JP2002229580A - Device and method for contents composition, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contents composing device, etc., which can easily secure a sufficient amount of data for contents composition and adequately protect the right to those data. SOLUTION: A language processing part 1 takes a word analysis and a modification analysis of a sentence by referring to the storage contents of a word dictionary storage part 2 to generate a phonetic character string showing a reading. An acoustic processing part 3 finds coded phoneme spectrum data showing the phonemes included in the phonetic character string in a phoneme dictionary storage part 4 and supplies them to decoding parts 5-1 to 5-n (n: integer). The decoding parts 5-1 to 5-n decodes the coded phoneme spectrum data with decoding keys by bands and supplies the obtained phoneme spectrum data to an acoustic processing part 3. The acoustic processing part 3 determines the continuance of phonemes and basic frequency patterns to determine the waveform of a voice of the whole sentence. The voice having the determined waveform is outputted by a voice output part 6. Here, it is considered that spectrum components of phonemes in a band whose decoding key is unavailable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a content synthesizing apparatus and a content synthesizing method for synthesizing contents, and more particularly, to a content synthesizing apparatus and a content synthesizing method in which the quality of the synthesized content is variable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Speech synthesis techniques for converting text data and the like into speech have been used in recent years. In speech synthesis, for example, words included in a sentence mixed with kanji or kana represented by text data are specified, and then phrases and interdependency between phrases are specified. Then, based on the specified word, phrase, and dependency relationship, how to read a sentence mixed with Chinese characters or kana is specified. Then, based on the phonetic character string representing the identified reading, the waveform of the phonemes constituting the voice, the pattern of the duration and the pitch (basic frequency) are determined,
Based on the determination result, the waveform of the voice representing the entire sentence mixed with the kanji or kana is determined, and a voice having the determined waveform is output.

[0003]

In order to specify a phoneme waveform, it is necessary to search a phoneme dictionary in which phoneme waveform data is accumulated. However, if you synthesize natural speech,
Or, in order to be able to synthesize the voices of multiple speakers, the phoneme dictionary must accumulate an enormous amount of data, and only store the phoneme dictionary with a sufficient amount of data. It was difficult to secure a storage device having a capacity. Further, such a storage device is large and heavy, and as a result, the configuration of the entire device for synthesizing voice is also large and heavy.

[0004] In addition, legal rights such as copyrights are generated on synthesized voices and waveforms of phonemes used as materials for synthesis. Therefore, it is also desired that such rights be appropriately protected. Specifically, for example,
As a method to protect these rights, if a method is used to choose whether to provide the phoneme waveform or the synthesized speech as a whole, the evaluation version of the synthesized speech and the waveform of the phoneme Problems such as difficulties in providing a trial version occurred,
These rights cannot be properly exercised. For this reason, there is a need for a method of avoiding such a problem and appropriately exercising the right.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and has as its object to provide a content synthesizing apparatus and a content synthesizing method which can easily secure a sufficient amount of data used for synthesizing content. Another object of the present invention is to provide a content synthesizing apparatus and a content synthesizing method that can appropriately protect the right generated for synthesized content and data used for synthesizing the content.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object,
A content synthesizing device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes:
Storage means for storing a plurality of material data, at least one of which is data for synthesizing contents, and which is detachably connected to the storage means, and acquires the material data from the storage means; When a decryption key associated with at least one of the material data is supplied, the decryption key is acquired, and the acquired material data is associated with the acquired decryption key. Decryption means for decrypting the content using the decryption key, and content synthesis means for synthesizing the content based on the decrypted material data and / or the unencrypted material data. Comprising.

According to such a content synthesizing apparatus,
By attaching and detaching various storage means for storing material data used for synthesizing contents, a sufficient amount of material data can be easily secured. Further, according to such a content synthesizing device, by selectively encrypting the material data requiring protection, the rights generated for the material data and the content synthesized using the material data can be appropriately set. Protected.

[0008] The storage means includes means for storing the encrypted decryption key and supplying the encrypted decryption key to the decryption means. When the protection decryption key for decrypting the encrypted decryption key is supplied, the protection decryption key is obtained, and the encrypted decryption key supplied from the storage unit is obtained, The encrypted decryption key may be decrypted using the protection decryption key. With such a configuration, the right generated for the material data or the content synthesized using the material data is appropriately protected without having to obtain the decryption key from the outside.

