5 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 7 is switched. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 81 denotes a mail text display area, and reference numeral 82 denotes a keyword for instructing screen switching. In FIG. 8, the reading of the character string 72 in the reading unit of FIG. 7 ends, the read character string 72 is deleted, and the screen is switched to a screen replaced with a space.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example 6 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 8 is switched. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 91 denotes a mail text display area. In FIG. 9, the keyword <SC
It reads out ROLL> 82, switches the screen, deletes the character string up to the read-out keyword, and displays the subsequent body from the first line of the mail body display area 91.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the reading process 2 and the accompanying screen switching process 2 of this embodiment. The procedure of the mail text-to-speech process 2 and the accompanying screen switching process 2 shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. The screen switching process 2 is a process of switching the screen based on the keyword inserted in the text.

Step S601: Text data to be read aloud (for example, a mail text as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9)
Is read into the sentence buffer 7c. Step S602: As an initial screen, as shown in FIG. 7, the text to be read is displayed in the body display area 71 from the first line. Step S603: The character string of the reading unit 72 up to the next delimiter or the character string up to the keyword 73 is extracted from the text of the mail to be read, and the extracted character string is sent to the reading unit 5.

Step S604: The reading section 5 converts the extracted character string of the reading unit 72 or the character string up to the keyword into an audio signal and reads it out. Step S605: Each time the reading of the extracted character string ends, the value of the reading position in the reading position storage area 7e is updated. Step S606: When the reading is completed, it is checked whether or not there is a subsequent sentence. If there is no subsequent sentence, the reading process 2 ends. If there is a subsequent sentence, the process returns to step S602, and the character string 72 of the reading unit is read.
The screen is switched and the display is updated so that the sentence following the message comes to the first line of the mail text display area 81 as shown in FIG.

Similarly, when reading up to the keyword 82, the character string up to the keyword 82 is deleted as shown in FIG. 9, and the subsequent sentence is displayed so as to come to the first line of the mail text display area 91. . With the above processing, the screen is switched every time the keyword is read out, and the display is updated. The switching keyword may be simply copied to the text buffer and not displayed on the screen.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a display example 7 of the mail text for explaining the screen switching processing 3 of this embodiment.
In FIG. 11, reference numeral 111 denotes a mail body display area;
Is the character string of the reading unit up to the delimiter position, 113 is the position of the number of characters instructing switching, 114 is the set number of characters
The delimiter positions appearing first after the position 13 are shown. Here, the number of characters is set to, for example, 70 characters from the first line of the mail body display area 111,
This means that the screen is switched at the break position 114 where 70 characters or more are read out.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example 8 in which the screen of the mail text shown in FIG. 11 is switched. In FIG.
Reference numeral 121 denotes a mail text display area. In FIG. 12, FIG.
Since 70 or more characters have been read out from the first line of the first screen, the text following the delimiter position 114 is displayed so as to be at the first line of the mail body display area 121.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the reading process 3 and the accompanying screen switching process 3 of this embodiment. The procedure of the mail text-to-speech process 3 and the accompanying screen switching process 3 shown in FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. Screen switching process 3
This is a process of switching screens based on the number of characters of a character string to be read.

Step S1001: The text data to be read aloud (for example, the mail text as shown in FIGS. 11 to 12) is read into the text buffer 7c. Step S1002: As an initial screen, as shown in FIG. 11, a sentence to be read in the text display area 71 is displayed from the first line of the mail text display area 111. Step S1003: The character string of the reading unit 112 up to the next delimiter is extracted from the text of the mail to be read, and the extracted character string is sent to the reading section 5.

Step S1004: The reading section 5 converts the extracted character string of the reading unit 112 into an audio signal and reads it out. Step S1005: Every time the reading of the extracted character string ends, the value of the reading position in the reading position storage area 7e is updated. Step S1006: When the reading of the extracted character string ends, the number of read characters is counted.

Step S1007: It is checked whether or not the value of the number of characters read out so far exceeds a set value (for example, 70 characters). If it does not exceed, the process returns to step S1003, and the processes of steps S1003 to S1007 are repeated to read out a character string in the next reading unit.

Step S1008: In the case where the text is read out to the break position 114, the number of characters exceeds the set value, so it is checked whether or not there is a subsequent sentence. If there is no subsequent sentence, the reading process 3 ends. If there is a subsequent sentence, the process returns to step S1002, and the separation position 11
As shown in FIG. 12, the text following the text No. 4 is displayed at the first line of the mail text display area.