A content synthesizing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention obtains a plurality of material data, at least one of which is data for synthesizing a content, and at least one of which is encrypted, and obtains each of the data. When a decryption key associated with at least one of the material data is supplied, the decryption key is acquired, and among the acquired material data, the one associated with the acquired decryption key is acquired. Decoding means for decoding using a decoding key, and content synthesizing means for synthesizing the content based on the decrypted material data and / or the unencrypted material data. Features.

According to such a content synthesizing device,
A sufficient amount of material data can be easily secured by appropriately acquiring the material data used for synthesizing the content from the outside. Further, according to such a content synthesizing device, by selectively encrypting the material data requiring protection, the rights generated for the material data and the content synthesized using the material data can be appropriately set. Protected.

Each of the material data may represent, for example, a spectrum of a component of the content for each band. In this case, the content synthesizing unit generates, for example, data representing the content having a spectrum represented by the decoded material data and substantially lacking a spectrum represented by the undecoded material data. Anything should do.

[0012] The content synthesizing device obtains charging amount data indicating a charging amount for a user of the content from outside, and determines material data to be decoded based on the charging amount indicated by the obtained charging amount data. And a decryption key supply unit that supplies the decryption key associated with the determined material data to the decryption unit. In this case, the decryption unit supplies the decryption key. What is necessary is just to obtain the decryption key supplied by the means. When the content synthesizing apparatus has such a configuration, content having a quality corresponding to the billing amount can be synthesized.

A content synthesizing method according to a third aspect of the present invention is a data for synthesizing content, wherein a plurality of material data, at least one of which is encrypted, are stored in a storage device. The material data is obtained from the storage device via an access device detachably connected to the storage device, and when a decryption key associated with at least one of the material data is supplied, the decryption is performed. A decryption key, and among the acquired material data, the one associated with the acquired decryption key is decrypted using the decryption key, and the decrypted material data and / or the And synthesizing the content based on the material data that is not present.

According to such a content synthesizing method,
By attaching and detaching various storage devices for storing material data used for synthesizing contents to the access device, a sufficient amount of material data can be easily secured. Further, according to such a content synthesizing device, by selectively encrypting the material data requiring protection, the rights generated for the material data and the content synthesized using the material data can be appropriately set. Protected.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a computer to externally acquire a plurality of material data, at least one of which is data for synthesizing content and which is encrypted. When a decryption key associated with at least one of the material data is supplied, the decryption key is acquired, and among the acquired material data, those associated with the acquired decryption key, Decryption means for decrypting using the decryption key, and content synthesizing means for synthesizing the content based on the decrypted material data and / or the unencrypted material data are caused to function. It is characterized by that.

According to the computer that executes such a program, a sufficient amount of material data can be easily secured by variously attaching and detaching storage means for storing material data used for synthesizing contents. Further, according to a computer that executes such a program, by selectively encrypting material data requiring protection, the right to be generated with respect to the material data and the content synthesized using the material data is obtained. Appropriately protected.

A program according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is data for synthesizing contents,
A computer detachably connected to a storage device that stores a plurality of material data at least one of which is encrypted, obtains the material data from the storage device, and stores the acquired material data in at least one of the material data. When the associated decryption key is supplied, the decryption key is acquired, and the acquired material data, which is associated with the acquired decryption key, is decrypted using the decryption key. Decrypting means, and the decrypted material data and / or
Alternatively, the content synthesizing unit is configured to function as a content synthesizing unit that synthesizes the content based on the unencrypted material data.

According to the computer that executes such a program, a sufficient amount of material data can be easily secured by appropriately obtaining material data used for synthesizing contents from the outside. Further, according to a computer that executes such a program, by selectively encrypting material data requiring protection, the right to be generated with respect to the material data and the content synthesized using the material data is obtained. Appropriately protected.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a speech synthesis system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the speech synthesis system includes a language processing unit 1
, A word dictionary storage unit 2, a sound processing unit 3, a phoneme dictionary storage unit 4, and decoding units 5-1 to 5-n (n is a positive integer)
And an audio output unit 6.