When the number of characters that are set is read out by the above processing, the screen is switched and the display is updated as shown in FIG. When the text is read out to the keyword 82, the character string up to the keyword 82 is deleted, and the subsequent text is displayed so as to come to the first line of the mail text display area 91.

FIG. 14 is a view showing a display example 9 of the mail text for explaining the screen switching processing 4 of this embodiment.
In FIG. 14, reference numeral 141 denotes a mail body display area;
Is the delimiter reading mark "." Which appears first on the screen, 14
Numeral 3 indicates a terminating point “,” of a delimiter that appears last on the screen.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display example 9 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 14 is switched. In FIG.
Reference numeral 151 denotes an e-mail text display area, and reference numeral 152 denotes a delimiter "," which appears last on the screen.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a display example 10 in which the screen of the mail text shown in FIG. 15 is switched. In FIG. 16, reference numeral 161 denotes a mail text display area.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the reading process 4 and the accompanying screen switching process 4 of this embodiment. The procedure of the mail text-to-speech process 4 and the accompanying screen switching process 4 shown in FIG. 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. Screen switching process 4
This is a process of switching the screen based on the reading “.” Or the period “,”.

Step S1301: The text data to be read out (for example, the mail text as shown in FIGS. 14 to 16) is read into the text buffer 7c. Step S1302: As the initial screen, as shown in FIG. 14, the text to be read is displayed in the body display area 141 from the first line. Step S1303: The character string displayed on the screen is searched for the delimiter position 143 of the term "," of the delimiter appearing at the end of the screen and stored in the delimiter position storage area 7f.

Step S1304: A character string in the unit of reading up to the next delimiter is extracted from the text of the mail to be read, and the extracted character string is sent to the reading section 5. At this time, if the reading point “.” Does not appear up to the break position stored in the break position storage area 7f, it is extracted as a reading unit up to the break position. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, since the reading point “.” Does not appear on the screen, the character string up to the last period “,” 152 on the screen is extracted as a reading unit. When the character string up to the period “,” 152 is read out, the screen is switched to a screen as shown in FIG.

Step S1305: The reading section 5 converts the extracted character string of the reading unit into an audio signal and reads it out. Step S1306: Every time the reading of the extracted character string ends, the value of the reading position in the reading position storage area 7e is updated. Step S1307: When the reading is completed, it is checked whether or not there is a subsequent sentence. If there is no subsequent sentence, the reading process ends. If there is a subsequent sentence, the process returns to step S1302, and the display is updated so that the position next to the delimiter position 142 is at the first line of the mail text display area as shown in FIG. By the above processing, the screen can be switched every time the reading point "." Or the last punctuation point "," on the screen is read.

FIG. 19 is a view showing a mail text display example 12 for explaining the screen switching processing 5 of this embodiment. In FIG. 19, reference numeral 191 denotes a mail body display area, 1
92 is the last punctuation “,” within the number of characters for one line from the first line, and 193 is 2
Indicates the first reading "." Within the number of characters for the line.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a display example 13 in which the screen of the mail text shown in FIG. 19 is switched. In FIG. 20, reference numeral 201 denotes a mail body display area;
The last punctuation mark “,” within the line number of characters “,” 203 indicates the last punctuation mark “,” within the number of characters of one line from the punctuation mark “,” 202.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a display example 14 in which the screen of the mail text shown in FIG. 20 is switched. In FIG. 21, reference numeral 211 denotes a mail text display area.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a schematic procedure of the reading process 5 and the accompanying screen switching process 5 of this embodiment. The procedure of the mail text-to-speech process 5 and the accompanying screen switching process 5 shown in FIG. 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. Screen switching processing 5
Is a process of switching the screen based on the delimiter included in the set number of lines.

Step S1701: The text data to be read aloud (for example, the mail text as shown in FIGS. 19 to 21) is read into the text buffer 7c. Step S1702: As the initial screen, as shown in FIG. 19, the text to be read is displayed in the body display area 191 from the first line. Step S1703: The character string displayed on the screen is searched for a delimiter position in accordance with the procedure of the delimiter position extraction process shown in FIG. 18, and a reading unit is extracted. As shown in FIG. 19, up to the break position 192 is extracted as a reading unit.