The language processing unit 1, word dictionary storage unit 2, acoustic processing unit 3, decoding units 5-1 to 5-n and voice output unit 6 are integrally formed. It is detachably connected to the sound processing unit 3 and the decoding units 5-1 to 5-n via an interface or the like which is not used.

The language processing unit 1 has a CPU (Central Processes).
sing unit), a keyboard, a recording medium (for example, floppy (registered trademark) disk or MO).
(Magneto Optical disk) and a document input unit including a recording medium driver (floppy disk drive, MO drive, etc.) for reading data recorded on the disk. The processing unit of the language processing unit 1 is connected to the word dictionary storage unit 2.

The document input unit of the language processing unit 1 inputs document data representing a sentence mixed with kanji and kana and supplies it to the processing unit of the language processing unit 1. The processing unit of the language processing unit 1 performs word analysis on a sentence represented by the document data supplied from the document input unit.

As a specific word analysis process, the processing unit of the language processing unit 1 accesses, for example, the word dictionary storage unit 2 and searches for later-described word data stored in the word dictionary storage unit 2. A word candidate that may be represented by a sentence represented by the document data supplied from the document input unit is extracted. Then, a correct word is estimated from the extracted candidates based on the consistency of connection between words, the frequency of appearance of words, and the like.

When the word analysis is completed, the processing unit of the language processing unit 1 further performs a dependency analysis on the sentence represented by the document data supplied from the document input unit. As a specific dependency analysis process, the processing unit of the language processing unit 1 estimates a phrase included in a sentence represented by the document data supplied from the document input unit based on, for example, a word estimated as a result of the word analysis. I do. Then, based on the grammatical consistency of the estimated phrases, the dependency relationship between the estimated phrases and the positions of accents in these phrases are estimated.

When the word analysis and the dependency analysis are completed, the processing unit of the language processing unit 1 determines how to read the sentence based on the result of the word analysis and the dependency analysis in a predetermined phonetic character (for example, hiragana or katakana). A phonetic character string representing what is described using Kana) is generated. Then, the generated phonetic character string is supplied to the acoustic processing unit 3.

The word dictionary storage unit 2 has a ROM (Read Only)
Memory), and stores a word dictionary. The word dictionary stores word data representing words expressed in kanji or kana mixed sentences. Then, the word dictionary storage unit 2 reads the word data stored in the word dictionary in response to the access of the language processing unit 1,
It is supplied to the language processing unit 1.

The sound processing unit 3 includes a CPU and a DSP (Digita
l Signal Processor). When the sound processing unit 3 is supplied with the phonetic character string from the language processing unit 1,
First, phonemes included in the voice represented by the phonetic character string are extracted. Then, the length of time during which the extracted phoneme continues is determined based on the adjacency relationship between the extracted phonemes and the utterance speed of the voice represented by the phonetic character string (that is, the phoneme duration time). Generation processing). The utterance speed of the voice represented by the phonetic character string may be, for example, a predetermined value, or may be a value indicated by data supplied to the sound processing unit 3 from outside the sound processing unit 3. .

Next, the sound processing unit 3 converts the phonogram character string based on the phrase contained in the phonogram character string supplied from the language processing unit 1 and the position of the accent of the voice represented by the phonogram character string. A process (basic frequency pattern generation process) for determining a time-change pattern (basic frequency pattern) of the fundamental frequency of the voice to be represented is performed.

Next, the sound processing unit 3 accesses the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 and instructs to supply encrypted phoneme spectrum data (described later) representing the extracted phonemes to the decoding units 5-1 to 5-n. I do. When phoneme spectrum data described later is supplied from the decoding units 5-1 to 5-n, a polyphase filter, an FFT (Fast Fourier Transform), a DC
T (Discrete Cosine Transform), LOT (Lapped Or
thogonal Transform), MLT (Modulated Lapped Tra)
nsform) or ELT (Extended Lapped Transfor)
Using a technique such as m), waveform data representing a waveform having a spectrum represented by the phoneme spectrum data is generated.

Next, the sound processing unit 3 connects the phonemes represented by the waveform data generated by the sound processing unit 3 in the order in which the phonemes are arranged in the phonetic character string supplied to the sound processing unit 3, and generates a waveform obtained by the connection.
By deforming to have a fundamental frequency component that matches the pattern determined in the fundamental frequency pattern generation process, a signal representing the waveform of the entire speech represented by the phonetic character string is generated, and the speech output unit 6 To supply. Note that the signal supplied to the audio output unit 6 may be, for example, a signal representing the waveform of the entire audio in the form of PCM (Pulse Code Modulation).

The phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 comprises a nonvolatile storage device such as a flash memory or a hard disk device. The phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 stores a phoneme dictionary. The phoneme dictionary stores encrypted phoneme spectrum data, which is data obtained by encrypting data (phoneme spectrum data) representing a spectrum of a waveform representing a phoneme. Then, the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 responds to the access of the sound processing unit 3 and, among the encrypted phoneme spectrum data stored in the phoneme dictionary, represents the phoneme designated by the sound processing unit 3 (specifically, Reads identification data for identifying phonemes specified by the acoustic processing unit 3), and supplies the read data to the decoding units 5-1 to 5-n.

The phoneme spectrum data representing each phoneme is specifically composed of n data. Each of these n pieces of data represents a predetermined number of bits per spectrum component, representing the intensity of each spectrum component of the phoneme included in equal-width different bands obtained by dividing the spectrum distribution of the phoneme into n equal parts. Is included. The encrypted phoneme spectrum data includes n data obtained by individually encrypting these n data.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the n pieces of data constituting the encrypted phoneme spectrum data are phonemes and 1
The identification data for identifying the order from the number to the n-th is added and stored in the phoneme dictionary. Of the n pieces of data constituting the encrypted phoneme spectrum data, k
The part representing the spectral component in the th (k is any integer from 1 to n) band is supplied to the decoding unit 5-k by the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 in response to the access of the acoustic processing unit 3. You.

The method of encrypting the phoneme spectrum data to generate n pieces of data constituting the encrypted phoneme spectrum data is arbitrary. For example, DES (Data Encryptio)
n Standard) or a method of public key encryption. Further, the n pieces of data constituting the phoneme spectrum data to be encrypted are not necessarily encrypted using the same encryption key.

The decoding units 5-1 to 5-n (n is the number of the above-mentioned bands) have substantially the same configuration as each other.
It is composed of SP, CPU, etc. Decoding section 5-k
Obtains a portion representing the spectral components in the k-th band from the low frequency side in the encrypted phoneme spectrum data stored in the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4, and obtains a decryption key from outside. Then, the part is decrypted using the obtained decryption key, and the data obtained by the decryption is supplied to the acoustic processing unit 3.

When the encrypted phoneme spectrum data is obtained by encrypting the phoneme spectrum data by the symmetric key encryption method, the decryption key obtained by the decryption unit 5-k uses the encryption of the phoneme spectrum data. Any key may be used as long as it is the encryption key used for the encryption. When the encrypted phoneme spectrum data is obtained by encrypting the phoneme spectrum data by a public key encryption method, there is a relationship that “data encrypted using one can be decrypted using the other”. Of a pair of private and public keys,
The public key is used as an encryption key for encrypting the phoneme spectrum data, and the private key is used for decryption of the encrypted phoneme spectrum data obtained by encrypting the phoneme spectrum data. The key may be used as a key.

If the decryption key supplied to the decryption unit 5-k is a correct decryption key that can be used to decrypt the encrypted phoneme spectrum data obtained by the decryption unit 5-k, The data generated by the decryption by the unit 5-k is substantially the same as the portion representing the spectral component in the k-th band from the low frequency side in the phoneme spectrum data used to generate the encrypted phoneme spectrum data. Data.

On the other hand, if the correct decryption key is not supplied to the decryption unit 5-k, the decryption unit 5-k indicates the content of the decrypted phoneme spectrum data regardless of the content of the supplied decryption key. Spectral components are treated as substantially non-existent. (For example, it is assumed that data obtained by decoding the component is not supplied to the acoustic processing unit 3.) The method of determining whether the decoding key is correct or not is arbitrary. What is necessary is just to perform based on whether it has a data format.

Therefore, the spectrum distribution of the signal supplied from the acoustic processing unit 3 to the audio output unit 6 is determined by using the correct decryption key among the spectra represented by the original phoneme spectrum data used to generate the encrypted phoneme spectrum data. The distribution is substantially equal to the distribution of the spectral components excluding the spectral components represented by the parts supplied to the decoding unit that have not been acquired.