Step S1704: The reading section 5 converts the extracted character string of the reading unit into an audio signal and reads it out. Step S1705: Every time the reading of the extracted character string ends, the value of the reading position in the reading position storage area 7e is updated. Step S1706: When the reading is completed, it is checked whether or not there is a subsequent sentence. If there is no continuation, the reading process ends. If there is a continuation, step S170
2, the display is updated so that the position next to the delimiter 192 is at the first line of the mail text display area. However, in this case, the screen is not switched because it is already displayed on the first line of the body display area.

In step S1703, the next break position 1
When the character string 93 is searched, a character string up to the delimiter position 193 is extracted. After the reading is completed, similarly, step S1702
When the display is updated, the screen is switched to a screen as shown in FIG. By repeating this, the screen can be switched in conjunction with the reading process of the character string up to the delimiter position of the reading point “.” Or the period “,” in the text.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of the search processing of the break position shown in FIG. Step S
The search processing of the break position 1703 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

Step S1801: For example, a reading point "." Is searched for as a first appearing delimiter position in the body display area for two lines. Step S1802: It is determined whether or not the reading point “.” Has been found. If the reading point “.” Has been found, the search processing of the delimiter position ends.

Step S1803: If the reading point “.” Cannot be searched, for example, the last punctuation point “,” appearing in the one-line text display area is searched. Step S1804: It is determined whether or not the last period “,” has been searched.
The search processing of the break position ends.

Step S1805: If the last period "," cannot be searched in the text display area for one line, for example,
A search is made for a term "," that appears last in the body display area for two lines. Step S1806: It is determined whether or not the last period “,” has been searched. If the last period “,” has been searched,
The search processing of the break position ends.

Step S1807: If the last period “,” cannot be searched in the body display area for two lines, for example,
The external character codes "", "", and "(" appearing last in the one-line body display area are searched. Step S1808: The final external character codes "", "", "(" could be searched. In this case, the search processing of the break position is terminated.

In step S1809, if the search cannot be performed in the text display area for one line, the external character codes "", "", and "(" that appear last in the text display area for two lines are detected. If the last external character codes "", """and"("can be found in the two-line text display area, the search processing of the delimiter position is terminated. Step S1811: The delimiter position could not be searched In this case, a character string of two lines is extracted as a reading unit.

In FIG. 20, in the search processing of the first break position, the last "," 20 in the one-line text display area is displayed.
2 is searched. In this case, the screen is not actually updated by the screen update because it is already displayed on the first line of the body display area 201. In the second search process of the break position, the position 203 next to the break position 202 is searched as the last punctuation mark “,” in the one-line body display area from “,”. In this case, the screen is switched to a screen as shown in FIG. Through the above processing, the screen can be switched based on the delimiter included in the set number of lines.

[0079]

According to the present invention, a sentence to be read aloud is displayed on the screen, and the character string read aloud is displayed on the screen of the display unit instead of the character string of the last unit of the sentence to be read. In the case of the final delimiter unit character string, by switching to the screen that displays the text including the character string to be read next, even if it is a screen with a small character size like a mobile terminal, it is displayed Since the text is easy to see, it is possible to easily check the character string being read out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a text-to-speech apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a reading process 1 and a screen switching process 1 accompanying the reading process 1 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example 1 of a mail text for explaining screen switching processing 1 of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example 2 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 3 is switched.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example 3 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 4 is switched.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a reading process 2 and a screen switching process 2 accompanying the reading process 2 of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example 4 of a mail text for explaining screen switching processing 2 of the embodiment.

8 is a diagram showing a display example 5 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 7 is switched.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example 6 in which the screen of the mail text shown in FIG. 8 is switched.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a reading process 3 and a screen switching process 3 accompanying the reading process 3 of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example 7 of a mail text for explaining screen switching processing 3 of the embodiment.

12 is a diagram showing a display example 8 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 11 is switched.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a reading process 4 and a screen switching process 4 accompanying the reading process 4 in the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a display example 9 of a mail body for explaining screen switching processing 4 of the embodiment.

15 is a diagram showing a display example 10 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 14 is switched.

16 is a diagram showing a display example 11 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 15 is switched.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a schematic procedure of a reading process 5 and a screen switching process 5 accompanying the reading process 5 of the present embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of a search process of a break position shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a display example 12 of a mail text for explaining the screen switching processing 5 of the embodiment.

20 is a diagram illustrating a display example 13 in which the screen of the mail body illustrated in FIG. 19 is switched.