For example, assuming that the number of decoding units is ten (the value of n is 10), the decoding units 5
While the decryption key to be supplied to -1 to 5-3 is provided free of charge to the owner of the speech synthesis system, the decryption unit 5
The decryption key to be supplied to -4 to 5-10 shall be provided for a fee. In this case, the voice synthesis system owner or the like is free of charge for voice (having a restricted phoneme band) having a spectrum distribution represented by the encrypted phoneme spectrum data supplied to the decoding units 5-1 to 5-3. And low-quality speech) that have been decoded.
It is not possible to synthesize speech having a spectrum distribution represented by all of the encrypted phoneme spectrum data supplied to -1 to 5-10 (sounds of high quality in which the phoneme band is not limited). However, the decoding units 5-4 to 5-5
By purchasing a decryption key to be supplied to 10, it is possible to synthesize high-quality speech whose bandwidth is not restricted. Further, if the number of provided decryption keys is changed in three or more steps according to the amount of the price or the like, the quality of the speech synthesized using this speech synthesis system is also improved.
It can be variable over four or more steps.

The method by which the decryption units 5-1 to 5-n obtain the decryption keys is arbitrary.
For -1 to 5-n, the decryption key may be read from an external storage device or recording medium. Alternatively, the decryption key may be transmitted from an external device to the decryption units 5-1 to 5-n via a communication line, and the decryption units 5-1 to 5-n may receive the decryption keys. . Further, the decoding units 5-1 to 5-n
A storage device (for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory)) that stores the decryption key in a rewritable manner may be provided, and the decryption key stored before each decryption may be used for decryption.

Further, the decryption key may be stored in the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 in a state where the decryption key is encrypted by using the encryption key for protection. On the other hand, when the decryption units 5-1 to 5-n receive the encryption key for protection transmitted from an external device via a communication line or the like, the decryption units 5-1 to 5-n access the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 and are encrypted. Alternatively, the decryption key may be obtained by reading out the decryption key that is present and decrypting the decryption key using the protection encryption key received by itself. The decoding unit 5-1
5-n may authenticate an external device that transmits a protection encryption key by a method such as password authentication, and may reject reception of the protection encryption key when the authentication fails.

The audio output unit 6 has a D / A (Digital-to-Ana)
log) a converter, an AF (Audio Frequency) amplifier, a speaker, and the like, acquire the PCM signal supplied from the acoustic processing unit 3, and output a sound represented by the acquired data.

The configuration of the speech synthesis system is not limited to the above. For example, a language processing unit 1, a word dictionary storage unit 2, a sound processing unit 3, and decoding units 5-1 to 5-n
The function described above may be performed by a single DSP or CPU.

The signal supplied from the audio processing unit 3 to the audio output unit 5 does not need to be a PCM signal. The band in which the spectral components represented by the n pieces of data constituting the encrypted phoneme spectrum data are distributed may be obtained by unequally dividing the phoneme spectrum distribution.

The phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 includes a decoding unit 5-
Instead of being detachably connected to the decoding units 5-1 to 5-n, they may be connected to the decoding units 5-1 to 5-n via communication lines such as telephone lines, dedicated lines, and satellite lines. In this case, the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 and the decoding units 5-1 to 5-n may each include a communication control unit including, for example, a modem and a DSU (Data Service Unit).

Further, the document input unit of the language processing unit 1 may input document data via a communication line.
In this case, the document input unit may include a communication control unit including, for example, a modem and a DSU. Further, the document input unit of the language processing unit 1 may input the document data by receiving the document data broadcast from the outside. In this case, the document input unit may include, for example, a wireless receiver.

The phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 may store a part of the n pieces of data constituting the encrypted phoneme spectrum data in an unencrypted state instead of a part of the data. In this case, one of the decoding units 5-1 to 5-n that has obtained the part may supply the part to the sound processing unit 3 without performing the decoding process. .

At least a part of the n pieces of data constituting the encrypted phoneme spectrum data is MSB (Most) in the bit string representing the spectrum intensity of the spectrum component.
Each bit (upper bit) of a predetermined number of higher digits including a significant bit (significant bit) may be included in an unencrypted state. Also, the upper bits and the other bits (lower bits) may be encrypted with different encryption keys. Then, of the decryption units 5-1 to 5-n, the decryption unit to which the data encrypted using the plurality of encryption keys is supplied receives the supply of the plurality of decryption keys, and decrypts them. This data may be decrypted using the encryption key. However, in this case, the decryption unit treats a value indicated by a part that cannot be decrypted using any decryption key supplied to itself as a predetermined value (for example, 0).

For example, a decoding key to be used for decoding the upper bits is provided free of charge to the owner of the speech synthesis system, while a decoding key to be used for decoding the lower bits is provided for a fee. Shall be performed. In this case, the owner of this speech synthesis system can simply synthesize speech with inferior accuracy of the spectral intensity of each frequency component at no cost. On the other hand, if a decoding key for decoding the lower bits is purchased, a high-quality speech with unlimited spectral intensity accuracy can be synthesized.

Each of the n pieces of data forming the encrypted phoneme spectrum data is obtained by dividing a bit string representing the spectrum intensity into three or more bit strings, and each part obtained by the division is encrypted with a different encryption key. It may be included in an encrypted state, or a part including the MSB of each part may be included in an unencrypted state.

The speech synthesizing system obtains, from the outside, billing amount data representing the amount of money charged to the owner of the speech synthesizing system and the like, and decrypts a portion of the encrypted phoneme spectrum data for decoding. An apparatus may be provided that determines a decision key based on the acquired billing amount data and supplies a decryption key for decrypting the determined part to a decryption unit that decrypts the part. The decryption unit supplied with the decryption key from this device may obtain the supplied decryption key and use it for decryption. In addition, this device includes a decoding unit 5-1.
The decryption key to be supplied to .about.5-n may be stored in advance, or may be obtained from outside. By providing this apparatus in the speech synthesis system, the quality of speech or the like to be synthesized changes according to data supplied from the outside.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a speech synthesis system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the speech synthesis system of the present invention. As shown, the physical configuration of this speech synthesis system is the same as that of the first embodiment except that a single decoding unit 5 is provided instead of the decoding units 5-1 to 5-n. Substantially the same. Note that the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 is detachably connected to the sound processing unit 3 and the decoding unit 5.

The phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 of the speech synthesis system
As shown in FIG. 4, the phoneme dictionary stores identification data for identifying phonemes, and also encrypts phoneme data representing the waveform of the phoneme or phoneme data representing the waveform of the phoneme. Is stored in association with the identification data. Then, the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 reads the phoneme data and / or the encrypted phoneme data stored in the phoneme dictionary in response to the access of the acoustic processing unit 3 and supplies the phoneme data to the decoding unit 5. The method of encrypting phoneme data to generate encrypted phoneme data is arbitrary, and may be symmetric key encryption or public key encryption.

On the other hand, after performing the processing of generating the phoneme duration and the processing of generating the fundamental frequency pattern, the acoustic processing section 3 accesses the phoneme dictionary storage section 4 and obtains the phonetic character supplied from the language processing section 1. The phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 searches for phoneme data and / or encrypted phoneme data stored in the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 using the phonemes included in the column as keys, and decodes the phoneme data and / or encrypted phoneme data retrieved as a result of the search. Supply to section 5. Then, the phoneme data and / or
Or, when the phoneme data obtained by decrypting the encrypted phoneme data is supplied, the phonemes represented by these phoneme data are connected in the order in which the phonemes represented in the phonetic character string supplied thereto are arranged. A signal representing the waveform of the entire voice represented by the phonetic character string (representing the waveform in a modulation format such as PCM) is obtained by deforming to have a fundamental frequency component that matches the pattern determined in the pattern generation processing. Signal) is generated and supplied to the audio output unit 6.

The decryption unit 5 is composed of a DSP, a CPU and the like, acquires phoneme data and / or encrypted phoneme data stored in the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4, and acquires a decryption key from outside. . Then, the obtained encrypted phoneme data is decrypted using this decryption key, and the phoneme data obtained by the self and the phoneme data obtained by decrypting the encrypted phoneme data are supplied to the acoustic processing unit 3. .