21 is a diagram showing a display example 14 in which the screen of the mail body shown in FIG. 20 is switched.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 central control unit 1a search unit 1b extraction unit 1c first determination unit 1d second determination unit 1e display control unit 1f count unit 2 input unit 2a keyboard 2b mouse 2c pen / tablet 3 communication unit 4 display unit 5 reading unit 6 first Storage section 6a Program area 6b Dictionary area 6c Font area 7 Second storage section 7a Work buffer 7b Communication buffer 7c Text buffer 7d Display position storage area 7e Reading position storage area 7f Separation position storage area 7g Number of characters storage area 8 Storage medium reading Unit 9 External storage medium 10 Main unit power switch

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) G10L 21/06 G10L 3/00 S

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A display unit for displaying a sentence on a screen within a predetermined number of lines, a sentence storage unit for storing a sentence to be read aloud by speech, and a search unit for searching for a delimiter added to the stored sentence. An extraction unit that extracts a delimiter unit that divides a sentence based on a searched delimiter, a reading unit that converts a character string of each extracted delimiter unit into an audio signal and reads out the same, and A first determining unit that determines whether a delimiter is the last delimiter of a sentence and a second determining unit that determines whether a read-out character string is the last reading unit displayed on the screen If the read-out string is not the last delimited unit of the sentence but the last delimited unit displayed on the screen, the sentence containing the next read-out unit is displayed. On the screen A text-to-speech apparatus, comprising: a display control unit that controls a display unit to switch the sentence. 2. An input unit for setting a punctuation code and a reading code as a delimiter of a sentence, wherein the search unit searches the set punctuation code and the reading code as a delimiter of the sentence. The text-to-speech apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The display control unit, when switching to a screen displaying a text including a character string in the next reading unit, if the first line of the switched screen includes a character string already read out, 2. The text-to-speech apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displayed character string is replaced with a space and displayed. 4. An input unit for inserting a keyword composed of an arbitrary character string as a delimiter of a sentence, wherein when the search unit searches for a keyword inserted in a sentence displayed on a screen, the reading unit reads the keyword. The unit converts a character string in units of a segment up to the searched keyword into an audio signal and reads it out, and the display control unit switches to a screen displaying a sentence including a character string next to the keyword. The text-to-speech apparatus according to claim 1. 5. A system according to claim 1, further comprising: a counting unit that counts the number of characters of the character string read by the reading unit; and an input unit that sets the number of characters to be counted, wherein the counting unit counts the number of characters set or more, The display control unit switches to a screen that displays a sentence including a character string in the next reading unit when the reading unit reads out a delimiter including a character string of a set number of characters or more. A sentence reading device according to 1. 6. An input unit for setting the number of lines of a character string read out by the reading unit, wherein the display control unit is provided when the reading unit reads a separator including a character string having the set number of lines. 2. The text-to-speech apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the screen is switched to a screen for displaying a text including a character string of the next reading unit. 7. A sentence is displayed on a screen in a range of a predetermined number of lines using a display unit, a sentence to be read aloud is stored using a sentence storage unit, and the stored sentence is stored using a search unit. Search for the delimiter added to the text, use the extraction unit to extract the delimiter that separates the sentence based on the retrieved delimiter, and use the reading-out unit to voice the extracted character string for each delimiter. It is converted into a signal and read, and it is determined whether or not the next delimiter of the read-out character string is the last delimiter of the sentence using the first determination unit, and is read out using the second determination unit. Determines whether the read character string is the last reading unit displayed on the screen, and determines the final delimiter displayed on the screen instead of the character string of the last delimiting unit of the text to be read out Display control if unit string A text-to-speech method comprising: controlling a display unit to switch to a screen that displays a text including a character string in the next reading unit using the text-to-speech unit. 8. A storage medium used for a text-to-speech apparatus, wherein a function of displaying a text on a screen within a predetermined number of lines using a display unit, and reading aloud using a text storage unit. A function of storing a sentence, a function of searching for a delimiter added to the stored sentence using a search unit,
A function of extracting a delimiter unit that separates a sentence based on a searched delimiter by using an extracting unit, and a function of converting a character string of each extracted delimiter unit into an audio signal and reading it out using a reading unit. A function of determining whether or not the next delimiter of the read-out character string is the last delimiter of the sentence by using the first determination unit; and a function of determining whether or not the character string read out by using the second determination unit Is a function that determines whether or not is the last reading unit displayed on the screen, and a function that determines whether the read out character string is the last delimiting unit of the sentence A text-to-speech program that causes a computer to execute a function of controlling the display unit to switch to a screen that displays a text including the next text-to-speech unit using the display control unit when the text is a character string. The stored storage medium.