When the encrypted phoneme data is obtained by encrypting the phoneme data by the symmetric key encryption method, the decryption key obtained by the decryption unit 5 is used for encrypting the phoneme data. What is necessary is just the encryption key itself.
When the encrypted phoneme data is obtained by encrypting phoneme data by a public key encryption method, the public key of the pair of secret key and public key is encrypted for encrypting the phoneme data. The secret key may be used as a decryption key for decrypting the encrypted phoneme data obtained by encrypting the phoneme data. When the decryption key supplied to the decryption unit 5 is a correct decryption key that can be used to decrypt the encrypted phoneme data acquired by the decryption unit 5, the decryption unit 5 generates the decryption key by decryption. The data is the same as the phoneme data used to generate the encrypted phoneme data.

On the other hand, if the correct decryption key is not supplied to the decryption unit 5 itself, the decryption unit 5 treats the phoneme represented by the encrypted phoneme data supplied thereto as substantially silent. (For example, it is assumed that data obtained by decrypting the encrypted phoneme data is not supplied to the audio processing unit 3.) Therefore, in this case, the audio processing unit 3
The waveform represented by the PCM signal supplied to the audio processing unit 3 is substantially equal to the waveform in which the waveform corresponding to the phoneme represented by the encrypted phoneme data is missing from the waveform of the speech represented by the phonetic character string supplied to the acoustic processing unit 3. Become.

For example, assuming that the decryption key is provided for a fee, the owner of the speech synthesizing system can synthesize speech without the phoneme represented by the encrypted phoneme data at no cost. On the other hand, it is not possible to synthesize a voice including a phoneme represented by the encrypted phoneme data.
However, if a decryption key is purchased, it is possible to synthesize a high-quality voice including the phoneme represented by the encrypted phoneme data.

The configuration of the speech synthesis system is not limited to the above. For example, different encrypted phoneme data may be generated using different encryption keys. In this case, if the number of decryption keys provided to the decryption unit 5 is changed in two or more stages in accordance with the amount of the price or the like, the quality of the voice synthesized using this voice synthesis system is also improved. It can be variable over three or more stages.

The phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 includes a telephone line, a dedicated line,
It may be connected to the decoding unit 5 via a communication line such as a satellite line. In this case, the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 and the decoding unit 5 may each include a communication control unit including, for example, a modem and a DSU.

The method by which the decryption unit 5 acquires the decryption key is arbitrary. For example, the decryption unit 5 may read the decryption key from an external storage device or a recording medium. Alternatively, a decryption key may be transmitted from an external device to the decryption unit 5 via a communication line, and the decryption unit 5 may receive the decryption key. Further, the decryption unit 5 may include a storage device that stores the decryption key in a rewritable manner, and the decryption key may be used for decryption.

Further, the decryption key may be stored in the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 in a state where the decryption key is encrypted by using the encryption key for protection. On the other hand, when receiving the encryption key for protection transmitted from an external device via a communication line or the like, the decryption unit 5 accesses the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4 and reads the encrypted decryption key. Alternatively, the decryption key may be obtained by decrypting using the protection encryption key received by itself. Note that the decryption unit 5 may authenticate an external device that transmits the protection encryption key, and may reject the reception of the protection encryption key if the authentication fails.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the content synthesizing apparatus according to the present invention can be realized by using a general computer system without using a dedicated system. For example, the above-described language processing unit 1 is connected to a computer including a D / A converter, a speaker, and the like, to which a nonvolatile storage device such as a flash memory is detachably connected.
Word dictionary storage unit 2, sound processing unit 3, decoding units 5-1 to 5
-N and a medium (CD-ROM, MO) storing a program for causing the non-volatile storage device detachably connected to the computer to execute the operation of the phoneme dictionary storage unit 4. , Floppy disk, etc.)
A speech synthesis system that performs the above-described processing can be configured.

For example, a bulletin board (BB) of a communication line
The program may be posted on S) and distributed via a communication line. Alternatively, a carrier wave is modulated by a signal representing the program, the obtained modulated wave is transmitted, and the modulated wave is received. The device may restore the program by demodulating the modulated wave. Then, by starting up the program and executing it under the control of the OS in the same manner as other application programs, the above-described processing can be executed.

When the OS shares a part of the processing,
Alternatively, when the OS constitutes a part of one component of the present invention, the recording medium may store a program excluding the part. Also in this case, in the present invention, it is assumed that the recording medium stores a program for executing each function or step executed by the computer.

[0067]

As described above, according to the present invention, a content synthesizing apparatus and a content synthesizing method capable of easily securing a sufficient amount of data used for synthesizing content are realized. Further, according to the present invention, a content synthesizing apparatus and a content synthesizing method capable of appropriately protecting a right generated for synthesized content and data used for synthesizing the content are realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a speech synthesis system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a data structure of a phoneme dictionary stored in a phoneme dictionary storage unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a speech synthesis system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a data structure of a phoneme dictionary stored in a phoneme dictionary storage unit in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 language processing unit 2 word dictionary storage unit 3 acoustic processing unit 4 phoneme dictionary storage unit 5, 5-1 to 5-n decoding unit 6 voice output unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 7/16 H04L 9/00 601A 7/167 H04N 7/167 Z F term (Reference) 5B017 AA07 BA07 CA15 5C064 BA07 BB01 BB02 BB10 BC01 BC06 BC18 BC22 BD01 BD09 CA14 CA16 CC04 5D045 AA20 5J104 AA15 AA16 EA06 EA17 NA02 NA27 NA37 PA11

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A storage means for storing a plurality of material data, at least one of which is data for synthesizing contents, and at least one of which is encrypted, said storage means being detachably connected to said storage means, Acquiring the material data, acquiring the decryption key when a decryption key associated with at least one of the material data is supplied, and acquiring the acquired decryption key among the acquired material data; Is mapped to
Decryption means for decrypting using the decryption key; and content combining means for combining the content based on the decrypted material data and / or the unencrypted material data. A content synthesizing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The storage means comprises means for storing the encrypted decryption key and supplying the encrypted decryption key to the decryption means, wherein the decryption means is provided from an external device. When a protection decryption key for decrypting the encrypted decryption key is supplied, the protection decryption key is obtained, and the encrypted decryption key supplied from the storage unit is obtained. The content synthesizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the encrypted decryption key is decrypted using the protection decryption key. 3. A plurality of material data, which are data for synthesizing contents and at least one of which is encrypted, is obtained from the outside, and decryption associated with at least one of the material data is performed. When the key is supplied, obtain the decryption key, and among the obtained material data,
Decryption means for decrypting the data associated with the obtained decryption key using the decryption key; and the decryption means based on the decrypted material data and / or the unencrypted material data. A content synthesizing device, comprising: content synthesizing means for synthesizing content. 4. Each of the material data represents a spectrum of a component part of the content for each band, and the content synthesizing means has a spectrum represented by the decrypted material data, and The content synthesizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content synthesizing apparatus is configured to generate data representing the content in which a spectrum represented by the missing material data is substantially missing. 5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: acquiring charge amount data indicating a charge amount for a user of said content from outside; determining material data to be decoded based on the charge amount indicated by said acquired charge amount data; Decryption key supply means for supplying the decryption key associated with the material data to the decryption means, wherein the decryption means acquires the decryption key supplied by the decryption key supply means The content synthesizing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein 6. A storage device for storing a plurality of material data, at least one of which is data for synthesizing contents, which is encrypted, and via an access device detachably connected to the storage device. Acquiring the material data from the storage device, acquiring the decryption key when a decryption key associated with at least one of the material data is supplied, of the acquired material data, Decrypting the content associated with the obtained decryption key using the decryption key, and synthesizing the content based on the decrypted material data and / or the unencrypted material data; A content synthesizing method, comprising: 7. A computer comprising at least one data for synthesizing contents.
When a plurality of material data items each of which has been encrypted are obtained from the outside and a decryption key associated with at least one of the material data items is supplied, the decryption key is obtained and obtained. A decryption unit that decrypts, using the decryption key, the data associated with the obtained decryption key, from the decrypted material data and / or the unencrypted material data. A content synthesizing means for synthesizing the content based on the material data; 8. A computer which is detachably connected to a storage device for storing a plurality of material data, at least one of which is data for synthesizing content, wherein at least one of the plurality of material data is encrypted. To obtain the decryption key when a decryption key associated with at least one of the material data is supplied, and to obtain the decryption key corresponding to the obtained decryption key among the obtained material data. Decryption means for decrypting the attached data using the decryption key; and content synthesizing means for synthesizing the content based on the decrypted material data and / or the unencrypted material data. And a program to make it work.